UK pub reopens as vegetable shop
London: Following UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s order to close all the pubs and restaurants across the country in a bit to stop the novel coronavirus from further spreading, one such establishment in Sussex reopened as a vegetable shop, the media reported.
Besides vegetables, the Swan Inn pub in Lewes, Sussex, also have free range milk and locally baked artisan bread on sale, with a sign outside saying: “Help us support our suppliers in times of crisis… Spread the love, not corona,” the Metro newspaper reported.
People can also buy a pint of ale or a bottle of wine.
To help prevent the spread of coronavirus, people were asked to use different doors for entering and leaving, and advised to give others space when shopping. The pub-turned-shop, which opens at 12 p.m. every day, is trying to continue to support its workers and community by changing its focus. (IANS)
Bangladesh turns lone liquor plant into hand sanitiser producing unit
Dhaka: Bangladesh overnight turned the country’s lone liquor producing unit into a sanitiser production plant as demands for hand sanitiser and liquid soap spiked amid the global coronavirus outbreak. “We are capable of producing as much as needed and we plan to sell it through our (liquor) distribution centres and few other points,” said state-run Carew & Co’s managing director Jahid Ali Ansary.
He, however, said it could take few days for industrial scale production but ‘Carew’s Hand Sanitiser’ would be marketed from Monday as a pilot case. He said that the disinfectant would consist of 60 to 70 per cent rectified spirit and glycerine alongside colour and fragrance which could “kill any virus instantly”.
Ansary said the company would charge Tk 60 (USD1 = Tk 85) for a 100 ml bottle of hand sanitiser, which is cheaper than the ones available in the market. The development came as hand sanitizers appeared scanty in shops prompting Bangladesh’s industries ministry to direct the company to prepare for massive production and nationwide marketing to meet its intensified demand. The global death toll from the virus has crossed 14,000 while the number of infected rose to above 300,000.
Established in 1938 as a private enterprise, Carew & Co later emerged as a nationalised entity and only liquor plant in the Muslim-majority Bangladesh where drinking in public is prohibited. The company produces different types of whisky, brandy, rum, gin and vodka having a market in abroad as well. (PTI)
Pakistani officials suspended for selfie with COVID-19 infected colleague
Karachi: Six district administration officials in Pakistan’s Sindh province were suspended for taking a selfie with their colleague who tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to authorities.
The authorities said the deputy commissioner of Khairpur issued a notification on Sunday ordering the suspension of the six revenue officials from different areas of the district who unknowingly held a close meeting with one of their colleagues who had returned from Iran and later tested positive for the deadly virus, rports Dawn news.
“Due to the information received through social media regarding selfie by the revenue staff with Irshad Ali Rajpar who recently returned from Iran and was reported as positive case of coronavirus, the following staff in the selfie are hereby placed under suspension with immediate effect,” said the notification. On Monday, a 15-day lockdown came into effect in Sindh province which has reported the maximum number of coronavirus cases in the country.
Currently, the overall number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Pakistan increased to 799, including 352 from Sindh. The death toll currently stood at five. (IANS)