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Minggu, 19 Juli 2020

Kim Jong Un berates officials over troubled flagship North Korean hospital - CNA

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un berated officials for their "careless" construction of a flagship hospital in Pyongyang and ordered those responsible to be sacked, state media reported Monday (Jul 20).

The North has long used giant infrastructure projects to try to burnish the government's credibility, including housing developments in Pyongyang and the continuing Wonsan-Kalma tourism development, but critics say speed is often prioritised over quality.

The latest scheme is the Pyongyang General Hospital, in a prime location across the Taedong river from Mansu hill, where giant statues of the North's founder Kim Il Sung and his son and successor Kim Jong Il - father of the current leader - look out over the capital.

Completion is scheduled for Oct 10 to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers' Party, and Kim called its construction a "crucial task" for the country's public health programme at a groundbreaking ceremony in March.

But after being briefed on the progress during a visit to the construction site, Kim "pointed out serious problems", the official KCNA news agency reported.

The commission in charge had organised the finances "in a careless manner with no budget for the construction properly set up", Kim was quoted as saying.

The project had been initiated for the "good of the people" but was "burdening" them with demands for "assistance", Kim said.

No details were provided, but Kim ordered the ruling party's Central Committee to investigate and "replace all the officials responsible".

The report did not give the exact date of Kim's visit.

It comes amid speculation that construction is being hampered by the North's difficulties securing materials due to tightened border controls over the coronavirus pandemic.

The already isolated, nuclear-armed North quickly shut down its borders after the virus was first detected in neighbouring China in January, and imposed strict containment measures.

Pyongyang insists it has not had a single case of COVID-19 despite the virus having infected more than 14.3 million people around the world and killing more than 601,000.

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2020-07-20 04:17:59Z
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Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam says COVID-19 spreading 'out of control', tightens restrictions - CNA

HONG KONG: Hong Kong's leader said Sunday (Jul 19) that COVID-19 was spreading out of control in the city as she announced a record daily high of more than 100 cases and ordered new social distancing measures.

The finance hub was one of the first places to be struck by the virus when it emerged from central China.

But the city had impressive success in tackling the disease, all but ending local transmissions by late June.

However, in the last two weeks, cases have begun to spike once more and doctors fear it is spreading undetected in the densely packed territory of 7.5 million people.

READ: COVID-19: Travellers entering Singapore from Victoria in Australia, Japan and Hong Kong to serve stay-home notice at dedicated facilities

On Sunday, chief executive Carrie Lam said more than 500 infections had been confirmed in the last fortnight, bringing the city's total tally to 1,788 cases with 12 fatalities.

More than 100 were confirmed on Sunday alone, a record daily high for the finance hub.

"I think the situation is really critical and there is no sign the situation is being brought under control," chief executive Carrie Lam told reporters.

Lam announced new social distancing measures last week, shuttering many businesses including bars, gyms and nightclubs, and ordering everyone to wear masks on public transport.

Restaurants were ordered to only offer takeout services in the evenings.

On Sunday, Lam announced new measures including plans to make it compulsory to wear masks inside any public indoor venue - and a new order for non-essential civil servants to work from home.

READ: Return to lockdown: Why 5 cities, regional states have re-imposed tighter COVID-19 measures

As hospital wards fill up, officials are also scrambling to build a further 2,000 isolation rooms on barren land near the city's Disneyland resort to monitor and treat those who test positive, she added.

Hong Kong was already mired in recession when the pandemic hit thanks to the US-China trade war and months of political unrest last year.

The new partial lockdown has compounded the economic misery.

On Sunday, Lam called for landlords to look at lowering rents.

She said further social distancing measures would be rolled out if the daily infection rate did not ease in coming days.

However, she said she was keen to avoid ordering people to remain at home.

"We can't just make a simple and extreme move to cut everything at once," Lam said.

Authorities say testing will be ramped up, targeting high-risk populations such as taxi drivers and restaurant workers after clusters were found within their ranks.

Some of the new infections have swept through elderly care homes, a major cause of concern given how deadly the coronavirus is to older people.

So far, 12 people have died after contracting the virus in Hong Kong -- four in the last fortnight.

Lam said officials would try to strike a balance between protecting health and keeping the economy partially afloat.

"It's hard to tell what kind of measures we will need to roll out... many places have ordered people to stay home," she said.

"We haven't adopted that in the last six months because we wanted to maintain a normal life for everyone."

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2020-07-20 00:03:09Z
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