G20 Health Ministers to Meet Sunday over COVID-19

A police van is parked in the closed Jardin du Champs de Mars garden in front of the Eiffel tower in Paris, France, Tuesday, April 7, 2020. (AFP)
A police van is parked in the closed Jardin du Champs de Mars garden in front of the Eiffel tower in Paris, France, Tuesday, April 7, 2020. (AFP)
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G20 Health Ministers to Meet Sunday over COVID-19

A police van is parked in the closed Jardin du Champs de Mars garden in front of the Eiffel tower in Paris, France, Tuesday, April 7, 2020. (AFP)
A police van is parked in the closed Jardin du Champs de Mars garden in front of the Eiffel tower in Paris, France, Tuesday, April 7, 2020. (AFP)

Health ministers from the Group of 20 major economies will speak by video conference on April 19 to address the impact of the new coronavirus on the global health sector and society, the Saudi G20 secretariat said on Monday.

The meeting follows last month’s virtual meeting of G20 leaders, who tasked the health ministers with sharing national best practices and developing a set of urgent actions for the G20 to jointly combat the pandemic.

More than 1.8 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 115,242 have died, according to a Reuters tally.

Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.



11 Dead after School Bus Hits Students, Parents in China

A boy and an adult ride on an electric scooter on the first day of school in Beijing, China, 02 September 2024. EPA/ANDRES MARTINEZ CASARES
A boy and an adult ride on an electric scooter on the first day of school in Beijing, China, 02 September 2024. EPA/ANDRES MARTINEZ CASARES
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11 Dead after School Bus Hits Students, Parents in China

A boy and an adult ride on an electric scooter on the first day of school in Beijing, China, 02 September 2024. EPA/ANDRES MARTINEZ CASARES
A boy and an adult ride on an electric scooter on the first day of school in Beijing, China, 02 September 2024. EPA/ANDRES MARTINEZ CASARES

Eleven people were killed in China's eastern Shandong province on Tuesday after a school bus lost control at a busy pedestrian junction, broadcaster CCTV reported, with disturbing footage showing bodies lying on the road and trapped under the vehicle.
Six parents and five children were killed in the incident while one remained in critical condition. More than two dozen were injured, CCTV said, according to Reuters.
Dongping Police Department said in a statement on WeChat that a vehicle picking up students lost control at a junction in Dongping County, Shandong on Tuesday morning. The accident is under investigation, it added.
In July, a motor vehicle ploughed into pedestrians in Hunan province, killing eight people. In May, a bus carrying 45 passengers including 39 students collided with a truck in Jiangsu province, partly due to negligent driving.
Traffic accidents, often deadly, are common in China because of weak enforcement of traffic rules and a lack of safety awareness.
China's People's Daily Newspaper said on Sunday that China was urging measures at primary and secondary schools across the country to ensure safety of students and school including preventing safety hazards on campus, safe use of school buses and traffic patrols.