Among the key developments in the global coronavirus outbreak on Monday 16 March:
The global death toll moved past 7,000
According to figures compiled by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, 7,119 people have died as a result of the pandemic. In all, there have been 181,377 confirmed cases and 78,085 people have recovered.
Britons were told to curtail social interactions
The new government advice, something of a U-turn, came during the prime minister’s first daily press conference. Boris Johnson said people with underlying health conditions, pregnant women and anyone aged 70 years or older should pay particular heed. Anyone whose relatives showed signs of illness were told to self-isolate for two weeks.
Americans received similar advice
The US president, Donald Trump, recommended Americans avoid gatherings of more than 10 people, warning them that the stricter measures were necessary to slow the spread of the virus and that a recession could well be on the way.
France stepped up isolation measures
During a sombre national address, the country’s president, Emmanuel Macron, said those citizens who had not submitted to self-isolation over the weekend had put themselves and the people around them at risk and announced stricter measures to be backed up by police enforcement.
Qantas made deep cuts to its services
Following the leads of a host of Europe-based airlines, Qantas decided to slash its international flights, cutting international capacity by 90% until at least the end of May, and cutting domestic capacity by about 60%.
Idris Elba contracted the virus
The British actor confirmed the news on Twitter, saying he was self-isolating. Earlier this month he was photographed at an event at London’s Wembley Arena with Sophie Grégoire Trudeau just over week before she tested positive. Elba’s fellow actor, Tom Hanks, was released from hospital quarantine, while Hanks’ wife Rita Wilson remained in isolation, having also testing positive.
G7 stressed international cooperation
A statement released by Downing Street sought to highlight the significance of national governments not looking solely to their own interests – acknowledging that coronavirus is a global pandemic.
The Grand National was cancelled
The sporting event, arguably the most important on the British horse racing calendar, was the latest to be called off as a result of the pandemic.
