Indonesia’s Mount Merapi, the nation’s most active volcano, erupted Friday, sending ash some five kilometers into the air.The nation’s volcano observatory reports the eruption lasted about seven minutes and produced pyroclastic flows – a mixture of hot gas, lava and other volcanic material – that traveled up to two kilometers from the volcano’s crater. The observatory also reported ash fell from the eruption up to 20 kilometers away.
 
No warnings were issued but authorities advised residents not to approach within three kilometers of the volcano.It was the Mt. Merapi’s second eruption this month.  The first, on March 3, sent an ash cloud some six kilometers high, coating the city of Yogyakarta, 30 kilometers away and forcing an airport to close.
 
Mount Merapi’s last major eruption in 2010 killed more than 300 people and forced the evacuation of 280,000 residents.
 
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U.S. President Donald Trump posted on Twitter early Friday: “Just finished a very good conversation with President Xi of China. Discussed in great detail the CoronaVirus that is ravaging large parts of our Planet. China has been through much & has developed a strong understanding of the Virus. We are working closely together. Much respect!”The tone of this tweet is different from some of the president’s recent disparaging remarks about China in his press briefings where he often referred to the disease as “the Chinese virus.”The United States now leads the world in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases, and Congress is on the verge of action to relieve the outbreak’s economic toll.As of late Thursday, a count by Johns Hopkins Medical Center shows more than 85,000 cases in the United States, followed by China with more than 81,000 and Italy with about 80,500.New York state is the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, with New York City the hot spot. There were more 21,000 cases in the country’s largest city, with officials saying that number is growing by at least 3,000 a day.On Friday, the U.S. House plans to pass the $2 trillion economic relief package that the Senate passed Wednesday night, and President Donald Trump has indicated he will sign it.A statue of a Sioux Indian scout wears a face mask as it stands on a bluff overlooking Kansas City, Mo., March 26, 2020.The centerpiece of the bill is direct cash payments to individuals who have lost their jobs and businesses forced to close their doors because of the outbreak.Although the U.S. now has the largest number of cases, Trump said Thursday the government will be able to announce in the next two days what he calls good statistics and facts, “which will make your lives easier.”He also plans to go to Norfolk, Virginia, to see the U.S. Navy hospital ship Comfort leave for deployment in New York Harbor.A Reuters report says America’s home health care industry that can screen for the virus and that provides services to millions of the country’s most vulnerable residents is on the verge of collapse in the wake of the coronavirus.Roger Noyes, a spokesman for New York’s Home Care Association told Reuters, “it’s a hair-on-fire crisis.”The Reuters account said some caregivers are working without masks or gloves, while other workers have left their jobs and their patients.Canada is balking at a U.S. proposal to deploy hundreds of Americans troops along the U.S.-Candian border, which is closed to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.“Canada is strongly opposed to this U.S. proposal, and we have made that opposition very, very clear,” Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Thursday. “The public health situation does not require such action.”South African Defense Forces patrol downtown Johannesburg, South Africa, March 27, 2020 amid a 21-day coronavirus lockdown.In their first-ever remote vote, the EU Parliament members approved a $41 billion package of economic aid to members whose economies have also taken a beating because of the outbreak.“From one day to the next, our lifestyles changed. Our streets emptied. Our doors closed. And we moved from a daily routine to the fight of our lives,” the head of the EU executive, Ursula von der Leyen, told the lawmakers. Nearly all of them were under lockdown across the 27-member bloc.Italy and Spain have been particularly hard hit by the outbreak.Elsewhere, a second U.S. soldier stationed in South Korea has tested positive for the coronavirus. Officials at Camp Humphrey said she is isolated as they clean all areas she was known to have visited. They are also trying to determine who else has been exposed.A man removes his mask to stretch and take a deep breath across from cherry blossoms at the Yuyuantan Park in Beijing on Thursday, March 26, 2020.China is temporarily closing its borders to all foreign visitors. Nearly all the new coronavirus cases in the past week in China have come from people arriving from overseas.The outbreak appears to have eased in China, and authorities don’t want a resurgence.South Africa and the Saudi cities of Riyadh, Medina and Mecca — the last are two of Islam’s holiest cities — are the latest to go under lockdown.And the Associated Press reports U.N. ambassadors from eight countries under United States sanctions — China, Cuba, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Russia, Syria, and Venezuela — are asking Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to press the U.S. to lift the sanctions so they can effectively fight the outbreak. The ambassadors accused the U.S. of politicizing the pandemic. 
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North Korea needs to publicly admit there is a coronavirus outbreak inside its borders and officially ask the international community for help fighting COVID-19 before any sanctions are lifted, experts said.“North Korea has not even acknowledged a single case of coronavirus,” said Christopher Hill, a chief U.S. negotiator with North Korea during the George W. Bush administration. “Until [the North Koreans] acknowledge that they have a problem, I cannot see any relaxation of sanctions.”North Korea has not publicly reported any confirmed cases of COVID-19. But the regime has taken measures to contain the virus, including Workers of the Ryongaksan Soap Factory make disinfectants in Pyongyang, North Korea, March 19, 2020.North Korea’s all-out efforts against the virus raised speculation that a possible outbreak has occurred in the country that shares a porous border with China, where the virus originated in Wuhan.The Financial Times reported Thursday that North Korea FILE — In this file photo taken on June 30, 2019, North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump shake hands during a meeting on the south side of the Military Demarcation Line that divides North and South Korea.Michelle Bachelet, U.N. high commissioner for human rights, on Tuesday People wear masks to protect from a new coronavirus as they walk through the Kwangbok Street in Pyongyang, North Korea, Feb. 26, 2020.“Although North Korea says [it’s] not affected … those sanctions should be lifted,” said DeTrani.During an interview on The Hugh Hewitt Show on Thursday, Pompeo said the U.S offered assistance for battling the coronavirus to countries like North Korea, Iran and Venezuela.“In countries like Venezuela — North Korea would be in a similar situation — we’re doing our best to ensure that humanitarian assistance can make its way,” said Pompeo. “In some of these countries, when humanitarian assistance is offered — we have offered assistance for Iran — they’ll often reject it.”In a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency, North Korea’s official state media, on Sunday, Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said U.S. President Donald Trump sent a personal letter offering “anti-epidemic” help.She has not given any concrete reply to the offer but only welcomed the letter as “a good judgment and proper action for the U.S. president.”  She also said it is not good to make a “hasty conclusion” that a close relationship between Trump and Kim could lead to improved relations between the two countries.Although the two leaders have been exchanging letters, nuclear talks have been deadlocked since October, when the working-level talks in Stockholm collapsed because of their differing demands. Since then, Washington has offered to resume the working-level talks, but Pyongyang has not responded to the offer.Christy Lee contributed to this report from the VOA Korean service.
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Rubber glove makers in Malaysia, the world’s top supplier of medical gloves, are warning of a global shortage owing to the government’s partial lockdown of the country, just as coronavirus-driven demand is soaring worldwide.Malaysia meets more than half of global demand for the gloves.The country, however, has the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia, at 1,796.  It issued a “movement control order” March 18 and extended it Wednesday through April 14 in hopes of slowing its infection rate. International and domestic travel is restricted, and nonessential businesses have been ordered closed.The Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association said March 25 that with the lockdown’s orders that factories operate with no more than half their usual workforce, even with extra overtime, “there could be a chronic shortage of medical gloves in the battle to contain and suppress the COVID-19 coronavirus worldwide.”Association president Denis Low said the factory owners were lobbying the International Trade and Industry Ministry to let them return to full capacity and would meet with ministry officials March 26.”We have to operate fully simply because we need to take care of Malaysia, firstly, and we need to take care of the world. We are the largest producer and we feel it is … our duty to save humanity, and we are going to do that,” he told VOA.Low said the association’s roughly 200 factories churned out 187 billion gloves last year and were expecting the coronavirus outbreak to swell demand by 20% or more. While some factories were compensating for the staffing cuts by speeding up the production process, he estimated that typical daily production numbers were still down 20% to 30%.He disputed a claim that some factories were breaking the government’s order to cut staff by 50%.Andy Hall, a labor rights activist with extensive experience in Malaysia, told VOA that he had spoken with workers at some of the country’s glove factories March 25 who said that most of their colleagues were back on the job already.”I wouldn’t know about that,” Low said of the claim.”We have to abide by the government instructions. If they say it’s 50% less [staff], then we will have 50% less staff working. In fact, I believe a lot of our members are practicing that now for the moment,” he said.Soldiers in face masks maintain a checkpoint in Putrajaya, Malaysia, March 22, 2020. Malaysian government issued a movement order to the public starting from March 18 until March 31 to stop the spread of the new coronavirus.Matthew Griffith, an epidemiologist for the World Health Organization’s regional office in Manila, said a rubber glove shortage would add to the challenges health care workers face in sourcing supplies to fight the coronavirus.”It’s just one more difficulty for all of us. We’ve had difficulties getting masks, we’ve had difficulties getting reagents and extraction kits for laboratory testing, and so now we’re going to have more difficulty getting gloves,” he said.”We do need these things. We do need to protect our health care workers. So you can imagine if health care workers run out of gloves and run out of masks and goggles, pretty soon they get sick. And then if they’re sick, they’re out of the hospitals, they’re out of the health care facilities, and we have a pretty dire situation on our hands.”The U.S., at least, is boosting its own rubber glove supplies by lifting an import ban on one of Malaysia’s main producers, WRP Asia Pacific.The U.S. government banned the company’s imports in October over concerns that its factory was using forced labor. It said Tuesday it had lifted the so-called withhold release order the day before “based on recent information … showing the company is no longer producing the rubber gloves under forced labor conditions.”WRP exported $80 million worth of rubber gloves to the U.S. in 2018 and was the first Southeast Asian company to be hit with a withhold release order by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.Reports of human trafficking and labor abuse among Malaysia’s many migrant workers, who make up the bulk of the local rubber glove industry’s workforce, have been rife for years.Hall said conditions have gradually improved but added that debt bondage linked to exorbitant recruitment fees reaching thousands of dollars remains common at WRP and elsewhere. He disputed the U.S. claim that the company is free of forced labor because many of its employees still owe large sums to the recruitment agencies that landed them the jobs.He said he nonetheless supported the U.S. decision to lift the ban because WRP had promised to use future sales to reimburse its workers for past recruitment fees. However, he said the timing of the decision was “surely a political and practical decision” to help shore up U.S. rubber glove supplies amid the coronavirus outbreak and expressed worry that Malaysia’s many buyers in the West and elsewhere may start to ease the labor rights controls in their supply chains to meet growing demands.”In a crisis, migrants are often left behind, and people cite the emergency first, protection and social compliance later,” he said.Neither Malaysia’s International Trade and Industry Ministry nor U.S. Customs and Border Protection replied to requests for comment. 
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In an unprecedented videoconference of G-7 foreign ministers, global leaders are pledging to work together to battle the coronavirus outbreak.  The United States says it is ready to work with China to end the global pandemic and restore the world economy.  But as VOA’s State Department correspondent Nike Ching reports, some analysts are skeptical about the ability of both countries to cooperate to fight the global pandemic.
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A U.S. cybersecurity firm said Wednesday it has detected a surge in new cyberspying by a suspected Chinese group dating back to late January, when coronavirus was starting to spread outside China.
FireEye Inc. said in a report it had spotted a spike in activity from a hacking group it dubs “APT41” that began on Jan. 20 and targeted more than 75 of its customers, from manufacturers and media companies to healthcare organizations and nonprofits.
There were “multiple possible explanations” for the spike in activity, said FireEye Security Architect Christopher Glyer, pointing to long-simmering tensions between Washington and Beijing over trade and more recent clashes over the coronavirus outbreak, which has killed more than 17,000 people since late last year.
The report said it was “one of the broadest campaigns by a Chinese cyber espionage actor we have observed in recent years.”
FireEye declined to identify the affected customers. The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not directly address FireEye’s allegations but said in a statement that China was “a victim of cybercrime and cyberattack.” The U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined comment.
FireEye said in its report that APT41 abused recently disclosed flaws in software developed by Cisco, Citrix and others to try to break into scores of companies’ networks in the United States, Canada, Britain, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and more than a dozen other countries.
Cisco said in an email it had fixed the vulnerability and it was aware of attempts to exploit it, a sentiment echoed by Citrix, which said it had worked with FireEye to help identify “potential compromises.”
Others have also spotted a recent uptick in cyber-espionage activity linked to Beijing.
Matt Webster, a researcher with Secureworks – Dell Technologies’ cybersecurity arm – said in an email that his team had also seen evidence of increased activity from Chinese hacking groups “over the last few weeks.”
In particular, he said his team had recently spotted new digital infrastructure associated with APT41 – which Secureworks dubs “Bronze Atlas.”
Tying hacking campaigns to any specific country or entity is often fraught with uncertainty, but FireEye said it had assessed “with moderate confidence” that APT41 was composed of Chinese government contractors.
FireEye’s head of analysis, John Hultquist, said the surge was surprising because hacking activity attributed to China has generally become more focused.
“This broad action is a departure from that norm,” he said.
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China has lifted a lockdown on Hubei province where the novel coronavirus pandemic began, while the World Health Organization warns the United States could be the next center of outbreak.China overall has seen vast improvements in its case load after implementing tough measures meant to keep people at home and prevent spreading the virus.  Chinese health officials reported Wednesday 47 new cases, all of them among people who arrived from other countries.The United States has seen the coronavirus spread rapidly in recent weeks, bringing its toll as of early Wednesday to about 55,000 confirmed cases with more than 700 deaths.“They have a very large outbreak and an outbreak that is increasing in intensity,” WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said Tuesday, while noting increased testing in the United States could send that number higher.A traveler wearing a face mask carries his luggage at the Beijing Railway Station in Beijing, Wednesday, March 25, 2020.Harris said 85 percent of the newly confirmed cases Tuesday were in Europe and the United States, and 40 percent of those were in the United States.Back to work ?
U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he wants to see normal life resume in as early as a few weeks, while health officials say it is premature to do anything but insist on continuing measures to keep people apart so they do not spread the virus.The U.S. Senate will vote Wednesday on a $2 trillion bill meant to help small businesses with loans, give money to families so they can spend, and to provide critically needed equipment to health care professionals who are caring for coronavirus patients.Wednesday also brought a declaration of a state of emergency in New Zealand where Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the country would go into full lockdown for four weeks “to try to stop the virus in its tracks.”New Zealand announced 50 new cases Wednesday, its highest daily total.Almost every country infected
COVID-19 has reached nearly every country in the world, infecting 423,000 people and killing about 19,000, according to Johns Hopkins University figures early Wednesday.Libya had been spared up until Tuesday when it announced its first coronavirus case.Italy, which has the second highest number of cases and has seen the harshest effects recently with hundreds of deaths per day will be under stricter scrutiny as authorities seek to enforce a lockdown order that has been in place for more than two weeks.Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced higher fines for those caught outside without an approved reason, raising the top punishment from about $227 to $3,300. 
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Returnees from Western countries are bringing a new wave of coronavirus cases to parts of Asia such as Hong Kong and Taiwan just as health authorities there were getting their outbreaks under control.  The trend of what health officials describe as “imported cases” threatens disease control work and economic recoveries in spots where health authorities had tentatively gotten upper hands on local outbreaks. “Once they’re overseas, situations easily develop,” Taiwan health and welfare Minister Chen Shih-chung told a news conference Monday. “However, (returnees) have the right to live here, so if they have any symptoms, we do our best to intercept them at the airports.” Flights into East Asia People deplaning from heavily infected places such as Western Europe and the United States brought new cases to a single-day record of 27 on Friday, Chen said last week. Most of the 16 new cases reported Sunday and all but one of the 26 reported Monday are from offshore, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control said. Taiwan’s cumulative caseload has grown nearly fivefold since early March to 195, which include 28 full recoveries and two deaths.  A one-day record of 48 cases in Hong Kong on Friday prompted warnings there about an influx of arrivals from overseas. Hong Kong’s cumulative caseload stood at 274 on Saturday.   In Singapore, which had contained one of the world’s earliest outbreaks outside the epicenter in China, returnees had pushed the total caseload from 106 at the start of March to 455 on Sunday. Twenty-four of 32 new cases reported Thursday and 18 of 23 new cases reported Sunday were imported, Singapore’s Ministry of Health said as cited in the domestic media. China said all 39 cases logged there on Sunday had come from abroad. People flying in with coronavirus infections are usually returning from cancelled classes, work commitments or tours in Western countries, Chen said. They will keep coming in for another two weeks, he said, until everyone gets back from their cancelled classes. The daily number of people entering Taiwan is declining and totaled about 4,600 Sunday.   Bans on foreign visitors   In East Asia, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam have all banned foreign tourists. Taiwan took the extra step Sunday of barring transit passengers. Quarantine rules have toughened on arrivals with any kind of passport. People arriving in Hong Kong from anywhere in the world are subject to compulsory quarantine. Taiwan asks deplaning passengers to report travel histories and any obvious symptoms. Homebound passengers now make up most of the flying population worldwide as few people are starting trips, said Brendan Sobie, founder of the Singapore-based consultancy Sobie Aviation.   “What will happen in Singapore and Taiwan and Hong Kong will depend on the cases that came from abroad,” said Rajiv Biswas, Asia-Pacific chief economist at IHS Markit. “If it can be kept under control for the next couple of weeks, then hopefully things should get better.”   Economic rebounds at stake In the coronavirus outbreak epicenter China, citizens have slowly returned this month to work and started going out again to eat and shop after mass closures in February. And in Taiwan, children are are still in school, workplaces remain open and restaurants fill on weekends.But bans on foreign inbound travel will depress potential consumer demand, especially in the already moribund Asian tourism sector, analysts warn. Vietnam’s normally vibrant tourism sector has flatlined already, to name just one example. The country reported a handful of imported coronavirus cases this month after a lull in increases, taking its cumulative load to 94.“If people can’t travel from one country to another, then demand will not pick up no matter how much money you throw at the problem, so it’s really different to just a normal downturn,” said Adam McCarty, chief economist with Mekong Economics in Hanoi. 
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Athletes, national associations and sporting federations from around the world reacted with a mixture of sadness, relief and goodwill to the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on Tuesday because of the coronavirus pandemic.After weeks of speculation and mounting criticism at the delay in announcing a postponement, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and IOC president Thomas Bach agreed the event would be rescheduled for the summer of 2021 at the latest.
 
It is the first break in the four-year cycle for the summer Olympics since the 1940 and 1944 Games were cancelled because of World War Two. Here are some reactions to the decision:
  IOC President Thomas Bach:
 
“This Olympic flame will be the light at the end of the tunnel.”
 
 International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons:
 
“Postponing the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games as a result of the global COVID-19 outbreak is absolutely the right thing to do. The health and well-being of human life must always be our number one priority and staging a sport event of any kind during this pandemic is simply not possible.
 
“Sport is not the most important thing right now, preserving human life is.”
  U.S. Olympic and Paralympic CEO Sarah Hirshland in a message to athletes:
 
“Despite the feeling of eventuality that so many of us have felt in the lead up to this moment — my heart breaks for you, your fellow athletes around the world, our friends at Tokyo 2020, the people of Japan, and all who are impacted by this global pandemic and the decision to postpone the Tokyo Games 2020.
 
“This summer was supposed to be a culmination of your hard work and life’s dream, but taking a step back from competition to care for our communities and each other is the right thing to do. Your moment will wait until we can gather again safely.”
   Andy Andson, CEO British Olympic Association (BOA):
 
“It is with profound sadness that we accept the postponement, but in all consciousness it is the only decision we can support, in light of the devastating impact (of) COVID-19.
 
“It is time for them to stop thinking about Tokyo 2020 for now and be home and safe with their families.”
 World Athletics:
 
“It is what athletes want and we believe this decision will give all athletes, technical officials and volunteers some respite and certainty in these unprecedented and uncertain times.
 
“In light of this announcement, we will also expedite our current review of the Olympic qualification system, in cooperation with the IOC, and release any changes to the process as soon as possible so athletes know where they stand.”
  Athletes body the World Players’ Association:
 
“World Players trusts that the postponement heralds a change in the culture of IOC decision-making from one of hierarchy to one of inclusion.
 
“Postponement — clearly the correct decision — followed strong calls by athletes and the Sport & Rights Alliance as well as historic decisions by key National Olympic Committees and sports bodies in athletics, swimming and gymnastics not to send teams.”
 World swimming body FINA, whose 2021 aquatics world championships are scheduled for July 16-Aug 1:
 
“We will now work closely with the host organising committee of the 2021 FINA World Championships in Fukuoka, with the Japan Swimming Federation and with the Japanese public authorities, in order to determine flexibility around the dates of the competition, if necessary and in agreement with the IOC.”
  Alejandro Blanco, Spanish Olympic Committee president:
 
“The IOC has given us some good news by announcing that the Olympic Games will be postponed. It will allow all athletes to be able to compete in equal conditions and will safeguard their health, just as we have been demanding since this crisis began.”
  Alfons Hormann, President of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB):
 
“It confirms to the world population that everything in sports is also being done to bring the global pandemic under control as best as possible and as soon as possible.”
  Statement from World Rugby:
 
“We look forward to working closely together in a spirit of partnership with the IOC, the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and all other stakeholders towards the rescheduling of the Games and our belief from the outstanding Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan, is that the hosts will come out of this adversity stronger and more committed than ever before to deliver an exceptional Games.”
 International Tennis Federation president David Haggerty:
 
“We are faced with an unprecedented situation that calls for responsible leadership and making informed decisions. Whilst this is a bitter disappointment for all those who have been preparing and training hard, we all understand that the protection of human life, health and safety, comes first.”
  International Canoe Federation president Jose Perurena:
 
“We congratulate the IOC, the Japanese Government and Tokyo 2020 organisers for making this brave but essential decision.”
 World Triathlon President and IOC member, Marisol Casado:
 
“We understand that there are lots of questions unanswered at the moment, and we are working in all scenarios to give answers to all of them, and communicate all the different scenarios and solutions to all parties as soon as we can.”
 
 British Swimming CEO Jack Buckner:
 
“Were (our athletes) attempting to train for the biggest sporting event of the quadrennial they would be putting the health of themselves and those around them at risk, which I’m sure everyone would agree would be both dangerous and extremely selfish.”
  Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin to TASS news agency:
 
“We respect this joint decision by the IOC and the leadership of Japan. In these difficult times, the health of the athletes, organizers, representatives of all countries and IOC members is at the forefront. We will set up our cooperation on the training process with national federations.”
 
 America-born Swedish pole vault world record holder Armand “Mondo” Duplantis:
 
“It’s a bummer, it’s a bummer that I won’t be able to compete in the Olympics this year, but you have to understand the situation, understand that some things are a little bigger than sport, and I guess we’ll have it next year.”
  Italy’s Olympic track cycling champion Elia Viviani:
 
“Postponing the Olympics to 2021 is the best decision for me. Today we are all struggling with a much bigger problem and although August still seems far away, the security for such a big event was very difficult. See you in 2021!”
 
 Canada’s Olympic wrestling champion Erica Wiebe:
 
“Utter relief. Excitement. Uncertainty. We’re in unprecedented times. We’ll be more ready than ever in 2021 and wearing the maple leaf with more pride than I thought possible.”
 
 Britain’s world champion heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson:
 
“Waited eight years for this, what’s another one in the grand scheme of things? As an athlete, it’s heartbreaking news about the Olympics being postponed until 2021, but it’s for all the right reasons and the safety of everyone! Stay indoors!”
 Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge:
 
“All in all a very wise decision to postpone the Olympics until 2021. I look forward to come back to Japan to defend my Olympic title next year and look forward to witness a wonderful event. I wish everybody good health in these challenging times.”
 Britain’s 100m Olympic breaststroke champion Adam Peaty:
 
“As an athlete, I am obviously extremely disappointed but this is more important and bigger than me or any of the athletes that would have been taking part. This is a matter of life or death and we all need to do the right thing.” (Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Christian Radnedge and Hugh Lawson)
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Thailand’s government announced plans Tuesday to declare a state of emergency, taking stricter measures to control the coronavirus outbreak that has infected hundreds of people in the Southeast Asian country.Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha announced the decision in a brief televised address to the nation, saying the one-month state of emergency will go into effect Thursday.The move will give the government enforcement powers not normally available to it, including implementing curfews, censoring the media, dispersing gatherings and allowing deployment of military forces for enforcement.Muaythai boxing fighters and officials gather at a makeshift screening facility as a man in a Hazmat suite talks with a nurse outside Rajadamnern boxing stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, March 19, 2020.Prayuth urged the public to remain calm and warned people against the improper use of social media and hoarding, saying there would now be stricter enforcement against violators.Thailand also Tuesday confirmed 106 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total to 827. Four of the new cases were medical staff. Three deaths were reported, bringing the country’s total to four.Prayuth’s government had been criticized for failing to take strong action to fight the coronavirus even as the daily increases in cases jumped from single digits in February into the hundreds in the past week. 
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Students in Singapore returned to school on Monday, bucking a global trend of coronavirus-driven closures and signaling that the quick crisis response may be letting the nation and the economy return to normal earlier than others.Grade schools began their new term but with extra precautions, including 14 days of confinement for those who return from overseas and health checks twice a day for kindergartners, said the Ministry of Education.The ministry also asked companies to help make arrangements for their staff if they have to remain in confinement with their school-age children. The request highlights the economic impact COVID-19 has had on parents in many nations who must stay home with children while schools are closed.While other nations are still discussing how serious the virus may be, Singapore has been responding to it since January, when its first case was reported. The island state’s response included early and mass testing, restricted movement, and financial support as economic activity slowed down.“We will continue to monitor the situation closely and work with schools, preschools, parents and the community to ensure that our schools and preschools remain a safe and secure environment,” the education ministry said. The ministry added that for parents who must stay home, “Employers are encouraged to provide flexible work arrangements for their employees to accommodate such exceptional circumstances.”Singapore has been able to mostly contain the virus so far, but the economic impact has already appeared. Travel, consumption, and trade have decreased. Singapore is also highly exposed to the oil market as a trading hub, so a price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia is adding to the commercial problems set off by the pandemic.A view of an empty Changi Airport in Singapore, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), March 23, 2020.Moody’s Investors Service forecast the nation would see zero growth in gross domestic product in the first half of the year.“Singapore [is] particularly susceptible to swings in the global economy through its external trade orientation and large exposure to China,” Eugene Tarzimanov, a vice president and senior credit officer at Moody’s, said.Economic activity is expected to pick up again now that children and teachers can go back to the classroom. The Ministry of Education said children who have to stay in temporary confinement will be provided with online teaching.It also said that officials spent the month of March sanitizing the schools, from jet washing the cafeterias to shampooing the carpets. While students are on campus, there will be assigned seats. They will have no extracurricular activities. Wipe-down routines for the classrooms and cafeterias are also being implemented, according to the ministry.These are part of measures more broadly taken across the island nation to contain the novel coronavirus outbreak; however, some of the factors that contributed to containment in Singapore may not necessarily be applicable to other nations.  Observers say those factors range from the geography and population of fewer than 6 million people, to the strong central government and higher level of surveillance. For instance, the state has created a smartphone app that notes users’ location and proximity to other users, a tool that could help with contact tracing for people who become infected. The news set off a debate about the need to balance public health and safety with individuals’ right to privacy. 
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Pressure is mounting for postponing the Summer Olympics in Tokyo due to the coronavirus pandemic, while cases have soared in Italy and more countries asked residents to stay home.    Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe said Monday if it is difficult to hold the Olympics “in a complete way” then pushing the event back would be “unavoidable” in order to protect the safety of athletes.    Australian Olympic officials went further Monday, saying “it was clear” there could not be an Olympics as scheduled in July.  They advised their athletes to instead prepare as if they would compete in 2021.    Canada’s Olympic Committee said even if the Tokyo Games happened this summer, Canadian athletes would not participate, and it called for a one-year delay.    The International Olympic Committee said Sunday it will boost its efforts to plan different scenarios for the Tokyo Games and is confident it will have finalized those discussions within the next four weeks.    IOC President Thomas Bach said it would “still be premature” to postpone the event at this time.    Members of local hygiene services wear protective suits and face masks as they prepare to disinfect the street and market to stop the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Dakar, Senegal, March 22, 2020.A worldwide crisis
The novel coronavirus has reached nearly every country on the planet, with about 336,000 reported cases and 14,600 deaths.    China still ranks above Italy with the most overall cases, and is one of the lone bright spots in the world after reporting no locally transmitted cases again Monday.    But Chinese officials said there were 39 cases involving people who recently arrived from overseas, a concern that prompted new measures Monday to divert all flights into Beijing 12 airports in other cities where passengers will undergo screening and then self-quarantine.  Women, wearing masks to prevent contracting the coronavirus, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), walk in a shopping district in Seoul, South Korea, March 23, 2020.South Korea is also showing vast improvement after being an early center of mass outbreak.  It reported 64 new cases Monday, a 12th consecutive day with fewer than 100 additional cases after at one point growing by more than 900 in a single day.   The United Arab Emirates is taking its own steps to try to prevent imported cases by suspending all passenger flights for two weeks, including shutting the world’s busiest airport in Dubai.  Organizers also canceled the lucrative Dubai World Cup horse race.    New Zealand is set to become the latest country to be under lockdown, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Monday.  She said starting Wednesday people will only be allowed outside for essential business.  New Zealand has reported 102 overall cases.    Italy has been under a similar order for two weeks, but has seen its cases and deaths continue to mount, including 651 new deaths reported Sunday.    FILE – Medical personnel at work in the intensive care unit of the hospital of Brescia, Italy, March 19, 2020.Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte signed a decree banning people from traveling within the country starting Monday, along with suspending all but excepted industrial and commercial production activities.    A new curfew goes into effect Monday in Saudi Arabia lasting from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. for three weeks.  The country has more than 500 confirmed cases and has steadily implemented restrictions on travelers entering the country and on people performing pilgrimages to key sites for Muslims.    The World Health Organization says COVID-19 has reached 186 countries or territories.  One of the newest is Syria, which reported its first case on Sunday, a worrying development in a country that has been ravaged by a civil war and corresponding humanitarian disaster since 2011.    Economic toll
The virus outbreak has taken a sharp economic toll, battering stock markets, costing jobs and putting pressure on businesses as governments order people to stay home and for restaurants, bars and theaters to close to prevent close contact among crowds.    U.S. lawmakers are trying to agree on a $1.8 trillion rescue package, but disagreements on priorities in the bill have kept Republicans and Democrats from finalizing a deal. Three members of Congress have tested positive for the coronavirus, the latest being Senator Rand Paul. The U.S. Secret Service, the agency responsible for protecting the president and other officials, also issued a statement early Monday saying one of its employees tested positive and is in quarantine. 
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