The Rosetta spacecraft’s measurements of comet 67P have revealed a hidden source of nitrogen that may help us learn how giant planets – and even life – formed
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KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government is considering the possibility of extending the current school holidays and getting the private sector to allow their employees to work from home in order to curb the spread of Covid-19.
In appealing to the people to minimise their movements, including avoiding non-essential travel, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said that more measures might be considered.
“I urge the public to stay calm and fully cooperate with the authorities in order to curb the spread of Covid-19. We can overcome this if we all come together to do our part,” he said in a statement today.
Since the first positive case was detected last week, involving a 58-year-old man in Tawau who was among those who attended the Sri Petaling Mosque tabligh gathering in Kuala Lumpur between Feb 27 and March 1, the Sabah Health Department has identified 49 cases in the state as of today.
Health officials in the state have detected more cases from among those who attended the mosque event and steps are being taken to trace the other participants and also the people they have come into contact with over the past 10 days since their return.
“The Health Department and others have been going all out to locate and identify areas that could have been contaminated.
“They have also taken swift measures, including temporarily closing mosque and suraus in areas that have had Covid-19 cases,” said Mohd Shafie, adding that since Jan 30, the Sabah government had halted the arrivals of tourists directly from countries affected by the virus.
Of the 49 cases reported in Sabah so far, 14 were in Lahad Datu; followed by Kota Kinabalu (nine); Tawau (eight); Kinabatangan (five); Tuaran (three); Kunak, Putatan and Sandakan (two each); Beaufort, Kota Belud; Papar and Sipitang (one each). — Bernama
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https://www.thesundaily.my/local/covid-19-sabah-may-extend-school-holidays-get-private-sector-to-let-employees-work-from-home-HI2129382
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SINGAPORE: The new border restrictions on travellers including those from Asean do not include Singapore’s sea and land crossings with Malaysia, meaning Malaysians and Singaporeans can commute from both sides as usual.
Singapore’s Co-chair of the Multi-Ministry Taskforce on Covid-19, Lawrence Wong, said while the order applies to the whole of Asean, a separate arrangement has been worked out for Malaysia through the bilateral joint working group.
Special considerations have been put in for Malaysia because of the close proximity and high interdependency between both countries.
“We do need precautions to be taken, given the high volume of people and vehicles moving in and out of these checkpoints,” he said today when announcing the additional measures that Singapore would be taking on the Covid-19 situation starting midnight on Monday.
Effective March 16, 2020, 2359 hours, all travellers entering Singapore with recent travel history to Asean countries, Japan, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom within the last 14 days will be issued with a 14-day Stay-Home Notice (SHN).
Wong, who is also the National Development Minister, said that on land crossing alone 200,000 people move across the checkpoints daily and the imposition of a 14-day SHN requirement would be very difficult and very disruptive for both countries.
“So the 14-day requirement will not be practical for these travellers and we need to look at other precaution like checking their health. So discussions are ongoing between the two sides,” he said.
The latest travel order applies to Singapore residents, long-term pass holders, and short-term visitors as well but not those transiting in Singapore without leaving the transit area.
In addition, they will have to provide proof of the place where they will serve the 14-day SHN, for example a hotel booking covering the entire period, or a place of residence they or their family members own.
They may also be swabbed for testing for Covid-19, even if asymptomatic because of the risk of community transmission in the countries of their origin and evidence of cases that have been imported from these countries into Singapore.
In addition to the SHN requirement, from March 16, 2020, 2359 hours, all short-term visitors who are nationals of any Asean country will have to submit requisite information on their health to the Singapore Overseas Mission in the country they are resident before their intended date of travel.
The submission will have to be approved by Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MOH) before travel to Singapore, and the approval will be verified by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers at the Singapore checkpoints.
Short-term visitors who arrive in Singapore without the necessary approval will be denied entry into Singapore and they are therefore advised to secure the approval before making definitive travel bookings. — Bernama
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https://www.thesundaily.my/local/malaysia-gets-special-consideration-in-singapore-s-new-travel-restrictions-BI2129074
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SINGAPORE: Singapore’s health ministry on Sunday urged its citizens to defer all non-essential travel abroad in an unprecedented move for the Asian transport hub, as part of new measures to control the coronavirus that is fast spreading around the world.
Singapore will also tell all entering the country with recent travel history to the Asean group of nations, Japan, Switzerland or the United Kingdom to quarantine themselves at their place of residence for 14 days, the ministry added.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) comprises Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Countries, such as the UK and Switzerland have “abandoned” any attempt at containing the spread of the infection, said Lawrence Wong, a minister who co-heads Singapore’s virus fighting taskforce.
“That’s why we are more concerned that Singapore may well be exposed to a new wave of infections, which is potentially larger than what we have seen previously.”
The majority of new infections being reported in Singapore, an island nation with a population of 5.7 million, over the past few days have been people returning from overseas rather than local transmissions.
At least five cases of Singaporeans have been linked to a large religious gathering in Malaysia that was attended by more than 10,000 people from several countries.
Short-term visitors who are nationals of its Southeast Asian neighbours will also have to seek prior approval from the health ministry before their journey to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed.
The restriction comes after a number of cases that entered Singapore with the specific purpose of seeking healthcare, the health ministry said. There have been two cases of Indonesians who had coronavirus symptoms at home before arriving in Singapore, known for its superior healthcare facilities.
The measures will be reviewed after a month. They will not apply to sea and land crossings with Malaysia, which will have separate precautions. Wong said 300,000 people a day move across the land checkpoints with Malaysia.
The Asian travel hub has previously announced bans on visitors from several coronavirus-hit countries, including China, Italy and France.
Singapore has won international praise for its painstaking onslaught on the virus since it initially emerged with one of the highest tallies of infections outside China. But other nations have since outpaced it.
Singapore has reported 212 infections, but no fatalities. Globally, more than 150,000 people have been infected while over 5,800 have died, a Reuters tally shows. — Reuters
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https://www.thesundaily.my/world/singaporeans-should-avoid-overseas-travel-government-says-XI2129044
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The U.S. internet won’t get overloaded by spikes in traffic from the millions of Americans now working from home to discourage the spread of the new coronavirus, experts say. But connections could stumble for many if too many family members try to videoconference at the same time.
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https://techxplore.com/news/2020-03-internet-well-equipped-home-surge.html
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KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 41 new COVID-19 cases were reported as at noon today, bringing cumulative cases in the country to 238, Health Director-General Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said.
He said all 41 new cases were linked to the tabligh religious gathering, and they involved 37 patient under investigation (PUI) cases while four more are close contact cases.
“To date, a total 203 cases are still being treated, with five in the intensive care unit (ICU) and requiring ventilator support. The five are also being given anti-viral treatment.
“Also, as of today, a total 1,321 samples from influenza-like-illnesses (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) have been tested at the Institute for Medical Research (IMR), all public health laboratories and hospitals. Of those, three samples tested positive for COVID-19,” he said in a statement, here today.
In another development, two earlier cases (case 35 and 61) have recovered and have been discharged from the Sungai Buloh hospital, he said.
This brings the number of recovered cases to 35 so far.
Dr Noor Hisham also advised the public to remain calm and not to spread inaccurate information with regard to the tabligh religious gathering that took place from Feb 28-March 1.
Also, to prevent risk of infection on those from the vulnerable communities and those prone to infection, especially the Orang Asli community, the Health Ministry (MOH) is advising organisations or groups who have plans to conduct activities with these communities to postpone them, he said.
Dr Noor Hisham said the ministry will continue to provide health services to rural communities through outreach activities.
“The ministry also welcomes any form of medical aid, contributions or collaborations from any party, including non-governmental organisations,” he said, adding that offers or inquiries can be submitted through the ministry’s email cprc@moh.gov.my.
Meanwhile in an updated statement issued at 7pm, the MOH said a total 4,942 participants from the tabligh event at the Sri Petaling mosque have been identified.
Of these, 3,069 reported themselves in at Health Clinics for examination and screening while another 137 were referred to hospitals.
“Only 1,634 of them experienced respiratory tract infection symptoms and samples were taken, while 2,932 of them were asked to undergo home surveillance for 14 days from the last day of the gathering. Investigations and tracking of the event participants is ongoing,” the statement read. — Bernama
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https://www.thesundaily.my/local/covid-19-41-new-cases-reported-tally-now-238-EC2127446
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It started with extra hand sanitizer and wipes for keyboards and headphones. Then came the directive for employees to lug their laptops home every night just in case. Finally, the memo arrived urging all employees to work from home—just not in their pajamas.
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https://techxplore.com/news/2020-03-employers-virus-pandemic-firm-guidelines.html
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Broadband companies are making it easier and cheaper to work at home in the COVID-19 era.
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https://techxplore.com/news/2020-03-comcast-att-easing-broadband-at-home.html
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So you’ve just been told to work at home, and now you’re wondering how to get it done.
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https://techxplore.com/news/2020-03-home-quick-space.html
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Working from home is already so common it has its own acronym, and it’s about to get even more common still. Companies like Apple, Amazon and Microsoft are now advising employees to “WFH” to avoid exposure to the novel coronavirus.
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