Officials have also sought to differentiate Covid-19 from other viruses, as part of efforts to quell public panic.

It was the latest in a series of apologies by the leadership that has done little to quell public anger.

Despite measures taken to improve safety measures and quell public uneasiness, the industry has acknowledged more work needs to be done.

The nuclear watchdog accused the company of careless management but also sought to quell public fears about the new radiation readings.

The Guards and the Basij religious militia they control, led efforts to quell public protests after Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election in June.

But they didn't come up with any plans to calm financial markets or quell public protests over the rising cost of living.

In previous periods of anti-government mobilisation and during elections, ZANU-PF successfully used both state-sponsored violence in combination with legislative tools to quell public protest.

In a move to quell public anger over pay and bonuses for top bankers, RBS is cutting cash bonuses by more than 90 per cent.

The Venezuelan government has been having a torrid time quelling public dissent resulting from a dire financial crisis.

Netanyahu is preparing a package of economic relief measures aimed at quelling public anger fuelled by record-high gasoline prices.

The reform was aimed at quelling public anger over large bonuses at a time of austerity in many EU states following the financial crisis.