Asian Insider, March 24: Hubei eases travel restrictions, India lockdown, recession fears

Hi,

In today's bulletin: Measures to ease restrictions in Hubei raise alarm, India begins what could be world's biggest lockdown, IMF sees recovery in 2021, Singapore-Australia deepen ties over a video call, Covid-19 disrupts blockbuster releases and more.

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Even as the Health Commission for China's Hubei province announced it will remove all travel restrictions in and out of the province tomorrow (March 25), except for the city of Wuhan, many Chinese remained worried about the possibility of a new wave of infections, as more people get the opportunity to return to work.

Alongside, Hubei's Health Commission said that travel restrictions for leaving Wuhan, which has been under lockdown since Jan 23, will be lifted on April 8 and people will be allowed to move out on the basis of using a health code.

The announcements come as the number of new infections in Hubei have dropped to zero, according to official reports. However, some have expressed concern on social media that China was not including asymptomatic or presymptomatic cases in its tally, even though a few such cases are being detected daily. China has said it will not let its guard down.

India, the world's second-most populous country, was set to halt all domestic flights within the country tonight starting at 11.59pm local time (or 2.29am Singapore time on March 25), in its biggest move yet to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

The move follows a ban on all international flights imposed over the weekend and a cancellation of all passenger trains till March 31. Only cargo flights will be allowed to fly across the country, reports India Bureau Chief Nirmala Ganapathy.

Thirty-two states & union territories have imposed a complete lockdown and new regulations say people venturing out without good reason could be arrested or fined up to 1,000 rupees (S$19.03).

The country has recorded slightly over 450 Covid-19 infections so far but some observers have shared their concerns that without stringent measures India could have one of the world's highest number of coronavirus cases.

The International Monetary Fund has said that the coronavirus pandemic will cause a global recession in 2020 that could be worse than the one triggered by the global financial crisis of 2008-2009 but growth should recover in 2021.

While the extraordinary fiscal actions taken by several countries to contain the outbreak and stimulate their economies are to be welcomed, much more will be needed, the Board said. And recovery in 2021 will be dependent on how fast the virus can be contained, IMF's Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks rebounded sharply today as the US Federal Reserve's promise of limitless asset purchases eased painful strains in financial markets. Stock markets were also optimistic that US lawmakers will bridge their differences and pass a US$1.8 trillion (S$2.6 trillion) economic support package.

Singapore and Australia signed a raft of agreements to take their bilateral ties a notch higher as Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met his Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, over a video call.

The new agreements, 10 in total, include working together on military training, digital economy and battling Covid-19.

A treaty signed by defence ministers of the two countries will allow Singapore Armed Forces to have access to a vastly expanded training area in the Australian state of Queensland. Other agreements will allow for artificial intelligence development and commercialisation.

First it was China that decided to scrap film releases that it had planned for the Chinese New Year after the coronavirus outbreak became a global cause of concern. The list included titles such as Detective Chinatown 3, Lost In Russia, action drama The Rescue and fantasy animation Legend Of Deification. Now, as the virus results in more infections in the West than in the East, Hollywood's taking a step back. The good news? For some, the new release dates have been announced.

PARKING PAIN FOR AIRLINES: As airlines idle thousands of aircraft for which there are no passengers, they are hitting an unprecedented problem: finding a place to park them. Taxiways, maintenance hangars and even runways at major airports are being transformed into giant parking lots for more than 2,500 airliners, the biggest of which takes up about as much room as an eight-story building with a footprint ¾ the size of an American football field.

VIRGIN ACCUSES QANTAS OF SPREADING WRONG INFORMATION: Australia's consumer watchdog said today it is investigating Qantas for alleged anti-competitive behaviour, after its CEO appeared to call for rival Virgin Australia to be cut out of a massive government bailout. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Rod Sims said he received a letter from Virgin Australia chief executive Paul Scurrah alleging Qantas had tried to "send a message that Virgin was in trouble and would not survive" the coronavirus crisis.

SINGAPORE'S ODETTE TOPS ASIA'S 50 BEST RESTAURANTS LIST: French fine-dining restaurant Odette at the National Gallery Singapore retains its No. 1 position on this year's Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list. This makes it the Best Restaurant in Asia and Singapore for the second year in a row. The next spots were taken by Tokyo's Den - retaining its third place spot - as well as Hong Kong's Belon at No. 4 (previously No. 15), and The Chairman at No. 2 (previously No. 11). Another Singapore establishment - modern Australian barbecue restaurant Burnt Ends in Teck Lim Road (previously No. 10) - climbed to the fifth spot.

That's it for today. Thanks for reading. Stay safe and we'll be back with you tomorrow.

Shefali