News Headlines - 18 March 2020

▽Suicide note reignites Moritomo scandal that rocked Abe administration | The Japan Times

A cronyism scandal that rocked Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration two years ago has suddenly been resurrected, threatening the administration again.
The wife of a former Finance Ministry official who killed himself in March 2018 filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the ministry and Nobuhisa Sagawa, former chief of its financial bureau, seeking damages of ￥110 million.

▽Hokkaido to lift state of emergency over coronavirus on Thurs.

Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido will lift on Thursday a state of emergency declared late last month following the rapid spread of the new coronavirus, its governor said.
Hokkaido, a popular area for both Japanese and foreign tourists, has had the highest number of infections out of the country's prefectures, but there are signs the spread of the virus has been abating.
However, Hokkaido will still request that people avoid going to high-risk areas.

▽'Come back Monday, OK?' Hundreds of prisoners escape in Brazil amid Covid-19 anger | The Guardian

Hundreds of prisoners have escaped from four semi-open prisons in São Paulo state in the south-east of Brazil after Easter prison holidays were cancelled and restrictions on visitors tightened because of coronavirus.
Videos showed dozens of prisoners fleeing down a street near one coastal prison and flooding across a soccer pitch on a beach.
There were riots and escapes from semi-open prisons in Tremembé, Porto Feliz and a wing of a prison in Mirandópolis in São Paulo state... The São Paulo state penitentiary department said it had postponed the Easter prison break – one of five annual breaks for prisoners in semi-open regimeswho work in the day – because of coronavirus.

▽Coronavirus can persist in air for hours and on surfaces for days: study - Reuters

The highly contagious novel coronavirus that has exploded into a global pandemic can remain viable and infectious in droplets in the air for hours and on surfaces up to days, according to a new study that should offer guidance to help people avoid contracting the respiratory illness called COVID-19... The tests show that when the virus is carried by the droplets released when someone coughs or sneezes, it remains viable, or able to still infect people, in aerosols for at least three hours.
On plastic and stainless steel, viable virus could be detected after three days. On cardboard, the virus was not viable after 24 hours. On copper, it took 4 hours for the virus to become inactivated.

▽Coronavirus and ibuprofen: Separating fact from fiction - BBC News

Stories have been circulating online suggesting it's dangerous to take ibuprofen if you have coronavirus. Alongside genuine medical advice, false messages have been spreading, distorting the facts.
Speaking to the BBC, medical professionals said that ibuprofen is not recommended for managing coronavirus symptoms. Those already taking ibuprofen for other conditions should not stop without consulting a doctor, though.
Both paracetamol and ibuprofen can bring a temperature down and help with flu-like symptoms. But ibuprofen and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are not suitable for everyone and can cause side-effects - especially for people with asthma, heart and circulatory problems.