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Chinese mainland reports 1 new domestically transmitted COVID-19 case

(Xinhua)13:54, December 06, 2020

Chinas National Health Commission said Sunday that it received reports of 18 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland Saturday, one of which was domestically transmitted in Tianjin.

Seventeen cases were imported from outside the mainland and reported in Shanghai, Fujian, Guangdong, Sichuan, Yunnan and Shaanxi, the commission said in its daily report.

Two new suspected cases arriving from outside the mainland were reported in Shanghai, said the report.

No new deaths related to the disease were reported, according to the report.

A total of 12 COVID-19 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovery on the Chinese mainland on Saturday.

By the end of Saturday, a total of 3,936 imported cases had been reported on the mainland. Among them, 3,690 had been discharged from hospitals following recovery, and 246 remained hospitalized. No deaths had been reported among the imported cases.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases on the mainland reached 86,619 by Saturday, including 279 patients still receiving treatment, six of whom were in severe conditions.

A total of 81,706 patients had been discharged from hospitals following recovery on the mainland, and 4,634 had died of the virus, according to the report.

There were nine suspected COVID-19 cases on the mainland as of Saturday, and 5,540 close contacts remained under medical observation.

Saturday also saw two newly reported asymptomatic cases arriving from outside the mainland. On the same day, six imported asymptomatic cases were re-categorized as confirmed cases.

A total of 234 asymptomatic cases were under medical observation, including 227 imported cases, the commission said.

By the end of Saturday, 6,802 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 112 deaths, had been reported in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), while 46 confirmed cases had been reported in Macao SAR, and 693 cases, including seven deaths, in Taiwan.

Altogether 5,511 COVID-19 patients in Hong Kong SAR had been discharged from hospitals following recovery, while 46 had been discharged from hospitals in Macao SAR, and 574 in Taiwan.

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59 arrested for illegal sea sand mining

(Xinhua)14:00, December 06, 2020

The China Coast Guard (CCG) in east Chinas Fujian Province has busted a major case involving the illegal mining of sea sand and arrested 59 suspects.

An initial probe revealed that the case involves more than 75 million tonnes of sea sand worth more than 5 billion yuan (over 765 million U.S. dollars), CCG sources said here.

The coast guard, in close cooperation with local police, spent more than six months investigating the case and confiscated seven vessels and about 35,000 tonnes of sea sand.

Further investigation is underway.

Sea sand is an important marine resource, the loss of which will harm the countrys coastal zones and its marine geology.

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Chinas Wuhan finds coronavirus on packaging of imported frozen meat

(Xinhua)08:54, December 07, 2020

WUHAN, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) — Two imported frozen food packaging samples tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Wuhan, capital of central Chinas Hubei Province, local health authorities said Sunday.

According to the citys health commission, the samples were taken from a batch of frozen pork imported from Brazil and a batch of frozen beef from Uruguay.

Local authorities have taken emergency measures to seal the imported frozen goods and disinfect the storage facilities and the surrounding environment.

The frozen pork imports consisting of 1,527 boxes and weighing 27.49 tonnes were shipped from Brazil to Shanghai on June 28. They were transported from Shanghai to Wuhan on July 27 and stored at a local cold storage on July 29.

The frozen beef contained in 1,210 boxes, weighing 26.93 tonnes, was shipped to north Chinas Tianjin Municipality on March 2. It reached Wuhan on March 28.

The nucleic acid test results of 511 samples from the cold storage, 460 samples from the frozen food packaging and 524 samples from local employees were all negative for COVID-19.

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East China county finds coronavirus on imported frozen food packaging

(Xinhua)09:03, December 07, 2020

JINAN, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) — Three imported frozen beef packaging samples tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Juye County, east Chinas Shandong Province, local health authorities said Sunday.

According to the countys epidemic prevention and control headquarters, the samples were taken from three batches of frozen beef imported from Argentina.

Local authorities have sealed the beef and clarified that it wasnt distributed in the market.

The beef-storage facility and the surrounding environment are being disinfected. Based on an epidemiological investigation, five close contacts and seven others have been found and placed under quarantine for medical observation. Their nucleic acid tests for COVID-19 have been negative.

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COVID-19 worsens gender-based violence for women UN officials

(Xinhua)11:08, December 01, 2020

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) — The COVID-19 pandemic is heightening the dangers of gender-based violence and human trafficking for women and girls, UN officials said on Monday.

In every part of the world, we are seeing that COVID has worsened the plight of at-risk women and girls, while also hindering criminal justice responses and reducing support to victims, said Ghada Waly, executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), during a virtual event on global commitment for women and girls amid the pandemic.

Women and girls were already being exposed to different forms of violence before the pandemic, and they make up more than 60 percent of all victims of human trafficking, according to UNODC.

However, lockdowns and other measures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic have led to a shadow pandemic of rising gender-based violence, according to UNODC.

Womens economic inequality also increases their vulnerability to trafficking and sexual violence, according to UN Women, which promotes gender equality.

UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said that most female survivors, or nearly 80 percent, are trafficked for sexual exploitation.

There are socioeconomic consequences when these crimes happen, but in times of pandemic, the socioeconomic impact is even deeper, she said.

Forty-seven million more women and girls will be pushed to extreme poverty because of COVID-19, but business is booming for traffickers, she said.

In April, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed for a worldwide domestic violence ceasefire, urging governments to put womens safety first as they respond to the crisis.

So far, nearly 150 countries have answered the secretary-generals call, pledging to make prevention and redress of gender-based violence a key part of their pandemic response.

UNODC, UN Women and other partners are also backing the appeal.

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Over 150 people nabbed in anti-lockdown protests in central London

(Xinhua)09:50, November 30, 2020

LONDON, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) — More than 150 people have been arrested after anti-lockdown demonstrators hurling bottles and charging through ranks of police officers in central London Saturday, local media reported Sunday.

By 7:00 p.m. (1900 GMT) Saturday, London police had detained 155 people for a host of offences including breaching coronavirus restrictions, assaulting a police officer and drug possession, the London-based Evening Standard newspaper reported.

Scotland Yard, metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, said police had made a number of early interventions to prevent people from gathering, urging them to go home.

As part of this, coaches transporting demonstrators into the British capital were intercepted and those who did not turn back and go home were either arrested or issued with fixed penalty notices, police said.

Hundreds of demonstrators marched through the city near Oxford Street chanting freedom on Saturday, with some carrying placards reading Stop Controlling Us and No More Lockdowns.

Sky News reporter said Saturday that there were quite violent, aggressive clashes between police and some protesters, while traffic was temporarily blocked on Regent Street.

The Metropolitan Police had urged people not to attend protests this weekend and warned those who attend would risk enforcement action by officers.

England is currently under a month-long national lockdown, the second of its kind since the coronavirus outbreak in Britain, in a bid to quell the resurgence of coronavirus.

According to British Health Secretary Matt Hancock, most of England will face harsh coronavirus restrictions in a new three-tier system when the lockdown ends next week, with London being listed in Tier Two.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the United States are racing against time to develop coronavirus vaccines.

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Media play important role in BRICS cooperation, says president of Brazils CMA Group

(Xinhua)09:56, November 30, 2020

SAO PAULO, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) — Media outlets play a key role in strengthening cooperation between BRICS countries, said the chief of Brazils financial and agricultural information provider CMA Group.

Correctly ascertaining news of the social and economic activities of the BRICS countries and disseminating that reliable information can help people in Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa expand the understanding of each other, CMA President Jose Juan Sanchez said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

We are always willing to collaborate with other BRICS media outlets through the exchange of content from these markets, Sanchez said on the eve of the presidium meeting of the fifth BRICS Media Forum, which will kick off on Monday via video link.

Since the launch of the BRICS media platform in 2015, media cooperation among members has continued to deepen through high-level forums, exchanges and joint reporting.

Having the possibility to disclose content that is provided by reliable sources such as the vehicles that are part of the BRICS is a resource with high added value in the view of the CMA Group, he added.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the press in BRICS countries has the important mission of investigating and reporting on development and measures to combat the pandemic, Sanchez said.

Seeing that the on-the-ground journalism has been compromised due to the pandemic, he suggests journalistic training programs be conducted virtually.

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Fauci warns of surge upon a surge of U.S. COVID-19 cases in weeks ahead

(Xinhua)13:32, November 30, 2020

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) — The United States may see surge upon a surge of COVID-19 cases in the weeks after Thanksgiving due to cold weather and travel, U.S. top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said Sunday.

We dont want to frighten people, but thats just the reality, Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told ABCs This Week, adding that he does not expect a relaxation of current public health restrictions or recommendations before Christmas.

We said that these things would happen, as we got into the cold weather and as we began traveling, and theyve happened. Its going to happen again, Fauci said.

Faucis warning came as more than 90,000 COVID-19 patients are currently hospitalized across the United States, with over 18,000 in intensive care units, according to the COVID Tracking Project.

The United States has recorded more than 13.37 million cases with over 266,800 related deaths as of Sunday night, according to the real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

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French court orders government to loosen coronavirus rules on religious services

(Xinhua)13:45, November 30, 2020

PARIS, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) — Frances highest administrative court on Sunday ordered the government to rethink a 30-person attendance limit for religious services to contain the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic.

The measure took effect this weekend, which faced opposition from places of worship and the faithful such as Catholic associations, describing the government rules as unnecessary, disproportionate and discriminatory.

The Council of State has ordered that French Prime Minister Jean Castex modify the measure within three days.

On Tuesday evening, French President Emmanuel Macron said that the peak of the pandemics second wave had passed, allowing a gradual return to normalcy starting on Saturday.

French churches, mosques and synagogues started opening doors again to worshippers this weekend, but only a few of them.

The countrywide confinement in force since Oct. 30 will be lifted on Dec. 15 provided that new infections remain below 5,000 per day. Cinemas, theaters and museums will then be allowed to reopen under strict health protocols.

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U.S. top health officials call on Americans to get tested after Thanksgiving travel

(Xinhua)13:47, November 30, 2020

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) — U.S. top health officials on Sunday called on Americans who had traveled for Thanksgiving to get tested for COVID-19 so as to contain the pandemic.

That may be, when you go back to where youve came from, if its possible to quarantine yourself for a period of time or even get tested to make sure that you are not bringing infection back to another place, be it another home or another family, Anthony Fauci, the countrys leading infectious disease expert told ABC.

If youre young and you gathered, you need to be tested about five to 10 days later, White House coronavirus task force coordinator Deborah Birx told CBS.

A total of 1,070,967 people were screened at airports on the day before Thanksgiving, the largest number since the pandemic broke out in March, according to the U.S. Transportation Security Administration.

To date, the United States has recorded more than 13.37 million COVID-19 cases with over 266,838 related deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.