Cyprus Mail 27 March 2020 - Reuters News Agency
As of 9.05 this morning more than 533,000 people have been infected across the world and over 24,096 have died but at the same time 124,349 people have recovered.
Leaders of the Group of 20 major economies pledged to inject $5 trillion in fiscal spending into the global economy to blunt the economic impact of the coronavirus and “do whatever it takes to overcome the pandemic
All the latest news in brief as it happens
09.29 China stocks end week higher on hopes of more stimulus
China stocks rose on Friday to end the week higher, boosted by hopes of more stimulus to shield the world’s second-largest economy from the coronavirus pandemic.
The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.3%, to 3,710.06, while the Shanghai Composite Index also added 0.3% to 2,772.20.
For the week, CSI300 gained 1.6%, while SSEC was up 1%, ending a two-week losing streak.
09.27 ABN Amro extends payment freezes on business loans to more firms
Dutch bank ABN Amro said on Friday it would offer more businesses hit by the coronavirus outbreak the opportunity to delay payments on their loans.
ABN said principal and interest payments of clients with a credit facility of up to 50 million euros ($55.2 million) would not be collected from April until September.
It said that about 2,500 companies which hold around 40% of ABN commercial bank’s total loan portfolio of 42.6 billion euros would be helped by these new measures.
09.17 Kazakhstan to shut down most businesses in major cities for a week
Kazakhstan on Friday ordered most companies in its capital Nur-Sultan and biggest city Almaty to suspend work between March 30 and April 5, the government said, as part of measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Only state bodies, healthcare organisations, media, food retailers, pharmacies and other essential service providers will be allowed to continue work, it said in a statement.
09.02 South Africa reports first two coronavirus deaths as cases breach 1,000
Two people have died from coronavirus in South Africa, the health ministry said on Friday, adding that the total number of cases in the country have risen to more than 1,000, from 927 a day earlier.
“This morning, we South Africans wake up with sad news that we now have our first deaths resulting from COVID-19,” the health ministry said in a statement.
08.51 Hungary to restrict people leaving their homes to fight coronavirus – PM
Hungary will impose restrictions on citizens leaving their homes between March 28 and April 11 to fight the spread of the new coronavirus, Prime Miniszter Viktor Orban told public radio on Friday.
The move was passed to further reduce the number of social contacts, which has fallen to about 10 percent its normal rate but needs to be even lower, Orban said.
08.37 Vietnam bans big gatherings, cuts flights in coronavirus battle
Vietnam will limit domestic flights and stop public gatherings for two weeks from Saturday in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the government said in a statement on Friday.
Indoor gatherings of more than 20 people and outdoor gatherings of 10 people or more will be banned, the government said, citing an order signed by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
Vietnam has found 153 coronavirus cases but has had no reported deaths, according to the health ministry. More than 57,000 people are in quarantine.
08.11 Russia’s RDIF fund says it will have test kits for public use within a month
The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and its partners have produced 500,000 coronavirus test kits so far, but are planning to soon ramp up production to 2.5 million kits a week, Kirill Dmitriev, RDIF’s head, told Reuters in a phone interview.
RDIF last week announced an investment into a Russian company called Medpromresurs, which was established to focus on a new Russian-Japanese coronavirus testing system.
08.10 Turkey struggles to ramp up tests as outbreak reaches critical phase
A week after sending half a million coronavirus test kits to the United States, Turkey is struggling to ramp up its own testing for the disease as doctors warn the country has reached a crossroads in containing the fast-growing outbreak.
Turkey reported its first infection just over two weeks ago, among the last big nations to do so.
Since then, a surge in cases to 3,629 has outstripped rates in most other countries and the government has fallen short of its target to conduct 10,000 tests per day.
07.46 Number of coronavirus cases in Germany rises to 42,288 – RKI
The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Germany has risen to 42,288 and 253 people have died of the disease, statistics from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed on Friday.
Cases rose by 5,780 compared with the previous day while the death toll climbed by 55, the tally showed.
07.10 Uzbekistan widens lockdowns, boosts doctors’ pay
Uzbekistan locked down more cities and districts on Friday, and announced large bonus payments for medical workers, in its effort to slow the spread of a coronavirus, as it reported the country’s first death and the number of cases climbed to 83.
Uzbekistan locked down more cities and districts on Friday, and announced large bonus payments for medical workers, in its effort to slow the spread of a coronavirus, as it reported the country’s first death and the number of cases climbed to 83.
A 72-year old man in the city of Namangan died on Friday morning, having suffered from a host of other diseases in addition to the coronavirus, the healthcare ministry said.
Municipal authorities in the province of Navoi, home to large gold- and uranium-mining companies and chemical plants, said they were locking down the cities of Navoi and Zarafshan, as well as several districts.
06.44 Australia introduces enforced quarantine for returning citizens
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday tightened enforcement on self isolation for thousands of citizens returning from overseas, saying states and territories would quarantine all arrivals in hotels.
The Australian Defence Force would also be deployed to help enforce the self-isolation rules, Morrison said.
The number of coronavirus cases in Australia surpassed 3,000 on Friday from less than 100 at the start of March, according to health authorities, raising fears about a wider spread in the community. The country has reported 13 deaths from the pandemic so far.
06.03 Thailand reports 91 new coronavirus cases and one death
Thailand reported 91 new coronavirus cases and 1 fatality, bringing the total to 1,136 cases and 5 deaths, a health official said on Friday.
The latest death was of a patient in Narathiwat province bordering Malaysia, the health official said.
The new infections consist of 30 patients linked to previous cases and 19 cases including imported ones, said Anupong Sujariyakul, a senior expert in preventive medicine at the Disease Control Department. The balance 42 people, who tested positive, are awaiting a probe to determine how they contracted the disease, he said.
04.42 U.S. Open scheduled for June postponed
The U.S. Open originally scheduled to be played June 18-21 at Winged Foot in Mamaroneck, New York has been postponed over coronavirus concerns, the New York Post reported on Thursday.
The event will instead take place “later in the summer” but the location will not change, the newspaper said, citing sources with knowledge of the USGA’s plans.
New York has been hit hard by the pandemic, which has infected over 82,000 people and killed more than 1,000 in the United States so far.
The tournament becomes the third of golf’s four major championships affected by the health crisis, after April’s Masters and May’s PGA Championship were previously postponed.
03.32 Japan says no need now for state of emergency
The Japanese government said on Friday there was no need now to declare a state of emergency, after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe the previous day described the coronavirus as a “national crisis” following a surge of cases in Tokyo.
Japan at this stage is not in a situation where it needs to issue an emergency declaration, top spokesman Yoshihide Suga told a regular news conference.
03.24 S.Korea reports 91 new coronavirus cases, total 9,332 -KCDC
South Korea reported 91 new coronavirus cases on Friday, taking the national tally to 9,332, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
03.19 Mexico coronavirus case tally rises to 585, reports 2 more deaths
Mexico has registered 585 cases of coronavirus in the country, up from 475 the previous day, as well as two more deaths, a health ministry official said on Thursday. A total of eight people have died from the virus in Mexico.
03.11 Nicaragua reports first death from coronavirus
Nicaragua has registered the Central American country’s first death from coronavirus, an HIV-positive person with multiple health conditions, the health ministry on Thursday.
Nicaragua has registered the Central American country’s first death from coronavirus, an HIV-positive person with multiple health conditions, the health ministry on Thursday.
02.33 Mainland China reports first local coronavirus transmission in 3 days
Mainland China reported its first locally transmitted coronavirus infection in three days, although cases involving travellers from overseas continued to dominate the total number of new cases.
China’s National Health Commission said on Friday that 55 new coronavirus cases were reported on the mainland on Thursday, with all but 1 case involving so-called imported cases. There were 67 new cases a day earlier.
01.49 Panama reports 116 new coronavirus cases and nine total deaths
Panama registered 116 new cases of coronavirus on Thursday, health officials said, bringing the Central American country’s total number of cases to 674.
Officials also said one more person has died, leading to nine deaths overall from the virus, and that 83 people are hospitalized.
What happened yesterday
EUROPE
- *The coronavirus death toll in Italy rose by 662 to 8,165 on Thursday.
- * The number of cases in Italy’s northern region of Lombardy increased by some 2,500, a steeper increase than in previous days.
- * Spain extended its lockdown to at least April 12, as the death toll rose to 4,089.
- * German hospitals with spare capacity will take in at least 47 coronavirus patients from Italy in a sign of European solidarity.
- * Another 115 people have died in the United Kingdom after testing positive for the coronavirus, bringing the total number of deaths to 578.
- * Britain has placed an emergency order of 10,000 ventilators from Dyson.
- * Switzerland’s infections topped 10,000 as the government pumped money into the economy and army medical units helped hospitals handle the spreading epidemic.
- * President Vladimir Putin said he hoped Russia would defeat the virus in two to three months, as authorities suspended international flights, ordered most shops in the capital to shut and halted some church services.
- * In Lisbon, a “drive-thru” clinic is performing five-minute swab tests through car windows on people with symptoms, as Portuguese authorities ramp up testing facilities.
- * Slovakia aims to sharply increase daily testing in the next few weeks.
AMERICAS
- * As the coronavirus pandemic’s U.S. death toll raced past 1,000 people, hospitals and government authorities in New York, New Orleans and other hot spots grappled with a surge in cases and a dire shortage of supplies, staff and sick beds.
- * Americans should receive cash payments within three weeks, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said.
- * Canada on Thursday attacked a U.S. proposal to deploy troops along the undefended joint border to help fight the spread of coronavirus.
- * Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Thursday urged Mexicans in the United States to avoid visiting Mexico except in emergencies.
- * Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday exempted churches from coronavirus lockdowns by classifying religious activity as an essential service.
ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
- * Japan banned entry from 21 European countries and Iran, and set up a new crisis task force.
- * China ordered airlines to sharply cut the number of flights in and out of the country as Beijing worries that travellers from overseas could reignite the outbreak.
- * India’s death toll from the coronavirus rose by six to 16 in the last 24 hours.
- * South Korea warned that it will deport foreigners while its citizens could face jail if they violate self-quarantine rules after a surge in imported cases.
- * Armenia and Kazakhstan reported their first deaths on Thursday.
- * Australia entered 4,000 healthcare workers into a trial to see if a century-old vaccine for tuberculosis can fight off the new coronavirus.
- * New Zealand started a one-month compulsory lockdown, with warnings from authorities to stay at home or face big fines and even jail.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
- * About half of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa still have a “narrowing” opportunity to curb the spread of the virus, the regional head of the World Health Organisation said.
- * Turkey could order the public to stay at home if infections continue to spread, the government said as it clamped down further on medical equipment leaving the country.
- * Iran started an intercity travel ban, a day after Tehran warned the country might face a second outbreak. Iran has reported 2,234 deaths and 29,406 infections so far.
- * Lebanon will begin an overnight shutdown from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m., as it steps up measures to combat the virus. * The United Arab Emirates will impose overnight curfews as a temporary measure this weekend, when it will carry out a nationwide disinfection campaign.
- * Qatar signed agreements to increase its strategic food stuff reserves.
- * Saudi Arabia has released 250 foreign detainees held on non-violent immigration and residency offences.
- * The number of coronavirus cases in South Africa jumped to more than 900 on Thursday and President Cyril Ramaphosa called for richer countries to help African nations deal with the economic fallout.
ECONOMIC FALLOUT
- * A Wall Street rally powered global gains in stocks despite a record number of new unemployment filings in the United States, as traders focused on the Senate’s passage of the relief bill and the possibility of more stimulus to come.
- * The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits surged to a record of more than 3 million last week.
- * The United States “may well be in recession” but progress in controlling the outbreak will determine when the economy can fully reopen, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said.
- * India announced a $22.6 billion stimulus plan that provides direct cash transfers and food security measures to millions of poor people hit by a nationwide lockdown.
- * China is implementing $344 billion of mainly fiscal measures in its fight against the outbreak.
- * The African Development Bank (AfDB) sold a record $3 billion debt issue on Thursday.
- * South Korean consumers turned the most pessimistic in more than a decade in March, a central bank survey found on Friday.
- * Japan’s government offered its bleakest assessment on the economy in nearly seven years, saying conditions in March were “severe.” EVENTS
- * It is too soon to decide whether the Tour de France can go ahead, but if it does it may be without roadside spectators, France’s sports minister said.
- * Current contracts for players and coaches should be extended until the end of the delayed domestic soccer seasons, according to an internal FIFA document presented to its Coronavirus Working Group.
