EU chief vows to help bring Europeans home

22:45, March 19, 2020

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  Overseas Chinese get help from physicians back home

  File photo: VCGWith China getting the COVID-19 epidemic under control, more Chinese doctors here have joined hands to help the global community, especially overseas Chinese, better contain the fast-spreading pandemic.In Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, which is the hometown of over 700,000 overseas Chinese, most of whom live in European countries like Italy and Spain, a team of more than 20 doctors from Wenzhou Central Hospital have been offering medical advice to overseas Chinese including on how to contain the virus. The doctors had all taken part in the citys fight against the epidemic a month ago.At least seven WeChat groups, each with the maximum 500 members, were launched for overseas Chinese within two days in early March, with questions from each group being answered by doctors in Wencheng county in Wenzhou, said Li Shunhua, deputy director of the countys health bureau.So far, more than 40 such WeChat groups have been launched to provide relief and professional medical advice to over 15,000 overseas Chinese from Wencheng.Yang Zhengfei, 61, who live in Sardinia, Italy, said such online consultation has been a great relief."We Chinese here are really in a panic-Italy is the hardest-hit country in Europe. In addition, confirmed cases have recently been reported here," he said."Most Chinese here cant speak Italian, so its nice to have doctors from our hometown answering our questions and relieving our panic and anxiety. Ive recommended the service to all the Chinese here," he said.The Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, in Hangzhou, launched similar services on Wednesday, allowing overseas Chinese to access domestic doctors through apps such as Alipay.Doctors from the hospital are available online from 6 pm to 11 pm daily, and each inquiry should be answered within 24 hours, according to the hospital.In Anhui province, Zhao Hong, a doctor at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, has offe...

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  UN expert urges states to help secure homes in virus crisis

  A United Nations expert called Wednesday for governments to help prevent people from falling into homelessness during the coronavirus crisis by enabling them to defer mortgage payments and by imposing moratoriums on evictions.Reporters and photographers work Tuesday, March 3, 2020, at the site in South Seattle where King County will be placing several temporary housing units like the one shown here to house patients undergoing treatment and isolation in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus. (Photo: AP)In addition, interest rate cuts to combat the economic effects of the pandemic should not be taken as a green light for "predatory" investors to buy up homes, said Leilani Farha, the UN special rapporteur on adequate housing.The independent expert -- who does not speak for the UN but reports her findings to the world body -- called on governments to prevent homelessness brought on by job losses and economic hardship.Farha praised countries already observing a moratorium on evictions due to payment arrears and allowing deferrals of mortgage payments.The expert called on states to consider using vacant units and short-term rentals to get through the crisis, and ensure that any curfews or instructions to stay at home do not penalise the homeless.The coronavirus outbreak, which first emerged in China late last year, has quickly marched across the globe, infecting nearly 200,000 people and killing almost 7,900.The United States and Britain are leading a multi-billion-dollar global fightback against economic havoc wreaked by the pandemic, with the US Federal Reserve on Sunday slashing borrowing costs to zero."There is a risk that such measures will enable global financial actors to use the pandemic and the misfortunes of many to dominate housing markets without regard for human rights standards, as they did in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis," Farha said."States must prevent the predatory practices of institutional investors in the ...

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  EU chief proposes ban on 'non-essential' travel into bloc

  EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Monday proposed that the bloc close its borders to non-essential travel, as Europe scrambles to fight the spread of the coronavirus disease.A man adjusts his face mask at the Atocha train Station in Madrid on March 16, 2020. (Photo: AFP)"The less travel, the more we can contain the virus. Therefore... I propose to the heads of state and governments to introduce temporary restriction on non-essential travel to the European Union," she said.