ISSUE NO: 18108

20 Pages 150 Fils

www.kuwaittimes.net

Established 1961 The First Daily in the Arabian Gulf

SHAABAN 23, 1441 AH THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2020

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Trump freezes WHO funds as world weighs easing lockdown

KUWAIT/WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump ordered a freeze on funding for the World Health Organization for “mismanaging” the coron-avirus crisis, as world leaders weighed easing lock-downs that threaten to tip the global economy into a second Great Depression. The death toll from the pandemic has topped 125,000, with nearly two mil-lion people infected by the disease that has upend-ed society and changed lives for billions confined to their homes around the globe.

The health ministry yesterday reported 50 new coronavirus cases in Kuwait, raising the total to 1,405 cases and three deaths. Of the new cases, 32 are Indians. Of the 1,196 patients receiving treat-ment, 31 are in intensive care, including 15 cases in critical condition. The ministry also announced 30 new recoveries, raising the total number to 206 recoveries, while 2,285 people have been dis-charged from quarantine.

World leaders are agonizing over when to lift lockdown measures to jump-start devastated economies but still avoid a second wave of infections. And with the world battling to get on top of the pan-demic, Trump fired a broadside at the WHO and halt-ed payments that amounted to $400 million last year. Funding would be frozen pending a review into the WHO’s role in “severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus,” said Trump, who accused the Geneva-based body of putting “political correctness above life-saving measures”.

The outbreak could have been contained “with very little death” if the WHO had accurately assessed the situation in China, where the disease

broke out late last year, charged Trump. Beijing hit back, saying the move was bad for the global fight. “The current global epidemic situation is grim. It is at a critical moment. This US decision will weaken WHO’s capacities and undermine the international cooperation against the epidemic,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian.

Trump also earned a rebuke from the head of the UN and entrepreneur Bill Gates who tweeted that cut-ting funding was “as dangerous as it sounds”. The president’s controversial attack came as the US count-

ed a record of 2,228 victims over the past 24 hours, according to Johns Hopkins University. Nevertheless, Trump vowed to reboot large sections of the world’s top economy “very soon”, saying the US would reopen “in beautiful little pieces”, with the hardest-hit areas such as New York taking slightly longer.

The International Monetary Fund laid bare the scale of the economic catastrophe, saying the “Great Lockdown” could wipe $9 trillion from the global economy in its worst downturn since the

Continued on Page 16

50 new cases in Kuwait • Bahrain car park becomes ICU • 2,228 US deaths in 24 hrs

RIFFA, Bahrain: Medical staff are seen in the newly-inaugurated intensive care unit for COVID-19 patients at the Bahrain Defense Force Hospital on Tuesday. — AFP

WASHINGTON: A one-time lockdown won’t halt the novel coronavirus and repeated periods of social distancing may be required into 2022 to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed, Harvard scientists who modeled the pandemic’s trajectory said Tuesday. Their study comes as the US enters the peak of its COVID-19 case-load and states eye an eventual easing of tough lockdown measures.

The Harvard team’s computer simulation, which was published in a paper in the journal Science, assumed that COVID-19 will become seasonal, like closely related coronaviruses that cause the common cold, with higher transmis-sion rates in colder months. But much remains unknown, including the level of immunity acquired by previous infection and how long it lasts, the authors said.

“We found that one-time social distancing measures are likely to be insufficient to main-tain the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 within the limits of critical care capacity in the United States,” lead author Stephen Kissler said in a call with reporters.

Continued on Page 16

Social distancing needed until 2022

Thursday, April 16, 2020

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6am: Wake up and make coffee. Start break-fast and check the news. Nearly 2 millionconfirmed COVID-19 cases around the

world, almost half a million recoveries. 126,000+deaths. I try not to think about their families, theones who died. The dads and moms with littleones at home. The breadwinners who supportedtheir families.

7 am: Start work from home. Get online. Readand respond to emails. Check the news again forlatest updates and get going. Write the column,talk with reporters. Plan the day.

The US leads the league tables with more than612,000 confirmed cases, nearly 50,000 recover-ies and almost 26,000 deaths. It’s expected toworsen before it gets better.

8 am: Wake up the children and get them readyfor e-learning. They have breakfast, dress andhead to their study desks.

Kuwait begins bringing home more than50,000 citizens from abroad. The infections herehave been rising exponentially for the past weekbut yesterday’s numbers were promising. Only 55new infections. Hope this is the start of a down-ward trend in new infections.

9 am-5 pm: Work. Actually work happens allday long from waking to sleeping but I need somesort of structure so this is what I tell myself. I oftenforget to take breaks, to get up from my computer.The news is mostly heartbreaking.

Small businesses in Kuwait start to go under. Anestimated 250,000 people here are now out ofwork, have lost their jobs or had their salaries cut.We’re only one month into the lockdown.

6 pm: Dinner and family time. We playPictionary and the girls draw stick figures cough-ing into their elbows. I pretend not to notice.

Some places are starting to plan reopening, uti-lizing the twin Ts of testing and tracing to locateand lock down pockets of outbreaks and keep theeconomy open. Praying that this works.

9 pm: Bedtime for the children. I check the newsagain, do more work. Wait for statements from theCabinet. Wait for normal life to return.

10 pm: Another day passed. Stay at home ordersobeyed. Doing our part to flatten the curve.

A day of ‘staying at home’

etheridge@kuwaittimes.com

By Jamie Etheridge

Pandemic Diaries

By Faten Omar

KUWAIT: The private education department ofthe ministry of education sent an official letterasking schools that have been reported for viola-tions to send records of their payrolls to confirmthat all teachers have received their full wages. Theletter sent by Private Education DepartmentDirector Sanad Al-Mutairi was based on com-plaints the department received against someschools.

The letter reads: “Implementation of the circularissued by the ministry of education represented bythe private education department on April 1, 2020regarding commitment to pay the wages of work-ers in private schools during the suspensionaccording to the Cabinet decision due to the coro-

navirus outbreak. In l ight of the complaintsreceived by the general administration of privateeducation from a numberof employees at privateschools regarding failureto pay their salaries forMarch 2020, the generaladministration of privateeducation has requestedthe payrolls for the monthof March from privateschools to review andaudit in preparation fortaking the necessary legalactions against theschools that are proven to be in violation, in coor-dination with the relevant authorities (financial

department of the ministry of education/PublicAuthority for Manpower).”

The ministry of educa-tion issued on April 2,2020 a circular, accord-ing to law no. 6 of 2010,giving the ministryauthority to take legal,financial and administra-tive measures if privateschools fai led to paywages to their employees.The ministry’s privateeducation sector will takelegal action against any

school failing to pay the wages of its employees.The circular affirmed that the schools are obligat-

ed to pay employees their wages according totheir work contracts during the period of suspen-sion in the private schools, including their entitle-ment to salaries during the summer break.

On April 5, the private education department launcheda website (https://privateeducationkw.com/cor2/) toreceive any complaints or inquiries from schools, parents,or teachers. Regarding failure to pay salaries, the depart-ment noted that the complaint must be filed seven daysafter the actual date of payment.

Hundreds of expatriate teachers in Kuwait con-tacted Kuwait Times following the closure ofschools to report failure of their schools to paywages or to note that schools were cutting salariesor paying late. Kuwait Times previously reportedthat all private schools are required to pay teachersthrough August as per the terms of their contracts.

Ministry asks for payrolls toconfirm teachers’ payments

Department received March salary nonpayment complaints

Legal action in case of

nonpayment

ACK launchese-learning programKUWAIT: In line with recent decisions by theCouncil of Ministers, Ministry of Education, andthe Private Universit ies Council (PUC), theAustralian College of Kuwait (ACK) has launchedits distance learning (e-learning) program that isopen to all students for all programs of study. Thisinitiative is part of ACK’s efforts to reduce educa-tional delays for students in light of the difficultpresent situation caused by the coronavirus. Thedistance learning program will enable participat-ing students to immediately resume their springsemester of 2019/2020 and conclude the semesterbefore the planned August continuation for liveclasses on campus.

The distance learning (e-learning) programofficially commenced on April 12, 2020 and thefirst week is a trial period for students to decide ifthey feel comfortable with this means of learning.Those who remain with the online program willconclude their semester on June 9, 2020.

Professor Isam Zabalawi, President of ACK, pre-sented an online speech to ACK students and par-ents to introduce the program. Prof Zabalawi high-lighted the efforts by ACK in working with its inter-national partners and the PUC to maximize thebenefits of the program to students. He explainedthat ACK carefully prepared the associated tech-nological infrastructure so that students could logon from home and be fully linked to faculty througha range of electronic learning mediums and also

participate in online work teams with other stu-dents. Depending on the nature of individual cours-es of study, faculty can choose between pre-tapedor live online classes and as appropriate withPower point slides with voice commentary.

Intensive electronic training programs have beenarranged for all academic and administrative staffto ensure that students are fully supported in theirtransition from in-class to online learning andassessment. A special Web link has been estab-lished as an ongoing resource to students in usingthe distance learning structure. In addition, all fac-ulty and Student Affairs staff are available elec-tronically on-a-one to one basis to chat online withstudents and work through any challenges associ-ated with either their learning progression or gen-eral concerns regarding their life as a student.

Prof Zabalawi emphasized that the program willparticularly benefit students in their final semesterso they can graduate on time. However, he alsoencouraged all students to participate in thisonline learning opportunity, adding that digitiza-tion will continue to permeate all aspects of ourl ives, communication, work and learning.Therefore, those students who gain experience inonline learning now will be better prepared totake advantage of growing employment and self-employment opportunities associated with elec-tronic work environment nationally and interna-tionally. In this regard, Prof Isam referred to theexponential growth in demand for online productsand services during the pandemic and once con-sumers develop relationships with their electronicsuppliers then many of these dealings will contin-ue beyond the virus crisis. Accordingly, ProfZabalawi urged that all students use their time

productively and maintain their momentum withtheir studies during this period of isolation. Hecommented, “Many companies are now looking tohire those with the ability to work from home, andtherefore we feel that learning online is a step-pingstone to prepare graduates to work fromhome.”

The ACK website, portal and social mediaaccounts are constantly being updated with infor-mation to ensure a sound understanding of the

electronic learning program. Further, a live streamwill be held on Instagram to answer any questionsor concerns from students and parents regardingthe distance learning (e-learning) program. Thesession will be held on Thursday, April 16, 2020, at12:00 pm and extracts from the streams are nowon social media. Students and parents are alsoinvited to send emails with any queries to stu-dentaffairs@ack.edu.kw and replies will be sent asquickly as possible.

Coronavirus in Kuwait:What we know so farKUWAIT: Kuwait has so far recorded 1,405 cases infect-ed with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), in addition tothree deaths. With the exception of 31 cases in intensivecare, all infected cases are in stable condition and arerecovering in quarantined locations designated by thegovernment for this purpose, while hundreds have beendischarged from quarantine after exhibiting no symptomsduring their 14-day quarantine period, the Ministry ofHealth confirmed. Meanwhile, 206 people have recoveredcompletely after previously being infected with the virus,the ministry said. There are 1,196 people receiving treat-ment and 1,367 quarantined as of yesterday. Kuwait istaking measures to test Kuwaitis coming from infectedareas for potential infection, as it has already tested thou-sands of people. Meanwhile, Kuwait requires all expatri-ates who arrived from travel on March 1 and beyond tovisit Kuwait International Fairground where the Ministryof Health has set up a center at Hall 6 to test people forpossible infection.

CurfewKuwait enforced a country-wide curfew from 5:00

pm to 6:00 am until further notice. The government alsolocked down Mahboula and Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh in a bidto contain the spread of the virus and enable healthworkers to test inhabitants. Earlier, the governmentdecided to close all shopping malls, beauty salons andbarber shops as part of its measures to prevent thespread of the coronavirus. The government also allowedsupermarkets, restaurants and shops to host a maximumof five people at a time and in case there are lines, thedistance must be at least one meter between people. TheMinistry of Commerce launched a website(www.moci.shop) to enable people to book appoint-ments to shop at co-operative societies in their areas. ThePublic Authority for Industry also announced that com-panies can apply to evacuate their workers from Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh and Mahboula. To do so, they must fill a ‘work-ers evacuation form’ available on www.pai.gov.kw, andsend the form via email to: Jasiri@moh.gov.kw.

PrecautionsKuwait halted all commercial flights until further

notice, and has sent special flights to repatriate Kuwaitisback home from countries affected with the virus’ spread.All arrivals to Kuwait from all countries are to be placedunder compulsory institutional quarantine for 14 days,during which the person is monitored, and prescribedhealth procedures are applied, the health ministry said.Meanwhile, the Cabinet announced on April 9 the opera-tion of all airline flights for expats who are wishing toreturn back to their countries. Authorities also announceda public holiday in the country from March 12 to April 23,with work resuming on April 26, while entities providingvital services will remain open. Meanwhile, the Ministryof Education has suspended classes for March at all pub-lic and private schools (for both students and teachingstaffs); first from March 1 to March 12, and later extended

it until March 29, before eventually suspending schoolsuntil August for grade 12 and October for other stages.

Kuwait suspended issuing entry permits and visasunless those issued through diplomatic missions. Statedepartments have been on high alert to take precautionsagainst the potential spread of the virus. The Ministry ofCommerce and Industry has taken measures to makesure that facial masks, hand sanitizers and other goodsremain accessible to the public.

AmnestyThe Interior Ministry issued an amnesty allowing resi-

dency violators to leave the country between April 1 andApril 30 without paying any fines or airfare with a chanceto return to Kuwait later. The amnesty was issued in viewof the circumstances the country is currently goingthrough and as part of the precautionary measures takento fight the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Individualsdesiring to procure valid residencies in Kuwait and arewilling to pay the fines without being subjected to inves-tigations will be allowed to pay the fines and legalize theirstatus if they meet the required conditions.

Special centers in Farwaniya were allocated to accommo-date violators who finalize their papers pending departure.Male violators are received at Al-Muthanna primary schoolfor boys, Farwaniya, block 1, street 122, while female violatorsare received at Farwaniya primary school for girls inFarwaniya, block 1, street 76. Violators are received from 8am till 2 pm according to the following dates and nationalities:Philippines (April 1-5, 2020), Egypt (April 6-10), India (April11-15), Bangladesh (April 16-20), Sri Lanka (April 21-25), oth-er nationalities (April 26-30, 2020). The Interior Ministry lat-er opened two new locations in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh toreceive residency violators from all nationalities: Femaleviolators are received at Roufayda Al-Aslameya School -Block 4 - Street 200, while male violators are received atNaeem bin Masod School - Block 4 - Street 250.

Hotlinesl The Ministry of Health has set the following hotlines

to receive inquiries about the coronavirus 24/7:24970967 - 96049698 - 99048619.

l The Education Ministry set the following hotlines toreceive inquiries on school closures related to the anti-coronavirus measures:

l 24970967 (24/7 hotline)l 51575591 (Capital Educational Zone)l 51576117 (Hawally Educational Zone)l 51576576 (Farwaniya Educational Zone)l 51577055 (Jahra Educational Zone)l 51577655 (Ahmadi Educational Zone)l 51577951 (Mubarak Al-Kabeer Educational Zone)l 51578171 (Religious Studies Department)l 51588599 (Private Education Department)l 51592515 (Services Department)l 51594544 (Public Relations Department)

Medicine deliveryKuwait’s Ministry of Health (MOH) launched a new

medicine delivery service for people in Kuwait, whichthey can use to order medications to be delivered duringcurfew hours. The medications will be delivered within 72hours after the order is submitted. To place an order,

patients should send a WhatsApp to the numbers for thehospitals and medical centers as listed below. The patientshould include their name, Civil ID number, hospital orclinic file number, mobile phone number and the medicineneeded to the following numbers:

l Amiri Hospital: 50880699l Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital: 50880755l Farwaniya Hospital: 50880852l Adan Hospital: 50880908l Jahra Hospital: 50881066l Sabah Hospital: 97632660l Jaber Hospital: 96992079l Ibn Sina Hospital: 99613948l Chest Hospital: 99258749l Razi Hospital: 97633487l Kuwait Cancer Control Center: 96735242l Psychiatric Hospital: 97350113l Physiotherapy Hospital: 99824037l Maternity Hospital: 98559531l As’ad Al-Hamad Dermatology Center: 98514508l Zain Hospital: 97552031l NBK Hospital: 96931761l Al-Rashed Allergy Hospital: 94162470l Infectious Diseases Hospital: 96989164l Palliative Care Hospital: 94024786l Sabah Al-Ahmad Urology Center: 90952469l KFH Addiction Treatment Center: 94169363Meanwhile, all licensed pharmacies in Kuwait deliver-

ing medicine are allowed to continue their services 24hours a day.

The Ministry of Health is also asking doctors andnurses affiliated with the private medical sector to volun-teer in order to contribute to the fight against the virus.Volunteering is available through the link: http://volun-teering.q8-ehealth.com. The ministry had closed all pri-vate clinics and medical centers effective March 22, 2020until further notice.

Mental health assistanceThe Kuwait Psychological Association (KPA) is pro-

viding consultation through the phone for people suffer-ing from the psychological impacts of coronavirus.Different doctors are working on the hotline in differenttimings as follows:

l Dr Rashed Al-Sahl: on Monday and Wednesday10:00 am - 1:00 pm. Call 9797-6168.

l Dr Fahad Al-Tasha: daily from 8:00 pm - 12:00 am.Call 9904-8258.

l Dr Othman Al-Asfour: daily 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm. Call9938-5350.

l Dr Mohammed Al-Khaldi (head of this team): daily9:00 am - 12:00 pm. Call 9903-6470.

l Dr Ahmad Al-Khaldi: daily 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm. Call9910-7965.

l Dr Muneera Al-Qattan: Monday and Wednesday9:00 am - 1:00 pm. Call 9953-3108.

l Dr Zainab Al-Saffar: Sunday and Thursday 7:00 pm- 9:00 pm. Call 9954-9908.

l Dr Sameera Al-Kandari: Tuesday 9:00 pm - 12:00am. Call 6770-9434.

l Dr Kawthar Al-Yaqout: Monday and Wednesday6:00 pm - 9:00 pm. Call 5521-0088.

l For information and other concerns, call 9401-4283.

L o c a l Thursday, April 16, 2020

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Kuwait GDP at $130 billion in2019, economy grew 0.4 percent

Services accounted to 18.6 percent of the GDP KUWAIT: The Kuwaiti economy grew 0.4 percentin 2019 compared to 2018 where gross domesticproduct amounted to KD 39.4 billion ($130 billion),Kuwait Central Statistical Bureau said in a state-ment Tuesday. The GDP, by current rates, shrankthree percent in Q4 2019 com-pared to the same period in2018. It also grew by 2.6 per-cent, by fixed prices, comparedto Q3 2018. Oil sector con-tributed to the GDP, by fixedprices, with KD 4.5 billion($14.8 billion), 43.9 percent, andthis stake rose to KD 5.2 billion($17 billion), with a 52.8 percentcontribution. Non-oil domesticproduct, by fixed prices, grew in Q4 2019 by 0.6percent, compared to the same period in 2018,while growth was at 3.5 percent compared to Q32019. Contribution of the crude oil and natural gasproduction, comparing Q4 2019 with correspon-ding period 2018, fell from 53.6 percent to 52.8 per-cent-also by steady rates. Added value of thisactivity grew by 3.2 percent as compared to the

same value in Q3 2019, amid bullish oil prices andproduction increase.

Manufacturing industries, including oil deriva-tives, accounted to 6.5 percent of the GDP and 6.7percent by the fixed prices. Retail and wholesale

trade declined in Q4 2019 by 2.6percent compared to the sameperiod in 2018, where addedvalue of this sector amounted toKD 363.2 million ($1.2 billion),with a contribution estimated at3.6 percent of the quarterlyGDP. Meanwhile, added value offinancial brokerage, also byfixed prices, fell by 0.2 percentin Q4, posting KD 805 million

($2.6 million) compared to the same period in 2018.Services, including education, health, restaurants,hotels and real estate, accounted to 18.6 percent ofthe GDP, with the value standing at KD 1.8 billion($5.9 billion). Value activity of the public adminis-tration and defense amounted in Q4 to KD one bil-lion ($3.3 billion), growing by 2.4 percent in contrastto the same period last year. — KUNA

GDP down3% in Q4

2019

By Meshaal Al-Enezi

KUWAIT: A team of researchersfrom the Dasman Diabetes Instituteand Kuwait University managed todevelop a model and a study on thespread of COVID-19 in Kuwaitunder the title of ‘Predictive Mathe-matical Model of SARS-CoV-2’.Dasman Diabetes Institute GeneralManager Dr Qais Al-Duwairi ex-plained that the model is based onthe SEIR system with special modi-fications to match the situation inKuwait, adding that the modelproved the effectiveness of themeasures taken by the government

to contain infection since day one,including suspending schools andclosing restaurants and shoppingmalls, as well as applying institu-tional and home quarantine, whichhas greatly and effectively isolatedinfected cases arriving from outsideKuwait. The study also showed thatin view of the current indicators ofthe natural course of the pandemic,cases will increase until the secondhalf of May, then start falling. Kuwaithas recorded over 1,000 cases in-fected with the novel coronavirus(COVID-19), in addition to threedeaths, since the outbreak started inthe country in early March.

System predicts KuwaitCOVID-19 cases to startfalling by mid-May

Vehicles, machinery entering Kuwait sanitized

KUWAIT: Kuwait Fire Service Directorate(KFSD) is installing jetting machines at landcheckpoints and the airport to sanitize in-coming trucks and hardware. Personnel atthe KFSD vehicles and equipment depart-ment have manufactured the disinfecting

stands for installment at the land borderpoints, Al-Nwaiseeb and Al-Salmi, as wellas Kuwait International Airport. They will beemployed to sanitize incoming trucks andmachines, the KFSD said in a statement onTuesday. These stands are manned by

KFSD officers. Kuwait has taken a series ofpreventive and protective measures againstthe novel coronavirus outbreak. It observesa nighttime curfew amid suspension of busi-nesses and various transports inside, to andfrom the country. —KUNA

KUWAIT: Minister of Social Affairs and Minister of State for Economic AffairsMariam Al-Aqeel took a tour on Tuesday at a makeshift co-operative societybranch set up in Mahboula to serve area residents. The area has been putunder total lockdown along with Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh as part of efforts to curbthe spread of the disease. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Thursday, April 16, 2020

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KUWAIT: The Awazem charity foundation distributed food to laborers and families in need in Salwa impacted by the effects of the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). —Photos by Fouad Al-Shaikh

“The coronavirus, which surfaced in aChinese seafood and poultry market latelast year, has spread to at least 177

countries, killing more than 75,000 and sickeningmore than one million in a matter of weeks. TheWorld Health Organization has declared the situa-tion a pandemic”, reported the New York Timesearlier in the year, and of course the numbers noware approaching two million cases and the deathtoll is rising at a scary rate!

I really tried hard to stay away from getting intothe subject of the coronavirus, but found it veryhard to do so, especially since we are facing some-thing invisible, and if neglected, it can be highlyinvasive. Once it reaches its destination - the respi-ratory system - it takes a foothold, and fighting it isa real struggle and a long and painful process.

Statistics show how dangerous the number ofcases are in five developed European countries andthe US - infections reached 1,220,584 by Tuesdaymorning and deaths 90,484 for the same period.

The danger of this disease is that the peoplemay be infected with it for 1 to 14 days beforestarting to feel the symptoms, such as fever, tired-ness and dry cough, while 80 percent of peoplemay recover without needing special treatment.But even asymptomatic patients can infect others.We must note that older people and people withmedical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes orheart disease) may be more vulnerable to becom-ing very ill.

Please remember that you can avoid the virusand prevent it from reaching others by first wash-ing your hands frequently with soap and water cor-rectly, and keep a sanitizer close so you can use itwhen necessary. Remain at least 1.5 meters awayfrom the person close to you, even farther if theperson seems to be unwell, and the best of all is tostay home and not be out for longer periods. Pleasedo not touch your mouth, eyes or nose and evenyour ears until after you wash your hands.

It is very important to remember that it is notexactly known how long the virus stays viable out-side the body, though specialists say it may survivefor hours or up to several days. We must not getbored with the daily routine to stay healthy andkeep those around us healthy. There will be a daywhen the coronavirus will be no more, so let usprepare to celebrate that day without havingregrets or bad memories. Let us be among thosewho say “we did”, not “if we had done”!

A final word: “Many of life’s failure are peoplewho did not realize how close they were to successwhen they gave up.” —Thomas Edison

Coronavirus once again

local@kuwaittimes.com

By Abdellatif Sharaa

In my viewLAPA opensonline workshopsKUWAIT: Within its social responsibilities and out ofits keenness on providing youth with opportunities tofruitfully make use of their free time during the cur-rent curfew, LOYAC’s Academy for Performance Arts(LAPA) resumed its LAPA Talent Club workshops forchildren online as an alternative to traditional learning.

LAPA’s new creative online lessons will be interac-tive ones prepared in collaboration with local andinternational trainers using enjoyable applications thathelp students assimilate information in a better way.

The lessons include training courses on playingseveral musical instruments and singing supervised bymaestro Yousif Bara, the head of the music depart-ment, Nisreen Nasser and a group of professionallocal and international musicians. The music depart-ment also provides the ‘Family singing program’ for allfamily members.

The club also provides dancing and performancelessons by trainers, Mohammed Al-Eidan, TeniMatyan, Zoki, Sanslas Kumar and Anna Muskiza. Inaddition, the club provides formative arts coursesupervised by formative artist, Amira Bahbehani aswell as drama and acting lessons supervised by SaraAttallah. In this regard, LOYAC’s chairperson Fare’aAl-Saqqaf said that the aim of those online work-shops is to help children utilize their time fruitfullyduring the current curfew. Saqqaf added that furtheronline programs would soon be launched for youth asthe curfew hours are times ought to be utilized incommunicating with children and youth in new man-ners to help them develop their skills.

L o c a l Thursday, April 16, 2020

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Kuwait FM chairs meeting of committeecharged with citizens’ repatriation

Foreign minister discusses COVID-19 with Tunisian, Jordanian counterparts

KUWAIT: Kuwait Foreign Minister SheikhDr Ahmad Nasser Mohammad Al-Sabahchaired Tuesday a meeting of a committeecharged with the implementation of a planto repatriate Kuwaiti citizens, due to beginon April 19. The committee members dis-cussed completion of measures among rel-evant state departments to bring backKuwaiti nationals. The meeting was at-tended by Deputy Foreign Minister KhaledAl-Jarallah, President of the DirectorateGeneral of Civil Aviation Sheikh SalmanSabah Al-Sabah, chairman of Kuwait Air-ways Yusuf Al-Jassem and foreign ministryofficials. Sheikh Dr Ahmad had earlierchaired a meeting for the ministry’s emer-gency committee, in presence of Jarallahand senior ministry officials, to discuss the

developments connected with the coron-avirus and the upcoming measure to repa-triate Kuwaitis abroad.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Dr Ahmad received aphone call from his Tunisian counterpartNoureddine Erray, discussing with him is-sues connected with bilateral ties. The twoofficials also touched on the latest develop-ments concerning the spread of the novelcoronavirus (COVID-19). Sheikh Dr Ahmadalso received a telephone call from his Jor-danian counterpart Ayman Al-Safadi, dis-cussing the close bilateral relations andmeans of boosting cooperation againstspread of the novel coronavirus.

In other news, Deputy Foreign MinisterKhaled Al-Jarallah received, Tuesday, thecharge d’affairs of the Saudi embassy Dr

Hassan Al-Ansari who handed a written letterfrom King Salman bin Abdulaziz to His High-ness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. In the letter, the Saudi Kingtouched on issues of bilateral relations andrecent regional and international develop-ments. The ceremony to hand the letter wasattended by Ambassador Ayham Al-Omar,head of the Deputy Foreign Minister’s office.

Separately, Kuwait’s Directorate Generalfor the Civil Aviation announced that twoTurkish Airways and Qatar Airways took offfrom the Kuwait International Airport onTuesday, heading to Istanbul and Doha car-rying expatriates. The two flights are part ofthe DGCA plan to facilitate travel of expatri-ates who are willing to leave Kuwait, the di-rectorate said in a press statement. — KUNA

KUWAIT: Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr Ahmad Nasser Mohammad Al-Sabah chairs a meeting of a commit-tee charged with the implementation of a plan to repatriate Kuwaiti citizens. — KUNA

Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr Ahmad Nasser Mohammad Al-Sabah chairs a meeting for the ministry’semergency committee.

Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah meets with the charge d’affairsof the Saudi embassy Dr Hassan Al-Ansari.

KUWAIT: Kuwait National Guard set up a field hospital in Mahboula tostart receiving area residents for novel coronavirus (COVID-19) tests.The area has been put under total lockdown along with Jleeb Al-Shuy-oukh as part of efforts to curb the spread of the disease.

— Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

WASHINGTON: Can an app contain the pandemic?Interest is growing in smartphone technology as a po-tential key to ending lockdowns and reopeningeconomies around the world. Digital “contact tracing”would allow mobile systems to log instances wherepeople have been in proximity with an infected personand send alerts where appropriate. Researchers andhealth agencies around the world have been rampingup research on the potential solution, which could geta boost from a joint initiative by Google and Apple tomake tracing more effective. Here are some answers tothe most common questions about tracing:

What is contact tracing?Under the smartphone version of contact tracing,

people would download mobile apps and update theirCOVID-19 status should they come down with thevirus. The apps would use a phone’s Bluetooth wirelesssignals to determine if a given user had crossed pathswith an infected person. A number of research teamshave been developing such systems, and at least one

has been used in Singapore. This could lead to “alerts” sent to anyone in close con-

tact with a person who is infected, or who later confirmsan infection, and allow those people at risk to self-quar-antine. The Apple-Googlecollaboration could make thiseasier by allowing apps tocross over the two dominantmobile systems. The compa-nies said that their technologycould enable an app’s “digitalkey” to monitor contacts fora 14-day period.

A smartphone systemcould effectively replace thelengthy “manual” tracing byinterview currently handled by medical staff, saidFrancesco Benedetti, a research scientist on the Mas-sachusetts Institute of Technology team working withmore than 30 governments and health agencies oncontact tracing. “Doctors waste a lot of time in these

interviews,” Benedetti said. A digital system is more ef-ficient because “it doesn’t rely on people’s memory,and it can determine contacts with people who don’tknow each other.”

How does this help? Researchers say digital

tracing can be effective - butonly if significant numbers ofpeople download the appand report symptoms. Sucha system “can achieve epi-demic control if used byenough people,” OxfordUniversity researcherswrote in Science Magazine.

Efforts are underway to study or implement contacttracing in France, Germany, Britain and elsewhere.

In the United States, presumptive Democratic pres-idential nominee Joe Biden cited contact tracing as partof a plan “to safely reopen America” along with ex-

panded testing and other steps. Benedetti said a func-tioning tracing system “can help decision makers de-termine what is safe to open.” Over time, the system cangenerate “heat maps” and gather data on how the virusis transmitted, enabling “a more selective quarantine”that does not require everyone to remain in place.

What are the limitations? A major limitation is that any contact tracing plan

must reach a critical mass: People need to download anapp and update their status. Some experts suggest 60percent adoption could help turn the tide of the pan-demic, said Tina White, a researcher and co-founder ofthe volunteer group Covid Watch which is developingan app and is working with Oxford University scientists.“A lot depends on messaging and how it is presented,”White said. “If people understand this is something thatprotects them, they will use it.” Benedetti said a tracingapp could still have a “high impact” with 40 percentadoption, but that effectiveness would depend on othersafety measures implemented. —AFP

InternationalUnrest fears rise as Lagos extends COVID lockdown Firm offers spouses apartments to avoid ‘coronavirus divorce’

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JAKARTA: Family members of a victim of the COVID-19 coronavirus walk past burial sites at a cemetery in Jakarta yesterday. — AFP

Virus ‘tracing’ by smartphoneResearchers ramp up research on potential solution

A key to reopening

the society?

Row in Gazaover arrests forZoom chat GAZA: A fierce dispute has divided thePalestinian community after Gaza’s rulers,Hamas, arrested six local activists for chat-ting by video conference with left-leaningcampaigners in Israel. Islamist group Hamasbans all communications with Israel and lastweek arrested the six members of the GazaYouth Committee on charges of “treason”and “normalization” of relations with theJewish state.

The arrests have sparked a fierce free-speech row that has drawn in a formerGaza-based contractor with human rightsgroup Amnesty International who had crit-icized the activists online. In the two-hourcall via video conference service Zoom -the latest in a format they have called“Skype with your enemy” - the participantshad discussed their daily lives and ex-pressed hopes for better leadership for bothIsraelis and Palestinians.

Rami Aman, 36, the founder of the GazaYouth Committee, and the five others weredetained, accused of “treason”, after speak-ing to the dozens of Israeli activists online.Gaza’s Hamas-run interior ministry said that“establishing any activity or communicationwith the Israeli occupation under any ex-cuse is a crime punishable by law, and istreason against our people”. Hamas, whichis considered a terrorist group by Israel andmost Western states, seized control of Gazain a 2007 near civil war. Since then the Jew-ish state has fought three devastating warsin Gaza while maintaining a crippling block-ade on the coastal strip, arguing it must iso-late Hamas.

‘Not a mistake’A key player in the row has been the for-

mer Amnesty activist Hind Khoudary, whoon Facebook criticized Aman over the al-

leged act of “normalization” with Israel.Khoudary tagged several Hamas officials inthe online post, ensuring Aman’s Zoom callwould come to their attention. Gaza’s inte-rior ministry has however denied thatKhoudary’s posts tipped them off to thevideo call.

“It is not true what was published, say-ing citizens or journalists publishing postson Facebook and social media were re-sponsible for the arrests,” ministryspokesman Iyad al-Bozm said. “RamiAman and his group are under surveillanceall the time by the security services. “Un-fortunately, Rami tried to carry out activi-ties that violate the law and the culture andcustoms of our people.”

Khoudary told AFP she did not regrether posts and did not oppose Aman’s arrest,while stressing that she was not responsiblefor his detention. “I didn’t make a mistake,”she said, criticizing him over what she de-scribed as his attempt to speak on behalf ofall Palestinians. “As a Palestinian, before Ibecame a journalist, I am against normaliza-tion,” said Khoudary. Amnesty confirmedthat Khoudary had been a “short-term free-

lance contract worker” who helped docu-ment protests in Gaza last year, but said sheno longer works for the organization.

“We absolutely condemn arrests of in-dividuals because of practicing their rightto peaceful expression and assembly,” saidSaleh Hijazi, Amnesty’s deputy director forthe Middle East. Former Human RightsWatch official Peter Bouckaert removedKhoudary from an online group and toldher she should be “ashamed” of herself.UN Watch, a Geneva-based organizationoriginally set up to confront alleged anti-Semitism at the United Nations, howeverpraised Aman as a “courageous Gazapeace activist”.

Khoudary herself was detained by Hamaslast year for posts supporting Gaza streetprotests. Aman was briefly detained twoyears ago on similar charges. Debate hasflared on social networks, with some Pales-tinians condemning the latest arrests andothers congratulating Khoudary for workingagainst normalization. Collaborating or evencommunicating with Israelis is controversialamong Palestinians, with many seeing suchdialogue as a waste of time. — AFP

RAFAH: A full moon is pictured in the sky over Rafah town in the southern GazaStrip.—AFP

Obama endorsesBiden for president WASHINGTON: Barack Obama endorsedJoe Biden’s White House bid on Tuesday,saying his longtime vice president can unifyand “heal” a nation struggling through someof its darkest moments. The formal backingby perhaps the most popular politician inAmerica is the latest boost for Biden’s surg-ing candidacy, and a further sign that Dem-ocratic leaders are rallying around the partyflagbearer more than six months beforeNovember’s election. “Joe has the characterand the experience to guide us through oneof our darkest times and heal us through along recovery,” Obama said in a 12-minutevideo. “I believe Joe has all the qualities weneed in a president right now.”

The cherished endorsement comes at atime of deep national anxiety, with the vastmajority of Americans under stay-at-homeorders due to the coronavirus pandemic

that has killed nearly 25,000 people in theUnited States. With President DonaldTrump’s handling of the outbreak under thespotlight, Obama signalled he believedBiden-with four decades of government ex-perience-would be a far more capablemanager of the US response.

“Joe helped me manage H1N1 (influenza)and prevent the Ebola epidemic from be-coming the type of pandemic we’re seeingnow,” Obama said. Biden, 77, promptly ex-pressed his thanks in a tweet. “Barack-Thisendorsement means the world to Jill andme,” the Democratic stalwart said. “We’regoing to build on the progress we made to-gether, and there’s no one I’d rather havestanding by my side.”

Biden is the Democratic Party’s pre-sumptive nominee to challenge Trump, afterhis lone remaining opponent BernieSanders dropped out of the race last week.The leftist US senator from Vermont en-dorsed his ex-rival Monday, saying it wastime for Americans to “come together” be-hind Biden. Two-term president Obama alsopraised Sanders as a progressive championwhose energy and enthusiasm inspiredyoung voters by the millions. — AFP

WASHINGTON: In this file photo, US Vice President Joe Biden wipes away tears as he walks pastPresident Barack Obama after he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. — AFP

Thursday, April 16, 2020

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GUAYAQUIL: Ecuador’s economic capitalGuayaquil is reeling from the most aggressive out-break of COVID-19 in Latin America after the pan-demic hit the city “like a bomb,” its mayor said.Cynthia Viteri has emerged from her own bout withthe virus to battle the worst crisis the port city ofnearly 3 million people has known in modern times.

“There is no space for either the living or the dead.That’s how severe the pandemic is in Guayaquil,” Vi-teri told AFP in a phone in-terview Monday.Mortuaries, funeral homesand hospital services areoverwhelmed, and Viterisaid the actual death tollfrom the virus is likelymuch higher than the offi-cial national figure of 369.Guayaquil accounts formore than 70 percent ofEcuador’s 7,600 infectionssince February 29.

‘Unprepared’ The 54-year-old mayor admitted the city was “un-

prepared” for the onslaught: “Nobody believed thatwhat we saw in Wuhan, people falling dead in thestreets, would ever happen here.” Now authoritiesare forecasting a death toll of more than 3,500 in thecity and its hinterland in the coming months.Guayaquil proved especially vulnerable to the virusbecause of its air links to Europe, Viteri said.

The first case of infection-Ecuador’s “patientzero”-was of an elderly Ecuadoran woman who ar-rived from Spain. “This is where the bomb exploded,this is where patient zero arrived, and since it was va-cation time, people traveled abroad, some to Europeor the United States, and our people who lived in Eu-rope came here,” Viteri said. “And when they arrived

there were no controls like they should have been ifwe had known that this was already coming by air.And the city of Guayaquil simply convulsed. “

Too late, the city went into lockdown as authoritiesimposed a 15-hour curfew and bodies began to ac-cumulate in homes, and even on the streets. “Thehealth system was obviously overwhelmed, themorgues overflowed, the funeral homes overflowed.”Guayaquil’s authorities “are not the villains of the

world,” Viteri insisted. “Weare the victims of a virusthat came by air” that shesaid echoed the yellow feverthat devastated the citywhen it came over the seafrom Panama in 1842. “Abomb exploded here. Otherplaces received only theshock waves. But the craterremained here inGuayaquil.”

Counting the dead Viteri said the number of coronavirus deaths in the

city is likely far higher than the official figure “for asingle reason-because there are no tests to determinehow many people are actually infected in the city andin the country.” She continued: “Patients are dyingwithout ever having had a test. And there is no space,time or resources to be able to carry out subsequentexaminations and to know whether or not they diedfrom the coronavirus.

“In the month of March alone, there were 1,500more deaths than in the month of March last year.“The true number will be known once this tragedy,this nightmare, ends.” People are continuing to “col-lapse in their houses, in the hospitals, all over theplace,” she said, because the normal medical servicesare overwhelmed. “There are still women who need

to give birth, people are still being run over, peoplestill have diabetes and hypertension.”

She said just last month alone “100 people” haddied because they were unable to get dialysis treat-ment. “Why? Because there is no space. Becausewe are stretched to breaking point, our doctorshave fallen sick too.” Around 50 people from herown municipal staff had died, she said. Viteri saidher task now was to bring all the city’s financial re-sources to bear on buying test kits, with $12 millionalready earmarked, to be able to detect, isolate and

monitor positive cases. “For me there is no other way,” she said. “We have

to look after the living, and provide a decent burialfor the dead. We are living in a war. Responding to aspate of nightmarish media stories about bodies ac-cumulating in hospitals, homes and streets, the citywas making two new cemeteries available to bury thedead and relieve pressure on city morgues. “The bod-ies are being collected daily,” Viteri said. “But this isvery hard because it means there is mourning everyday in Guayaquil.” — AFP

COVID-19 hits ‘like a bomb’ as toll rises in Ecuador’s business capital

‘There is no space for either the living or the dead’

GUAYAQUIL: A pick-up truck carries coffins as its drives past the IESS Hospital Los Ceibos in Guayaquil,Ecuador during the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. — AFP

Guayaquil reeling from

aggressive outbreak

A long Texasroad trip for525,000 masks HOUSTON: All it took was one little call tospur Tom Banning into action, undertaking agiant mission across a very large state - dis-tributing 525,000 masks to health careproviders around Texas, a sprawling landmassroughly the size of France. In mid-March,amid the emerging US coronavirus outbreak,the doctor was contacted by a golf buddywho had come into possession of hundredsof thousands of professional-grade masksfrom Mexico and wondered whether Banningknew anyone who might be in need. “Thewhole state is looking for this PPE!” Banningsaid, using the acronym for personal protec-tive equipment - vital everyday items such asmasks and gowns that health care profession-als depend on to protect themselves.

Banning, who is also CEO of the TexasAcademy of Family Physicians, had an addressbook brimming with doctors about to closetheir clinics for lack of such items. The nextday, Banning went to examine the precious

cargo - lo and behold a moving van filled with350 boxes, each containing 1,500 high-qualitymasks similar to the N-95 masks recom-mended by American health authorities. Thusbegan the equipment’s odyssey to a constel-lation of far-flung Texas cities, from San An-tonio to Dallas, with a number of ruralhospitals in between - and all in one day. “I got

on the phone and immediately started callingsome practices that I knew were seeing highvolumes of potentially COVID-19 patients,”Banning said. Jumping in his car, with his 12-year-old son along for the ride, Banningheaded to Houston, in east Texas, to drop offa shipment to the team of caregivers tendingto the city’s first declared cases. — AFP

This US Navy handout photo shows US Navy Chief Personnel Specialist Erica Campos,from Houston, assigned to Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd (DDG100) sewing fabric to make cloth face masks for the crew. — AFP

COVID-19 or not,Marines needtheir buzz cutsWASHINGTON: While coronavirussequestering has millions sportinglonger locks as they go without hair-cuts, that’s not going to happen for onegroup: the US Marines. From their bootcamp buzz cuts to the “high and tight”style standard for the Marine Corps, aspartan trim is inseparable from theirwar-fighting discipline, Pentagon JointChiefs Chairman General Mark Milleysaid Tuesday.

Milley was asked whether socialdistancing practices, which have pre-vented many worldwide from keepingtheir barber appointments, should beimplemented in the US military, after avideo surfaced of about two dozen ofMarines lined up for their regular cut atCamp Pendleton in California. Whilemost were keeping their distance, itwas not the recommended six feet, andnone had masks on, the video showed.

“Whether they are marines, or sol-

diers, or airmen, or sailors, you knowdiscipline is a fundamental function ofour force,” Milley told reporters. “Andfor many, many years the United Statesmilitary has had hair standards.... Yes, Ithink Marines should get haircuts. “Milley cited the legendary US Marines’assault on the Japanese-held island ofIwo Jima during World War II in early1945. “That Marine victory was the re-sult of incredible discipline,” he said. “Itmay seem superficial to some, but get-ting a haircut is part of that discipline.”

Defense Secretary Mark Esper,who is already dealing with nearly600 COVID-19 infections aboard anaircraft carrier and 4,769 cases intotal across some 150 military instal-lations, said it was one of myriad is-sues as they try to both protect theUS forces and maintain battle readi-ness. “There’s no doubt in my mindthat you could go to any camp, fort,base, you name it and find somebodynot following the guidance,” he said.“That’s something I would not havethought of putting into the guidance,the haircut policy,” he added. Towhich Milley jumped in: “Don’t takethat as guidance yet. (There are) a lotof ways to do haircuts.”— AFP

Heartbreak, fearfor staff on the frontline ROME: Doctors, nurses and healthcareworkers have become the unwitting heroesof the coronavirus pandemic, winning ap-plause from balconies and streets aroundthe world. From Yaounde to Rome to NewYork, the pandemic has infected more than1.9 million people and claimed 118,000 lives.Hospital workers are dealing with a huge in-flux of patients, while also facing a lack ofequipment in many cases and the fear of be-coming infected themselves. Often, they faceheartbreaking decisions while treating theirpatients. AFP journalists spoke to healthcareworkers around the world to find out whatit’s really like to be on the frontline in thecoronavirus pandemic.

Italy: ‘We can’t get sick’ In Italy, one of the worst affected coun-

tries, dozens of doctors and nurses havedied from COVID-19 and thousands ofhealthcare workers have become infected.Silvana de Florio, nursing coordinator in theCOVID-19 intensive care unit of the TorVergata Hospital in Rome, underlined theimportance of being appropriately kittedout with masks, visors, gloves, scrubs andsuits to avoid contagion.

“We don’t set aside a specific amount oftime for it, but we have estimated that for aseven-hour shift, about 40-50 minutes isspent just on getting dressed,” she said. “Interms of hand washing and hand deconta-mination, we are talking about 60-75 min-utes per day,” she said after scolding a careworker for not wearing a mask. “Medicalstaff can’t get sick-not so much because of

their ability to work, but because it wouldnot be fair.”

Ecuador: The morgues are full In the Pacific port city of Guayaquil in

Ecuador, a sick nurse makes no attempt tohide her anger: 80 of her colleagues havebeen infected and five have already died.Ecuador is one of the worst affected coun-tries in South America, with hundreds ofdead bodies lying inside homes because themorgues are full. “We went to war withoutany weapons,” said the 55-year-old nurse,who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The necessary equipment was notready when this (the pandemic) was alreadyhappening, devastating Europe,” said thenurse, who is resting at home as there is nospace in the hospitals. Patients with “severesymptoms” were arriving at her emergencydepartment, “but due to a lack of tests, theywere treated as if they had the flu and senthome.” “We had no personal protectiveequipment (PPE) but we could not refuse totreat the patients,” she said.

US: Lack of equipment In the United States, Judy Sheridan-

Gonzalez, president of the New York StateNurses Association, also complained aboutthe lack of protective gear for medicalworkers.”We don’t have the arms and thearmour to protect ourselves against theenemy,” she said at a recent protest outsidea hospital. Benny Mathew, a 43-year-oldnurse in New York, said he caught the virusafter caring for at least four patients withoutadequate medical dress. Not long after-wards, when his fever had subsided, the hos-pital asked him to come back to work.

“They told me if you don’t have fever youcan come on work-that was their only cri-teria,” he said. “I was told to wear a maskand come to work. We don’t have enoughstaff so I think it was my duty to come back.“But I was worried that I was going to trans-

mit the disease to my coworkers, to the pa-tients who don’t already have it,” he added.With more than 195,000 confirmed cases ofCOVID-19 and around 10,000 deaths, NewYork state is the epicenter of the pandemicin the US, the worst affected country so far.

Philippines: Doctors playing God The doctors at Manila’s San Lazaro

hospital, a specialist centre for infectiousdiseases, are used to battling humanity’snastiest contagions-but they’ve never seenanything like COVID-19. Suspected coro-navirus cases have died at triage, terrifiedpatients grow outraged when they can’tget tested immediately and the doctorshave to manage the anxiety they could becarriers too. “It’s a living nightmare,” saiddoctor Ferdinand de Guzman, who at 60years old is himself in a high-risk group.With a limited number of intensive carerooms and ventilators, the doctors are bur-dened with horrific judgments. “We don’tlike to play God,” de Guzman said. “Clini-cians just have to make decisions.” Manyare afraid to go home after work. “We areworried about our families,” de Guzmansaid. “We always reserve one or two bedsfor (hospital) employees. We never had thisproblem before, ever.”

Cameroon: ‘We are afraid’ Roger Etoa, a doctor in Cameroon, one

of the worst-affected countries in sub-Sa-haran Africa, admits that fear of catching thedisease also affects healthcare workers. “Ilive with my wife and children,” the 36-year-old said. “When I arrive in the evening I rushto the shower, but it is difficult to stop thechildren from jumping on you.” Etoa is thedirector of a healthcare centre in Douala, thecapital of Cameroon. As a precaution, he’sstarted taking chloroquine, a drug used totreat malaria. “We don’t yet know if it workspreventively or even curatively, but I prefer(to take it) just in case,” he said.

Early studies have shown that chloro-quine, may be effective in the treatment andprevention of COVID-19, though more evi-dence is needed. “We are afraid, like the restof the population. Afraid that our masks orsuits are not fitted properly when we aredealing with a patient who is showingsymptoms,” the doctor said. “We’re obvi-ously afraid of catching it. When you get upin the morning and you have a bit of aheadache, you ask yourself, ‘What if this isit? What if it’s our turn to get the virus?’”

Spain: Patients left aloneAntonio Alvarez, a nurse in the intensive

care unit at Vall d’Hebron, the biggest hos-pital in Barcelona, described the heart-breaking daily task of phoning a familymember to say goodbye to their loved ones-from behind the protective glass.”It’s diffi-cult to see patients who are alone and haveno family with them,” the 33-year-old said.“They’re saying goodbye from the door and

it’s probably the last time they’ll see them”since funeral ceremonies have been banned,he said. “If it was a member of my family, Iwouldn’t be able to stand just sitting thereand seeing them behind the door,” Alvarezsaid. “It’s a very difficult situation.”

“Everyone is working like crazy, asthough it was a war,” said Nuri Aydin, di-rector of the Cerrahpasa Faculty of Med-icine at Istanbul University. “Theatmosphere here is not like a normalworkplace, but a battlefield,” he said dur-ing a visit to the hospital. Istanbul, a me-tropolis with some 15 million residents andTurkey’s economic capital, has around 60percent of confirmed COVID-19 cases inthe country. Many healthcare workers aresleeping in hotels or converted studentdormitories, afraid of infecting their fami-lies. “What they are doing is superhuman.There’s no price for the work of health-care workers, they’re in the service of hu-manity,” Aydin said. — AFP

BIREUEN, Indonesia: Indonesian doctors wearing protective gear hold newborn ba-bies wearing face shields as protective measures amid the COVID-19 coronaviruspandemic at a clinic in Bireuen, Aceh province. — AFP

Thursday, April 16, 2020

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News in brief

Policeman killed in Cairo

CAIRO: An Egyptian policeman was killed and threeothers wounded in a shootout Tuesday with armed mili-tants in Cairo, the interior ministry said in a statement. A“terrorist cell” was intending to attack Christians insouthern and eastern Cairo during their Easter celebra-tions, the statement said. Coptic Orthodox Christians,who make up around 10-15 percent of Egypt’s 100 mil-lion population, celebrate Orthodox Easter on 19 April.The ministry said the cell was “neutralized” with sevenmilitants killed. Six rifles and a cache of ammunition wererecovered from the scene and other weapons that were“to be used in their terror plan” were found in a nearbywarehouse. Private television channel CBC Extra Newsshowed footage of the gunfire, as residents of Al-Amiriyah suburb were warned to stay inside their homesaway from windows and doors. —AFP

Virus hits Jewish community

RABAT: Morocco’s small Jewish community has been hithard by the coronavirus, losing 12 of its members after awedding and a religious ceremony last month - 10 per-cent of the kingdom’s total deaths. In early March, daysbefore the country announced a lockdown to stem thespread of the virus, members of the community attendeda wedding in the coastal city of Agadir, “along withguests from abroad”, said community leader SergeBerdugo. “A few days later, they met again to celebratethe festival of Purim in Casablanca, and it was a tragedy,”he said. The 12 who died included an 83-year-old rabbi,Shalom Edelman, and three relatives of the head ofIsrael’s Labor party, Amir Peretz. Peretz confirmed theirdeaths on his Facebook page and wrote that the pan-demic had prevented him from visiting Morocco toattend their funerals. —AFP

Trump halts WHO funding

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump announcedTuesday that swaths of the United States could lift coro-navirus shutdowns “very soon” and made peace withstate governors after being accused of acting like a king.While defusing an extraordinary domestic row, Trumphowever opened a new front on the international stagewhen he announced a freeze in US funding to the WorldHealth Organization because he said it had been biasedto China. According to Trump, the WHO preventedtransparency over the COVID-19 outbreak when itappeared in China, costing other countries crucial timeto prepare, delaying decisions to stop international trav-el. “Had the WHO done its job to get medical expertsinto China to objectively assess the situation on theground and to call out China’s lack of transparency, theoutbreak could have been contained at its source withvery little death,” he said. —AFP

Vietnam ‘fake news’ fines

HANOI: A new decree took effect in Vietnam yesterdayintroducing fines for the dissemination of ‘fake news’ orrumors on social media, amid the rapid spread of com-ment online about the novel coronavirus in the SoutheastAsian country. The first COVID-19 cases were detectedin Vietnam this January and the health ministry hasreported 267 infections so far with no deaths, numberswell below those seen in some other Asian countries.Local authorities have already fined hundreds of peoplefor posting what they described as “fake news” about thevirus, using the term popularized by US President DonaldTrump, based on existing legal provisions. —Reuters

ABUJA: African countries are seething overaccounts that Africans are battling stigma and dis-crimination in China over the coronavirus pandemic,apparently linked to a cluster of cases in theNigerian community in the southern city ofGuangzhou. The African residents say they havesuffered forced evictions, arbitrary quarantines andmass coronavirus tests and face discrimination inrestaurants and hotels.

“We saw images of Nigerians in the streets withtheir possessions and this was of course extremelydistressing for us at home,” Nigerian ForeignMinister Geoffrey Onyeama told Chinese ambassa-dor Zhou Pingjian on Tuesday. He said the situationwas “unacceptable” toNigeria’s government andpeople, and demanded“immediate action” fromthe Chinese authorities.The African Union onSaturday expressed its“extreme concern” aboutthe situation inGuangzhou and called onBeijing to take immediatecorrective measures.

The controversy coin-cides with a Chinese charm offensive in Africa.Diplomats said around 20 African countries aredrawing up a joint letter to Beijing to say that massvirus tests and quarantines imposed specifically onAfricans amount to “racism”. The draft letter, a formof diplomatic correspondence called a note verbale,describes this as a “clear violation of human rights”,the sources say.

Racism issue Local authorities in Guangzhou, a city of 15

million, said at least eight people diagnosed withcoronavirus had spent time in the city’s Yuexiu

district, known as “Little Africa”. Five wereNigerian nationals who sparked widespread angerafter reports surfaced that they had broken amandatory quarantine and been to eight restau-rants and other public places instead of stayinghome.

Several Africans told AFP they had beenforcibly evicted from their homes and turned awayby hotels. One said he had been sleeping under abridge for four days and could not find a storethat would allow him to buy food. On Sunday, asinternational pressure mounted, the foreign min-istry in Beijing issued a statement saying thecountry attached “great importance to the life and

health of foreign nation-als” and rejected al l“racist and discriminato-ry” remarks. The US fast-food chain McDonald’sapologized after a sign inone of its restaurants inGuangzhou told blackpeople they were bannedfrom entering.

EmbarrassmentThe global pandemic

was caused by a novel form of coronavirus thatscientists say leapt the species barrier to humansthrough a live animal market in the Chinese city ofWuhan. China has reacted furiously to any refer-ences that it says could spur xenophobia becauseof the virus’s origins. The US assistant secretaryof state for African affairs, Tibor Nagy, tweetedthat the reports from Guangzhou “are appalling”,adding: “Abuse and xenophobia has no place inour fight against this global pandemic. Chineseauthorities must do more to stop these attacksagainst Africans living and working in China.”

In response, Chinese foreign ministry

spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters in Beijingthat Washington “has taken advantage of thisissue to try and drive a wedge between Chinaand African countries.” He said the “friendshipbetween China and Africa is deeply rooted... andit is unbreakable.” In the context of Africa, theaffair is diplomatically embarrassing for China, asit has sent doctors, medical equipment and otherhelp to impoverished countries in Africa imper-illed by the virus.

The hugely appreciated gestures include ateam of 15 doctors who arrived in Abuja last weekaboard a plane filled with anti-coronavirus gearincluding a consignment of 50,000 masks and11,000 rubber gloves that landed Tuesday morn-ing in South Africa, the continent’s worst-hitcountry. The United States in recent years hasseen its clout in Africa wane as China has thrownopen the credit spigot, providing billions in loansfor Chinese-made infrastructure projects. —AFP

Controversy coincides with a Chinese charm offensive in Africa

Anger in Africa over coronavirus ‘stigma’ in China amid concerns

GUANGZHOU: File photo shows people gathering on a street in the ‘Little Africa’ district inGuangzhou, the capital of southern China’s Guangdong province. —AFP

‘Starve or get sick’: Africa’s COVID-19lockdown dilemma NAIROBI: Women and children fell to the ground,bloodied and trampled in a desperate surge for foodbeing handed out in a Nairobi slum, as police firedteargas and men with sticks beat the hungry. AsAfrican countries grapple with the coronavirus pan-demic, observers warn that the traumatic sceneswhich played out last Friday will not be the last ifgovernments fail to help millions of urban poor wholive hand-to-mouth.

“I give them (the government) one to two weeksbefore things get worse. Not in terms of coron-avirus, but in terms of hunger,” said KennedyOdede, who runs Shining Hope For Communities(SHOFCO), a grassroots movement which works inthe Nairobi slum Kibera and other informal settle-ments in Kenya. “If it continues like this, we mightbe playing with fire.” Kenya has so far cordonedoff the capital and parts of its coastline andimposed a night-time curfew and other social dis-tancing measures.

Many of these restrictions are having a wrench-ing impact, causing loss of jobs among the poor,said Odede. While President Uhuru Kenyatta haswielded the threat of a full lockdown to get citizensto comply with the rules, officials admit it is an ago-nizing choice, especially as 60 percent of Nairobi’s

residents live in slums. “Locking up people in theslums will be the last option. A lot needs to be donebefore that,” a high-ranking security official toldAFP on condition of anonymity.

‘Unenforceable and unsustainable’ The coronavirus arrived late in Africa, but is

slowly taking hold with over 15,000 cases and800 deaths across the continent. While much ofthe developed world waited weeks to begin tak-ing action, countries in Africa rapidly shut bor-ders and banned mass gatherings. Mauritius,Rwanda and Tunisia were the first to impose fulllockdowns-with Mauritius going so far as to shutsupermarkets and bakeries for 10 days.

South Africa is the biggest economy on thecontinent to completely confine its citizens, whileNigeria imposed lockdowns on Lagos-the conti-nent’s largest city-and its capital Abuja, which onMonday were extended for another two weeks.Both have millions of people packed tightly inurban slums.

“The inevitable reaction has been to followwhat the rest of the world is doing,” said JakkieCi l l iers at the Pretoria-based Inst i tute forSecurity Studies (ISS), who has cal led forAfricans to come up with a “unique solution” tostave off the virus. “A lockdown is unenforceableand unsustainable across much of Africa. You aretrying to do something that is not possible andyou are condemning people to a choice betweenstarving and getting sick. “It’s not possible for 10people living in a tin shack... to not go outside forthree weeks.”

‘Make ends meet’ In sub-Saharan Africa, Liberia and Zimbabwe have

also imposed full lockdowns. However most nationsacross the continent have stopped short of forcing allof their citizens to stay indoors. Madagascar andGhana have completely locked down selected regionsand towns, while Senegal, Mauritania, Guinea, Mali,Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Niger have imposedstates of emergency and night-time curfews. LikeKenya, Benin has cordoned off key cities-preventingmovement in and out-while the capitals of Ivory Coast,Burkina Faso and Niger are also cut off. Ethiopia, witha population of over 100 million, has closed bordersand schools and discouraged large gatherings, but hasyet to restrict citizens’ movement. —AFP

NAIROBI: Christian Winnie Njenga (left) pray with hersons at home as they follow the live broadcasting of aservice on television from the All Saints’ Cathedral inNairobi, Kenya. —AFP

Unrest fears rise as Lagos extends COVID lockdown LAGOS: Bus driver Christian did not sleep at all lastnight after Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhariordered an extension to the lockdown in his sprawl-ing home city Lagos to halt the coronavirus. A fewhours before the announcement on Monday evening,word spread that over a hundred youths from a crim-inal gang were swarming through his neighborhoodof Alimosho on a robbing spree. “Everybody wasscattering for their lives. We ran away and I lockedmyself inside the house,” he told AFP, refusing to givehis surname.

“When it was calmer, with the men on my street, weorganized ourselves. We didn’t sleep all night. We pre-pared weapons, collected knives, what we could find.”The authorities insist that extending the shutdown inAfrica’s biggest city to one month is vital to stop avirus that has so far caused 343 confirmed infectionsand 10 deaths in Nigeria. But residents in the usually

frenetic economic hub of 20 million, where more thenhalf rely on daily earnings to survive, complain theyhave been left facing crippling economic hardship andrising crime.

‘I was so scared’ In recent days, inhabitants in a string of districts

across Lagos and neighboring Ogun state havereported a surge in gang attacks. “The criminals havebeen taking undue advantage of the lockdown to dis-possess people of their valuables,” community leaderMufu Gbadamosi said. He has organized people in hisAgbado area of Lagos into groups to man checkpointsand screen people coming into their neighborhoodafter dark. “We shall continue to hold the night vigiluntil the end of the restriction,” he told. Local residentDotun Alabi said it was the hunger and desperationcaused by the lockdown that appeared to be pushingpeople into crime.

“When we arrested two boys, they told us that theytook to robbery in order to find something to eat,” hesaid. Inhabitants in the overcrowded neighborhoods ofLagos’ poor-where millions live squeezed together-are no strangers to gang violence as criminals fre-quently fight for upper hand. But Chioma Okoro, whohas bunkered down in her home in the Agege district,

said insecurity had grown in the past two weeks andratcheted up dramatically over the weekend.

“Now it’s three times, 10 times worse,” she said.She had tried to go out with her husband to get sup-plies but dashed back when she saw a group of youngmen brandishing iron bars, machetes, and homemadefirearms. “I was hearing gunshots yesterday evening, Iwas so scared,” she said. —AFP

LAGOS: A man searches in a bag for his clearancedocument at the main gate to Omole Estate, whoseoccupants were attacked by armed bandits capitaliz-ing on the lockdown in Lagos. —AFP

AU expressesits extreme

concern

Firm offers spouses apartments to avoid ‘coronavirus divorce’ TOKYO: Worried about a “coronavirus divorce”?An enterprising Japanese short-term rental firm ismarketing its empty apartments as a way forstressed couples to get some time apart during thevirus lockdown. “Please consult with us beforethinking about ‘coronavirus divorce’,” the Tokyo-based Kasoku urges customers, offering its Airbnb-

like fully-furnished units as “temporary shelters” forpeople to escape the family, whether to work or justget some peace and quiet.

Japan’s government has declared a state of emer-gency in seven regions over the virus outbreak.While the measures do not include prohibitions ongoing out, people have been asked to avoid unnec-essary outings, schools are closed and many peopleare working from home. For those finding thatarrangement onerous, Kasoku is offering apart-ments priced at 4,400 yen ($40) a day.

Spokesman Kosuke Amano told AFP the compa-ny has had 20 customers since it began the cam-paign on April 3. The service also comes with theoffer of a free 30-minute divorce consultation with

a legal official. “Among the users of this service area wife who said she fled after having a big fight withher husband, and a woman who said she wants timeto herself as she is tired of taking care of her chil-dren who are at home all day because of school clo-sures, while her husband works remotely at home,”Amano said.

“We don’t have solid data showing divorce is onthe rise, but media reports that divorce rates arerising in China and in Russia after lockdowns thereled us to come up with this service,” he added.While the firm is marketing the apartments in atongue-in-cheek fashion, the service has alsoattracted users facing serious problems, including awoman fleeing domestic violence. —AFP

Chinese economy contracts for first time in decades: Survey 1110 11

BusinessEstablished 1961

THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2020

Al-Ahli Bank of Kuwait holds AGM

Oil in the age of coronavirus and a US shale bust

Mideast economy set for deep slump: IMFDUBAI: The Middle East and North Africa economy willcontract by 3.3 percent this year, the biggest slump in fourdecades, hammered by the coronavirus and low oil prices,the IMF said Tuesday.

In its World Economic Outlook, the InternationalMonetary Fund said the damage would be much worsethan the region’s last major shock, the 2008-09 globalfinancial crisis, when it managed to post modest growth.The region, which includes all Arab countries and Iran, willsuffer its worst economic performance since 1978 when itwas convulsed with unrest and shrank by 4.7 percent,according to World Bank data. The IMF said that all theArab countries apart from Egypt will see their grossdomestic product (GDP) fall this year.

Saudi Arabia, the region’s heavyweight which is justemerging from an oil price war with Russia that saw crudeprices crash, is headed for a 2.3 percent contraction.

“The fast deterioration of the global economic outlookas the epidemic has spread and the breakdown of theOPEC+ agreement among oil suppliers have weighedheavily on commodity prices,” the global lender said. Itsreport was prepared before the OPEC+ grouping-whichtakes in OPEC producers and allies-reached agreementon Sunday to cut output by nearly 10 million barrels perday, the largest in history.

From mid-January to end-March, oil prices droppedby 65 percent or $40 a barrel and natural gas pricesdeclined by 38 percent, the IMF said. It also projectedprices to remain below $45 a barrel through 2023, around25 percent below the average last year.

‘Extreme uncertainty’ Arab countries, which have reported more than

20,000 coronavirus cases along with over 700 deaths,have resorted to sweeping lockdowns and curfews to pre-

vent the spread of the disease, disrupting local economies.Years of bloody conflicts in several Arab countries includ-ing Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Libya have already batteredtheir economies and created widespread poverty.

And many Middle Eastern countries, notably the Gulfstates plus Iraq and Iran, depend heavily on oil revenuesto finance their budgets. “These developments areexpected to weigh heavily on oil exporters with undiversi-fied revenues and exports,” said the IMF, adding that low-er oil prices will meanwhile benefit oil-importing nations.

The IMF said that the latest oil output cut will furtherdampen the prospects of the Saudi economy, which grewby just 0.3 percent in 2019. The United Arab Emirates’economy, the most diversified in the region, is projected tocontract by 3.5 percent, while Qatar, the third-largest inthe Gulf, is expected to slide 4.3 percent. Iran’s economy,the second largest in the Middle East, is forecast to shrink6.0 percent in 2020 for its third contraction in a row. In2018 and 2019, it shrank by 3.6 percent and 7.6 percentrespectively.

Iran has been hit hard by the coronavirus, reportingmore than 73,000 cases and 4,585 deaths.

The economy of Lebanon, which has defaulted on itsmountain of debt, is expected to contract by a massive 12percent, while Iraq, OPEC’s second-largest producer, is

headed for a fall of 4.7 percent. Only Egypt is projected tostay in positive territory with 2.0 percent growth althoughthat is way down from the 6.0 percent projected beforethe coronavirus crisis hit.

As a whole, the Middle East and North Africa econo-my, which grew by just 1.0 percent last year, is projectedto rebound by 4.2 percent in 2021, the report said. But theIMF noted that “extreme uncertainty” surrounds its fore-cast because the economic fallout of the pandemicdepends on factors that are hard to predict-including thepathways of the disease and the intensity of containmentefforts.

Deep recessionThe coronavirus pandemic is pushing the global econ-

omy into its deepest recession in a century, cutting worldoutput by three percent this year, and the crisis could getworse, the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday. Thedownturn will slash $9 trillion from the world economy,IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath told reporters as shepresented the latest forecasts in the World EconomicOutlook. If the virus is contained and economies canbegin operating again, 2021 should see a rebound of 5.8percent, according to the IMF. But the authors acknowl-edged the difficulty in making an accurate forecast amidthe rapidly changing situation.

With much of the global economy shut down amidefforts to contain the virus and keep health systems fromcollapsing, the IMF warned that there are “severe risks ofa worse outcome” due to the “extreme uncertaintyaround the strength of the recovery.”

“The cumulative loss to global GDP over 2020 and2021 from the pandemic crisis could be around $9 trillion,greater than the economies of Japan and Germany com-bined,” Gopinath said. The coronavirus has infected nearly

two million people worldwide and killed close to 120,000,bringing travel to a standstill and forcing businesses,shops and restaurants to close.

“Much worse growth outcomes are possible andmaybe even likely,” the report cautioned, “if the pandemicand containment measures last longer... or if widespreadscarring effects emerge due to firm closures and extendedunemployment.”

‘The Great Lockdown’ The report, released ahead of the virtual spring meet-

ings of the IMF and World Bank, said “The GreatLockdown”-as the IMF dubbed the global downturn-isthe worst since the Great Depression of the 1930s. It alsois the first contraction since 2009 during the global finan-cial crisis, but that episode hardly bears comparison.Though the effects lingered, the decline amounted to just0.1 percent, and large emerging market economies werestill growing at a solid pace.

This year, the only economies expected to be sparedfrom recession are China-where the virus originated-andIndia, but even those countries will see only relatively pal-try growth of 1.2 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively. Inthe depression nearly a century ago, the global economycontracted by about 10 percent while advancedeconomies shrunk by 16 percent from 1929 to 1932. TheIMF now expects advanced economies to shrink by sixpercent in 2020. The US economy is expected to contractby 5.9 percent but see growth recover by 4.7 percentnext year. However, the forecasts assume the pandemicwill fade in the second half of the year. The IMF projectsdrops of 7.2 percent in France and 6.5 percent in Britain,but the governments in those countries are even morepessimistic, projecting contractions of eight percent and13 percent, respectively.—AFP

WASHINGTON, DC: A corner of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) building is viewed in Washington, DC. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, will adopt a“virtual format” for their spring meetings instead of convening in person in Washington, DC. — AFP

Pandemic causing severe global recession, it could get worse

MENA economy will contract by 3.3% this year

New iPhone may be coming SAN FRANCISCO: Is now the time to launch a newiPhone?

Despite a pandemic-induced global economic cri-sis, Apple is widely believed to be set to release areduced-priced handset that aims to fill a gap in itslineup, as early as this month.

Google could also follow a similar path, afterSamsung last week unveiled new devices costs lessthan $500. Reports suggest that the new Applehandset, to be called iPhone SE or iPhone 9, couldhave a starting price under $400, and generate somegrowth with the timetable uncertain for a new flag-ship smartphone for the California giant.

“While launching a mid-cycle budget/entry-levelsmartphone into the backdrop of a consumer globallockdown and unprecedented pandemic will be headscratcher to some, we note that Apple is viewing thisas a low volume, low touch release with little fanfareas the phones are already ready to ship,” WedbushSecurities analyst Daniel Ives said in a research note.

Ives said Apple is likely to be able to sell 20 mil-lion to 25 million of the new devices before a newflagship iPhone 12 is ready to ship. Any new smart-phone release would be without the splashy unveilingfor which Apple is known, and would rely on onlinesales with most retail stores closed.

Consumers seeking upgrades South Korean colossus Samsung last week intro-

duced new smartphones that included a modeldesigned to work on much-hyped new-generation 5Gmobile networks and priced less than $500. “Peoplemight have less money to spend, but at the same timethey want better technology,” said CreativeStrategies analyst Carolina Milanesi.

“In the US, where it was very high-end or cheapsmartphones and the middle had disappeared, thatmid-tier has come back.” Milanesi said these newphones could have some appeal to f inancial lystrained consumers, as some high-end devices reachdizzying prices as much as $1,500.

Tis the season Design and production of smartphones launching

this year began long before the coronavirus pandem-

ic, meaning makers are locked into model specifica-tions. “We are getting into the season,” Milanesi saidof escalating rumors that Apple and Google arepoised to announce new handsets.

But some of the new devices may end up beingtimely in appealing to budget-minded consumersseeking an upgrade or replacement. A mid-pricediPhone has potential to appeal to users more inter-

ested features such as cameras, screens, and batterylife and less interested in “gimmicks” prized by earlyadopters, Milanesi maintained.

“This is not a response to coronavirus for sure; itjust seems to suit the market better,” she said.

Apple has remained mum on any iPhone plans.Google has been known to introduce devices at itsannual developers conference, which was slated fornext month but cancelled due to the pandemic.

The likely entry for Google would be a Pixel 4A-asuccessor to its reduced-price sibling for its flagshipPixel smartphone. Analyst Patrick Moorhead of MoorInsights and Strategy said Apple and others arebeing forced to consider the economic upheaval.

“Forced to choose between buying a new iPhoneand eating, people will chose to eat,” Moorhead said.

“It’s important for Apple to just not lose iPhonesales.” It remains to be seen if the new devices cangenerate traction during the deep economic slump.The new models will be arriving at a time of surginguse of desktop or laptop computers by people stay-ing home instead of being out and about relying onsmartphones, according to Milanesi. “A lot of peopleare home, so mobility is not a top priority,” the ana-lyst said. — AFP

Despite a pandemic-induced global economic crisis, Apple iswidely believed to be set to release a reduced-priced handsetthat aims to fill a gap in its lineup. — AFP

Thursday, April 16, 2020B u s i n e s s

Established 1961

Chinese economy contracts for first time in decades: Survey

GDP may shrink to 1.7%, a dramatic drop from 6.1% expansion of last year

10

BEIJING: China’s economy contracted for the firsttime in around three decades in the first quarter as thecoronavirus crisis brought the country to a standstill,according to an AFP poll of economists.

The world’s second-largest economy tanked in thefirst three months of the year as factories closed, con-sumers were compelled to stay home and the virusspread to other countries. Analysts from 14 institutionsexpect China’s economy to have shrunk 8.2 percent froma year ago in the first quarter-the first contraction sincequarterly data started to be reported in the early 1990s.

They also forecast that full-year gross domesticproduct (GDP) growth will come in at 1.7 percent, adramatic drop from the 6.1 percent expansion loggedlast year and well below the pre-coronavirus predic-tion. If the forecast is accurate, it would represent theworst annual growth since 1976, the year CommunistParty Chairman Mao Zedong died.

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday gavean even more dire estimate of 1.2 percent growth in2020. While many businesses in China have resumedwork, the coronavirus pandemic has brought othereconomies to their knees around the world with manykey trading partners under lockdown.

The IMF said the pandemic will cut world outputby three percent this year. Economists differed on theimpact of the coronavirus on China’s economy, withfirst-quarter contraction estimates ranging from 4.6percent to 15 percent.

Larger fall than expected China’s downturn is “more disappointing than any-

one expected”, said Moody’s Analytics economist XuXiaochun. He also noted that China’s workforcereturned to work slower than anticipated, pointing to asignificant contraction in the first quarter.

While labor supply will not be an issue in April andgreater fiscal and monetary support for the economyis expected, “it will not be enough to overcome theheavy drag from suppressed world demand for theremainder of the year”, he added. The slow return towork also bodes badly for jobs, and the unemploymentrate has already risen from last December.

Economists at ANZ Research noted in a recentreport that double-digit contractions in economic indi-cators for the first two months had not been followedby a strong bounce-back in March. Labor flows werealso not back to pre-virus levels, especially in majorproduction bases, they said. “This is despite the cen-tral government’s efforts in encouraging workers toreturn to the cities where they work, such as the relax-ation of travel restrictions,” they added.

Difficult recovery Although the virus situation in China has largely

improved, JP Morgan chief China economist ZhuHaibin said: “External risks will likely restrain theexpected second-quarter recovery in China’s export-related manufacturing activity.” Lockdowns in othercountries could disrupt global supply chains, while

fears over imported cases will probably cause a slowerreturn to normal life, delaying the recovery of China’sservice consumption and domestic demand, Zhuadded.

Raphie Hayat, senior economist at Rabobank,added that the short-term impact of COVID-19 isexpected to be “greater than the Great Financial Crisisof 2008/2009”, with the fallout hurting China’sgrowth. HSBC chief China economist Qu Hongbinwarned that the shock to external demand should not

be seen as a mere trade contraction.“US-China trade tensions last year showed us that

an external demand shock can rapidly lead to a mate-rial deterioration in domestic demand growth,” he said.

The hit to supply chains is “deeper and moresprawling” this time, he added. “As we are now fore-casting a contraction or very weak growth in almost allAsian countries this year, the impact of the headwindsthis year for China could be much deeper and morebroad-based compared with last year.” — AFP

Worst annual growth rate

since 1976

LIANYUNGANG: Containers stacked at a port in Lianyungang in China’s eastern Jiangsuprovince. China’s foreign trade fell again in March even as businesses returned to work afterthe coronavirus outbreak, with the global pandemic weighing on the manufacturing power-house’s outlook. — AFP

KUWAIT: Kuwait’s experience of Middle EastRespiratory Syndrome, a strain of coronavirus thatfirst emerged in 2012, has stood it in good stead torespond effectively to the current COVID-19 pandem-ic. Several of the Gulf state’s hospitals already featuredtriage units specialized in respiratory illnesses, withventilation systems designed to prevent health careworkers from becoming infected.

Building on this head start, Kuwait implementedstrict precautionary measures after its first cases ofCovid-19 were recorded in late February.

All non-cargo flights in and out of Kuwait were sus-pended as of March 13, making it the first Gulf state toground all passenger flights. On this date mosques andpublic spaces such as parks and beaches were alsoclosed, while on March 22 a nationwide curfew wasimposed. Schools and universities were likewise sus-pended, with the date set for their re-opening pushedback until August 4 at the earliest. All state institutionswill be closed until at least April 25.

Meanwhile, the five-star Al-Kout Beach Hotel andAl-Khiran resort have been repurposed as quarantinecenters, and the International Fairgrounds in Mishrefare being used as a field hospital and testing center.These coordinated responses are intended to slow thespread of the pandemic: Kuwait recorded its firstCovid-19 fatality on April 4, while as of April 14 it hadregistered a total of 1355 cases and three deaths.

Stimulus and SME supportIn tandem with efforts to boost the resilence of the

health care sector, the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK)has been taking steps to mitigate the economic andsocial fallout from the pandemic. On March 16 theCBK cut its benchmark interest rate by 100 basispoints, to 1.5 percent. The bank also asked lenders topostpone loan repayments from companies particular-ly affected by the crisis.

Then on April 2 the CBK announced it was launch-ing a substantial stimulus package.

Geared towards supporting key sectors and smalland medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the packagemodified regulations and macroprudential policy tools,as well as making available $16.5bn for additional

lending from local banks. The CBK also cut capitaladequacy requirements by 2.5 percent, and eased therisk weighting for SMEs, down to 25 percent from 75percent.

“The recently-announced stimulus package willprovide a very robust and effective defence againstthe short-term damage caused by the coronavirus,”Alok Chugh, Partner, Government and Public SectorLeader MENA at Ernst &Young, told OBG. “SMEshave been at the center of the CBK’s vision, and thereduction of the credit-risk weighting from 75 percentto 25 percent has enabled banks to substantiallyincrease their lending to SMEs and thus provide themwith very effective support during this crisis.”

Short-term headwindsThe CBK has underlined that it is well placed to

implement significant measures: following the globaleconomic crisis of 2008, the bank put in place protec-tive policies that have given rise to a strong capitalbasis and substantial reserves. Nevertheless, in lateMarch Moody’s placed Kuwait’s Aa2 rating on reviewfor a downgrade, in light of a significant decline ingovernment revenues.

Standard & Poor’s likewise downgraded Kuwait’slong-term sovereign credit to “AA-” from “AA”. Theratings agency cited both the global fall in oil pricesand the relatively slow pace of fiscal reform in thecountry. It also noted that the pandemic had highlight-ed Kuwait’s lack of a sovereign debt law.

In a much-anticipated development, MSCI hadbeen set to upgrade Kuwait from ‘frontier market’ to

‘emerging market’ status in May this year. However,while the Kuwaiti equity market continues to meet allthe criteria, in light of Covid-19 this has been pushedback until November. Another major development thathas been postponed is the acquisition of Bahrain’s AhliUnited Bank by Kuwait Finance House. The mergerwas given final approval in April, but will now takeplace in December this year.

Participation in regional and global effortsMore broadly, and despite the disruption caused to

global commerce and travel, Covid-19 has providedKuwait with an opportunity to strengthen internationalties. In mid-March Kuwait announced it was to pro-vide financial assistance to regional neighbors Iraq,Palestine and Iran in their responses to the virus.Parallel to this, Kuwait donated $40m to the WorldHealth Organization to support its efforts to combatthe pandemic.

Then, on April 7, Chinese ambassador Li Minggangmet Abdullah Al-Afasi, the undersecretary of theKuwaiti Ministry of Commerce and Industry, to dis-cuss cooperation between the two nations over Covid-19, and how Kuwait could obtain medical suppliesfrom China. Four days later, following a conversationbetween Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hiscounterpart in Kuwait, His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, a rapid response team of15 doctors and healthcare professionals was sent fromIndia to the Gulf state. The team is expected to stay fortwo weeks, supporting testing and treatment andtraining personnel.

OBG special report

Kuwait’s coordinated response to COVID-19Investment strategies in current environmentDUBAI: As recently as mid-February, equity marketswere near all-time highs, oil prices were above $50per barrel, volatility was low and credit markets werefunctioning well. Since then, the global market selloffacross all asset classes has been sharp, driven by out-look uncertainty and the search for liquidity. Withmajor indices plunging to new lows amid the news ofthe effect COVID-19 has had on global economies,investors are looking for ways to isolate risk and cap-italize on investment opportunities.

What lies ahead?While the bad news about COVID-19 is likely to

continue over the next couple of weeks as countriesbrace for a surge in numbers, equity markets couldcontinue to get hit in the near-term before the posi-tive impact of major stimulus packages takes root.Each recent policy decision taken by governmentsand central banks to support their economies hasconsequences for assets and securities. “In suchtumultuous circumstances it is easy to lose convictionin the fundamental principles of investing, but thesewill certainly survive this crisis just as they have allprevious ones,” says Georg Elsaesser, SeniorPortfolio Manager, Invesco Quantitative Strategies.“We need to keep a balanced perspective.”

One of the basic principles of investing is thatsecurities markets are always forward looking. Thisprinciple is embodied in the dividend discount model,which is a quantitative method used to predict theprice of an asset based on the sum of its future cashflows discounted by an appropriate risk-adjusted rate.While small changes in the expectations of future cashflows or the discount rate can induce the same impacton return, the resulting long-term effects are different.Negative shocks to returns driven by an increase indiscount rate tend to be more transitory, whereasnegative shocks driven by cash flows could have alonger-term impact on companies. A factor approachcan help, whether the crisis gets much worse or ulti-mately proves less severe than expected.

How to proceedWith global markets in turmoil, factor investing

provides a method for investors to screen for oppor-tunities by scanning securities for attributes that seekto increase exposure to factors, or quantifiable char-acteristics, that the investor believes will deliver thebest risk-adjusted returns. Due to the low correla-tion factors have with each other, diversifying acrossfactors is one way to weather different economicenvironments, as some factors are less sensitive toeconomic shocks than others. “For instance, we havefound that the equity factors producing the bestreturns in the equity market downturn have beenquality, low volatility and momentum, whereas otherfactors have exhibited greater sensitivity such as val-ue, size and yield,” comments Elsaesser. A diversifiedmulti-factor portfolio provides an inherent hedge ifthe crisis were to worsen or the recovery occursmore swiftly.

Impact on local investorsZainab Kufaishi, Head of Middle East and Africa,

Invesco, comments: “Current market prices arereflecting the near-term effects of coronavirus.Whether we have witnessed the bottom of the marketis yet unknown. Uncertainty is still high, so volatilityis likely to remain high. But to the long-term investor,this effect is one of disruption, not damage. The vastmajority of our investors in the Middle East have along-term horizon with their investments, and shouldnot try to foresee which factor will do well in theshort-term. It is important not to forget the basicframework of diversification, discipline and time infactor investing.”

Coronavirus knocking US retail sales WASHINGTON: US retail sales likely suffered a recorddrop in March as mandatory business closures to controlthe spread of the novel coronavirus outbreak depresseddemand for a range of goods, setting up consumer spend-ing for its worst decline in decades. The report from theCommerce Department on Wednesday would come asmillions of Americans are thrown out of work, andstrengthen economists’ conviction that the economy is indeep recession. States and local governments have issued“stay-at-home” or “shelter-in-place” orders affectingmore than 90 percent of Americans to curb the spread ofCOVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the virus, andabruptly stopping the country.

“The economy is almost in free fall,” said Sung WonSohn, a business economics professor at LoyolaMarymount University in Los Angeles. “We will see thebottom when the coronavirus infection rates stabilize.It’s going to be a pretty deep bottom from which tocome up.”

According to a Reuters survey of economists, retailsales probably plunged 8.0 percent last month, sig-nalling the biggest decline since the government startedtracking the series in 1992. Retail sales fell 0.5 percentin February. Last month’s anticipated drop in retail sales

will reflect depressed receipts at car dealerships, withlight vehicle sales crashing in March. With millions athome and crude oil prices collapsing amid worries of adeep global recession, gasoline prices have dropped,which is expected to have weighed on sales at servicestations last month.

In addition, the closure of non-essential retailers prob-ably knocked sales at clothing, sporting goods and furni-ture stores. Steep declines are also expected at restau-rants and bars, which stopped in-person service andmoved to take-out and delivery service. Though some

businesses, including restaurants, have shifted to onlinesales, economists say the volumes are insufficient to closethe gap from social distancing measures.

Difficult month The drag on sales from social restrictions is expected

to far outweigh an anticipated surge in receipts at onlineretailers like Amazon, and grocery stores and pharmaciesas consumers stocked up on household essentials such asfood, toilet paper, cleaning supplies and medication.

“March was likely a difficult month for retail sales asthe country adjusted to stay-at-home and social distanc-ing policies related to COVID-19,” said Ben Ayers, a sen-ior economist at Nationwide in Columbus, Ohio. “Manycar dealerships closed down operations altogether, whilethose that remained open have seen fewer customers thannormal despite on-line activity.”

Excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materialsand food services, retail sales are forecast decreasing 2.0percent in March, which would be the largest fall sinceDecember 2018. These so-called core retail sales wereunchanged in February. Core retail sales correspond mostclosely with the consumer spending component of grossdomestic product. With March’s anticipated decrease,economists are forecasting consumer spending plungingat an annualized rate of at least 5.0 percent in the firstquarter, which would be the weakest performance sincethe second quarter of 1980.Consumer spending accountsfor more than two-thirds of US economic activity. It grewat a 1.8 percent pace in the fourth quarter, with the over-all economy expanding at a 2.1 percent rate over thatperiod. —Reuters

WASHINGTON: US retail sales likely suffered a record dropin March as mandatory business closures to control thespread of the novel coronavirus outbreak depresseddemand for a range of goods, setting up consumerspending for its worst decline in decades. — AFP

Thursday, April 16, 2020

11B u s i n e s s

Established 1961

Trump says close to plan to reopen economy WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said onTuesday he is close to completing a plan to end thecoronavirus shutdown and reopen the battered USeconomy with some parts of the country likely tobe ready to go before May 1. Standing in the WhiteHouse Rose Garden, Trump said he would “autho-rize” governors - despite doubts from someexperts that the presidency has such powers - toimplement plans in their states at the appropriatetime. He said he would speak to all 50 governorsabout the plan, probably on Thursday by videoconference.

Trump’s coronavirus task force has recommend-ed people across the country follow strict social dis-tancing guidelines through the end of April. Openingsome states before that would go against the guide-lines in their current form. Trump, facing re-electionon Nov. 3 and under pressure to get the economygoing again after millions have been made joblessby the shutdown, said some states should be able toreopen soon, based on a low rate of infections.

“We think that some of the governors will be inreally good shape to open up even sooner” than theend of April, Trump said. “Others are going to haveto take a longer period of time.”

Trump had initially said he hoped to reopen theeconomy by Easter in mid-April, but the mountingtoll of infections and projected deaths forced him toextend federal guidelines for 30 days to the end ofApril. Some medical experts question whether thecountry will be ready by then.

The president drew fire from governors for say-ing on Monday at a contentious briefing that he has“total authority” to order them to reopen.Constitutional experts have doubted he has suchauthority but Trump has not backed down. In aninterview with CNN on Tuesday, New YorkGovernor Andrew Cuomo said he would not followorders from Trump to reopen his state if it wouldendanger New Yorkers, arguing any such movewould create a constitutional challenge that pitsstates against the federal government.

“And the worst possible thing he could do at thismoment - to act dictatorial and to act in a partisan,divisive way,” Cuomo said, referring to the presi-dent’s reelection bid. “Keep the politics out of it.”

Trump said he would not press states to re-open,and indicated each state would have its own individ-ual date for starting the process. “If we’re unhappywith a state, we’re going to let them know we’reunhappy,” Trump said, adding that he would takeaction if health data changed. If numbers went in thewrong direction, he said, “We’ll have to do some-thing that’s ... very serious. We’ll have to maybeclose ‘em up and start all over again. But I don’tthink we’re going to have to do that.” —Reuters

KUWAIT: Al-Ahli Bank of Kuwait (ABK), held itsAnnual General Meeting (AGM) on 14th April, at 10am, with a quorum of 84.4 percent, to discuss thebank’s performance and AGM agenda, subsequentto releasing its financial results for the year ended31st December, 2019.

For the Annual General meeting, ABK took anumber of precautionary measures in line with theguidance of the Ministry of Health, aimed at pro-tecting the health of attendees and shareholders, asthese measures are of utmost importance during theongoing Coronavirus pandemic.

Talal Mohamed Reza Behbehani, Chairman ofABK, opened the Annual General Meeting by wel-coming the attendees and thanked them for theirattendance despite the difficult circumstances thecountry is going through due to the coronaviruspandemic. He presented the directors’ report for thefinancial year 2019, noting that overall the Bankcontinued to perform well with its operating incomelevels increasing. The reduction in net profit wit-nessed in 2019 was the result of a very conservativeprovisioning policy, which was applied on fullysecured but non-performing legacy credits. TheGroup’s asset quality remains very robust, with theNPL ratio at 1.46 percent and NPL provision cover-age of 365 percent. The Capital Adequacy Ratio is ahealthy 18.6 percent, comfortably exceeding theregulatory ratio, with shareholders’ equity at KD599 million.

ABK Group continuedto maintain its strong rat-ings of A+ (stable) and A2(stable) from Internationalrating agencies Fitch andMoody’s, making ABK thesecond best rated conven-tional bank in Kuwait,reflecting its strong capi-tal position, resilient earn-ings capacity, stable fund-ing and liquidity sources.

Domestic operations remain very much centralto ABK’s success, with more than 75 percent ofits total assets based in Kuwait, partially insulat-ing the Bank from external geopolitical risks.ABK’s International operations contributed 30percent of the Group’s Operating Income. ABK-Egypt had another very successful year withOperating Income up 40 percent and Net Profitincreasing 52 percent, while ABK’s UAE opera-tions also performed well with an increase in bothOperating Income and Net Profit. ABK’s DIFCbranch has been extremely successful sinceopening in 2018 and continues to provide vitalservices to customers, offering a convenient off-

shore booking office for local and regional cor-porates, regional loan syndications, and largeproject finance transactions.

ABK’s Structured Finance Division was activelyengaged in government projects in areas such aspower, waste and infrastructure, as part of Kuwait’s2035 plan. ABK recently signed on behalf of a con-sortium of banks, the PPP agreement for the UmmHayman Waste Water Project for $650 million. ABKwas also the Initial Mandated Lead Arranger forALAFCO’s $600 million syndicated loan.

Behbehani stated that despite the current chal-lenges everyone is facing with coronavirus, the

Bank will continue imple-menting its ‘Simplify &Transform’ strategy, withthe aim of delivering newcustomer experiences,digital transformation andoperational efficiency. Inorder to meet the ever-evolving needs of increas-ingly “tech-savvy” cus-tomers, ABK launched arange of digital initiatives,some of which were first

to the market, designed to make accessing bankingservices simpler, easier and more convenient. TheBank also launched the Tasdeed service for Point-Of-Sale (POS) and e-Com Online Payment Gatewaytransactions related to the Kuwait ministries andgovernment authorities during the year.

During 2019, ABK embarked on a range ofCorporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, aspart of the Group’s commitment to make a differ-ence in the communities it operates in. These effortswere strongly supported by ABK staff, who activelyengaged in volunteer programs. Through CSR ini-tiatives, ABK advocates inclusive, social and sus-tainable development and the creation of a more

equitable society. More details can be found in theCSR booklet accompanying the Annual Report andon ABK’s website, eahli.com.

The Bank will continue to invest heavily in localtalent development through training and recruit-ment initiatives, and will look to offer further oppor-tunities for Kuwait’s youth to develop successfulcareers in the banking sector. The GeneralAssembly then moved on to discuss the agenda, andapproved all agenda items. The most importantitems were as follows:

l Approval of the Directors’ Report on ABKfinancial year ended 31st December 2019 andapproval of the External Auditors’ Report on ABKfor the financial year ended 31st December 2019.

l Approval of ABK Financials inclusive of itsBalance Sheet and Profit & Loss Account for thefinancial year ended 31st December 2019.

l Approval to stop the deduction for the com-pulsory reserve account for the financial year end-ing December 31, 2020 which stood at KD 81,010thousand, with the addition of KD 1,512 thousandfrom the profits of the financial year ended 2019.The amount in the compulsory reserve account asat 31st December 2019 is more than half of theBank’s issued and paid up capital of KD 161,917thousand.

l Approval of the recommendation of the Boardof Directors to distribute cash dividends for thefinancial year ended 31/12/2019 at the rate of 7 per-

cent (seven percent) of the nominal value per share(i.e. seven fils per share), to the shareholders regis-tered in the Bank’s shareholders’ records as at theclose of business on Monday 4/5/2020.

The cash dividends shall be distributed to theentitled shareholders, as of Sunday 10/5/2020.

l Approval to authorize the Board of Directorsto buy, sell, or dispose of no more than 10 percent(ten percent) of the Bank’s own shares, according tothe controls and conditions stipulated by the law,decisions, regulations, and instructions of the regu-latory authorities in this regard, and that this man-date continues to apply for a period of eighteenmonths from the date of this Annual GeneralMeeting.

l Approval to authorize the Board of Directorsto issue bonds of all kinds in Kuwaiti Dinars or anyother currency it deems appropriate inside and / oroutside the State of Kuwait and determining theterms and conditions of these bonds. The Board ofDirectors may seek the assistance of those it deemsnecessary to issue bonds after obtaining theapproval of the regulatory authorities.

l Approval to deal with subsidiaries, associates andother related parties during the financial year 2020.

l Approval to grant loans and advances and toprovide guarantees and other credit facilities to itsclient during the financial year 2020, in accordancewith the regulations and conditions that the Bankapplies to third parties.

Al-Ahli Bank of Kuwait holds AGMABK continues to perform well with operating income levels increasing

Strong ratings of A+ (stable)

and A2 (stable)

Talal Mohamed Reza Behbehani

KUWAIT: Talal Mohamed Reza Behbehani welcoming the attendees during the annual general meeting(AGM) on Tuesday.

Oil in the age of coronavirus and a US shale bust HOUSTON/DENVER: Texas oilman Mike Shellmanhas kept his MCA Petroleum Corp going for fourdecades, drilling wells through booms and busts andalways selling his crude to US oil refiners.

But now the second-generation oilman has aban-doned drilling any new wells this year and post-poned some maintenance amid a sharp drop inglobal oil prices and brimming storage tanks. He isconsidering shutting most of his production down,for the first time ever. Oil fields from Texas and NewMexico to Oklahoma and North Dakota are goingquiet as drilling halts and tens of thousands of oilworkers lose their livelihood. Fuel demand hasplunged by as much as 30 million barrels per day(bpd) - or 30 percent - as efforts to fight the coron-avirus pandemic have grounded aircraft, reducedvehicle usage and pushed economies worldwidetoward recession.

“What scares me is not even being able to sellthe product,” the grizzled oil hand said from hisfirm’s San Marcos, Texas, headquarters. Refinersand other buyers are warning they may refuse hisoil once contracts expire this month, he said. Orthey may offer to buy at a price below his costs, sohe is preparing to dip into retirement savings to payemployees, he said.

The governments of global oil producers andconsumers are seeking to make unprecedented cutsto overall supply of some 19.5 million bpd. USPresident Donald Trump heralded the deal to cutsupply as one that would save hundreds of thou-sands of US jobs.

But oil prices fell again this week, dropping asmuch as 10 percent on Tuesday, because even thosecuts may fail to stem the glut. Prices remain farbelow production costs for many US producers,including those in the US shale fields - the scene of

a revolution in the energy industry over the pastdecade that made the United States the world’s topproducer.

Across the United States, up to 240,000 oil-related jobs will be lost this year, about a third ofthe onshore and offshore oilfield workforce, esti-mates consultancy Rystad Energy. The US oil boomdied on March 6, the day Saudi Arabia and Russiaended a four-year pact that curbed output and gaveshale a price umbrella. Shale firms have accruedhefty debt during the years of expansion, leavingthem exposed to the price crash that followed. InMarch, US oil futures tumbled to $20 a barrel, athird of the January price and less than half whatmany require to cover production costs. The Marchdrop led dozens of shale producers to cut spendingand several retained debt advisors.

“As soon as the virus hit and oil prices dropped,they sent everybody home,” said Joel Rodriguez,chief administrator of La Salle County, home ofTexas’s second-most productive oilfield.

Shale oil producers face well closures and“industry wide financial distress” even after theOPEC cuts, said Artem Abramov, head of shale atconsultancy Rystad Energy. In some fields, heexpects regional prices will hit single-digits perbarrel, he said. Spending on oil field services will fall21 percent to $211 billion this year, the lowest since2005, according to researcher Spears& Associates.

Unlike the 2014-2016 oil bust, lenders are notmaking more financing available to producers, saidRaoul Nowitz, head of restructuring at SOLICCapital Advisors. He predicts up to 60 oil producerswill seek protection from creditors this year, andmany will not emerge under new owners. Somebanks are setting up operations to take over andrun failed producers.

Layoff and shut-insOPEC’s cuts may not be deep enough for oil pro-

ducer Texland Petroleum, which operates 1,200 wellsin the Permian Basin, the top US oilfield. US refinerand pipeline operator Phillips 66 asked PresidentJim Wilkes to reduce his deliveries by 15 percent,and another buyer canceled his contract outright.

“We’ve never had a time when we couldn’t sellthe oil we produce. And that’s going to happen thistime,” said Wilkes. Average daily US oil productionthis year will fall 500,000 bpd, to 11.8 million bpdand sink another 700,000 bpd next year, theEnergy Information Administration estimated.Production cuts are too late for workers like JeremyDavis, a 36-year-old who in March lost his businessdevelopment job at Advanced BioCatalytics, whichmakes chemicals for hydraulic fracturing.

“They won’t be fracking many wells for the restof the year,” said Davis, who after 16 years in theoilfield would now consider work outside the oilbusiness. “I can’t wait around for the industry tocome back,” he said. Wall Street investors hadalready pulled back on the shale sector over thepast couple of years because of poor returns, leav-ing producers with limited options for refinancing,said industry executives and analysts.

“There is no more lifeline,” said Lance Loeffler,the finance chief at top U.S. fracking serviceprovider Halliburton Co. PayZone DirectionalServices, a Denver-based driller, threw in the towellast month.

“We could have stayed open and run until themoney was gone but sometimes you just have toknow when to cash in your chips and leave thetable,” said Beth Thibodeaux, chief executiveofficer. —Reuters

Oil fields from Texas and New Mexico to Oklahomaand North Dakota are going quiet as drilling halts andtens of thousands of oil workers lose their livelihood.

JPMorgan, Wells Fargo profits hit WASHINGTON, DC: Earnings plunged atJPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo Tuesday as bothUS banking giants set aside billions of dollars tocover loans vulnerable to the economic devastationfrom coronavirus shutdowns. Pointing to what ChiefExecutive Jamie Dimon called the “likelihood of afairly severe recession,” JPMorgan booked reservesof nearly $8.3 billion, including a build of $6.8 bil-lion in the first quarter.

Wells Fargo announced a reserve build of $3.3billion. Like their counterparts at JPMorgan, WellsFargo executives signaled the number could risefurther. “If confidence does deteriorate and theshelters-in-place stay on for longer, it wouldn’t sur-prise me if the loss estimates would have to go up,”

Wells Fargo Chief Executive Charlie Scharf toldanalysts on a conference call.

“There’s more downside than upside given theuncertainty in this environment.”

The reserves led to staggering drops in first-quarter profits at both banks. Bank of America,Goldman Sachs and other large banks report laterthis week. Like other key US sectors, banks hadenjoyed relatively prosperous conditions until gov-ernment officials instituted a series of lockdownmeasures beginning in March to try to limit thespread of the coronavirus, shocking the economyand sending millions into unemployment.

Both banks are granting relief in the wake ofdownturn, with JPMorgan allowing a 90-day graceperiod on mortgage or credit card payments andWells Fargo suspending property foreclosure sales.

But the reserves announced Tuesday reflect thebanks’ current assessment of where they couldsuffer defaults as the economy struggles to find itsfooting.

Eyeing 20% unemployment JPMorgan Chief Financial Officer Jennifer

Piepszak said the projections are a best guess in acloudy landscape due to the uncertain evolution ofthe virus and the unknowable potential lift from USstimulus programs. “That’s absolutely the hardestthing to try to predict right now,” she said during abriefing with reporters, “the path of the virus andthe path for the economy and when and how itreopens.”

JPMorgan’s economists currently project USunemployment will reach 20 percent in the secondquarter before recovering in the latter half of theyear, Piepszak said.

Dimon hopes the economy can be ramped upsoon, but told analysts, “It won’t be May. You talkabout June, July, August, something like that.” Thebiggest US bank by assets, JPMorgan reported prof-its of $2.9 billion for the quarter ending March 31,down 69 percent from the year-ago period. Revenuedipped three percent to $28.3 billion. —AFP

Thursday, April 16, 2020

12H e a l t h & S c i e n c e

Established 1961

SEOUL: A smartphone tracking app for new air-port arrivals. A “smart city” database of thousands of people infected by the new coronavirus and their contacts. Electronic bracelets that track people breaking quarantine laws. South Korea, among the first countries to bring a major coronavirus out-break under control, is now taking steps to control the disease well into the future, relying heavily on technology and its hyper-connected society.

The aim is to reinvigorate Asia’s fourth-largest economy and keep it humming by building on the country’s success identifying and tracking cases without imposing major mandatory lockdowns or requiring businesses to keep employees working from home, officials say. “Without resorting to lock-downs or bans on movements, we have been able to keep our factories running to a large degree, and this is instilling the idea to the world that we are a safe and transparent production base,” President Moon Jae-in said last week.

South Korea’s evolving playbook is being closely watched in Europe and the United States, where governments are hoping to quickly bounce back from the crisis. “We are in a lengthy tug of war with the coronavirus,” Health Minister Park Neung-hoo said last week. The battle could last months or even years, he said.

Supercharged tracking

South Korea’s virus-containment strategy will build on an intensive contact tracing and testing campaign that experts say has been instrumental in uncovering webs of infections that might otherwise have gone undetected. Besides the testing kits and tracing techniques that have already been rolled out, South Korea plans to build out a “smart city” database and get quarantine violators to agree to

use tracking bracelets. The database was designed to share information between cities on things like traffic and pollution. Health authorities plan to lever-age that network to reduce the time it takes to find and isolate coronavirus cases.

The database will be operated by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), giving epidemiological investigators real-time data feeds on patients, including their where-abouts, times spent at specific locations, CCTV footage, and credit card transactions. That could cut the time needed to trace a patient’s movements from about one day to around ten 10 minutes, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, or MOLIT, which originally set up the “smart city” initiative.

Along with information uploaded by the KCDC, the system compiles data from the National Police Agency, the Credit Finance Association of Korea, three telecommunications companies and 22 credit card companies. Lee Soo-young, a director of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology’s Institute for Artificial Intelligence, said the technology would help investigators track cases more efficiently, even if it raised privacy issues.

However, MOLIT said that investigators will need to obtain police approval to see information, and access to the database will be restricted to a small number of authorized users, ensuring the con-fidentiality of unrelated personal information. MOLIT also said the database information would be deleted when the outbreak was contained. A coalition of 17 human rights groups has expressed privacy concerns about the adoption of the tracking wristbands for people who violate quarantines, cit-ing potential discrimination against patients. In response, the authorities have said that the wrist-

bands would only be used if patients consent.

Testing foreign arrivals Another key to the South Korean virus contain-

ment strategy is stepping up border controls. Around half of new cases in recent weeks have been found in people arriving from overseas, according to the KCDC. Rather than outright bans, South Korea is using widespread testing and technology-enabled tracking to allow people to travel to the country. Mandatory testing and quarantines now apply to nearly all arrivals from overseas, including citizens.

South Korea installed walk-through facilities this month at Seoul’s Incheon International Airport to test anyone who arrives with symptoms. Those who don’t show symptoms will also be tested within three days. All arrivals must download a government app that tracks their location and requires users to report any symptoms. Then everyone, regardless of nationality or whether they tested negative, must self-isolate for two weeks. After the two-week peri-od, the app shows a message saying users are free to delete it from their phones.

Adapting distancing

Health officials say they are also looking to adapt the social distancing policies they called for early in the crisis - urging people to avoid large gatherings or leave their homes, but imposing no actual “stay home” orders - in coming weeks. The government plans to develop more practices in homes, offices, and public places to reduce the risk of another large outbreak, while allowing economic and social life to resume.

Some of the long-term policies being discussed include making workplaces less crowded, and per-

suading Koreans that it is not a virtue to show up at work when sick, Yoon Tae-ho, director general for public health policy at the health ministry said. In a glimpse of what could become long-term practices, the KCDC last week outlined preventive measures for schools, churches and some entertainment facili-ties that included disinfection schedules, guidelines on how close people can be to each other and tem-perature checks.

“Our goal is to be able to control infections in a way that our health and medical system, including personnel and sickbeds, can handle them at usual levels,” Park, the health minister, said. South Korean officials say that means keeping new cases under 50 per day, a level first reached last week. On Tuesday, South Korea reported 27 new cases. The country is also stepping up efforts to improve testing and boost resources for hospitals.

Hospitals are testing all pneumonia patients, and staff at places like nursing homes and medical facili-ties will be regularly tested. Authorities have desig-nated two new hospitals and are building a third to specialize in treating infectious diseases. The gov-ernment, in a supplementary budget, has allocated an extra 135 billion won ($111 million) to build 120 additional isolation rooms, buy more medical equip-ment and specialized ambulances, cover the costs of medical staff handling coronavirus cases, and pre-pare for future epidemics.

New regulations also designate supplies like face masks, safety goggles, disinfectants, protective clothing, and infrared cameras to detect fevers as strategic items that will be stockpiled by the gov-ernment, the Ministry of Interior and Safety said. “We will have to step up our daily hygiene and dis-ease prevention standards,” Yoon said. “It will be a tedious battle, but we have to do this.” — Reuters

Ahead of the curve: S Korea’s evolving strategy to prevent a virus resurgence

Thursday, April 16, 2020

13

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Thursday, April 16, 2020Fe a t u r e s

Established 1961 14L i f e s t y l e

Piano teacher Evan Kam, 28, wearing a face mask, arrives at the village of hisstudents in a ëpiano truckí in Hong Kong. — AFP photos

Alfred Tang (left), 10, and his sister Yoyo Tang (right), 6, are seen in their bed-room before Alfred plays music after they had their piano lesson in a ‘pianotruck’ in Hong Kong.

Piano teacher Evan Kam (left), 28, wears a face mask as he gives hand sanitizerto two of his students, Alfred Tang, 10, and his sister Yoyo Tang, 6, before a les-son in a ‘piano truck’ in Hong Kong.

Piano student Yoyo, 6, wears a face mask during a pianolesson in a ‘piano truck’ in Hong Kong.

In this file photo visitors listen as Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons conducts the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra duringthe “New Year’s Concert 2020” at the Musikverein concert hall in Vienna, Austria.—AFP

Yoyo Tang, 6, plays piano asher mother (right) listens, in

their bedroom, after Yoyoand her brother Alfred, 10,(not seen) had their piano

lesson in a ‘piano truck’ inHong Kong.

Yoyo, 6, frowns with concentration asshe plays the piano in the back of atruck — still able to practice thanks to

an innovative Hong Kong music school keep-ing lessons going during the coronaviruspandemic. While Hong Kong’s infectionsremain comparatively low — just over 1,000cases and four deaths — schools have beenshut since late January and authorities haveramped up social distancing measures inrecent weeks.nSchools and tutoring serviceshave had to switch to online lessons. Butmusic tutors like Evan Kam are trying tokeep personal lessons going — whilst reduc-ing the risk of infection for both teachers andstudents.

“Video teaching doesn’t suit us well aspiano fingerings and gestures are betterinstructed with a teacher by your side,” the28-year-old told AFP. The tutoring centrewhere Kam works saw business plunge by70 percent in February when infections firstcrossed into Hong Kong from mainlandChina. Many students stopped attendingbecause they did not want to take public

transport. Inspired by mobile libraries, thecompany rented three trucks and fitted theminto mobile music classrooms, complete withair-conditioning and soundproof boards.

“We wanted to keep our colleaguesemployed. That’s why we wanted to step outof our comfort zone and see how far we cango,” said Jessica Lam, the firm’s businessdevelopment manager. “We like to offer ourservices directly to where the students live toshorten their travelling time,” she added. Lastweek Kam’s truck was in Ha Tsuen, a remotevillage in northwest Hong Kong, close to theborder with China. After parking, he cleanedthe keyboard, set up an air purifier, sprayed adoormat with disinfectant, and preparedhand sanitizer for his students. Soon AlfredTang, 10, and his sister Yoyo arrived.

Both beginners, Alfred played a gentleballad called “Proud of You”, while Yoyo per-fected a rendition of the notoriously catchy“Baby Shark”. Their mother, who declined togive her first name, said the lessons were ahighlight for the youngsters, who arecooped-up at home for most of the week.

“It’s convenient for us, as we can just godownstairs and take lessons,” she told AFP.“My children mostly just stay at home asschools have been suspended and we don’tgo into town that much.”—AFP

Austria had hoped the year 2020 would be dedi-cated to celebrating the 250th anniversary ofthe birth of composer Ludwig van Beethoven,

who died in Vienna in 1827. But confronted with thecoronavirus pandemic, one of the world’s music capi-tals has been silenced, leaving an entire sector fearingfor its future. Although Austria on Tuesday startedeasing strict confinement measures with shops open-ing again, resuming cultural life for now is still out ofthe question. “The Vienna State Opera usually resem-bles an anthill where 1,000 people are busy,” operadirector Dominique Meyer tells AFP. “Now the placeis silent, and it is emotionally very trying.”

Normally not a day goes by in Vienna when thereisn’t an orchestra performance to listen to or anoperetta to admire or a festival to attend. But it allcame to an abrupt halt a month ago, with concert hallsamong the first to shut their doors when the govern-ment banned large gatherings to fight the spread ofthe new coronavirus. Usually “Vienna offers a culturalprogram comparable to that of a metropolis of fivemillion inhabitants though only 1.8 million live in thecity,” tourist office director Norbert Kettner says.“This is what attracts three quarters of the eight mil-lion annual visitors,” he adds. Three operas, two con-cert halls: usually some 10,000 people crowd thesetemples of music each evening. And people have towait as many as 14 years before hoping to get a sub-scription to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.

‘Vital economic lung’ For the city of carefree waltzes composed by musi-

cians like Johann Strauss, the cultural machine’s haltspells the worst financial disaster since the end ofWorld War II. “The Vienna State Opera usually gener-ates 131,000 euros ($143,000) daily in revenue fromticket sales,” Meyer says. “It is a vital economic lungthat fills six or seven nearby hotels and a lot of restau-rants after performances.” Among those also hit hardare the artists themselves.

“I was to play Arabella in May, go to Toronto, toIstanbul, to Paris,” tenor Michael Schade tells AFP. “Iwill not sing Schubert; 30 concerts are cancelled,”baritone Florian Boesch says. “Performance venuesare invoking force majeure. We don’t receive anycompensation at all.” Contracts are left to expire with-out any offer of compensation — or sometimes termi-nated abruptly, says Laurent Delage, an agent for

opera singers and conductors.

‘Cannot be silenced’ Postponing productions scheduled years in

advance is difficult or even impossible, so set decora-tions and costumes become useless. “When a projectfalls through, an entire microcosm collapses,” operadirector Benjamin Prins says. “Technicians, lightingdesigners, singers: they have given six months of theirlives for rehearsals without a penny as generally, theydon’t get paid until the evening of the premiere.” Inthe absence of unemployment insurance systems, theAustrian government has put in place some support,allowing artists to obtain at least 1,000 euros ($1,100)per month for 16 weeks.

Beyond this, the highly internationalized sectorremains dependent on governments’ decisions to re-open their borders, as well as Austria’s announcementto re-launch its cultural life. But the government hasalready said public events are cancelled until at leastend of June. The Alpine nation of 8.8 million peoplehas reported more than 14,000 cases with more than380 deaths so far, though the surge in new infectionshas subsided. “I’m starting to tell myself that therewon’t be any shows before September,” says Kettnerof the tourist office, adding that “culture is in the DNAof people — we can’t do without it”. Artists likeBoesch vow to keep signing, even without a stage in aconcert hall. “There has never been so much musiconline,” he says. “We cannot be silenced.”—AFP

Cannes film festivaldifficult to hold ‘in original form’

It will be difficult to hold the Cannes film festi-val in its original form in 2020 due to the coro-navirus outbreak, organizers said Tuesday,

adding they were looking at new ways of hostingthe world’s biggest annual celebration of cinema.The festival had already been postponed from itsoriginal mid-May dates to late June and earlyJuly. But organizers said this is “no longer anoption” after President Emmanuel Macron saidcultural festivals could not resume until mid-Julyat the earliest. “It is clearly difficult to assumethat the Festival de Cannes could be held thisyear in its original form,” the organizers said in astatement, adding they were exploring “all con-tingencies” to realize Cannes 2020 “in one wayor another”.—AFP

Five of the world’s biggest luxury watchmakers,including Rolex, Patek Philippe and Chanel,announced Tuesday they would withdraw from

Baselworld to create a new watch fair. Also joined byjeweler Chopard and Rolex subsidiary Tudor, thebrands that for decades were considered pillars of theiconic fair in the northern Swiss city of Basel havedecided to leave and instead create an annual event inGeneva, starting in April 2021, the Foundation HighHorology (FHH) said in a statement. “This departurefollows a number of unilateral decisions made withoutconsultation by Baselworld management,” the state-ment said.

It criticized the fair organizers for, among otherthings, unilaterally deciding to cancel the 2020 edition,which had been scheduled to kick off at the end ofApril, amid concerns over the novel coronavirus pan-demic. It also slammed the organizers’ “inability tomeet the brands’ needs and expectations.” The newshow, which will be organized in cooperation with FHH,will take place in early April 2021 at Palexpo in Geneva,it said. “We have taken part in Baselworld since 1939,”Rolex chief Jean-Frederic Dufour, who is also a boardmember of Montres Tudor, said in the statement.“Unfortunately, given the way the event has evolved...and in spite of the great attachment we had to thiswatch show, we have decided to withdraw,” he said.

The MCH Group which organizes Baselworld said ina statement that it had received the news of theexhibitors’ departure with “great surprise and equallygreat regret.” It stressed that the decision to push thenext edition of its show back to January had beendecided “jointly with leading exhibitors”, and that “thecompanies now ‘migrating’ — including Rolex — spokeout in favor of a postponement to January 2021.” Thecompanies in question “are also represented on theExhibitors’ Committee, where the future vision ofBaselworld has been discussed on several occasionsand has met with a positive response,” it said. “Theintention to move to Geneva has never been mentioned.The MCH Group must therefore conclude that the rele-vant plans have been in preparation for some time andthat the discussions concerning the financial arrange-ments for the cancellation of Baselworld 2020 are nowbeing put forward as an argument.”

Baselworld was long considered the signature eventof the year for the watch industry, but the organizershave in recent years faced a range of criticisms, includ-ing over high costs, prompting several large brands tobid it adieu. Swatch Group, which includes brands likeOmega, Longines and Tissot, slammed the door lastyear to create a new event in Zurich. – AFP

In this file photo taken on March 11, 2020 a skateboarderskates his board past the closed State Opera in Vienna,Austria.—AFP

Algerians stuck in pandemic lockdown and dis-mayed with their government are tuning into anirreverent online broadcaster that is keeping

their protest spirit alive: Radio Corona Internationale.Created in an expatriate’s dining room in the UnitedStates, RCI offers a cocktail of political talk, caustichumor and popular music to give listeners raremoments of freedom amid the gloom of confinement.The one-hour show airs live via Facebook on Tuesdaysand Fridays, the weekdays when “Hirak” anti-govern-ment protesters would take to the streets for the pastyear until organizers suspended the rallies because ofCOVID-19.

Its host is well-known Algerian broadcasterAbdellah Benadouda, 49, who fled his homeland in2014 after falling out with the powerful inner circlearound former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika. “Imissed the revolution,” says Benadouda with regret,referring to last year’s unprecedented popular uprisingthat ended the two-decade reign of the ailing leader.Since then, the protests had continued, demanding thewider dismantling of the political “system” that hasheld a tight grip on the North African country — untilthe pandemic put a halt to them last month. Benadoudasaid that ever since the Hirak movement started inFebruary 2019, “only my body is here in Providence,”the capital of the US state of Rhode Island.

The online station is “a way to reinvent the Hirak inthe time of confinement,” he said, vowing to keepbroadcasting even after the end of the public healthcrisis that has claimed almost 300 lives in Algeria.Benadouda is a former public radio journalist and pre-senter of the offbeat news show “Systeme Dz” on theprivate channel Dzair TV. He left Algeria fearing retri-bution after a dispute with Dzair TV, which is ownedby Ali Haddad, a powerful businessman who was seenas close to the Bouteflika clan and who is now inprison for corruption. —AFP

Thursday, April 16, 2020L i f e s t y l e

Established 1961 15Fe a t u r e s

Mural artist Sulis Listanto posing next to his artwork as local artists jointhe campaign in the fight against the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak inDepok, West Java.—AFP photos

Mural artist Junaidi Sofyan posing next to his artwork.

Mural artists Mastantio (left) and Yahya (right) posing with their artwork.

Mural artists Sulis Listanto (right) and Junaidi Sofyan (left) posing next to thier artwork. Mural artist Mujiono posing with his artwork. Mural artist Dache Samant posing next to his artwork.

Mural artist Liong Fadilah posing next to his artwork. Murals created by local artists.

Mural artist Ray Andree posing next to his artwork.

Algerian author Abdelouahab Aissaoui onTuesday won a prestigious prize for Arabic fic-tion with his novel “The Spartan Court”. Backed

by the UK’s Booker Prize Foundation, the InternationalPrize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) is financed by AbuDhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism. Aissaouiwill receive $50,000 and funds will be provided totranslate the book into English, the organizers said ontheir website. Published by Dar Mim, “The Spartan

Court” is a historical novel that relates the powerstruggle between Ottoman and French colonial powersin Algeria at the start of the 19th century.

Born in the northern Algerian city of Djelfa in 1985,Aissaoui graduated in electromechanical engineeringbefore devoting himself to writing, penning severalbooks and receiving many awards. The Spartan Court“invites the reader to gain a greater understanding oflive under occupation and the different forms of resist-

ance that grow against it,” said Muhsin Al-Musawi,chair of the prize’s five-member judging panel. “Withits deep, historical narrative structure, the novel doesnot live in the past, but rather it challenges the readerto question present reality,” he added, in remarks pub-lished on the IPAF website. “The Spartan Court” waschosen from a shortlist of six novels. The five otherauthors, from Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria will eachreceive $10,000, the organizers said.

They said one aim of the prize, conceived in AbuDhabi in 2007, is to promote the translation of Arabicliterature into English. Due to movement restrictionsimposed by UAE authorities to stem the spread of thecoronavirus pandemic, the winner was announcedonline. Abu Dhabi, capital of the emirate of the samename, has become an increasingly significant culturalhub and hosts the Louvre Abu Dhabi museum. — AFP

An Italian woman who took her pizza-sized turtle out for a walk has beenfined 400 euros ($440) by the Roman

police for breaking strict coronavirus confine-ment rules. Italians need a justifiable reason tobe out on the street in the middle of a pan-demic that has officially claimed more than20,000 lives in the Mediterranean countrysince February. Taking your dog out for a walkis viewed as a good enough reason to leaveyour home. But it seems taking your turtle outfor one is not.

The Roman police said “the 60-year-oldwoman was caught outside her home with-out a justifiable reason” and fined. “Thewoman was walking with a turtle,” the policestatement said. Roman police spokesmanNunzio Carbone told AFP that the womanwas fined 400 euros because it was “not ajustifiable excuse”. Italian authorities report-ed issuing a record 16,545 fines on EasterMonday — a national holiday in the largelyCatholic country. Another 13,756 fines wereissue on Sunday. Italians have been jokingon social media about renting out their dogsto anyone who was going stir crazy andneeded a good excuse to go out. Carbonesaid the turtle was “as big as a pizza” but notwearing a leash.—AFP

Around the world countries are hitting theircoronavirus peaks and starting to grapple withquestions about when and how to reopen their

economies. But those people fortunate enough tohave not lost their jobs should be prepared for a “newnormal” when they finally go back to work, sayexperts. Here is a preview of what to expect.

No handshakes, fewer meetings Handshakes are out “indefinitely,” said Tom

Frieden, the former director of the US Centers forDisease Control and Prevention (CDC). Next, officeswill need to start thinking about practical measures.“Can we have doors that don’t have to be opened bypeople? Should we be taking the temperatures of allpeople who enter?” he said in a call with reporters.No-touch hand sanitizer dispensers will becomecommon. Steps may be taken to reduce overcrowdingin common spaces, and computers and phones mayno longer be shared. Mask use will be encouraged,and some workplaces may provide them.

Businesses like supermarkets are already keepingdown the number of people who can enter, placingclear plastic barriers between employees and cus-tomers and enforcing physical distancing — thiscould be extended to all shops, cafes and face-to-face engagements. Offices may also stagger employ-ee hours and have workers come in on different daysso that fewer people are present at a given time —and cut meetings. “One of the positive impacts ofCOVID I hope will be fewer meetings, because thereare just too many meetings,” added Frieden.

More sick days “Staying at home if you are sick may be encour-

aged vs discouraged,” said Brandon Brown, aUniversity of California Riverside epidemiologist.The US has a famously brutal work culture driven inpart by the fact there is no federally mandatory sickleave. As a result, people tend to power throughdespite illness: an October 2019 nationwide surveyof 2,800 workers by the accounting firm Robert Halffound that 33 percent always go in when sick. Thatmay change.

Telework may become more common for many,especially as people have learned during enforcedlockdowns that it is possible. “One thing that wefound out from this pandemic and sheltering in placeat home, is that in-person meetings are not alwaysnecessary. Virtual meetings should be an ongoingoption from here on out,” added Brown.

Counseling provided? The pandemic has already extracted a devastat-

ing death toll, particularly in the hardest-hit regionNew York, and the onus for providing counselingmay fall to great extent on employers. “Don’t forgeta lot of people are gonna go back to work havinglost family members,” said Marc Wilkenfeld, a doc-tor who specializes in occupational medicine atNYU Langone Health. “I think the bigger compa-nies or even the smaller companies are going toneed to address these issues, because you do wanta workforce coming back healthy, physically andmentally.”

Toilet lids and better plumbing Workplaces will continue to hammer home the

message to wash hands regularly and thoroughly, saidBrown. Often touched surfaces will be cleaned morefrequently, but greater attention will need to beplaced on keeping bathrooms clean and improvingplumbing, since there is some evidence that the coro-navirus can be spread via feces. A recent Lancetpaper recommended “do not ignore unexplained foulsmells in bathrooms, kitchens, or wash areas” andincluded tips for improving plumbing like havingfunctioning U-bends that prevent the outflow ofsewage gases.

One step toward mitigating the risk is flushing thetoilet with the lid down, since a flush can release upto 80,000 contaminated droplets and leave themsuspended in the air for hours if it’s not covered,according to a recent Hong Kong study. But manytoilets in modern workspaces lack lids — a trend thatmay be reversed.

Who returns first People over the age of 65 or who have underlying

conditions like heart disease or diabetes are at higherrisk for complications arising from COVID-19 — andtheir return to offices will come later. “When peoplestart to go back to work, I think that it’s going to bethat not everyone goes back at the same time,”Wilkenfeld said.—AFP

From scythe-wielding mon-sters to a globe fending offcoronavirus with an umbrella,

a group of Indonesian artists hasturned to wall murals to help stema growing number of infections.The Jakarta-area artists saw ordersfor their work dry up as the pan-demic hit and decided to use thatextra time to paint the walls of theirneighborhoods and educate thepublic about the deadly disease.“This unnecessary panic moved meto do these murals. I wanted torebuild our spirit so we’ve got thepositive energy back to fightagainst coronavirus,” said artistSulis Listanto. “It’s easier to edu-cate people through pictures.”

So Listanto painted a globebeing attacked by the virus withthe words “Save the world”.Another had a darker tone featur-

ing a cat-like monster carrying ascythe with the words “Covid-19”.Fellow mural artist Yahya — wholike many Indonesians goes by onename — was inspired to paint acolorful montage advising peopleto stay at home. “We used to paintmurals at schools or cafes, but wedon’t have any jobs now,” he said.“Through this work we’re urgingpeople to stay at home and toappreciate health workers.” “Wetried to make the murals colorfuland bright so they can radiate pos-itive energy and keep people opti-mistic in this difficult time,” he said.As of Tuesday, 459 people haddied of the virus with more than4,800 confirmed cases, accordingto Indonesia’s government.—AFP

Thursday, April 16, 2020N e w s

Established 1961 16

Continued from Page 1 1930s Great Depression. Underlining the point,

Europe’s powerhouse, Germany, has been in reces-sion since March, the government there said yester-day. The virus-hit Chinese economy, second only to the US in size, likely contracted for the first time in around three decades in the first quarter, according to an AFP poll of economists.

With tentative hope the pandemic could be past its peak in some European hotspots, many countries are gradually lifting restrictions - to mixed recep-tion. Italy, one of the hardest-hit nations, allowed bookshops, launderettes, stationers and children’s clothing retailers to re-open, but many business owners chose to stay shut. “Open in a desert? Why? Opening a business where no one walks by is dangerous from every point of view,” said Cristina Di Caio, a bookshop owner in Milan.

Spain has allowed work to restart in some facto-ries and construction sites, Denmark opened schools yesterday after a month-long closure while Germany was expected to ease some lockdown measures. Also Wednesday, the European Union is poised to suggest a coordinated “road map” for member states to exit the lockdown.

Citizens elsewhere, however, braced for several more weeks of restrictions - including in India, whose 1.3 billion people will remain in lockdown until May 3 despite uproar from millions of unsup-ported poor. As the virus appeared to be on the retreat in some parts of richer Europe, it is slowly taking hold in Africa, which has seen 15,000 cases and 800 deaths continent-wide - with fears over growing hunger and possible social unrest.

“A lockdown is unenforceable and unsustainable across much of Africa,” said Jakkie Cilliers at the Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies (ISS). “You are trying to do something that is not possible, and you are condemning people to a choice between starving and getting sick,” he said. “It’s not possible for 10 people living in a tin shack... to not go outside for three weeks.”

A similar crisis is emerging in Ecuador, where hunger trumps fear of the virus for residents in run-down areas of the badly affected city of Guayaquil. “The police come with a whip to send people run-ning, but how do you say to a poor person ‘Stay home’ if you don’t have enough to eat?” said Carlos Valencia, a 35-year-old teacher.

However, in parts of the world that saw early out-breaks, things were gradually returning to some semblance of normal - South Korea headed to the

polls yesterday with a big turnout expected despite the disease. Examples of human resilience and gen-erosity continued to lift the spirits. While a 99-year-old British World War II veteran raised millions for health workers by walking lengths of his 25-metre garden using a strolling frame, a man of the same age beat the virus in Brazil. “It was a tremendous fight for me, greater than in the war. In war, you kill or live. Here, you have to fight in order to live, and you leave this fight a winner,” said Ermando Piveta.

Meanwhile, Bahrain has turned a car park near the capital Manama into an intensive care unit with 130 beds for patients infected with the novel coron-avirus, in a first in the Gulf. The new ICU in the cov-ered car park was set up as a precautionary meas-ure in case of a spike in cases of the COVID-19 res-piratory disease, officials said. The small Gulf coun-try, whose population stands at 1.5 million, has recorded more than 1,500 cases, of whom seven people have died and 645 have recovered.

According to official statistics, only three people are currently in critical condition. “The new ICU is a precautionary step in case there are any develop-ments,” Sheikh Khalid bin Ali Al-Khalifa, the Royal Medical Services commander, told reporters at the inauguration on Tuesday. “We are able in record time, in seven days, to establish this unit with 130 beds... working day and night. “This is the first time that such an equipped (temporary) unit has been established in the Gulf.”

The Gulf emirate of Dubai is meanwhile setting up a field hospital in the World Trade Centre which once hosted events and business conferences to prepare for any potential surge of the virus. The hospital will have 3030 beds, 800 of which will be allocated to the ICU, according to Ali Abdulqader, director of engineering at the center. The United Arab Emirates has so far recorded more than 4,500 cases of coronavirus, including 25 deaths.

Bahrain’s new ICU was set up by the defense ministry in cooperation with other government bod-ies, on the third floor of a military hospital which had served as a parking lot. The beds were lined up in three rows as medical staff tested respiratory equipment on Tuesday. Some 800 doctors and nurses have been training to deal with infected patients in critical condition since February, when Bahrain recorded its first cases, according to Nayef Lori, director of the ICU project.

Bahrain has taken strict measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, including restricting movement and halting all flights. The bridge connecting Bahrain with Saudi Arabia - which has the highest number of cases in the Gulf with nearly 5,000 infections - has been closed for weeks. Although many measures remain in place, Bahraini authorities loosened some restrictions last week by allowing some retail stores to open their doors. — Agencies

Trump freezes WHO funds as...

Continued from Page 1 “What seems to be necessary in the absence of

other sorts of treatments are intermittent social dis-tancing periods,” he added.

Widespread viral testing would be required in order to determine when the thresholds to re-trig-ger distancing are crossed, said the authors. The duration and intensity of lockdowns can be relaxed as treatments and vaccines become available. But in their absence, on and then off distancing would give hospitals time to increase critical care capacity to cater for the surge in cases that would occur when the measures are eased.

“By permitting periods of transmission that reach higher prevalence than otherwise would be possi-ble, they allow an accelerated acquisition of herd immunity,” said co-author Marc Lipsitch. Conversely, too much social distancing without respite can be a bad thing. Under one modeled sce-nario “the social distancing was so effective that virtually no population immunity is built”, the paper said, hence the need for an intermittent approach. The authors acknowledged a major drawback in their model is how little we currently know about

how strong a previously infected person’s immunity is and how long it lasts.

At present the best guesses based on closely-related coronaviruses are that it will confer some immunity, for up to about a year. There might also be some cross-protective immunity against COVID-19 if a person is infected by a common cold-causing betacoronavirus. One thing however is almost certain: the virus is here to stay. The team said it was highly unlikely that immunity will be strong enough and last long enough that COVID-19 will die out after an initial wave, as was the case with the SARS outbreak of 2002-2003.

Antibody tests that have just entered the market and look for whether a person has been previously infected will be crucial in answering these vital questions about immunity, they argued, and a vac-cine remains the ultimate weapon. Outside experts praised the paper even as they emphasized how much remained unknown.

“This is an excellent study that uses mathemati-cal models to explore the dynamics of COVID-19 over a period of several years, in contrast to previ-ously published studies that have focused on the coming weeks or months,” Mark Woolhouse, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Edinburgh said. “It is important to recognize that it is a model; it is consistent with current data but is nonetheless based on a series of assumptions - for example about acquired immunity - that are yet to be confirmed.” —AFP

Social distancing needed...

A person walks past a mural thanking healthcare personnel, shopkeepers, French national security, post office staff members and farmers in Paris on Tuesday amid a lockdown in France to stop the spread of COVID-19. —AFP

LONDON: Global oil traders have shrugged off Sunday’s historic output-cutting deal by OPEC and its allies, with prices languishing not far from recent two-decade lows. The market failed to win traction from the deal, which fell short of expectations and resulted from Easter weekend video-conference talks led by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Where are oil prices now?

In late afternoon European deals, international benchmark London Brent North Sea oil stood at $31.04 per barrel, compared with $34.36 last Thursday before talks began. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude meanwhile traded at $21.81 a barrel on Tuesday, down from $26.80. Both con-tracts had crashed late last month on virus-linked demand fears and a Saudi-Russia crude price war. WTI had slumped as low as just $19.27 per barrel on March 30, when Brent had also nosedived to $21.65 per barrel. Those levels were last witnessed in 2002. The collapse prompted top producers to tighten the taps to stop hemorrhaging precious oil revenues.

OPEC producers dominated by Riyadh, and their allies led by Moscow, thrashed out a compromise deal on Sunday to cut production by 9.7 million bar-rels per day from May. Yet traders remain doubtful over the impact because the cuts nevertheless fell short of expectations, amid fears over plunging demand on COVID-19 fallout. “The OPEC+ deal has received the underwhelming reception it deserves, frankly, with producers delivering right at the bot-tom end of expectations after days of talks,” said OANDA analyst Craig Erlam. “This may be the largest ever cut but we are living through an unprecedented event and demand has fallen off a cliff.”

Futures briefly bounced Tuesday after US President Donald Trump tweeted producers were considering cutting 20 million barrels per day. Influential Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman also indicated cutbacks by OPEC and its allies, together with pledges from other G20 nations and purchases by strategic reserves, could remove 19.5 mbpd from the market. “There is still a lot uncertainty over whether the reduction in output will be enough,” said Markets.com analyst Neil Wilson. “Most think OPEC and allies have not done enough to prop up prices in the near term, albeit they do seem to have shown a willingness to prevent a complete collapse.”

Global oil supplies are currently outstripping global demand by as much as 30 million barrels per day, according to Alfa Energy chairman John Hall. “What we have to remember is that the supply-demand imbalance could be as high as 30 mbpd,” Hall told AFP. “A recent figure from OPEC has warned of a figure of 14.7 mbpd, so this cut - although the largest ever - is probably not even half way to what is actually needed to supposedly re-balance the market.”

Rystad Energy predicts oil demand will hit 28 million barrels per day (mbpd) in April and 21 mbpd in May. That is far below “normal” demand of 100 mbpd, according to Rystad. The IMF meanwhile forecast Tuesday that oil prices will likely remain below $43 throughout 2023 due to “persistently weak demand” in a deep global recession sparked by coronavirus. However, the IMF did also admit that the rapidly falling cost of oil - which greases the wheels of the global economy - should nevertheless give a big boost to consumer nations.

Will OPEC deal be respected?

Compliance among OPEC member nations over the cartel’s production quotas has long been a con-troversial topic, analysts agree. “We should not for-get how difficult OPEC found it to comply with the production quotas in the past three years,” said Commerzbank analyst Eugen Weinberg. “In fact, compliance was achieved mainly thanks to involun-tary production outages and over-compliance on the part of Saudi Arabia.”

ING analyst Warren Patterson added: “The group has agreed on historic cuts, and now we have to see whether they will stick to them. “Unlike previous deals, it is hard to see the likes of Saudi Arabia cut-ting output by more than their quota, in order to make up for shortfalls from others, given the scale that they have already agreed to cut.”

What next?

Many industry experts expect the global oil market will remain caught between plentiful crude and virus-ravaged demand for the foreseeable future. “With the coronavirus-led slowdown taking a toll on the global oil demand, the supply side news could be rapidly for-gotten,” said Swissquote Bank analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya. “The historic cut did not spark the market reaction that oil producers were hoping for. “Wide controversies among oil producer nations hint-ed that a further action is probably unlikely.” — AFP

Why has the OPEC-led deal failed to energize oil prices?

Thursday, April 16, 2020

17S t a r s

Established 1961

Yesterday’s SolutionDaily SuDoku

Find the way

This could be a day of technical glitches and mal-functions, Aries. It's frustrating, to be sure, but a little bit funny, too. Everything you touch, from computer to washing machine, seems to groan and shudder before finally breaking. Apparently, today you have the opposite of the Midas touch. Don't take it personally. Instead, use it as an excuse to do something out of the ordinary with your time.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

STAR TRACK

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

Leo (July 23-August 22)

Virgo (August 23-September 22)

Libra (September 23-October 22)

Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

Aquarius (January 20- February 18)

You work hard to reach your goal of financial inde-pendence, Leo. All signs indicate that you're well on your way. Today you could receive some news that makes you realize you aren't there yet. Perhaps a relative calls to say you're no longer his/her sole beneficiary. Maybe your investment statement shows a poor return. This isn't what you expected, but you're still on the right track. It just might take a bit longer to reach your destination.

You're bound to be busy but happy today, Virgo. You'll likely spend the morning doing chores and generally puttering around the house. Don't be surprised if a friend drops by unexpectedly in the afternoon with some important news to share. Your evening could be occupied doing research at the library or on the computer. It seems your friend's news piqued your curiosity about a particular subject.

Don't take any information you receive today at face value, Capricorn. Technical glitches will likely plague you throughout the day. Your bank statement could be incompre-hensible. Bills could show up with an extra zero tacked on. Don't panic. Make some phone calls and get all the facts. Whatever you do, don't let this ruin your day. Everything will get sorted out.

Don't take anything you read or hear today at face value, Aquarius. It's possible that you'll receive some rather distressing news, but before you react in frustration, read the fine print. The news may not real-ly be so bad. In fact, it may not even be true! Take a deep breath and heave a sigh of relief, then get back to your normal routine.

It's likely that you'll receive some unpleasant news today, Pisces. Perhaps there are changes occurring at work that you read about in the morning newspaper. Or it could be that you get a phone call and receive some upset-ting news about an old friend. You'll need to take the informa-tion in stride and not let it ruin your day. With the intensity of the planetary energies at play, you're at risk of overreacting.

Today is filled with socializing, with a strong emphasis on the exchange of information. If you're attending a party this evening, Taurus, be receptive to anyone you meet. It's likely that someone new will arrive who will have a signifi-cant impact on your life. It might be that he or she tips you off about a professional opportunity at work. It's even possible that this person will turn into a romantic interest.

You might want to make an extra effort to tidy up the house this morning, Gemini. It's likely that you'll

have some unexpected guests. Some neighbors could drop by unannounced, or an old friend could call from her car and say she's on her way over. Take it all in stride. Even though you had a lot planned for the day, it will be much more enjoyable if you spend it socializing with friends.

You'll have to let go of your usual drill-sergeant manner and simply let the day unfold as it will. Try as you might, even you won't be able to direct events today, Cancer. You could find your attention diverted from one project to another. It isn't an unpleasant day but a disjointed one. Stay open to all possibilities. You could be surprised by the way things turn out.

This could be a rather intense day for you, Libra. Your mind is filled with plots for novels you want to write and ideas for ways to streamline production at work. Don't you have an "pause" switch? You'd benefit from taking some much-needed time off. You'll find that you can quiet your mind simply by sipping some tea and being still for ten minutes.

This is one day for you to be as flexible as pos-sible, Scorpio. It may be that you begin with a specific list of items that absolutely must be done, but get distracted by some news from a friend or co-worker. What had seemed so important is no longer so, and your day shifts to accommodate this new piece of information. You'll be rather surprised by but no less satisfied with how the day turns out.

You can overcome the intensity of today's plane-tary energies by making a conscious effort stay

positive, Sagittarius. Distract yourself with necessary household chores and errands. Don't forget to take some time out for fun, too. As you work around the house, stop to indulge yourself every few hours. A cup of hot chocolate or a chat on the phone will add a welcome grace note to the day.

Join the dots Crossword

Ionescu to shine in WNBA draftNEW YORK: Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu isset to seize the spotlight in Friday’s virtualWNBA draft, as players and coaches staybehind closed doors amid the coronaviruspandemic that forced the postponement ofthe league’s upcoming season.

Ionescu, the first NCAA player to score2,000 career points, 1,000 rebounds and1,000 assists, is all but assured to becomethe first overall pick, with the disciple of thelate Lakers great Kobe Bryant set to be-come a force in the league.

“She’s got everything you want in theskill set but the number one thing peopletalk about is her competitiveness and com-petitive fire,” ESPN analyst and hall offamer Rebecca Lobo told reporters Mon-day. “That’s the thing that can separate thegreat ones.”

The guard is expected to land with theNew York Liberty, who limped their way toa 10-24 record last season and are lookingto rebuild at their new Barclays Centerhome in Brooklyn. Liberty head coach WaltHopkins praised the 22-year-old for her“phenomenal” leadership skills.

“She’s not somebody who just standsback and says what to do - she’ll comedown on teammates but it’s in a way that’sconstructive and you can watch their body

language as they take that feedback,” Hop-kins told reporters.

“It’s not easy to be that type of a leaderbecause you have to be doing everythingyou’re saying in order to have the credibil-ity.” Her coronation will occur as much ofthe pro sports world is on hold and with theannual NCAA tournament wiped from theschedule last month, leaving one fewer op-portunity for under-appreciated players todistinguish themselves.

“Usually this time of year, when we’retalking to coaches or GMs, there’s one or

two players who they talk about - their draftstock skyrocketed throughout the course ofthe NCAA tournament,” said Lobo. “Wedidn’t have a chance to see those players orhave those experiences.

“There’s always a player who can makeher mark in big moments and we missed outon all of that.” The Women’s National Bas-ketball Association earlier this month an-nounced it would push back the start of itsregular season, which was originally sched-uled to run from May 15-Sept. 20 due to thecoronavirus.— Reuters

Thursday, April 16, 2020

18S p o r t s

Established 1961

PARIS: The coronavirus pandemic has thrown thissummer’s Tour de France into a state of frantic reor-ganisation, but the cycling epic has had to contendwith testing situations over its 116-year history.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s announce-ment on Monday outlawing mass gatherings untilmid-July has left organisers scrambling to find a newstart date for the 2020 edition originally scheduledto get underway in Nice on June 27.

Here AFP takes a brief look at some previous hur-dles the Tour has had to negotiate in its more than acentury long history:

SHOTS AND SKULDUGGERY

In the Saint-Etienne re-gion during the second edi-tion of the race in 1904supporters of localfavourite Alfred Faurephysically assaulted his ri-vals. Shots were fired to re-store order in riotouscircumstances. There wasso much skulduggery going on the top four finisherswere all disqualified. Henri Desgrange, the founderof the Tour, said at the time: “The Tour has beenkilled by the passions it has aroused”.

WORLD AT WAR The day the 1914 Tour de France began, Archduke

Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated in Sara-jevo. The Tour would make it to Paris on July 26 justtwo days before the Austro-Hungarian Empire de-

clared war on Serbia, setting the stage for the out-break of the first World War. For the record BelgianPhilippe Thys won the Tour that year, the last time itwas held until 1919.

20 YEARS ON The 1939 Tour embarked without the German,

Italian or Spanish riders and avoided the north andthe west regions altogether. It ended less than fiveweeks short of the declaration of war made byFrance and England on Nazi Germany. The Tour was

not raced again until 1947.

ROAD BLOCK In 1982, some 300

steelworkers striking overjob losses in the northernFrench town of Denainblocked the road for theteam time-trial, causingthe stage’s cancellation.The Tour has been tar-geted many times bystrikers but had never lost

a stage before or since. However, in 1978 the firstof a two-part stage was annulled when the ridersthemselves put their foot down and refused to con-tinue over a lack of rest time, stopping just short ofthe finish line.

DOPING While France was celebrating winning the World

Cup in 1998 cycling was struck in the heart by theso-called Festina doping affair when customs offi-

cials stopped a vehicle laden with doping products.There was a media storm as police raids and arrestsled to the Festina team being thrown off the race asthe peloton staggered into Paris on a Tour thatended under a cloud and at one time looked unlikelyto finish.

PARIAH The world’s love affair with the Tour was sorely

tested in the ensuing years when cycling fell underthe spell of US Postal’s Texan rider Lance Armstrong,who won from 1999-2005. Armstrong was eventuallystripped of his seven Tour de France titles after ad-mitting to doping. The American is seen widely as apariah not only because of the doping but also be-cause of how he used his power and influence at thetop of the sport to intimidate others whilst trying tokeep a lid on the matter. — Agencies

World Wars, doping scandals: The Tour de France has survived hard times before

World’s love affair with the Tour was sorely tested

NIMES: File photo taken on July 23, 2019 France’s Julian Alaphilippe (front centre), wearing the overallleader’s yellow jersey and cyclists cross the Pont du Gard during the sixteenth stage of the 106th edi-tion of the Tour de France cycling race between Nimes and Nimes, in Nimes. —AFP

Testing situations

Photo of the Day

LATVIA: Pavel Petkuns, freerunning athlete, performs in Latvia. — Photo taken from www.redbullcontentpool.com

NHL tells players to self-quarantine through April 30NEW YORK: The National Hockey League, whichsuspended play on March 12 amid the coronaviruspandemic, on Tuesday extended its self-quarantinerecommendation to players until April 30.

The league had previously advised players to stayat home until yesterday. The NHL said in a statementit was extending the guidelines “following consulta-tion with our medical experts, as well as with repre-sentatives of the NHLPA”.

The recommendation means team facilities will re-main closed to players. It comes a day after NHLcommissioner Gary Bettman said the league is con-tinuing to explore multiple options for resuming play.

“When we’ll have an opportunity to return de-pends on things that we have absolutely no controlover, because it all starts with everybody’s health andwell-being,” Bettman said. “And until there’s a sensethat people can get together, not just to fill our arenasbut even our players to get together to work out, wedon’t know when we can come back.

“But it’s something we’re monitoring on a dailybasis.” He said the league believed players wouldneed two to three weeks to prepare for a resumptionof play once on-ice training could resume.

“As much as we may worry about keeping every-body, not just our players or the NHL family, buteverybody, safe from the coronavirus, we also wantto make sure that our players don’t jeopardize theirhealth by coming back too soon and not being ingame shape,” he said.

Bettman reiterated that the league was consider-ing all sorts of possibilities, such as playing gameswithout fans or at neutral sites. “So we haven’t ruledanything in, we haven’t ruled anything out, and we’llbe prepared to go in whatever direction makes senseat the time.” — AFP

Kareem, oneof NBA game’sgreatest starsNEW YORK: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar isoften overlooked in the debate over whois the greatest NBA player of all time asnames like Michael Jordan, Wilt Cham-berlain, Bill Russell, LeBron James andKobe Bryant dominate the discussion.

Abdul-Jabbar, however, undoubtedlydeserves his place in the pantheon of thegame’s greats. His inscrutable nature,which led him to shun the spotlight earlyin his career, made it easy for some todiscount his jaw-dropping on-court pro-duction. Yet when he retired in 1989 hehad etched his name into Los AngelesLakers folklore as the league’s all-timeleading scorer who won six champi-onships and a record six MVP titles.

Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. was bornon April 16, 1947 in New York City and,as a shy fourth grader, began practicingwhat would later become his unstop-pable “skyhook” shot.

The 7-foot-2-inch (2.18m) centergained national recognition in college,where he scored 56 points in his varsitydebut at UCLA en route to a 30-0 sea-son and a national title. That led theNCAA to ban the slam dunk in an effort

to contain him.The rule change only made him better,

as he perfected the “skyhook” and wonthree consecutive national titles. In 1968Alcindor stirred controversy when heboycotted the Olympic Games in an anti-racism protest, converted to Islam andprivately changed his name to KareemAbdul-Jabbar, which means “noble one,servant of the Almighty”.

He was selected first overall in the1969 NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucksand in his rookie season averaged an as-tonishing 29 points and 15 rebounds pergame, an unthinkable feat for any first-year player in today’s game.

In only his second season he led theBucks to a championship, was named theleague MVP and the finals MVP. Abdul-Jabbar was traded to the Lakers in 1975and had one of the greatest seasons inNBA history in his first year with theteam. He averaged 28 points, 17 reboundsand 4 blocks per game and won the MVPaward despite the Lakers missing theplayoffs that season.

Once paired with point guard MagicJohnson, the duo became one of the mostelectrifying tandems in NBA history asthe “Showtime” Lakers made eight finalsappearances and won five titles whiledominating the league in the 1980s.

Abdul-Jabbar also became more out-going, making a memorable turn as theco-pilot in the 1980 comedy “Airplane!”and appearing in other television showsand movies. — Reuters

Sabrina Ionescu

LONDON: West Ham manager DavidMoyes fears a rash of injuries to playersshould there be a desperate rush to com-plete the Premier League season if thecoronavirus relents sufficiently to allow theresumption of football.

The Premier League has now ditchedplans to get back underway at the startof May and a further complication is thata number of players will be out of con-tract in June.

It has been suggested that clubs mayneed to play up to three games a weekin order to finish this season before the2020/21 campaign gets going.

Moyes would prefer a four-weekbuild-up on the training ground beforethe current Premier League season re-sumes, should lockdown restrictions berelaxed and the Hammers boss fears theconsequences if, as seems likely, clubshave less preparation time.

“I think that four weeks would beideal. But I think three weeks will bethe maximum we get,” Moyes toldbeIN Sports on Tuesday. “Everybody’snow talking about the injuries we’re li-able to pick up either during the three-week preparation time or during theperiod where it looks like we’ll have toplay an awful lot of games in a shortperiod of time.”

West Ham are only above the relegationzone on goal difference but Moyes, in hissecond spell in charge of the east Londonclub, was optimistic about their long-termprospects.

“I want to build a new, energetic, youngteam and I think we’ve just started that,”said the 56-year-old Scottish boss. “Withthe signings we’ve brought in January, try-ing to freshen it up and given us a lot more

youthfulness and direction.”Major League Soccer said Tuesday it’s

hoped for return in mid-May looked “ex-tremely unlikely,” acknowledging it mightnot be possible to play its full season.

“Major League Soccer continues toregularly evaluate the impact of theCOVID-19 pandemic, including how it willaffect our plans for the 2020 season,” the

league said in a statement.“Although we hoped to return to play in

mid-May, that is extremely unlikely basedon the guidance of federal and local publichealth authorities. “Our goal remains toplay as many games as possible, and whilewe currently have enough dates to play theentire season, we recognize at this timethat it may become difficult to do so.”

MLS suspended play on March 12 asthe coronavirus pandemic was shuttingdown sports worldwide.

On March 19 MLS said it would re-main suspended for eight weeks, whichwould have brought them back on May10. With competition on hold indefi-nitely, the league has also imposed atraining moratorium for all clubs, whichwas scheduled to last through April 24.

In an interview with ESPN, Garbersaid that moratorium would be ex-tended “at least a couple weeks”. Gar-ber also said that MLS is exploring

alternative formats for completing the sea-son. “From tournament formats and neutrallocations, ultimately playing an abridgedregular season, but doing everything to getas many games,” Garber said.

He said that if play does resume hethinks it would likely be without fans inwhat he called “MLS Studio” games. Thecommissioner said officials of the North

American league are monitoring theircounterparts in England and Germany asthey implement testing and training proto-cols amid the pandemic.

“We continue to learn more every dayfrom the medical experts, and we expectto have additional details in the coming

weeks regarding when we can return toplay,” the league statement said.

“As we have throughout this process,we will update our fans with every deci-sion, and we thank them for their supportand understanding during this extremelychallenging time.” —Agencies

Thursday, April 16, 2020

19S p o r t s

Established 1961

Hammers boss Moyes fears injury pile-up if Premier League resumes

MLS says mid-May return ‘unlikely’, season could be shortened

David Moyes

Four weeks would be ideal

ATHENS: Greek tennis star StefanosTsitsipas said on Tuesday the coron-avirus pandemic lockdown has givenhim a chance to brush up on his French.The 21-year-old ranked sixth in theworld has returned home with theglobal season on hold due to theCOVID-19 outbreak.

“It’s an opportunity to stay a littlelonger with my family and do things Ididn’t have time to do before,” he saidduring an online chat with Greek PrimeMinister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

“Specifically, right now on a dailybasis I’m trying to learn a little bit ofFrench, it’s something I’ve alwayswanted but I didn’t have time to dealwith and it’s an opportunity now,” Tsit-sipas said.

Mitsotakis had a teleconferencewith outstanding Greek athletes suchas Tsitsipas to thank them for theircontributions in encouraging peopleto exercise at home while observing

the measures.“We do have the opportunity to

change habits and come out of this trialstronger. People will understand theimportance of a healthy lifestyle andmight even discover exercise again,even if at home, and even light jogging,things that are allowed under the cir-cumstances,” Mitsotakis said.

The premier said if April goessmoothly with measures against the ill-ness, the gradual return to normalcymay begin in May, “which will includean increase in sports activities.”

Greece’s world number 20 MariaSakkari thanked and congratulatedMitsotakis and his government forthe positive results in the fightagainst the virus.

“We all understand that it is noteasy, it is something very difficult, weare all grateful. I think I am speakingon behalf of everyone, it is somethingadmirable that you have achieved,”

24-year-old Sakkari said.Olympic pole vault champion Kate-

rina Stefanidi, 30, said things are verydifficult and “the more we sit, the moreit will take us to return to the normality

of things for us.”“We are in a difficult time from now

on, but I think everyone is doing whatthey can at home, on the street, a littleon the beach,” Stefanidi added. — AFP

Stefanos Tsitsipas

Curran ‘can’t wait’to play under Dhoniamid virus threatLONDON: England all-rounder Sam Curransaid Tuesday he still hoped to play under Indiagreat MS Dhoni in the Indian Premier League— and get one over older brother Tom — de-spite the coronavirus pandemic.

Curran, 21, was the most expensive Englandplayer in November’s initial IPL auction, beingsold to the Chennai Super Kings, captained byDhoni, for £590,000 ($742,000) after a suc-cesful 2019 stint with the Kings XI Punjab.

Meanwhile the 25-year-old Tom, also ofSurrey and England, was signed by the Ra-jasthan Royals. But the spread of COVID-19has led to the suspension of all major cricketworldwide. This year’s IPL was meant to starton March 29 before being delayed untilWednesday to coincide with the end of an ini-tial Indian government lockdown.

But with Prime Minister Narendra Modi an-nouncing Tuesday an extension of the lock-down — the world’s biggest covering over 1.3billion people — until May 3, there is no cer-tainty about when, or indeed if, the 2020 IPLwill take place. “No-one knows,” Sam Currantold reporters in a conference call with Tom onTuesday. “It (the IPL) might happen this year,it might be cancelled, but we have to follow thegovernment guidelines.”

Chennai are one of the IPL’s most success-ful teams, having won the tournament threetimes before a dramatic one-run loss to Mum-bai Indians in last year’s final.

‘CHENNAI LEGENDS’ “I was very excited to move franchises,”

said Sam. “Chennai is a great franchise with allthe big names and I can’t wait to play underMS Dhoni. “Hopefully I will play against Tom,hit him everywhere and then hit his stumps.

“Dhoni exudes calm,” added Sam, who saidonly Virat Kohli, Dhoni’s successor as Indiacaptain, could rival him in terms of superstarstatus in cricket crazy India.

“Chennai is quite an older squad so thereare quite a few legends who have made it inthe game,” said Sam. “Hopefully they will belooking to give tips to the younger players, sothat’s something I’m really looking forward to.”

Sam had been preparing for a “massive”three-month stint in Asia after being selectedfor England’s tour of Sri Lanka, which wasabandoned before the start of the Test series.

Tom insisted, however, the lack of cricketwas “nothing in the grand scheme of things”even though it was a “shock to the system”.Sam added: “But you have to appreciate thetime off is quite refreshing.

“Hopefully I’m not one of the players whohas let themselves go and comes back for thecounty season 10 kg too big.”

The lockdown has seen several Englandplayers involved in charity initiatives, with Samhaving raised nearly £10,000 for Britain’s Na-tional Health Service, although he downplayedhis efforts by saying “the smallest thing we cando is raise some money for the NHS”.

The Currans live separately from one an-other and Tom, asked if he was missing seeingSam, replied: “Nah, nice break. Only joking, ofcourse I’m missing the man.”

When cricket resumes the brothers, thesons of the late Zimbabwe all-rounder KevinCurran, hope to fulfil a “dream” by followingtheir Surrey predecessors Adam and Ben Hol-lioake as siblings playing Test cricket in thesame England side. — AFP

IPL cricket made to wait as India extends lockdownNEW DELHI: India’s cricket board remainsoptimistic about playing the lucrative IPLlater this year, a team official told AFP yes-terday, as an extended national lockdown leftthe competition in limbo.

In line with other sports events world-wide, the 13th edition of the Indian PremierLeague, the world’s richest Twenty20 tour-nament, had already been pushed back fromits original start date of March 29.

Officially it was postponed until yester-day but with India and much of the world inlockdown, preventing players from travel-ling and fans attending matches, the tour-nament remains on hold.

After India extended the lockdown onTuesday, the Board of Control for Cricketin India (BCCI) told the eight franchisesthat the tournament has been deferredindefinitely.

“Yes, they have informed us that the IPLstands suspended for the moment,” a teamofficial told AFP on condition of anonymity.“However it is said that they will find a win-dow in the later end of the year to do it.”

There was no announcement on the IPL’sfuture from the Indian board. At the week-end, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly hadshied away from giving a prediction.

“Practically speaking, when life hascome to a standstill everywhere in theworld, where does sport have a future inthis?” he said. The league is a huge revenueearner for the BCCI and is estimated togenerate more than $11 billion a year forthe Indian economy.

Foreign stars have been pushing for anIPL start with Australia’s Steve Smith say-ing he hopes the league will be held “atsome stage”.

Former cricketers including England’sKevin Pietersen have suggested the glitzytournament be shortened from its normaleight-week duration and played behindclosed doors. — AFP

Scottish football in limbo as Dundee delay drags onGLASGOW: Dundee said Tuesday they were still not yetready to cast what threatens to be a deciding vote onplans to cut short the Scottish season because of the coro-navirus. According to the Scottish Professional League,the second-tier side gave an “unequivocal instruction” notto count their ballot after a technical problem held up thedelivery of their vote ahead of a suggested deadline of1600 GMT on Friday.

Soon afterwards, the SPFL released the results on aresolution that said the three lower leagues would finishin the positions they stood at when play was halted be-cause of the pandemic in March. A decision on the Scot-tish Premiership would be taken at a later date if the firstproposal was passed.

The Premiership and clubs in League One and Twohave backed the plan with the required majority of 75 per-cent. But the Championship remains finely balanced, withseven clubs having voted for the plan and two against.

Following days of claim and counter-claim as to what

Dundee had done or meant to do, the Dens Park club saidthey were still undecided despite “positive discussions”about possible league reconstruction.

“Given our discussions and considering all aspects, wedon’t feel we are in a position to comment further on theresolution that was put forward,” said a Dundee statement.

“We understand that this may bring more questionsthan answers and we will look to give a much more sub-stantial account of the past few days at the conclusion ofthis process.” Inverness chief executive Scot Gardiner saida Dundee representative had told several Championshiprivals they had submitted a ‘no’ vote eight minutes beforethe suggested deadline. But SPFL chairman MurdochMacLennan, in a letter written to clubs on Sunday andlater released to the media, insisted he had been told byDundee to disregard any such vote.

This saga could in fact drag on for three more weeksas regulations state clubs do in fact have 28 days to cast aballot. Soon after Gardiner made his comments, Rangers,second in the Premiership behind leaders Celtic, urgedthat SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster and legal advi-sor Rod McKenzie both be suspended, with the Glasgowgiants accusing the league of “farcical” conduct.

Rangers insisted Sunday clubs would be “shocked” toknow the SPFL has the power to issue loans to cash-strapped teams. The league has repeatedly said the sea-son must be completed before prize money can bedistributed. — AFP

Tsitsipas ‘trying to learn’French during lockdown

MLB’s Manfred sayspublic health ‘key’ to baseball’s returnLOS ANGELES: Major League Baseball CommissionerRob Manfred said Tuesday that the season won’t open untilofficials are sure it won’t be a detriment to public health.

Manfred, speaking on the Fox Business program “Morn-ings with Maria,” said MLB officials continue to ponder avariety of scenarios for the resumption of sports in thewake of the coronavirus pandemic.

With so many unknowns, he said, they are more “ideas”than plans. “The only decision we have made, the only realplan that we have, is that baseball is not going to returnuntil the public health situation is improved to the pointthat we’re comfortable that we can play games in a mannerthat is safe for our players, our employees, our fans and ina way that will not impact the public health situation ad-versely,” Manfred said.

“Right now, it’s largely a waiting game,” he added.

“During that period, as you might expect any businesswould, we have engaged in contingency planning. Wethought about how we might be able to return in variousscenarios but again the key is the improvement in the pub-lic health situation.”

The 2020 MLB season was scheduled to open onMarch 26, but has been postponed amid the COVID-19pandemic that has idled sports leagues worldwide.

In the meantime, ESPN reported Tuesday that MLBteams will take part in a “massive” study that will test upto 10,000 people for coronavirus antibodies, which couldoffer researchers a better sense of how widespread thedisease is in major metropolitan areas in the United States.

Scientists involved told ESPN the study, which isbeing run by Stanford University, the University ofSouthern California and the Sports Medicine Researchand Testing Laboratory, wouldn’t necessarily hasten thereturn of the games.

But the tests, which rely on blood drawn via pinprick,can confirm if people had contracted coronavirus, even ifthey never displayed symptoms. Doctor Jay Bhattacharyaof Stanford said MLB’s speedy willingness to participateand the fact that they could marshal a wide range of people— from players and executives through concession work-ers — made them a solid partner in the study. — AFP

SportWorld Wars, doping scandals: The Tour de France has survived hard times before

Ionescu to shine in WNBA draft

Tsitsipas ‘trying to learn’ French during lockdown1918 18

Established 1961

THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2020

Asian football tournaments to go ahead

KUALA LUMPUR: Asia’s top football competitionswill go ahead this year despite the coronavirus pan-demic, a senior official told AFP, although games mayhave to be played behind closed doors.

Windsor John, general secretary of the Asian Foot-ball Confederation (AFC), said he was confident thatthe AFC Champions League and AFC Cup wouldboth be completed. Both tournaments, featuringteams from throughout Asia, Central Asia and theMiddle East, are on hold until at least the end of Juneafter COVID-19 shuttered professional sport world-wide. “Both will be played this year. We still havetime,” John told AFP, adding that new dates for thecompetitions may be known by the end of April. How-ever, John did not rule out matches being playedwithout fans “if that’s what the health authoritiesneed”. The AFC is determined for both tournamentsto go ahead “for sporting reasons and to fulfil com-mercial obligations”, he said. His comments cameafter the AFC on Tuesday announced the indefinitepostponement of all matches scheduled for May and

June due to the virus. The Champions League, the region’s premier club

competition, and the second-tier AFC Cup were bothhalted in March as the pandemic’s spread forced gov-ernments to impose strict travel restrictions. Bothtournaments are on an increasingly tight schedule,with the 32-team Champions League needing tocomplete four rounds ofgroup-stage matches in Julybefore the postponed knock-out phase begins in August.

The group phase of theAFC Cup will also have to becompleted in a rush oncematches resume. The finals forboth tournaments — whichtraditionally take a break inJuly, to avoid the worst of theAsian summer heat — are scheduled to take placein November.

Domestic leagues remain on hold around the

world, including in China where the virus firstemerged, but where football shows no sign of return-ing despite optimism the outbreak is under control.

Asia’s extended shutdown, announced on Tuesday,also affects the two-legged women’s Olympic quali-fying play-off between China and South Korea, whichhad already been moved to June 1 and 9.

The region’s premier clubcompetition was put on hold inMarch as the pandemic spread,and the latest reshuffle meansthe 32-team group stage willhave to be completed in Julybefore the already-postponedknock-out rounds start a monthlater. “Following the continuedpreventive measures and travelrestrictions put in place by sev-

eral governments, the Asian Football Confederationhas decided today to postpone all matches and com-petitions scheduled to take place in May and June

until further notice,” an AFC statement said. “As oneof the first confederations in world football to under-take precautionary measures in light of the COVID-19 outbreak, the latest decision reinforces the AFC’scommitment to ensure the safety and wellbeing ofplayers, participating teams, officials, fans and allstakeholders.”

Less than two of the six rounds of group-stagematches have been completed so far, meaning thecompetition will face severe congestion even if it re-turns in July.

The extended shutdown also affects the two-legged women’s Olympic qualifying play-off betweenChina and South Korea, which had already beenmoved to June 1 and 9. June qualifiers for the men’s2022 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup had alreadybeen postponed.

Football was one of the first sports affected bytravel restrictions prompted by the coronavirus,which has now forced the blanket stoppage of pro-fessional sporting events worldwide.— AFP

ARSTA: AC Milan’s Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic (R) attends a training session of Swedish league team Hammarby IF at Arsta IP on April 13, 2020 in Stockholm. — AFP

We still have time

LONDON: A potential takeover of English Pre-miership side Newcastle by a Saudi Arabian-backed group appeared to move closer on Tuesdayafter legal documents were lodged with the UK’sregulator of companies.

But several other proposed bids to buy the clubfrom Mike Ashley have all come to nothing duringthe controversial British businessman’s 13 years asowner of the northeast side. Those include a 2017proposal put forward by Amanda Staveley’s PCPCapital Partners, who are the firm involved in thelatest possible purchase.

Documents filed at Companies House last weekcame to light on Tuesday, with the papers provid-ing a framework for talks between PCP and Ashley.In January, Ashley was reported to be in talks tosell Newcastle for £340 million ($429 million), with

the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund puttingup most of the cash.

The Wall Street Journal suggested the Saudigroup, led by Staveley and backed primarily byCrown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s wealthfrom the oil-rich state, had been in discussions withAshley for around four months.

While there is no mention of any Saudi partici-pation in the latest Companies House documents,the involvement of Britain’s billionaire Reubenbrothers, David and Simon, has been recorded.

After the collapse of Staveley’s highly-publi-cised previous takeover bid three years ago, Ashleyinsisted all such future negotiations would takeplace in private.

A Saudi purchase of Newcastle would be amajor development in the state’s increasing in-volvement in sport that has seen it stage the re-cent world heavyweight title between AnthonyJoshua and Andy Ruiz and announce plans for anew Formula One racetrack that will host a GrandPrix in 2023.

But critics have accused Saudi Arabia of ‘sportswashing’, saying the government is using sport asa way of distracting attention from its human rightsrecord. — AFP

Possible Saudi takeover of Newcastle closer

MIAMI: World Wrestling Entertainment, a US mediagroup whose wrestlers body-slam their opponentsinto oblivion, has resumed live broadcasting of boutsafter gaining “essential services” status in Florida.

With sports and entertainment events shut downworldwide amid the coronavirus pandemic, WWEwasted no time after Florida’s emergency manage-ment director confirmed it provided an essential serv-ice — along with hospitals, firefighters, groceryproviders and mental health care workers.

A memo sent Friday, based on an executive orderfrom governor Ron DeSantis, confirms essentialservices now include “employees at a professionalsports and media production with a national audi-ence - including any athletes, entertainers, produc-tion team, executive team, media team and anyothers necessary to facilitate including services sup-porting such production - only if the location is

closed to the general public.” On Monday, WWEaired a live episode of its weekly series “Raw” fromits Orlando production facility.

“As a brand that has been woven into the fabric ofsociety, WWE and its Superstars bring families to-gether and deliver a sense of hope, determination andperseverance,” the company said in a statement,adding that it would take “additional precautions” toguard the health and safety of performers and staff.

WWE’s move could conceivably open the door forother sports in Florida. Even before the order, MajorLeague Baseball was reportedly mulling a plan tohold regular-season games at training facilities inFlorida and Arizona in a bid to get the season delayedby the pandemic underway.

Ultimate Fighting Championship, the mixed martialarts organization that has been trying in vain to finda venue to stage a fight amid virus lockdowns, ownsevent space in Florida.

UFC boss Dana White was thwarted in his bid tohold UFC 249 without fans on April 18 at an undis-closed location, reportedly a Native American tribalreservation in California.

The move met with resistance from California Sen-ator Dianne Feinstein and White said that he finallypostponed the event at the request of broadcastersESPN. — AFP

‘Essential’ WWE resumes live broadcasts