Cyprus Mail 31 March 2020 - Reuters News Agency
As of 06.30 today more than 785,800 people have been infected across the world and over 37,820 have died but at the same time 165,659 people have recovered.
The USA is now the country with the most infected cases (164,250) ahead of Italy (101,739) and Spain with 87,956, who overtook China (81,518) an hour or so ago.
Italy though has the most deaths, 11,591, with Spain moving second with 7,716 deaths .
All the latest news in brief as it happens
09.08 Spain proposes raising EU budget to tackle coronavirus crisis
Spain’s foreign minister Arancha Gonzalez on Tuesday proposed increasing the budget of the European Union to tackle the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
“Perhaps we should improve European cashflow, perhaps the European budget should be larger,” Gonzalez said on French radio station Europe1.
She said the European Central Bank and the European Commission have announced efforts, but there is a need for more solidarity between European Union countries.
08.57 Number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany rises to 61,913 – RKI
The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Germany has risen to 61,913 and 583 people have died of the disease, statistics from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Tuesday.
Cases rose by 4,615 compared with the previous day while the death toll climbed by 128, the tally showed.
08.54 Line survey finds 7% of users in Tokyo have at least one coronavirus symptom
A survey of Line Corp’s chat app users in Tokyo and neighbouring prefectures in partnership with Japan’s health ministry found 7.1% of respondents in the capital reporting at least one of the symptoms of the coronavirus.
A total of 443 people in Tokyo are infected with coroanvirus according to official figures. Line’s survey found that 7.1% out of 63,843 repondees in Tokyo reported at least one of the symptoms of the virus, including high fever or a bad cough, between March 27-30
08.41 Dubai banks to help customers cope with fallout of coronavirus pandemic
Dubai-based banks will implement measures to help customers cope with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) state news agency WAM reported.
The measures, which include flexible loan reimbursements and fee waivers, will be implemented between April 1 and June 30, it said, citing a decision by Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, who is also the prime minister of the UAE.
08.22 Romania places eastern city of Suceava under quarantine
Romania’s government has placed the eastern town of Suceava and eight surrounding villages under quarantine to limit the spread of the coronavirus, with more than a quarter of all cases in the country located in the area, Interior Minister Marcel Vela said late on Monday.
The European Union state, which has recorded 2,109 coronavirus infections and 65 deaths, declared a state of emergency on March 16.
With a population of around 100,000, Suceava has 593 cases and a third of all deaths. More than half of the country’s 285 infected doctors, nurses and other medical staff were in Suceava, officials said.
08.15 Vietnam to implement 15 days of social distancing in coronavirus battle
Vietnam will begin 15 days of social distancing from Wednesday to curb community transmission of the coronavirus, the Southeast Asian country’s prime minister said on Tuesday.
“From midnight April 1, everybody is required to stay at home and can only go out to buy food or in emergency cases and must keep at least two metres from others,” Prime Minster Nguyen Xuan Phuc said in a statement.
08.03 Czech Republic’s coronavirus infections top 3,000
The tally of coronavirus infections in the Czech Republic has exceeded 3,000, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday, after recording 184 new cases the previous day.
The country, which has carried out more than 43,000 tests and is ramping up daily testing, has reported the largest number of cases among central European states, but far fewer than bigger western neighbours, such as Germany.
07.57 Thailand reports 127 new coronavirus cases, one death
Thailand reported 127 new coronavirus cases and one death on Tuesday, a health official said.
The latest number raise the total number of confirmed infections in Thailand to 1,651 cases and 10 deaths since the country’s first case was reported in January.
07.56 Indonesia to suspend all foreign arrivals, barring a few exceptions
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister said on Tuesday the government has decided to ban all arrivals and transits by foreigners in Indonesia to prevent a further spread of the coronavirus.
Foreigners with stay permits and some diplomatic visits will be exempted from the ban, Retno Marsudi said, adding that the government aims to issue the regulations for the ban on Tuesday.
06.52 Coronavirus epidemic ‘far from over’ in Asia – WHO official
The coronavirus epidemic is “far from over” in the Asia-Pacific region, and the current measures to curb the spread of the virus are merely buying time for countries to prepare for large-scale community transmissions, a WHO official said on Tuesday.
Even with all the measures, the risk of transmission in the region will not go away as long as the pandemic continues, said Takeshi Kasai, Regional Director for the Western Pacific at the World Health Organization (WHO).
06.31 Mexico declares health emergency as death toll rises
Mexico declared a health emergency on Monday and issued stricter rules aimed at containing the fast-spreading coronavirus after its number of cases surged past 1,000 and the death toll rose sharply.
Health officials reported a total of 1,094 cases of coronavirus, up from 993 a day earlier, and eight more deaths, taking its total to 28. They reiterated warnings that the health system could be overwhelmed if the coronavirus is not contained.
05.49 Japan coronavirus infections top 2,000 cases
Coronavirus infections in Japan topped 2,000 cases on Tuesday, according to a Reuters calculation based on ministry data and media reports.
A centre for disabled people in Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo, found seven more infections on Tuesday, bringing the total there to 93, Kyodo News reported.
Japan is also urging its citizens not to travel to 73 countries and regions, or a third of all countries in the world, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Tuesday, as the government fights to prevent an explosive surge in coronavirus cases.
04.35 Pandemic to hit growth in Asia, China – World Bank
The coronavirus pandemic is expected to sharply slow growth in developing economies in East Asia and the Pacific as well as China, the World Bank said in an economic update on Monday.
The Bank said precise growth forecasts were difficult, given the rapidly changing situation, but its baseline now called for growth in developing economies in the region to slow to 2.1% in 2020, and to -0.5% in a lower case scenario, compared to estimated growth of 5.8% in 2019.
04.17 S.Korea reports 125 new coronavirus cases, total 9,786 -KCDC
South Korea reported 125 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, bringing the total number of infections to 9,786, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
04.15 Mexican coronavirus cases pass 1,000, health ministry says
Mexico’s health ministry on Monday confirmed 1,094 cases of coronavirus in the country, up from 993 the day before.
It also said 28 people had died from the virus in Mexico, up from 20 a day earlier.
03.34 Mainland China reports 48 new confirmed coronavirus cases
Mainland China reported on Tuesday a rise in new confirmed coronavirus cases, reversing four days of declines, due to an uptick in infections involving travelers arriving from overseas.
Mainland China had 48 new cases on Monday, the National Health Commission said in a statement, up from 31 new infections a day earlier.
All of the 48 cases were imported, bringing the total number of imported cases in China to 771 as of Monday.
02.36 New Zealand extends state of emergency to stop spread of COVID-19
New Zealand is extending the state of national emergency for a further seven days to help stop the spread of COVID-19, the Minister of Civil Defence Peeni Henare said in a statement.
The initial declaration on March 25 lasted seven days and can be extended as many times as necessary.
01.08 Trump says guidelines to slow coronavirus spread may get tougher
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that he may toughen up current guidelines aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus, which has killed more than 2000 Americans.
“The guidelines will be very much as they are, maybe even toughened up a little bit,” he told reporters in remarks at the White House.
00.31 Pentagon to send mortuary services personnel to New York
The U.S. military said on Monday it was looking to send mortuary affairs personnel to New York as part of the U.S. government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We did receive a mission assignment from FEMA for (a) mortuary affairs support team for New York and we’re in the process of sourcing some personnel,” Major General Jeff Taliaferro, vice director for operations at the Joint Staff, told a group of reporters, referring to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
What happened yesterday
EUROPE
- Italy’s government said it would extend its nationwide lockdown measures against a coronavirus outbreak at least until the Easter season in April.
- The British prime minister’s senior adviser, Dominic Cummings, is self-isolating with symptoms just days after the British leader himself tested positive.
- France recorded its worst daily coronavirus death toll on Monday, exceeding 3,000 for the first time, and army helicopters transported critical patients from the east to hospitals overseas.
- More than a dozen Russian regions including the city of St Petersburg introduced a partial lockdown.
- Finland will extend most of its measures to contain the coronavirus outbreak by one month until May 13 from April 13.
- Denmark may gradually lift a lockdown after Easter if the numbers of coronavirus cases and deaths remain stable.
- Spain overtook China in the number of those infected with coronavirus.
- Germany hopes to launch a Singapore-style smartphone app within weeks to help trace infections.
- Hungary’s prime minister has secured open-ended emergency powers to fight the outbreak.
AMERICAS
- People cheered the U.S. Navy hospital ship Comfort as it sailed into New York, a beacon of the national effort to stanch the coronavirus outbreak at its U.S. epicenter as the number of cases soared.
- The U.S. government has cut deals with Johnson & Johnson and Moderna Inc and said it is in talks with at least two other firms to expand manufacturing capacity within the United States for coronavirus vaccines.
- Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro stepped up his stand-off with state governments by suggesting that democracy could be at risk if the coronavirus crisis leads to social chaos.
- Colombia’s ELN guerrillas declared a unilateral cease-fire for one month from April 1 in an effort to help stem the spread.
ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
- China will step up prevention and control of asymptomatic coronavirus cases, state media reported.
- Police in India fired tear gas to disperse a stone-pelting crowd of migrant workers defying a three-week lockdown against the coronavirus that has left hundreds of thousands of poor without jobs and hungry.
- Tokyo’s governor called on residents to avoid outings, but said it was up to Prime Minister to declare a state of emergency.
- The World Health Organization has not shared with member states information Taiwan provided including details on its cases and prevention methods, its foreign ministry said.
- Vietnam suspended public transport services.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
- Iran had 117 new coronavirus deaths in the last 24 hours, prompting the Middle East’s worst hit country to consider tougher curbs.
- Saudi Arabia will finance treatment for anyone infected with the coronavirus in the country, the health minister said, while the agriculture ministry took steps to boost wheat and livestock supplies.
- An aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has tested positive but initial findings indicate she had not posed an infection risk to the 70-year-old leader.
- Zimbabwe began a 21-day nationwide lockdown, following neighbour South Africa in implementing some of the world’s toughest anti-coronavirus measures likely to hurt an economy already suffering hyperinflation and food shortages.
ECONOMIC FALLOUT
- Global stocks rose on Monday despite a drop in oil prices to their lowest levels since 2002, as central banks and the United States tried to contain damage from the coronavirus that has upended the world economy.
- Trade ministers from the Group of 20 major economies agreed on Monday to keep their markets open and ensure the continued flow of vital medical supplies, equipment and other essential goods.
- The International Monetary Fund said relaxing the euro zone’s fiscal rules and support from the European Central Bank and European Stability Mechanism is critical to a strong regional response.
- Banks across the euro zone are ditching dividends to shore up reserves as the outbreak threatens to tip the world into a deep recession.
- Israel will spend 80 billion shekels ($22 billion) to help the economy weather the coronavirus crisis.
- Switzerland may have to expand its emergency fund for companies after banks loaned out $6.89 billion in the first four days of the scheme.
- Peru is readying a stimulus package worth around 12% of its gross domestic product.
- The outbreak will push Germany into recession in the first half of this year and could result in its output contracting by up to 5.4% this year.
- Collapsing oil prices are costing some OPEC members not only lost revenue when they most need it to tackle the coronavirus crisis, but also market share they may never recoup.
- South Korea will make emergency cash payments to all but the richest families and draw up a second supplementary budget next month.
- Nigeria’s currency eased to 415 naira per dollar on the black market on Monday after its president ordered a lockdown of two of the country’s biggest cities.
- Singapore’s central bank aggressively eased its monetary policy, with the city-state’s economy bracing for a deep recession.
