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Volume 25 | Number 8202

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SPORT | 13 BUSINESS | 16

Qatar Chamber holds meeting with private healthcare providers to boost cooperation

Moving Tokyo Games possible, too

soon to decide on cancellation: Coe

Health Minister visits COVID-19 Surveillance Unit

H E Dr Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari, Minister of Public Health, yesterday visited the COVID-19 Surveillance Unit. The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) said in its official Twitter account that the Minister met with the team at the Surveillance Unit which is responsible for tracking down people at risk of contracting COVID-19 in Qatar. Based at MoPH premises, the Unit has been continuously monitoring the epidemiological situation since the outbreak of COVID-19 in China. The Unit is working to proactively identify people in Qatar who may have been in contact with confirmed cases of COVID-19.

WHO lauds Qatar’s efforts on COVID-19THE PENINSULA — DOHA

World Health Organisation (WHO) has lauded Qatar’s efforts to implement a compre-hensive approach to control COVID 19.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghe-breyesus, Director General of WHO said in a tweet yesterday that he had a “Good Call” with Minister of Public Health, H E Dr Hanan Mohammed Al Kuwari.

“Good call with Hanan Mohammed Al Kuwari, @MOPHQatar. I congratulated her for H H the Amir of Qatar’s leadership to contain

#coronavirus & efforts to implement a comprehensive approach to suppress and control #COVID19,” wrote Dr Ghebreyesus.

Qatar has been in the fore-front along with H E Dr Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari, MoPH officials and other officials to contain the spread of the new coronavirus in the country.

Separately in updating jour-nalists at the regular press briefing in Geneva, Dr Ghe-breyesus said that more than 200,000 cases of Coronavirus have been reported and over 8,000 deaths in the world.

He also revealed that Just

60 days after the genetic sequence of COVID-19 was shared by China, the first vaccine trial has begun, Dr Ghe-breyesus said on Wednesday, calling it “an incredible achievement” and urging the world to maintain “the same spirit of solidarity” that has helped fight Ebola.

“To suppress and control epidemics, countries must isolate, test, treat and trace”, said Dr Ghebreyesus, oth-erwise “transmission chains can continue at a low level, then resurge once physical distancing measures are lifted.”

Consumer complexes, shops sign pledge to keep customers safe from coronavirus

THE PENINSULA- DOHA

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) has obliged sales outlets in the country to take a set of precautionary health requirements for the safety of citizens and residents.

MoCI said in a statement yes-terday that all consumer com-plexes and sales outlets signed a pledge to adhere to the precau-tionary requirements by taking employees’ temperature twice daily, providing sterilisers at the main entrances, gathering places and toilets, and sanitising shopping carts before they are used by shoppers, as well as sanitising sur-faces continuously such as refrig-erators’ doors and doorknobs.

The Ministry noted that these requirements come within the framework of the precautionary and preventive measures announced by the

MoCI to limit the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), and pursuant to Article 13 of the Consumer Protection Law No. 8 of 2008, which requires sup-pliers to adhere to the health and safety requirements.

MoCI called on all sales outlets to comply fully with these requirements, stressing that it will intensify its inspection campaigns to ensure compliance with the requirements. Any vio-lations to the laws and minis-terial decisions will be referred to the competent authorities for appropriate measures in order to protect the rights of con-sumers, it said.

The Ministry urged the public to report any violations through the phone number of the call center 16001 or e-mail: infomoci.gov.qa or through its accounts approved on social networking sites.

Katara launches contests via social mediaTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Cultural Village Foun-dation (Katara) yesterday announced it is organising a variety of competitions open to local and international partic-ipants across its social media platforms.

“Katara will present on its various platforms on social media many competitions, varying in their contents, these contests are directed to all members of society which include several categories and nationalities,” Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti, General Manager of Katara, said in a statement.

Dr. Al Sulaiti said the com-petitions vary between literary and artistic cultural competi-tions and Katara has allocated cash prizes for all the winners.

One of the competitions is “The Istighfar Award” which is open to international and local participants and includes several categories.

The first category is short story writing on the topic seeking forgiveness (Istighfar) to be written using 3,000 to 5,000 words, and in which a cash prize of $20,000 is at stake.

The second category is short play writing on the same theme seeking forgiveness (Istighfar) to be written using 1,500 to 3,000 words, and with a prize of $15,000.

The third category is poetry writing on the theme seeking forgiveness (Istighfar), written in 10 lines and carrying a prize

of $10,000.The fourth category is ded-

icated to Arabic calligraphy writing of the sentence “Ask forgiveness from ALLAH”, and comes with a prize of $5,000.

There is also a competition for Qatari school students of 5 to 15 years old called “The most beautiful recitation” as the par-ticipant will have to send an audio recording clip. For this contest, the winner will receive QR6,000, the second placer will get QR4,000 and the third placer will win QR3,000, while the fourth to the 10th positions will each receive QR1,500.

The deadline for sub-mission of entries for the com-petitions is April 20 via e-mail to istighfar@kataraquran.com.

Katara has also launched a competition on Instagram, in which an image of a painting will be posted and participants will have to identify the artist who created the painting. Three winners will be selected in a raffle draw to be held every three days.

Katara is also preparing via Al-Dad YouTube channel to launch a series of programs, competitions, entertainment and educational materials such as lessons on spelling and Arabic grammar instruction, as well as information and anecdotes about the Arabic language and stories for children in addition to 60 poems praising the Prophet Mohamed (peace be upon him), chosen among the many poems which won the Katara Prize for Prophet’s Poet. �P3

QU departments hold over 500 virtual learning classesTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar University’s different department students have started to adjust with new Virtual Learning system and find the system safety insuring during the rapid spread of coro-navirus (COVID-19) in Qatar.

Earlier, the Government Communications had Office announced, the suspension of classes in public and private

schools and universities for all stu-dents in Qatar, to limit the spread of COVID-19 and to ensure the safety of students in all public and private educational institutions.

Due to remarkable com-mitment of QU’s management students have started to enjoy E-Learning system which ensures their privacy. Lectures are being held regularly and are easily accessible for all students. Till now more than 500 classes

have been held and more than 1,500 hours are spent on the virtual learning system through ‘BlackBoard’ portal.

Juman Badran, Student of Mass Communicat ion Department at QU said: “The dis-tance learning system that was implemented a short time turns out to be successful because of the fast adaptation. The pro-fessors have been very cooper-ative during the current situation.

The interaction between us and professor is not as strong as we have in classroom but if we have any questions our professor allows us to ask them and discuss the difficulties we are facing.”

Students praised the hard work and efficient decision making of University’s man-agement. QU has strived to provide best facilities to all the colleges and students with special needs.

Most COVID-19 cases in Qatar stable, six patients recover as eight more detected

QNA — DOHA

Under the chairmanship of Prime Minister and Minister of Interior H E Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani and in the presence of Ministers and heads of relevant bodies, the Supreme Committee for Crisis Management held its meeting to follow up the work of the various bodies to contain the coronavirus COVID-19 and manage the crisis in a way that guarantees the health and safety of society and the contin-uation of a decent life for all who live in the State of Qatar.

In a press conference yes-terday, Spokesperson of the Supreme Committee for Crisis Management, H E Lolwah bint Rashid bin Mohammed Al Khater, announced the registration of eight new COVID-19 cases, most of them are expatriate workers and two Qatari citizens returning from the Italian Republic and the United Kingdom.

She said that all cases are subject to quarantine, adding that most of the cases, in general, are in a stable health condition, except six cases, who

are in intensive care, wishing them a speedy recovery.

She revealed that six new cases of COVID-19 have been cured, (two Qataris and four expatriates), bringing the total of cured people to 10 so far.

H E Al Khater announced that the Supreme Committee for Crisis Management decided to allocate hotlines to receive pro-posals and complaints, and the hotlines will be announced soon.

Her Excellency clarified that since the beginning of the crisis, the State of Qatar has pursued the principle of transparency and the sharing of all information, which

is the approach it intends to con-tinue, stressing the necessity not to circulate false rumours and news, and to take news from its official sources, including the accounts of the Government Communication Office and the Ministry of Public Health on social networking platforms.

She reviewed the patterns of virus spread to date in Qatar, explaining that the COVID-19 virus is a new phenomenon in the world, so health authorities around the world and those in Qatar are constantly seeking to determine the characteristics of this epidemic and how to limit its spread. �P2

Spokesperson of the Supreme Committee for Crisis Management, H E Lolwah bint Rashid bin Mohammed Al Khater, and Dr. Jameela Al Ajmi, from MoPH during the press conference, yesterday.

Most quarantined cases are in stable health condition, except six in intensive care.

Six new cases of COVID-19 have been cured, bringing the total to 10.

The Supreme Committee decided to allocate hotlines to receive proposals, complaints.

People should not circulate rumours and should take news from official sources.

Two main patterns for spread of COVID-19 in Qatar — societal infections in which transmission was between expatriates and among citizens returning from other countries.

02 FRIDAY 20 MARCH 2020HOME

FAJR SUNRISE 04.22 am 05.38 am

W A L R U WA I S : 19o↗ 27o W A L K H O R : 21o↗ 27o W D U K H A N : 18o↗ 29o W WA K R A H : 20o↗ 28o W M E S A I E E D 20o↗ 28o W A B U S A M R A 19o↗ 33o

PRAYER TIMINGS WEATHER TODAY

HIGH TIDE 02:45– 14:40 LOW TIDE 10:34 – 20:39

Misty at some places at first becomes partly cloudy to cloudy at times with a chance of scattered rain maybe thundery at places by evening.

Minimum Maximum21oC 26oC

ZUHRMAGHRIB

11.41 am05.47 pm

ASR ISHA

03.08 pm07.17 pm

Healthcare practitioners’ campaign urges people to ‘stay home, save lives’THE PENINSULA — DOHA

A group of healthcare leaders in Qatar, including Dr. Yousef Al Maslamani, Medical Director at Hamad General Hospital, joined the global , 'Stay home, save lives' campaign encouraging the public to help to curb the spread of the COVID- 19 by limiting their social inter-actions.

The social media campaign by Min-istry of Public Health has published a series of photographs of healthcare practitioners and others at the forefront of the COVID -19 fight in the country.

The photos, posted on social media featured healthcare practitioners holding a sheet of paper that read mes-sages urging the public to stay at home.

“We are at work for you. Please stay home for us,” the posters reads in dif-ferent languages English, Arabic and

others. As the number of COVID-19 coro-

navirus continue to grow, one of the best courses of action is self-isolation to slow the spread of the virus.

As a preventative measure most people have decided to practice social distancing as well. To limit the contact with people who may be infected with COVID-19, many have opted to work from home and avoid public spaces entirely by self-isolating.

And this is something that nurses and doctors have recommended people to do through the #StayHome campaign, and hope citizens are fol-lowing their calls for help.

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

A live COVID-19 portal for Qatar has been launched by A101, a creative tech company.

“In light of the recent Coronavirus outbreak, A101 wants to help inform the local community and play its part in these hard times. We have created a live map and statistics portal for Qatar, and we welcome everyone to use this map to inform themselves and the public of the current evolving situation,” the company said in a statement yesterday.

The live coronavirus map, which can be accessed via COVID-19 Qatar Portal, showcases vital information revolving around COVID-19 such as: confirmed, recovered, deaths, and people tested in Qatar; COVID-19 cases timeline for Qatar (daily); and confirmed, recovered, and deaths worldwide.

In addition, it also includes an interactive map and MOPH Twitter feed.

To ensure that the information is extremely reliable, correct and trusted, A101 said that the information is gathered courtesy of the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) in Qatar, and John Hopkins sourced from World Health Organization (WHO).)

Live COVID-19 portal for Qatar launched

Qatar Chamber panel addresses supplies flow to Industrial Area

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

Qatar Chamber’s (QC) Food Security and Environment Committee discussed on Wednesday mechanisms of the flow of supplies to the Indus-trial Area which was recently closed in light of efforts exerted to curb Coronavirus.

The meeting was presided over by Dr Saif bin Ali Al Hajari in the presence of QC Board Member and Chairperson of the Committee Mohamed bin Ahmed Al Obaidli.

Many representatives of food companies were also present.

The meeting reviewed all developments concerning the environmental procedures sector towards the process of food circulation in the light of the partial closure of the indus-trial zone for 14 days.

It also touched on the mechanisms to facilitate the flow of supplies from ports to the closed zone, and then from the industrial area of the outlets to guarantee the interests of merchants and consumers.

The meeting also discussed preparing a proposal of private sector companies about the measures that guarantee the availability of food in the

market and putting forward it to the concerned authorities.

Attendees of the meeting stressed the importance of raising awareness among workers in food sector about means of combating Corona virus, calling employers and companies to inform their employees on instructions issued by the Ministry of Public Health.

They also reviewed ways of enhancing confidence on the national products especially poultry, dairy, vegetables, fruit and fish, was well as measures adopted to ensure the safety of these products.

On his part, Chairperson of the Committee Mohamed Al Obaidli praised the precau-tionary measures of the state to curb the spread of Covid-19 as

well as efforts exerted by the Ministry of Public Health, which included sterilizing trucks and checking drivers passing through the industrial area.

He stressed the interest of the private sector in ensuring the flow of supplies, services and food and agricultural products to the local market, and following on the preventive procedures applied by the

county to stop the spread of the virus.

Al Obaidli noted that the private sector has enough expe-rience in dealing with and over-coming crises and facilitating the movement of goods to con-sumers, pointing out that the siege experience has con-tributed to fostering this experience.

For his part, Dr. Saif Al Hajari said that the Envi-ronment Committee, which is a subsidiary of Food Security and Environment Committee, is prepared to receive all inquiries and proposals for prompt actions and solution.

He also said that the com-mittee addresses all issues related to streamlining proce-dures for investors and busi-nessmen, stressing that con-cerned bodies showed great cooperation and coordination on dealing with the committee.

Officials at the meeting of Food Security and Environment Committee of Qatar Chamber.

The meeting reviewed all developments concerning the environmental procedures sector towards the process of food circulation in the light of the partial closure of the industrial zone for 14 days.

> Dr Yousef Al Maslamani, Medical Director at Hamad General Hospital, joined the global , 'Stay home, save lives' campaign, yesterday.

Most COVID-19 cases in Qatar stable, six patients recover as eight more detectedFROM PAGE 1

She said: “From what we found in the State of Qatar, there are two main patterns so far for the spread of COVID-19, which are: The first chain of transmission was between arrivals, and it is called societal infections, and it turned out that its focus was in the area that was closed from Street 1 to 32 in the industrial area.

The second chain of trans-mission, which exists between Qataris and is not considered to be societal infections in most of them, but rather by the returning citizens from some countries, especially European ones and have been subjected to the quarantine.

Her Excellency explained that this does not mean that the mentioned forms of trans-mission will not change, but this is what has been monitored so far, and it requires, especially among those coming from abroad, a lot of responsibility and precaution to preserve themselves in the first place and to preserve their family members as well, whether this individual is grandfather or grandmother, a father or mother, brother or sister, or one of the sons.

Her Excellency affirmed that the coming period is a critical stage for breaking these transitional chains, and requires everyone’s solidarity and self-monitoring.

Her Excellency revealed that the Ministry of Public Health approved the policy of home quarantine as a second option for families coming from abroad who prefer that for special circumstances, provided that they don’t show any symptoms of the disease, and

that they pass the initial medical examination. They are also required to sign a formal com-mitment to comply with the procedures approved by the relevant international institu-tions and the Ministry of Public Health, she explained.

Her Excellency added that in the case of not respecting this quarantine, the legal proce-dures will be implemented, indicating that many countries have implemented this policy, and the first option remains to quarantine in the facilities des-ignated for that.Her Excellency reaffirmed that the personal responsibility of individuals and their implementation of the necessary preventive measures are the primary factor in con-taining the virus and limiting its spread in this crucial period.

Her Excellency advised not to leave the house except for necessity and to limit gath-erings, especially since the Cabinet approved the imple-mentation of work remotely for 80 percent of employees in the public sector. HE Al Khater called on everyone not to tol-erate this epidemic, to protect themselves and others, and to maintain an appropriate dis-tance when dealing with others.

In this context, Her Excel-lency praised the commitment of many families to these pro-cedures and sending positive messages to their surroundings that they have already started implementing them.

Her Excellency explained that officials revised during the meeting of the Supreme Com-mittee for Crisis Management the latest economic and com-mercial developments, and it was found that the supply chains of goods were not

affected and that there is a stra-tegic stock of basic materials, as all relevant policies have been developed to deal with such crises since 2017.

HE Al Khater said that there is ongoing work to establish more factories for some basic materials that the State may need in the coming period.

Her Excellency praised in this regard the role of many private companies, including contracting companies and individuals, who gave the most wonderful examples of soli-darity in this crisis, where some of them took the initiative to volunteer, adding that some companies, including con-tracting companies, provided their services and facilities free of charge, and some private companies not covered by the Amiri decision also exempted renters from rental fees.

In this context, Her Excel-lency announced that the Min-istry of Commerce and Industry will open the door to receiving requests from companies that wish to provide services under the voluntary activities of the state and society under these circumstances and. She also pointed out that the Ministry of Public Health in cooper-ation with several institutions such as the Qatar Red Crescent Society and Qatar Charity and others will open the door to volunteering for individuals aged between 20 and 45 years for medical or logistical support, each according to his experience, according to the conditions determined by the Ministry of Public Health.

Her Excellency stressed during the press conference, that the State of Qatar will overcome this crisis, noting the

bonds of interdependence that have appeared in the Qatari society.

During the press con-ference, HE Spokesperson of the Supreme Committee for Crisis Management Lolwah bint Rashid bin Mohammed Al Khater said that what has been noticed is that many people, especially those who returned from abroad, prefer to stay in hotels that have been desig-nated for quarantine, as some people who have the option to stay in home isolation or quar-antine in hotels prefer to stay in hotels, which reflects a state of community awareness.

In her response to a question in this regard, she added that some family members do not want to mix with their family members, which is a good thing, explaining that its preferable that if the person comes from one of the infected countries to be isolated in the facilities des-ignated by the state as a pre-cautionary measure, especially if the house is not equipped for the isolation process.

Her Excellency confirmed that there are several facilities and hotels available that indi-viduals can choose for quar-antine. Also, HE Al Khater indi-cated that the announced hot-lines will be available for any individual, who needs psycho-logical support, any advice, or other matters, adding that the door for volunteering will be opened and that through vol-unteers there will be more psy-chological support for all families.

The representative of the Ministry of Public Health at the press conference Dr. Jameela Alkhowaiter Al Ajmi, who is also

Executive Director of Infection Prevention and Control at Hamad Medical Corporation, explained that isolation at home is for a person who has been in contact with a person infected with the virus but he doesn’t have symptoms of infection, so he has to isolate himself for 14 days.

She explained that home isolation or quarantine is very important and con-sidered one of the most important precautionary measures to contain the coronavirus, which is spread by mixing with people with the disease, and exposure to droplets from the infected person during sneezing or coughing, so it is necessary to maintain a distance of at least a meter between people, which can only be implemented by home iso-lation or quarantine, adding that the person is responsible to protect himself and his family.

Al Ajmi pointed out that the home isolation revolves around several steps, the most important of which is to isolate the person himself in his place, where it is preferable to have a private room, that has good ventilation and a private bathroom while avoiding mixing with visitors and family members. She explained that in the event of symptoms of infection with the coronavirus, the isolated person should contact the Ministry of Public Health to seek advice, with an emphasis on applying other preventive measures such as washing hands with soap and water for 20 seconds, with family members keen to clean the household surfaces, as well

as protecting children from the transmission of the virus and training them on the method of home isolation.

Also, she pointed out that the person in the house iso-lation must stay away from the elderly and people with chronic diseases, keep a distance between him and all family members, and stay in the iso-lation room for 14 days.

In her response to a question regarding whether home isolation means dis-pensing quarantine in facilities designated by the state for this, Dr. Jameela Al Ajmi explained that house isolation is to stay at home and isolate the same person from the rest of the family, while quarantine is the persons stay in the health facility in an isolated room, indicating that the responsi-bility is the same whether the person is at home or quar-antine in terms of applying preventive measures against the virus, as the persons stay at the home is in a separate room as well as in the hospital.

She added that the dif-ference between home isolation and quarantine in facilities allo-cated by the state is that the person in the hospital quar-antine is under comprehensive medical care, especially if health condition does not allow him to stay at home, so it’s better to quarantine in the hos-pital. She pointed out that most people who enter quarantine need intensive care similar to those who have immunodefi-ciency or the elderly, who have chronic diseases or the clinical condition is very severe and requires the presence of doctors.

03FRIDAY 20 MARCH 2020 HOME

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

Safari, Qatar’s leading hyper-market chain, from now on will stay open for 24 hours, said Safari Management in a press release issued yesterday.

Safari said that the decision

was taken in order to ensure that in the present situation of COVID – 19, the people in Qatar have access to daily nec-essary goods at their own convenience.

All the arrangements have been made in keeping mind

the Ministry’s announcement for preventive and precau-tionary measures.

Sanitizers are kept at various places across the stores and other measures have been implemented by Safari for cus-tomer’s safety.

Twenty-four hours of service will be available at Safari Hypermarket at Safari Mall, Abu hamour, Safari Hypermarket on Salwa Road, Safari Shopping Complex, Umm Salal Mohammed and Safari Hypermarket, Al Khor.

QF Doha Debates holds session on gender equalityTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Gender equality has been placed in the spotlight by Qatar Foundation’s Doha Debates, as experts argued for and against quotas in an event at Education City that showed how corona-virus precautions are no barrier to global dialogue.

With the worldwide COVID-19 outbreak leading to social gatherings being scaled back, the debate at North-western University in Qatar – held to coincide with Interna-tional Women’s Day – was held without an in-person audience. Instead, students and other viewers from Brazil and Turkey to Japan used social media to contribute, comment, and question speakers.

Moderator Ghida Fakhry opened the show by explaining that experts estimate it will be another century before the gender gap is closed, and that this raises the question of whether gender quotas would accelerate change, or if they would be ineffective or even demeaning.

Randa Abdel-Fattah, a nov-elist, lawyer and human rights advocate from Australia, called for gender quotas that also accounted for intersectionality – arguing that both gender and racial inequalities must be

disrupted, and a complex issue like gender inequality cannot be solved by looking through a limited lens.

Illustrating the need for intersectionality, Abdel-Fattah said that of the 19,000 uni-versity professors in the UK, around 4,000 are white women — and just 25 are black women. “Gender inequality clearly impacts on women, but some more than others,” she said, urging listeners to envision new and revolu-tionary forms of leadership and teaching.

“White women enjoy racial privilege even as they fight sexism, and by defining women as a single axis of oppression, we further entrench ourselves in racism. We need gender quotas to pursue a radical redistribution of this power dynamic.”

Ayishat Akanbi, a cultural commentator, artist and stylist,

said quotas could be a strong short-term solution, but the real goal must be to create a society where they are not needed. “If we don’t like gender quotas, as many of us do not, we have to be active in building a world where they are unnecessary,” she said, adding that quotas are likely to cause tension if people think colleagues are “a tick on a diversity checklist.”

Gender equality must not be relegated only to boardrooms and academia, Akanbi said, “because otherwise we care more about power than we do equality”. And she stressed her case that while quotas may sometimes work, a more holistic approach that includes a radical reorganization of society and a serious rethinking of traditional gender roles is needed.

American writer and scholar Christina Hoff Sommers strongly opposed gender

quotas, claiming they are demeaning to women and gender equality must happen organically, and saying there is no evidence that they work.

In less prosperous non-democratic societies, she said, quotas “are doing actual harm” because they pull talented women “out of mainstream society, where they are desperately needed, into the government,” where she claimed they are forced to be silent, creating a veneer of equality. She cited the example of Rwanda, contending that the fact more than 60 percent of the parliament is made up of women actually works

against them. Dr Govinda Clayton, the

d e b a t e ’ s c o n n e c t o r , encouraged the speakers to find some agreement among their positions, explaining that one point of consensus was that nobody thought gender quotas are “a panacea that would resolve the deeper ine-qualities we have.”

This led to Akanbi saying that quotas might be beneficial in areas such as national gov-ernments, but there is a need to think about the reasons for social imbalances that might not be due to discrimination. However, Hoff Sommers, while

agreeing that not all discrep-ancies in society are due to dis-crimination, said there are better ways to achieve diversity and equality than through quotas, and that change must happen organically for it to be effective.

But Abdel-Fattah claimed that although the beginnings of a quota system might be seen as tokenistic, the onus should shift to why there is overrepre-sentation rather than underrep-resentation, saying: “This isn’t about evil men versus good women; it’s about structures that need to be challenged and overturned.”

Experts argue for and against gender quotas as ‘virtual’ event keeps global dialogue flowing amid coronavirus outbreak

With the worldwide COVID-19 outbreak leading to social gatherings being scaled back, the debate at Northwestern University in Qatar – held to coincide with International Women’s Day – was held without an in-person audience. Instead, students and other viewers from Brazil and Turkey to Japan used social media to contribute, comment, and question speakers.

beIN Sports to telecast greatest tournaments, best leaguesTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

This week, beIN Sports will broadcast a thrilling thematic sporting schedule of the best historic competitions and programs across its channels in 24 countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Whilst live sport has tem-porarily stopped across the world following the COVID-19 outbreak, beIN Sports has delved into its deep archives to keep viewers and fans at home entertained and on the edge of their seats. Starting on tomorrow, beIN Sports HD1 will showcase 2018 FIFA World Cup matches: re-living exciting fix-tures from Russia which led France to lift their second FIFA World Cup trophy and Croatia reach their first ever final.

The football viewing journey will start with an exclusive program featuring beIN legends including Arsene Wenger, Marcel Desailly, Andy Gray, Dwight Yorke, Hafid Dar-radji, Ayman Jadah, and Ales-sandro Altobelli, who will talk about their favourite FIFA World Cup memories and goals.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup saw Kylian Mbappe emerge on the world stage and capture the imagination of fans with his

speed and skills, becoming only the second teenager, after Pelé, to score in a World Cup Final.

Speaking to beIN Sports, French and Arsenal legend Arsene Wenger said: “I was one of the first to say that Kylian Mbappe has the potential to reach the same levels as Brazil legend Pele. Why? Because I look at the numbers and when he started at Monaco, this guy had contributed to over 30 goals aged 17-and-a-half years.”

The 2018 FIFA World Cup also saw some of the best matches and goals in the tour-nament’s history, with Wenger believing that “Pavard’s goal against Argentina in the 2018 FIFA World Cup is one of the best goals.” All of the matches and goals will be widely dis-cussed on social media across MENA this weekend, and viewers can join in the conver-sation by using the hashtag #beINHistory. On Sunday, beIN Sports HD1 will have a full ded-icated 2016 UEFA Euro day with matches and special programs featuring star names from the world of football and beIN talent.

Monday will see beIN Sports HD1 broadcast the unforget-table AFC Asian Cup 2019 cam-paign, with historic matches including the final between

Qatar and Japan – where Qatar won their first ever AFC Asian Cup trophy.

During the rest of the week, beIN Sports HD1 will have ded-icated LaLiga (Tuesday), Serie A (Wednesday), Bundesliga (Thursday) and FIFA Club World Cup ( March 27) shows and matches exclusive with Arabic commentary for all its fans across MENA – including the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup final between Liverpool and Flamengo, which was played in Doha’s Khalifa International Stadium.

Launching beIN Sports’ sporting schedule, Head of Sports for beIN MENA, Jonathan Whitehead, said: “During these difficult times, beIN is here for you. Our first priority is ensuring our customers con-tinue to get the very best services we can provide, so we have delved into our deep archives so that you can relive the action from your favourite matches and tournaments. Over the next few weeks, you will have the chance to watch some of your most memorable sporting moments 2018 FIFA World Cup, AFC Asian Cup 2019, and the best from the European football leagues. We want you to stay safe and stay connected and inspired on beIN over the next few weeks.”

Inspection campaigns on food outlets begin in Al DaayenTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

The Health Monitoring Section at Al Daayen Municipality has launched inspection and awareness campaigns on food outlets to ensure the compliance of health rules.

Under ongoing campaign, the inspectors of Health Monitoring Section inspected 28 eateries, three fish shops, three meat shops, 10 supermarkets and grocery shops, five fruits and vegetables shops. The inspectors also visited 22 shops and four bakeries operating in Lusail, said the Ministry of Municipality and Envi-ronment in a press release.

The campaigns also aim to educate the workers and food han-dlers at food outlets about the importance of complying to health rules for the safety of food items.

An official during an inspection campaign in a food outlet.

Mondrian Doha launches delivery servicesTHE PENINSULA — DOHA

Mondrian Doha, managed by the leading international life-style hospitality group, sbe, announced the launch of “Taste To Go”, an initiative that allows the people of Qatar to continue enjoying Mondrian’s incredible culinary experience from the comfort of their homes.

Offering the convenience of take-away and delivery, Mon-drian Doha has started deliv-ering some of its most popular dishes from its restaurants Hudson Tavern and Morimoto.

The first eponymous Morimoto in the Middle East is the creation of acclaimed Jap-anese Chef Masaharu Morimoto, who brings his signature seamless integration of Western and Jap-anese ingredients. From Sushi, to Sashimi, Maki and Skewers, guests can continue to indulge in the best of Morimoto conven-iently from their home.

Hudson Tavern is a burger bar offering craft burgers using stellar ingredients. Hudson Tavern is more than just a burger spot, with a variety of mouth-watering options on

offer such as Hot Wings, Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches, Hot Dogs, Sweet Potatoes Fries and Oreo Mint Cheesecake Dessert.

Wael Maatouk, General Manager at Mondrian Doha, stated: “Our top priority at Mondrian Doha is always the safety and wellbeing of our guests and employees. In order to bring our incredible culinary experiences to our cus-tomers at their home, our team worked hard to enable delivery services as quickly as possible.”

He added: “We want to ensure that customers can con-tinue to enjoy our top-quality culinary offering delivered directly to their door, allowing them to dine in from the comfort of their home. Our delivery service strives to be the very best in Doha. To order, our customers simply need to give us a call.”

Customers can choose to call the hotel to order and get 20% off plus free delivery, or simply use the Talabat delivery service to place their order. Customers can directly contract Mondrian on 4045 5999, or message the hotel on WhatsApp through 5050 7888, to request the full menu and place their order.

Katara launches contests via social media

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For book lovers, “Mishwar Wa Riwaya” application (Katara Publishing House) offers 29 audio narrations that they can enjoy listening to.

“We exploit this phase as all events and activities in Katara are interrupted and to be transferred via the Internet, to entertain you and offer you pleasant moments while being safe at home,” stressed Dr. Al Sulaiti. He pointed out that Katara has the mission towards the community in raising awareness and education, especially during these times when everyone needs to be innovative and creative.

QOC opens volunteering for its staff to cmbat coronavirusQNA — DOHA

The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) has announced the opening of volunteering for its employees to combat corona-virus (Covid-19). The initiative comes under the directions of HE QOC President Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani. The QOC has offered to support the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) by providing the expertise and resources of its team to volunteer in limiting the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Safari Hypermarket to remain open 24 hours

04 FRIDAY 20 MARCH 2020MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

Iran to grant amnesty to10,000 more prisonersAP — TEHRAN

Iran’s top leader will pardon 10,000 more prisoners in an apparent effort to combat the coronavirus, state TV reported yesterday.

As part of steps to curb the spread of the new virus that has killed more than 1,100 people in Iran, the country has already released 85,000 prisoners on temporary leave.

Separately, the United Arab Emirates added to its list of people barred from entering all residents who are currently abroad. The decision impacts people whose homes, children, bank accounts and livelihoods are in the country, but who were travelling or outside the country. .

The UAE, which is home to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, has 113 confirmed cases of the virus. It announced it was suspending all new labour permits, including

those for drivers and domestic workers, until “further notice.”

The Middle East has some 20,000 cases of the virus, with most in Iran or originating from Iran.

For most people, the virus causes only mild or moderate

symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover from the new virus.

To encourage people to stay at home in Iran, Health Ministry s p o k e s m a n K i a n o u s h Jahanpour wrote on social media that the virus infects 50 Iranians on average every single hour and that “one dies every 10 minutes.”

“Make smart decisions about travel, visits and meetings,” he wrote on Twitter, as highways remained crowded with people traveling to see family ahead of the Iranian New Year today.

State TV quoted judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili as saying that 10,000 prisoners — among them an unknown number of inmates whose cases are political and related to activism or speech —would be granted amnesty under a decree by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the occasion of Nowruz.

Among those temporarily freed was Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, an Iranian-British dual national long held on internationally criticized charges. Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who works for the charitable Thomson Reuters Foun-dation, was arrested in 2016 on charges of trying to topple the government while traveling with her toddler daughter.

Members of firefighters wear protective face masks, amid fear of coronavirus disease, as they disinfect the streets, ahead of Nowruz, yesterday.

COVID-19 toll rises to 1,284 in IranAFP — TEHRAN

Iranian authorities yesterday announced 149 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, raising the toll to 1,284 in a country that is one of the worst hit by the pandemic.

While yesterday’s death toll surpassed that of the pre-vious day’s —147 were reported on Wednesday — the number of new cases has fallen, according to figures provided by Deputy Health Minister Alireza Raisi.

A total of 18,407 people have contracted the disease in Iran, with 1,046 new cases con-firmed in the last 24 hours.

“In 11 provinces” out of 31,

“the number of infections has decreased because people have followed our guidelines”, Raisi said, renewing the call for Ira-nians to stay home.

Tehran province had the highest number of new cases, with 137 reported, followed by the central province of Isfahan, with 108 and Gilan in the north with 73.

Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour tweeted that at the current rate, “50 new cases of infection are detected every hour and one death recorded every 10 minutes”.

“Considering this infor-mation, make a conscious decision concerning travel, days out and family visits during

Nowruz”, the Persian New Year holiday, he said.

The Nowruz celebrations, which last from Friday until April 3, often see Iranians travel to visit family.

For several weeks, Iranian authorities, who have so far refused to impose confinement or quarantine measures, have asked the population to refrain from travelling and to take the virus “seriously”.

Several provinces have ordered the closure of hotels.

In a rare move, Iran announced on Monday the shuttering of four important Shiite holy sites in an effort to stem the spread of the epidemic.

Two Turkish

soldiers martyred

in Idlib province

AFP — ANKARA

Two Turkish soldiers were killed in the rebel-held north-western Syrian province of Idlib, officials said yesterday, the country’s first reported casualties since a ceasefire began earlier this month.

A ceasefire was agreed in Idlib — the last Syrian outpost out of the control of President Bashar Al Assad’s forces —between rebel-backer Turkey and regime-ally Russia which entered into force on March 6. It has largely held.

But Turkey’s ruling party deputy chairman, Mahir Unal, said on Twitter yesterday that a soldier was killed in a “heinous attack” in the Idlib town of Muhambal.

The governor’s office of the central Turkish province of Sivas tweeted that a 25-year-old soldier from the area was also killed in the Syrian region.

The governorate provided no details on how the soldier was killed or exactly where.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Tuesday that four regime fighters and a rebel were killed in clashes in southern Idlib.

Ankara hopes the ceasefire will stem a months-long gov-ernment assault on the jihadist-dominated region, which is home to some three million people. Nearly a million in Idlib were forced to flee towards the Turkish border during a regime-led offensive underway since December, which killed around 500 civilians.

Turkish shops close after Erdogan vows support for economyREUTERS — ISTANBUL

Turkish clothing retailers said yesterday they were shutting stores and shopping centres were set to close due to the spread of the coronavirus, after Ankara promised economic support and advised Turks to stay home for three weeks unless necessary.

Turkey announced a second death and said cases of the highly contagious respiratory illness had nearly doubled to 191, as it ramps up steps to rein in the virus, closing cafes, banning mass prayers and halting flights to 20 countries.

There are some 435

shopping malls in Turkey which have annual turnover of $160 billion and directly employ 530,000 people, according to the AYD shopping centres’ association.

On Wednesday President Tayyip Erdogan called on people to minimise social contact until the virus threat recedes, but he did not tell them to stay away from work as he announced a 100bn lira ($15.40bn) economic support package.

Retailers including Mavi Giyim and Vakko Tekstil, listed on the Istanbul stock exchange, said they were closing their retail stores. Mavi shares

dropped 4.7 percent and Vakko fell 3.5 percent after the announcements.

“Our first and foremost pri-ority is the health and safety of our employees and our con-sumers globally,” Mavi said as it announced the closure of stores in Turkey, Germany and Canada, adding that its online stores would remain open.

After the latest steps, the lira was nearly 0.5 percent weaker against the dollar, hitting its weakest level since September 2018, and bringing its losses this year to some 9 percent.

The AYD said its board rec-ommended malls shut in line with Erdogan’s comments and

was awaiting instructions from authorities. “None of our employees will lose their work and (the situation of) our tenants will be eased as nec-essary,” it said.

Luxury goods chain Vakko said it was temporarily halting production activities as well as shutting stores. Other retailers who announced store closures included Boyner, Ipekyol and Marks & Spencer stores in Turkey, operated by Fiba Retail.

After meeting ministers and business leaders, Erdogan said on Wednesday Turkey would postpone debt payments and reduce the tax burden on some sectors in a package of

measures to support the economy, but called on people to limit their movements.

“None of our citizens must leave their homes or get into contact with anyone, unless absolutely necessary, until the threat disappears,” Erdogan said.

Among specific measures, Erdogan said Turkey’s tourism accommodation tax was being suspended until November to support the key tourism sector, which accounts for some 12% of the economy. Debt repay-ments of companies affected by the coronavirus will be post-poned for a minimum of three months.

Snowfall in AnkaraA municipal worker clearing snow at a park in Ankara, Turkey, yesterday. Proposed UN resolution would

support Sudan’s peace effortsAP— UNITED NATIONS

A proposed UN Security Council resolution would replace the joint UN-African Union peace-keeping force in Sudan’s restive Darfur region with a UN political and peace-building mission whose primary aim would be to support Sudan’s fragile tran-sition to democracy including in drafting a new constitution and preparing for elections.

The draft resolution would basically eliminate the main mission of the UN-AU force known as UNAMID - the pro-tection of civilians in Darfur. That responsibility would be handed over to the transitional government formed last August

by the military and civilian pro-testers following the ouster of the country’s longtime auto-cratic ruler Omar Al Bashir.

The proposed resolution would establish “a political, peace support and peace-building mission,” to be known as the United Nations Political and Peace-building Integrated Mission in Sudan or UNPPIMS, starting May 1 for an initial period of one year.

It would authorize the deployment of up to 2,500 international police and one battalion for a quick reaction force - usually between 500 and 800 troops - to protect UN personnel, facilities and humanitarian workers.

Africa sees ‘extremely rapid evolution’ of pandemic: UNAP — JOHANNESBURG

More African countries closed their borders yesterday as the coronavirus’ local spread threatened to turn the continent of 1.3 billion people into an alarming new front for the pandemic.

“About 10 days ago we had about five countries” with the virus, WHO’s Africa chief Dr. Matshidiso Moeti told reporters. Now 34 of Africa’s 54 countries have cases, with the total close to 650. It’s an “extremely rapid evolution,” she said. In fact, the first sub-Saharan Africa case was announced February 28.

She said she did not believe that large numbers of infected people are going undetected in Africa. However, she did acknowledge a challenge in the shortage of testing kits. Forty-three countries have testing capability, up from two when the outbreak began.

The WHO regional chief also expressed concern about travel restrictions and their impact on the ability to deliver needed resources. The WHO is considering humanitarian cor-ridors, Moeti said.

But many African nations were taking their cue from China and other countries by

sharply restricting travel.Yesterday, Senegal closed

its airspace. Angola and Cam-eroon shut air, land and sea borders. Rwanda blocked all commercial flights for a month. The island nation of Mauritius closed its border after announcing its first case.

Some people in other coun-tries clamored for their govern-ments to block flights, too.

South Africa — where the number of cases jumped to 150 from 116 — said all places that sell alcohol for drinking on site must close from 6pm to 9am And they must accommodate less than 50 people at a time or

close immediately.Authorities have raised con-

cerns about crowded drinking spots in the country with the most cases in sub-Saharan Africa.

In Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni has barred attendance at bars and clubs, calling limiting “merry-making” a new front in virus prevention.

Meanwhile, a day after the US Embassy in Ethiopia issued a security alert about reports of attacks on foreigners accused of having the virus, that coun-try’s health minister appealed for calm.

Israel isolates 4 Palestinian prisoners amid virus fearsANATOLIA — RAMALLAH

The Israeli Prison Service said yesterday it had isolated four Palestinian inmates after they were suspected of coming into contact with a “person” having coronavirus.

The service affirmed that none of them was infected with the new coronavirus.

The Palestinian Prisoner Society earlier said that four Palestinian prisoners con-tracted the virus in an Israeli prison.

In a press release, the non-governmental organization said the Israel Prison Service informed that the prisoners

caught the virus in Megiddo Prison, which was transmitted to inmates by a prisoner who was interrogated by an Israeli investigator at the Petah Tikva Investigation Center.

“The prisoners face the risk of infection from the jailers and investigators who pose a threat to their lives,” the NGO added.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh on Sat-urday asked the Israeli author-ities to immediately release the Palestinian prisoners lan-guishing in the Israeli jails.

Shtayyeh asserted that the release should include child prisoners and those suffering from chronic diseases.

BLOOMBERG — WASHINGTON

Iran has released Michael White, an American citizen and Navy veteran imprisoned there since 2018, on medical furlough, partly answering a call from the US to free prisoners as a good-will gesture as coronavirus ravages the Islamic Republic.

White was released to the Swiss Embassy in Tehran on condition that he not leave the country, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said in a statement yesterday. A spokesman for White’s family, Jonathan Franks, confirmed the release on Twitter and said that White has a fever and a cough, both potential symptoms of the coronavirus.

“The United States will continue to work for Michael’s full release as well as the release of all wrongfully detained Amer-icans in Iran,” Pompeo said.

US prisoner released on medical furlough

State TV quoted judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili as saying that 10,000 prisoners would be granted amnesty under a decree by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the occasion of Nowruz.

05FRIDAY 20 MARCH 2020 ISLAM

Islamic ablution: A lesson in hygieneROSE S ASLAN

As outbreaks of the coronavirus spread throughout the world, people are reminded over and

again to limit physical contact, wash hands and avoid touching their face. The recent Netflix docuseries “Pan-demic: How to Prevent an Outbreak” illustrates how the Islamic ritual washing, known as “wudu,” may help spread a good hygiene message.

The series focuses on Syra Madad, a Muslim public health specialist in a New York hospital, who takes a break to say her prayers at the Islamic Center of New York University. Before entering the prayer room, Madad stops to perform wudu, and washes her mouth and face as well as her feet.

Islamic law requires Muslims to rit-ually purify their body before praying. As a scholar of Islamic studies who researches ritual practices among Muslims, I have found that these prac-tices contain both spiritual and physical benefits.

Ritual purityThe Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be

Upon Him) left detailed guidance for Muslims on how to live their lives, including how to pray, fast and stay ritually pure. This guidance is available in collections called the Hadith.

According to Islamic law, there are minor and major impurities. Minor impurities involve urinating, defecating and sleeping, among other practices. A person of Muslim faith is supposed to perform a ritual washing of their bodies before praying to get rid of these minor impurities.

Wudu is to be performed, as was done by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), in a specific order before praying, which takes place five times a day. Before each prayer, Muslims are expected to wash themselves in a certain order—first hands, then mouth, nose, face, hair and ears, and finally their ankles and feet.

While washing with water is required when it is available, if a person has limited access to water, then a Muslim is permitted to sym-bolically “cleanse” their hands and face with sand or other natural materials.

A Quranic verse says: “And if you are ill or on a journey or one of you comes from the place of relieving himself or you have contacted women and find no water, then seek clean earth and wipe over your faces and your hands with it. Indeed, God is ever

Pardoning and Forgiving.”A hadith from the Prophet (PBUH)

also describes the Earth as a purifying agent if there is a scarcity of water for washing.

Major impurity is defined in Islamic texts as occurring after sexual activity or when a woman completes her men-strual cycle. A Muslim woman should not pray during her menstrual cycle. To purify oneself after such an impurity, a Muslim is required to take a shower,

called “ghusl.” A person needs to wash their entire body, from head to toe, including their hair.

Spiritual actionsPreparing for prayer by washing

one’s body using water can be a deeply spiritual act for Muslims. Islamic studies scholar Paul Powers argues it isn’t “empty ritualism,” but an embodied practice that helps the individual center on an inner religiosity.

Similarly, another Islamic studies scholar, Marion Katz, explains in her 2002 book “Body of Text” that the importance of wudu lies in its symbolic cleansing. It does not always cleanse the parts of the body that are “physi-cally involved in the pollution act.”

Ritual purity is different from hygienic practices, although Islam also emphasizes good hygiene. Muslims take care to wash often, including using water after going to the bathroom.

Aligning with public health guidelines

In view of the coronavirus risk, Muslim leaders around the world, including in the US have aligned their religious opinions with public health experts.

Muslim institutions have begun to recommend that people make sure to wash their hands for 20 seconds with soap before doing wudu. Emphasizing that wudu alone cannot prevent the virus from spreading, other Islamic institutions recommend that mosques supply extra soap and hand sanitizer near the washing area.

They have issued rulings to cancel Friday prayers, urged Muslims to wash their hands with soap regularly, refrain from touching their face and practice social distancing.

At this time, Islamic practices that emphasize purity of body could help reiterate the importance of hygienic practices along with the use of soap or hand sanitizer, to reduce one’s vulner-ability to the virus.

www.theconversation.com

An example for leaders and the public during a crisisUthman ibn Affan (RA, may Allah

be pleased with him) was a notable companion of Prophet

Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), as well as the third head of state of the new Muslim nation in the seventh century. He was a wealthy trader and well known for his generosity. The concern and com-passion he had for all people is an example for leaders today even a thousand years later!

Uthman (RA) lived in Madinah, which is located in the Arabian Peninsula. This is a very dry part of the world where there is very limited rainfall. One year the area was threatened with a severe drought and the people of Madinah started running out of food.

During this time people learned that a trade caravan of 1,000 camels belonging to Uthman (RA) was on its way to Madinah. Each camel was laden with food and items much needed by the people of Madinah.

Knowing that the caravan belonged to Uthman (RA), people knew his gen-erous reputation and were confident that he would offer a good deal for the food and other items his caravan was carrying for sale.

The merchants of Madinah went to Uthman (RA) and started to offer him generous offers to buy his goods. Uthman (RA) received all of the merchants gra-ciously but rejected their offers. “I am afraid I cannot do business with you,” he said, “for I have already received a better offer.”

The merchants were perplexed about who was giving a better offer. Uthman told them. “You see I have received a better offer from God, for God has said that anyone who gives away wealth and helps those in need will get back far more

than he gives away.”So Uthman (RA) donated his entire

caravan for the welfare of the people. When he found out that the weak and ailing were unable to collect the goods because of huge crowds at the pro-vision centers, he joined the distri-bution effort to make sure that eve-ryone was able to receive food and other items of sustenance in a fairway.

This is an example for leaders, busi-nesses and people when they confront an emergency. You do not increase the prices. You do not hoard items. You do not price gouge. You give preference to the needs of the weak and disadvantaged.

This is what the Quranic verse says, “And those who, before them, had settled in the homeland, and had accepted faith. They love those who emigrated to them and find no hesitation in their hearts in helping them. They give them priority over themselves, even if they themselves are needy. Whoever is protected from his natural greed—it is they who are suc-cessful.” (Quran 59:9)

www.islamcity.org

The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially declared Coronavirus (COVID-19) a

global pandemic.As Muslims, it is important to

remind ourselves that everything occurs by the will and divine wisdom of Allah Almighty. When faced with trials and adversities, our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) prayed to Allah through con-stant invocations with the language of love and servant-hood.

We can find many prophetic tra-ditions that not only teach us what to pray but also guidelines on how to pray. Some of the prayers are done routinely, in the morning and in the afternoon, to emphasize the signif-icance and benefits that entail such discipline.

In dealing with Coronavirus (COVID-19), we are advised to strengthen our faith in these difficult times and to increase our prayers and supplications to Allah (swt), on top of taking preventive measures to help contain this situation.

Allah (SWT) has promised to respond our call upon Him.

Your Lord has proclaimed, “Call upon Me, I will respond to you” (Quran 40:60)

First, let’s make dua for those who are sick. In a hadith, Rasulullah (PBUH)said:

“Whoever among you suffers some sickness, or his brother suffers some sickness, let him say: ‘Our Lord Allah Who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your will is done in heaven and on earth; as Your mercy is in heaven, bestow it upon the earth. Forgive us of our sins. You are the Lord of the good. Send down some Your mercy and healing upon this pain,’ and he will be healed.” (Hadith by Imam Abu Daud)

In light of recent events, here are some Supplications (Dua) from the beautiful prophetic tradition to seek well-being and protection from diseases.

Dua for protection against every kind of harm

Bismillahil-lazi la yadhurru ma’asmihi syai’un fil ardhi wa la fis-sama’i wa huwas-sami’ul aleem

In the Name of Allah with Whose Name there is protection against every kind of harm in the earth or in heaven, and He is All-Hearing and All-Knowing

(Sunan Abu Daud)

Dua to seek forgiveness and for well-being

Allahumma inni as’alukal-’afwa wal ‘afiyah fid-dunya wal-akhirah

O Allah, I seek Your forgiveness and my well-being in this world and the Hereafter

(Sunan Ibn Majah)

Dua for total protection Allahummah-fazni min baini

yadaiya, wa min khalfi, wa ‘an yameeni, wa ‘an syimali wa min fauqi, wa a’uzu bi’azomatika an ughtala min tahti

O Allah protect me from my front, behind me, from my right and my left, and from above me, and I seek refuge in Your Magnificence from being taken unaware from beneath me

(Sunan Ibn Majah)

Dua for protection from every evil that brings harm

A’uzu bikalimatillahit-tammaati min syarri ma kholak

I seek protection in the perfect words of Allah from every evil that has been created

(Sahih Muslim)

Dua for protection from diseases

Allahumma inni a’uzubika minal baros, wal junuun wal juzzam, wa min sayyi’il-asqam

O Allah, I seek refuge in You from leprosy, madness, elephantiasis, and evil diseases

(Sunan Abi Daud)These supplications are

encouraged to be read daily, partic-ularly in the morning and in the afternoon.

As part of expressing our servant-hood to Allah (SWT), we are also obliged to put in the right effort to our prayer. Hence, we should actively take the proper steps to prevent such harmful diseases from spreading further. Indeed, Allah (SWT) answers the prayers of those who are truly sincere in seeking His refuge. (Adapted from Muslim.sg)

Duas for protection against Illness and harm

Wudu or ablution is to be performed, as was done by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), in a specific order before praying, which takes place five times a day. Before each prayer, Muslims are expected to wash themselves in a certain order — first hands, then mouth, nose, face, hair and ears, and finally their ankles and feet. While washing with water is required when it is available, if a person has limited access to water, then a Muslim is permitted to symbolically “cleanse” their hands and face with sand or other natural materials.

“And those who, before them, had settled in the homeland, and had accepted faith. They love those who emigrated to them and find no hesitation in their hearts in helping them. They give them priority over themselves, even if they themselves are needy. Whoever is protected from his natural greed—it is they who are successful.” (Quran 59:9)

This is an example for leaders, businesses and people when they confront an emergency. You do not increase the prices. You do not hoard items. You do not price gouge. You give preference to the needs of the weak and disadvantaged.

06 FRIDAY 20 MARCH 2020ASIA

India bans incoming flights; imposes one-day Sunday curfew for 1.3 billion peopleAGENCIES — NEW DELHI

India banned incoming interna-tional flights yesterday, restricted public gatherings and blocked roads to seal Kashmir after it reported its first corona-virus infection.

Meanwhile, the central gov-ernment announced a one-day curfew for the 1.3-billion population.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on Indians in a nationwide address yesterday to observe a “Janata (civil) curfew” on Sunday from 7am to 9pm as he warned that the deadly virus could spread further.

“No-one should leave their homes, roam around the streets or in their neighbourhoods... This self-imposed curfew attempt will be a strong symbol to show self-restraint in the interest of the country,” he said.

The one-day effort will help “prepare us for future chal-lenges,” he added.

The government says there have been 173 infections and four deaths but the public is

increasingly anxious and there has been a rush on food stores and essential supplies.

Modi warned the public not to be complacent, pointing out that there had been an “explosion” in the number of cases worldwide.

“We are a developing country and we cannot say that it won’t impact India,” he said.

Most people, except those in essential services, will have to stay home for several weeks, he added, without giving a timeframe.

“If you feel you won’t be affected or infected, you are wrong,” Modi said.

“You will be endangering your family and the community and I request every citizen to stay home for the next few weeks.”

The 69-year-old called on Indians to thank medical per-sonnel and other emergency providers by clapping for five minutes at 5pm on Sunday, and for employers not cut employees’ pay.

India, the world’s second most populous country after China, said it would ban all inter-national commercial passenger flights from landing from Sunday for a week.

The country has already sus-pended visas for the vast majority of foreigners seeking to enter.

Srinagar’s senior superin-tendent of police, Haseeb Mughal, said that road blockades across the valley had been imposed to prevent the spread of the virus.

“I had to take my mother to hospital in Srinagar but the

police closed the road,” said Mohammed Ayub, from the nearby town of Budgam.

“I am waiting here for the last two hours. I can’t even go home now as the road is blocked due to a traffic jam.” Kashmir has been relatively unaffected by the virus, reporting its first case on Wednesday.

In India, several areas intro-duced curbs on gatherings as coronavirus cases rose to 166.

Late on Wednesday, the

desert state of Rajasthan invoked colonial-era laws that prevent the unlawful assembly of four or more people - powers more often used to quell riots.

Similar restrictions were introduced in Noida, a satellite city of New Delhi.

The financial hub of Mumbai expanded its partial shutdown of offices to government buildings yesteday, with at least half the staff ordered to work from home.

Online retailers say they are struggling to keep up with demand as consumers stockpile supplies.

“We are seeing unprece-dented order volumes in all cities in India,” said Hari Menon, chief executive of online grocery retailer BigBasket.

Since emerging late last year in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the flu-like coronavirus has infected more than 218,000 people and killed nearly 9,000.

Women wearing face masks as a preventive measure against the coronavirus use their mobile phones outside a Metro station, in New Delhi, yesterday.

Nirbhaya case convicts to be executed todayAFP — NEW DELHI

Four men convicted of the 2012 gang-rape and murder of a New Delhi student will be executed today, the victim’s lawyer said after a court dismissed a final last-minute petition to delay the hangings.

The brutal attack on Jyoti Singh aboard a city bus sparked nationwide demonstrations and shone a spotlight on the alarming rates of sexual vio-lence in India.

A trial court in Delhi, which had already postponed the hangings three times, yesterday dismissed another plea to delay the executions scheduled for 5.30am today.

“The court rejected their petition and said they have exhausted all their legal rights.

The hangings will take place today at the scheduled time,” Singh’s lawyer Seema

Kushwaha told reporters.Singh’s mother Asha Devi

welcomed the ruling and said

her “daughter’s soul will finally rest in peace”.

The convicts had filed numerous petitions seeking delays to the executions.

One challenged the rejection of his mercy plea by the president, the last remedy available to death-row convicts in India. The Supreme Court said it found no reason to interfere with the president’s decision and rejected his petition.

Yesterday’s ruling came amid widespread support for the executions.

The media has also been full of grisly details about the hangings, including that the nooses will be smeared with banana and clarified butter to soften them.

Singh, 23, was returning

home from the cinema in the evening with a friend when they boarded a bus, thinking it would take them home.

The five men and one juvenile knocked the friend unconscious and dragged Singh to the back of the bus and raped and tortured her with a metal rod. The physiotherapy student and the friend were then dumped on the road. Singh died 13 days later in a Singapore hos-pital from massive internal injuries.

The suspected ringleader was found dead in his prison cell in a suspected suicide, while the 17-year-old juvenile spent three years in a detention centre.

Almost 400 people are on death row in India, but no one has been executed since 2015.

AP Singh (centre), advocate of Akshay Thakur, one of the four men convicted in the Nirbhaya case, speaks to media along with Thakur’s wife, Punita Devi (right), in New Delhi, yesterday.

S Korea reports rebound in new virus cases

REUTERS — SEOUL

South Korea posted a jump in new coronavirus cases on Thursday, reversing days of slowing infections after a new outbreak emerged in a nursing home in the hardest-hit city of Daegu.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Pre-vention reported 152 new cases, taking the national tally to 8,565.

The country had recorded fewer than 100 new infections for four days in a row until Wednesday.

Among the new cases, 97 are from Daegu, southeast of Seoul, where the KCDC said at least 74 patients at a nursing home have tested positive for the virus this week.

The KCDC did not specify now many of the new cases were linked to the nursing home directly.

The fresh outbreak has prompted Daegu officials to launch extensive checks on all other nursing homes involving more than 33,000 people.

“The rise in new infections could be ascribed to the nursing home where the out-break occurred and our across-the-board survey on similar facilities”, Daegu Mayor Kwon Young-jin told a briefing, without elaborating on the numbers.

Indonesia calls for stepped up virus testing as deaths climbREUTERS — JAKARTA

Faced by a rising death toll from coronavirus and a big jump in infections, Indonesia’s president yesterday called for testing to be stepped up immediately in the world’s fourth most populous country.

Less than three weeks since the country of more than 260 million announced its first case of the virus, its death toll had reached 25 — higher than in any other Southeast Asian country.

The number of infections in Indonesia jumped by 82 to 309, which together with daily rises of 110 in Malaysia and 60 in Thailand sent the number of reported infections across Southeast Asia to nearly 2,200.

“I ask that the number of

testing kits and the number of test centres are increased and we get more hospitals involved,” President Joko Widodo said.

The presidential palace said both he and his wife had tested negative for COVID-19.

Indonesia has faced crit-icism from medical workers for a slow start to testing that might have more quickly revealed the scale of the problem in an archi-pelago that spans an area greater than the continental United States.

Indonesia had carried out only 1,592 tests as of yesterday — only a few hundred more than Cambodia despite having over 16 times as many people and being far wealthier.

South Korea, which has been praised for testing that has

helped to stem its outbreak, has been carrying out an average of more tests every two hours than Indonesia has done in total. It has carried out over 290,000 tests.

A health ministry official said nearly all of the dead in Indonesia had other medical consitions, such as diabetes, high blood pressure or chronic heart problems. The youngest’s age was given was 37.

In a measure to curb the spread of the virus, the capital Jakarta will suspend all religious gatherings such as Muslim Friday prayers and church services for two weeks, the gov-ernor said.

Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country.

People stand on designated area to ensure social distancing inside an elevator at a shopping mall in Surabaya, Indonesia, yesterday .

Malaysia seeks Rohingya for coronavirus checks after mosque outbreakREUTERS — KUALA LUMPUR

Malaysian authorities are trying to track down an estimated 2,000 Rohingya who attended a religious gathering that led to a spike in coronavirus cases across Southeast Asia, a security source and two other people familiar with the matter said.

The head of a refugee rights group said her checks sug-gested that “several hundred” Rohingya attended the gath-ering late last month at a mosque on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur.

More than 100,000 Rohingya live in Malaysia after fleeing Myanmar, but they are considered illegal immigrants.

Their status would likely make them reluctant to identify themselves to get tested for the coronavirus even if they showed symptoms, other sources in the Rohingya com-munity said.

Malaysia’s search for the Rohingya highlights the chal-lenge for governments trying to track the virus among com-munities living without official papers and wary of authorities.

The religious gathering was attended by some 16,000 people. As well as the Rohingya and other refugees and undoc-umented migrants, about 1,500 Muslims from across Asia attended.

More than 670 coronavirus cases in Southeast Asia have been linked to the gathering, including 576 in Malaysia, 61 in Brunei, 22 in Cambodia, five in Singapore, seven in Thailand, and one each in Vietnam and

the Philippines.Malaysia has 900 corona-

virus cases in all, the highest in Southeast Asia.

Malaysian authorities have been tracking down the par-ticipants but say they have been unable to find about 4,000 of them.

Lilianne Fan, chair of the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network’s Rohingya Working Group, said authorities including the police, the UN refugee agency and NGOs were working to identify those who attended the event or who have been exposed to people who attended.

Although the refugee com-munity has been largely coop-erating, some were reluctant to go for tests, fearing arrest, she said, adding that many more Burmese Muslim ref-ugees, another ethnic group from Myanmar like the Rohingya, attended the event.

“One important and urgent step that should be taken is for the government to publicly come out to state that all undocumented migrants and refugees need not fear arrest and detention, and that all pos-itive cases will be given free medical treatment and not be subject to arrest at hospitals,” Fan said.

Police declined to comment and directed queries to the Malaysian National Security Council under the prime min-ister’s office. It could not be reached for comment.

The government had asked the police criminal investi-gation division to look for the missing participants, the security source said.

Asean summit in Vietnam postponed until end of June

REUTERS — HANOI

A summit of Southeast Asian and other international leaders scheduled in Vietnam early next month has been post-poned until end-June due to worries about coronavirus, Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has informed leaders of other Southeast Asian countries about the postponement, the ministry said.

The 36th summit of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) had been scheduled to take place on April 6-9 in Vietnam, the group’s chair this year.

The postponement decision came after Vietnam announced on March 17 that it would introduce mandatory quarantine for all visitors from the United States, Europe and Asean countries and suspend the issue of new visas for all foreign nationals.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on Indians in a nationwide address yesterday to observe a ‘Janata (civil) curfew’ on Sunday from 7am to 9pm as he warned that the deadly virus could spread further.

07FRIDAY 20 MARCH 2020 ASIA

No new domestic virus case in China for first timeAFP — BEIJING

China yesterday marked a major milestone in its battle against the coronavirus pandemic as it recorded zero domestic infec-tions for the first time since the outbreak emerged, but a spike in imported cases threatened its progress.

The stark reversal comes as nations across the world have shut down in a desperate effort to contain the pandemic, with more people now infected and having died abroad than in China.

There were no new cases in Wuhan — the central city where the virus first emerged in December — for the first time since authorities started pub-lishing figures in January, according to the National Health Commission.

Wuhan and its 11 million people were placed under strict quarantine on January 23, with more than 40 million other people in the rest of Hubei province entering lockdown in the following days.

The rest of China also enacted tough measures to limit public gatherings. There were eight more deaths in China — all in Hubei — raising the nationwide total to 3,245, according to the

commission. There have been nearly 81,000 infections in China but only 7,263 people remain sick with the COVID-19 disease.

The global number has shot past 200,000, with more than 8,700 deaths.

On March 10, President Xi Jinping visited Wuhan for the first time since the outbreak began and declared that the spread of the disease was “basically curbed”.

The same day, Hubei officials allowed people to travel within the province for the first time since January, excluding Wuhan.

On Wednesday, Hubei authorities announced they were partially opening its borders to allow healthy people from low-risk areas to leave the province if they have jobs or residences

elsewhere. This also excludes Wuhan. Life has slowly started to return to normal in the rest of the country, with people back at work, factories up and running, and schools in some regions resuming or preparing to go back to class.

But there is concern about a second wave of infections due to an influx of cases from abroad, with an average of 20,000 people flying into China every day.

Beijing and other regions now require most international arrivals to go into 14-day quar-antine in designated hotels.

China’s civil aviation ministry said yesterday it would limit pas-senger numbers on inbound international flights, and said air-lines must have their schedules pre-approved by the ministry.

Thousands of passenger flights have already been can-celled globally as carriers slash routes in the face of sweeping travel restrictions and plunging demand.

The Civil Aviation Adminis-tration also said some interna-tional flights to Beijing would be directed to other cities where passengers would go through medical screening and customs before re-embarking on their original flight to the capital.

The National Health Com-mission said there were 34 more cases brought in from abroad, the biggest daily increase in two weeks, with 189 in total now.

“We should never allow the hard-won and continuous pos-itive trend to be reversed,” Xi said at a Communist Party leadership meeting on Wednesday.

The disease is believed to have jumped from an animal to humans at a market that illegally sold wild game in Wuhan late last

year. The first case emerged in Wuhan on December 1, according to Chinese researchers, but it was not until January 9 the country confirmed a “new type of coronavirus”.

Between January 5 and 17, China reported no new cases of the virus, even as Japan and Thailand declared their first infections — a period that coin-cided with annual political meetings in Wuhan and Hubei province.

Passengers wearing face masks arrive at Shanghai Pudong International Airport, in Shanghai yesterday.

US pauses Afghanistan troops movement over virus fearsAP — WASHINGTON The US military says it is pausing the movement of any new troops into Afghanistan and is quaran-tining 1,500 troops and civilians who recently arrived in order to protect them from the corona-virus, the top commander in the country said yesterday.

Troops who are already in the country may have their

deployments extended so mis-sions can continue.

The announcement comes as the US is reducing its troops presence in Afghanistan as part of the peace deal signed last month between the Taliban and the United States.

In a tweet, Army Gen. Scott Miller said the military has started new screening procedures for personnel arriving in the country.

About 1,500 service members, civilians and contractors who have gone to Afghanistan from various countries in the past week are living in screening facil-ities. Miller said most are either new deployments or people returning from leave and they are being quarantined “out of an abundance of caution, not because they are sick.” He added that the US-led coalition is also

limiting access to critical per-sonnel and bases.

So far, 21 US and coalition personnel exhibiting flu-like symptoms are in isolation and receiving medical care.

For most people, the corona-virus causes only mild or mod-erate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can

cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.

The majority of people recover from the new virus. According to the WHO, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover. In Afghanistan, 22 people have been diagnosed and no deaths have been reported.

Isolation wards established at 35 hospitalsacross PakistanINTERNEWS — ISLAMABAD Special Assistant to the Paki-stani Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alle-viation Dr Sania Nishtar has said fully equipped isolation wards have been established at 35 hospitals across the country to combat the coro-navirus.

Speaking in a special pro-gramme in Islamabad yes-terday, she said research is in progress to find out the vaccine of the coronavirus.

However, basic medicines are being used for its treatment at the moment.

She said if anyone suspects symptoms, including dry cough, difficulty in breathing and fever then he or she must contact the hospital.

The Special Assistant stressed the need to maintain cleanliness and wash hands to win the battle against corona-virus. She said one should not panic and rather follow the precautionary measures to deal with the virus.

Dr Nishtar said that during the recent visit of President Dr Arif Alvi to China, the country assured to provide 300,000 face masks and 10,000 pro-tective suits as well as financial assistance to fight the disease.

The Special Assistant said Pakistani students are fully safe in China.

She said Pakistan enjoys longstanding relations with China based on mutual trust and respect.

Australia, New Zealand seal borders to fight virusAFP — SYDNEY

Australia and New Zealand moved to seal off their borders yesterday, announcing unprec-edented bans on entry for non-residents in the hope of stemming the rise of COVID-19 infections.

The announcement came as Australia’s biggest airline Qantas said it would halt all international flights for at least two months and suspend two-thirds of staff in response to the pandemic, while the country’s central bank cut interest rates to record lows.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the ban on anyone who is not a citizen or permanent resident coming to Australia will be in place from Friday evening.

A similar measure was announced by his New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern, who acknowledged: “I rec-ognise how extraordinary this is. In no time in New Zealand’s history has a power like this been used.”

Australia and New Zealand had already announced a slew of restrictions to tackle the pan-demic, but have so far stopped short of closing schools or insti-t u t i n g w i d e r - r a n g i n g lockdowns.

Policymakers hope the bans will slow the rate of infection enough to avoid more dra-conian measures that would cripple the two economies and transform life for months to come. Australia currently has 709 confirmed cases of coro-navirus, with the total doubling roughly every three days. New Zealand has 28 cases.

Morrison said around 80 percent of Australia’s corona-virus cases came from “someone who has contracted the virus overseas or someone who has had direct contact with someone who has returned from overseas”.

A recent opinion poll showed 69 percent of Aus-tralians back closing the border.

Ardern said the measures would also ban visa holders.

“Today’s decision stops any

tourist, or temporary visa holder such as students or tem-porary workers, from coming to and entering into New Zealand.” -

Earlier Qantas said all of its international flights would be suspended by late March for at least two months.

“The efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus have led to a huge drop in travel demand, the likes of which we have

never seen before,” Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said, adding that the airline would suspend 20,000 of its 30,000 staff during the shutdown.

The move also affected Qantas’ budget offshoot, Jetstar. A number of foreign airlines also service Australian routes.

Airlines worldwide face an unprecedented existential threat as the coronavirus shuts down global travel, leaving

governments with controversial and costly decisions about which carriers to bail out.

The Transport Workers’ Union said Qantas was making staff foot the bill for the crisis.

“This plan is designed to wipe the slate clean on all worker entitlements, including long-service leave and accrued benefits,” union secretary Michael Kaine said in a statement.

People wearing face masks walk on a street in Sydney, Australia, yesterday.

Thailand to tighten entry rules for all nationalitiesREUTERS — BANGKOK

Thailand will introduce new measures requiring all travellers to the country to present medical certificates and health insurance before gaining entry in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said yesterday.

Thailand reported 60 new coronavirus cases, the biggest daily jump in the number of cases so far to take its total infections to 272, a health official said yesterday.

Travellers to Thailand have to now show authorities a health certificate, issued no more than 72 hours before trav-elling, confirming that they have been tested and are free from the virus. They must also present an insurance policy showing minimum coverage for coronavirus of not less than $100,000. This measure was previously a requirement for countries the Thai government

classified as “disease infected zones” which include China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, Italy and Iran.

“We are blocking infection from coming into the country that is why people need medical certificate and health insurance to enter Thailand,” Prime Min-ister Prayuth said.

“This will now include all countries to minimise infection so we can control it,” he said.

It is unclear when the new measure will take effect and how it will be enforced at various border points.

The introduction of the new measure comes as dozens of civil society organisations in Thailand demand the gov-ernment close the border and restrict people’s movement to limit infection.

Thailand has recorded a large jump in the number of infections this week which the health authority has divided into new imported cases and those with connection to earlier cases.

North Korea imposes ‘intensified’ measuresANATOLIA — PYONGYANG

North Korea announced yeserday that it has imposed “intensified” measures to stem the spread of novel coronavirus.

Pyongyang has so far claimed that the virus — declared as global pandemic by World Health organisation — has not affected the country, though this has not yet been by an independent source.

The state-run daily Rodong Sinmun reported that factories and workplaces throughout the country were “more zealous and practical in their hygienic and anti-epidemic work to thoroughly prevent COVID-19 while conducting the pro-duction and economic activities.”

However, several reports claim that hundreds have been quarantined to prevent any infection spread in the country which shares most of its northern border with China where COVID-19 first emerged. Deaths due to coronavirus in the North Korean military have not

been ruled out. The official Central News Agency reported that “emergency anti-epidemic” offices in coastal areas were “further tightening” measures on maritime entry into the country to “prevent the inflow of COVID-19.”

“In this regard, health edu-cation has been given to citizens so that they can neither pick up

nor touch any floating things in the sea, while a strong measure was taken to destroy such things by fire under the hygiene and anti-epidemic regulations,” it said.

Neither Johns Hopkins Uni-versity (JHU) nor University of Washington HGIS lab — two top global data managers on the spread of COVID-19 spread —

have data on North Korea.The Seoul-based Yonhap

news agency said authorities in Pyongyang banned people from using public transportation without wearing masks.

Fully closing its border with South Korea, the country also restricted cross-border movement with China.

North Koreans using public transportation are obliged to wear masks and sanitise their hands before boarding trains, subways, buses and taxis, Yonhap said.

The regime also directed people to have their tempera-tures checked before using public transportation for long-distance travel, and “if they show suspected symptoms, they should be barred from boarding,” Yonhap reported.

Researchers analyse the ingredients of a new disinfectant product at a factory in Pyongyang, North Korea, yesterday.

Fully closing its border with South Korea, the country has also restricted cross-border movement with China.

The stark reversal comes as nations across the world have shut down in a desperate effort to contain the pandemic, with more people now infected and having died abroad than in China. There were no new cases in Wuhan — the central city where the virus first emerged in December — for the first time since authorities started publishing figures in January, according to the National Health Commission.

Capitals from Berlin to Washington are shaking off fiscal restraint and vowing to fight the virus’s economic fallout with a blitz of spending.

08 FRIDAY 20 MARCH 2020VIEWS

CHAIRMAN

SHEIKH THANI BIN ABDULLAH AL THANI

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

DR. KHALID BIN MUBARAK AL-SHAFIeditorinchief@pen.com.qa

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EDITORIAL

THE sports world is facing a major lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic. Dozens of sports events around the world have been cancelled in the last two months with a string of related announcements made over the last few days. One of the key announcements on Tuesday centered around the hosting of the 2020 Euro Championship which was to be hosted across 12 countries from June 12 to July 12. European football governing body UEFA three days ago postponed its showpiece event to 2021. Normally a single host country would stage the event but the 2020 edition of Euro Championship was scheduled across a dozen coun-tries with the final slated to be held at the iconic Wembley Stadium.

UEFA wasted little time in deciding to postpone the championship to next year, thus allowing some more time to clubs in Europe to resume action and wrap the regular season if it stretches to June or even July. With football leagues across the world suspended because of the virus, which first surfaced in China in December last year, the postponement of Euro 2020 must be a relief to the countries that host the money-making club matches every season. A couple of hours after UEFA announced its decision to postpone the Euro 2020, Copa America organisers CONMEBOL said the 12-team will now be held in 2021.The June 12-July 12 tour-nament - in which Asian champions Qatar and Australia are two of the invited teams - will be held in Argentina and Columbia next year. Other key footballs events to be suspended include UEFA Champions League, AFC Champions League and Copa Libertadores. Almost all national football leagues - including QNB Stars League in Qatar - are also suspended at the moment.

“This has hit us hard though we were really excited about staging it,” Colombia’s Sports Minister Ernesto Lucena said while announcing the postponement of 2020 Copa America. “It’s an extraordinary measure due to an unexpected situation, and therefore responds to the fundamental need to avoid an exponential evolution of the virus,” added South American football governing body CONMEBOL.

Also last week, Pakistan Cricket Board suspended its hugely popular T20 series Pakistan Super League while The world’s richest league Indian Premier League (IPL) has also been pushed to April. Formula One, Tennis, Golf, Rugby and Basketball authorities also postponed top events in a gesture to show “health comes before competition”.

Nobody would have predicted this three months ago but for everyone’s safety, it is time to take a break.

Sports world takes a break

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Quote of the day

Unfortunately, the situation is not developing in the best way at the moment, and we deviate from the macroeconomic forecasts that we made for the current year. Of course, this will affect the budget.

Anton Siluanov, Russian Finance Minister

A screen shows US President Donald Trump on his daily White House coronavirus briefing as traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York.

Governments are finally getting the message that they’ll have to run exponentially bigger budget deficits to keep economies afloat as the coronavirus brings the world to a sudden halt.

Capitals from Berlin to Wash-ington are shaking off fiscal restraint and vowing to fight the virus’s economic fallout with a blitz of spending. The tally of pledges is approaching $2 trillion worldwide and rising daily, and much of it will have to be financed with public debt.

President Donald Trump endorsed checks to every US household in a stimulus plan that settled at $1.2 trillion. Australia will also provide handouts, and Japan may too. Having already dropped her commitment to a balanced budget, German Chancellor Angela Merkel even said she was willing to discuss pooling the euro-area’s borrowing capacity.

For many, the question is what took them so long. The virus’s spread from China looks set to tip the world into its first recession since 2009 and central banks are running low on ammunition. And even after a jump in the past 24 hours, market borrowing costs across the world are near historic lows -- making a massive stimulus cheaper.

Another argument for the splurge is that it’s cheaper to act now to keep households, small businesses and industries solvent

-- instead of standing pat and watching a cascade of second-round effects that could send a recession spiraling toward depression.

“In a wartime situation you always borrow like mad,” said Ed Yardeni, president and chief investment strategist of Yardeni Research Inc. He coined the term “bond vigilantes” in the 1980s to describe investors who worried about debt levels and held some-thing like a veto over government budgets.

The coronavirus has turned much of Wall Street into a dif-ferent kind of vigilante -- clam-oring for the government to spend more, not less.

The market capacity to lend may not be limitless. On Tuesday as the scale of U.S. measures was announced, the yield on the 10-year Treasury surged by the most in a day since 1982. Strate-gists from Deutsche Bank said in a report Monday that the fiscal stimulus will “lead to a permanent scar on government balance sheets that were already stretched.”

But private investors likely won’t have to supply all the addi-tional funds. Central banks like the Federal Reserve are poised to step up their purchases of government debt.

“The way we got through World War II, the government borrowed a lot of money and the Federal Reserve agreed to peg interest rates at extremely low levels,” said Yardeni. “In effect, that is what we are seeing now.”

The wave of government bor-rowing may amount to something like a bridging loan for the economy, because many analysts -- based on previous shocks -- think that a virus-driven downturn

will be sharp but short. While Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley both declared on Tuesday that a global recession is now underway, their base cases are for a revival in the second half of the year.

Analysis by Jamie Thompson of Oxford Economics found that over the past 200 years, short recessions have usually been fol-lowed by a strong recovery. While there are risks, he expects global growth will grind to a halt in the second quarter before rebounding to a rapid 5% pace within a year.

The bigger the cushion under a collapsing economy, the less damage to repair afterward.

Olivier Blanchard, the former chief economist at the Interna-tional Monetary Fund, said on Twitter that it’s “no time to be squeamish” about public debt, backing it up with a list of US def-icits during World War II that peaked above one-quarter of eco-nomic output in 1943.

Blanchard’s line was echoed in the UK, where Robert Chote, head of the independent budget watchdog, said it “is no abdication of budget responsibility to be spending what you need to spend to deal with this in the best way -- in some ways it’s like a wartime situation.”

Policymakers have to do much more than put a dollar number to the response. They also have to come up with effective ways to get the cash where it’s needed. Across the world, governments are attempting measures from debt and tax holidays to direct cash handouts. The early focus has been on smaller business and house-holds. But corporate giants like Boeing Co., which sought a gov-ernment bailout this week, may need support too.

NANJALA NYABOLA AL JAZEERA

On March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19, the disease caused by a coronavirus that is new to human beings, a pandemic. A day later, Kenya confirmed its first case, alongside other African countries like Sudan, Ghana, Gabon and Guinea. More than anything, the decla-ration is a call to multilateral action that shocks individual states into moving resources towards the management of the new disease. It says: "This is unusual, and we need to work together to get it under control." The myth of Africa evading COVID-19 has been dispelled, and as the region braces for the imminent storm, it is important to stop and take stock of the lessons from other countries.

I should declare at this point that I am not a doctor nor am I a

healthcare professional. What follows is a political analysis of a public health situation, because the decisions that underpin how states will respond to the crisis are fundamentally political. What resources get diverted and where, what messages get crafted or disseminated, which countries get banned and which do not - these are all political decisions undertaken by policy-makers. Thus for African nations, it is crucial to distil the political lessons of the outbreak from elsewhere in order to avoid repeating mistakes and to build from the knowledge.

The first and most important lesson that COVID-19 has reminded the world of is that diseases do not respect class or borders. By March 13, Canadian Prime Min-ister Justin Trudeau was in self-isolation, as a cautionary measure after his wife caught the virus. The Australian home

affairs minister, Peter Dutton, meanwhile, is under quar-antine in hospital after con-tracting the virus. With out-breaks of diseases like cholera or tuberculosis, there is often a subliminal connection to poverty, perhaps because these diseases are overtly connected to access to facilities like clean water and uncrowded housing, which poor people in poor countries simply do not have. But the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is affecting people from all classes, and in fact, wealthier people are more vul-nerable because so far the disease has been closely con-nected to travel and airports. Everyone is vulnerable to this disease and whatever measures are proposed must not focus on one segment of the society at the expense of the other - making soap and clean water widely available is just as important as restricting price

gouging on hand sanitizer. More broadly, countries like

Kenya have demonstrated a stark double standard in dealing with visitors from Europe as they have with vis-itors from China. Yet the vast majority of more than 200 cases reported in Africa so far have come from European countries. There are certainly practical reasons for this hesi-tation. Tourism is Kenya's biggest export for example, and visitors from Italy specifically and Europe more broadly com-prise a large part of that market. If this travel pattern is broken, Kenya's economy will certainly buckle. I, too, was initially reluctant to support a flight ban because I believed that with 60 countries affected at the time, it would be bolting the stable door after the horse had escaped. Plus the thousands of jobs that the sector creates would be significantly affected.

Wartime mood grips world leaders, and debt fears melt away

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Africa has a head start in managing coronavirus

Established in 1996

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09FRIDAY 20 MARCH 2020 EUROPE

A general view of a street in Sorrento as Italy remains under a nationwide lockdown in a government decree that orders Italians to stay at home, in Sorrento yesterday.

Virus death toll in Spain soars nearly 30% to 767AFP — MADRID

Spain yesterday announced that deaths from the novel corona-virus had jumped by nearly 30 percent over the past 24 hours to 767.

The number of people who have contracted the disease has meanwhile grown by around 25 percent to 17,147, according to health ministry figures, bringing Spain’s tally near that of Iran, the world’s third most affected country after China

and Italy.The number of confirmed

cases of COVID-19 is expected to rise significantly in the coming days as testing for the virus becomes more readily available in the country of around 46 million people.

Madrid remains the worst-hit area, accounting for 6,777 cases, or 40 percent of the total infections in Spain, while the number of deaths in the capital rose to 498 -- around two-thirds of the national total.

Regional authorities in Madrid yesterday transformed a hotel into a hospital for patients with mild cases of coronavirus to try to keep the health system from being over-whelmed by the pandemic.

Nationwide there were 939 people with the virus in intensive care units.

As elsewhere in the world, elderly people account for the bulk of the infections. Roughly 33 percent are over the age of 65, said Fernando Simon, the

health ministry’s emergencies coordinator.

Spain has since Saturday been on a nearly total lockdown to try to curb the spread of the disease, with people allowed outside only to go to work, buy food and medicine, seek medical care or look after an elderly person.

Police said 48 people had been arrested across the country over the past 24 hours for breaking the rules restricting the freedom of movement.

Trucks stuck in a traffic jam on the A4 highway, some 40km from Germany’s border with Poland near Bautzen, eastern Germany, yesterday.

Germany calls up reservists in pandemic fightAFP — BERLIN

Germany is calling up tens of thousands of reservists to help in the country’s battle against the coronavirus pandemic, Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said yesterday.

The army began mobilising its first batches of reserve troops over the weekend, said the minister, adding that it will next standby “other reservist troops in through very targeted calls, and through a general call”.

Europe’s biggest economy has a pool of 75,000 reservists for whom the army has updated

contact details, the minister said. Some 2,300 reservists responded to the weekend mobilisation call, including more than 900 who can be deployed to health services, said Kramp-Karrenbauer.

The minister said soldiers can step in when the capacity of civil forces is exhausted.

“We can and will deliver what is needed from us,” she said. The German government is accelerating efforts to ramp up capacity to treat patients, as official data show the number of infections soaring past 10,000.

The numbers, which also include 20 deaths, are compiled

by the disease control agency Robert Koch Institute using information from regional authorities of cases tested for the virus.

But depending on an indi-vidual state’s policies, many other possible infections may not be reflected in the numbers because the patients have not been tested as they show only mild symptoms or have not been in contact with a known case.

Health Minister Jens Spahn said regulations will be eased for employees in medical services to help in hospitals, to take the pressure off qualified nurses and doctors.

EU chief to be tested after Michel Barnier diagnosed with virus AP — BRUSSELS

Michel Barnier, the European Union’s chief negotiator for the bloc’s future relationship with Britain after Brexit, has been infected with the new corona-virus.

The 69-year-old Barnier said in a Twitter video message yesterday that he is doing well

and is in good spirits, while the EU’s executive arm said nego-tiations with British officials can continue.

“I am following all the nec-essary instructions, as is my team,” Barnier said from his home, where he has been con-fined. “For all those affected already, and for all those cur-rently in isolation, we will get

through this together.” Barnier’s announcement

prompted a series of good wishes messages, including from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Charles Michel.

European Commission spokesman Eric Mamer said von der Leyen will be tested

following Barnier’s positive result. Barnier and the EU chief last met two weeks ago. So far she has not shown any symptom of illness.

Michel’s press service said he is well, too, but will “tel-ework at home for another two days” as a matter of precaution after meeting with Barnier 12 days ago.

Even before Barnier’s tweet, the second round of post-Brexit trade negotiations that was due to take place in London this week had already been can-celed because of the corona-virus outbreak.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman, James Slack, said “we send Michel Barnier our best wishes.”

UK puts 20,000 militarypersonnel on standby as virusshuts down swathes of London

REUTERS — LONDON

The United Kingdom put 20,000 military personnel on standby, closed dozens of underground train stations across London and Queen Eliz-abeth left the city for Windsor Castle as the coronavirus crisis shut down whole swathes of the economy.

Against a background of panic buying in supermarkets and the biggest fall in sterling for decades, the British gov-ernment moved to quash rumours that travel in and out of London would be restricted.

“There is zero prospect of any restriction being placed on travelling in or out of London,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman told reporters.

He said police were respon-sible for maintaining law and order and there were no plans to use the military for this purpose, though the gov-ernment put military reservists on formal notification.

But dozens of underground train stations across the capital were due to be closed and an industry source said super-markets were expecting police support amid the fears that London was facing a virtual shutdown.

After ordering the closure of schools across a country that

casts itself as a pillar of Western stability, Johnson on Wednesday said the gov-ernment was ruling nothing out when asked whether he would bring in measures to lock down London.

Johnson has asked the gov-ernment to come up with plans for a so-called lockdown which would see businesses closed, transport services reduced, gatherings limited and more stringent controls imposed on the city.

Queen Elizabeth yesterday left the capital for her ancient castle at Windsor. The monarch has also agreed to postpone the planned state visit by Japanese Emperor Naruhito in June.

London’s transport authority said it would close up to 40 underground train sta-tions until further notice and reduce other services including buses and trains. The line between Waterloo station and the City of London financial district would be closed.

“People should not be trav-elling, by any means, unless they really, really have to,” London Mayor Sadiq Khan said.

Britain has so far reported 104 deaths from coronavirus and 2,626 confirmed cases, but UK scientific advisers say more than 50,000 people might have already been infected.

France likely toextend lockdownas many floutrestrictions

AFP — PARIS

France’s two-week lockdown to try to stem the coronavirus is likely to be extended, offi-cials said yesterday, as the interior minister blasted “idiots” who are flouting the home confinement rules.

President Emmanuel Macron ordered French resi-dents to stay at home from Tuesday except for essential excursions such as going to the doctor, walking the dog, or going for a solitary run, and banned any gatherings.

People can go to work only if homeworking is not possible.

But news reports have shown groups of people strolling in parks and the one-metre (three feet) safe inter-personal distance has been frequently ignored.

Interior Minister Chris-tophe Castaner accused people of underestimating the risk, telling Europe 1 radio: “There are people who think they are modern-day heroes by breaking the rules while they are in fact idiots.” Some offi-cials have called for even stricter limits and Paris police are mulling closing riverside walkways.

Macron yesterday urged companies and workers to continue their activities “in compliance with the health safety rules”. Genevieve Chene, who heads France’s public health agency, said two to four weeks of confinement are needed for the outbreak to be adequately contained.

“It is likely that it is indeed necessary to extend (the con-tainment measures) in order for the braking to be suffi-cient,” Chene said.

The timing will depend largely on how closely people conform with the confinement measures, she said, adding that France’s peak was likely to be around the middle or end of May.

UK apologises for Windrush scandal after official reportAFP — LONDON

The British government apol-ogised yesterday for its treatment of Britons of Caribbean origin who were wrongly detained or deported for being illegal immigrants, after the publication of a devastating official report.

The inquiry found that suc-cessive governments trying to show they were tough on illegal immigration displayed a “complete disregard” for the “Windrush” generation who moved to Britain legally in the 1950s and 1960s.

Their status was regu-larised in 1971 but few were given any official documen-tation, nor were records kept.

As a result, hundreds and potentially thousands were caught up in successive immi-gration clampdowns, with 164 people who arrived in Britain before 1973 either detained or deported since 2002.

The inquiry found the Home Office interior ministry had shown “an institutional ignorance and thoughtlessness towards the issue of race and the history” of those involved.

It said the scandal, which broke in 2018 and prompted the resignation of the then home secretary, was “for-seeable and avoidable”.

Officials also failed to properly consider the unin-tended consequences of their policies — and when the scandal broke, they were slow to react.

In response, current Home Secretary Priti Patel said she was “shocked” by the “terrible injustices” involved.

“There is nothing that I can say today which will undo the pain, the suffering and the misery inflicted on the Win-drush generation,” she said in a statement to parliament.

“What I can do, is say that on behalf of this and suc-cessive governments — I am truly sorry for the actions that spanned decades.

“I am sorry that people’s trust has been betrayed.

“And we will continue to do everything possible to ensure that the Home Office protects, supports and listens to every single part of the community it serves.” The government has already set up a compensation scheme worth around £200m. More than 11,700 people have also been granted a form of documen-tation that confirms their right to remain in Britain, Patel said.

Italy overtakes China with 427 new deaths; global toll over 9,000AFP/AP — ROME

Italy passed a grim milestone yesterday when it overtook China as the country with most reported deaths from the new coronavirus sweeping the planet.

Italy announced another 427 fatalities yesterday, taking its total to 3,405, according to an AFP tally.

China, where the outbreak first emerged in December last year, has officially reported 3,245 deaths.

Globally, the death toll from the virus — whose main symptoms are a dry cough and fever — has risen to over 9,000.

Countries have tightened border controls and unleashed nearly a trillion dollars to prop up the teetering world economy, only to see the once-in-a-century pandemic seem-ingly spiral further out of control.

China listed no new domestic infections for the first time since the outbreak first erupted in the central city of Wuhan in December, before spreading worldwide.

It appeared to have staunched the virus with strict measures including a complete quarantine of Wuhan since

January, meaning the number of infections and deaths in the rest of the world have surpassed those in China.

But there were fears that Asia faces a second wave of cases imported from abroad, with 34 new cases reported in China, the highest figure for two weeks. As the toll surged in his country, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said the national lockdown, which has been copied around Europe, would be prolonged to April 3, shattering hopes of a quick end to the crisis.

“We will not be able to return immediately to life as it was before,” he said.

Health authorities have cited a variety of reasons for Italy’s high toll, key among them its large population of elderly people, who are partic-ularly susceptible to serious complications from the virus, though severe cases have also been seen in younger patients.

Italy has the world’s second-oldest population, and the vast majority of its dead - 87% — were over 70.

Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit, a virologist at Germany's Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, said Italy's high death rate could be explained in part by the almost total breakdown of the health system in some areas.

"That's what happens when the health system collapses,” he said.

Yesterday, a visiting Chinese Red Cross team criticized Italians' failure to properly quarantine themselves and take

the national lockdown seriously.

On a visit to the northern city of Milan, the head of a Chinese Red Cross delegation helping advise Italy said he was shocked to see so many people walking around, using public transportation and eating out and partying in hotels.

Sun Shuopeng said Wuhan saw infections peak only after a month of a strictly enforced lockdown.

"Right now we need to stop all economic activity and we need to stop the mobility of people,” he said. "All people should be staying at home in

quarantine.” Aside from the elderly and

the sick, most people have mild or moderate symptoms, like a fever or cough, and most recover in a matter of weeks.

Italy is imposing 206-euro ($222) fines for anyone found wandering the streets without a valid excuse such as grocery shopping or getting to and from work. Police in Rome read periodic instructions out of megaphones for everyone to “stay home and maintain dis-tance” from each other.

Some stores now also order shoppers to put on disposable plastic gloves.

Italy has registered 3,405 fatalities from the virus so far, whereas China's toll stands at 3,245.

10 FRIDAY 20 MARCH 2020EUROPE / AMERICAS

Trump’s adviser to attend Victory Day parade in MoscowREUTERS — MOSCOW

US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien will travel to Moscow to attend Russia’s World War Two Victory Day celebrations in May, US Ambas-sador John Sullivan said yesterday.

President Vladimir Putin presides over an annual parade on May 9 to commemorate the Soviet Union’s World War Two victory over Nazi Germany and uses the occasion to show off the country’s military hardware.

Relations between Russia and the United States are at post-Cold War lows, strained by everything from Russia’s detention on spying charges of a former US Marine to US alle-gations that Moscow meddled in its 2016 election.

Russia invited US President Donald Trump to attend the May 9 event, but he declined. US officials said he had wanted to go, but faced pressure from his advisers not to.

National Security Advisor

Robert O’Brien will lead the US delegation at the event instead, Ambassador Sullivan said in a statement circulated by the embassy yesterday.

“This high-level delegation underscores the commitment of the United States to honor the joint sacrifice of the allies, and the people of the United States and the Soviet Union who gave so much to ensure a safer world for all,” it said.

The spread of the new coronavirus has raised ques-tions over whether the May 9 parade will take place, but the Kremlin has said preparations are going ahead as normal.

Russia clarifiescause of firstvirus-linkeddeathAFP — MOSCOW

Russia reported its first death connected to the coronavirus pandemic yesterday, initially saying an elderly woman died of pneumonia before changing the cause of death to a blood clot.

The Moscow health department said the 79-year-old, who had tested positive for COVID-19, died in a Moscow hospital.

Svetlana Krasnova, head doctor at Moscow's hospital No. 2 for infectious diseases, said in a statement that the woman had been admitted with "a host of chronic diseases", including type 2 diabetes and heart problems.

Officials said she had been treated in an intensive care unit and that people she had contact with had been isolated.

The statement said she died from pneumonia and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Twitter: "Unfortunately, we have the first loss from the coronavirus infection."

But health officials later put out another statement saying an autopsy confirmed she had

died of a blood clot.A subsequent official tally

of the number of official coro-navirus cases in Russia included 199 confirmed infections but no deaths.

It was not clear whether the woman's death would even-tually be counted as a result of the virus.

Reports identified the woman as a professor at Mos-cow's Gubkin State Oil and Gas University, though the uni-

versity did not confirm this.Moscow officials on

Wednesday urged elderly res-idents to stay away from crowded places like cafes and shopping centres.

The national health watchdog tightened restrictions for all travellers from abroad in a new decree published yes-terday, requiring "all indi-viduals arriving to Russia" to be isolated, either at home or elsewhere.

Previously only arrivals from a list of countries partic-ularly hit were told to follow two-week-long self-isolation procedures.

President Vladimir Putin this week said the coronavirus situation was "generally under control" and the government has promised to step up testing.

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin yesterday called on people to "cut down on contacts as much as possible".

Portugal declares 15-day state of emergency nationwideAFP — LISBON

Portugal has declared a nationwide 15-day state of emergency to fight the spread of coronavirus, which will make it easier for the government to reduce people’s movements.

“This is an exceptional decision for an exceptional period,” conservative President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said during a televised address in which he explained his reasons for adopting the measure which came into effect on Wednesday at midnight.

“This is not an interruption of democracy. It is democracy trying to prevent an irrepa-rable interruption in people’s lives.”

It is the first time that a state of emergency has been declared in the country of around 10 million people since it returned to democracy in the 1970s fol-lowing decades of rightist dictatorship.

The decree declaring a state of emergency allows the gov-ernment to suspend some con-stitutional rights and freedoms, such as the freedom of

movement and the right to go on strike. It also allows the gov-ernment to force people into quarantine.

The government will unveil what concrete measures it will adopt under the state of emer-gency on Thursday following its weekly cabinet meeting.

Socialist Prime Minister Antonio Costa said the decree — which was approved by par-liament — would not be used to impose a “mandatory curfew”.

The measures that are adopted will “reinforce the fight and prevention” of this pan-

demic, he added.The state of emergency can

be renewed once the initial 15-day period is over and the premier said it could last several months.

Portugal has so far reported 448 confirmed cases of coro-navirus and two deaths, but the government has warned that the number of infections in the country is expected to keep climbing “at least” until the end of April.

The country has already limited gatherings to no more than 100 people, shut schools

and imposed restrictions on the number of people who can visit restaurants and limited visitors to retirement homes.

Earlier on Wednesday the government ordered the central city of Ovar, which is home to around 55,000 people, to be put on lockdown after about 30 people tested positive for coro-navirus there.

Governments on every con-tinent have implemented measures to contain the disease, which has infected more than 200,000 people and killed over 8,000 since it first emerged.

Hungarian police officers gesture to motorists at the Hungarian-Austrian border, which has been has been closed over COVID-19 outbreak, near Nickelsdorf, Austria, on Wednesday.

Austrian province of Tyrol on lockdownREUTERS — VIENNA

Austria’s province of Tyrol, a popular tourist region with a population of 750,000, imposed a lockdown from yesterday until April 5 to curb the spread of coronavirus, the local government said.

Several ski resorts including Ischgl and St Anton have been

put under quarantine in recent days as they are seen as hotspots for the spread of the virus in Austria.

The western province has reported 474 out of Austria’s 1646 cases.

People are only allowed to leave their villages or towns when it is necessary to cover basic needs, to provide services

of general interest or to get to work, Tyrol governor Guenther Platter said.

Only people who live in Tyrol, work in the critical infra-structure or supply goods are allowed to enter the province, he added.

The movement of goods is permitted under certain conditions.

Brazil Senate president, two ministers infected as COVID-19 cases rise to 428 REUTERS — RIO DE JANEIRO/ SAO PAULO

The coronavirus outbreak hammered Brazil on Wednesday, crushing local markets, infecting more members of the country’s political elite and prompting loud protests against President Jair Bolsonaro, whose son waded into a diplomatic spat with China.

Bolsonaro’s national security adviser, the mines and energy minister and the head of the Senate all tested positive for the virus on Wednesday, as the death toll rose to four dead with 428 people infected.

Bolsonaro has come under mounting criticism for his lax handling of the outbreak, which

he initially labeled a “fantasy.” The virus’ spread represents a major threat for the far-right populist, who was already struggling to resuscitate the country’s weak economy.

On Wednesday night, Brazil erupted to the sound of banging pots and pans and shouts of “Bolsonaro out!” with house-bound protesters expressing their anger toward the Pres-ident. The protests took place in major Brazilian cities and even included projections of “Bolsonaro out!” onto the sides of buildings, according to social media videos.

Bolsonaro says he has twice tested negative for the corona-virus, but 14 people in his entourage to Florida 10 days ago have tested positive. The

fallout from the trip, in which he met US President Donald

Trump, haunts him.In a fresh headache late on

Wednesday, his son Eduardo, a federal lawmaker who also travelled to meet Trump, sparked a diplomatic dust-up with China, Brazil’s top trade partner.

In a tweet, he likened China’s role in the coronavirus outbreak to that of the USSR during the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, alleging a cover-up. “It’s China’s fault and freedom is the answer,” he tweeted.

His comments, which echoed those of Trump, sparked an angry response from the Chinese embassy, which said he had contracted a “mental virus” while in the United States.

“Sadly, you are a person without any international vision or common sense,” it tweeted at him. “We suggest you don’t

rush to become the US spokesman in Brazil, or risk an ugly fall.”

With criticism mounting, the President held an afternoon news conference with ministers — all wearing masks — to announce emergency measures to contain the virus and buttress the economy, including assistance for poorer families and support for a struggling avi-ation industry.

CLOSING Bolsonaro said Brazil was considering closing all its land borders, following a decree closing its border to Venezuelans, citing contagion risks and strains on the public health system.

The 15-day ban on Vene-zuelans entering Brazil could be extended, it added.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro wears a protective face mask during a press conference on COVID-19, in Brasilia, on Wednesday.

Hungary to deploy military at 140 state companiesREUTERS — BUDAPEST

Hungary will deploy special military task forces to monitor the operations of 140 state companies providing critical services during the coronavirus pandemic, Defence Minister Tibor Benko said late on Wednesday.

The newly created task forces, consisting of several sol-diers, police officers and dis-aster unit workers, will provide regular briefings on the com-panies to the defence ministry, Benko told public television.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government declared a state of national crisis last week due to the spread of the virus. According to official figures, 73 people have con-tracted the coronavirus in Hungary. One person has died, two have recovered, and 124 people are under quarantine.

“One of the tasks of these task forces among others is to ensure the operation and safety of these Hungarian companies, these critically important Hun-garian companies,” Benko said.

He did not name the firms

but said they included busi-nesses operating in energy, tel-ecommunications, transport and healthcare sectors.

“Many more” companies across Hungary could fall under the remit of the newly-created units, he said.

A government spokesman also declined to name any of the companies, saying the information was classified. However, a spokesman for energy group MOL, in which the state owns an over 25% stake, said it was among those involved.

The military and police have already helped MOL overcome certain operational issues, spokesman Domokos Szollar said.

These have included guarding a transit corridor and petrol stations as thousands of Romanian and Bulgarian workers were travelling through Hungary, and ensuring the return of some MOL trucks stuck in Italy. “We expect real-time and prompt coordination support from the government and that is what we need in these times,” Szollar said.

Belgrade halts allcommercialflights to curbspread of virus

REUTERS — BELGRADE

Serbia barred all commercial flights to and from its main airport in the capital Belgrade yesterday, for the first time since 1999, after the author-ities imposed a state of emer-gency to curb the spread of coronavirus.

The Nikola Tesla airport, operated by France’s Vinci, remains open only for human-itarian flights and planes with special permits. Serbia has already barred flights to and from the airport in the southern city of Nis.

“As of March 19, all com-mercial passenger... flights to and from the Nikola Tesla Airport will be temporarily barred... the border crossing at the airport will be tempo-rarily closed,” the statement said.

Inbound planes that had already taken off when the ban was announced would be allowed to land, but pas-sengers must undergo man-datory self-isolation, the gov-ernment said.

Serbia currently has 97 confirmed cases of corona-virus infection, an increase of eight on the previous day, out of 486 people tested. There have been no fatalities so far.

The last time flights to and from the airport in Belgrade were barred was in 1999, during the NATO bombing campaign aimed at ending a crackdown of Serbia’s security forces against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.

On Wednesday, Serbia’s military deployed at borders in line with the state of emer-gency declared on Sunday.

Serbia has already ordered the elderly to stay indoors.

The COVID-19 outbreak has raised questions over whether the May 9 parade will take place, but the Kremlin has said preparations are going ahead as normal.

Municipal workers use disinfectant while cleaning a street to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Lviv, Ukraine, yesterday.

11FRIDAY 20 MARCH 2020 AMERICAS / CLASSIFIEDS

US coronavirus cases cross 10,000 with over 150 deadAFP — WASHINGTON

The US is fast-tracking antima-larial drugs for use as a treatment against the new coro-navirus, President Donald Trump said yesterday.

The announcement follows encouraging research into chlo-roquine and hydroxychloro-quine in France and China, but many in the wider scientific community have cautioned more work is needed to prove they really work for COVID-19.

“We’re going to be able to make that drug available almost immediately, and that’s where the (Food and Drug Adminis-tration) has been so great,” Trump told reporters, referring to both antimalarials.

“They’ve gone through the approval process — it’s been approved. They took it down from many, many months to immediate. So we’re going to be able to make that drug available by prescription.”

The US has recorded 10,755 cases of new coronavirus infection, 154 of them fatal. But authorities expect the number to increase steeply in the

coming days because of increased levels of testing after initial delays.

FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said that, while the anti-malarials have not yet been for-mally approved, access was being expanded so that author-ities could gather more data.

This is known as “compas-sionate use.” “If there is an experimental drug that is poten-tially available, a doctor could ask for that drug to be used in a patient. We have criteria for that and very speedy approval for that,” said Hahn.

“As an example, many Americans have read studies and heard media reports about this drug chloroquine, which is an anti-malarial drug.

“It’s already approved, as the President said, for the treatment of malaria as well as an arthritis condition.

“That’s a drug that the Pres-ident directed us to take a closer look at, as to whether an expanded use approach to that could be done to actually see if that benefits patients.” Chloro-quine is a synthetic form of quinine, which has been used

to treat malaria since the 1940s. Hydroxychloroquine shares a similar mechanism of action but is less toxic.

French drug maker Sanofi on Wednesday said it stood ready to offer the French gov-ernment millions of doses of hydroxychloroquine, sold under its brand name Plaquenil, in light of a “promising” study carried out by Didier Raoult of the IHU Mediterranee Infection in Marseille.

Raoult reported this week that after treating 24 patients for six days with Plaquenil, the virus had disappeared in all but a quarter of them. The research has not yet been peer reviewed and published.

It followed a recent study by a Chinese team that was pub-lished in the journal Clinical

Infectious Diseases on March 9 on the two compounds that also found encouraging results, albeit in a lab setting.

Several clinical trials are also underway in China, where authorities have said the drug produced encouraging results, but the data has not yet been made public.

Writing in the journal Anti-viral Research, French

scientists Franck Touret and Xavierde Lamballerie urged caution, noting that chloroquine had been proposed several times for the treatment of acute viral diseases in humans without success.

“Its use in the treatment of HIV-infected patients has been considered inconclusive and the drug has not been included in the panel recommended for HIV

treatment,” they wrote.“The only modest effect of

chloroquine in the therapy of human virus infection was found for chronic hepatitis C.”

They also said that “the margin between the therapeutic and toxic dose is narrow and chloroquine poisoning has been associated with cardiovascular disorders that can be life-threatening.”

US President Donald Trump points to a reporter to ask a question during the coronavirus response daily briefing at the White House in Washington, DC, yesterday.

US-Canada border closes tonight to non-essential tripsAP — TORONTO

The Canadian government said yesterday that the Canada-US border will be closed to all non-essential travel in both direc-tions on Friday night.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also said it will take “weeks to months” for social-distancing measures in his country to be lifted amid the pandemic.

Both the US and Canada have been in talks in recent days to negotiate a mutual halt to tourism and family visits but leaving the flow of trade intact.

Canada relies on the US for 75% of its exports and about 18% of American exports go to Canada.

Essential cross-border workers like health-care pro-fessionals, airline crews and truck drivers will be permitted to cross.

“People should not be traveling between Canada and the US and the US and Canada

to be tourists or for recreational purposes,” Deputy Prime Min-ister Chrystia Freeland said.

“If you have an important essential reasons to cross the border you can continue to do that.”

Freeland emphasized truck

drivers are critical as they supply grocery stores and medical goods in both direc-tions. Much of Canada’s food supply comes from or via the US.

The flow of travelers on the northern border, the world’s

longest between two nations, has been relatively open. Freeland said crossings can continue in border communities such as Campobello, New Brunswick. “Trade, which is essential, will continue,” Freeland said.

“Don’t make discretionary trips and that is what border officials will be enforcing.”

Trudeau said his gov-ernment is following the advice of health experts and won’t lift restrictions on public activities and movements in Canada until it is safe to do so.

Trudeau made his com-ments in front of his residence where he is self-isolating after his wife tested positive for the virus.

Canadian Foreign Minister François-Philippe Champagne is also self isolating at home and is being tested for the virus after experiencing flu-like symptoms after traveling. He said he expects the results of his test very shortly

Vehicles line up to enter Canada after it was announced that the border would close to 'non-essential traffic' to combat the spread of novel coronavirus disease at the US-Canada border crossing at the Thousand Islands Bridge in Lansdowne, Canada, yesterday.

US President says his administration is fast-tracking antimalarial drugs for use in treatment of the new coronavirus disease.

Trump signs $100bn virus relief packageAFP — WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a $100bn emergency aid package that ensures sick leave to Americans workers who fall ill from the new coro-navirus, with more federal assistance in the pipeline.

The bipartisan House-passed measure easily cleared the Senate by a vote of 90 to eight earlier Wednesday. Hours later Trump said in a statement that he signed the legislation into law, providing a rare example of Congres-sional Democrats, Republicans and the presidency working together quickly during his administration.

It provides for free coro-navirus testing for those who need it, sick pay and paid family leave, and bolsters unemployment insurance for millions of Americans.

The legislation aims to strengthen protections in the face of a global health crisis.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, speaking moments after the vote, called it “a very important” step.

The so-called Phase Two bill is the second emergency congressional aid package related to coronavirus, fol-lowing an initial $8.3bn measure passed early this month.

Wednesday’s vote took place under extraordinary cir-cumstances, with roll calls extended to 30 minutes to allow senators to comply with US health precautions, including keeping a safe dis-tance from each other.

“Be aware of the social distancing... as we come over to the chamber and as we depart,” McConnell told col-leagues, urging against con-gregating on the Senate floor.

Tulsi Gabbard ends Democratic presidential bid, endorses BidenREUTERS — WASHINGTON

US Representative Tulsi Gabbard (pictured), an Iraq War veteran who campaigned to end “forever wars”, dropped her long-shot bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination yesterday and endorsed front-runner Joe Biden in a video posted to Twitter.

“Although I may not agree with the vice president on every issue, I know that he has a good heart, and he’s motivated by his love for our country and the American people,” said Gabbard, 38. She has served as a congresswoman from Hawaii since 2013 and is the first Hindu elected to Congress.

The endorsement was something of a surprise given Gabbard’s past support for Biden’s main rival, US Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. But she noted that recent state nominating contests had made it clear that Democratic voters had chosen

the former vice-president to take on Repub-lican President Donald Trump in Novem-ber’s general election.

On Twitter, Biden thanked Gabbard for her service to the country as a veteran and a congresswoman. “I’m grateful to have her support and look forward to working with her to restore honor and decency to the White House,” he wrote.

Despite remaining mired far behind Biden and Sanders, Gabbard had stayed in the race even as better-known rivals dropped out. In all nine state contests over the last two weeks, she finished behind other contenders who had already aban-doned their campaigns but still appeared on ballots.

Gabbard earned her only two delegates by finishing second in American Samoa, where she was born. Biden has won at least 971 delegates of the 1,991 needed to clinch the nomination in July, while Sanders has collected 737, according to Edison Research

— an advantage for Biden widely seen as virtually unassailable.

A major in the Hawaii National Guard who was deployed in Iraq from 2004 to 2005, Gabbard is a fierce opponent of what she calls “forever wars.” Despite her liberal views on most other issues, she has won praise from some Trump supporters and conservative media outlets, where she fre-quently appears as a commentator.

She has consistently opposed US inter-vention in Syria, going so far as to meet secretly with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in January 2017.

Mexico reports first coronavirus deathAFP — MEXICO CITY

Mexico has reported its first coronavirus death — a 41-year-old man who died on Wednesday in Mexico City, the health ministry said.

The man, who suffered from diabetes, first began showing symptoms of the virus on March 9, the ministry said on its Twitter account.

Local press reports said he had not previously visited any countries that have had outbreaks of the virus.

The man’s wife, however, told Tel-evisa, the Mexican television network, that her husband had attended a concert by the Swedish rock group Ghost on March 3 at the Palace of Sports in Mexico City, with a companion.

She said Mexican health authorities had not been monitoring his case.

US warns citizensagainst overseas travel over virusAGENCIES — WASHINGTON

The Trump administration has upgraded its already dire warning to Americans against all international travel as the coronavirus outbreak spreads.

The State Department yes-terday issued a new alert urging Americans not to travel abroad under any circum-stances and to return home if they are already abroad unless they plan to remain overseas.

“The Department of State advises U.S. citizens to avoid all international travel due to the global impact of COVID-19,” it said in the new advice.

“In countries where com-mercial departure options remain available, US citizens who live in the United States should arrange for immediate return to the United States, unless they are prepared to remain abroad for an indef-inite period. US citizens who live abroad should avoid all international travel.” Until the upgrade, the department’s advice to US citizens was to “reconsider” all international travel under what is known as a “level three” alert.

The global “level four” warning was unprecedented as such alerts are generally reserved for specific countries embroiled in conflict, natural disasters or where Americans face specific risks.

However, the upgrade will likely have little practical effect because it is not man-datory and there are now limited transportation options for international travel. The only way to ban Americans from going abroad would be to invalidate the use of US passports for such travel, a bar that is currently in place only for North Korea.

In addition, the main impact of State Department travel alerts is to cause insurance companies to increase premiums or cancel travel policies for group and individual tours, many of which had been scrapped even before the alert was raised to level three earlier this week.

The department has already advised Americans that many US embassies and consulates abroad are oper-ating with reduced staff and hours due to the COVID-19 outbreak and that services for Americans in need of assistance are limited.

While the US has barred flights from China and most European nations, and closed the border with Canada to non-essential travel, Amer-icans have continued to fly -- although in limited numbers — to other nations that have outbreaks.

Thousands of US citizens have found themselves stuck overseas and unable to get home.

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SPORTFRIDAY 20 MARCH 2020

Former Japanese swimmer Imoto Naoko holding the Olympic torch during the Olympic flame handover ceremony for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games, held behind closed doors at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, Greece, yesterday.

Sports events still happening despite pandemicREUTERS

Sports events around the world that have not been suspended, postponed or cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic:

OLYMPICSThe Olympics from July 24-August 9 in Tokyo have not been postponed or suspended.The Tokyo 2020 Games torch lighting ceremony in ancient Olympia was held without spectators. The Olympic flame handover ceremony in Athens yesterday was also held without spectators.

FOOTBALLAustralia’s top flight A-League soccer competition has banned spectators for the rest of the 2019/20 season and faces a temporary hiatus due to quarantine restrictions that have affected two teams.

RUGBY UNIONSouth Africa’s July tests against Scotland and Georgia remain as scheduled but will be reviewed in April.

RUGBY LEAGUEAustralia’s National Rugby League, the world’s richest competition in the 13-man rugby code and most popular spectator sport in the country’s eastern states, is continuing for the time being at closed stadiums.

FOOTBALL (Australian rules)The top flight Australian Football League launched its season as scheduled in Melbourne on March 19 but without fans in attendance and after organisers slashed the season to 17 rounds from 22.

SNOOKERThe World Championships in Sheffield from April 18-May 4 is going ahead as of now.

HORSE RACINGAustralian races are continuing in key markets but without fans.

Moving Tokyo Games possible, too soon to decide on cancellation: CoeREUTERS – LONDON

World Athletics Chief Sebastian Coe said yesterday that moving the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to September or October due to the coronavirus outbreak was a possibility but it was too soon to take a decision on whether to cancel the Games.

While most of world sport has come to a standstill due to the pandemic, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has remained committed to staging the Tokyo Games as planned from July 24-Auguist 9 despite growing dissent.

“Let’s not make a precip-itous decision when we don’t

have to four months out,” Coe told BBC Sport.

“If you had to ease that date, you’d have to ease it. It’s pos-sible, anything is possible,” he added when asked if the Games could be moved to September or October.

“Events are changing by the hour but it is not a decision that has to be made at the moment. We’re trying to manage the sit-uation with the information we have but there is not a great deal of information.

“The temperature in the room with the IOC is, nobody is saying we’re going to the Games come what may.”

Europe has become the new

epicentre of the flu-like virus that originated in China late last year and restrictions on movement in several nations have hit the training plans of athletes ahead of Games.

IOC President Thomas Bach said they heard athletes’ con-cerns on health and preparation but Coe said ensuring a level playing field for athletes during preparations may not be pos-sible but it is a challenge World Athletics will strive to overcome.

“Recent evidence suggests China seems to be pulling out of this but if you’re living in Europe, you’re an Italian distance runner and you’re confined to your

house, that’s a massive chal-lenge,” Coe told The Times in an earlier interview.

“Our sport has always been about fairness and a level playing field so we shouldn’t feel ashamed to set that as our ambition. The reality is that may not be possible in every case but we want to do what we can to drill down on that.

“Some are not able to train properly, some are not able to access public tracks or indoor facilities and we’re working to try and help them f i n d t h e s e facilities.”

The virus has infected nearly 219,000 people globally and caused more than 8,900

deaths so far, sparking concerns over the

viability of the Games.

Coe, the driving force behind the

success of

London 2012 as chairman of the organising committee, said the problem faced by the Tokyo Games was bigger than the mass boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

“I lived through Moscow and that was a crisis... This has probably exercised more thinking time and expended more effort for federations than anything I can remember,” Coe added.

“We’re doing everything we possibly can to get our sport and our athletes into

the best possible shape through a challenging

time and get to an Olympic Games.”

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REUTERS – ATHENSTokyo 2020 organisers received the Olympic flame in a scaled-down handover ceremony in the Greek capital yesterday, amid the coronavirus spread that has cast doubt on the global, multi-billion dollar event.

In a brief ceremony closed to

spectators in Athens’ Panathenaic stadium, site of the first modern Games in 1896, the torch was received by Tokyo Games repre-sentative Naoko Imoto.

It will arrive in Japan on Friday and kick off a domestic relay on March 26, with the Games set to take place from July 24-August 9.

The scale of the spreading coronavirus, which has infected more than 200,000 people and killed more than 8,700 across the world, has forced the cancellation of numerous sporting events, raising concerns about whether the Olympics will be able to open as planned.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Jap-anese government, however, have insisted the Games will go ahead.

Greece’s Olympic Committee chief Spyros Capralos handed over the lit torch to the Japanese former Olympic swimmer Imoto in front of empty stands inside the vast 50,000-capacity horseshoe-shaped marble stadium.

The flame was then trans-ferred into a small receptacle to travel to Japan aboard a special aircraft named “Tokyo 2020 Go.” Only a few dozen officials were allowed into the central Athens

stadium as the country has imposed strict measures to contain the spread of the virus.

Tokyo Games chief Yoshiro Mori said in a video message he hoped the flame’s arrival would help “shake off the dark clouds

h a n g i n g over the world.” The plane will land at JASDF Matsushima Air Base in Miyagi Prefecture on Friday before the start of a domestic relay from Fukushima Prefecture, site of the 2011 earth-quake and tsunami.

Tokyo organisers receive Olympic flame in scaled-down ceremony

English football extends shutdownAFP – LONDON

The shutdown of English football was extended until at least April 30 yesterday after the Premier League and English Football League (EFL) held crisis meetings.

“We’ve collectively agreed that the professional game in England will be further post-poned until no earlier than Thursday 30 April,” said a joint statement by the English Football Association, Premier League, EFL, players and man-agers’ bodies.

UEFA’s decision to postpone Euro 2020 for 12 months earlier this week could allow games to be completed over the summer if strict restrictions on travelling and mass gatherings to halt the spread of COVID-19 are lifted in time.

The leagues still hope to finish the season once play can be restarted rather than accepting the current standings as final or declaring the cam-paign null and void.

“We’re united in our com-mitment to finding ways of resuming the 2019-20 football season and ensuring all domestic and European club league and cup matches are played as soon as it is safe and possible to do so,” added the statement.

Even if play can commence in early May, that could mean matches stretching beyond the June 30 goal UEFA agreed on for finishing the season on Tuesday.

The end of June is when

many players’ contracts and loan deals expire.

However, the English authorities are putting no limit of when the 2019/20 season must be finished by.

“The FA’s Rules and Regu-lations state that ‘the season shall terminate not later than the 1 June’ and ‘each compe-tition shall, within the limit laid down by The FA, determine the length of its own playing season’.

“However, The FA’s Board has agreed for this limit to be extended indefinitely for the 2019/20 season in relation to Professional Football.” - Off-season break scrapped? - One

option could see the end of the 2019/20 and beginning of the 2020/21 come together with no time for an off-season break.

“Players may need to get their summer break in now before we finish what was the 19/20 season and roll it right into the 20/21 season without a break,” Brighton striker Glenn Murray said.

“Everyone loves sport, eve-ryone loves watching football but I really think the right decision was made in bringing it to a halt.

“At this moment in time it’s pretty irrelevant, people’s health is first and foremost.

Once we get over this crisis we can look at sport and getting the Premier League and Football Leagues back in action.”

The sudden shutdown, though, could have long-lasting consequences for many lower league clubs worrying if they will even be able to survive the next couple of months with no income from gate receipts.

A £50m ($58m) short-term relief package was announced by the EFL to help stricken clubs on Wednesday.

However, there has so far been no bailout from the Premier League to ensure those further down the pyramid survive.

Frankly, I can't see how we could end it at the end of June, with the France games and the Champions League: French Football Federation President Noel Le Graet says the Ligue 1 season should not end before July 15 so that all competitions in Europe can be completed.

I haven't spoken to Guy Forget (French Open Tournament Chief) but I'm happy to play the tournament whenever it is scheduled: Ash Barty says she would grasp at any chance she gets to defend her title.

We're really hoping that all forms of sport can be played again in a few weeks' or a few months' time: Cricket Australia Chief Kevin Roberts

WHO SAID WHAT

Formula 1 postpones three more races

AFP – PARIS

The Dutch, Spanish and Monaco Formula One Grand Prix races were yesterday postponed due to the global spread of coronavirus, officials announced.

The triple postponements follow the cancellation of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix last week, and the postponement of the Chinese, Bahrain and Vietnam Grand Prix races.

The Dutch GP, due to return to the calendar for the first time since 1985, was set to be held at Zandvoort on May 1-3, with the Spanish race fol-lowing a week later, and the Monaco Grand Prix on May 21-24.

World Athletics Chief Sebastian Coe

Greek Sports Minister and HOC President, Spyros Capralos, hands the Olympic torch over to Naoko.

Greek actress Xanthi Georgiou lighting the Olympic torch during the ceremony.

A woman walks past a banner stating 'Premier League Champions 2019/2020' in Liverpool, Britain, on Wednesday.

14 FRIDAY 20 MARCH 2020SPORT

Cricket Australia aiming to hold T20 World Cup as scheduledAFP — SYDNEY

Cricket Australia is aiming to hold the men’s Twenty20 World Cup as scheduled this year despite the escalating coronavirus pandemic, but admitted the situation is fluid.

The tournament is due to get underway in October at seven venues across the country with the West Indies defending their title.

Despite the rest of this year’s Australian cricket season being cancelled this week due to spiralling virus fears, plans for the World Cup remain unchanged.

“We’re really hoping that all forms of sport can be played again in a few weeks’ or a few months’ time,” CA chief Kevin Roberts said.

“None of us are experts in this situation obviously, so our hope is that we’re back in very

much normal circumstances come October and November when the men’s T20 World Cup is to be played.

“And at this stage we’re planning on November 15, to have a full house at the MCG (for the final) to inspire the world through men’s cricket as the women’s cricketers did here just last week,” he added.

Australia swept to their fifth women’s T20 World Cup title on March 8, crushing India by 85 runs in front of more than 86,000 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Since then, a host of sports in Australia have cancelled or suspended their activities with the government banning outdoor gatherings of more than 500 people and indoor groups of more than 100.

Australia has reported more than 500 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with the increase in infections accelerating daily. There have been six deaths and airline Qantas yesterday announced it would halt all international flights later this month.

In addition to the World Cup, Australia is due to host India and Afghanistan for Test series this year with Roberts telling cricket.com.au he hoped to announce the 2020-2021 season schedule next month as planned.

But he said emergency planning for COVID-19 was the higher priority.

“We’re moving now from management of the onset of coronavirus as a critical incident, to how do we guar-antee the continuity of our business and our organisation beyond that,” he said.

A youth (left) wearing a facemask as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus plays cricket with his friends at a park in New Delhi on Wednesday.

None of us are experts in this situation obviously, so our hope is that we’re back in very much normal circumstances come October and November when the men’s T20 World Cup is to be played: CA chief Kevin Roberts

All tests from Pakistan Super League clear: PCBAGENCIES — ISLAMABAD

The Pakistan Cricket Board says all 128 COVID-19 tests carried on players, offi-cials, broadcasters and team owners associated with the Pakistan Super League have come back negative.

“The PCB is pleased with the outcome of the results and happy that all these players and officials

have rejoined their families without any health and safety doubts or concerns,” PCB chief executive Wasim Khan said yesterday.

"It was absolutely critical for the integrity and credibility of the HBL Pakistan Super League and the Pakistan Cricket Board that all players, support personnel, broadcasters and match officials, those who had decided to stay

back till the end of the tournament, tested neg-ative for COVID-19,"

The PCB postponed the PSL on Tuesday hours before the semi-finals in the wake of coronavirus pandemic and carried out tests on all those associated with the twenty20 league in Pakistan.

The PCB had con-ducted the tests on March 17.

AFP — NEW DELHI

Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar has offered an unusual take on the coronavirus fight by comparing it to Test cricket, urging patience and teamwork, and warning “we have to defend well”.

“While the world battles the Covid-19 pandemic, this is probably the time for of us to draw lessons from the grand old format of the game,” Tendulkar wrote in a commentary for The Times of India newspaper.

The world record-holding batsman said the virus was “beyond our collective compre-hension” but could be beaten with tactics used in cricket’s five-day format.

“Test cricket rewards you for respecting what you don’t understand. It makes you value the virtue of patience,” he wrote.

“When you don’t understand the pitch conditions or the bowler, defence becomes the best form of attack. Patience is what we require now, if we have to defend well.”

India has reported only three virus deaths and 169 cases but the country is increasingly fearful of the spread of the disease that has killed nearly 9,000 people around the world.

Like many countries, it has imposed draconian travel restrictions.

Tendulkar, 46, retired in 2013 after scoring 15,921 runs from 200 Tests, and has

considerable influence in Indian society.

He said all countries must work together against the virus.

“To use a cricketing met-aphor; while individual bril-liance can help a team in shorter formats of the game, in Test cricket it is all about partner-ships and teamwork,” he said.

“Test cricket is about staging comebacks. There is always a second innings, if you’ve missed the first one.”

“Different countries are at different stages of their fight against coronavirus,” he added.

“All nations should consider themselves part of one team.”

“We shall take this battle session by session, and even-tually emerge victorious.”

A man wearing a facemask as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus walks past a mural of former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar in Mumbai, yesterday.

Tendulkar compares coronavirus battle to Test cricket

Anderson fears virus could wreck English seasonAFP — LONDON

England fast bowler James Anderson fears the global coronavirus pandemic could see the domestic and international season abandoned completely.

The England and Wales Cricket Board are due to meet with the 18 first-class counties yesterday, possibly by tel-econference, in a bid to see whether the existing structure for the 2020 summer can be maintained.

It follows Wednesday’s decision by the ECB to recommend the suspension of the recreational game.

The County Championship is meant to start on April 12 but a delay looks increasingly likely given other sports have called a halt following British gov-ernment advice to avoid mass gatherings.

Last week saw England postpone their tour of Sri Lanka. They are next meant to play the West Indies in a three-Test home series, starting on June 4.

“Cricket and sport is not the be all and end all but it is my livelihood, it’s all I know,” Anderson told the BBC’s Tailenders podcast.

“The season is unlikely to start. It’s still a little bit hazy as to what’s going to happen. There’s a chance we might not even bowl a ball this summer.”

The Lancashire paceman, England’s all-time leading Test wicket-taker, added: “I feel a little bit anxious. Just the not knowing is giving me a bit of anxiety.”

Anderson made the last of his 151 Test appearances against South Africa in Cape Town in January before a broken rib saw him miss the last two matches of the series.

The 37-year-old was not selected for the Sri Lanka series in the hope he would be fully fit for the start of the home season.

Anderson said personal issues caused by the global COVID-19 impact were a consideration as well.

“Also trying to keep a young family healthy,” he said.

“I am trying to stay calm, follow the guidelines.

“My wife’s mum and dad live in Spain so they are in lockdown. They are in the age group where there are con-cerns. The anxiety is building up in our house because of not knowing what will happen in the next few months.”

James Anderson

F1 considering delay to 2021 rulesREUTERS — LONDON

Formula One could push back a major rules revamp to 2022 yesterday with bosses and teams discussing by telephone the impact of the spreading coronavirus on this season and next.

Ferrari principal Mattia Binotto told the www.formula1.com website that his Italian team, who started a three-week factory shutdown yesterday after Formula One cancelled the August break, was willing to do what was necessary.

“We will have a conference call with all the other teams, F1 and (governing body) FIA to discuss the situation and the impact it has not only on this season but also on the next one,” he said.

“We must carefully evaluate every aspect and see if it is not really the case to think about possibly postponing the intro-duction of the new 2021 tech-nical rules.

“In any case, Ferrari is ready to take responsibility for a choice that must be made in the ultimate interest of this sport, it is certainly not the time for selfishness and tactics.”

The sport is due to introduce major technical and sporting changes next year, along with a cost cap and restructured

governance. The change, one of the biggest in the sport’s recent history and years in the making, is aimed at levelling the playing field and improving the racing.

Teams face significant financial pressures, however, as they devote resources to designing radically different cars for 2021 while also devel-oping the 2020 ones.

Privately-run outfits, such as former champions Williams who finished last in 2019, are already operating on tight budgets that risk shrinking further following the cancel-lation and postponement of races.

Teams get much of their

income from the sport’s overall revenues.

Multiple sources said that postponing the 2021 regula-tions by a year was on the agenda, along with race rescheduling.

Formula One’s commercial managing director Ross Brawn told Sky Sports F1 television recently that weekends could be condensed in a restructured calendar.

“I think by freeing up the August break, we give ourselves several weekends where we can have a race. And I think we can build a pretty decent cal-endar for the rest of the year,” said the Briton.

“One thing we have been

talking about is two-day weekends, and therefore if we have a triple header (three races on successive Sundays) with two-day weekends, that could be an option.

“I think what we need from the teams this year is flexibility, I think they’ve got to give some scope to do these things... we’ve got to make sure we’ve got a season that gives a good eco-nomic opportunity for the teams.”

Formula One is hoping to start racing again at the end of May, subject to review, but what was billed as a record 22-race season has already lost the Aus-tralian opener with three other rounds postponed so far.

Staff pack up equipment after the Formula One Australian Grand Prix was cancelled in Melbourne last week.

English Football League agrees to $57m relief packageAP — LONDON

The English Football League put forward a short-term relief package worth £50m ($57m) to assist cash-strapped clubs in the divisions below the Premier League during the coronavirus outbreak.

Soccer in England was brought to a halt last week in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus.

It is unlikely the leagues will resume in early April, as initially planned, and the EFL has moved to help clubs strug-gling with the ramifications of that suspension.

“While there is no one single solution, measures are to be put in place to immediately assist with cash flow via a 50 million pound short-term relief package,” the EFL said in a statement after a board meeting. Clubs below the Premier League rely heavily on match day revenue to stay afloat.

The EFL board is continually reviewing the impact of the pan-demic through a dedicated task force, and underlined that fin-ishing the season is key.

“The primary objective, in order to protect competition integrity, is to deliver a suc-cessful conclusion to the 2019-20 season, subject to the overriding priority around health and well-being,” the EFL said.

The Premier League is holding a meeting on Thursday to discuss its future plans.

In Scotland, players and staff at top-flight club Hearts have been asked to take a 50% wage cut amid financial fears during the outbreak.

Hearts owner Ann Budge said the club was taking cost-cutting steps in order to prevent redundancies.

Budge said those who feel “unable or unwilling to accept this revision to their contracts” will be offered the option of contract termination.

It is unlikely the leagues will resume in early April, as initially planned, and the EFL has moved to help clubs struggling with the ramifications of that suspension.

15FRIDAY 20 MARCH 2020 BUSINESS

Airline industry crisis deepens as coronavirus pain spreadsREUTERS - BERLIN/SYDNEY

The crisis for airlines deepened yesterday as Lufthansa warned the industry might not survive without state aid if the corona-virus pandemic lasts a long time, and Qantas Airways told most of its 30,000 staff to take leave. The United Nation’s Interna-tional Civil Aviation Organi-zation called on governments to ensure cargo operations are not disrupted to maintain the availability of critical medicine and equipment such as venti-lators and masks that will help fight the virus. “The spread of the coronavirus has placed the entire global economy and our company as well in an unprecedented state of emergency,” Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr (pictured) said in a statement. “At present, no one can foresee the consequences.” His comments echo other industry executives who have called for state support now that passenger operations are col-lapsing at an unprecedented rate as governments curb travel drastically and demand slumps. Germany’s Lufthansa, which has parked 700 of its 763 air-craft, said it did not need state support yet as it slashes costs, but painted a bleak picture for the industry and its suppliers. Spohr said his company was in talks with planemakers Airbus and Boeing about whether to take delivery of aircraft it had ordered, and on payments.

“We had planned this year to receive a new plane every 10 days - now we don’t need any,” he told reporters. He predicted the industry would emerge into “a different world” after the crisis, saying the need for airline partnerships would only become more pressing. Global airlines group IATA has forecast the industry will need up to $200bn of state support, piling pressure on governments facing demands from all quarters and a rapid worsening in public finances as economies slump. Shares in US airlines fell sharply on Wednesday after Washington proposed a rescue package of $50bn in loans, but no grants as the industry had requested, to help address the financial impact from crisis. The Trump administration’s lending proposal would require airlines to maintain a certain amount of service and limit increases in executive pay until the loans are repaid. Delta Air Lines said on Wednesday it would park more

than 600 jets, cut corporate pay by as much as a half, and scale back flying by more than 70 percent until demand begins to recover. American Airlines Group Inc in a memo to staff rebuffed criticism it had rewarded its shareholders with too many dividends and stock buybacks in better times, leaving it with less cash to manage the crisis. “Unfortunately, this is no ordinary rainy day,” said Nate Gatten, American’s senior vice-president global government affairs. “These are extraor-dinary circumstances, and additional support is necessary to protect jobs and ensure that

the flying public can continue to rely on our industry after the crisis ends.” In Australia, Qantas said it would cut all international flights and two-thirds of its 30,000 workers would need to take paid or unpaid leave. The Australian government is banning the arrival of non-cit-izens and non-residents starting today (Friday). Several governments have started to act. Government sources in India told Reuters that the gov-ernment was planning a rescue package of up to $1.6bn to aid carr iers battered by coronavirus.

India’s SpiceJet said yesterday it was suspending the majority of its international operations from March 21 to April 30, while rival IndiGo asked staff to take a pay cut of up to 20 percent. Taiwan’s Transport ministry said it was inviting its airlines to submit capital requirements and financial plans with the view to giving them assistance, such as rolling over loans and providing operating funds. New Zealand outlined the first tranche of a NZ$600m ($344 m) aviation relief package, as it announced plans to shut its borders to non-citizens and non-residents.

A file picture of Delta Air Lines jets at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The carriers, as a result of COVID-19 outbreak has announced to park more than 600 jets, cut corporate pay by as much as a half, and scale back flying by more than 70 percent until demand begins to recover.

Bank of Englandslashes maininterest rate to 0.1%AP - LONDON

The Bank of England (BoE)slashed its main interest rate to 0.1 percent, the lowest level since its founding in 1694, and reactivated a bond-buying stimulus programme in response to the economic shock of the coronavirus pandemic.

The bank’s nine-member Monetary Policy Committee said yesterday that the moves were designed “to meet the needs of UK businesses and households in dealing with the associated economic disruption.”

The interest rate cut comes just about a week after the central bank cut its rate from 0.75 percent to 0.25 percent at another emergency meeting.

Perhaps more important than the rate cut, the bank said it was relaunching its monetary stimulus program that it had first used during the global financial crisis a little more than a decade ago.

The Monetary Policy Com-mittee, now under new Gov-ernor Andrew Bailey, unani-mously decided to increase its purchase of mainly government bonds but also corporate bonds, by £200bn ($230bn) to £645bn.

The move effectively pumps new money into the economy to help it cope with the huge disruption of the coronavirus outbreak, which has seen the government impose a series of increasingly stringent restrictions on eco-nomic activity.

US unemployment claims jumpto two-and-a-half year highREUTERS - WASHINGTON

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits surged to a 2-1/2-year high last week as companies in the services sector laid off workers because of the coronavirus pandemic that has fractured economic activity.

Initial claims for state unem-ployment benefits jumped 70,000 to a seasonally adjusted 281,000 for the week ended March 14, the highest level since September 2017, the Labor Department said yesterday. Data for the prior week was unrevised.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims would increase to 220,000 in the latest week. The Labor Department attributed the jump in claims to COVID-19, the res-piratory illness caused by the coronavirus.

“A number of states specif-ically cited COVID-19 related layoffs, while many states reported increased layoffs in service-related industries broadly and in the accommo-dation and food services indus-tries specifically, as well as in the transportation and warehousing industry, whether COVID-19 was identified directly or not,” it said.

Jobless claims are the most timely labour market indicator. The coronavirus outbreak has forced millions of Americans to hunker down in their homes,

with state and local govern-ments escalating “social dis-tancing” policies, closing schools, bars, restaurants and theaters in an attempt to contain the virus.

The death toll in the United States from the COVID-19 illness caused by the coronavirus has topped 100 and more than 9,000 people are infected, according to a Reuters tally. Nearly 9,000 people have died across the globe and almost 219,000 have con-tracted the disease.

Health experts, however, say the figures are much higher given that testing is not readily available in many countries, including the United States. The virus has crippled the transportation, leisure and hospitality industries, as well as the manufacturing sector. Economists are antici-pating a surge in job cuts and are predicting recession by the second quarter.

The Federal Reserve aggres-sively cut interest rates to near zero on Sunday, and pledged

hundreds of billions of dollars in asset purchases and to backstop foreign authorities with the offer of cheap dollar financing. The Trump adminis-tration is pushing for a $1 trillion stimulus package.

Economists say the upcoming economic downturn is most likely to assume a U-shape. JPMorgan on Wednesday estimated that first- quarter gross domestic product would contract at a 4 percent annualised rate fol-lowed by an even steeper 14 percent decline in the second quarter. It forecast the economy contracting 1.8 percent this year and the unemployment rate rising to 5.3 percent.

“The fact that the unem-ployment rate ends the year substantially higher than the current level should make clear why it would not be accurate to describe this as a V-shaped recovery,” said JPMorgan econ-omist Michael Feroli (pictured). “Even with a strong third-quarter (growth) that strength is not nearly enough to undo the expected damage to the labour market.”

The Labor Department said only claims for Pennsylvania were estimated last week. The four-week moving average of initial claims, considered a better measure of labour market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, increased 16,500 to 232,250 last week.

Dollar surges; ECB stimulusboosts bonds but not stocksREUTERS - WASHINGTON/LONDON

The dollar surged yesterday as extraordinary steps by central banks across the world to stem a coronavirus-induced financial rout saw mixed success, boosting bonds but failing to halt losses in stocks. The Federal Reserve opened the taps for central banks in nine countries to access dollars in hopes of preventing the epi-demic from causing a global economic rout.

The Fed said the swaps, in which the US central bank accepts other currencies as col-lateral in exchange for dollars, will be in place for at least the next six months.

The swaps will allow the central banks of Australia, Brazil, South Korea, Mexico, Singapore, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and New Zealand to tap up to a combined total of $450bn to help ensure the world’s dollar-dependent financial system function.

US stocks continued their slide yesterday, with the S&P 500 opening down 1.87 percent by 9:52 a.m. ET, but turned higher after about an hour of trading. A market meltdown has pushed Wall Street’s three main indexes down about 30 percent from their record closing highs last month and at one point erased the Dow industrials’ gains since US

President Donald Trump’s 2017 inauguration.

The dollar has gained as investors rushed to secure liquidity, pushing the British pound down 0.9 percent to its lowest since 1985 and rising 1.3 percent against major cur-rencies to its highest since March 2017.

Bond markets stabilized somewhat after the European Central Bank pledged late on Wednesday to buy €750bn ($820bn) in sovereign debt through 2020.

That brought the ECB’s planned purchases for this year to €1.1 trillion, with the new purchases alone worth 6 percent of the euro zone’s GDP. Government bond yields in Italy and across the euro zone dropped after the ECB’s emer-gency measures, though European stocks fell back into negative territory after arresting their rout in early trading.

“The announcement (the ECB) has made has gone some way to comforting markets that borrowing costs in those econ-omies won’t be allowed to spiral higher,” said Mike Bell, global market strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

Europe’s broad Euro STOXX 600 fell 0.9 percent after gaining more than 1 percent in early trading. Indexes in Frankfurt, Paris and London’s FTSE all saw advances

wiped out. Earlier, MSCI’s broadest

index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slumped by 4 percent. Korea and Taiwan led the losses as the index plunged to a four-year low, with circuit breakers triggered in Seoul, Jakarta and Manila.

Expected price swings for some of the world’s biggest cur-rencies rocketed to multi-year highs as the demand for dollars forced traders to dump cur-rencies across the board.

For the British pound versus the dollar, expected vol-atility gauges leapt to 24.4 percent, their highest level since before the 2016 Brexit vote.

“One unresolved and really critical issue is what’s going on in volatility,” said Andrew Sheets, chief cross-asset strat-egist at Morgan Stanley. “I think that volatility needs to stabilise before the broader market can heal.”

MSCI’s world equity index, which tracks shares in 49 coun-tries, shed 0.72 percent.

Italy, which has seen its borrowing costs jump in recent days, led the drop in yields after the ECB move.

Its two-year bond yields slumped by than 100 basis points to 0.41 percent, heading for their biggest one-day fall since 1996. Italy’s 10-year bond yields slid as much as 90 bps to 1.40 percent.

Mnuchin: Family of 4 could get $3,000 under virus relief planAP - WASHINGTON

The first federal cheques to families could be $3,000 for a family of four under the White House proposal to unleash $1 trillion to shore up households and the US economy amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (pictured) said yes-terday that the “cheques in the mail” would be direct deposited into people’s accounts under the plan the Trump administration has proposed to Congress.

The payments would be $1,000 per adult and $500 per child so that a family of two parents and two children would

receive $3,000, Mnuchin told Fox Business Network. The goal is to get that money out in three weeks, he said.

“That’s a lot of money for hard-working Americans,” Mnuchin said.

He said such families would receive another $3,000 six weeks later if the national emergency still exists. Officials have previ-ously said the money is expected to be allocated by income level, to exclude the super-wealthy.

Congress is rushing to compile the sweeping economic rescue package, the biggest undertaking since the 2008 recession and financial crisis, in a matter of days.

Details on Trump’s economic rescue plan are still being worked out - and it’s sure to grow beyond $1 trillion, lawmakers said - but its centerpiece is to dedicate $500bn to start issuing direct payments to Americans, starting early next month.

The Treasury Department proposed two $250bn cash infu-sions to individuals: A first set of cheques issued starting April 6, with a second wave in mid-May.

The emerging package would also funnel cash to businesses to help keep workers on payroll as widespread sectors of the $21 trillion US economy all but shut down.

It also is expected to include sweeping health provisions. Pres-ident Donald Trump has invoked war-time authority to ramp up

output of vital medical supplies and erect temporary field hos-pitals under the Defense Pro-duction Act.

“There is not a day to lose,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement yesterday. “We must put more testing, more protective equipment and more ventilators into the hands of our frontline workers immediately.”

Taken together, the admin-istration plan promises half of the $1 trillion to families and individuals, with the other half used to prop up businesses and keep employees on payroll.

Direct payments would go to US citizens only, and would

be “tiered based on income level and family size.” The two payments would be identical, with the second wave starting by May 18.

Trump has already signed into law a $100bn-plus bill to boost testing for the coronavirus and guarantee paid sick leave for millions of workers hit by it.

The Senate plans to remain in session until the third coro-navirus bill passes, with weekend sessions possible. The pressure is enormous on law-makers to act fast and not allow gamesmanship to get in the way of results.

Economists say the country is probably already in recession.

Qatar Chamber holds meeting with private healthcare providers to boost cooperationTHE PENINSULA - DOHA

Qatar Chamber Board Member Ibtihaj Al Ahmadani (pictured) held a meeting yesterday with a team repre-senting National Risks and Resilience Program (Somod).

The meeting aimed to identify mechanisms for the work of the program and discuss the support that the private sector can provide to the government sector.

On her part, Al Ahmadani praised the efforts exerted by the program’s team in raising the awareness of nationals and residents about the current crisis and urging them to participate in the imple-mentation of directives issued by the wise leadership. She stressed the private sector healthcare’s preparedness to provide routine medical care as well as medical capabilities a n d t h e r a p e u t i c possibilities.

Mohamed Al Kaábi, Director of the program, assured the importance of boosting coordination and cooperation between both sides, noting that the program me can provide coordination support between the public and private sectors if needed.

She praised the efforts exerted by the program in raising the awareness of nationals and residents about the current crisis and urging them to participate in the implementation of directives issued by the wise leadership.

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BUSINESSFRIDAY 20 MARCH 2020

France faces labour shortage in retail, logisticssectors as coronavirus fears grip key staffBLOOMBERG - PARIS

France is facing a shortage of staff in the retail and logistics sectors, as employees wary of contracting the coronavirus steer clear of their workplaces.

While the nation has largely been on lockdown since Monday, staff in industries that require a physical human presence are expected to con-tinue working. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday there were no immediate shortages but warned of “ten-sions” in retail and logistics.

“If packaging makers stop work we can’t pack food sup-plies, and if there are no trucks we can’t deliver them,” Patrick Martin, deputy head of Medef, France’s biggest business fed-eration, said on Europe 1 radio Thursday. “The economy is a chain, and if a link breaks eve-rything goes down,” he added. “We need everyone at work under the best sanitary conditions.”

As restrictions on movement are tightened across Europe, staff shortages could spread to the rest of the continent.

German Agriculture Min-ister Julia Kloeckner said Tuesday that the nation’s borders are open for the annual influx of farm workers, though many are hesitating to come for fear of “landing in containers on the way home.”

With the April planting season imminent, their help is “urgently” needed, said Joachim Rukwied, president of Ger-many’s farming lobby. Germany draws about 300,000 seasonal

agricultural workers every year, two thirds of whom come from Romania and a third from Poland.

“We are in a paradoxical sit-uation,” Luigi Merlo, the pres-ident of Italian logistics feder-ation Federlogistica, said in a t e l e p h o n e i n t e r v i e w Wednesday. “Maritime com-merce from Asia is about to restart but if workers at ports don’t have personal medical protections like masks, foreign ship captains are afraid of contagion.”

French workers can invoke a “right to withdraw” when they believe their health is at risk but Le Maire said that there must be “a grave and imminent danger.” President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday called for key sectors to continue

operating while respecting health regulations, according to his office.

“People have to eat, French families need to go to grocery stores, food supplies need to get delivered,” Le Maire said.

French union leaders have accused employers of failing to provide staff with enough pro-tective equipment, such as gloves and masks, and highlight a lack of enhanced health measures, such as additional cleaning.

Staff at Airbus SE are reluctant to return to assembly lines in Toulouse, but the air-craft maker wants them back Monday after closing plants in France and Spain for four days to clean workstations and sep-arate workers. The company also created alternating red and

blue teams, and asked employees to bring their own lunches to avoid contact at the canteen.

“We aren’t fighting man-agement here, we’re all fighting the virus,” Dominique Delbouis, an official at Force Ouvriere, the main Airbus union, said in a tel-ephone interview Wednesday.

Le Maire urged companies and employees to “return to normal economic life in the next few hours, which will of course slow down but will fuel essential activities.” He referred to cashiers, shelf stackers, bakers, telecommunications workers and trash collectors.

He praised Carrefour SA for protecting cashiers at its super-markets with a plexiglas bubble. “If Carrefour is able to do it, all of them should,” he said.

FROM LEFT: French Economy and Finance Minister, Bruno Le Maire; French Government’s spokesperson, Sibeth Ndiaye, and French Minister of Public Action and Accounts, Gerald Darmanin, give a press conference after a cabinet meeting in Paris on Wednesday, held to draft a law to confirm delay of second round of municipal elections as a strict lockdown came into in effect in France to stop the spread of COVID-19, caused by the novel coronavirus.

Vodafone offers free double speed to support customersTHE PENINSULA - DOHA

Vodafone Qatar has announced further steps to support its cus-tomers amidst the COVID-19 outbreak. All Vodafone Qatar customers who are self-isolating at home, remotely working and learning online, will benefit from free double speeds, double data and more to help them stay connected.

Prepaid Vodafone customers that use the ‘My Vodafone App’ and website for Flex and data recharges will get as much as double the benefit.

Postpaid All Vodafone Postpaid Flex and Unlimited 300 5G plan customers can opt-in to get up to double data spread over two months.

GigaHome Vodafone GigaHome-Fibre customers can now enjoy double the data speed at home with all GigaHome fibre broadband plans. Mobile Wi-Fi Customers on the go using the new Vodafone Mobile Wi-Fi 275 plan will also benefit from double data at full speed.

These latest offers from

Vodafone come following the Company’s announcement earlier this week that with people practicing social distancing and staying more at home, it was offering free door-to-door delivery of all its products and services by simply making a request through www.vodafone.qa/delivery.

Vodafone Qatar has also been encouraging all their cus-tomers, for their safety and the safety of others, to use the Com-pany’s digital channels accessible 24/7, including its website and My Vodafone App, for all pay-ments, recharges and support, instead of doing so in-person at retail stores.

“This is a challenging and unprecedented time but we’re in it together. We want to ensure all our customers’ connectivity needs are met to support their changed circumstances, espe-cially as schools and more busi-nesses require students to take classes online and employees to work remotely,” said Diego Camberos, Chief Operating Officer, Vodafone Qatar.

German manufacturing expectations record fastest ever plungeREUTERS - BERLIN

The coronavirus outbreak caused the steepest drop in German manufacturers’ expec-tations in the 70-year history of surveys, data showed yesterday, as the three main economic institutes predicted anything from mild recession to a gener-ational crash.

“The German economy is speeding into recession,” said Clemens Fuest (pictured), Pres-ident of the Ifo institute, which published preliminary results of its monthly survey for March.

A fall in Ifo’s overall business climate index to 87.7 from 96.0 in February, the biggest drop since 1991, brought the index to its lowest level since the 2009 recession, Fuest said.

Of the plunge in manufac-turing business morale, he said: “Never in the history of a reunified Germany has it fallen so far. The drop in expectations is the single most precipitous in

70 years of industry surveys.” Germany’s three main eco-

nomic institutes all published revised forecasts predicting that Europe’s largest economy would shrink this year, with outlooks that ranged from a mild con-traction to an historic crash wiping out 9 percent of GDP.

In what it described as an optimistic scenario, Ifo predicted the German economy would shrink by at least 1.5 percent this year. A second scenario would see a contraction of 6 percent.

Another institute, the IfW, said gross domestic product would shrink between 4.5 percent and 9 percent.

A third, DIW, predicted a smaller fall of just 0.1 percent, but said this was based on an optimistic V-shaped scenario in which a sharp drop would be fol-lowed by a quick rebound, and the recession could be much more severe if uncertainty persists.

Many German car

manufacturers and suppliers, including Volkswagen and BMW, have announced factory closures due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus and supply chain problems.

The preliminary Ifo figures are based on roughly 90 percent of the usual number of responses. The institute will publish the final figures on March 25. The survey was con-ducted from March 2-18.

Both Ifo and DIW called on the government to counter the impact of the coronavirus crisis with a big fiscal splurge, adding that Berlin should consider measures to also help small busi-nesses and the self-employed.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has promised to do “whatever it takes” to counter the epidemic’s economic impact and the gov-ernment has promised an initial half a trillion euros in liquidity guarantees for affected businesses.

Such measures would mark

a cultural shift for Germany, which advocated fiscal prudence in Europe during the eurozone debt crisis that followed the 2008-2009 recession.

Government sources told Reuters yesterday that Germany was planning a €40bn ($43.27bn package) to help small busi-nesses and the self-employed threatened with bankruptcy by the coronavirus crisis.

Ministers had not yet signed off on the rescue package which could yet exceed the €40bn mark, one of the sources said, adding that the government would pay operating costs of struggling businesses such as rents and leasing fees.

Brent, WTI crude rebound after three-day sell offREUTERS - NEW YORK

US oil prices rose 20 percent yesterday, recouping some losses from a sell-off that drove prices to near 20-year lows, but analysts saw the rebound as a brief reprieve, anticipating more weakness as the corona-virus outbreak takes its toll on

global demand. The outbreak has put

pressure on the market as schools and businesses have shuttered, suppressing eco-nomic activity around the globe. At the same time, the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia is flooding markets worldwide with cheap oil.

U.S. crude and global benchmark Brent, both of which have lost half their value in less than two weeks, got some respite on Thursday as investors across financial markets assessed the impact of massive central bank stimulus measures.

Brent crude was up $2.00, or 9 percent, at $26.88 a barrel

by 11:51 am EDT (1551 GMT), having plunged to $24.52 on Wednesday, its lowest since 2003.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained $3.85, or 19 percent, to $24.22 after dropping nearly 25 percent to an 18-year low in the previous session.