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MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2020
VOL.24 | NO.253
LIFESTYLE
13
The Joy Of ‘TikTok’
FEATURES
20
Keeping The Food Chain Safe During
A Pandemic
WORLD
26
Malaysia To Open 11 Prisons for MCO
Violators
HOME
5
Teachers Adapt Well To Online
Classes
Number of cases
Number of deaths
Recovered cases
Brunei Darussalam
COVID-19 STATISTICS
As of 19 April 2020
138
1
115
Minister of Health Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd
Isham bin Haji Jaafar speaks at the press
conference. PHOTO: BAHYIAH BAKIR
James Kon
After recording one con irmed COVID19 case
on Saturday, Brunei Darussalam yesterday
added another new case, bringing the current
total to 138.
Case 138 is a 50-year-oldwoman, who is the
family contact of Case 33. She was irst tested
on March 13, after Case 33 was detected. Her
results came back as negative. A follow-up test
was conducted on April 18, and this time she
tested positive.
She does not have any recent travel history
and exhibits no symptoms of infection. Her
case is under investigation.
These details were provided by Minister of
Health Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham bin
Haji Jaafar during the daily press conference
for the latest updates on the COVID19
outbreak. He also stated, “Two active COVID-
19 cases recovered yesterday, bringing the
total number of recovered cases to 115.
“The number of active cases being
treated at the National Isolation Centre is
22, where two are still in a critical condition,
requiring heart-lung machine (ECMO) and
respiratory assistance. The rest are in a
stable condition.”
“Currently, 125 individuals are under-
going quarantine in accordance with the
Infectious Diseases Act (Chapter 204)
and 2,408 individuals have completed
their quarantine.”
Continue to Page 3
Brunei records one more
COVID-19 case
James Kon & Izah Azahari
The Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF) issued
a stern reminder after several photos were
circulated on social media, showing a
public gathering and leisure activities at a
recreational spot.
“This is an irresponsible attitude, and
re lects indifference towards government
efforts to curb the COVID19 outbreak that
the country is still facing,” said the RBPF in
a statement.
The RBPF warned that anyone found to
be in violation of the Infectious Diseases
Act, Chapter 204, could face a fine of up
to BND10,000 or imprisonment for a term
not exceeding six months, or both, for the
first offence.
For the second or subsequent offences, the
penalty is a ine of BND20,000or imprisonment
for a term not exceeding one year, or both.
Continue to Page 3
RBPF blasts blatant disregard for COVID-19 safety measures
An entry route to a recreational area is blocked off. PHOTO: RBPF
BEIJING (AFP) - The director of a maximum-
security laboratory in China’s coronavirus
ground-zero city of Wuhan has rejected claims
that it could be the source of the outbreak,
calling it “impossible”.
Beijing has come under increasing pressure
over transparency in its handling of the
pandemic, with the United States (US) probing
whether the virus actually originated in a
virology institute with a high-security biosafety
laboratory. Chinese scientists have said the
virus likely jumped from an animal to humans
in a market that sold wildlife.
But the existence of the facility has fuelled
conspiracy theories that the germ spread from
the Wuhan Institute of Virology, speci ically
its P4 laboratory which is equipped to handle
dangerous viruses.
Continue to Page 2
Director of Wuhan
lab denies virus link
Azlan Othman
Brunei Darussalam’s gross domestic product
(GDP) growth is projected to be 1.3 per
cent this year and 3.5 per cent next year,
the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
highlighted last Tuesday, in its irst World
EconomicOutlook report since thepandemic
shut major economies.
In its earlier forecast in October last
year, IMF said for 2020, it has projected
the country’s GDP growth at 4.7 per cent,
taking into account the irst production of
the downstream oil and gas industry for
the Oil and Petrochemical Plant Project
in Pulau Muara Besar (PMB) as well the
construction of Brunei Fertilizer Industries
(BFI) plant.
IMF earlier forecast the GDP growth to
be 3.6 per cent for next year. The IMF stated
the COVID19 pandemic is in licting high
and rising human costs worldwide, while
the protection measures are impacting
economic activities.
As a result of the pandemic, the global
economy is projected to contract sharply by
-3 per cent in 2020, much worse than during
the 200809 inancial crisis.
In a baseline scenario - which assumes
that the pandemic fades in the second half
of 2020 and containment efforts can be
gradually unwound, the global economy is
projected to grow by 5.8 per cent in 2021
as economic activity normalises, helped by
policy support, the IMF added.
Continue to Page 4
IMF lowers Brunei’s GDP growth
to 1.3 per cent this year