Coronavirus live update: Vietnam's infection counts remain unchanged for five consecutive days

	Vietnamese in Thailand, RoK donate USD 30,000 to homeland's COVID-19 fight
	Vietnam IT human resources in highest demand because of Covid-19
	Coronavirus live update: Vietnam goes 4 days straight without new infections

Tokyo Olympics will be canceled next summer if pandemic not over (Photo: Jakarta Post)

Coronavirus today update: Worldwide the number of people confirmed to have coronavirus has risen to more than three million, and at least 211,000 have died, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Some 894,000 people have recovered.

Coronavirus today update: WHO says it "can only give advice" and "each country takes its own responsibility"

World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the agency “can only give advice, but one thing should be clear -- we don’t have any mandate to force countries to implement what we advise them.”

“It’s up to the countries to take our advice, or reject it,” Tedros said during a media briefing in Geneva on Monday, adding the organization gives advice based on “the best science and evidence”, CNN cited.

Coronavirus today update: Tokyo Olympics will be canceled next summer if pandemic not over, Games chief says

The postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics will have to be cancelled if the coronavirus pandemic isn't brought under control by next year, the organising committee's president warned, ruling out further delays.

The comments, in an interview with Japanese sports daily published Tuesday, come as medical experts doubted whether the pandemic can be sufficiently contained by next year to hold an event drawing participants and spectators from around the world.

The pandemic has already forced a year-long delay of the Games, which are now scheduled to open on July 23, 2021, AFP reported.

Medical staff put swab samples collected for new coronavirus testing in a tube during a mass testing session at an industrial zone in HCMC's Thu Duc District, April 20, 2020. (Photo: VNE)

Coronavirus live update: US deaths spiked as coronavirus spread, new analysis finds

The US's cumulative cases has surpassed one million, staying at over 1,020,000 cases. At least 57,043 deaths have been reported in the country.

The US still leads the world as the hardest-hit country in the list. Its total infections is only some 300,000 cases lesser than the whole Europe.

New York, New Jersey, Connecticut are the three most vulnerable states. Death toll in New York is reportedly on the decline.

Coronavirus curve "beginning to flatten" in Los Angeles. Los Angeles County reported at least 20,417 new cases and 942 deaths today.

NYC Emergency Room Doctor Dies from Suicide After Treating COVID-19 Patients

Dr. Lorna Breen, 49-year-old, was the ER medical director at New York Presbyterian Allen Hospital in Inwood. She had previously contracted the coronavirus while treating patients, but recovered and recently had gone back to work before being sent home once again, according NBC New York.

"She was in every sense of the word a hero, who gave her life for her friends and her city," her father said.

Dr. Lorna Breen took her own life (Photo: NBC New York)

At least 12 UK children have needed intensive care due to illness linked to Covid-19

More than a dozen children have fallen ill with a new and potentially fatal combination of symptoms apparently linked to Covid-19, including a sore stomach and heart problems.

The children affected appear to have been struck by a form of toxic shock syndrome. All have been left so seriously unwell that they have had to be treated in intensive care.

At least one has received extra corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) treatment, which is used when someone’s life is at risk because they can no longer breathe for themselves.

NHS bosses are so concerned that they have written to doctors alerting them to the emergence of these cases and asked them to urgently refer any children with similar symptoms to hospital.

Coronavirus live update: Coronavirus-related syndrome among children may be emerging in the UK, alert suggests

An alert has been issued over a ' coronavirus-related condition' emerging in children.

The warning has been issued to GPs following a rise in cases in the last two to three weeks.

While the number of affected children is reported to be low, the syndrome, which is yet to be named, can cause several unpleasant symptoms, including abdominal pain and cardiac inflammation.

According to the Health Service Journal, the alert sent to doctors says that in recent weeks 'there has been an apparent rise in the number of children of all ages presenting with a multisystem inflammatory state requiring intensive care across London and also in other regions of the UK'.

It adds: “There is a growing concern that a [COVID-19] related inflammatory syndrome is emerging in children in the UK, or that there may be another, as yet unidentified, infectious pathogen associated with these cases.”

The HSJ says that so far, little is known about the issue, nor how widespread it has been. The 'absolute number of children affected is thought to be very small', according to HSJ paediatrics sources.

Some of the affected children have tested positive for COVID-19, and some appear to have had the virus in the past, but some have not.

The syndrome has the characteristics of serious COVID-19, but there have otherwise been relatively few cases of serious effects or deaths from coronavirus in children, manchester evening news reported.

(Photo: Sky News)

Coronavirus live update: Egypt extends state of emergency on virus, security fears

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi ordered the renewal for three months of a long-running state of emergency, citing health as well as security concerns.

The country has been under a state of emergency since April 2017 when twin church bombings claimed by an ISIL armed group affiliate killed dozens of people.

The new extension comes as the government battles to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the Arab world's most populous country.

The health ministry has so far recorded 4,782 COVID-19 cases in the population of 100 million, Al Jazeera reported.

Coronavirus live update: 2 million Australians have downloaded a coronavirus contact tracing app

The COVIDSafe app records digital handshakes between smartphones via Bluetooth, and if someone catches the virus, health authorities can track who has been within 1.5 meters of the person for 15 minutes or more.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says broader testing and contact-tracking are pre-requisites for Australia to broadly ease social-distancing restrictions after Queensland and Western Australia states announced the lifting of some controls on Sunday. The government needs to overcome privacy concerns to convince people to use the app, and says at least 40% of the 26 million-strong population must do so for it to be successful.

A similar app in India became the fastest-ever to reach 50 million users, despite being dogged by privacy concerns. Countries including Singapore, where similar technology is in use, say contact tracing is strictly for disease control and is not to be used to enforce lockdowns or quarantines. India’s version, on the other hand, retains the flexibility to do just that, according to Bloomberg.

COVIDSafe app has been widely used across Australia (Photo: Getty Images)

Coronavirus today update: 300,000 coronavirus masks sent to pregnant women in Japan may be faulty - reports

Some 300,000 coronavirus masks sent to pregnant women in Japan as part of a government handout have been found to be faulty, media reports said, the latest in a string of complaints about how the government has dealt with the pandemic.

The efforts of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government to distribute protective cloth masks in its fight against the coronavirus have been marred by complaints about mould, insects and stains in a number of the masks handed out so far.

Just days after it began supplying every household with two washable, reusable masks at a total cost of $430 million, complaints emerged of soiled or defective products, many of them from pregnant women.

By Tuesday, the number of defective masks distributed to pregnant women had risen to 300,000 out of 500,000, public broadcaster NHK reported.

The country sees a total of 13,614 infections, and 385 deaths.

Coronavirus live update: Russia sees record rise in coronavirus cases, deaths

An addition of 6,411 new infections brings its nationwide tally to 93,558. The world biggest country by territory has overtaken China and Iran in confirmed infections.

The number of deaths rose by 72, also a daily record, taking the total number of fatalities to 867, Reuters reported.

The figures mean Russia now ranks eighth worldwide for the number of confirmed cases, though it still has far fewer related deaths than the other most affected countries, which include the United States, many European nations, Iran, China and Turkey.

Coronavirus today update: ASEAN hasnearly 1,500 deaths. Singapore remains the biggest epicenter

The number of nCoV infections in Southeast Asia increased by 1,162, bringing the total to 41,928. Singapore, the largest epidemic in the region, also has the largest increase with 528 new cases, bringing the number of cases here to 14,951. The island nation reported a total of 14 deaths, an increase of 2 fatalities within 24 hours. 1,095 people recovered and were discharged from the hospital.

Indonesia ranks second in the list regarding cumulative cases, yet is the No.1 country with the highest fatalities. The number of deaths in the country today increased to 773 with 8 new cases. An increase of 415 new cases raise total to 9,511. Indonesia's Ministry of Health said 1,254 people have recovered.

Experts say, however, that the actual death toll in Indonesia, the fourth most populous country in the world, maybe much higher than the statistics, because this is one of the places with the lowest test rates in the world. According to Reuters data collected from 16/34 Indonesian provinces, more than 2,200 people died with nCoV symptoms, but were not counted as Covid-19 deaths because they had not been tested.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte decided to extend the blockade in Manila until May 15, while expanding a series of strict restrictions to other places heavily affected by the pandemic. However, the lower risk areas have been relaxed, helping to partially restore traffic and trade.

The Philippine Ministry of Health today reports an additional 181 cases and 19 deaths from nCoV, bringing the total number of cases and deaths to 7,958 and 530, respectively. 975 people have recovered in the country, an increase of 43 cases. compared to yesterday.

Malaysia, the fourth largest epidemic region in Southeast Asia, recorded 31 new cases,bringing the total to 5.851. 100 people died from Covid-19 in the country, after a new case was reported today.

One woman get body temperature checked in Yala province, Thailand (Photo: Reuters)

Meanwhile, Thailand recorded 7 more cases of nCoV and two deaths, bringing the total number of cases and deaths to 2,938 and 54. 2,652 cases have recovered. The numbers are on the decline compared to the previous weeks, when Thailand reported more than 100 more cases per day.

This situation prompted the Thai government to consider easing anti-Covid-19 measures nationwide. Officials in the capital Bangkok plan to remove restrictions with some businesses within the next few days or weeks, amid economic paralysis. However, the details are still under discussion and are not clear. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha also called on people to remain vigilant.

Vietnam, Cambodia, East Timor and Laos have not yet recorded any deaths. The number of cases in these countries, along with Brunei and Myanmar, has not changed in the last 24 hours.

Vietnam startups raise funds successfully despite Covid-19 pandemic Foreign funds are still investing millions of dollars into Vietnamese startups because they believe they will see a startup boom when the pandemic ends.

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