Governments around the world are scrambling to contain the spread of COVID-19, which is growing globally even as transmission in China, where the virus originated at the end of last year, continues to show signs of slowing.
There are more than 93,000 cases around the world – the overwhelming majority in China – but as deaths are reported in Italy, Iran and the United States, authorities are considering new quarantine zones and travel restrictions.
More:
As the number of deaths rose in Iran and Italy, Poland, Morocco, Andorra, Armenia and Argentina all confirmed their first cases of the virus in the past 24 hours.
Here are the latest updates:
Wednesday, March 4
13:45 GMT – Facebook to help combat virus misinformation
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO, is stepping up his effort to fight against virus-related misinformation.
“We’re focused on making sure everyone can access credible and accurate information,” Zuckerberg said in a post on his Facebook account.
“Given the developing situation, we’re working with national ministries of health and organizations like the WHO, CDC [US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and UNICEF to help them get out timely, accurate information on the coronavirus,” Zuckerberg posted, adding that the WHO will be given free advertising.
13:40 GMT – Iran cancels Friday prayers in major cities amid outbreak
Friday prayers in Iran have been canceled across all provincial capitals amid the country’s growing coronavirus outbreak, state television said.
Friday is the main congregational day of prayer in Islam, and traditionally an important event for Iran’s clerical rulers.
The announcement comes as Tehran and other areas canceled Friday prayers last week over the outbreak.
13:30 GMT – Italian tourists quarantined in India
A group of 17 Italian tourists taken to a quarantine facility in New Delhi have tested positive for the coronavirus.
The group entered India before the country began screening passengers from Italy. Their Indian tour bus driver was also found to be infected.
India has confirmed 28 cases of the coronavirus as of Wednesday, up from the earlier figure of five.
13:15 GMT – Italian govt to close schools, universities to contain coronavirus
The Italian government has decided to close schools and universities across the country until mid-March in a further attempt to contain the worst coronavirus outbreak in Europe.
The government shuttered schools and universities in the worst-affected regions in northern Italy some 10 days ago and quarantined a handful of towns at the epicentre of the outbreak.
However, the contagion has spread with at least 79 people dying and more than 2,500 infected.
Coronavirus: Italy to close all schools and universities
12:49 GMT – Saudi Arabia suspends Umrah pilgrimage
Saudi Arabia has temporarily suspended Umrah pilgrimages to the two holy cities of Mecca and Medina for Saudi citizens and the kingdom’s other residents over coronavirus concerns, the state news agency SPA said.
The decision will be reviewed regularly and reversed when the situation changes, SPA said, citing an official source in the Saudi interior ministry.
11:07 GMT – Iran death toll rises to 92
Iran’s health ministry said the coronavirus has killed 92 people, up from 77 the day before, while the number of infections rose to 2,922.
Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour announced the new figures at a news conference in the capital, Tehran.
The virus has sickened top leaders within the Islamic Republic’s government. Iran stands alone in how the virus has affected its government, even compared to hard-hit China, the epicenter of the outbreak.
People wearing face masks in downtown Tehran [Vahid Salemi/AP Photo]
10:45 GMT – Malaysia announces 14 new cases
Malaysian authorities announced 14 new cases of the coronavirus, adding that the spike was the result of a second wave of infections that began late last month.
“After 11 days of no reported cases, a second wave (of infections) began on the 27th February 2020,” Noor Hisham Abdullah, director-general of Malaysia’s health ministry, told a news conference in Putrajaya.
“This makes the total cases of COVID-19, so far, 50 cases, while 22 of them have been discharged,” he said.
10:36 GMT – Coronavirus affected almost all Iranian provinces
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said the outbreak of novel virus has affected almost all of Iran’s provinces.
“This disease is a widespread disease,” he said, according to the official presidency website.
“It has reached almost all our provinces and in one sense it’s a global disease.”
10:32 GMT – Coronavirus deadlier than flu, but containable: WHO
COVID-19 has killed 3.4 percent of cases globally, a figure far above the seasonal flu’s fatality rate of below 1 percent, according to the WHO.
But the global spread of the new virus can still be controlled.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased to 240, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) said.
According to RKI, fifteen of Germany’s 16 states have now reported cases of the virus, with North Rhine-Westphalia being most affected.
Coronavirus crisis management group in the western German district of Heinsberg near Aachen [Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters]
09:23 GMT – First death reported in Iraq
A 70-year-old man has died in northern Iraq after contracting the coronavirus, according to the official Iraqi News Agency.
The death in Sulaimaniyah, in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, is Iraq’s first coronavirus death.
The man was diagnosed after his health deteriorated, the report quoted the Sulaimaniyah health directorate as saying.
08:57 GMT – Median incubation period 5-7 days, maximum 14
The Chinese Medical Association has said the median incubation period of the new coronavirus is five to seven days and the maximum 14 days.
Speaking at a press event in Beijing, Du Bin, chairman of the Critical Care Medical Branch of the Association, also said that while in Hubei province some individuals tested positive for the virus even after being discharged from hospital after treatment, there is no data tracking such cases.
He added there was no evidence yet that such patients can transmit the virus – which originated in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, late last year – to others.
08:33 GMT – How the Gulf responded to the outbreak
Gulf countries have responded to the coronavirus outbreak by introducing travel bans, stepping up screening measures at entry points and rescheduling – in some cases cancelling – significant sports and cultural events.
Read more about the measures taken by Gulf countries aimed at curbing the spread of the virus here.
08:28 GMT – Takeda Pharmaceutical says developing coronavirus drug
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd said it is developing a drug to treat high-risk individuals infected with the coronavirus.
The Japanese company said in a statement it is also studying whether its currently marketed and pipeline products may be effective treatments for infected patients.
“As a company dedicated to the health and well-being of people around the world, we will do all that we can to address the novel coronavirus threat,” Rajeev Venkayya, president of Takeda’s vaccine business, said in a statement.
08:19 GMT – France to regulate price of antibacterial gel
France will regulate the price of antibacterial gels after prices were reported to have shot up since the coronavirus outbreak began in December last year, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said.
A decree regulating the price will be published during the day, Le Maire told French BFM Business radio.
A pharmacists’ union on Wednesday said the price rise was unacceptable and called for government intervention.
A sign reading ‘We are out of stock of hydroalcoholic gel’ on the counter at a pharmacy in Marseille [Daniel Cole/AP Photo]
08:12 GMT – Russia suspends export of masks
Russia has suspended the export of surgical masks and medical gear, including bandages and one-use chemical protection suits, according to a government resolution, amid fears over the spread of the coronavirus. It added that the suspension would not affect exports being made for humanitarian reasons.
Russia has not reported any confirmed cases of people contracting coronavirus while inside the country, though six people who got infected elsewhere have received or are receiving treatment in Russia.
“It is mainly necessary to prevent a so-called ‘artificial deficit’ in certain medical items – masks, respirators, antiviral agents that speculators can export abroad,” Industry Minister Denis Manturov said.
A passenger wearing a surgical mask travels on a Metro in Moscow [Maxim Shipenkov/EPA]
08:02 GMT – Poland confirms first case
Poland has confirmed its first coronavirus infection, Poland’s Health Minister Lukasz Szumowski said.
Szumowski said the patient is in hospital in Zielona Gora, western Poland, adding that he is in good condition.
07:55 GMT – India confirms new cases, bringing total number of cases to 28
India’s health minister has announced that 14 out of 21 Italian tourists have tested positive for the coronavirus.
In remarks to ANI news agency, said the total number of cases in the country now stood at 28. All flights and passengers will now be subject to universal screening, he added.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan: 14 out of 21 Italian nationals have found positive for coronavirus. They have been sent to at Indo-Tibetan Border Police’s (ITBP) quarantine facility in Chhawla. pic.twitter.com/IJqP1e13tT
07:47 GMT – Hong Kong residents due to arrive from Wuhan in first chartered flight
The first chartered flight evacuating residents of Hong Kong from Wuhan – the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak – is scheduled to arrive in Hong Kong at 09:10 GMT.
07:04 GMT – Greece confirms eighth case
Greece’s health ministry has confirmed one more case, bringing the total number of infected people in the country to eight.
The new case in the second city of Thessaloniki is a Greek citizen who is closely related to an earlier infected person.
06:47 GMT – Japan’s Hokkaido island reports three new cases
Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido reported three more cases of coronavirus infections, bringing the total to 82 in the prefecture, which accounts for the highest number of infections among Japan’s prefectures.
The new cases are all men, one in his 50s and the other two in their 60s, the prefecture said on its website.
06:42 GMT – Ireland confirms second case
Irish health authorities have confirmed a second case of the coronavirus in a woman in the east of the country who recently travelled to northern Italy, according to Ireland’s Department of Health.
“Today we are confirming that Ireland has diagnosed one new case of COVID-19. The case arises in a female in the east of the country and is associated with travel from northern Italy,” Dr Tony Holohan, chief medical officer with the Department of Health told reporters.
03:50 GMT – Air New Zealand deep-cleaning three planes after COVID-19 case
Air New Zealand is deep cleaning three of its planes after it was confirmed a woman diagnosed with the country’s first case of COVID-19 travelled on its flight from Singapore to Auckland, as well as on two regional flights.
In a statement on its website, the airline’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Ben Johnston said the airline was working with the Ministry of Health to identify and contact passengers who were on the flights.
02:50 GMT – South Korea’s Moon calls off Middle East trip
South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in has called off a mid-March trip to the UAE, Egypt and Turkey because of the coronavirus, according to the presidential Blue House.
“In response to the recent nationwide spread of COVID-19, we have decided not to go ahead with trips,” spokesman Kang Min-seok said in a statement.
The outbreak in South Korea is the largest outside China.
Remarks by Pres. Moon(@moonriver365) During Visit to Armed Forces Daejeon Hospital
“I’d like to extend gratitude to the military once again for doing all it can to respond to the outbreak.”
— The Office of President Moon Jae-in (@TheBlueHouseENG) March 3, 2020
02:45 GMT – Olympics will go ahead as planned
Sports events around the world have been cancelled as a result of the coronavirus, heightening speculation around the fate of the Olympics, which are due to start in Japan in a few months.
This morning, top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told journalists Japan was planning to hold the games as planned.
On Tuesday, Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto had noted there could be a delay under Japan’s contract with the International Olympic Committee.
01:50 GMT Further slowdown in China
China’s data continues to show the outbreak there slowing. There were 119 new confirmed cases to the end of March 3, compared with 125 the day before.
An additional 38 people died on March 3, bringing the death toll in mainland China to 2,981.
China has now had 80,270 cases since the virus first appeared in Wuhan late last year.
01:40 GMT Further spike in South Korea cases
The latest data from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) shows 516 new cases of coronavirus in the country – a day after President Moon Jae-in declared “war” on the infection.
South Korea now has 5,328 cases with 32 deaths in the largest outbreak outside China. The KCDC updates the data twice a day.
00:15 GMT – Nursing-home worker confirmed with virus in Australia
A woman who works in a nursing home in northern Sydney has been confirmed to have the coronavirus, raising concerns for the elderly people who live there.
The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper says the woman is in her 50s and picked up the virus locally – the third such case in Australia.
Breaking: A Sydney woman in her 50s, the third locally acquired case of coronavirus, has been identified as an aged care worker at a facility near Macquarie University https://t.co/7Bf59SfptC
00:00 GMT – Australian supermarkets ration toilet roll
Australia’s biggest supermarkets are rationing toilet paper after a wave of panic-buying.
#toiletpapergate and #toiletpapercrisis were the top two hashtags on Twitter in Australia on Wednesday.
Australians are not the only ones panic-buying. We have seen it happen in Singapore and Indonesia, while on Tuesday, it seems New Yorkers were clearing shop shelves of cleaning products.
Shelves in a New York shop cleared of cleaning products amid a growing coronavirus outbreak in the US [Brendan McDermid/Reuters]
Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s live blog on the coronavirus outbreak.
I’m Kate Mayberry in Kuala Lumpur, taking over from my colleague Usaid Siddiqui.
A recap of Tuesday’s developments:
The number of deaths surged in Italy and Iran.
In the US, the death toll now stands at nine with the outbreak centred on a nursing home but there are concerns the infection may have been spreading in the community for some time.
In more positive news, the number of new cases in China appears to be slowing. The WHO says global understanding of the virus is increasing and more governments are announcing concrete plans to deal with the outbreak.
Skinstitut Holiday Gift Kits take the stress out of gifting
Toronto, October 31, 2024 – Beauty gifts are at the top of holiday wish lists this year, and Laser Clinics Canada, a leader in advanced beauty treatments and skincare, is taking the pressure out of seasonal shopping. Today, Laser Clincs Canada announces the arrival of its 2024 Holiday Gift Kits, courtesy of Skinstitut, the exclusive skincare line of Laser Clinics Group.
In time for the busy shopping season, the limited-edition Holiday Gifts Kits are available in Laser Clinics locations in the GTA and Ottawa. Clinics are conveniently located in popular shopping centers, including Hillcrest Mall, Square One, CF Sherway Gardens, Scarborough Town Centre, Rideau Centre, Union Station and CF Markville. These limited-edition Kits are available on a first come, first served basis.
“These kits combine our best-selling products, bundled to address the most relevant skin concerns we’re seeing among our clients,” says Christina Ho, Senior Brand & LAM Manager at Laser Clinics Canada. “With several price points available, the kits offer excellent value and suit a variety of gift-giving needs, from those new to cosmeceuticals to those looking to level up their skincare routine. What’s more, these kits are priced with a savings of up to 33 per cent so gift givers can save during the holiday season.
There are two kits to select from, each designed to address key skin concerns and each with a unique theme — Brightening Basics and Hydration Heroes.
Brightening Basics is a mix of everyday essentials for glowing skin for all skin types. The bundle comes in a sleek pink, reusable case and includes three full-sized products: 200ml gentle cleanser, 50ml Moisture Defence (normal skin) and 30ml1% Hyaluronic Complex Serum. The Brightening Basics kit is available at $129, a saving of 33 per cent.
Hydration Heroes is a mix of hydration essentials and active heroes that cater to a wide variety of clients. A perfect stocking stuffer, this bundle includes four deluxe products: Moisture 15 15 ml Defence for normal skin, 10 ml 1% Hyaluronic Complex Serum, 10 ml Retinol Serum and 50 ml Expert Squalane Cleansing Oil. The kit retails at $59.
In addition to the 2024 Holiday Gifts Kits, gift givers can easily add a Laser Clinic Canada gift card to the mix. Offering flexibility, recipients can choose from a wide range of treatments offered by Laser Clinics Canada, or they can expand their collection of exclusive Skinstitut products.
Brightening Basics 2024 Holiday Gift Kit by Skinstitut, available exclusively at Laser Clincs Canada clinics and online at skinstitut.ca.
Hydration Heroes 2024 Holiday Gift Kit by Skinstitut – available exclusively at Laser Clincs Canada clinics and online at skinstitut.ca.
LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?
It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.
Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:
Apple
The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.
For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.
You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.
Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.
Google
Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.
When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.
You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.
There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.
Facebook and Instagram
Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.
When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.
The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.
You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.
TikTok
The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.
Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.
X
It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.
Passwords
Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?
Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.
But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.
___
Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.
The Canadian Paediatric Society says doctors should regularly screen children for reading difficulties and dyslexia, calling low literacy a “serious public health concern” that can increase the risk of other problems including anxiety, low self-esteem and behavioural issues, with lifelong consequences.
New guidance issued Wednesday says family doctors, nurses, pediatricians and other medical professionals who care for school-aged kids are in a unique position to help struggling readers access educational and specialty supports, noting that identifying problems early couldhelp kids sooner — when it’s more effective — as well as reveal other possible learning or developmental issues.
The 10 recommendations include regular screening for kids aged four to seven, especially if they belong to groups at higher risk of low literacy, including newcomers to Canada, racialized Canadians and Indigenous Peoples. The society says this can be done in a two-to-three-minute office-based assessment.
Other tips encourage doctors to look for conditions often seen among poor readers such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder; to advocate for early literacy training for pediatric and family medicine residents; to liaise with schools on behalf of families seeking help; and to push provincial and territorial education ministries to integrate evidence-based phonics instruction into curriculums, starting in kindergarten.
Dr. Scott McLeod, one of the authors and chair of the society’s mental health and developmental disabilities committee, said a key goal is to catch kids who may be falling through the cracks and to better connect families to resources, including quicker targeted help from schools.
“Collaboration in this area is so key because we need to move away from the silos of: everything educational must exist within the educational portfolio,” McLeod said in an interview from Calgary, where he is a developmental pediatrician at Alberta Children’s Hospital.
“Reading, yes, it’s education, but it’s also health because we know that literacy impacts health. So I think that a statement like this opens the window to say: Yes, parents can come to their health-care provider to get advice, get recommendations, hopefully start a collaboration with school teachers.”
McLeod noted that pediatricians already look for signs of low literacy in young children by way of a commonly used tool known as the Rourke Baby Record, which offers a checklist of key topics, such as nutrition and developmental benchmarks, to cover in a well-child appointment.
But he said questions about reading could be “a standing item” in checkups and he hoped the society’s statement to medical professionals who care for children “enhances their confidence in being a strong advocate for the child” while spurring partnerships with others involved in a child’s life such as teachers and psychologists.
The guidance said pediatricians also play a key role in detecting and monitoring conditions that often coexist with difficulty reading such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, but McLeod noted that getting such specific diagnoses typically involves a referral to a specialist, during which time a child continues to struggle.
He also acknowledged that some schools can be slow to act without a specific diagnosis from a specialist, and even then a child may end up on a wait list for school interventions.
“Evidence-based reading instruction shouldn’t have to wait for some of that access to specialized assessments to occur,” he said.
“My hope is that (by) having an existing statement or document written by the Canadian Paediatric Society … we’re able to skip a few steps or have some of the early interventions present,” he said.
McLeod added that obtaining specific assessments from medical specialists is “definitely beneficial and advantageous” to know where a child is at, “but having that sort of clear, thorough assessment shouldn’t be a barrier to intervention starting.”
McLeod said the society was partly spurred to act by 2022’s “Right to Read Inquiry Report” from the Ontario Human Rights Commission, which made 157 recommendations to address inequities related to reading instruction in that province.
He called the new guidelines “a big reminder” to pediatric providers, family doctors, school teachers and psychologists of the importance of literacy.
“Early identification of reading difficulty can truly change the trajectory of a child’s life.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
