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Minggu, 26 April 2020

Australians rush to download COVID-19 contact tracing app - CNA

SYDNEY: More than a million Australians rushed to download an app designed to help medical workers and state governments trace close contacts of COVID-19 patients, as Prime Minister Scott Morrison's approval rating soared on his pandemic response.

Australia has been one of the most successful countries in fighting the coronavirus pandemic, recording just 83 deaths and 6,700 cases, due to border closures, movement restrictions and a stay-at-home policy.

READ: Australia launches COVID-19 tracking app as some states start easing rules

READ: Singapore launches TraceTogether mobile app to boost COVID-19 contact tracing efforts

It has lowered its infection rate to currently around 1 per cent from 25 per cent in March.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said 1.13 million Australians downloaded the tracing app CovidSafe as of 6am on Monday (Apr 27), nearly 4.5 per cent of the country's population.

The first one million came within five hours of launching the app, he added.

When asked how many people need to download the app for it to be successful, Hunt said "there is no magic number".

"As many as possible is our real goal," he added.

"It is about assisting our disease experts to find people who might have been exposed and we are well ahead of our best hopes and expectations already."

READ: Australia will make it a crime to use coronavirus tracing data for non-health purposes

The surge in downloads come as a Newspoll conducted for The Australian newspaper showed Morrison enjoyed the best approval rating for a leader since end-2008.

Morrison's approval rating has skyrocketed 27 points since the first week of March to 68 per cent, the poll showed.

The result was boosted as Morrison jettisoned much of his conservative government's ideology to pledge spending worth more than 10per cent of GDP, including an A$130 billion subsidy to employers to keep staff they might otherwise have let go.

Westpac chief economist Bill Evans estimates that without the subsidy unemployment would have soared to 17 per cent by the end of June, but would now only reach 9per cent.

Business groups in the country have begun lobbying for easing pandemic-related restrictions.

READ: Several Sydney beaches close again due to overcrowding, days after reopening

A modelling by the Business Council of Australia on Monday showed the A$2 trillion economy could take a A$400 billion (US$256 billion) hit if restrictions adopted to fight the spread of COVID-19 continued for six months.

Last week, the head of Australia's central bank said the country would suffer its biggest economic contraction since the 1930s in the first half of this year due to the containment measures.

He estimated national output would fall by around 10 per cent in the first half of 2020 with unemployment almost doubling to around 10 per cent by June.

The states of Queensland and Western Australia have said they would ease some restrictions this week, as both have had new cases in the low single digits in recent days.

Western Australia will allow indoor and outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people, while Queensland has allowed picnics, retail shopping and drives of up to 50km from home. Queensland has also opened its national parks.

The most populous states of Victoria and New South Wales, which have the country's coronavirus hotspots, are maintaining strict social and business restrictions.

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2020-04-27 01:27:06Z
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North Korea's Kim Jong Un is 'alive and well', South Korea says - The Straits Times

SEOUL (AFP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is "alive and well", a top security adviser to the South's President Moon Jae-in said, downplaying rumours over Kim's health following his absence from a key anniversary.

"Our government position is firm," said Moon's special adviser on national security Moon Chung-in, in an interview with CNN on Sunday (April 26). "Kim Jong Un is alive and well."

The adviser said that Kim had been staying in Wonsan - a resort town in the country's east - since April 13, adding: "No suspicious movements have so far been detected."

Conjecture about Kim's health has grown since his conspicuous absence from the April 15 celebrations for the birthday of his grandfather Kim Il Sung, the North's founder - the most important day in the country's political calendar.

Kim has not made a public appearance since presiding over a Workers' Party politburo meeting on April 11, and the following day state media reported him inspecting fighter jets at an air defence unit.

His absence has unleashed a series of unconfirmed media reports over his condition, which officials in Seoul previously poured cold water on.

"We have nothing to confirm and no special movement has been detected inside North Korea as of now," the South's presidential office said in a statement last week.

Daily NK, an online media outlet run mostly by North Korean defectors, has reported Kim was recovering after undergoing a cardiovascular procedure earlier this month.

Citing an unidentified source inside the country, it said Kim, who is in his mid-30s, had needed urgent treatment due to heavy smoking, obesity and fatigue.

Soon afterwards, CNN reported that Washington was "monitoring intelligence" that Kim was in "grave danger" after undergoing surgery, quoting what it said was an anonymous US official.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday rejected reports that Kim was ailing but declined to state when he was last in touch with him.

On Monday, the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper reported that Kim had sent a message of thanks to workers on the giant Wonsan Kalma coastal tourism project.

It was the latest in a series of reports in recent days of statements issued or actions taken in Kim's name, although none has carried any pictures of him.

Satellite images reviewed by 38North, a US-based think tank, showed a train probably belonging to Kim at a station in Wonsan last week.

It cautioned that the train's presence did not "indicate anything about his health" but did "lend weight" to reports he was staying on the country's eastern coast.

Reporting from inside the isolated North is notoriously difficult, especially on anything to do with its leadership, which is among its most closely guarded secrets.

Previous absences from the public eye on Kim's part have prompted speculation about his health.

In 2014 he dropped out of sight for nearly six weeks before reappearing with a cane. Days later, the South's spy agency said he had undergone surgery to remove a cyst from his ankle.

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2020-04-27 01:12:53Z
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North Korea's Kim 'alive and well': Seoul - CNA

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is "alive and well", a top security adviser to the South's President Moon Jae-in said, downplaying rumours over Kim's health following his absence from a key anniversary.

"Our government position is firm," said Moon's special adviser on national security Moon Chung-in, in an interview with CNN on Sunday (Apr 26). "Kim Jong Un is alive and well."

The adviser said that Kim had been staying in Wonsan - a resort town in the country's east - since Apr 13, adding: "No suspicious movements have so far been detected."

Conjecture about Kim's health has grown since his conspicuous absence from the Apr 15 celebrations for the birthday of his grandfather Kim Il Sung, the North's founder - the most important day in the country's political calendar.

READ: North Korean leader absence from anniversary event fuels speculation over health

Kim has not made a public appearance since presiding over a Workers' Party politburo meeting on Apr 11, and the following day state media reported him inspecting fighter jets at an air defence unit.

His absence has unleashed a series of unconfirmed media reports over his condition, which officials in Seoul previously poured cold water on.

"We have nothing to confirm and no special movement has been detected inside North Korea as of now," the South's presidential office said in a statement last week.

Daily NK, an online media outlet run mostly by North Korean defectors, has reported Kim was recovering after undergoing a cardiovascular procedure earlier this month.

Citing an unidentified source inside the country, it said Kim, who is in his mid-30s, had needed urgent treatment due to heavy smoking, obesity and fatigue.

READ: Heir unapparent: If North Korea faces succession, who might replace Kim Jong Un?

Soon afterwards, CNN reported that Washington was "monitoring intelligence" that Kim was in "grave danger" after undergoing surgery, quoting what it said was an anonymous US official.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday rejected reports that Kim was ailing but declined to state when he was last in touch with him.

READ: Reports on Kim's health 'incorrect', says Trump

On Monday, the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper reported that Kim had sent a message of thanks to workers on the giant Wonsan Kalma coastal tourism project.

It was the latest in a series of reports in recent days of statements issued or actions taken in Kim's name, although none has carried any pictures of him.

Satellite images reviewed by 38North, a US-based think tank, showed a train probably belonging to Kim at a station in Wonsan last week.

It cautioned that the train's presence did not "indicate anything about his health" but did "lend weight" to reports he was staying on the country's eastern coast.

Reporting from inside the isolated North is notoriously difficult, especially on anything to do with its leadership, which is among its most closely guarded secrets.

Previous absences from the public eye on Kim's part have prompted speculation about his health.

In 2014 he dropped out of sight for nearly six weeks before reappearing with a cane. Days later, the South's spy agency said he had undergone surgery to remove a cyst from his ankle.

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2020-04-27 01:02:26Z
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Train likely belonging to North Korea's Kim seen at resort town: US monitor - Yahoo Singapore News

Satellite photos reviewed by the respected 38North website showed the train at a station reserved for the family of Kim Jong Un in Wonsan, but 38North cautioned the train's presence indicates nothing about his health

A train likely belonging to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been spotted at a resort town in the country's east, satellite photos reviewed by a US-based think tank showed, as speculation persists over his health.

The train was parked at a station reserved for the Kim family in Wonsan on April 21 and April 23, the respected 38North website said in a report published Saturday.

38North cautioned that the train's presence "does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health".

"But it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the country's eastern coast," it said.

There has been growing conjecture about Kim's health since his conspicuous absence from the April 15 celebrations for the birthday of his grandfather Kim Il Sung, the regime's founder -- the most important day on the North Korean political calendar.

Kim has not made a public appearance since presiding over a meeting of the Workers' Party politburo on April 11 and inspecting drills by fighter jets at an air defence unit, which was reported by state media on April 12.

- Out of sight -

Daily NK, an online media outlet run mostly by North Korean defectors, has reported Kim underwent a cardiovascular procedure earlier this month and was recovering at a villa in North Pyongan province.

Citing an unidentified source inside the country, it said Kim, who is in his mid-30s, had needed urgent treatment due to heavy smoking, obesity and fatigue.

South Korea, which is still technically at war with the North, has played down the report.

CNN, quoting what it said was an anonymous US official, reported that Washington was "monitoring intelligence" that Kim was in "grave danger" after undergoing surgery.

But on Thursday, US President Donald Trump rejected reports that Kim was ailing.

"I think the report was incorrect," Trump told reporters, but declined to state when he was last in touch with him.

"We have a good relationship with North Korea, as good as you can have," he said.

Trump has met Kim three times in historic summitry and has voiced admiration for him, although hopes have dimmed for reaching a comprehensive agreement.

Reporting from inside the isolated North is notoriously difficult, especially on anything to do with its leadership, which is among its most closely guarded secrets.

On Thursday, citing an unidentified government official, South Korean broadcaster SBS reported that Kim appeared to have been in Wonsan for at least the past four days and would soon return to the public eye.

The report added that the military was monitoring Kim's train, which had been seen in Wonsan, while his personal jet -- frequently used by Kim on his trips to Wonsan -- remained in Pyongyang.

Previous absences from the public eye on Kim's part have prompted speculation about his health.

In 2014 he dropped out of sight for nearly six weeks before reappearing with a cane. Days later, the South's spy agency said he had undergone surgery to remove a cyst from his ankle.

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2020-04-26 18:51:00Z
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Covid-19 cluster Northpoint City to remain open, will roll out disinfecting robots to fight spread of virus - TODAYonline

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Covid-19 cluster Northpoint City to remain open, will roll out disinfecting robots to fight spread of virus TODAYonlineView Full coverage on Google News
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2020-04-26 14:08:22Z
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Covid-19 cluster Northpoint City to remain open, will roll out disinfecting robots to fight spread of virus - TODAYonline

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2020-04-26 14:07:14Z
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A timelapse of Changi Exhibition Centre's construction: First batch of coronavirus patients arrive - The Straits Times

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2020-04-26 12:05:12Z
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