Day: December 31, 2020

(Xinhua)08:48, July 14, 2020

MOSCOW, July 13 (Xinhua) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held a phone conversation on Monday, discussing the preparations for a summit among the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The two top diplomats discussed in detail preparations for a Russia-initiated meeting of the leaders of the UNSC permanent member countries. The sides exchanged views on maintaining strategic stability in the context of the upcoming meetings of Russian-U.S. working groups on military-political issues, said the statement.

In addition, Lavrov and Pompeo discussed issues of the settlement of conflicts in certain regions of the world, including Afghanistan, Libya, and Syria, it said.

Some other pressing issues of the international agenda and problems of bilateral relations were also touched upon, it added.

(Xinhua)09:10, July 14, 2020

WASHINGTON, July 13 (Xinhua) — Long waiting times for COVID-19 test results in the United States is hindering the countrys efforts to stem the spread of the disease, according to The Washington Post.

Overly long wait times often render the test results useless as it makes contact tracing almost futile, Crystal Watson, a public health expert at Johns Hopkins University, was quoted as saying.

By the time a person is getting results, they already have symptoms, their contacts may already have symptoms and have gone on to infect others, the expert said.

The United States is seeing a surging number of newly-confirmed cases of COVID-19 and demand for testing, resulting in an inadequate amount of essential medical equipment including swabs, chemical reagents, test kits and machines.

Adding to the predicament are logistical delays, according to the Post, given the length of times it takes to collect and transport the samples, as well as return the results to people and health agencies.

(Xinhua)09:12, July 14, 2020

WASHINGTON, July 13 (Xinhua) — The White House is trying to discredit Anthony Fauci, a top U.S. infectious diseases expert, amid a ballooning caseload of COVID-19 in the United States, according to U.S. media.

In a report on Sunday, CNBC quoted a White House official as saying that several White House officials are concerned about the number of times Dr. Fauci has been wrong on things.

The official mentioned Faucis earlier comments on the pandemic, including his description of the coronavirus as not a major threat in January, as examples.

However, on Sunday, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams explained to CBS that when you learn more, you change those recommendations. Our recommendations have changed.

Additionally, the Washington Post reported Sunday that Fauci has been sidelined by the White House, despite his leading role in the countrys fight against the epidemic.

Citing a senior White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity, the Post reported that Fauci no longer briefs (President Donald) Trump and is never in the Oval (Office) anymore.

According to the report, Fauci had not spoken to Trump since the first week of June.

More than 3.3 million confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported in the United States, with over 135,000 deaths, as of Monday morning local time, according to Johns Hopkins University.

(Xinhua)09:22, July 14, 2020

LONDON, July 13 (Xinhua) — Only a quarter of British businesses said they are fully ready when Brexit transition period expires on Dec. 31, a survey from the Institute of Directors revealed Monday.

Nearly half of the 978 company directors polled in late June said they werent able to prepare right now, with one in seven distracted by coronavirus pandemic and almost a third saying they needed the details of any changes to be clear before adjusting, the survey found.

The survey said those in the financial sector were most likely to be ready while manufacturers in particular had more to do, and directors in services felt especially unable to prepare at present.

It said the vast majority directors believe that reaching a deal is important for their organisation.

The Institute of Directors called on Britain and the European Union (EU) to commit to a reciprocal, phased implementation wherever possible, and for the British government to provide greater clarity on its contingency plans in the event of a no deal.

Jonathan Geldart, director general of the Institute of Directors, said: With so much going on, many directors feel that preparing for Brexit proper is like trying to hit a moving target. Jumping immediately into whatever comes next would be a nightmare for many businesses.

Unilateral actions like staggering import controls would be a welcome step from government, but are by no means enough, we need to mitigate disruption across many different sectors on both sides, Geldart said.

Britain ended its EU membership on Jan. 31 but is still following EU rules during the transition period until Dec. 31 to enable a permanent future trade deal to be reached.

Negotiation teams from Britain and the EU are intensifying talks in July by meeting face to face after rounds of video talks that produced no significant progress by June, due to huge differences in fisheries and so-called level playing field.

Britain has formally ruled out the possibility of an extended post-Brexit transition period. The British government confirmed a new three-stage plan for border controls and procedures in 2021, pledging to take flexible and pragmatic approach to give industry extra time to make necessary arrangements.

(Xinhua)14:20, July 14, 2020

WASHINGTON, July 13 (Xinhua) — As the United States is faced with a ballooning COVID-19 caseload, a number of states have rolled back their reopening plans and announced new measures in the coming fall semester, some with caution.

With COVID-19 cases surging in the state of California, Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday announced one of the most sweeping rollbacks of any states reopening plans, saying the state made the decision because COVID-19 cases continue to spread at alarming rates.

According to the state governments website, effective from July 13, all counties must close indoor operations in the sections including dine-in restaurants, wineries and tasting rooms, movie theaters, card rooms, zoos and museums and family entertainment centers.

It added that 30 of the hardest-hit counties, where 80 percent of California residents live, will be required to close indoor business operations in fitness centers, places of worship, offices for non-critical sectors, personal care services, hair salons and barbershops, and malls.

The announcement came after Californias two largest public school districts — Los Angeles and San Diego which have nearly 870,000 students combined, said in a joint statement that the new school year will start online only, citing concerns over the pandemic.

As Texas faces one of the sharpest increases in new infections in the country, Governor Greg Abbott has suggested in recent television interviews that putting the state back under a lockdown is possible.

I made clear that I made this tough decision for one reason: It was our last best effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. If we do not slow the spread of COVID-19 … the next step would have to be a lock-down, the governor told local TV station KLBK.

In the state of New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Monday that public schools can reopen in the fall if located in phase-four reopening regions where daily infection rate remains 5 percent or lower over a 14-day average.

That means the virus is under control. That means its safe to reopen and then the schools can proceed to reopening in that region, he said at a briefing.

The states Education Department on Monday presented a framework for the school reopening guidance to the states Board of Regents on Monday, which includes health checks and screenings, school bus disinfection and social distancing.

On the other hand, as Florida on Sunday reported a record single-day increase of 15,299 cases, Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, doubled down on his call for reopening schools, echoing a similar demand from President Donald Trump.

People say, kids may be the vectors then, in the community … but its been found over and over again, as people have looked at this and studied this, particularly in Europe, that the school children arent vectors for this, for whatever reason, DeSantis said on Saturday. They usually get infected by the parents. Theyre usually not infecting adults.

Meanwhile, despite the surge, the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando opened its Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom sites Saturday, asking visitors to wear masks and adhere to other safety measures. Epcot and Disneys Hollywood Studios, also part of the amusement park complex, will reopen on July 15.

(China Daily)14:56, July 14, 2020

TOKYO－The governor of Japans Okinawa island demanded a top US military commander take tougher prevention measures after officials were told more than 60 Marines at two bases have been infected with the coronavirus in the past few days.

Okinawan officials on Sunday reported a total of 61 cases, 38 of them at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, which is at the center of a relocation dispute, and another 23 at Camp Hansen, since last Tuesday. They said that US military officials told them the two bases have since been put in lockdown.

The disclosure of the exact figures came only after Okinawas repeated requests to the US military.

Governor Denny Tamaki, in telephone talks late on Saturday with Lieutenant General H. Stacy Clardy, commander of III Marine Expeditionary Force, demanded the US military increase disease prevention measures to maximum levels, stop sending personnel from the mainland US to Okinawa and seal the bases, and provide more transparency.

Okinawans are shocked by what we were told (by the US military), Tamaki told a news conference on Saturday. It is extremely regrettable that the infections are rapidly spreading among US personnel when we Okinawans are doing our utmost to contain the infections.

We now have strong doubts that the US military has taken adequate disease prevention measures.

Tamaki said he wants more talks with the US military. Okinawan officials also asked the Japanese government to pressure the US to provide details including the number of cases, seal off Futenma and Camp Hansen, and step up preventive measures.

Adding to their concern is quarantining of an unidentified number of US citizens service members arriving from the mainland US for staff rotations at an off-base hotel due to a shortage of space on base, officials said.

The US Marines said in a statement on Friday that the troops were taking additional protective measures to limit the spread of the virus and were restricting off-base activities. The statement said measures are to protect our forces, our families and the local community, without providing details of the infections.

Okinawa is home to more than half of about 50,000 US troops based in Japan under a bilateral security pact, and the residents are sensitive to US base-related problems. Many Okinawans have long complained about pollution, noise and crime.

(Xinhua)14:57, July 14, 2020

WELLINGTON – Helen Clark, co-chair of a World Health Organization (WHO) panel to review the WHO-coordinated global response to COVID-19, said they would look at reforming international institutional response to a pandemic, media outlets have reported.

Clark, also former New Zealand prime minister, said the investigation would look at the effectiveness of WHO work, as well as how various countries responded to WHOs warnings, British newspaper the Guardian recently reported.

The report said that Clark and her colleagues already discussed whether the UN health body needed more powers, or the introduction of a convention on pandemics.

To fight a global pandemic, the world needs global cooperation, strong international organizations, and the WHO to be the best it can be, the report quoted Clark as saying on Friday. The agency at the moment can basically only call on countries to be co-operative, she said.

She also pointed out the importance of urgent funding boost for the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group, while warning against the prospect of cascading economic collapses and all the issues that come with that.

Launched by the WHO on Thursday, the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response is co-chaired by Clark and former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

The panel is supposed to present its interim report in November when the World Health Assembly (WHA) resumes and its substantive report in May next year.

The WHO said the panel is set up in accordance with a WHA resolution in May to review experience gained and lessons learned from the WHO-coordinated international health response to COVID-19. That involves the global response, including but not limited to the WHO.

(Xinhua)14:01, July 12, 2020

WASHINGTON, July 11 (Xinhua) — It was not rational for anyone to believe that China was complicit in the COVID-19 pandemic, a U.S. security magazine has said.

Lost amid all this finger-pointing is a basic logic of agency; what would China hope to gain from using a viral weapon? political scientist Erik Gartzke was quoted as saying in an opinion piece run by The National Interest on Wednesday.

Apart from the fact that U.S. President Donald Trump labeled the virus China virus, a range of pundits and government officials also directly or indirectly accused China of causing the pandemic.

There is little evidence that they planned a pandemic, said Gartzke, listing a few reasons.

First, the virus is too inconvenient to be used as a weapon to attack opponents.

The most desirable weapons are generally quick, precise and effective. The coronavirus achieves none of these criteria, said the editorial.

As the probation period can be days or even weeks, the victims may not soon find they are infected, and the target group may not necessarily fall ill, the novel coronavirus is neither quick, precise, nor effective.

Second, China would not develop a weapon that would eventually hurt its own people or its economy. It has been obvious that since the outbreak was first discovered in the Chinese central city of Wuhan, many Chinese also fell victim to the virus. The following strict social distancing policy, while keeping Chinese safe from being infected, has hurt the Chinese economy.

Third, China would never wish to see the United States, Europe or any country to be plagued by the pandemic because disproportionate economic harm would and will still befall China.

As world markets contract in response to the coronavirus, China is destined to incur economic pneumonia, said the author.

When the United States is at trade war with China, circulating such conspiracy that China is the mastermind of the global health crisis is completely off the point.

Not every adversary is intentionally malicious, said the expert.