The Times Of India - Mumbai, 3/16/2020
CCI NG 3.7 Product: TOIMumbaiBS
MILEY CYRUS HAS GONE INTO SELF-ISOLATION TO PREVENT
CATCHING AND POTENTIALLY SPREADING CORONAVIRUS
Europe Locks Itself, But Virus Still On Prowl
Italy’s 368 Deaths
In A Day Exceeds
China’s Highest
Daily Toll Of 254
T
he coronavirus contin-
ued its assault on Italy,
the hardest hit country
outside of China, with offi-
cials on Sunday reporting the
number of deaths rose to 1,809
— a 25% increase over the day
before and the largest one-day
uptick yet of any country.
The 368 deaths Italy repo-
rted exceeds the highest single-
day number China reported at
the height of its outbreak. Chi-
na’s highest daily toll was on
February 13, when the country
reported 254 new deaths, acco-
rding to the WHO. The stagger-
ing caseload in Italy topped
24,700, even as the entire nation
has been locked down for a week.
Germany will close its
borders with Austria, Denmark,
France, Luxembourg and Swit-
zerland in an effort to slow the
spread of the coronavirus. Spa-
in and France announced dras-
tic countrywide restrictions
this weekend. The countries are
the hardest hit after Italy.
Spain’s 47 million inhabit-
ants awoke to the first day of a
nationwide quarantine as part
of a 15-day state of emergency.
Spain’s health ministry said
the country has recorded 288
deaths, up from 136 on Saturday.
The number of infections rose
to 7,753 from 5,700, a 32% jump.
One after another, countries
continued to implement extrao-
rdinary measures. Austria
banned gatherings of over five
people and imposed steep fines
for those who disobeyed a far-re-
aching curfew. Public parks,
sporting fields and restaurants
will close from Monday, and
fines for violations are to 3,600
euros. The Netherlands
announced a lockdown that will
last until April 6, closing most
schools and child care facilities.
Restaurants and gyms will also
be closed. In Lebanon, banks
will close until March 29.
South Africa declared a
national state of disaster.
Australia said those arri-
ving in the nation would need to
isolate themselves for 14 days,
and foreign cruise ships would
be banned for 30 days. AGENCIES
Pak sees highest
1-day jump of 20
cases, total 54
A t least 20 new cases of
Covid-19 were confirmed
in Pakistan on Sunday, taking
the total the number of cases
in the country to 54. This is
the highest number of cases
reported in Pakistan in a single
day. Thirteen of the 20 people
who tested positive for Co-
vid-19 were in Sukkur, the third
largest city in Sindh. All 13 had
recently arrived from Iran.
Earlier in the day, five cases
were reported from Karachi
and one from Islamabad.
Three of the patients in
Karachi had recently
returned from Saudi Arabia,
while one has no recent travel
history. The fifth patient is
from Balochistan and had
reached Karachi on Saturday.
Omer Farooq Khan TNN
Bibi’s challenger Benny Gantz
wins chance to form Israel govt
David M Halbfinger
Jerusalem: Benny Gantz,
the centrist former army
chief seeking to depose PM
Benjamin Netanyahu of Is-
rael, on Sunday received the
endorsements of a narrow
majority of lawmakers, all
but assuring that he would be
given the first chance to form
a government. In a first, all 15
members of the combined
slate of predominantly Arab
parties, the Joint List, joined
lawmakers from Jewish par-
ties in recommending Gantz
to President Reuven Rivlin.
Centrist Blue and White
party’s Gantz won the rec-
ommendations of 61 law-
makers in the 120-seat Knes-
set. He was also endorsed by
Avigdor Liberman’s ultra-
nationalist Yisrael Beiteinu
party. Gantz will now have a
month to cobble together a
governing coalition.
PubDate: 16-03-2020 Zone: MumbaiCity
For the second Sunday in a row, Pope Francis delivered his blessings
from inside the Apostolic Library instead of from a window overlooking
St. Peter’s Square. Meanwhile, the Vatican said on Sunday that its
traditional services during the week before Easter, which usually draw
tens of thousands of people, would not be open to the public next
month, a step believed to be unprecedented in modern times
VIRUS SCARE REACHES THE MONARCHY & BEYOND
Wife of Spanish PM Indonesia prez to be Queen shifted out of
tests +ve for corona tested for Covid-19 Buckingham Palace
T he wife of Spain’s Prime
minister Pedro Sanchez has
tested positive
for the novel
coronavirus, the
prime minister’s
office said. The
announcement
came late on
Saturday night, just hours after
he announced a near total
lockdown nationwide. Both
Begona Gomez and her
husband were well, and were at
their official residence
following the new measures
introduced by the health
authorities, said a government
statement. AFP
Tycoon who called Xi a
‘clown’ for his response
to outbreak vanishes
H
is nickname in China
was “The Cannon,” and
Ren Zhiqiang’s latest
commentary was among his
most explosive yet. Ren, an
outspoken property tycoon in
Beijing, wrote in a scathing es-
say that China’s leader, Xi Jin-
ping, was a power-hungry “cl-
own.” He said the ruling Com-
munist Party’s strict limits on
free speech had exacerbated
the coronavirus epidemic.
Now Ren, one of the most
prominent critics of Xi in
mainland China, is missing,
his friends said on Saturday.
His disappearance comes
amid a far-reaching campa-
ign by the party to quash cri-
ticism of its slow, secretive
initial response to the epide-
mic, which has killed over
3,100 people in China and
sickened more than 80,000.
Ren, a party member, is
well known for his searing cri-
tiques of Xi. In 2016, the party
placed him on a year’s proba-
tion for denouncing Xi’s pro-
AP
A poster of Benny Gantz and
Benjamin Netanyahu. Gantz’s
Blue and White received the
support of parties representing 61
seats, a slim majority. But those
parties are also divided, and it is
not clear whether Gantz will be
able to put together a coalition
It, however, remains un-
clear whether Gantz will be ab-
le to form a government. Lib-
erman and leaders of the Joint
List have loudly and frequent-
ly refused to cooperate. But
they could put their differenc-
Edition: 2 Page: TOIMINT
TIMES GLOBAL
AP
I ndonesian President Joko
Widodo said on Sunday he
would get tested
for coronavirus,
while some of his
ministers had
also undergone
precautionary
tests after the
country’s transport minister
tested positive. Widodo also
suggested people work from
home and avoid mass events.
Indonesia reported on Sunday
the number of cases had risen by
21to 117. Five people have died.
Jakarta and other provinces have
announced school closures
starting this week. REUTERS
China makes 2-wk
quarantine must for
foreign returnees
C hina has tightened checks
on international travellers
at Beijing airport and said it
will centrally quarantine all
arrivals at its capital for 14 da-
ys, after new imported coro-
navirus cases surpassed loc-
ally transmitted infections for
a second day. Mainland China
reported 20 new cases of infe-
ctions on March 14, up from 11
cases a day earlier. Of those,
16 were imported. REUTERS
paganda policies in comments
online. His whereabouts was
unclear Saturday, and police in
Beijing did not immediately
respond to a request for com-
ment. “We’re very worried
about him,” said Wang Ying, a
retired entrepreneur and fri-
end of Ren’s. “I will continue to
look for him.” NYT NEWS SERVICE
OTHER TOP STORIES OF THE DAY
es aside to achieve the shared
goal of ousting Netanyahu.
The consultations be-
tween Rivlin and party lead-
ers came on a tumultuous day
for Israeli democracy. Many
here awoke to the news that
Netanyahu’s handpicked jus-
tice minister, Amir Ohana,
had imposed emergency mea-
sures on Israeli courts, in an
order announced after 1am.
Court officials, citing the
coronavirus pandemic, then
seized on Ohana’s order early
Sunday to delay Netanyahu’s
long-awaited trial on bribery
and other corruption charges,
which had been scheduled to
begin on Tuesday. The soonest
it will start now is May 24.
Netanyahu, Israel’s long-
est-serving premier, failed on
March 2 for the third time in a
year to win a new term out-
right after he fell short of a
majority in parliamentary
elections. NYT NEWS SERVICE
User: kanakkottu.narayanan
* THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAI | MONDAY, MARCH 16, 2020
Trump tests -ve as US grinds to a halt
Chidanand.Rajghatta
@timesgroup.com
Washington: Massive bottle-
necks were reported across US
airports unprepared to filter
in Americans rushing home
amid the coronavirus shut-
down even as President
Trump, called out for sloppy
handling of the entire situa-
tion starting with airily say-
ing it will go away, tested nega-
tive for the virus. With most
businesses and engagements
across the country being pa-
red down, if not shutting
down altogether, the world’s
largest economy lurched to-
wards a recession. Officials
have recorded nearly 3,000 ca-
ses and 62 deaths in the US, up
from 58 the previous day.
Social distancing, remote
engagement, and flattening
the curve continued to be key
terms as experts across the
spectrum emphasized the need
to slow down the spread of the
virus with alarming statistics
Q ueen Elizabeth II has been
shifted out of Buckingham
Palace in London
to Windsor Castle
as the UK plans
for isolation
measures for
people over 70
amid UK’s death
toll from Covid-19 hitting 21,
nearly doubling from 11within a
day. The 93-year-old monarch
and her 98-year-old husband,
Prince Philip, are likely to be
placed in quarantine at Sandrin-
gham Estate in the coming weeks
as tougher measures are put in
place to fight Covid-19 in the UK
affecting over 1,140 people. PTI
Germany, US
wrestle over
virus vaccine
Berlin: Berlin is trying to stop
Washington from persuading
a German company seeking a
coronavirus vaccine to move
its research to the US, prompt-
ing Germany to insist no coun-
try should have a monopoly on
any future vaccine. German
sources said on Sunday that
the US was looking into how it
could gain access to a potential
vaccine being developed by a
German firm, CureVac.
Earlier, a German newspa-
per reported that US Presi-
dent Trump had offered funds
to lure CureVac to the US, and
the German government was
making counter-offers to
tempt it to stay. Responding to
the report, a US official said:
“This story is wildly over-
played. The US government
has spoken with many (more
than 25) companies that claim
they can help with a vaccine.“
A German health ministry
spokeswoman said: “The gov-
ernment is very interested in
ensuring that vaccines are de-
veloped in Germany and Eu-
rope.” CureVac said, “The com-
pany rejects current rumours of
an acquisition.” REUTERS
Abducted in 2018,
Canadian & Italian
found safe in Mali
C anadian woman and an Itali-
an man who were abducted
15 months ago in Burkina Faso
have been released in the neighb-
ouring country of Mali. Edith Bla-
is and her travelling companion,
Luca Tacchetto, went missing in
2018 in an area that is known to
be a stronghold of the IS’s local
franchise. A UN official said they
were let go on Friday in Kidal, Ma-
li. It is not known who kidnapped
the two, if a ransom was paid or
who arranged for the release. NYT
Biden, Sanders to
face off in first
one-on-one debate
J oe Biden and Bernie Sanders
square off in the first one-on-
one debate of the Democratic
presidential campaign on Sunday
amid the coronavirus crisis. The
debate will give Biden and Sand-
ers an opportunity to project lea-
dership during the crisis. REUTERS
Cropped page
Time: 03-16-2020 01:21 Color: C
TOM HANKS AND WIFE RITA WILSON, WHO TESTED POSITIVE
FOR VIRUS, SHARE PLAYLIST FOR ALL THOSE IN QUARANTINE
CROWDED AIRPORTS COULD TURN FLYERS INTO VIRUS CARRIERS:
Harsh criticism rained on the Trump administration on Sunday from state
and local officials over long lines of returning international passengers at
some US airports that could have turned them into coronavirus carriers.
The administration allowed about 3,000 Americans returning from Europe
to be stuck for hours inside the customs area at O’Hare International
Airport on Saturday, violating CDC recommendations that people practice
social distance. Long lines also formed Saturday in Boston, Dallas and
others of the 13 airports that are accepting return flights from Europe
of what might be if it is not con-
tained. America’s top infectio-
us disease expert Anthony
Fauci called for a dramatic re-
duction in personal interac-
tion to curb its spread. The big-
TRACKING OUTBREAK
Countries Infected
Mainland China 80,844
Italy
24,747
Iran 12,729
South Korea 8,086
Spain 7,753
France
4,499
Germany 3,795
United States 2,808
Japan 1,485
Switzerland 1,359
France votes amid
virus clampdown
Paris: French voters cast their
ballots on Sunday in munici-
pal elections that appear hea-
ded for the lowest turnout in
decades, after the mounting co-
ronavirus toll saw the govern-
ment close bars, restaurants
and schools and limit long-dis-
tance travel. Anti-infection
precautions were in place at
the country’s 35,000-odd voting
stations, with bottles of hand
sanitiser at entrances and flo-
ors marked with tape to ensure
people stay one metre (3.3 feet)
from one another.
Several voters turned out
sporting surgical masks or dis-
posable gloves and clutching
their own pens or bottles of gel.
The streets of Paris — the
main battleground for Presi-
dent Emmanuel Macron’s
LREM party against Socialist
mayor Anne Hidalgo and right-
winger Rachida Dati — were
eerily empty. France is one of
White police official sues
Patel for alleged race bias
Naomi Canton
London: A white police
watchdog chief of UK is su-
ing Indian-origin home se-
cretary Priti Patel for ra-
cism. Matthew Parr, one of fi-
ve HM Inspectors of Consta-
bulary (HMIs) which
inspects the UK’s po-
lice forces, has clai-
med that Patel, born
in London to Gujarati
Indian parents, dis-
criminated against
him in pay negotiations be-
cause he is white and male.
Parr told an employment
tribunal that his £1,40,000
(Rs 1.2 crore) a year salary is
significantly lower than the
£1,85,000 (Rs 1.6 crore) a year
salary of a black female col-
league — Wendy Williams —
who did the same job as him
and who was hired a year be-
fore him. Patel admits Parr
is paid less but contends that
K
Y
M
AP
gest concern arising from this
approach centered on whether
in the short term the supply
chain of food and essential
commodities would be disrup-
ted after a run on goods by pa-
Death
131
3,199 COUNTRIES
AFFECTED
1,809
611 156,800+
72 PEOPLE
INFECTED
288
GLOBALLY
91
8
5,762+
PEOPLE HAVE
62
DIED (2,563
28 OUTSIDE
CHINA)
13
Reuters
President Emmanuel Macron and
his wife Brigitte cast their ballots
in mayoral elections in Le Touquet
the European countries hit
hardest by the virus, with some
4,500 infected and 91 dead.Th-
ree hours after voting stations
opened at 8am (12.30pm IST),
turnout was just over 18% —
nearly five percentage points
lower than the previous muni-
cipal vote in 2014, government
data showed. The capital had a
low tally at just 12.6%. AFP
the reason for the discrepan-
cy in salaries, which are in-
dividually negotiated, is “a
pay policy which aims to re-
duce senior salaries”. She
denies allegations of sex and
race discrimination.
But Parr told the tribunal
that an exception was
made for Williams be-
cause “she was black
and/or a woman becau-
se of the fear of discri-
mination litigation”.
He said the home secre-
tary “did not have equal fear of
potential litigation from a
white man such as himself”.
Patel applied for the tri-
bunal to be heard in private,
rather than, as is usual, pub-
lic saying that the pay nego-
tiations with Williams were
“private and confidential”.
But a recent employment ap-
peal tribunal overruled this.
The details of the case will
now be open to the public.
Page: 14
THE SECRET OF HAPPINESS
IS SOMETHING TO DO
— JOHN BURROUGHS
US providers offer hope on the medical front in tre-
ating it effectively – from using
free Wi-Fi for 60 days Anti-HIV drugs to the simpler
chloroquine – even while slo-
U S internet and wireless pro-
viders have announced tem-
porary measures to make gett-
wing down its spread with com-
partmentalized isolation of co-
untries, cities, and communiti-
ing online less expensive. Most es, so as to give health care in-
notable is Comcast’s free public frastructure and medical sci-
Wi-Fi for all for 60 days. AT&T and ence time to get its act together.
Charter Communications also Often lost in the panic was the
announced free public Wi-Fi for fact that those who contract Co-
60 days, with Charter offering vid-19 and survive it (99% of af-
free broadband for households fected do, with more than 80%
with students. Verizon annou- having very mild symptoms)
nced a moratorium on late fees are subsequently immune to it.
and disconnections. T-Mobile While there was anger at
announced that it would provide how sloppily Trump is mana-
unlimited smartphone data to all ging the return of Americans
current subscribers and increase to the US, American millen-
the data allowance to schools nials were also roasted for
and students using their digital partying like there is no to-
learning programmes. AP morrow – which is apparent-
ly what some of them believe.
nicked customers, with at least Consequently, bars and res-
one report of a run on hard cur- taurants have begun shutte-
rency in a New York City bank. ring down, and along with the
Amid dire prognosis of how slow down in transport sec-
the world could be laid low by tor, the virus is now threate-
the virus, there was plenty of ning to crush the economy.
Of 428 virus cases VIRAL NEWS
in Malaysia, 243 Spaniards applaud
traced to 1 event their health workers
Reuters
Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia sa-
id on Sunday that more than
half the country’s 428 corona-
virus cases were linked to an
international Islamic gathe-
ring held last month. The Sout-
heast Asian nation announced
a spike of 190 new infections
over the weekend, mostly lin-
ked to a global Islamic event at-
tended by almost 20,000 people.
“Of the 428 cases, 243 are
participants from the religious
event in Sri Petaling mosque,”
Noor Hisham Abdullah, direc-
tor-general of the health mini-
stry, said. Authorities said par-
ticipants at the gathering from
February 27 to March 1 came
from Bangladesh, Brunei, the
Philippines, Singapore and
Thailand. Around 14,500 of the
participants were Malaysian.
Brunei reported 10 new ca-
ses on Saturday, raising the total
to 50, most in people who atten- P eople across Spain have ent-
ered lockdown with a nati-
ded the Malaysia gathering. onwide round of applause, from
Singapore has also announced
cases linked to the event. AFP
their balconies, to show their
gratitude to medical staff
working on the front lines of the
Wartime effort?
Virus isolation
outbreak. People across Madrid,
Barcelona, Valencia and
Pamplona took to their balconies
and leaned from windows to
for Brits over 70 applaud. The footage has been
shared widely on social media,
P
eople aged over 70 in Brita- captioned with the words
in will be asked to stay in
strict isolation at home or
aplauso sanitario, (I applaud the
health services) and quedate en
in care homes for up to four mo- casa (stay at home). AGENCIES
nths under a radical new plan to
prevent them from catching the
coronavirus. Asked to confirm IS wants militants to
an ITV report of the proposal,
health secretary Matt Hancock
stay out of Europe
said on Sunday: “That is in the
action plan, yes.” A BBC report
said that the government is to
T he Islamic State terror group
has issued a travel advisory
for its operatives to steer clear of
release social distancing advice coronavirus-hit Europe, descri-
for the elderly on Monday — but bed as “the land of the epide-
they will not yet be asked to self- mic”. According to The Sunday
isolate for long periods. Han- Times, the latest issue of the IS
cock earlier used an article in ‘Al-Naba’ newsletter says that
the Sunday Telegraph to liken the “healthy should not enter the
the coronavirus crisis to World land of the epidemic and the
War II. Fourteen more people afflicted should not exit from it”.
have died from the virus, bring- It also instructs followers to
ing deaths in the UK to 35. The “cover their mouths when
number of confirmed UK cases yawning and sneezing” and to
has reached 1,372. AGENCIES wash their hands regularly. PTI
AROUND THE WORLD
Reuters
A small group of cosplayers attend an event in Seattle, US, that
would have been the 2020 Emerald City Comic Con. The event has
been postponed to August due to the coronavirus outbreak
Irish pubs shut after closed schools and universi-
ties last week and advised
#ClosePubs trends people to cancel all indoor
gatherings of 100 people or
amid virus outbreak more. But it stopped short of
closing cafes, bars and eat-
B ars across Ireland are
closing voluntarily to curb
the spread of coronavirus after
eries, as some European
nations have done, citing the
potential impact on workers
videos of singing in packed
Dublin venues on Saturday
and small businesses and
saying owners should ensure
sparked anger online and the customers are kept at a safe
threat of a ban. Ireland, known distance from each other. But
around the world for its pubs, after #CloseThePubs hashtag
has had 129 confirmed cases trended on internet, most
of Covid-19 and two deaths. It pubs decided to shut shop.