分类： News

Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell today issued a “stay at home, work from home order” for Oahu effective Monday at 4:30 p.m. through April 30 in an attempt to fight the spread of the coronavirus.

Shortly after Caldwell’s announcement, Maui Mayor Mike Victorino issued a similar order for Maui County.

Gov. David Ige issued a statement in support of the county moves, “The mayors of the City and County of Honolulu and Maui have my full support for the stay-at-home, work-at-home orders they issued today,” Ige said. “We have been working together on this issue, and this morning we agreed that the mayors should develop their own plans to meet the unique needs of their counties. We also agreed that statewide action will be needed. I have directed the Attorney General to review the orders other states have issued and prepare a statewide plan that will keep the people of Hawaii safe and healthy.”

At a news conference at Honolulu Hale this afternoon, Caldwell said people are permitted to step out for essential activities such as:

>> Tasks essential to their health and safety

>> To obtain necessary services or supplies

>> To engage in outdoor activity in locations as permitted by law

>> To perform work providing essential products and services

>> To care for a family member or pet in another household.

“At the end of the day this is about protecting our ohana,” Caldwell said.

Caldwell’s order includes a long list of exempted businesses — including health care operations, banks, gas stations, and grocery stores and other retail establishments that sell food and other household consumer products — which will continue to operate.

An earthquake has rocked Croatia’s capital Zagreb, damaging buildings and leaving cars crushed by falling chunks of masonry.

A teenager is in a critical condition after a roof collapsed, local media say. The spire of the city’s cathedral also snapped off.

After Sunday’s tremor, Zagreb’s mayor urged people to return to their homes given fears about the coronavirus.

The 5.3-magnitude quake is the largest to affect the city in 140 years.

Panicked residents ran out into the streets when it struck around 06:00 local time and were initially told to stay out by authorities.

“Keep your distance. Don’t gather together. We are facing two serious crises, the earthquake and the epidemic,” Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said.

Several buildings were damaged, including Zagreb cathedral

However Mayor Milan Bandic later said they should return home. “Eighty percent of Zagreb residents live in structures that have reinforced concrete structures,” he said.

The BBC’s Guy Delauney in the region says the earthquake acted as a cue for some residents to head for their holiday homes on the coast.

But by early afternoon police had closed motorway toll booths and set up control points to prevent people entering coastal districts, our correspondent reports.

Croatia has more than 200 infections of the new coronavirus.

Several buildings were damaged, including the parliament. People in southern Austria and Slovenia also felt the tremor.

美國加州州長紐松在疫情持續延燒之際，揭露一項令人擔憂的預估數據，在未來8週內，加州約4000萬人口中，可能超過半數會感染2019冠狀病毒疾病（COVID-19）。

「今日美國報」（USA Today）報導，紐森（Gavin Newsom）向總統川普要求聯邦政府伸出援手，這項預估數字是他的聲明一部分，他也致信給國會，要求10億美元防疫資金。

紐森揭露的驚人數據是根據加州的估算，他在今天寄給川普的信中做了概述。

紐森在信中寫道：「我們預估約56%的加州人口，也就是2550萬人，會在未來8週內感染病毒。」

他要求川普立即派遣海軍醫療艦「仁慈號」（USNS Mercy）到洛杉磯，並讓船艦停泊當地到9月，以紓解醫院的壓力。
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MONTREAL — Transat A.T. Inc. announced Wednesday it plans to “gradually suspend” Air Transat flights until April 30 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This comes after the Canadian government announced it would be closing its borders to most foreign nationals.

“This is an unprecedented situation, beyond our control, which is forcing us to briefly suspend all of our flights to contribute to the effort to fight the pandemic, protect our customers and employees and safeguard the company,” said Transat president and CEO Jean-Marc Eustache. “We are doing everything we can so that this has as little impact as possible on our employees and customers.”

The company states all sales for departures to-and-from most destinations in Europe and the United States will be immediately suspended until April 30.

However, repatriation flights will operate over the next two weeks to bring people home.

“To allow as many repatriations as possible, sales will remain temporarily open in both directions between Montreal, Paris and Lisbon, and between Toronto, London and Lisbon,” Air Transat officials stated. “A date for a full halt of operations will be announced soon.”

There will also be no sales to-and-from the Caribbean and Mexico, but flights will continue for a few more days in order to bring people back to Canada.

“Transat is advising its Canadian customers who were scheduled to depart in the coming days to heed the government’s recommendations and postpone their departures,” the company notes. “There will be no booking fee and passengers will not have to pay any price difference. It is of the utmost importance to Transat to bring everyone back.”

For anyone flying domestic, Air Transat is asking people to check the status of their flights on its website.

TEMPORARY LAYOFFS

Transat A.T. Inc. states it also plans to temporarily lay off some of its staff, leading to a reduction in work schedules and salaries that will “unfortunately affect a significant portion of our employees.”

The company notes its senior executives and board members are also planning to take pay cuts.

All customers who are now unable to travel because their flight is cancelled will receive a credit for future travel, to be used within 24 months of the original travel date.

CHICAGO — There were cryptic and confusing announcements in midair. Long lines to clear Customs. And waits of as long as seven hours in crowds with other travelers.

As the federal government rushed on Saturday to implement President Trump’s restrictions on travel from Europe, part of an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus, chaos ensued at some of America’s biggest airports.

In Dallas, travelers posted photos on Twitter of long, winding lines in the airport. In New York, Customs agents in paper and plastic masks boarded a flight from Paris. And in Chicago, where travelers reported standing in line for hours, Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois tagged Mr. Trump in a series of angry tweets about the long waits, saying, “The federal government needs to get its s@#t together. NOW.”
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