South Koreans stood in socially distanced lines, disinfected their hands, and wore face masks and gloves inside polling stations, as they participated in one of the world’s first major elections of the coronavirus era.    Having already rapidly slowed the spread of the coronavirus, South Korea is implementing wide-ranging measures to ensure Wednesday’s parliamentary vote does not lead to a resurgence of the disease.People wearing face masks to help protect against the spread of the new coronavirus arrive to cast their vote for the parliamentary election at a polling station in Seoul, South Korea, April 15, 2020.Voters stood a meter apart on specially marked lines at polling stations, which were disinfected ahead of the election. Poll workers provided a mandatory squirt of hand sanitizer and disposable plastic gloves, while checking voter temperatures with contact-free thermometers.Those with symptoms casted ballots at separate booths. Voters in self-isolation were allowed to cast their ballots after regular voting ended later in the day.“Seoul has been safe, and I feel safe here, too,” said 56-year-old Jang Je-yeon, who cast a vote in central Seoul late Wednesday.  “At first, I was a bit worried about being infected, but the polling stations have been thoroughly disinfected, and we received gloves and were kept apart from each other,” said, 22-year-old Jeong Geun-young, a first-time voter.  South Korean National Election Commission officials wearing masks and face shields, sort out ballots for counting at the parliamentary election at a ballot counting office in Seoul, April 15, 2020.Final voter turnout was 63 percent, the highest for a South Korean parliamentary election in nearly two decades.  South Korea’s experience could be instructive for other countries planning elections during a time of social distancing. Experts have warned that bringing millions of voters to the same locations could allow the disease to spread rapidlyPostponement: not an option   
 
Some other countries where the virus has not been contained already have delayed elections.     But postponing the vote was out of the question for South Korea, said Duyeon Kim, a senior adviser for northeast Asia at the International Crisis Group.“South Koreans have trauma from two authoritarian regimes between 1963-1988, so elections are particularly essential to their democracy,” she said. “Not even the Korean War stopped them from voting in the 1952 presidential race.”     Referendum on Moon  Wednesday’s vote effectively serves as a midterm referendum on South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Moon’s political fortunes have rebounded after he oversaw one of the world’s most effective coronavirus responses.    FILE – Medical workers wearing protective gears comfort each other outside a hospital in Daegu, South Korea, Feb. 28, 2020.South Korea was initially one of the countries hardest hit by the virus. But it quickly became a global model for coronavirus containment, after the government implemented a mass campaign of testing, data-driven investigations of infection paths, and effective treatment and isolation of those exposed to the virus.    The number of new daily infections in South Korea has recently slowed to about 30, and officials in Seoul are now considering how to begin reopening the economy.   
Amid the pandemic, Moon’s approval rating has surged above 50% — putting him in an unusually comfortable position for a South Korean president entering the second half of his single, five-year term in office.    The coronavirus has largely overshadowed other issues plaguing Moon, including a sluggish economy, a corruption controversy involving his now-resigned justice minister, and an inability to advance talks with North Korea.    North Korea: not a big factor  In a reminder of how Moon’s outreach to Pyongyang has failed, North Korea launched a series of short-range missiles Tuesday, just a day ahead of the South Korean vote.  North Korea often conducts military provocations ahead of South Korean elections — ostensibly to influence the vote or pressure the government in Seoul.   
“This cycle, there has been less debate in Seoul about relations with Pyongyang because COVID-19 has taken up so much political bandwidth,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.    “The Kim regime, however, will not be ignored and may even be a bit annoyed about South Koreans practicing their democracy on [North Korean founder] Kim Il Sung’s birthday,” which also is on Wednesday, Easley added.   FILE – People watch a TV screen airing reports about North Korea’s firing missiles with file images of missiles at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, April 14, 2020.North Korea has conducted five rounds of short-range missile tests this year, after conducting 13 rounds last year. The launches have received relatively little media coverage in South Korea, meaning they may not affect the vote.Turnout concerns  There had been concerns the pandemic may persuade many of South Korea’s 44 million eligible voters to stay home.FILE – A South Korean man casts a ballot during early voting ahead of next week’s parliamentary elections, at a polling station in Seoul.Some of those concerns were allayed after the country saw a record number of early voters cast ballots last week — a factor that could prevent overcrowding on election day. And turnout did prove to be quite strong.But some problems couldn’t be fixed. Only about half of eligible South Korean voters living in foreign countries were able to vote, because of coronavirus-related lockdowns overseas.    Additionally, COVID-19 patients being treated at hospitals or other facilities were able to vote by mail only if they applied during a five-day period in late March.     Preserving democracy  Despite those challenges, South Korea moved ahead with the election  — setting an example for other countries that will try to preserve democracy, as well as voter health in future elections.”If we had postponed the election, we would have to fight COVID-19 without a legitimate government, which is far more dangerous than infection from voting booths,” said Lee Sang-sin, a research fellow who focuses on political science and public opinion at the Korean Institute for National Unification. “The best cure for the COVID-19 is, so far as we know, competent and responsive leadership.””So, it is not that South Korea is holding an election in spite of the virus,” he says. “We need an election to fight the disease now more than ever. Democracy is not a luxury. It is essential.”
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Shutdowns in the Philippines through April 30 to contain the coronavirus spread are expected to give President Rodrigo Duterte a new burst of public support despite economic hardships on a largely impoverished population. Duterte ordered in March that the National Capital Region be sealed off through April 14 and two weeks ago extended the order through April 30. The initial mandate came after officials discovered local transmission of the deadly coronavirus-induced respiratory disease COVID-19 that has infected 5,223 people in the Philippines and killed 335. Metro Manila, population 13 million, plus surrounding Luzon Island are subject to shutdowns and curfews through month’s end.                                                 Economic stimulus and public health aid expected to total $23 billion, up to 6% of GDP, in the Philippines is helping to ease discontent, analysts believe. They say the aid is reaching the poor as well as others after a rough, confusing start.  In March, one group of slum dwellers in Metro Manila protested along a highway after not receiving food supplies as expected. Vice President Leni Robredo’s office, for example, had distributed food packages to health workers, hospitals and community centers, her office said in a statement March 18. “Of course, there are challenges, but it’s slowing working into the system, so that’s why they were confident in extending the lockdown to April 30,” said Jonathan Ravelas, chief market strategist with Banco de Oro UniBank. In a boost for Duterte, the Philippine Senate voted unanimously last month on a bill declaring a national state of emergency. The Senate gave Duterte special powers over the budget and government programs as related to coronavirus control, domestic media outlets reported.Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte undergoes testing for COVID-19 at the Malacanang Palace, Manila, Philippine officials say Duterte is being tested for the new virus after meeting with Cabinet officials who were exposed to infected people.Duterte – popular throughout his presidency that began in 2016 – has generated more  popularity through televised “pep talks” about his government’s efforts, said Eduardo Araral, associate professor at the National University of Singapore’s public policy school.    “I think the food and the money has started to trickle in,” Araral said. “Duterte’s approval rating is still resilient. He’s on top of things, so that probably has kept the anger from boiling.”   Duterte said Monday he would consider a “gradual economic revival” aimed at helping people affected by shutdowns, according to a statement on the presidential office website. Shelter-in-place orders and mass business shutdowns have gripped much of the world since February as governments try to control virus caseloads by reducing social interaction.   Groups outside the Philippines have opposed some of the restrictions.  In India, migrant workers unable to return home protested Tuesday against an extension of the country’s lockdown. People asked to shelter at home in parts of the United States have defied the order. In Germany, the Constitutional Court banned a planned rally to advocate the right to assembly even during lockdown.   Land, air and sea travel in the Philippine capital region is restricted through April 30 and anyone entering the metro area for work from its farther-flung suburbs is supposed to show proof of employment. Shopping malls, a major source of retail income and service jobs, are closed.   The Southeast Asian country’s economy depends partly on consumer spending, which is growing because of job creation on the back of new investments in factories, infrastructure and call centers. Officials hope GDP growth will ease poverty that afflicts one in five Filipinos. GDP could stall at no growth this year, Ravelas said. Philippine officials have talked about replacing the lockdown next month with quarantines of infected communities or a phased-in lifting, people on the ground say. Public support could fade if harder restrictions last too long, analysts say.   In government, “they’re very careful about how they’re going to proceed with things, because there might be some sensitivity to public sentiments and public reaction about how the administration is actually addressing the virus,” said Herman Kraft, political science professor at University of the Philippines Diliman. 
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North Korea is among a handful of countries in the world claiming to be free of COVID-19. The country is also among the most ill-prepared for a coronavirus outbreak.”I do think the North Korean government is very well aware of how weak their health care system is,” said Katharina Zellweger, director of KorAid, a Hong-Kong-based non-governmental organization. “They’re afraid they can’t cope with an outbreak, and this is why all these measures were put into place so early.”Zellweger, who has been providing humanitarian aid to North Korea since 1995, spoke during a conference call Monday hosted by the Wilson Center.She explained that North Korea sealed off its border with China at the end of January, quarantined foreigners and enforced domestic travel restrictions.Crumbling medical systemNorth Korea ranked 193th out of 195 countries surveyed, followed by Somalia and Equatorial Guinea, in the Global Health Index, in a study released last October by Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.FILE – Volunteers carry out disinfection work during an anti-virus campaign in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this image released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), March 4, 2020.The index gauged each country’s level of preparedness for a major infectious disease outbreak. North Korea scored “nil” in the category of infection control practices and the availability of equipment.”The system of testing and diagnosing an infectious disease is nonexistent in North Korea. Only a few hospitals can conduct blood tests,” a Western expert familiar with the medical system in Pyongyang told VOA. The expert requested anonymity.”North Korea’s medical system is fragile and weak, and they’re only able to treat only a handful of critically ill patients,” Kee Park, a lecturer at Harvard Medical School, said at a forum hosted Tuesday by the U.S. Institute of Peace.Park, who has been working alongside North Korean doctors for the past 13 years in medical aid programs, cited epidemic modeling by Imperial College London to explain how COVID-19 cases in North Korea will quickly exceed hospital capacity.Upholding North Korea’s claims of virus-free status, Park said he thinks “the North Koreans succeeded in flattening the curve and maybe completely squashed it,” but he still advises Pyongyang to “continue to apply the comprehensive preventive measures until treatment and vaccine becomes available.”Economic blowIn a recent report, the World Food Program put North Korea among 49 poor countries at risk of facing devastating economic consequences from the coronavirus. Aid workers say a negative impact is already being felt on the ground.FILE – People review information explaining the COVID-19 coronavirus at the Phyongchon District People’s Hospital in Pyongyang, North Korea, April, 1, 2020.”Spring and early summer have always been a difficult period with (food) stocks depleting — the so-called barley season,” Zellweger said. “And now with trading at nearly a halt, long quarantine for cargo, international transport problems, a possible lack of fertilizer supplies, seeds, plastic sheeting and other agricultural inputs, add additional pressure.”Scott Snyder, director of the U.S.-Korea Policy Program at the Council on Foreign Relations, cautions that North Korea’s COVID quarantine measures may give more control to the regime.”Quarantine increases the scarcity of goods and in turn increases internal dependency on the leadership. … Scarcity, I think, also indirectly serves the state’s desire to reassert centralized economic control over distribution and availability of goods,” Snyder said.Other experts point to potential regime instability after the outbreak.”My fear is that a coronavirus outbreak in North Korea could have devastating effects on the Korean people, on the military and on (the) regime elite, which can lead to internal instability for the regime,” said David Maxwell, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, at the forum hosted by the U.S. Institute of Peace.William Kim contributed to this report.
 
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 The highest-ranking military officer in the United States is downplaying the latest missile launch by North Korea, even though it could be a few more days before military analysts are done with their assessments. “I don’t think it is particularly provocative or threatening to us,” Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters during a briefing at the Pentagon Tuesday. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley testifies to Senate Armed Services Committee, March 4, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington.“These were not any particularly big missiles,” he said, adding that the timing of the launch might have more to do with events playing out in Pyongyang.  “It may be tied to some celebrations that are happening inside North Korea as opposed to any deliberate provocation against us,” Milley said. The missile launches earlier Tuesday came on the eve of a holiday marking the birthday of Kim Il Sung, North Korea’s founder and the grandfather of current leader Kim Jong Un. Early reports from the South Korean military suggested the test involved two types of missiles: short-range cruise missiles launched from North Korea’s east coast and air-to-ground missiles fired from a fighter jet. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said its assessments of the launch were also ongoing, and that it was in contact with U.S. officials. Despite failing to get much of a reaction from top U.S. military officials, there may be reason to take notice of North Korea’s actions, some officials and analysts warn. Tuesday’s test is the fifth in a string of short-range missile launches carried out by Pyongyang this year. And it came just a day before South Koreans are to go to the polls to vote on the 300-member National Assembly. Some analysts have suggested the missile launch could be part of a last-ditch effort to influence the election, though others believe North Korea may simply be wanting attention. “This (election) cycle, there has been less debate in Seoul about relations with Pyongyang because COVID-19 has taken up so much political bandwidth,” according to Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul. U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as they meet at the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, in Panmunjom, South Korea, June 30, 2019.The U.S., under President Donald Trump, has been trying to engage with Pyongyang to get the North to give up its nuclear weapons program, something U.S. intelligence officials have repeatedly said is unlikely. Those talks stalled last year, but Trump and Kim have continued to correspond. North Korea’s state-run news agency said Trump sent a letter to Kim last month, offering to help the country battle the coronavirus pandemic. But in the face of the latest missile test, U.S. officials found themselves using familiar language. “We are aware of media reports and are currently assessing the situation,” a senior administration official said when asked about the North Korean test launch.  “We continue to call on North Korea to avoid provocations, abide by obligations under U.N. Security Council Resolutions and return to sustained and substantive negotiations to do its part to achieve complete denuclearization,” the official added. Bill Gallo contributed to this report.
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Some customers come for the beef burger known as the Hangover topped with hash browns, mushrooms and maple-flavored syrup. Others crave the Juicy Lucy with its cheddar cheese-stuffed patty wrapped with beef bacon.“This place makes my mouth water,” said Jimmy Chan, after leaving the restaurant with burgers for himself, his wife and two children.Chin Ren Yi, 39, co-founded myBurgerLab in 2012. He spent his summers as a university student in the United States, where the famed In-N-Out Burger inspired him to open his own burger business, which has grown into a six-branch chain.Following Malaysia’s movement restriction’s enacted in response to the coronavirus, myBurgerLab co-founder Chin Ren Yi says his six-branch restaurant chain is operating at 20% to 30% below the break-even point. (Dave Grunebaum/VOA)“We do have our traditional Western burgers, including a simple cheeseburger,” Chin said. “However, we also play around with creative flavors.”
Behind all the sizzle is concern that this business could soon fizzle. Due to the coronavirus, myBurgerLab, like so many businesses around Malaysia and the world, is dealing with an economic climate that threatens its survival.Malaysia’s nationwide movement restrictions require restaurants to close by 8 p.m. each night. Chin says the early closing means fewer sales. The restaurant’s tables and chairs are empty because eateries cannot let customers dine in. Patrons can order takeout — more than 90% of myBurgerLab’s orders are for delivery, compared to 35% before movement restrictions were initiated. The delivery companies take a 20%- to 30% commission.“We are right now 20%- to 30% below the break-even mark,” Chin said. “It basically spells bad news for us.”myBurgerLab’s combination of traditional Western-style burgers as well as creative flavors have made it a hit with greater Kuala Lumpur’s middle class crowd. (Dave Grunebaum/VOA)The company has already reduced costs. Senior managers took pay cuts ranging from 10- to 25%. Chin said since the movement restrictions started last month, about half of his 200 part-time hourly employees — mostly university students — have chosen not to work. To keep the restaurants open, full-timers from the back office are dividing their time between working from home and helping out in the branches.“We have our finance people, our operation guys, even HR people working on the ground,” Chin said. “Either doing cashiering, doing griddle — which is flipping burgers or assembling burgers.”Under ordinary circumstances, finance manager Cassandra Poon would calculate numbers and push papers on her desk. On a recent afternoon, however, she was behind the counter, taking customer orders.“I repeat your order,” Poon said. “One Juicy Lucy, awesome fries and one soda.”Finance manager Cassandra Poon now spends a couple days of a week taking orders at the register and assembling burgers at the counter instead of just sitting behind her desk. (Dave Grunebaum/VOA)She was also in the kitchen placing lettuce on buns while waiting for the made-to-order burgers to finish cooking.“I would say compared to working in the office and working in the store — (the) office would mentally stress you out,” Poon said. “But in the store, it’s physically stressing you out.”A Malaysian government stimulus program will pay part of the salaries for some of the restaurant’s full-time staff. The company took out a low-interest loan as well. Despite this, unless there is a significant boost to the bottom line, Chin said his restaurants might go bankrupt.“So, if everything stays status quo, right now we can probably survive until late May or early June,” he said.Chin said the business would be losing less money now if he closed all his shops and just paid the rent.  Chin said he decided to remain open because “it’s not responsible. We still have people to take care of. We still need to give it a fight. Eight years is a lot of hard work. While we still have ammunition, we should continue to fight,” he said. 
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