Ian Johnston

24/08/2021

China reports no new local Covid-19 cases for first time since July, as Delta outbreak wanes.

China reported no new locally transmitted Covid-19 cases on Monday for the first time since July, according to its National Health Commission (NHC), as authorities double down on the country's stringent zero-Covid approach.

China has been grappling with the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant since July 20, when a cluster of Covid-19 infections were detected among airport cleaning staff in the eastern city of Nanjing.

Since then, it has spiraled into the worst outbreak China has seen since 2020, spreading to more than half of the country's 31 provinces and infecting more than 1,200 people. The surging cases driven by Delta were seen as the biggest challenge yet to China's uncompromising zero tolerance virus policy.

Local authorities responded by placing tens of millions of residents under strict lockdown, rolling out massive testing and tracing campaigns and restricting domestic travels.

The strict measures appeared to be working. Daily infections have fallen steadily over the past week into single digits, down from more than 100 from its peak two weeks ago.

And on Monday, the country reported 21 imported cases and zero locally transmitted symptomatic infections -- the first time no local cases have been recorded since July 16. It also reported 16 asymptomatic cases, all of which were imported too, according to the NHC.

China keeps a separate count of symptomatic and asymptomatic cases and does not include asymptomatic carriers of the virus in the official tally of confirmed cases.

If the trend continues, China could become the world's first country to control a major Delta outbreak.

21/08/2021

Hurricane Grace is now a category 3 storm as it closes in on Mexico

Hurricane Grace is closing in on Mexico with sustained winds of 120 mph and poised to make landfall early Saturday, according to forecasters.

The category 3 hurricane will bring heavy rain this weekend that is likely to cause flooding.

The center of Grace is about 50 miles offshore, the US National Hurricane Center said in its 11 p.m. update. Conditions along the coast are beginning to deteriorate with heavy rain and tropical storm-force winds moving onshore.

Veracruz, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Hidalgo, Querétaro and eastern San Luis Potosí could see 6 to 12 inches of rain with isolated totals up to 18 inches through Sunday, the hurricane center forecasters predicted.

"Once the center of Grace moves inland over the mountains of central Mexico, the cyclone should rapidly weaken and then dissipate ... However, its remnants appear likely to move into the eastern Pacific and lead to the development of a new tropical cyclone in that basin later this weekend or early next week," the hurricane center said Friday afternoon in its discussion about the storm.

A hurricane warning is in effect for Mexico's coast from Puerto Veracruz north to Cabo Rojo. A warning means hurricane conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area in the next 36 hours; a watch indicates hurricane conditions are possible in that area in the next 48 hours.

Additionally, a storm surge of 4 to 6 feet above normal tide levels is possible, according to the hurricane center. Swells across the area are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.

"Near the coast, the surge will be accompanied by large and destructive waves," the center said.

20/08/2021

This 'imperfect' virtual influencer is challenging beauty standards in China

"Your skin's a bit dry," one user commented on a video posted by Angie, a popular influencer who first appeared on Chinese social media last fall. "You should apply a face mask."

In the video, uploaded to Douyin, the original Chinese version of TikTok, Angie's skin looks bumpy and uneven. A gaping yawn reveals slightly crooked teeth.

She doesn't have "the face of a celebrity," another user remarked.
I learned to love my freckles. After this week's social media debate, will China?
Typical influencers might clap back with a comment, but Angie is not a typical influencer -- she's not even a real person.

Angie is an imperfect virtual personality. She may still be conventionally pretty, but unlike China's other virtual influencers, Angie doesn't pose in designer clothes, walk the runway or promote new songs. Instead, she sports simple white tees, sips Coca-Cola and yawns on screen.

Sometimes she can be seen with a flushed face, and even zit or two. And her down-to-earth persona is clearly resonating on Douyin, where she has amassed over 280,000 followers to date.

19/08/2021

Singapore sentences Briton to six weeks in prison for not wearing face mask

A man reading a newspaper sits on an unmarked safety distancing marker at a train station on April 21, 2020 in Singapore.

A Singapore court sentenced a British man to six weeks in prison on Wednesday, local media reported, after he repeatedly breached coronavirus protocols by refusing to wear a face mask in public.

Benjamin Glynn, 40, was found guilty on four charges over his failure to wear a mask on a train in May and at a subsequent court appearance in July, as well as causing a public nuisance and using threatening words towards public servants.

Glynn was earlier subjected to a psychiatric assessment ordered by the judge as a result of his conduct and remarks in court.

On Wednesday he asked the court to drop what he called "unlawful charges" and asked for his passport to be returned so that he could go back to Britain to be with his family, according to media outlet CNA.

19/08/2021

19/08/2021