News Roundup 12 March 2020
Mar 12, 2020 • 2 min Read
World walls off as leaders warn viral pandemic will worsen | INQUIRER.NET – BANGKOK — People around the world became increasingly closed off from one another Thursday as sweeping travel bans accelerated, walling regions apart as a viral pandemic unfolds and financial markets plunge. It was an outbreak moving, at once, both glacially and explosively. The virus first detected three months ago in China creeping across borders and producing eruptive outbreaks that have crippled areas.
Gov’t mechanism to probe, punish erring security personnel ‘largely ineffective’ — US report | PHILSTAR.COM – Mechanisms in place to investigate and punish abuse and corruption in the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines remained mostly unsuccessful, the US Department of State said in its global rights report for 2019. The 2019 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices released March 12 noted that Philippine laws provide criminal penalties for corruption by public officials as well as President Rodrigo’s moves to fire officials over allegations of corruption. “But the government did not implement these laws effectively and officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity,” the report read.
World Health Organization describes coronavirus outbreak as pandemic | Manila Bulletin – The World Health Organization called the new coronavirus outbreak a pandemic on Wednesday, issuing a grim warning that the global spread and severity of the illness was due to “alarming levels of inaction”. The call came as Europe faced a mounting number of cases — including a slew of new countries clocking first deaths — prompting governments to roll out increasingly tough measures to slow the rapid spread of the virus. The number of cases across the globe has risen to more than 124,000 with 4,500 deaths, including a jump in fatalities particularly in Iran and Italy, according to an AFP tally.
QC Mayor Belmonte announces fifth Covid case | The Manila Times – MAYOR Josefina “Joy” Belmonte on Thursday announced the fifth confirmed case of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in Quezon City. Belmonte said the 26-year-old male patient who worked in a multinational company had no previous travel history, but was confined last week in a hospital outside the city supposedly due to dengue. She said the patient was transferred to another hospital, where he was tested positive for Covid-19.
