In Mideast first, UAE announces case of new coronavirus
Dubai: The United Arab Emirates announced on Wednesday its first case of the new coronavirus, in a family from Wuhan, in what is thought to be the first confirmed case in the Middle East.
"The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention announced a case of the new coronavirus affecting people from one family coming from the city of Wuhan in China," the state news agency WAM reported, without saying how many were infected.
"The health condition of those affected was stable and under medical monitoring," it cited the ministry as saying.
Gulf airports, including Dubai which is home to one of the world's biggest aviation hubs, said last week they would screen all passengers arriving from China amid the outbreak of the deadly virus.
The disease has spread to more than 15 countries since it emerged out of Wuhan late last year, with the death toll soaring to 132 and confirmed infections nearing 6,000.
All confirmed fatalities have so far been in China. Confirmed cases have been reported across the Asia Pacific region and in North America and Europe, but the Wuhan family in the UAE appear to be the first in the Middle East.
Dubai's government said Thursday that some 989,000 Chinese tourists visited the glitzy emirate last year -- a number expected to cross the one million mark in 2020.
About 3.6 million Chinese transited through the emirate's main airport in 2019.
The UAE's Abu Dhabi International Airport, another major hub, has also begun screening passengers arriving from China. Between them, the two Emirati hubs operate dozens of flights a week with Chinese cities.
China is the UAE's top trading partner and Abu Dhabi is among the 15 top crude oil suppliers to Beijing. Several hundred Chinese companies have offices in the UAE.
The coronavirus has caused alarm because of its similarity to SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), which killed nearly 650 people across mainland China and Hong Kong in 2002-2003.
Like SARS, it can be passed among humans via the respiratory tract.
The UAE health ministry said it has taken "all the necessary precautions" in line with standards approved by the World Health Organisation.
It said that the country's health system "works very efficiently and that the ministry is closely following the situation in a way that guarantees the health and safety of everyone."
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Cong slams Modi govt as 'anti-worker', calls for review of new Labour code
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Friday accused the Modi government of being "anti-worker" and demanded that the new labour code be reviewed, MGNREGA be revived as well as a national minimum wage of Rs 400 per day be established.
On International Labour Day, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge took a swipe at the government and said unemployment in India today is a direct consequence of the 'Hum Do, Hamare Do' policies.
"Driven by the 'Hum Do, Hamare Do' policy, the Modi government implemented an anti-worker Labour Code. As a result, unrest has erupted everywhere - be it in Noida, at the IOCL facility in Panipat, Adani's factory in Raikheda, NTPC Patratu, or the Samsung factory in Sriperumbudur," Kharge said in a post in Hindi on X.
Instead of ensuring job security, this Code promotes policies such as contract labour and 'Hire & Fire' practices, Kharge said and called for a review of the new Labour Code.
The Modi government has effectively dismantled MGNREGA by forcibly pushing legislation through Parliament, he alleged.
"Mr. Modi has shifted 40% of the wage burden onto the State governments. State governments are unable to bear this financial strain and will eventually be forced to stop providing work," he claimed.
The Modi government has compelled workers into a state of unemployment and pushed them towards 'gig work', Kharge said.
Currently, 69% of the workforce is working for wages below the statutory minimum wage, he said.
The Modi government has engineered a crisis of stagnant wages, Kharge alleged.
"When adjusted for inflation, the wages of the majority of India's workers have grown by less than 1% annually over the last decade (from 2014-15 to 2022-23)," he said.
The Modi government has created a massive unemployment crisis among the educated workforce, specifically, among graduates, Kharge claimed and added that jobs have been eliminated through the sale of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).
"The government has refused to fill approximately 30 lakh vacant government positions. Furthermore, the government's policy blunders have led to the decimation of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)," the Congress chief said.
The Congress reiterates its five demands for India's workers including revival of MGNREGA and its expansion to urban areas, Kharge said.
He said a national minimum wage of Rs 400 per day should be established, with MNREGA included within its scope.
Kharged demanded that a 'Right to Health' law must be enacted, providing Universal Health Coverage of up to Rs 25 lakh for laborers and workers.
"'Life Insurance and Accident Insurance' coverage must be provided for all unorganized workers. Preventing the contractualization of employment must be made a core priority of the government, and the new Labour Codes must be reviewed," Kharge asserted.
