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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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Unless Leo is true to his word we can expect the middle-class worker who pays for everything and gets nothing to be screwed over yet again.
@Avina Laaf:
Unfortunately you are falling into the trap of social division which this iniquitious govt promotes. The intentions of many of those whose actions which led to the creation of this state was not to create an Ireland divided on social lines, but one of equality. Successive Governments have squandered that vision and created an Ireland based on social class divisions, the next budget will do the same if not make it even worse.
@Con Murphy:
Ironically it’s the excessive redistribution of wealth from the hard-pressed middle income worker to the welfare class that has led to division.
Hardly surprising when it’s given rise to a whole new class of working poor which supports a whole new class of ‘welfare-for-lifers’ that are almost as well off (and in some cases better off) but don’t contribute anything.
@Avina Laaf:
So you approve of the socially class divided Ireland. Good luck with that so.
@Con Murphy:
No, I just believe that ‘equality’ should also include input to society – those that work harder should get more back (including carers etc.). It’s not that hard to grasp.
@Avina Laaf: It would be great if what you want was true, that those who work harder would get back more. But they won’t, you mention carers, but many carers get nothing for what they do especially if they give up a job to care for a family member,those who work harder will be gratefully exploited by an abusive employer who might even get a tax break for their extra effort.
@Con Murphy:
That was my point
@Avina Laaf: In a way you’re right, welfare for the rich and a few crumbs for the poor. This Republic, was never one and we were just fooled into thinking it was. They should reduce, unemployment down to 180 and pass the savings back to the working poor or struggling middle classes. Set up a housing agency, transfer all local authority land/housing to it and let them borrow on that income to build more housing.
@Avina Laaf: “welfare class”? You do realise most of the welfare budget is spent on pensioners?
@Stephen Brady:
Do I have to spell it out??
Why not bring petrol down to meet diesel, why doesn’t everything go up. The government pushed us all to buy diesels and now they punish us again.
@Joshua Walsh: and in time they’ll push up all to by electric which will also turn out to be a disaster. Its the circle of squeezing everything out of the taxpayer to pay for this welfare state
It doesn’t take a genious to work that out. The politicians will get their usual pay rise of minimun of 3000 starting now. Our parents will get a 5 a week starting next year. Me the tax payer will get nothing. ESB, GAS, Phone bills, food, petrol, diesel, heating going up but then it will all have to go up so we can pay the politicians pay rise for doing nothing but exercising their mouths talking crap.
This budget will be all about LEO and LEO. The canvassing has all ready started for the election.
@Declan Byrne: We allow them, to buy our votes and stop voting for them.
Rest assured for every 5 euro they give they will take back 10 euro What shower they are all the same
That USC reduction is an insult.
To be fcuk£d sideways, i can tell you one thing I fear on how I’m going to make my next mortgage payment, as I’m completely stretched to the Limit. Mind you i was left with 23 euro in the bank last month, maybe Leo can take that before if goes for my clothes, im up every morning at 06:00 but still not sure if that’s in Leo’s guidelines
Oh yes it will be a giveaway, to FGs rich friends!
Tax tax tax tax….and don’t touch Apple
5euro a week to old age pensioners = 260euro a year for people who have worked hard all theirs lives, for fck sake!!!! Should be cutting the unbelievable pensions of his retired cronies, what a shower. The increases due to electricity etc more than cancels out that increase, so basically pensioners get sweet f all. Give with one hand and take back on the double with the other, bunch of morans.
It’s laughable what the government think the people should get..in this budget.. but there is no end to what they award themselves and nobody says a word.. !!!
Nothing expected in this budget or many more in the future.The books need balancing.Certain departments are underfunded others are understaffed.Move a bit of money here and put it back there.We may make a fiver in our wages but we’ll pay it back elsewhere.My major surprise is that sooooo many people expect something from it.Well,be prepared for nothing!
What we can expect as per usual is sfa.
Ahh the Budget!
The annual three card trick game rigged by the Govt to siphon funds from the hard working and shuffle it back to their chums, under the glare of cameras and the sycophants applaud that “it wasn’t as bad as we expected!”
Pay rises for the lads
Hopefully we’ll see a rise in the standard rate cut off point of 33.8k.
I expect lots of meaningless slogans over anything they give us with one hand to distract us from the fine detail that takes more with the other.
USC needs to go quicker than it is, the government seems happy to keep the USC around and to give increases to the OAP’s to buy their vote and to keep the middle class paying this unfair extra tax.
we can expect a new episode of father ted
People on this comment stream are talking about working class poor being pitched against each other are we really surprised .
Working people pay for social welfare for the totally unemployable who never pay a cent and the keyboard worriers we have here are as bad
Blame everyone else and never contribute anything
SAME comment all the time
Can’t take a job, get enough on the Labour
Can’t get a job, the rent goes up
Can’t get a job, would loose the MEDICAL card
It’s not they can’t it’s they won’t !
And I’m not talking about the pensioners who worked their lives THEY deserve their money the least we can do for them .
Just the same spungers over and over again.
Go out get a job
CONTRIBUTE CONTRIBUTE CONTRIBUT
NOT TAKE TAKE TAKE .
Stop crying like little girls
That sean o rourke and RTE have already furnished the finance minister with the “questions” supposedly phoned in the morning after the budget!
A cut in VAT on novelty socks is a dead cert.
Motor Tax Equalisation …. grossly unfair anomaly should be fixed.
€280 annual Motor Tax for owners of new Mercedes C-class 2.1L
€270 annual Motor Tax for owners of new BMW 318 2L
€580 (4x€145) annual Motor Tax for owners of Pre-2008 Toyota Avensis 1.6L
€300 more tax paid for use of Irish roads by owners of older cars – grossly unfair.
@Neuville-Kepler62F: my Portuguese cars tax is €42, same vehicle in Ireland last time I looked was €701 , keep the recovery going Leo.
Get 13 billion from apple , fix the health service and get the homeless into houses, make people work that have been on the dole for ages ,the government shouldn’t go down the old reliable road of tax ,drink ,smokes ,fuel and vrt , there are slot of multi nationals in this country let them pay a fair % of tax.
Spect me to read that double talkin jive ooo A Sunday fukin morn
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