Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long warned on January 20 about the “very high” risk of COVID-19 transmission caused by the “extremely complicated” incidence of illegal border crossings as the Lunar New Year holiday (Tet) nears.
Noting the difficulty of illegal border crossings amid more rigorous authorities' border patrols, the Minister said that some countries in the region are still conducting commercial flights, so many overseas Vietnamese have flown to these countries and
have been trying to enter Vietnam by land. He added that more than 100 illegal crossings are discovered on average every day and as many as 500 on some days, urging relevant agencies and
police in border localities to take stronger steps to recognize and deal strictly with all cases.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
In the first three weeks of 2021 alone, the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management Agency (@BNPB_Indonesia or just BNPB) said there had been a shocking 171 natural disasters in Indonesia.
"Most are in the form of floods, hurricanes and landslides," Professor Wiku Adisasmito from BNPB, who is also the national COVID-19 task force spokesperson, said in a press conference this week.
Indonesia reported 297 disasters in the month of January last year, including floods in the metropolitan area of Jakarta and landslides in West Java. But the disasters this year have been more deadly, with 160 individuals dying so far in January 2021,
Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke again about the possibility of border controls in the corona pandemic: Germany is looking for a "cooperative effort" but is not ruling out controls as an "ultima ratio",
said the CDU politician before the deliberations of the European heads of state and government . This attitude is not well received by the SPD coalition partner: "Instead of threatening our European partners with border controls,
Chancellor Merkel must use all her strength to promote more European coordination in the fight against pandemics at the summit," said the deputy chairman of the SPD parliamentary group, Achim Post , notify.
In a spectacular anti-Mafia operation, investigators arrested dozens of suspects in several parts of Italy. The suspects include alleged bosses of the 'Ndrangheta from Calabria as well as entrepreneurs, officials and politicians.
As the Italian news agency Adnkronos reported, 13 people were imprisoned and 35 were placed under house arrest. In Rome, an opposition politician from the center-right spectrum denied all allegations after a search.
However, he resigned from his party post, as the Ansa agency wrote. Central suspects have been identified in Crotone, where the 'Ndrangheta is at home.
As coronavirus infections surge, Dubai has suspended non-essential surgery for a month and live entertainment in hotels and restaurants until further notice.
In a circular published on its website on Wednesday, Dubai's health regulator said that the decision, which takes effect on Thursday and could be extended, was aimed at ensuring that health facilities are prepared to deal cases of COVID-19.
Similarly, after registering a rise in violations, Dubai's tourism department released a circular, seen by Reuters, suspending entertainment in hotels and restaurants.