Australia to hold independent inquiry into handling of COVID pandemic
Sydney, Australia Reuters Australia’s centre-left Labor government on Thursday said it would hold an independent inquiry into the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic to better prepare for future health crises. Australia closed its international borders and locked down cities among other pandemic restrictions that helped keep infections and deaths far below levels in other comparable […]
“A huge impact on every family”: Chinese who lost relatives to COVID angry at failure to protect elderly
MARTIN QUIN POLLARD, of Reuters, reports that for many grieving relatives, bereavement is mixed with anger over what they say was a lack of preparation to protect the elderly before China suddenly abandoned its “zero-COVID” policy in December…
Family members reunite in China after three-year COVID separation
Singapore/Shanghai, China Reuters Chu Wenhong would fly back to Shanghai and visit her parents at least once a year after she moved to Singapore in 1994. But she hasn’t been able to do so in the past three years due to China’s signature zero-COVID policy, which involved mass PCR testing, city-wide lockdowns and quarantining all […]
Streets deserted in China’s cities as new COVID surge looms
Beijing, China Reuters Streets in major Chinese cities were eerily quiet on Sunday as people stayed home to protect themselves from a surge in COVID-19 cases that has hit urban centres from north to south. China is in the first of an expected three waves of COVID cases this winter, according to the country’s chief […]
Chinese cities double down on zero-COVID as outbreaks widen
Beijing, China Reuters Chinese cities from Wuhan in central China to Xining in the north-west are doubling down on COVID-19 curbs, sealing up buildings, locking down districts and throwing millions into distress in a scramble to halt widening outbreaks. China on Thursday reported a third straight day of more than 1,000 new COVID cases nationwide, […]
“It felt like my insides were crying”: China COVID curbs hit youth mental health
FARAH MASTER and XIAOYU YIN, of Reuters, report on the impact of China’s ongoing COVID-19 lockdowns on young people…
Macau shuts most businesses, restaurants amid mass testing; casinos stay open
Hong Kong, China Reuters The world’s biggest gambling hub Macau began its second day of mass COVID-19 testing on Monday, with banks, schools, government services and other businesses shut, but casions remaining open. The testing of Macau’s roughly 600,000 residents is expected to end on Tuesday and comes after dozens of locally transmitted cases were […]
COVID or no COVID, Beijing diners won’t be denied their Peking duck
Beijing, China Reuters As restaurants in the Chinese capital drift in the doldrums of a COVID ban on dining in, one eatery manager and his army of chefs have set up stalls on the pavement to keep alive some of the old magic and drum up sales of their big seller, Peking duck. The ban […]
“Entry only. No exit”: Beijing sees more COVID closures as anger grows in Shanghai
Beijing/Shanghai, China Reuters China’s capital Beijing closed more businesses and residential compounds on Friday, with authorities ramping up contact tracing to contain a COVID-19 outbreak, while resentment at the month-long lockdown in Shanghai grew. In the finance hub, fenced-in people have been protesting against the lockdown and difficulties in obtaining provisions by banging on pots […]
UK PM Johnson apologises to parliament over lockdown breaches
London, UK Reuters British Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologised to parliament on Tuesday after he was fined by police for breaking lockdown rules, saying he did not know a birthday gathering at the height of the pandemic was in breach of the rules he had set. Opposition lawmakers argue that the Prime Minister must go, […]