Bars and restaurants in the US’ biggest city were yesterday to close early as COVID-19 surges across the US and Europe, where Greece is being forced into a nighttime curfew.
It comes as the US, already the world’s hardest-hit country, experiences its third and worst-by-far spike in infections, and large parts of Europe shut down again to tackle the illness.
New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that all establishments licensed to sell alcohol, including bars and restaurants, should close at 10pm.
Photo: AFP
Also launching new restrictions is Greece, which was yesterday to begin a nighttime curfew after its leader said the country had been overwhelmed by a “tsunami” of infections.
New York was the early epicenter of US’ COVID-19 outbreak, but hotspots have since popped up across the country, leaving practically no region in the US unaffected.
On Thursday, the US’ third-biggest city, Chicago, issued a new stay-at-home advisory, with the mayor calling on its 2.7 million people to scrap Thanksgiving plans and avoid travel.
“Every single one of us needs to step up and ‘Protect Chicago’ right now, or 2020 could go from bad to worse,” a note on the city’s Web site said.
More than 1,000 people are dying every day from COVID-19 in the US, according to data from the COVID Tracking Project.
In embattled North Dakota, the governor has authorized COVID-19 positive medics who do not have symptoms to keep working in virus wards.
The world received a dose of much-needed hope this week when US drug giant Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech said that their vaccine was 90 percent effective.
Top US government scientist Anthony Fauci welcomed the news on Thursday, saying that the “cavalry” was on its way, but warned people not to let mask wearing, distancing and other measures slip.
Speaking to a London think tank by video link, the leading expert on infectious diseases said that another vaccine is “literally on the threshold of being announced,” a comment widely interpreted to mean one developed by US biotech firm Moderna.
The vaccines would not arrive in time to prevent tens of thousands more deaths.
In Greece the number of daily cases has doubled in the past two weeks to almost 3,000 and the government is facing accusations of “criminal negligence” by the opposition for its response to the crisis.
“The next few weeks will be extremely critical,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday during a heated parliamentary debate.
Greeks can no longer travel without authorization sent by text message, and the government has moved up a notch with the imposition from yesterday of a night from 9pm to 5am.
Greece has seen 909 deaths and 63,000 infections among its population of 10.9 million, the vast majority in the past four months.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS