The incident took place after people began to cut lines that started as early as 7am. By 10am, the drugstore ran out of face masks.

Another medical store saw a bigger crowd rushing for the limited face masks and hand sanitiser stock. “I wasn’t lucky enough after visiting three medical stores around. I hope  to get a few here,” said a customer.

Kuenphen Pharmacy that ran out of hand sanitiser solutions since March 5 sold more than 30,000 pieces of face masks. The store also sold more than 100 litres of antiseptic solutions. Namsey Pharmacy sold more than 300 pieces of face masks including antiseptic solutions and other medications for cold.

There are more than 20 pharmacy outlets in Thimphu today.

The mass hysteria was caused following the confirmation of the first positive COVID-19 case in a 76-year-old American tourist in Thimphu, made public early yesterday morning.

While many managed to get the masks, those arriving after 10am had to return empty handed. Besides the face masks, hand sanitisers, surgical gloves and antiseptic solutions sold like hot cakes yesterday.

Dawa Tshering, a private employee arrived at the pharmacy near Norzin Lam around 7:30am. He was still in the queue around 9:30am. “I’m worried now. It is high time we take all the necessary precautions needed to stay safe from the virus.”

The 31-year-old blamed the government. “People on social media were reminding the government to temporarily stop the entry of international tourists,” he said. “This is what we feared when the virus was spreading globally especially in the region.”

A college graduate, Tempa Gyeltshen, said that had the government heeded to the public’s call to stop tourist entry more than a month ago, this situation could have been avoided.

“When developed countries put in travel restriction, we were confident with our preparedness. Look where we are now,” said the 20-year-old. “The tourist could have put many to risk after he visited three dzongkhags. This is very worrying.”

In line with the first confirmed positive case, popular convenience store, 8Eleven Super Market in Thimphu closed doors for customers yesterday. Store officials said that the move was to safeguard its staffs against the virus detected in the locality.

However, those in need of emergency supplies were given the groceries after taking orders from outside the entrance.

8Eleven staffs said that people were seen rushing into the store to hoard food and other stocks, increasing the risk of contracting the virus to its employees.

Many rushed to buy food essentials at various shops across Thimphu yesterday. “We need to prepare for the worst,” said a customer.

Shops near centenary farmer’s market did a brisk business yesterday. One shop sold more than 5,000kg of rice, including 300 litres of vegetable oil.

“Only during festivals our sale goes up like this. But today was no festival,” said the shopkeeper. “There was a wild rush among the customers to buy the goods. Many paid in cash.”

Another grocery shop sold more than 4,000kg of rice, about 500 litres of vegetable oil, 100 plus boxes of biscuits, 300kg of flour and 100kg of cheese, among others.

Given the ongoing situation, customers said that they wanted to buy ‘enough’ food and other essential supplies before shopkeepers hiked the price on commodities. Kuensel however, learnt that none of the shops had hiked their prices as of yesterday.

The Department of Trade notified that there are adequate fuel, LPG and essential food stocks available in the country. The economic affairs ministry has also advised the public to extend full cooperation in ensuring smooth supply of all essential goods and services.

Meanwhile, there are also people who see the mass hysteria and panic creating more damage that the actual outbreak itself.

A corporate employee, Sangay Tshering, said that instead of rushing to drugstores and grocery outlets where the crowds are overwhelming, people should stay home to protect themselves.

“The chances of contacting would be more in such gatherings,” he said. “It would be best to stay home and avoid crowds and practice self preventative measures like regularly washing hands and drinking lot of fluids, especially hot water.”

A class XII graduate, Nidup Dorji, said, “Such panic is natural given the videos people are watching online. People are expected to be scared,” he said. “However, this level of panic is unnecessary and more damaging.”

9:55 pm, 34 had been rescued, according to Quanzhou municipal government.

Local government has launched an all-out search and rescue.

A witness surnamed Wu, who lives near the hotel, said he heard a loud bang while he was having supper and thought it was an explosion.

He ran to the balcony and saw the building collapse and some people were rescued from the rubble, according to mnw.cn.

Wu said the building was about five stories high.

The country’s exports dropped by 15.9 per cent to 2.04 trillion yuan and imports declined by 2.4 per cent to 2.08 trillion yuan during this period.

In the meantime, China’s foreign trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and economies related to the Belt and Road Initiative rose 2 per cent and 1.8 per cent respectively.

The administration said though the novel coronavirus outbreak has caused certain impact on the country’s exports and imports within a short term, China’s foreign trade ability remains highly resilient. Chinese companies have strong adaptability and market development capabilities in dealing with the new situation.

The GAC has recently issued a number of policy measures including supporting the development of China-Europe freight train service and comprehensive bonded zones to help with work resumption at export-oriented firms and ensure stable trade flows amid the coronavirus outbreak.

In a press conference, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said that the alert system in COVID-19 was raised after the first case of local transmission was confirmed involving a 59-year-old woman, who is the wife of the 62-year-old who first tested positive for the dreaded virus.

This brings the total number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines to six.

“In light of the confirmation of localized transmission in the country and in anticipation of possible sustained community transmission, DOH has raised the COVID-19 Alert System to Code Red sublevel 1,” Duque said.

The health chief added that raising code red is “a preemptive call to ensure that national and local governments and public and private health care providers can prepare for a possible increase in suspected and confirmed cases.”

And because of the Code Red alert, the DOH also recommended that to President Rodrigo Duterte to declare a state of a public health emergency, which will  “facilitate mobilization of resources, ease processes, including procurement of critical logistics and supplies, and intensifying reporting.”

“At this stage of localized transmission, intensified contact tracing and home quarantine of close contacts of confirmed cases, improved hospital preparedness, enhanced Severe Acute Respiratory Illness surveillance, and activation of other laboratories outside of RITM to increase capacity to diagnose are now being implemented,” Duque said.

“This declaration is a signal to all concerned agencies, local government units and health care providers to be ready to implement planned response measures. We are continuously reminding everyone to practice personal protective measures such as hand hygiene, social distancing, and proper cough etiquette,” he reminded.

“Avoid unnecessary travel and postpone mass gatherings, as well. It is our individual responsibility to protect ourselves and the people around us. Only through collective action in our communities will we be able to limit the spread of the virus.”

KUALA LUMPUR – Ms Latheefa Koya on Friday (March 6) confirmed that she had tendered her resignation as Malaysia’s anti-graft chief, saying she had decided to return to her practice as a human rights advocate.

She said she submitted a letter on Monday stating her intention to resign to newly installed Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, subject to the King’s approval.

“It was my own decision to do so. Speculation that pressure was brought upon me is baseless. My intention is to return to my practice as a human rights advocate,” she said on Friday.

Ms Latheefa was appointed to lead the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in June last year by then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

Her resignation follows the collapse of Tun Dr Mahathir’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition on Feb 24, after it lost its majority in Parliament.

Tan Sri Muhyiddin, who is backed by Umno and Parti Islam SeMalaysia in the Perikatan Nasional alliance, was sworn in as prime minister on Sunday.

Ms Latheefa added that she had met Mr Muhyiddin on Thursday and explained her decision to leave. She said the Premier understood her position.

“We had a very cordial discussion… I also briefed the Prime Minister about our ongoing actions and efforts for the recovery of the stolen 1MDB monies from abroad. He was fully supportive of these actions,” she said, referring to the sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad.

She said she had briefed her deputy, Mr Azam Baki, and MACC department heads during the week to ensure an orderly handover of duties.

“It is business as usual in the MACC, in the capable hands of my officers,” she added.

Ms Latheefa said she was confident the agency would continue to fight against corruption, irrespective of the position or political allegiance of those involved.

During her tenure, Ms Latheefa oversaw several high-profile investigations involving politicians from former ruling party Umno, including former prime minister Najib Razak and Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

A source told The Straits Times that Ms Latheefa had got the assurance that all high-profile cases will remain unaffected.

Earlier on Thursday, Ms Latheefa announced that she had ordered the commission to launch an investigation into former Federal Territories minister Adnan Tengku Mansor after he disclosed during his graft trial that he had assets worth nearly RM1 billion (S$330 million).

Before being appointed MACC chief, Ms Latheefa was a central committee member with Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), which is part of the PH coalition.

An activist and lawyer, Ms Latheefa, 46, had represented several PKR leaders in court.

During the meeting with Mr Muhyiddin, she said she also took the opportunity to wish him and the new government success in advancing the welfare and best interests of the people.

She also thanked Dr Mahathir, her colleagues in the MACC and the people for the support she received during her tenure.

The patient is said to be a 76-year-old from the United States of America, who had come to Bhutan on Mar 2 via India in which he originally arrived on Feb 21.

The Bhutanese government immediately imposed a two-week restriction on all incoming tourists. This is to enable rigorous monitoring, source assessment of infection and mitigate the situation. In addition, all international conferences and seminars to be held in the country in the two weeks are also postponed.

Based on the prepared plans, the Bhutanese king personally oversaw implementation of the response strategy, with health officials to take care of the patient.

A resident of Washington DC, the patient was travelling with his partner, aged 59. There were 10 passengers on board the plane, of which eight others were Indian nationals.

At the Paro International Airport, the American patient’s health declaration form was assessed. He had indicated “negative” against all conditions. He did not have a sign of fever.

However, upon reaching Thimph on the afternoon of Mar 5, he visited the medical clinic, complaining of bloaty abdomen (dyspeptic symptoms) and nausea. The patient suffers from chronic hypertension and is on medication. However, even at that time, he did not have any flu symptoms.

The patient and his partner stayed at Le Meridien on the first night. The following day, he stayed indoor most of the time and went to the hospital again around 3.30pm for stomach upset and diarrhea.

The next day, he travelled to Punakha, with two stops on the way for tea and lunch. He had stayed at Densa Boutique Resort. That evening, he had walked until the Bazam next to Punakha Dzong, and returned to the room.

Yesterday, upon returning to Thimphu, he visited clinic again. He was found to have fever, sore throat, cough and shortness of breath. He was kept under observation at the flu clinic (designated COVID-19 hospital) and samples were collected and sent to Royal Centre for Disease Control (RCDC).

Upon confirmation, he has been isolated in the COVID-19 hospital. Considering his age and underlying conditions, the patient is on oxygen support.

At press time, over 90 persons who might have come into his contact have been traced. Health officials and other relevant agencies are in the process of carrying out primary disease management and contact tracing.

Contact tracings were launched as per the patient’s itinerary. It included people he associated with at all the points and stops along the way, starting from Paro airport to Thimphu, to Punakha and back. It included tea stops at Druk Wangyal Café, and lunch at Punakha High School park.

he close contacts were his partner, the driver and the guide. While all three are asymptomatic for now, they have been quarantined at the designated COVID-19 hospital.

The eight Indian passengers have also been quarantined. The government is closely working with the Indian Embassy.

Health ministry has asked the four crew members of the particular flight, and the hotel staff at both Le Meridien and Densa Boutique Resort to “home quarantine”. Which means they should stay home and maintain distance from people, including family members. Until all suspicions are ruled out, health officials will closely monitor and provide all services at respective homes.

Response Plan

As per the National Preparedness and Response Plan, with the detection of first confirmed case of COVID-19, the country stepped into “Orange” zone. The zone is defined as having one or more isolated confirmed cases without secondary transmission.

It is described as “moderate disruption”, according to which the government has to isolate confirmed cases, quarantine suspects, carry out closure of schools, institutions and public gatherings in the affected localities.

Per  the response plan, the government had announced closure of schools and institutes in Thimphu, Paro and Punakha for two weeks with effect from March 6.

The duration is specified in keeping with the health advisory, which states that people who would have contracted infection from the primary source would develop full-blown infection by then.

Parents are advised to closely monitor the health of the child. Should there be any concern, parents are asked to contact health officials.

Indonesia plans to build a hospital to treat people infected by the coronavirus on Galang Island in the Riau Islands, said Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono yesterday.

The health facility will be located around an hour’s drive from the airport in Batam and will have better accessibility than Sebaru Kecil island near Jakarta, where 257 crew members of two cruise ships – World Dream and Diamond Princess – are being quarantined, he told reporters in Jakarta.

He added that the army will help with the construction and the hospital will be run by the Health Ministry.

The world’s fourth-most populous nation with more than 260 million people had quarantined 237 Indonesians and one foreign spouse evacuated from Wuhan, China, on Natuna Islands in the Riau Islands from Feb 2 to 16.

But the move sparked opposition from the locals fearful of the fast-spreading infection, prompting the government to pick an uninhabited island as an alternative quarantine site.

Galang Island was once a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) camp for over 170,000 people seeking refuge from conflicts across South-east Asia, and was closed in 1996.

At present, Indonesia has 14 referral hospitals at the national level tasked with tackling the Covid-19. Another 20 hospitals at the provincial level and another 132 hospitals at the regional level are also prepared to handle patients infected by the virus.

Sulianti Saroso Infectious Disease Hospital in Jakarta is currently treating the country’s first two Covid-19 patients – a 31-year-old woman and her 64-year-old mother.

The Health Ministry’s secretary of the directorate-general for disease control and prevention, Mr Achmad Yurianto, said that both of them are in good condition, based on the hospital’s report yesterday.

“They are better (today) than yesterday. They have no complaints. But, we still need to isolate them because they are confirmed positive,” he told reporters.

Although another family member of the two patients and their maid had tested negative for the virus, local health authorities continued to track around 50 participants of a dance event attended by one of them, said Mr Achmad, noting that these efforts have been complicated by a number of them having left Jakarta.

All 188 crew members of World Dream cruise ship under observation in Sebaru tested negative, while 67 out of 69 crew members of the Diamond Princess cruise liner, also under similar observation, also tested negative, he said. Two others are being retested, said Mr Achmad, who serves as the government spokesman on the issue.

Apart from the crew members, the ministry has tested 155 suspected cases nationwide, including the first two positive cases. It is re-examining samples from four people, while the majority had come back negative.

Mr Achmad further said that starting yesterday, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for the virus will be expanded by the 10 laboratories controlled by the Health Ministry in cities outside Jakarta – Batam, Medan, Palembang, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Banjarmasin, Manado, Makassar and Ambon – to allow much faster response.

In addition to PCR tests, Indonesia also uses gene sequencing, which takes about three days to complete, to detect the Covid-19.

Indonesia has announced a raft of assistance measures funded by 10.3 trillion rupiah (S$1 billion) from this year’s state budget to minimise the impact of the epidemic on its businesses, and is expected to roll out the second stimulus package that will relax export and import rules.

Introduced yesterday, the system provides analyses on the disease threats and countries’ response abilities at http://covid19global.net.

Trần Xuân Bách, project leader, said the system was based on research results issued by an international network of experts on epidemiology and disease control as well as updated data released by reputable databases.

Besides counting infections, deaths and recoveries, it uses artificial intelligence to analyse and evaluate threats which may lead to outbreaks in different areas of the world in accordance with characteristics of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), collective behaviour and ecological factors.

“There are many factors, such as the number of people currently confirmed in each area, the level of interaction and mobility, population density, weather, responsiveness and disease control capacity in each country,” said Bách.

Input data allows the system to quantify the risks and speed of disease transmission. For example, it forecasts that risks outside China will outnumber those from mainland China.

Bách said research results were a dependable source of information for policymakers to discuss and closely collaborate with the group to come up with the most optimal control strategies.

Head of IPMPH Lê Thị Hương expressed her hopes of the system as an innovative approach to fighting COVID-19.

According to the system, new infections may appear in Việt Nam in March with the cities of Đà Nẵng, Hà Nội, HCM and Nha Trang among the most vulnerable areas. The chances have been rated at 21 per cent, including 13 per cent caused by risks from outside China.

Bách said response plans had to be developed for different locations, paying attention to local human resources, facilities and promoting civic engagement.

The institute is encouraging people to update the site.

From 59 cases reported in China in December 2019, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has jumped to nearly 91,000, causing over 3,100 deaths in more than 60 countries and territories.

The global early warning system can be tracked online with a system developed by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University at https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/85320e2ea5424dfaaa75ae62e5c06e61 and https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/. — VNS

It said the ceiling and floor rates of the corridor of the OPR are correspondingly reduced to 2.75% and 2.25%, respectively.

“The reduction in the OPR is intended to provide a more accommodative monetary environment to support the projected improvement in economic growth amid price stability. The MPC will continue to monitor and assess the balance of risks surrounding the outlook for domestic growth and inflation,” Bank Negara said in a statement Tuesday.

The reduction in the OPR came largely in line with economists’ expectations. This is the second cut so far this year. In January, Bank Negara reduced the OPR by 25 basis points to 2.75% — the lowest since 2011.

The central bank noted that global economic conditions have weakened in the recent period. The ongoing Covid-19 outbreak has disrupted production and travel activity, especially within the region.

This has also led to greater risk aversion, resulting in tighter financial conditions and a resurgence in financial market volatility. Downside risks to the global growth outlook have increased, particularly in the near term. However, a number of countries have implemented policy responses. With further anticipated policy measures, these actions are expected to mitigate the economic impact of Covid-19.

“The Malaysian economy grew at a moderate pace of 4.3% in 2019. Looking ahead, growth, particularly in the first quarter, will be affected by the Covid-19 outbreak primarily in the tourism-related and manufacturing sectors. The weakness in the agriculture sector is also likely to persist in the first quarter.

“For 2020, private and public sector activities will be supportive of growth. Household spending is expected to grow at a slower pace amid moderate employment and income growth. Investment activity is projected to record a modest recovery, underpinned by ongoing and new projects, both in the public and private sectors,” it said.

The 2020 economic stimulus package will also provide some support to economic activity. Although domestic growth is expected to gradually improve in the second half of the year, there are key downside risks, mainly stemming from the evolving nature and prolonged impact of the Covid-19 outbreak, and continued weakness in commodity-related sectors.

Bank Negara said in 2020, headline inflation is expected to average higher but remain modest. The trajectory of headline inflation will be dependent on global oil and commodity price developments and the timing of the lifting of the domestic retail fuel price ceilings.

Underlying inflation is expected to be more moderate, amid limited demand pressures despite the continued expansion in economic activity.

In a Facebook post Tuesday, Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah (pic) said that the patients, all Malaysians, were traced via contact tracing from an Uda Holdings Bhd board member – the country’s 26th Covid-19 patient.

Among the seven included a paramedic who provided aid to him.

“Case 34 is a local man, aged 40. The patient is a paramedic and had provided treatment to the 26th case. He has no history of overseas travel. He was confirmed positive on March 3 and has been admitted to the Sungai Buloh Hospital,” he said.

Patient 30 and 35 were found to have travelled to Australia recently, while patient 33 attended a meeting in Kuching on Feb 16.

He also said that patient 31 and 32 have no record of overseas travel.

All patients have been admitted to the Sungai Buloh and Kuala Lumpur hospitals.

“The Health Ministry will continue their surveillance on the Covid-19 infection from time to time. Contact tracing for the 26th case and other newly-reported cases are currently underway,” he said.

Earlier, the Prime Minister’s Office said that seven new cases were reported, bringing the total number to 36.

On Tuesday, Uda Holdings said one of its board members had been tested positive for Covid-19 and was being quarantined in a government hospital.

Former entrepreneur development minister Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Yusof and his deputy Datuk Dr Hatta Ramli were also seen in close contact with patient No. 26.

Uda is a property company under Redzuan’s former ministry.

It is learnt that the board member, who is also part of the Khazanah Nasional Bhd management, was at a function attended by Redzuan and Hatta.