Asia Today: China reopens more schools, revives flights

China is reporting five new cases of the coronavirus, as the commercial hub of Shanghai announced the restart of some classes and airlines revive domestic flights

The Associated Press

May 17, 2020, 11:42 AM

5 min read

BEIJING — China reported five new cases of the coronavirus on Sunday, as the commercial hub of Shanghai announced the restart of some classes and airlines revive domestic flights.

Of the new cases, two were imported and three came from the northeastern province of Jilin, which has seen a small spike in infections of unknown origin.

In Shanghai, students retain the option of continuing to take classes online rather than facing virus testing and social distancing measures at schools. As in Beijing and other cities, Shanghai has already restarted classes for middle and high school students preparing for exams.

No new deaths have been reported for the past month, but Jilin added one fatality retroactively, bringing China’s total to 4,634 out of 82,947 cases recorded since the outbreak was first detected in the central city of Wuhan late last year.

Just 86 people remain hospitalized for treatment of COVID-19 while another 519 are in supervised isolation for showing signs of the virus or having tested positive without displaying symptoms.

China now has the capacity to perform 1.5 million nucleic acid tests per day, National Health Commission Guo Yanhong told reporters Saturday.

Meanwhile, the number of domestic flights in China has returned to 60% of pre-outbreak levels, exceeding 10,000 per day for the first time since Feb. 1, the country’s civil aviation regulator reported.

With the summer holidays approaching, numerous tourist sites have reopened, including Beijing’s storied Forbidden City palace complex and Shanghai’s Disneyland resort, although with strict social distancing measures still in place.

In other developments in the Asia-Pacific region:

— INDIA DOCTOR ASSAULTED BY POLICE: A doctors’ group said police in southern India assaulted a doctor for previously protesting a lack of personal protective equipment, the latest case of hostility toward Indian health workers amid the coronavirus crisis. Dr. Srinivas Rajkumar, general secretary of the Resident Doctors Association, said the attack occurred Saturday in Vishakhapatnam, a city in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Videos of a bare-chested Dr. K. Sudhakar being kicked by a police officer were posted on social media, leading to the officer’s suspension. Sudhakar, an anaesthetist at a government hospital, was suspended last month for alleging that the government was not providing enough protective equipment to doctors, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported Sunday. City Police Commissioner R.K. Meena said police found a drunken Sudhakar causing a disturbance on a highway. Sudhakar could not immediately be reached for comment. There have been several attacks on health workers in India since the coronavirus crisis began.

— THAILAND MALLS REOPEN: Thais streamed into shopping malls on Sunday, as the country eased one of the restrictions imposed to fight the coronavirus. The government allowed malls to reopen after the number of new virus cases in Thailand dwindled to single digits for all but one day over more than two weeks. Malls had been closed since March. Measures have been instituted to reduce the danger that the malls will become new infection hotspots. Thermal scanners check temperatures, each shopper must pass through a disinfectant mist at every entrance and everyone must wear a mask throughout their stay. Shoppers also must use their smartphones to register electronically when entering and leaving a mall, and when entering and leaving individual stores. If someone later falls ill, this stored data will be used to trace and contact anyone who may have been in contact with them at the mall.

— 13 NEW CASES IN SOUTH KOREA: South Korea reported 13 new cases of the coronavirus, raising hopes that a new outbreak linked to nightclubs in Seoul may be ending. The additional figures bring the national tally to 11,050 cases, including 262 deaths. The agency says 17,660 are still being tested for the virus. After weeks of slowdown, South Korea’s daily jump marked an average of about 30 cases for several days, mostly associated with nightclubs in Seoul’s Itaewon entertainment district. The daily increase dropped to 19 on Saturday.

— OPERA FOR QUARANTINED AUSSIES: Opera singer Jane Ede will perform Monday for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of live shows, but in an unusual location. Ede, Opera Australia’s principal soprano, will join several other musicians for about 450 guests who have spent two weeks in government-ordered hotel quarantine after returning from overseas. The audience, on their last night in quarantine in the downtown Sydney hotel, will be able to watch the courtyard performance from their balconies, or on their in-room TVs or devices. For the soprano, who has starred in productions of The Marriage of Figaro, La Boheme, Don Giovanni and Falstaff among many others, it will be her first live performance since March. “It will be lovely just to have a really good sing again,” Ede said.

— SRI LANKA REIMPOSES WEEKEND CURFEW: Sri Lanka reimposed a 24-hour curfew this weekend even though the government has begun easing a two-month lockdown. Private businesses and government offices reopened last week. However, at midnight Saturday, authorities again slapped a 24-hour curfew in an apparent move to restrict people’s movements during the weekend. The curfew is expected to be relaxed on Monday morning. Health authorities say COVID-19 is under control in the Indian Ocean island nation. A total of 960 cases have been confirmed, including nine deaths.