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KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Malaysia's construction industry suffered RM18.5 billion (S$6.1 billion) in losses during the first three phases of the country's lockdownto curb the spread of the coronavirus, Works Minister Fadillah Yusof said on Tuesday (Sep 22).

The first and second phases of the movement control order (MCO) between March 18 and April 14 led to RM11.6 billion in industry losses.

The Works Minister said RM6.9 billion in losses were recorded between April 15 and April 28 in the third phase of the MCO which saw the gradual reopening of 13 sub-sectors.

The first three phases of the MCO lasted for 47 days.

"The most severe impact was caused by financial issues, project deliveries and workforce limitations," Datuk Seri Fadillah said in a speech to industry players.

Under the first three phases, all work were ordered to stop unless they were deemed essential services like medicine shops and medical facilities and supermarkets. Restaurants could only do takeout orders.

All construction works from railway projects to home renovations stopped.

With the disease seen as being under control in Malaysia, the country from May 4 reopened some sectors of the economy under the so-called Conditional MCO, and relaxed controls on some social functions from June 10 under the Recovery MCO.

Mr Fadillah said inspections on 7,590 construction sites nationwide by the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) from April 20 to Sept 20 found that 1.96 per cent had not resumed operation.

He said 149 sites were still temporarily closed, with 45 of them facing financial issues, among other reasons.

According to Mr Fadillah, some leeway or special considerations were given by banks to developers affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

He also said that 89,708 or 88.7 per cent of all construction companies registered with CIDB were class G1 to G5, or categorised as small and medium enterprises.

Many had a high dependence on foreign labour with 438,264 workers, and there was low adoption of technology.

"There has also been a failure to obtain funding from financial institutions for projects affected by Covid-19," he said.

Mr Fadillah, together with Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Economic Affairs) Mustapa Mohamed, had an engagement session on Tuesday with industry players from the construction sector, to get feedback on the impact of the pandemic.

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Malaysia's construction industry records $6b losses in first three lockdown phases - The Straits Times

A robot that carries out nasal swabbing to diagnose Covid-19 has been developed by clinicians who say the automated procedure is safer, faster and more comfortable compared with manual swab tests.

Although other countries have developed similar robots, the clinicians said this bot, called SwabBot, is the first that allows patients to fully control the swab process so they are more comfortable.

A patient sits in front of the robot while holding on to the handhold, and latches his nostril onto the disposable nosepiece.

After using his chin to push a button and activate the bot, the nosepiece moves slightly upwards to widen the nostril. The swab will extend and rotate safely and gently through the patient's nose to the back of the nasal cavity.

SwabBot has a built-in feature that withdraws the swab stick if there is resistance when it is moved deeper into the nasal cavity. If patients feel uncomfortable at any point, they can stop the process by moving their head away from the robot.

The process takes 20 seconds, while a manual swab test can take twice as long. At the end of the procedure, a medical worker will open the machine to remove and store the swab stick.

The robot, including its interior, will be wiped down and covered with a fresh plastic drape fitted with a nosepiece for the next patient.

The machine, which is 35cm by 40cm, and 49cm high, was developed by clinicians from the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS), Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and Duke-NUS Medical School, in collaboration with medical robotics company Biobot Surgical.

The team said the robot can address the limitations and risks of manual swabbing. It reduces swabbers' risk of exposure to the virus and the need for training people, standardises the consistency of swabs taken, and increases the efficiency of conducting swab tests.

"Our team felt that we had to find a better way to swab patients to reduce the risk of exposure of Covid-19 to our healthcare workers, especially when patients sneeze or cough during the swabbing process," said principal investigator Rena Dharmawan, associate consultant, head and neck surgery, at NCCS and SGH's Division of Surgery and Surgical Oncology.

Beyond that, the clinicians wanted to make the swabbing procedure more comfortable for patients.

SwabBot retains the same gentle touch and precision as surgeons who perform very delicate procedures, said Dr Luke Tay, consultant at SGH's Department of Vascular Surgery, who is one of the project's team members.

Dr Dharmawan said: "When patients are empowered and fully in control of the swabbing process, they are mentally prepared and experience subjectively less pain."

To date, a total of 85 patients from SGH and Bright Vision Hospital as well as volunteers have participated in the ongoing clinical trial that compares SwabBot against manual swabbing. All of the participants said the procedure with the robot was either equally or less painful compared with getting a manual swab, said Dr Dharmawan.

Volunteer Marco Lizwan, 25, a second-year medical student at Duke-NUS Medical School, said he was less worried when he was swabbed by the robot.

"I found the robot more comfortable because you can (turn it on) whenever you are ready. So things are within your control. I was worried when I did the manual one because I was wondering if the swabber's hand will be shaky."

SingHealth and Biobot Surgical have filed a patent for SwabBot's technology. Biobot is also working to get the robot CE-marked for it to be commercialised globally.

Two months ago, a Taiwanese medtech firm developed a robotic arm that can conduct nasal swabs by using a depth-sensing camera. A start-up in Denmark also recently invented a fully automated throat swab robot.

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Safer, faster Covid-19 tests with Singapore robot swabber - The Straits Times

PARIS (REUTERS) - Global airlines called on Tuesday for airport Covid-19 tests for all departing international passengers to replace the quarantines they blame for exacerbating the travel slump.

Rapid and affordable antigen tests that can be administered by non-medical staff are expected to become available in coming weeks and should be rolled out under globally agreed standards, the head of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said during an online media briefing.

We dont see any alternative solution that would be less challenging or more effective, IATA director-general Alexandre de Juniac said.

Airlines hammered by the pandemic are pressing governments to embrace alternatives to blanket travel restrictions that are still hampering a traffic recovery and now tightening again in Europe amid resurgent case numbers.

With rapid antigen tests becoming available for as little as US$7 (S$9) each, De Juniac said, airlines will push for their use to be endorsed by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the UN agency that oversees global aviation rules.

IATA believes production could be quickly increased to millions per day and the tests phased in between late October and the end of the year, helping to save a part of the winter season, De Juniac told Reuters television.

A global agreement is needed to ensure pre-departure test results are uniformly accepted by the destination country, he said. It will also boost passenger confidence that everybody on the aircraft has been tested.

The airlines position has evolved with the test technology.

IATA argued a month ago for new rules to recognise lab-based PCR tests conducted 48 hours before departure.

Last-minute airport screening is more effective because it seals off the system against forged certificates or infections contracted just before travel, De Juniac said on Tuesday.

Antigen tests are faster but less sensitive and therefore slightly more likely to miss positive cases than the PCR alternatives, although the accuracy gap has narrowed.

Among companies marketing the new tests, German diagnostics specialist Qiagen said earlier this month it planned to launch a Covid-19 antigen test that provided results in 15 minutes and could be deployed in airports or stadiums.

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Airlines call for Covid-19 tests before all international flights - The Straits Times

After weeks of speculation and ambiguity, Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to be trying to solidify the regime of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a source tells Insider. The key signal? Putin sent Russian resources from RT to "solidify control over state media" in Belarus, a source told Insider.

Meanwhile, Lukashenko continues to arrest his opponents.

On September 7, Lukashenko detained the last major opposition candidate to his 26-year presidency, Maria Kolesnikova. She was one of three major opposition candidates to Lukashenko, and last to remain inside Belarus. The others have fled into exile.

The arrests came less than a month after an election widely seen as fraudulent. While the official result returned Lukashenko to power with a huge majority, no one believes the result is real. The public has been protesting on the streets of Minsk for weeks, prompting speculation that Lukashenko might be forced out of power by his own citizens.

After a wave of arrests of protesters and threats to activists, Kolesnikova was detained at the border between Belarus and Ukraine late Monday night. Two of her aides made it to Ukraine. But Kolesnikova's status is currently unknown. It is widely suspected she was arrested.

The disappearance of the last remaining opposition figure comes just two days after more than 100,000 people demonstrated peacefully against Lukashenko.

Now, European intelligence services say Lukashenko is clearly under Putin's protection. That's important because, for weeks, Putin seemed to be publicly ambivalent about the fate of his neighboring strongman.

"Putin has decided to fully back Lukashenko to prevent him from falling to this popular uprising," said a NATO military official from a Baltic country, who cannot be identified speaking to the media. "What his end goal with this is remains unclear. But for now we have seen the signs that he is pushing soft power support to Lukashenko. The question is, do we see a hard power effort or 'Little Green Men,' if the soft power fails."

"Little Green Men" is military shorthand for the irregular, somewhat anonymous military operations conducted by unmarked Russian forces in 2014 in Crimea, and 2008 in Georgia.

Lukashenko spoke directly about the support from Putin in an interview Tuesday with Russian state broadcaster RT's editor Margarita Simonyan and several friendly Russian journalists.

He thanked Simonyan specifically for sending technicians and staff to help keep Belarus's national broadcasters on-air. There had been widespread resignations from Belarusian media staffers demanding the release of detained colleagues.

On Monday, the Moscow Times reported that RT workers had replaced a substantial number of Belrusian media workers who had gone on strike or were deemed potentially disloyal to the regime. Some 300 are reported to have gone on strike or resigned.

"We have also seen several planes closely associated with the FSB flying in people and equipment for intelligence and surveillance operations targeting the opposition leadership," said the Baltic official.

"This is the first stage of propping up your dictator ally: Solidify control over state media. Then bolster intelligence gathering on who opposes you. Putin knows you can't arrest 100,000 people for demonstrating but he's convinced if you arrest the right 500 people, the other 100,000 won't show up."

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Putin is doubling down in Belarus, with arrests and control of media - Business Insider - Business Insider

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Sept. 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In the latest RootMetrics 1H 2020 US State of the Mobile Union report, released today, Verizons network was awarded best overall and won or tied six of seven award categories, including overall network performance, reliability, data, call and text as well as the brand new network accessibility category.

This was the first report from RootMetrics to incorporate 5G results into scoring at the national, state, and metro levels, noting the speeds on Verizons 5G Ultra Wideband were outstanding and Verizons 4G LTE network has continued to deliver outstanding results, so Verizon users should experience fast speeds and strong performance regardless of network technology. 5G Ultra Wideband is currently available in parts of 36 US cities.

These results reinforce what many of our customers already know, Verizon consistently provides the nations most reliable network experience, said Kyle Malady, Chief Technology Officer at Verizon. The stringent methodology of these reports reinforces our network approach as we continue to accelerate the deployment of our 5G Ultra Wideband network and prepare to launch our nationwide 5G network this year.

Highlights from RootMetrics reportKey findings from RootMetrics US State of the Mobile Union 1H 2020 report include:

RootMetrics conducted real-world tests by driving nearly 203,000 miles across the United States, covering all 50 states and 125 metro areas. Their testers conducted over two million tests across seven categories. Their scientific methodology tests networks side-by-side, at the same time and in the same locations.

Additionally, Verizon was also recognized by the International Data Corporation (IDC), the premier global provider of market intelligence,as a leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Managed SD-WAN 2020 Vendor Assessment report. For more on this news click here.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) was formed on June 30, 2000 and is celebrating its 20th year as one of the worlds leading providers of technology, communications, information and entertainment products and services. Headquartered in New York City and with a presence around the world, Verizon generated revenues of $131.9 billion in 2019. The company offers data, video and voice services and solutions on its award-winning networks and platforms, delivering on customers demand for mobility, reliable network connectivity, security and control.

VERIZONS ONLINE MEDIA CENTER: News releases, stories, media contacts and other resources are available at http://www.verizon.com/about/news/. News releases are also available through an RSS feed. To subscribe, visit http://www.verizon.com/about/rss-feeds/.

Media contact:Ilya Hemlnilya.hemlin@verizon.com908.295.7677@ilyahemlin

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Verizon has America's best network in the first RootMetrics testing to include 5G - GlobeNewswire