Cyprus Mail 30 March 2020 - Reuters News Agency
As of 05.00 today more than 722,190 people have been infected across the world and over 33,970 have died but at the same time 151,766 people have recovered.
The USA is now the country with the most infected cases (142,178) ahead of Italy (97,689) and China (81,470). Italy though has almost 4,000 deaths recorded (10,779) than Spain (6,802) which overtook China into second place since Saturday.
All the latest news in brief as it happens
05.57 S.Korea to draw up second extra budget, give cash payments to many families as virus relief
South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in said on Monday that the government will provide emergency cash payments to many families and draw up a second supplementary budget soon to ease the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
The cash payments will be made to all households except the top 30% by income.
05.52 Asia shares suffer virus chills, central banks offer what they can
Asian shares slid on Monday and oil prices took another tumble as fears mounted that the global shutdown for the coronavirus could last for months, doing untold harm to economies despite central banks’ best efforts.
“We continue to mark down 1H20 global GDP forecasts as our assessment of both the global pandemic’s reach and the damage related to necessary containment policies has increased,” said JPMorgan economist Bruce Kasman.
04.49 Argentina extends coronavirus quarantine until mid April
Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez said on Sunday that the country would extend a mandatory nationwide quarantine period until the middle of April in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus that has killed over 30,000 people worldwide.
What happened over the weekend
EUROPE
- Italy’s government will “inevitably” extend beyond April 3 the containment measures it had approved to stem the outbreak, the regional affairs minister said on Sunday.
- The death toll in Italy surged past 10,000 on Saturday. Confirmed cases rose by about 6,000 to 92,472, the second-highest number of cases in the world behind the United States.
- Spain prepared to enter its third week under near-total lockdown on Sunday, as the government approved a strengthening of measures and the death toll rose to 6,528.
- Prime Minister Boris Johnson is warning Britons in a letter to 30 million households that things will get worse before they get better, as he himself self-isolates in Downing Street to recover from the coronavirus.
- Britain has reported 17,089 confirmed cases of the disease and 1,019 deaths and the peak of the epidemic in the country is expected to come in a few weeks.
- Germany’s health system could face strains similar to those in Italy if the outbreak in the country worsens, the head of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the federal agency responsible for disease control, told a newspaper.
AMERICAS
- President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he would issue a travel warning for the hard-hit New York area to limit the spread of the coronavirus, backing off from an earlier suggestion that he might try to cut off the region entirely.
- The U.S. death count crossed 2,100 on Saturday, more than double the level from two days ago. The United States has now recorded more than 123,000 cases, the most of any country in the world.
- The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday approved a $2.2 trillion aid package and Trump quickly signed it into law.
ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the nation’s poor for forgiveness as the economic and human toll from his 21-day nationwide lockdown deepens and criticism mounts about a lack of adequate planning ahead of the decision.
- The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Japanese organisers are in final stages of talks to set the opening date for the Tokyo Games in July next year, Japanese media said.[nL4N2BM012
- Doctors, politicians and human rights commissioners are calling on Indonesia’s government to enact tighter movement restrictions as the death toll from coronavirus rose in the world’s fourth most populous country.
- A growing number of imported coronavirus cases in China risked fanning a second wave of infections when domestic transmissions had “basically been stopped”, a senior health official said on Sunday.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
- The United Arab Emirates on Saturday extended to April 5 a nightly curfew to sterilise public places to combat the spread of coronavirus as neighbouring Qatar reported its first death from the disease.
- To stem the spread of the virus in crowded jails, Iran’s judiciary on Sunday extended furloughs for 100,000 prisoners. On March 17, Iran said it had freed about 85,000 people from jail temporarily, including political prisoners.
- Turkey halted all intercity trains and limited domestic flights on Saturday. The number of cases jumped to 7,402, with 108 dead.
ECONOMIC FALLOUT
- Stocks across the globe fell on Friday after a historic three-day run-up, as skittish investors kept indices on track for their worst monthly and quarterly performances since 2008, while the dollar fell by the most in any week since 2009.
- Qatar Airways will have to seek government support eventually, Chief Executive Akbar al-Baker told Reuters on Sunday, warning that the Middle East carrier could soon run out of the cash needed to continue flying.
- Egypt’s central bank said it has instructed banks to put temporary limits on daily withdrawals and deposits amid concerns over the spread of the coronavirus.
- South Africa may approach the International Monetary Fund and World Bank for funding, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said in the Sunday Times newspaper.
- Investors rushed into cash and out of bonds at a record pace over the past week, BofA’s weekly fund flow data showed on Friday.
