Author: web Desk

 

GEORGE TOWN, July 31 — The third edition of Penang state-level Family Day 2021, celebrated online for the second straight year following the COVID-19 pandemic, has lined up various exciting activities to promote quality time among family members.

 

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said in this year’s celebrations, themed ‘Happy Family, Bright Future’, organisation of various appropriate online activities had been selected to enable all family members to participate, starting today until Aug 28, through the Facebook page of the Penang Women’s Development Corporation (PWDC), as the event co-organiser.

 

“Parents can take this opportunity to strengthen family ties with various activities at home according to their priorities and suitability,” he said after officiating the Penang state-level Family Day 2021 celebrations via Zoom webinar in Komtar, today.

 

 

Meanwhile, the state Social Development and Non-Islamic Religious Affairs Committee chairman, Chong Eng said among the interesting activities that had been lined up included virtual training, creative board games and artworks as well as online forums that would help family bond.

 

She hopes the public can take advantage of the month-long celebrations and spend quality time with their loved ones.

 

“According to the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, in April 2021, quality time with family, as well as good family relationships can lead to lower mental health symptoms.

 

 

“The same report also stated that a good family environment also increases children’s resilience and has a positive impact on their mental health,” she said.

 

She added that the Women and Family Development Committee (JPWK) and the Village Community Management Council (MPKK) will help any families affected by the pandemic in terms of home-based business projects, as an initiative in supporting those who have lost their income.

 

“I would like to assure everyone that the state government will always be with the people, to face this challenge together as we are fully aware of the difficult situation that the people are going through at this time,” she said.

 

 

 

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

SEPANG, July 31 — The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry (KPWKM) has urged all nursery operators registered with the Social Welfare Department (JKM) to apply for the special assistance under the People’s Well-Being and Economic Recovery Package (PEMULIH) before Aug 31.

 

Minister Datuk Seri Rina Mohd Harun said RM13.2 million had been allocated for the benefit of about 4,400 nursery operators.

 

“The purpose of the aid  is to ease the burden of the operators in managing the centres and help them bear the cost of disinfecting the premises and all other facilities in ensuring that the centres adhere to the latest standard operating procedures (SOP),” she said after presenting PEMULIH aid to five nurseries here today.

 

 

Rina said so far, 1,101 operators have applied for the one-off assistance of RM3,000 for institutional child care centres, workplace and community day care centres and RM800 for those who operate from their homes.

 

“Of the 1,101 applications, over 600 have been approved and those who have not submitted their application, have until Aug 31 to do so through the district JKM office or the JKM website.

 

“The approval will not take long and the operators are only required to submit the basic documents,” she added.

 

 

At the event today, the RM3,000 special assistance was presented to Taska Nur Qasih Ixora, Taska Daun Biru and Taska Cahaya Permata Dengkil  while two home-based nurseries each received RM800.

 

 

 

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

The WHO said Friday that Japan was doing its best to minimize the risk of Covid-19 spreading during the Tokyo Olympics but stressed there was no such thing as zero risk.

The World Health Organization’s warning came as Japan extended a virus state of emergency in Tokyo and expanded the measure to four more regions as it battles a record surge in infections a week into the pandemic-postponed Games.

“There is no zero risk. There could be less or more risk. And then, for things to happen with low risk, you try your best,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual press conference from the UN health agency’s Geneva headquarters.

Japan and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) “did their best to minimise risk, because nobody should expect zero risk”, he said.

 

“I know that they have done their best, and we have supported them all along.”

Across Japan, new virus cases topped 10,000 for the first time on Thursday, and a string of government officials and health experts have warned that the more contagious Delta variant is fuelling a dangerous surge.

Tedros went to the Olympics opening ceremony and also addressed the IOC in Tokyo.

On Friday he called on the world to draw on the Olympic spirit of unity to bring the pandemic to an end, and said his IOC speech was aimed at using the Games as the biggest platform to spread the message.

Morally ‘wrong path’

“Do you really accept 1.5% vaccination in Africa while in some countries it’s already 70%?” he said.

“Don’t we need a platform like the Olympics to go and tell the truth that the world is actually morally, epidemiologically and economically doing the wrong things?

“We are taking the wrong path and we need to use the spirit of the Olympics to correct it.”

He said the image of an Olympic torchbearer wearing a mask would remind the world of the pandemic for generations to come.

“It shows that we are doing this in very difficult conditions when we are taken hostage by a dangerous virus. But at the same time, it shows me the determination to fight back.”

WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan said the Games organisers and the IOC had comprehensive risk management measures in place, with strong surveillance, regular testing of athletes and delegates, and the use of quarantine and isolation.

“The true drivers of this pandemic are not within the Olympic Games; they’re really related to the deep inequities we have in the distribution and availability of vaccines,” Ryan said.

He said the Olympics were founded on fair play and Tedros’s trip to Tokyo was to urge the world to do likewise with regard to the distribution of vaccines to combat Covid-19, which is hitting some countries “very unjustly and very unfairly”.

 

Source: Voice of America

 

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the delta variant of the coronavirus is as contagious as chickenpox and that infections in vaccinated people may be as transmissible as in the unvaccinated.

Internal CDC documents, first obtained by The Washington Post, urged staff to “acknowledge the war has changed” in light of the delta variant.

The CDC said the variant requires a new approach to help the public understand the danger, adding that evidence shows the delta variant may pose a greater risk for hospitalization and death.

The agency also emphasized that vaccines are highly effective at preventing infections, severe disease and death. The CDC said that while the vaccinated are less likely to get sick, they might be just as likely as those who are unvaccinated to pass the disease to others.

 

Top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said during an interview Friday with Reuters that he hopes regulators will grant full approval for COVID-19 vaccines as soon as next month. He said the move could encourage more Americans to get the shots, which are currently authorized on an emergency-use basis by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

U.S. President Joe Biden announced Thursday that civilian federal government employees must be vaccinated or submit to regular testing and wear masks.

Top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said during an interview Friday with Reuters that he hopes regulators will grant full approval for COVID-19 vaccines as soon as next month. He said the move could encourage more Americans to get the shots, which are currently authorized on an emergency-use basis by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

U.S. President Joe Biden announced Thursday that civilian federal government employees must be vaccinated or submit to regular testing and wear masks.

Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa and Osaka are the new prefectures to be under the state of emergency. Several other prefectures will be placed under pre-emergency measures.

Under a state of emergency, business is suspended in locations that serve alcohol or have karaoke. Under pre-emergency measures, businesses are asked not to serve alcohol.

Japan reported more than 10,000 daily coronavirus cases Thursday, the first time the country’s daily count exceeded 10,000.

Around the globe

In Israel, health officials began administering coronavirus booster shots Friday to people older than 60 who have been fully vaccinated in an effort to stop a recent spike in cases.

Italy’s Health Institute announced Friday that the delta variant accounted for almost all new COVID-19 cases in the country at nearly 95% of cases as of July 20.

German officials announced Friday that unvaccinated travelers arriving in the country will need to present a negative COVID-19 test result.

 

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference from Geneva on Friday that “hard-won gains are in jeopardy of being lost” because of the delta variant.

WHO officials have said they fear that 47 of Africa’s 54 countries will miss a September target of vaccinating 10% of their populations, a goal set earlier this year by the World Health Assembly, the world’s highest health policy-setting body. Africa accounts for less than 1% of the more than 4 billion vaccine doses administered globally.

Overall, around the globe, just 1.1% of people in low-income countries have received at least one vaccine dose.

The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported Friday more than 197 million global COVID infections and more than 4.2 million deaths from the disease worldwide.

 

 

Source: Voice of America

 

— A total of 57 COVID-19 deaths were reported Monday, bringing the cumulative number of deaths due to the pandemic in Malaysia to 5,001 people or 0.68 percent of the total number of cases.

 

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, in a statement today, said the fatalities involve 54 Malaysians and three foreigners.

 

“A total of 15 deaths were reported in Selangor, Negeri Sembilan (13), Johor (six), Melaka (five) and three cases each in Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Perak. Sarawak, Kedah, Pahang and Kelantan each recorded two deaths while one death was reported in Penang,” he said.

 

 

Dr Noor Hisham said the total number of active cases now stands at 61,812 with 899 people being treated in the Intensive Care Unit, 451 of whom require respiratory support.

 

Also, 22 new COVID-19 clusters were reported today, 16 of which involve workplaces with four in Selangor, three in Kuala Lumpur, two each in Johor, Negeri Sembilan and Melaka and one cluster each in Sarawak, Kedah and Kelantan.

 

Six more clusters were identified in the community, involving two in Sarawak and one each in Terengganu, Kelantan, Johor and Kedah.

 

 

 

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

 

 

— The issue of poor internet access in Kampung Ulu Seladang near Permaisuri, Setiu, will be fully resolved by the end of August, according to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

 

In a statement here today, MCMC said currently, upgrading works of the telecommunications tower at the village were actively being carried out under the National Digital Network Plan (JENDELA).

 

“Once the upgrading works are completed, the 4G network coverage quality would benefit over 1,000 villagers in three nearby villages namely Kampung Besut, Kampung Bayas and Kampung Padang,” the statement read.

 

 

Last Saturday, the media reported on the poor internet access at Kampung Ulu Seladang, which prompted the Terengganu MCMC director Mohd Fairus Mohamad and service providers to investigate the matter.

 

“Our checks found that the internet access in the village was limited to 3G and this has affected the home-based teaching and learning sessions for students there.

 

“It is hoped that the measures taken will be able to fully solve the problems soon,” the statement said.

 

 

Source: BERNAMA News Agency