Vietnamese boy trapped in concrete pile on New Year's Eve pronounced dead - CNA

HANOI: A 10-year-old Vietnamese boy who fell into the narrow open shaft of a concrete pile at a construction site on New Year's Eve has been confirmed dead, state media said Wednesday (Jan 4).

Rescuers spent nearly 100 hours trying to free Ly Hao Nam from the 35m long support pillar driven into the ground, but without success, online newspaper VnExpress cited a local government official as saying.

"The authorities have determined that the victim has died and are trying to recover his body for the funeral," deputy chairman of the southern province of Dong Thap, Doan Tan Buu, was quoted as saying.

Nam was heard crying for help shortly after he fell into the hollow concrete pile, which has a diameter of 25cm, on Saturday at a bridge construction site in the Mekong delta province where he had been searching with friends for scrap iron.

Earlier on Wednesday, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had urged the rescuers and local authorities to mobilise all equipment and forces needed, the government said.

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2023-01-04 12:59:00Z
CBMiY2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vYXNpYS92aWV0bmFtLWJveS0xMC15ZWFyLW9sZC10cmFwcGVkLTM1bS1jb25jcmV0ZS1waWxlLWRlYWQtMzE4MjY2MdIBAA

Airline group IATA disappointed with 'knee-jerk' COVID-19 measures for travellers from China - CNA

In a statement, Mr Walsh urged governments to listen to the advice of experts, including the World Health Organization, that advise against travel restrictions.

"Research undertaken around the arrival of the Omicron variant concluded that putting barriers in the way of travel made no difference to the peak spread of infections. At most, restrictions delayed that peak by a few days. If a new variant emerges in any part of the world, the same situation would be expected," he said. 

"We have the tools to manage COVID-19 without resorting to ineffective measures that cut off international connectivity, damage economies and destroy jobs. Governments must base their decisions on ‘science facts’ rather than ‘science politics’.”

China on Tuesday called the mounting international restrictions on travellers from its territory "unacceptable".

"This lacks scientific basis and some practices are unacceptable," foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular briefing, warning China could "take countermeasures based on the principle of reciprocity".

The United States replied that it had taken action in response to the "lack of adequate and transparent" data from China and concerns that the heavy caseload could result in new variants.

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2023-01-04 10:07:03Z
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Islamic State called on Muslims in Singapore to join terror group: Report - CNA

SINGAPORE: The Islamic State group in September 2022 called on Muslims in Singapore - along with those in other Asian states - to come forward to join the terror group, according to a report published by the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) on Tuesday (Jan 3).

In an annual threat assessment as part of RSIS' regularly published Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses, the think-tank's dean Kumar Ramakrishna said to "take heed" of an audiotape released last year by Islamic State's media affiliate Al-Furqan.

In the 36-minute recording, Islamic State spokesman Abu Umar al-Muhajir called on Muslims around the world to join the ranks of the militant group.

He "especially" called on Muslims in East Asia - from the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, India and other countries - to join Islamic State since they were "especially oppressed and humiliated in this region", according to a transcript by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center in Israel.

Abu Umar also called on Islamic State operatives in East Asia to fight against "communists" and "infidels" in their countries.

RSIS' 116-page report noted that Singapore's Internal Security Department (ISD) had assessed that the threat from "Islamist extremism and terrorism" - both from organised groups based overseas and self-radicalised lone actors based locally - remained high in 2022.

In a section focused on Singapore, RSIS analysts Kalicharan Veera Singam and Abigail Leong described the Internet as continuing to play a "pivotal" role in sustaining the momentum of the global jihadist movement.

"This ‘cyber jihad’, waged on a borderless virtual battlefield, is a potential security minefield in a highly digitally connected society like Singapore," they wrote.

Developments in the region and further abroad may also reverberate closer to home, they said, citing how the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan has stirred lingering concerns of a resurgence in jihadist activity in Southeast Asia.

"This is especially given the historical nexus between the Taliban, Al-Qaeda and regional networks like JI (Jemaah Islamiyah)," they said.

"More than a year on, however, there is limited evidence of collaboration between the abovementioned terrorist groups, or of Southeast Asian jihadists performing (migration) to the Afghan theatre."

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2023-01-04 10:07:00Z
CBMicWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vc2luZ2Fwb3JlL2lzbGFtaWMtc3RhdGUtY2FsbGVkLW11c2xpbXMtc2luZ2Fwb3JlLWpvaW4tdGVycm9yLWdyb3VwLXJlcG9ydC0zMTgyMjk20gEA

Tighter border health checks in Malaysia not meant to discriminate against any country: PM Anwar - CNA

Amid concerns over the rise of COVID-19 cases in China, the Malaysian health ministry said on Dec 30 that all visitors entering Malaysia will have to undergo temperature screening checks for fever.

Those who are found to have a fever, are symptomatic or have self-declared their symptoms will then be sent to a quarantine centre or to the health authorities for further checks.

Additionally, those who have been to China within the last 14 days of their arrival in the country will need to undergo the RTK-Ag test (rapid antigen test).

These samples will then be sent for genome testing if they are found to be positive for COVID-19.

At the same time, those who have been in close contact with people who have travelled to China in the last 14 days, or exhibit influenza-like illnesses or severe acute respiratory infection will also need to be tested for COVID-19, said the health ministry.

On Monday, the health ministry added that it is prepared to tighten health checks as part of its pandemic border policies.

Last Thursday, Transport Minister Anthony Loke was quoted as saying by Bernama that Malaysia would see a surge in flight demand following the reopening of China’s borders.

In response, the Malaysia Tourism Agency Association (MATA) has urged the government to temporarily suspend the entry of tourists from China until the situation there improves.

On Wednesday, the Malaysian Medical Association issued a statement urging the government to test travellers from China for COVID-19 before they are allowed to enter the Southeast Asian nation.

In 2019, before the pandemic, Malaysia reportedly received 3 million Chinese tourists.

In the state of Sabah, which is highly dependent on Chinese visitors when it comes to tourism revenue, the state government is reportedly considering its own set of protocols for travellers from China.

The states of Sabah and Sarawak have autonomy on immigration issues.

Following the loosening of COVID-19 measures in China, several countries including the United States, Canada, Japan and France have required that all travellers from China provide negative COVID-19 tests before arrival.

Malaysia had previously scrapped mandatory testing on all incoming vaccinated travellers on May 1. In September, mask-wearing became optional in most indoor places in the country.

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2023-01-04 08:08:00Z
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Leading WHO advisers call for 'realistic' COVID-19 data from China at key meeting - CNA

LONDON: Leading scientists advising the World Health Organization (WHO) said they wanted a "more realistic picture" about the COVID-19 situation from China's top experts at a key meeting on Tuesday (Jan 3) as worries grow about the rapid spread of the virus.

The WHO has invited Chinese scientists to a virtual closed meeting with its technical advisory group on viral evolution on Tuesday, to present data on which variants are circulating in the country. It is not open to the public or media.

China lifted its "zero-COVID" measures in December 2022. COVID-19 cases are now surging, although official data is patchy.

"We want to see a more realistic picture of what is actually going on," said Professor Marion Koopmans, a Dutch virologist who sits on the WHO committee. Speaking to Reuters ahead of the meeting, she said some of the data from China, such as hospitalisation numbers, is "not very credible".

"It is in the interests of China itself to come forward with more reliable information."

Professor Tulio de Oliveira, a South African scientist who also sits on the committee and whose team has detected a number of new variants, said "of course" it would be good to get more information from China, but this also applies globally.

So far, sequencing data from China provided to the online GISAID hub has shown the variants circulating there are offshoots of Omicron, in line with the dominant variants in the rest of the world.

Koopmans and colleagues expect to discuss similar information at the WHO meeting on Tuesday, with scientists from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The group meeting is an international committee of experts which has gathered throughout the pandemic, and regularly receives briefings from countries experiencing large waves of infection or new variants.

Koopmans said they have only seen a "tiny fraction" of China's cases sequenced so far - around 700 - and called for the establishment of a global surveillance network to keep track of SARS-CoV-2.

"Right now, what we are getting is very patchy, but that has been the reality in other parts of the world as well," she said.

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2023-01-03 13:50:28Z
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Elderly patients fill hospitals in Shanghai COVID-19 surge - CNA

Beijing last month rapidly demolished key pillars of its zero-COVID policy, doing away with snap lockdowns, mass testing and state quarantines in a matter of days.

The reversal of three years of hardline curbs sparked relief nationwide, but has unleashed a torrent of infections on the country's patchy healthcare system and overloaded funeral homes and crematoriums.

Even in Shanghai, one of China's richest cities, the crisis is acute. Around 70 per cent of the megacity's population - equivalent to around 18 million people - may have caught COVID-19 since last month, according to state media reports.

SUFFERING IN PUBLIC

In a waiting area at Huashan Hospital - located a stone's throw from the site of anti-lockdown protests in November - a woman bent over a sickened man of around 80, a profusion of tubes springing from his emaciated hand.

Nearby, a young man stood sentry beside the bed of another elderly patient, shielding him from the crowds of people walking past.

At Tongren Hospital in the west of the city, a middle-aged woman in a facial mask gently lifted a flask to the parched lips of a man hooked up to an oxygen cylinder.

Nearby, a medical worker wearing blue scrubs and a face visor attended to a grey-haired woman in a red jumper as she shivered under a thick blanket.

Doctors and nurses at hospitals in multiple cities have told AFP they have continued to treat patients despite testing positive for the virus themselves.

In Shanghai, many also soldiered on, letting out the occasional dry cough as they flitted from patient to patient.

China's National Health Commission last month announced that it would no longer publish daily case figures, and a separate tally kept by the country's disease control body is widely considered inaccurate now that testing mandates have been scrapped.

The country has also narrowed the definition of what counts as a COVID-19 death in a move that some experts say will underestimate the true number of fatalities due to the disease.

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2023-01-03 11:13:35Z
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Up to 70% of Shanghai population infected with COVID-19: Top doctor - CNA

SHANGHAI: A senior doctor at one of Shanghai's top hospitals has said 70 per cent of the megacity's population may have been infected with COVID-19 during China's huge surge in cases, state media reported Tuesday (Jan 3).

The steep rise in infections came after years of hardline restrictions were abruptly loosened last month with little warning or preparation, and quickly overwhelmed hospitals and crematoriums.

Chen Erzhen, vice president at Ruijin Hospital and a member of Shanghai's COVID-19 expert advisory panel, estimated that the majority of the city's 25 million people may have been infected.

"Now the spread of the epidemic in Shanghai is very wide, and it may have reached 70 per cent of the population, which is 20 to 30 times more than (in April and May)," he told Dajiangdong Studio, owned by the Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily.

Shanghai suffered a gruelling two-month lockdown from April, during which over 600,000 residents were infected and many were hauled to mass quarantine centres.

But now, the Omicron variant is spreading rampantly across the city and experts predict infections there will peak in early 2023.

In other major cities, including Beijing, Tianjin, Chongqing and Guangzhou, Chinese health officials have suggested that the wave has already peaked.

In neighbouring Zhejiang province, disease control authorities said Tuesday that there had been one million new infections in recent days and that the province was entering a peak plateau for COVID-19.

Chen added that his Shanghai hospital was seeing 1,600 emergency admissions daily - double the number prior to restrictions being lifted - with 80 per cent of them COVID-19 patients.

"More than 100 ambulances arrive at the hospital every day," he was quoted as saying, adding that around half of emergency admissions were vulnerable people aged over 65.

At Tongren Hospital in downtown Shanghai, AFP reporters saw patients receiving emergency medical attention outside the entrance of the overcrowded facility on Tuesday.

The corridors overflowed with dozens of elderly patients lying on beds crammed together, hooked up to IV drips. Some patients wore oxygen masks attached to bedside canisters.

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2023-01-03 07:26:00Z
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