Internet shutdowns ‘not justified’ in Covid-19 outbreak

A file photo of Kashmiri students using the internet at a Tourist Reception Centre (TRC) in Srinagar, as Internet facilities were suspended across the region as part of a partial communication blockade by the Indian government. Global digital rights group Access Now this week called on the governments of Ethiopia, Myanmar, Bangladesh and India to end ‘all deliberate interference with the right to access and share information’ about the epidemic. — AFP

BANGKOK/ADDIS ABABA: Internet shutdowns cannot be justified at a time when access to information is critical to containing the deadly coronavirus pandemic, human rights groups have warned.

The outbreak has infected more than 245,000 people worldwide and the death toll now exceeds 10,000, according to a Reuters tally.