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CHINA HAS ANNOUNCED that it will end travel restrictions in the province of Hubei, where the coronavirus pandemic emerged late last year.
From midnight tonight, healthy residents will be permitted to travel outside the province, two months after they were ordered to stay indoors by the government.
The relaxation of rules, which will not apply to the hardest-hit city of Wuhan until April, comes as tighter restrictions were announced in the UK and New Zealand.
But fears rose over a second wave of infections fuelled by people arriving in China from overseas.
The province ordered the shutdown in January but has been gradually easing the rules and permitting people to move about within Hubei and return to work.
People who wish to travel in or out of Hubei or Wuhan will be able to as long as they have a “green” health code issued by authorities. But schools in the province will remain closed.
New cases have slowed dramatically over the last month, although the first locally transmitted infection in nearly a week was reported in Wuhan on Tuesday, along with three cases elsewhere in the country.
But the figures pale in comparison to imported cases, which reached 74 nationwide on Tuesday, a trend that has fuelled anxiety about a possible second wave of infections just as authorities appeared to be bringing the country’s outbreak under control.
Seven more people died, the National Health Commission said, all in Wuhan.
Second wave
The 74 imported cases were the most since officials started reporting the data at the beginning of March, and the number was nearly double that reported on Monday.
As countries around the world battle to contain the pandemic, which has now killed more than 16,500 people, the total tally of imported cases in China has soared to 427.
Many cities have brought in tough rules to quarantine arrivals, and all Beijing-bound international flights are being diverted to other cities where passengers are screened for the virus.
Authorities in Beijing have said that anyone entering China via another city and then making their way to the capital in the last two weeks would also be tested for the virus and told to enter quarantine.
Shanghai and Beijing each reported a locally-transmitted infection that came from an imported patient.
State media warned of a second wave from abroad, with the nationalist Global Times saying on its front page that “inadequate quarantine measures” meant it was “highly likely, even inevitable”.
There have now been more than 81,000 cases in China and the death toll has reached 3,277.
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Galaxy S3 for me, bigger screen, better apps and faster.
Bigger screen?! It looks like a bleedin ipad!
With you there.
I meant with you there Alan. S3 rocks
Yeah like a bag of rocks.
and it’s not faster
I was thinking about trading my old phone in to get this because of the few extra centimeters but then I thought what if my girlfriend is thinking the same about me?
Go wider she’d might prefer that….
Wow that’s inappropriate even for me.
Short arse!
I hope Apple paid Ye well for that ad
This love affair between thejournal and apple is getting embarrassing
It is manufactured using what amounts to be no less than slave labour.
Jesus christ here we go again. Your tv. Stereo etc And most of the electronics in your house are made by the same company
So that makes it alright then.
What did you use to comment on this article? Phone, computer, tablet…..where you think they are made?
Foxconn pays twice the minimum wage
Every stitch you wear and probably all your electronics are in the same boat. Its the way of the modern world and choices are limited.
you love the screen yet is made using a ratio previously unheard of IBM the smartphone industry. you hate the fact that apps aren’t optimised for the screen you love? cake and eating it anyone? Galaxy S3 is already technically superior and it’s been out for months already!
16:9? Are you for real? Apple were one of the last to have this.
Sony Xperia s for me!! crapple
apple
I’m feeling Ya,
I’m feeling Ya, Xperia s is sexy as HELL
Bring on the Galaxy Note 2. Cant wait till me 4S contract in over.
I don’t care if it’s faster, how have they still not updated the home screen? The only change to this since the original iPhone has been the ability to create folders, otherwise it has the same functionality as any old nokia. On any other platform I can set widgets to give me info at a glance, why can’t they manage that in iOS?
Wait it will have i-widgets “patented” for iphone6.
Meh. Widgets are a gimmick and a battery hog. Yeah some of them are handy but most aren’t. Rather have a better battery than widgets. Switched to the s3 last week and I miss the long lasting battery off my iPhone 4. I do like the s3 though :)
I have an s3 and love it, far superior than any iPhone,
but on an other note, does anyone know when LTE will be available in Ireland??
Auctioning of the spectrum begins next year, I’d give it at least 2014 before it’s rolled out nationwide. As usual we lag behind.
And a complete con as comreg are auctioning off 5ghz and instead of 20mhz which means basically 3g speeds
Don’t waste your money. I got one last week not impressed. The Samsung Galaxy 3 is alot better and faster.
The iPhone smokes Samsung in all benchmark tests. 9 times faster than lumia in JavaScript. All iOS devices including old ipad and 4s faster in all OpenGL tests than the best Android phone.
I didn’t think so, i have the iphone 4s, this to me was not much different. I got the Samsung G3 a couple of months back, i think it is alot better.
Mark. There are stats and anecdotes. I doubt if you saw the iPhone 5. Where is it available? But even if you did – that’s an anecdote.
Eoin: benchmarks aren’t the same as real world tests. It’s easy for a device to excel in a single task if it’s only able to run a single process at a time!
Eoin i don’t care about the stats, you doubt if i even saw the iphone5? Do i care about your doubts, No. im from London, in my opinion its just like all the other iphones. The Samsung Galaxy 3 is the better phone in my opinion…………..
Sony Xperia s for me!! crapple apple
Whats the xperia like Louise?
Xperia s is a beast it’s easily the best looking handset out there right now, have tried the s2 and 4s iphone but have yet to get my greedy paws on an s3
What about all its newer found faults?
http://bigginsblog.wordpress.com/2012/09/26/iphone-5-the-problems-have-started/
How is the 5 as a phone? I have the 4 (not 4s) version and it has been a disaster!!! Does the 5 function perfectly as a phone?
there is one thing u need to know not few. there are better phones out there.
In your opinion…
Apple fanboys in da house….
Fanboy? Fan of the iPhone? Yes. Have a Samsung washing machine, am I forgiven?
Sorry I don’t have that authority…..
I doubt you have any authority in anything Damien. Nice family pic, maybe you should grow up and stop calling people you don’t know fanboys because they prefer one product over another. You look older than the type that would post childish comments like that. Ah well…
@Gordon, When you take something said in jest seriously and react in that way it only makes you look silly.
Apologies if I got under your skin.
You didn’t get anywhere close to being under my skin Damien! I just find it a bit sad to see a grown man, father of two trolling “fanboys in da house”..! I’m silly..? Have a nice day.
@ gordon
yep, that was my opinion. I belive that’s the idea of posting comment.
I can say more, for me any iphone is not a smartphone, its a gadget. my phone is over a year old, but I find it way more usefull than any of the iphones. and it is my opinion, based on my needs.
Michael your statement came across as such, as a statement of fact, not an opinion. Just saying, I disagree.
One of us is ribbing the other for perceived unhealthy love of apple.
The other is bringing a persons wife & kids into the argument.
Who’s the troll again?
Don’t start crying like a little girl Damien and take my comment (made in jest) so seriously, it makes you look silly…!
Thanks.
damian for the win
Galaxy S3 vs. iPhone 5. No there is another winner there Samsung Galaxy Note 2.
1st October UK launch. More powerful than S3, jelly bean on board and killer 5.5 screen + stylus pen. Simply best android phone in the world. Some may only complain about size even bit bigger than s3. But watching movie ir browsin web on it is pure joy :-)
the screen is 1136 x 640 pixels. ergo non standard.
Ah apologies for my earlier comment so Mark, I thought you meant the screen size and aspect ratio, forgot about the resolution.
Nokia lumia for me.
Damn you auto correct!
Who cares . It’s a phone whoop dee doo
can’t imagine you can pop in and buy one. I’d say they’re all preordered. I read about concerns over supply issues but it didn’t say where so I don’t know if it’s affected Europe
As far as I can tell only 3 have been taking pre-orders. Other networks have only been taking expressions of interest..
the note does look pretty savage but I have reservations about how portable it is. the S3 is pretty massive on its own adding another inch to the screen brings us almost into tablet territory. In saying that it would be pretty decent as a media player but probably not so much a phones
I have note 1 which is same size as new note 2. Its actually very light not sure now but maybe just tiny bit heavier than iphone 4 or same. Size is not an issue at all fits no problem in standard shirt pocket and in slacks / jeans. It has a feature to reduce keyboard and move to each side so allows one hand typing too (with full size keyboard setting not really possible unless you have huge hands). Stylus pen allows you take quick notes and pen is very accurate and responsive – no way you can achieve that with iphone and finger. Finally phone that i can use for taking shopping list of my second half :) Screen is a beauty and youtube or movies or web looks just stunning. This is complete phone I dont use tablet much anymore. Having said that note 2 is all note 1 is and even much better its a proper beast. Definitely on my Christmas wish list.
The note will be phone that brings dungarees back in to fashion
my apologies I ment physical screen size. by making it taller and not wider they’ve created a non standard screen.
But it is a standard screen size 4″ diagonal and a 16:9 aspect ratio. Only thing different is the in cell technology so the glass is slightly thinner
Hoseph – he means it’s not a standard mobile phone screen size, yes it’s a standard tv and film broadcast format, but not a mobile phone format
I think the journal should hold one of their lovely vote things on ‘Samsung v iPhone’ and lets really get this fire going :) would be extremely entertaining lol
Recently had the chance to compare iPhone with Samsung. Samsung looked and felt brilliant but operating system was confusing. iPhone far more intuitive. With that said, I recently synced ios5 and it almost wiped everything. Love the iPhone, hate iTunes.
How much will it cost?
Your soul…
In reality will the new iphone be available in the likes of Vodafone, 02 etc. stores this Friday??
Very much doubt it. As far as I recall any apple launch it hardly ever and anywhere had enough items just to walk in and buy. When new iPad launched you could get it just for couple hours if survived long queue. Then they didnt have stock for like 2 weeks. Then particular models and colours did not stick like for another 2-3 months, only after that situation settled.
have your say