Virus Outbreak: Global virus cases top 1 million, deaths pass 50,000

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide has soared past 1 million and fatalities have topped 50,000 as the US reported the highest daily death toll of any country so far. Despite more than half the planet living in some form of lockdown, the virus is continuing to spread rapidly and claim lives, with the US, Spain and Britain all seeing their worst days yet. The US now accounts for about one-quarter of all known infections around the globe. About 6,000 people have died in the US outbreak, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, more than 1,100 of them on Thursday. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio urged residents to cover their faces when outside and US Vice President Mike Pence said there would be a recommendation on the use of masks by the general public in the next few days. Europe has been at the center of the crisis for weeks, but there have been signs that the epidemic could be approaching its peak there. Spain and Britain saw record numbers of new deaths in a 24-hour period — 950 and 569 respectively. Italy and Spain together account for almost half of the global death toll, but experts have said that the number of new infections in both countries is continuing to slow. “The data show the curve has stabilized” and the epidemic has entered a “slowdown” phase, Spanish Minister of Health Salvador Illa said. The virus has chiefly affected elderly people and those with pre-existing medical conditions, but recent cases of deaths among teenagers and even of a six-week-old have highlighted the dangers for people of all ages. “The very notion that ‘COVID-19 only affects older people’ is factually wrong,” WHO regional director for Europe Hans Kluge said on Thursday. Severe cases have been reported among teens and young adults, with some requiring intensive care and

Virus Outbreak: UN calls for global ‘cooperation’ and ‘multilateralism’

The UN General Assembly on Thursday approved a resolution calling for “international cooperation” and “multilateralism” in the fight against COVID-19, in the first text to come out of the international body since the pandemic began. The resolution, approved by consensus, also said there was “the need for full respect for human rights” and that “there is no place for any form of discrimination, racism and xenophobia in the response to the pandemic.” Russia was unsuccessful in opposing the resolution with its own text, which was supported by four other countries. The UN resolution emphasizes the central role of the body in the global health and economic crisis. It was submitted by Switzerland, Indonesia, Singapore, Norway, Liechtenstein and Ghana, and adopted by 188 of the 193 states that make up the body, diplomats said. The Russian text — which also discussed cooperation, but included an implicit demand for a general lifting of international sanctions, seen as a brake on efforts to fight the virus — was supported by the Central African Republic, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Unlike the UN Security Council, resolutions adopted by the General Assembly are not binding. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the novel coronavirus is “the most challenging crisis we have faced since the Second World War.” Just last week, as the pandemic spread around the world, killing thousands and infecting many more, Guterres warned that unless the world came together to fight the virus, millions of people could die. On March 23, he called for an “immediate global ceasefire” to protect vulnerable civilians in conflict zones from the ravages of the pandemic. Few countries have heeded his appeal. “Unfortunately, hostilities have gone unabated,” said Laetitia Courtois, the UN representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross. On the council, which has been silent since the start of the pandemic, the five permanent members — the

Virus Outbreak: Economic stimulus package expanded

TRILLION PROPOSED: The premier said the goal was to keep ‘businesses solvent, the unemployment rate down, transportation and logistics going, and cash flowing’

The Executive Yuan yesterday announced an expanded economic stimulus package totaling NT$1.05 trillion (US$34.64 billion), including NT$81.6 billion in subsidies for employers to prevent a spike in unemployment. The increased budget comprises a special budget of NT$210 billion, up from the NT$60 billion already passed by the Legislative Yuan; NT$140 billion — up from NT$40 billion — to be appropriated from the general budget; and NT$700 billion in loans to industries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics Minister Chu Tzer-ming (朱澤民) told a news conference at the Executive Yuan in Taipei. The NT$150 billion increase in the special budget is to be paid for by increasing national debt by NT$100 billion in the current fiscal year and NT$50 billion in the next, Chu said. The NT$700 billion in loans, double what was originally planned, is to be provided by the central bank and state-owned banks, as well as Chunghwa Post Co (中華郵政), he said. Overall, the package is to make up about 5.4 percent of this year’s nominal GDP, he said. As a proactive measure to prevent the unemployment rate from soaring, the government is to inject NT$81.6 billion to help about 1.92 million people, or 16.6 percent of the nation’s working population, keep their jobs, Minister Without Portfolio Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. That includes NT$39.6 billion in wage subsidies that the Ministry of Economic Affairs would give to about 660,000 people in the manufacturing and service industries, as well as NT$8.4 billion that the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) is to give to about 140,000 people in the tourism and transportation industries, Kung said. The transportation ministry plans to give the nation’s approximately 92,000 taxi and 16,000 tour bus drivers NT$10,000 per month for three months, while the economic ministry would issue a monthly subsidy of NT$10,000 to about 1

By Sean Lin

Virus Outbreak: Healthy can spread virus: study

Scientists on Wednesday offered more evidence that COVID-19 is spread by seemingly healthy people who show no clear symptoms and the US government issued new guidance warning that anyone exposed to the disease can be considered a carrier. A study by researchers in Singapore became the latest to estimate that about 10 percent of new infections might be sparked by people who carry the virus, but have not experienced its flu-like symptoms. In response to that study and others, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed how it defined the risk of infection. The agency’s new guidance targeted people who have no symptoms, but were exposed to others with known or suspected infections. It essentially says that anyone might be a carrier, regardless of any symptoms. The findings increase the challenges of containment measures, the researchers wrote, but added that the magnitude of the effects depends on the extent and duration of transmissibility while a patient is pre-symptomatic, which has so far not been clearly established. The findings complicate efforts to gain control of the pandemic and reinforce the importance of “social distancing” and other measures designed to stop the spread, experts said. “You have to really be proactive about reducing contacts between people who seem perfectly healthy,” said Lauren Ancel Meyers, a researcher at the University of Texas at Austin who has studied coronavirus transmission in different countries. The newest research was published online on Wednesday by the CDC in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. It focused on 243 cases of coronavirus reported in Singapore from mid-January through the middle of last month, including 157 infections among people who had not traveled recently. Scientists found that so-called pre-symptomatic people triggered infections in seven disease clusters, accounting for about 6 percent of the locally acquired cases. One of those infections was particularly striking. A 52-year-old woman’s infection

Virus Outbreak: NHRI announces test kit; CDC to work on approval

The National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) yesterday said it has developed a rapid-testing kit that can screen people for SARS-CoV-2, the strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19, while the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said that such products have to be approved. NHRI vice president Sytwu Huey-kang (司徒惠康) said that after more than a month of research, it has been shown that antibodies for SARS can also be used in the screening process for SARS-CoV-2. The results can be produced in 10 to 15 minutes, Sytwu said. The NHRI is testing a number of coronaviruses to determine whether the reagent could be an exclusive test for COVID-19, he said. The institutes next week would hold a meeting with businesses to discuss trial production of the kits, he said. However, it is still uncertain when the kits might be ready for clinical use, he said. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) told the CECC’s daily news briefing yesterday that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) would have to verify the NHRI’s product, as well as others introduced by private companies abroad. The CDC would help accelerate commercialization if they prove effective, said Chen, who also heads the CECC. In other developments, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) posted on Facebook yesterday that US biotechnology company Gilead Sciences began clinical research collaboration with experts in Taiwan on potential treatment options. The AIT did not name any drug in the post, but the company is known for developing remdesivir, a drug hoped to be a treatment for COVID-19. “Gilead’s clinical trials in Asia are also taking place in China, Japan, S[outh] Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong. Last week, AIT and Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced enhanced efforts to cooperate on addressing the spread of COVID-19. Scientific cooperation like this is one of the great examples of how we #StriveTogetherThriveTogether,” the

Virus Outbreak: Death tolls surge in Spain and NY, world count passes 47,000

The COVID-19 death toll in Spain yesterday surged past 10,000 after a record 950 deaths in 24 hours, while New York rushed to bring in an army of medical volunteers as the statewide death toll grew to more than 2,190. The global number of people diagnosed with the illness edged closer to 1 million yesterday. Spain has the world’s second-highest death toll after Italy, with the virus so far claiming 10,003 lives, although the rate of new infections and deaths continued its downward trend, Spanish Ministry of Health figures showed. “The data show the curve has stabilized” and the epidemic has entered a “slowdown” phase, Spanish Minister of Health Salvador Illa said. In the US, the nation’s biggest city was the hardest hit, with bodies loaded onto refrigerated morgue trucks by forklifts and gurneys outside overwhelmed hospitals. The wail of ambulances in the otherwise eerily quiet streets of the city became the heartbreaking soundtrack of the crisis. “It’s like a battlefield behind your home,” said 33-year-old Emma Sorza, who could hear the sirens from severely swamped Elmhurst Hospital in Queens. “How does it end? And people want answers,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Wednesday. “I want answers. The answer is nobody knows for sure.” US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that a federal stockpile was nearly depleted of personal protective equipment used by doctors and nurses, and warned of trying times to come. “Difficult days are ahead for our nation,” Trump said. “We’re going to have a couple of weeks, starting pretty much now, but especially a few days from now that are going to be horrific.” Altogether, close to 940,000 people worldwide have contracted the virus, according to a tally being kept by Johns Hopkins University. More than 47,280 people have died from the virus, which emerged in China late last year. The real figures are believed

US to tighten China exports rules: sources

BEIJING REACTS: The Chinese foreign ministry called on Washington to ‘stop this purposeful slandering and ... do more for the cooperation between our two sides’

US President Donald Trump’s administration is tightening rules to prevent China from obtaining advanced US technology for commercial purposes and then diverting it to military use, sources said. Three measures agreed to by senior US officials in a meeting on Wednesday last week, but not finalized, would introduce hurdles that could be used to stop Chinese companies from buying certain optical materials, radar equipment and semiconductors, among other things, from the US. The moves are advancing as relations between the US and China, a key customer for US technology, sour over the COVID-19 pandemic, which originated in Wuhan, China, and tit-for-tat expulsions of journalists from each country. They are also a sign of growing nervousness within the US government over China’s “civil-military” fusion promoted by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), which aims to build up its military might and supercharged technological development in tandem. Some US officials have said that it is time to update the rules in light of the Chinese policy, as some US shipments abroad are authorized based in large part on whether they would be used for civilian or military applications. Since “the Chinese have said to us: ‘Anything you give to us for a commercial purpose is going to be given to the military,’ what point is there in maintaining a distinction in our export control regulations?” said former White House official Tim Morrison, who was involved in drawing up the changes, which have been in the works since at least last year. It was not clear if Trump would sign off on them, despite the decision last week to press ahead with their rollout. Industry fears that the new rules, which include withdrawing license exceptions, could drive Chinese consumers into the arms of foreign rivals. “There’s a chilling effect when they start taking away the availability of these license exceptions for particular

Virus Outbreak: Taiwan joins global COVID-19 battle

HELPING HAND: Taiwan is ready to help other nations and will not sit idly by while the global fight against the coronavirus continues, President Tsai Ing-wen said

Taiwan, as a responsible member of the international community, is to offer humanitarian assistance to nations hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic by sending them masks and medicine, as well as sharing with them an electronic system that the government has been using to track down people that need to be quarantined, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday. With the nation’s daily production having reached 13 million masks and soon to reach 15 million, the government is to donate 10 million masks to medical personnel in nations most severely affected by the coronavirus, Tsai said at the Presidential Office in Taipei. The nation would donate more masks when production capacity permits, she added. With a number of clinical reports concluding that quinine can help treat patients with mild symptoms, the government has asked pharmaceutical companies to increase production of the medication so that it can contribute to the supplies of nations in need, Tsai said. The nation is also to provide technological support, by sharing with other nations a system that uses “big data” to accurately locate people that have come into close contact with those that have tested positive for COVID-19, effectively curbing the spread of the coronavirus, she said. When the outbreak first occurred, Taiwan had formed a “national team” to combat COVID-19, which is now ready to join the international community in an all-out effort to fight the pandemic, she added. Taiwan will step up its cooperation with other nations and not sit idly by while the global fight against the coronavirus continues, Tsai said, adding that the nation is already helping its diplomatic allies, enabling their citizens to acquire medical supplies locally. “Taiwan can help, and Taiwan is helping,” Tsai said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement said that the nation is to make a one-time donation of 2 million masks to

By Sean Lin

Virus Outbreak: New reporting criteria for virus cases announced

The Central Epidemic Command Center yesterday released a set of revised criteria for reporting suspected COVID-19 cases, while also announcing its guidelines for disclosing patients’ personal information. The center said that its advisory specialist panel revised the definition for “severe pneumonia with novel pathogens” — COVID-19 infection — by expanding the criteria needed to report suspected cases. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that physicians should report people for testing if they meet one of three clinical conditions: They have a fever, acute respiratory infection, or a lack of smell or taste; there is a clinical, radiological or pathological diagnosis of pneumonia; or the patient is suspected of having community-acquired pneumonia, but has no history of recent overseas travel. “A lack of smell or taste is a new symptom added to the definition,” he said. Chen added that doctors should also report people for testing if they meet one of three epidemiological criteria: They have had close contact with an infected person, including caring for them, spending time with them or being exposed to their bodily fluids; a cluster of cases occurred near the patient; or one of the first two criteria occurred in the 14 days before the patient experienced symptoms, visited or lived in another country, or had close contact with people from a country with cases of fever or respiratory symptoms. “Generally, we hope that when doctors see a local patient that meets any of the criteria and the possibility of a COVID-19 infection cannot be excluded, they would send the patient for testing,” Chen said. Asked about speculation that a lack of smell or taste might be associated with a mutated coronavirus strain in Europe, center advisory specialist panel convener Chang Shan-chwen (張上淳) said that a lack of smell or taste was not reported by

By Lee I-chia

Virus Outbreak: Seven new coronavirus cases reported, all imported

The Central Epidemic Command Center yesterday reported seven new cases of COVID-19, all of them Taiwanese who returned from the UK and the US, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 329. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that the new cases were relatively less complicated, as five were tested at an airport upon arrival, while the other two developed symptoms while they were in home quarantine and tested positive at a hospital. The cases are four women and three men, who developed symptoms between Feb. 29 and Monday. One of them returned from the UK and six from the US between March 19 and Monday, data showed. Two of them are friends who traveled to the US with another friend between Feb. 6 and Monday, Chen said. The two lost their sense of smell and taste on Monday and Tuesday last week, so they notified airport quarantine officers upon their arrival and underwent testing, he said. Their friend is in home isolation, he added. Chen said that of the 329 cases, 283 were imported and 46 domestic, including five deaths and 45 patients who have been discharged from hospital. Five cases are receiving more attention, as they are domestic cases with unknown sources of infection, he said. People who had come into contact with three of them — cases 100, 134 and 156 — tested negative, Chen said. The 14-day incubation period for the 100th case has passed, while cases 134 and 156 are two to three days from the end of the incubation period, he said. However, the center and local health departments are still carrying out contact investigations for two other domestic cases — 268 and 322 — he added. Separately yesterday, National Taiwan Normal University announced that all of its classes from Monday next week to April 17 would

By Lee I-chia

Virus Outbreak: European death toll tops 30,000

NO RECENT PARALLEL: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the pandemic was ‘the most challenging crisis we have faced since the Second World War’

The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed more than 30,000 lives in Europe alone, a global tally showed yesterday, in what the head of the UN has described as humanity’s worst crisis since World War II. Italy and Spain bore the brunt of the crisis, accounting for three in every four deaths on the continent, as the grim tally hit another milestone even though half of the planet’s population is already under some form of lockdown in a battle to halt contagion. Spain reported a record 864 deaths in 24 hours, pushing the nation’s number of fatalities past 9,000. The toll is only dwarfed by Italy, where the virus has killed nearly 12,500 people. Since emerging in China last year, COVID-19 has spread across the globe claiming more than 43,000 lives and infecting more than 860,000 people, data showed. US President Donald Trump has warned of a “very, very painful two weeks” as the nation registered its deadliest 24 hours of what he called a “plague.” In a scramble to halt the contagion, governments have shut schools and shops, and ordered millions of people to work from home. Cancelations of key events have swept both the sports and cultural worlds, with Edinburgh’s arts festivals the latest to be scrapped. For UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the extraordinary upheaval spurred by the coronavirus presents a real danger to the relative peace the world has seen over the past few decades. The pandemic “represents a threat to everybody in the world and ... an economic impact that will bring a recession that probably has no parallel in the recent past,” Guterres said. “The combination of the two facts, and the risk that it contributes to enhanced instability, enhanced unrest and enhanced conflict, are things that make us believe that this is the most challenging crisis we have faced since the Second World War,” he said. With

US offers Venezuela sanctions relief deal that omits Guaido

The US on Tuesday offered a path for the Venezuelan government to remove sanctions in the face of a mounting humanitarian crisis by accepting a transitional government that excludes US ally Venezuelan National Assembly President Juan Guaido. The tactical shift came after more than a year of faltering US-led efforts to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and as fears grow that the COVID-19 pandemic could spread rapidly both inside and from the poverty-stricken nation. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Guaido, as well as Maduro, should step aside for a transitional government comprising members of both their parties that would arrange elections in six to 12 months. If fully implemented, the US and EU would lift sanctions, including sweeping US restrictions on Venezuela’s key export of oil, the US Department of State said. The IMF and other international lenders would be invited to plan economic relief for Venezuela, from which millions have fled as they face dire shortages of food and other necessities. The plan also calls for the departure of foreign forces from Venezuela, a reference to the government’s support from Russia and Cuba. “We believe this framework protects the interests and equities of all Venezuelan people who desperately seek a resolution to their dire political, economic and humanitarian crisis, and who know Venezuelans can have something better,” Pompeo said, urging all sides to consider it “carefully and seriously.” Maduro has repeatedly ruled out ceding power and his government quickly rejected the framework, which is similar to a proposal put forward last year by Guaido in failed Norwegian-brokered talks. “Venezuela is a free, sovereign, independent and democratic nation that does not and shall never accept instructions from any foreign government,” Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs Jorge Arreaza said. US Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams downplayed the reaction as predictable, but said that Washington hoped to

Virus Outbreak: Practice social distancing, CECC says

KEEP AWAY: People should wear a mask in places where they cannot follow social distancing rules, the CECC said, adding that it would publish detailed guidelines today

The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday announced 16 new cases of COVID-19, including two domestic cases, as it urged people to practice social distancing in public spaces by keeping a distance of at least 1m when outdoors and 1.5m indoors. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that seven of the new cases tested positive upon their arrival at the airport, four were under home quarantine, one was under home isolation and two were under self-health management, while the two domestic cases sought treatment on their own. The domestic cases are a man in his 70s and a man in his 20s who had not traveled abroad recently. The older man, the nation’s 307th case, had a meal with case No. 122, who returned from Turkey on March 13 and tested positive on March 20, he said. Forty-six people have been identified as having had contact with the 307th case, Chen said. The man on Wednesday last week sought treatment for chest tightness and muscle pain, and again on Thursday and Saturday for a fever and pneumonia, he said. The younger man, the nation’s 322nd case, on Thursday last week sought treatment at a clinic for a fever, coughing, vomiting and fatigue, and was hospitalized for pneumonia when he sought treatment again at a hospital on Sunday. He was mainly at his school campus or dormitory before the onset of symptoms, and a contact investigation has so far found 13 people who had had contact with him, Chen said. The possible source of infection is being investigated, he added. The 14 imported cases are seven men and seven women, who returned to Taiwan between March 16 and Sunday, Chen said, adding that seven of them had recently traveled to the UK, three had been to the US, and the remainder had

By Lee I-chia

Virus Outbreak: Taiwan does not need China for WHO, ministry says

Taiwan will negotiate with the WHO about its participation without Beijing’s help and intervention as more countries, including Australia and Japan, are partnering with Taiwan to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a telephonic roundtable with reporters on Monday also supported Taiwan’s role in the WHO, saying the US Department of State would do its best to assist Taiwan’s “appropriate role” in the world’s highest health policy setting body, Voice of America reported. In a Japan Business Press report published on Sunday, Chinese Ambassador to Japan Kong Xuanyou (孔鉉佑) said that Beijing plans to accept Taiwan as a regular observer in the WHO and is initiating related discussions and adjustments. Asked about Kong’s remarks, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said that Taiwan would negotiate for its participation by itself. As Taiwan is winning wider acclaim for its achievements in containing COVID-19, the government will strive to win support from other countries to join the WHO, as well as other global organizations, she told a news briefing in Taipei. Ou urged Beijing not to meddle with Taiwan’s negotiations with the WHO and urged the global health body to demonstrate its professionalism, instead of giving in to political considerations. “The question of Taiwanese membership in WHO is up to WHO Member States, not WHO staff,” the global body said in a statement on Sunday, after a video of a WHO official dodging a Hong Kong reporter’s question about Taiwan’s participation went viral. In related news, Australia is to exchange medical supplies with Taiwan, after Taiwan and the US earlier this month jointly announced that they would enhance cooperation to contain the disease. Taiwan is to purchase 1 million liters of alcohol from Australia to produce 4.22 million bottles of sanitizers, while Australia is to purchase 3 tonnes of

By Lin Chia-nan

Virus Outbreak: Nurses need full protection against pandemic: group

‘HEROIC’: A lack of personal protective equipment has led to high infection rates among health workers in places like Spain and Italy, a nurses’ association said

More equipment is needed to protect the world’s nurses working on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic to save lives, the head of the International Council of Nurses (ICN) said. “They are heroic. I think there is no other way to describe what they are doing at this moment,” said Howard Catton, a British nurse who is the council’s CEO. Infection rates of 9 percent and 12 to 14 percent have been reported among health workers in Italy and Spain respectively, he said, adding that nurses have died in the two nations, as well as Iran and Indonesia. “We have no doubt that the rate of infections is related in part to the lack of PPE — personal protective equipment,” he said at the ICN offices in Geneva. “There is a global shortage and nurses obviously are at a higher risk given the people that they are caring for,” he said. The federation represents 130 national associations and more than 20 million registered nurses. The WHO has repeatedly called for countries and manufacturers to step up production of masks, gloves, gowns and other equipment for vulnerable health workers amid critical shortages. As of yesterday, at least 803,704 people had been infected worldwide in the outbreak that began in December in China and had claimed at least 39,070 lives, the WHO said. Catton said there had been problems with supply chains in hard-hit Italy and Spain, describing their health systems as “very close to being overwhelmed.” Nurses worldwide take samples from COVID-19 patients, give them medicines and oxygen, and help incubate those in serious condition. “They are working under intense pressure, often long hours, some working back-to-back shifts for days on end, even sleeping over in the hospital, the facility, in which they work,” Catton said. Some nurses have been forced to reuse their gear or make their own masks and

Virus Outbreak: Japan plans record ￥60tn stimulus

Japan’s ruling party yesterday proposed the nation’s biggest-ever stimulus package of ￥60 trillion (US$554 billion) as the COVID-19 pandemic locks the economy in a recession. The sum includes ￥20 trillion in fiscal measures with private initiatives and other elements likely making up the rest, the proposal by the Liberal Democratic Party showed. More than ￥10 trillion, or the equivalent of a 5 percentage point cut in the sales tax rate, would be handed out to the public in a combination of cash, subsidies and coupons, the plan showed. The proposal puts an initial figure on a stimulus package that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe promised on Saturday would be bigger than the economic support offered in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis. The plan did not include details on how the package would be funded, although the scale of fiscal measures suggests a sharp increase in the budget deficit is likely. The main takeaway from the plan is the Abe administration’s signaling of its strong commitment to support the economy, economists said. “There’s a lot of debate about how big the package needs to be, but right now there’s no point in debating size,” Itochu Research Institute chief economist Atsushi Takeda said. “The government is saying: ‘Yes, we’re worried about sorting out the nation’s finances, but right now we’ll do whatever needs to be done.’ And there’s no opposition party in Japan that’s going to disagree with that,” Takeda said. The plan leaves the door open to more stimulus down the line, flagging the need to consider more measures if needed. Past experience shows that one package is unlikely to be enough, with as many as five sets of measures unleashed between August 2008 and December 2009 as Japan battled the fallout of the world financial crisis. “Quite a few in the party hold the

Virus Outbreak: Lockdown tips for Malaysian women trigger mockery

Malaysian authorities have advised women to wear makeup, not to nag their husbands and speak with a cartoon character’s soothing voice during the virus lockdown, sparking a flood of mockery online. Like many countries, Malaysia has ordered all citizens to stay at home to stem the spread of COVID-19, which, as of yesterday, had killed at least 39,070 people globally. In a series of online posters with the hashtag #WomenPreventCOVID19, the Malaysian Ministry of Women and Family Development issued advice on how to avoid domestic conflicts during the partial lockdown, which began on March 18. One of the campaign posters depicted a man sitting on a sofa, and asked women to refrain from being “sarcastic” if they need help with household chores. Avoid nagging your husband, another poster said, attempting to inject humor by using a voice similar to the anime character Doraemon — a blue robot cat popular across Asia. The post was removed yesterday afternoon following a flood of criticism, with many accusing the government of sexism. It “is extremely condescending both to women and men,” said Nisha Sabanayagam, a manager at Malaysian advocacy group All Women’s Action Society. “These posters promote the concept of gender inequality and perpetuate the concept of patriarchy,” she said by telephone. The posters, uploaded on Facebook and Instragram, drew widespread ridicule online, with social media users urging the government to remove them. “How did we go from preventing baby dumping, fighting domestic violence to some sad variant of the Obedient Wives Club?” Twitter user @yinshaoloong wrote. “No tips on how to deal with domestic violence?” asked another user, @honeyean. “This must be a pressing issue,” one Facebook post said. “How will dressing up and putting on makeup at home [prevent] COVID-19? Pray, tell?” “It’s already 2020, please progress. Focus on more important matters for women,” another said. There have been