Health labor

KUALA LUMPUR: The United States has lifted a ban on a Malaysian medical glove maker it had accused of using forced labour, a government statement showed, amid a surge in demand for personal protective equipment to fight the coronavirus crisis. The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Tuesday (Mar 24) said disposable rubber gloves made by WRP Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd after Mar 16, 2020, will be admissible at all US ports of entry. The ban placed on WRP in September "was revoked based on recent information obtained by CBP showing the company is no longer producing the rubber gloves under forced labor conditions", CBP said in the statement. "We are very pleased that this effort successfully mitigated a significant supply chain risk and resulted in better working conditions and more compliant trade," said Brenda Smith, CBP's executive assistant commissioner for the office of trade. WRP, which has the capacity to produce more than 11 billion gloves a year, could not immediately … [Read more...] about COVID-19: US lifts ban on Malaysian medical glove maker amid shortage

WASHINGTON: Two US lawmakers including a Florida representative on Wednesday (Mar 18) became the first members of Congress to announce they have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart's office said in a statement that "just a short while ago, he was notified that he has tested positive for COVID-19". The Republican who represents part of Miami follows that city's Mayor Francis Suarez, who announced that he had tested positive for coronavirus last week. They are following CDC-specified self-isolation guidelines at their homes. Diaz-Balart's diagnosis prompted a member of congressional leadership, the number two Republican Steve Scalise, to immediately self-quarantine as he had an extended meeting with his colleague last week. READ: COVID-19 could create bed shortage in US hospitals "Fortunately, I am not experiencing any symptoms, and will continue working remotely on Congress's Coronavirus response" and remain in close contact with … [Read more...] about Two US members of Congress test positive for COVID-19

PARIS: French utility EDF is introducing stricter hygiene procedures at its nuclear plants after walk-outs by a small number of workers who feared getting infected with coronavirus during radiation screening, union and industrial sources said on Friday. Under French labor laws, staff have the right to walk off the job if they consider there is a clear and imminent threat to their health or safety. After working in the radioactive areas of nuclear plants, staff have to step through narrow shower-style portals in their underwear to be checked for possible radiation exposure. Workers feared the surface areas of these portals could become a source of spreading the virus. EDF has now agreed to clean the portals twice per eight-hour shift, to increase security distances between workers and provide gloves and hand sanitizer, according to new internal rules announced on Tuesday. "The problem has been solved or will be soon, provided that guidelines are respected," CGT union member … [Read more...] about French nuclear plants tighten hygiene procedures over coronavirus worries

Entrants to Hanoi from certain districts and cities of Hai Duong Province, the current COVID-19 epicenter in Vietnam, will be required to self-isolate for 14 days for monitoring, according to the Hanoi Center for Disease Control (Hanoi CDC). The direction was stated on Monday by Khong Minh Tuan, deputy director of the Hanoi CDC during a meeting of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control to review the state of COVID-19 transmission in Hai Duong. According to Tuan, Hai Duong reported four cases of COVID-19 transmission on Saturday, all of whom are in isolated zones, while other cases of direct transmission from the infected have been quarantined. Hai Duong has required its districts to comply with sets of COVID-19 prevention regulations. Specifically, Hai Duong City, Kinh Mon Town, Cam Giang District, and Kim Thanh District will have to follow the prime minister’s directive No. 16, which requires safe distancing in public places and prohibits big … [Read more...] about Hanoi mandates 14-day self-isolation for returnees from COVID-19 epicenter

WASHINGTON: The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits surged to a record of more than three million last week as strict measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic brought the country to a sudden halt, unleashing a wave of layoffs that likely ended the longest employment boom in US history. The weekly jobless claims report from the Labour Department on Thursday (Mar 26) offered the clearest evidence yet of the coronavirus' devastating impact on the economy, which has forced the Federal Reserve to take extraordinary steps and the US Congress to assemble a record US$2 trillion stimulus package. READ: US$2 trillion COVID-19 rescue package passes US Senate, heads to House Economists say the economy is already in recession. Weekly claims are the most timely labour market indicator. With nearly half the country's population under some form of a lockdown, economists are bracing for further increases in jobless claims. "With partial lockdowns across the … [Read more...] about US weekly jobless claims surge to record 3.28 million