We’ve launched a new blog where we’ll be bringing you the latest global developments in the coronavirus pandemic. We will now be closing this one.
You can find it here:
Indonesia’s foreign affairs ministry has announced the suspension of all short-stay visa exemptions and visas on arrival for 30 days. The measure takes effect this Friday, 20 March.
The government has advised citizens to return home from abroad as soon as possible.
Argentina registered its highest single-day rise in reported coronavirus cases so far Tuesday, with 14 new cases – 12 corresponding to recent arrivals from abroad – bringing the total to 79. Two deaths have been reported so far.
Grappling to deal with the crisis, Argentina has gone into full lockdown, leaving thousands of Argentinians stranded abroad. The latest estimate is that there are 30,000 nationals struggling to return to the country due to the suspension of incoming flights. Authorities are negotiating special flights with international carriers and putting the national carrier Aerolíneas Argentinas into high gear.
Authorities are also working to stem the sudden flow of thousands of people to Argentina’s Atlantic beach resorts. The announcement of paid work leave for persons over 60 and permission for others to work from home has apparently been taken by many as an extension of the southern hemisphere summer holidays.
“We don’t want you to come, there’s an international situation and the protocols for isolation and quarantine have to be respected,” tweeted the mayor of Pinamar, a major beach resort.
Highway controls and the cancellation of all long-distance flights, trains and buses will start Friday, as Argentina heads for a long weekend.
A bit more on the first case in The Gambia now:
In a televised statement, Health Minister Ahmadou Lamin Samateh said officials in the tiny West African state had confirmed an infection in a young woman who had recently travelled from the United Kingdom.
She went into self-isolation after feeling feverish, before being confirmed as a positive case.
“All passengers who came in the same flight or in contact with the confirmed case will be traced and undergo isolation,” the minister said.
Samateh’s announcement came straight on the heels of a televised statement from President Adama Barrow, who announced anti-virus measures on Tuesday before The Gambia had a single confirmed case.
The president announced a ban on public gatherings and the closure of schools for three weeks from Wednesday.
Travellers from affected countries will also be isolated for two weeks, the president said.
Updated
Hi, Helen Sullivan with you now, taking over from my colleague Kevin Rawlinson.
As we continue to report on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, we’re looking for stories of how this unprecedented crisis has affected couples, families, friends and communities.
If you’ve been separated from a loved one by lockdowns, have had to cancel your wedding or miss an important family event, we’d like to hear from you. We’re always interested in hearing what you may have done in response, too, or how you and your loved ones (and neighbours) are supporting each other in these trying times.
Please do include photographs if you can and are happy for us to use them.
Send me a message on Twitter @helenrsullivan, tag me in a tweet of your own (if you’re happy for us to include it in the blog), or email me: helen.sullivan@theguardian.com.
The UK’s transport secretary, Grant Shapps, is giving the go-ahead for a temporary relaxation of drivers’ hours rules amid the coronavirus outbreak.
We’re helping supermarkets respond to #COVID-19. I’ve authorised a temporary relaxation of the drivers’ hours rules to help deliver vital goods to stores across the UK; with the understanding that driver welfare must not be compromised.
— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) March 17, 2020
Still in Australia:
Victorian state police have warned drivers that they can lose their licence or be fined if they refuse a breath test over coronavirus fears.
Queensland police announced on Monday that it had immediately and until further notice suspended “static” roadside breath and drug tests — that’s when you round a corner and suddenly find yourself in a queue of cars being tested — to reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmission. Random single-car breath and drug tests will continue.
Victoria has taken the same approach — suspended the use of the big drug/0.05 bus but continued to do single car stops.
And in a statement on Wednesday, Victoria Police said drivers could not refuse a breath test out of coronavirus fears.
Summary
Here’s a summary of the latest news:
- Criminal trials are to be halted in England and Wales, the lord chief justice announced. Lord Burnett said no new trial should start in any crown court unless it is expected to last for three days or fewer. Any longer cases due to start before the end of April are to be postponed.
- Australians were told to expect at least six months of severe disruption. The prime minister and chief medical officer delivered a series of new restrictions, saying Australians should avoid international travel and groups of more than 100 people, as well as other measures.
- The virus reached every US state as West Virginia became the last to diagnose a case. All 50 states in the union now have at least one confirmed case. The USA has seen 93 deaths as a result of the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University figures.
- English Heritage closed off sites. The guardian of some of England’s most cherished treasures, such as Stonehenge, announced that all staffed sites were closing. Unstaffed ones were to remain open, however.
- Pubs and restaurants to be allowed to operate as takeaways in a bid to save businesses from collapse. Ministers announced a plan to relax planning rules amid concerns many will struggle to survive the near-lockdown conditions being encouraged by the government.
The Australian market slipped back 1.85% at the opening bell after the country’s government announced a relief package for airlines and amid increasingly gloomy economic forecasts.
Flag carrier Qantas plunged 7.34% while challenger airline Virgin Australia, which had been the focus of market speculation about its financial viability, soared 12.7%. Regional airline Rex, which this morning revealed its own financial weakness, dived 6%.
In a report, ratings agency S&P said that “the 2020 global recession is here and now”, slashing growth forecasts for economies around the world.
Before the exchange opened, more companies revealed the damage they were taking from the virus outbreak.
Air New Zealand shares have been suspended until at least Friday while the company works out the hit it will take from sweeping Kiwi travel bans.
The Australian government gave that country’s airlines a package of tax and service charge cuts worth $715m this morning amid widespread uncertainty about their ability to continue given travel bans and the end of corporate travel. Rex said that without help it would close in six months. It published a wish-list of relief that on first glance looks very similar to the government package.
SkyCity, which operates casinos in New Zealand and Adelaide, said poker machine revenue was down 14% and revenue from table games had plunged 43%.
Poker machine maker Aristocrat and private hospital operator Ramsay withdrew profit guidance.
Every US state now has at least one case
West Virginia has become the last of the 50 US states to report a positive case of new coronavirus, meaning the pandemic has now touched every part of the world’s richest and most powerful nation.
The family of a British father who died after being diagnosed with coronavirus have said they were “truly heartbroken”. Posting on Facebook, relatives of Craig Ruston said he had died at 6.20am on Monday after his chest infection was diagnosed as Covid-19.
They said he had been diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) in June 2018 and was “not ready to go”. The post on his Me and my MND page on Tuesday, signed by his wife Sally and his “amazing girls”, read:
My Amazing Craig passed away yesterday morning at 6.20am. We are truly heartbroken. His fight with MND was not ready to be over. At diagnosis in June 2018, he was given roughly two years to live. He was pushing that back.
Craig was not ready to go.
His family said he was taken ill last Tuesday and spent six days in isolation.
How dare that take Craig who was already facing this, the most vile and evil of diseases.
Craig’s wish upon death was to give his brain to the Oxford Brain Bank. It was to be used specifically for MND research and Craig was so keen to do this. He’d give anything in the name of research.
Sadly this can no longer happen. How dare this virus take this from Craig.
Relatives said Ruston was a “wonderfully kind and caring” person who welcomed everyone. They said he was still doing “everything in his power” to raise awareness and fight against MND.
To those of you that knew Craig, before his MND diagnosis, after his diagnosis and to all that follow this his blog, I’m sure you knew or could tell what a wonderfully kind and caring person he was. He welcomed everyone. There were no airs and graces with Craig.
He loved the world. He absorbed the world. He was one of the most intelligent people I know that would absorb information and could somehow explain just about anything.
In addition, Australia’s chief medical officer, Prof Brendan Murphy, says 454 cases have been identified and the number is rising every day. A two to four week shutdown would be ineffective, he adds. Prof Murphy says community transmission is at a low level at the moment.
Prof Brendan Murphy: "We believe very strongly that it's in the best interest of our children and the nation at this time to keep schools open."
— Calla Wahlquist (@callapilla) March 17, 2020
He adds "There may be occasions when there's a big outbreak in a community that some local school closures might be necessary."
Updated
Australia says measures could last six months
Australians have been told they face at least six months of restrictions to their daily lives as the country’s prime minister, Scott Morrison, set out a host of measures designed to combat the spread of the virus.
Morrison has advised Australians not to gather in groups of more than 100, declared a human biosecurity emergency and told Australians they should not to travel internationally, adding that the anti-virus measures are likely to be in place for at least six months.
He also asked Australians to stop hoarding household items, saying it was not helpful, and said he was considering further economic measures.
However, he advised Australians that they government considers domestic travel to be low-risk and said schools should remain open.
Updated
Gambia’s health ministry has reported its first case of coronavirus; a 20-year-old woman who had recently returned from the UK.
Turkey has confirmed its first death related to the coronavirus and the country more than doubled its confirmed cases to 98, from 47 a day earlier.
The health minister, Fahrettin Koca, has told a press conference that an 89-year old died after contracting the virus from someone who had contact with China, the epicentre of the global outbreak. Turkey diagnosed 51 more cases on Tuesday, he added.
Tunisia is imposing a curfew from 6pm to 6am from Wednesday, its president has said. The country declared 24 cases, closed mosques, cafes and markets, closed its land borders and suspended international flights.
Elsewhere in the region, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has ordered the army to use field hospitals to help health services fight the coronavirus outbreak.
The country has confirmed 44 cases and two deaths. Most cases were found in Moroccans resident in Spain, Italy and France who had returned home for visits. Morocco has suspended all international flights, closed mosques, schools, entertainment and sports venues and non-essential shops as a precautionary measure against the pandemic.
Updated
The Costa Rican government has announced the number of confirmed cases has risen to 50, the day after a state of emergency was declared in the Central American country. Those affected range from 10 to 87 years-old.
On Monday, the Costa Rican president said it would be “hard to say” whether the outbreak in the region could be controlled and warned that predictive models for the spread of virus were “not that precise”.
Estos son los datos oficiales de nuestro país al día de hoy. #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/yJhjpp09wt
— Ministerio de Salud (@msaludcr) March 17, 2020
Lengthy criminal trials to be put on hold
Criminal trials in England and Wales are to be put on hold, the lord chief justice Lord Burnett has said, adding that no new trial should start in any crown court unless it is expected to last for three days or fewer.
As a result, cases longer than three days that were due to start before the end of April will be postponed. Burnett has said:
The impact of the public health emergency on the operation of the courts has been under constant review. In all jurisdictions steps are being taken to enable as many hearings as possible to be conducted with some or all of the participants attending by telephone, video-link or online. Many court hearings will be able to continue as normal with appropriate precautions being taken. We must make every effort to maintain a functioning court system in support of the administration of justice and rule of law.
Trials in the crown court present particular problems in a fast-developing situation because they require the presence in court of many different participants including the judge, the jury, a defendant, lawyers and witnesses as well as staff. Given the risks of a trial not being able to complete, I have decided that no new trial should start in the crown court unless it is expected to last for three days or less. All cases estimated to last longer than three days listed to start before the end of April 2020 will be adjourned. These cases will be kept under review and the position regarding short trials will be revisited as circumstances develop and in any event next week. As events unfold decisions will be taken in respect of all cases awaiting trial in the crown court.
Trials currently underway will generally proceed in the hope that they can be completed.
All those attending court should follow Public Heath England guidance suitably adjusted to reflect the distinct features of a court as a working environment for all concerned, including jurors.
Updated
Back to Ireland, where Varadkar has urged people to only access news from trusted sources, expressing concern about the impact of false information.
We need to halt the spread of the virus but we also need to halt the spread of fear. So please rely only on information from trusted sources. From government... from the HSE, from the World Health Organisation and from the national media.
Do not forward or share messages that are from other, unreliable sources. So much harm has already been caused by those messages and we must insulate our communities and the most vulnerable from the contagion of fear.
Fear is a virus in itself.
He closed his address with a message of solidarity to those countries currently worst hit by Covid-19.
To all of those across the world who have lost a loved one to this virus – we are with you. To all those living in the shadow of what is to come – we are with you.
Viruses pay no attention to borders, race, nationality or gender. They are the shared enemy of all humanity. So it will be the shared enterprise of all humanity that finds a treatment and a vaccine that protects us.
Tonight, I send a message of friendship and of hope from Ireland to everyone around the world this Saint Patrick’s Day.
One country already feeling serious economic effects is Bulgaria, where the prime minister Boyko Borissov has said the nation has already entered into a fiscal deficit.
Reuters reports that the Balkan country raised the salaries of medics involved in treating infected patients by 1,000 levs (£466.56) per month and extended 500m levs to support affected companies to service loans.
On Tuesday alone, confirmed cases in the European Union country jumped by 30% to 81, and the country sealed off the ski resort of Bansko.
Borissov said his main aim was to protect the small and open economy and carefully manage the state’s finances, discarding what he called populist calls for tax breaks and a freeze on payments of electricity and water bills.
We are already entering into a budget deficit. From a surplus, we are entering into deficit. If this crisis prolongs...it will be even bigger.
Varadkar added that the economic impact is likely to be enormous.
Everyone in our society must show solidarity in this time of national sacrifice. For those who have lost their jobs and had their incomes reduced temporarily, there must be help and understanding from those who can give it, particularly the banks, government bodies and utilities.
We went into this crisis with a strong economy and the public finances in good order. We have the capacity and credit rating to borrow billions if we need to.
I am confident that our economy will bounce back but the damage will be significant and lasting. The bill will be enormous and it may take years to pay it.
The Irish government has already signed off a €3bn (£2.69bn) package for health, social welfare and support for businesses.
Older people and those with a long-term illness will be asked to stay at home for several weeks at some point during the pandemic, Varadkar added.
We are putting in place the systems to ensure that if you are one of them, you will have food, supplies and are checked on. We call this ‘cocooning’ and it will save many lives, particularly the most vulnerable, the most precious in our society.
And he expressed pride in the work being done by Ireland’s healthcare workers.
I am so proud of all of them. Not all superheroes wear capes - some wear scrubs and gowns. All of our healthcare workers need us to do the right thing in the weeks ahead. Our community services and hospitals are being tooled up. Essential equipment is on the way. Retired staff are returning to service. People are training for changed roles.
Ireland expects to see 15,000 or more cases of coronavirus in the Republic by the end of the month and yet more in the following weeks, the taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said.
Making a rare live broadcast on Ireland’s state broadcaster RTÉ, Varadkar said it had been a St Patrick’s day “like no other, a day that none of us will ever forget”. He warned the nation:
This is the calm before the storm, before the surge. And when it comes, and it will come, never will so many ask so much of so few. We will do all that we can to support them.
Varadkar said there was a global and national emergency caused by a pandemic the like of which had never been seen before.
In years to come, let them say of us when things were at their worst, we were at our best.
The taoiseach said more restrictions of social interactions would be introduced. He said the best strategies to deal with the virus focus on testing, contact tracing and social distancing.
Many of you want to know when this will be over. The truth is we don’t know yet ... It could go on for months into the summer, so we need to be sensible in the approach we take.
In short, we are asking people to come together as a nation by staying apart.
Updated
More than 650 Britons stuck on a cruise ship that has seen numerous virus cases will be flown back to the UK on Wednesday evening (GMT).
Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, which operates the Braemar liner, said three flights chartered from British Airways would fly to Heathrow from Jose Marti airport, in Havana, in Cuba. The first will take off from Havana at 6pm local time (10pm GMT), landing in London at 6.30am GMT. The final flight will land at 10.30am GMT.
The company said there would be a separate flight for anyone who has received a positive diagnosis for coronavirus, or has displayed any flu-like symptoms, plus their companions. The firm said:
All guests on this flight will have medical professionals available and will have support with any onward travel arrangements or requirements. In accordance with advice from Public Health England, all guests on this flight will be required to self-isolate for 14 days once they have returned home.
We are making arrangements for guests flying back to London Heathrow, including access to coach transfers to either London Gatwick or Manchester airports, where their outbound flights for this cruise departed from. Guests booked via a Tour Operator should wait to receive more information from them.
Guests on the British Airways flights will not be required to self-isolate.
A two-week ban on flights from 28 countries, including the UK and Greece, has been announced by Cyprus.
The measure will come into effect from 1am GMT on 21 March, an official statement said. It does not affect cargo flights.
The island has already enacted stringent entry requirements, effective from 16 March, barring anyone into the island, including Cypriots, without a medical certificate that they are clear of coronavirus. Those who do arrive are placed in compulsory quarantine in a government-supervised facility for two weeks.
The east Mediterranean island has reported 49 cases.
Mass street protests have been banned in Algeria, where demonstrators demanding political reforms have been out on the streets for more than a year.
The country’s president Abdelmadjid Tebboune, told the nation in a televised address:
The lives of citizens are above all considerations even if this requires restricting some freedoms.
According to Reuters, it was not immediately clear if all protesters would agree to suspend their movement. One, school teacher Mohamed Hachimi, said the demonstrations would not stop.
The system is trying to use coronavirus as an argument to end our revolution. Tebboune and his men will fail because marches will continue.
Algeria has confirmed 60 cases of the coronavirus including five deaths, mostly in the town of Blida, south of the capital, and has restricted much foreign travel and closed mosques.
Montenegro is confirming its first cases; in two female patients who arrived in the country 12 days ago from the United States and Spain. The prime minister, Duško Marković, said both patients have been hospitalised.
Montenegro had already sealed its borders, stopped public transportation, closed down schools, cafes and restaurants to stop spreading the infection. Only supermarkets and pharmacies remain open.
Mosques in Saudi Arabia will no longer receive worshippers for the customary five daily prayers or the weekly Friday congregation, the country has said. The move is aimed at limiting the spread of the virus that has infected 171 people.
Neighbouring Oman also closed mosques, restaurants, coffee shops, tourist sites and traditional markets and malls, except groceries and pharmacies. It barred foreigners from entering and nationals from leaving, state TV said.
New Zealanders travelling overseas are being urged to return home as soon as possible by their government.
An alert on the safe travel website follows similar advice issued by the Australian government overnight.
Countries around the world are imposing strict travel restrictions. This is leading to a reduction in passenger numbers and many air routes will not remain commercially viable for long. The options for New Zealanders to get home are reducing dramatically. We are therefore urging New Zealanders travelling overseas to consider returning home as soon as possible.
Many Kiwis overseas will face an arduous journey home, with few long-haul flights still connecting to the South Pacific nation as demand dramatically decreased following the introduction of self-isolation rules for all new arrivals.
New Zealand’s national carrier, Air New Zealand has also said it will slash its overseas flights by 85% in the coming months.
Guatemala is suspending incoming flights carrying immigrants and asylum seekers sent by the United States.
The measure covers two flights of Guatemalan deportees scheduled for Tuesday, as well as indefinitely suspending flights carrying people from other Central American nations who were being sent to Guatemala under an asylum cooperation agreement with the United States that is part of Washingtons broader crackdown on immigration at the US-Mexico border.
Concerns have been expressed that the deportation of migrants from the US and Mexico could accelerate the spread of coronavirus in Central America:
Back in the Commons, the chancellor has been coming under pressure over the prospect of many people following the government’s instructions to self-isolate being left with less than £100 per week to live on. The Labour MP, Jess Phillips, asked Sunak:
A simple question. Has he lived on that and could he live on that as that’s what most of my constituents are currently having to live on?
Sunak sidestepped the question and focused on the government’s response to helping those in need.
Rachel Reeves, the Labour MP and chairwoman of the Commons business, energy and industrial strategy select committee, urged the chancellor to go further with his economic measures to support those in financial hardship.
If you are off work at the moment on statutory sick pay (SSP), or self-isolating for public health reasons, if you are laid off because there is no work, if you are self-employed or you are low-paid, there is nothing at all today in the package of measures from the chancellor.
The chancellor says that these things are under review. Well, as a matter of urgency could he at least increase SSP to the level of the national living wage?
Sunak replied:
We have (put) a billion pounds into the welfare system to provide extra financial security for those people to speed up both access and the generosity of all of those benefits.
The Conservative former cabinet minister, Iain Duncan Smith, welcomed the “bold measures”, noted there is “more to do” and added: “The most important thing we can do is to do everything we can to keep people in employment.”
Duncan Smith also said the smallest elements of the voluntary sector who have no reserves will lose about £400m during the next few months, adding they will be called upon most for support in the community.
He said: “Could I please ask him to look at this very carefully and see what we can do to give them that cash aid?”
Sunak, in his reply, said: “The communities secretary is talking already to the voluntary sector and we stand ready to provide the support that may be required.”
D&D London, which operates restaurants in London, Leeds and Manchester, has said it is temporarily closing all of its UK restaurants and called on the government to help protect its workforce.
Des Gunewardena, its chairman and chief executive, has said:
We fully understand the need to play our part in defeating the spread of coronavirus and the safety of our staff and customers is of course of paramount importance. And we have had to similarly close our restaurants in New York and Paris.
Nevertheless, it is a desperately sad day for us and for other UK restaurants who also face closure. Our number one priority now is to work closely with government bodies to ensure that the welfare of our staff and their families is managed through this period of uncertainty. We hope the government steps up to the challenge.
The actor Idris Elba has said he is “feeling OK” after contracting coronavirus, but that he is worried about it because he suffers from asthma. In a live broadcast on social media, he has said:
I have asthma, so I sort of fit into the high category of most at risk. I have a respiratory issue and I have had asthma all my life. Catching corona was definitely not on my bucket list at all but even my asthma is OK.
Of course, I’m worried. I’m worried about having the virus, I’m worried about having asthma and how that could make things really complicated for me really quickly.
He said he was inspired to share information about what having the virus is like by his fellow actor, Tom Hanks, who has also tested positive for Covid-19 and was released from isolation this week
“Urgent talks” aimed at keeping the UK’s supermarket shelves full are underway, the chancellor has said.
The Tory former minister, Harriet Baldwin, asked if supermarkets could be supported in boosting home deliveries.
Many of my constituents are worried because they rely on those home deliveries from supermarkets. Can the Chancellor update the House on what he is doing with his colleagues to talk to the supermarket industry about increasing capacity for home delivery?
Sunak told the Commons the environment secretary, George Eustice, is in “urgent talks with supermarkets to ensure the security of our food supply and to improve accessibility; particularly for those who may now be at home”.
Updated
Two large secondary schools in the Wiltshire town of Chippenham with more than 3,000 children between them have closed because of coronavirus.
Both Hardenhuish and Sheldon schools announced on Tuesday that they would remain shut until further notice. The headteacher of Hardenhuish, Lisa Perry, explained that, following the government’s advice on self-isolation and social distancing, the school had been left with “significant” staff shortages.
All synagogues in the UK should be closed, the chief rabbi has urged, saying that extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.
Over recent weeks, synagogues had “sought responsible and creative ways” to continue to function as “cornerstones of our communities, Ephraim Mirvis said. But it was now clear that “congregational activity of any kind” posed a significant danger to the vulnerable.
Citing the Torah obligation to the sanctity of life, he said that “with much pain and the heaviest of hearts” all synagogue activity would be suspended until further notice. Further guidance about Pesach, or Passover, which takes place next month, would follow, he added.
In what would appear to be the biggest per capita stimulus policy yet announced in response to the corona crisis, Bahrain has pledged a package that amounts to 29.6% of it’s GDP, which is focused on getting business owners and citizens through the next three months.
The government has announced an $11.44bn (£9.29bn, 4.3 billion BHD) infusion that from April guarantees private sector salaries, pays citizens’ utilities bills and exempts business from a wide range of fees. The package also offers loan support and debt relief. The announcement made on Tuesday night did not say how the package would be funded.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has collectively seen more than 1,000 corona cases, and one death – of an elderly patient in Bahrain. Disruption to core industries, such as tourism and aviation has been huge and the impact of the virus is ravaging employment markets.
Gulf States have largely closed restaurants and schools, though some with less enthusiasm than others. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have effectively closed their borders for a fortnight.
The fast food chain, McDonalds, is closing all seating areas and temporarily move to being takeaway, drive-through and delivery only in the UK and Ireland from 5am on Wednesday (GMT), it has said.
Pubs and restaurants to be allowed to act as takeaways
Amid concerns that many pubs and restaurants will struggle to survive the near-lockdown conditions being encouraged by the government, ministers have said planning rules will be relaxed to allow them to serve takeaway meals.
The communities secretary, Robert Jenrick, has said:
We are committed to doing everything we can to tackle the pandemic and support people, businesses and communities through this difficult time.
These changes will provide vital flexibility to pubs and restaurants and will ensure people are able to safely stay at home while still supporting some of the great local businesses across this country.
Currently, planning permission is required for businesses to carry out a change of use to a hot food takeaway. The government is now confirming such regulations will be relaxed.
The head of the European Union executive has said a German company might have a vaccine against coronavirus by the autumn.
The European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, released €80m (£71.7m) of EU funds to the German pharmaceutical company CureVac on Monday, after discussing with executives their vaccine plans. She said:
They are working on a patent that has already been approved and gone through the specific processes that are necessary, so they are highly specialised in this field. And it is their prediction that they might be able towards fall to have a vaccine that is fighting coronavirus.
German media reported that Donald Trump had tried to buy the company over the weekend, although the firm has distanced itself from those claims.
Von der Leyen said: “It is a European company. We wanted to keep it in Europe, it wanted to stay in Europe.” She said rules on approval of medical products would speed up “as we are in a severe crisis we all see that we are able to speed up many of the processes that are slow normally and take a lot of time”.
She was speaking in Brussels, after European leaders approved a 30-day ban on non-EU citizens travelling into the union, following crisis talks via conference call.
Von der Leyen said there was “a unanimous and united approach” on the travel restrictions, which include exemptions for British nationals, residents, healthcare workers and researchers, and people delivering goods across the EU internal markets.
She said it was up to EU member states to implement the plan “as soon as possible”.
Von der Leyen said her information was that the British government did not plan to join the EU in implementing the travel ban, while noting the British government was advising against foreign travel.
She hinted the EU would soon have to go further with plans to deal with the economic fallout of the virus.
This is an external shock and it hits the whole world. We have never had that before. The enemy is a virus and now we have to do our utmost to protect our people and to protect our economies.
The European council president, Charles Michel, said EU27 leaders would hold another conference call next week. Long planned face-to-face talks at an EU summit in Brussels at the end of the month have been cancelled.
Updated
English Heritage closes sites
All staffed sites, including Stonehenge and others, are being closed down from Wednesday 18 March to Friday 1 May, English Heritage says.
An important message to our members and visitors:
— English Heritage (@EnglishHeritage) March 17, 2020
Following the latest government recommendations, we have taken the decision to close all our staffed historic sites from the end of Wednesday 18 March until 1 May. We will be reviewing this and will keep you updated. Some sites may be opened earlier and we will let you know if this is the case. We also need to cancel our public events during this period.
Free-to-enter sites will remain open to visitors. These sites have large open spaces in which visitors can maintain social distancing and they are often located in quieter spots away from crowds.
Our first priority is the health and wellbeing of all our members, visitors, volunteers and staff, and we hope you can understand why we have taken this unprecedented step.
We’ll automatically refund you for tickets you have bought for any events that need to be cancelled.
England’s past is full of stories of hope in the face of adversity, and of people coming together to overcome all kinds of challenges. Although we won’t be able to share those stories with you in person over the coming weeks, we’ll continue to share them via our website and social media accounts, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.
We look forward to welcoming you at our sites again soon, and we will let you know about our plans for reopening as soon as we are able. Until then, I hope that you and those close to you keep healthy and safe.
Belgium will go into lockdown for nearly three weeks, the state broadcaster RTBF reports.
From noon on Wednesday CET, all people living in Belgium will be expected to stay at home, unless it is an emergency, or they need to visit a supermarket or medical professional.
The plan has not been confirmed officially, but is expected to be announced by the prime minister, Sophie Wilmès, later on Tuesday.
The measures are to last until 5 April and were approved by Belgium’s national security council, which is comprised of Wilmès, vice prime ministers, other senior politicians and security services.
Police will be given powers to ensure that people respect the policy.
Belgium has recorded 1,085 cases of coronavirus and five people have died, according to the latest available data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
Updated
Listen to the Guardian’s Science Weekly podcast, on which Hannah Devlin speaks to Prof Paul Hunter about fatality rates. Why are different figures are being quoted across the media; how are the rates are calculated; and is the fatality rate the only useful number to look at?
McDonnell said:
For those people that are sick, there’s an urgent need for statutory sick pay to be available for everybody from day one, and that means extending it to people who are on low pay, who are in part-time work, zero-hour contracts, who at the moment do not qualify.
He also called on the chancellor to “consider abolishing completely the lower earnings limit with regards to statutory sick pay”.
Can he heed the call of the TUC and other groups to lift the overall level of statutory sick pay? The TUC has proposed that it should be raised to the level of the real living wage and I think we should support that.
With those workers who have been asked to self-isolate – teachers, health workers, nurses, carers, other essential public servants – will they be required to isolate but will they be protected on full pay to ensure the essential services continue?
Will the government assure people of a right to work from home?
I really regret, and I ask the chancellor to consider this urgently this evening – there was nothing in the statement to protect renters. Will the chancellor bring forward measures to protect renters, prevent evictions and enable rent holidays for those people not able to meet their costs?
On utility bills, he said:
Will the chancellor put powers in the legislation now to follow the example of some other countries as well to freeze or suspend utility bill payments on a statutory footing because this is an emergency?
McDonnell listed sectors that are facing particular uncertainty; such as the fishing and agriculture industries. And he said the government should requisition private hospital beds, rather than pay for them during a time of national emergency.
Updated
The shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, has said the chancellor has not done enough to protect those people who are being laid off today. He asks Sunak to address a series of issues. Among them:
- Provide statutory sick pay for everyone, including those who do not currently qualify, from day one. And increase the rate of pay to the living wage.
- Ensure a right to work from home.
- Put in place measures to protect people who rent their homes, prevent evictions and introduce holidays
- Force through freezes to utility payments.
- Covert the advance currently offered as a loan to universal credit claimants into a grant instead.
- Guarantee that people have jobs to return to once the crisis is over.
- Make it clear to insurance firms that, since closures are occurring are on the instruction of the government, even those whose policies do not cover pandemics will be able to get payouts.
The UK chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has received a significant ticking off in the House of Commons this evening. The Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle has told him:
Ministers have the right to make statements after questions and urgent questions in the normal way but ministerial statements at other times require my permission. The government has asked for my permission for the chancellor to make a statement today at 7pm.
I agreed to that but I made clear I did so only on the basis that the House [of Commons] would be the first to hear from him and [that he] would not first appear before the media.
I turned down requests for urgent questions for the chancellor which otherwise I would have granted. I wanted to ensure that elected members have the first opportunity to question the chancellor.
I am deeply disappointed that what I understood to be a commitment has not been honoured.
These are difficult and sobering times. I do not want to pick a quarrel with any member. I do, though, want to make crystal clear that my view is that ministers have a duty to report first to this house when major policy changes are announced.
The chancellor has the chance to do the right thing in the future. I call upon him now to give the house an assurance that any future statements will be made to the House first, which is consistent with Section 9.1 of the ministerial code.
Responding, Rishi Sunak said:
Thank you Mr Speaker, I’m grateful to you for allowing me to make this statement. Let me wholeheartedly apologise that I wasn’t able to set out these measures to the house first, I can provide the reassurance that you requested and I hope honourable and right honourable members across the house will understand that these are extraordinary circumstances.
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The British prime minister, Boris Johnson, has discussed the pandemic with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, this evening. A Downing Street spokeswoman has said:
The leaders agreed that concerted multilateral action was essential to support the global health response and mitigate the economic impact of coronavirus. This follows the prime minister’s call yesterday with G7 leaders to coordinate the international response to the pandemic.
Updated
Summary
- The UK death toll rose to 67 after a further 14 people in England lost their lives after being diagnosed with coronavirus. The patients were aged between 45 and 93 and had underlying health conditions.
- The UK government announced that £330bn in business loans would be made available to support firms struggling to cope with the repercussions of the outbreak.
- Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian aid worker, was among more than 80,000 prisoners to be temporarily released in Iran due to the coronavirus outbreak. She is required to wear an ankle tag and her movements are restricted to within 300 metres of her parents’ home.
- The death toll in Italy has risen by 16% in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number to 2,503. The number of confirmed cases also rose to 31,506.
- A string of cultural events, from the Olivier Awards to the Edinburgh Science Festival have been either postponed or cancelled. Cultural buildings including the Natural History Museum, the British Museum and the Royal Academy have closed their doors temporarily.
- Numerous major events including the French Open have been postponed.
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Scottish parliament has closed all access to its public galleries until further notice amidst the coronavirus outbreak, which has killed two in the country.
The public have instead been told to watch proceedings on the government’s webcasting service.
Access to the media gallery in the chamber will remain open for accredited media, but journalists are being encouraged to work from their offices or home.
Ken Macintosh, senior Labour MSP and presiding officer of Holyrood parliament, said: “All our decisions are consistent with public health advice and are designed to minimise the impact of Covid-19, to help keep our staff and members of the public safe and with a view to safely and sustainably delivering essential parliamentary business.”
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French health authorities reported 27 new deaths from coronavirus on Tuesday, taking the total to 175 or an increase of around 18%, as France entered its first day of lockdown to try and contain the outbreak.
During a press conference without any physical presence of journalists, health agency director Jérôme Salomon added the number of cases had risen to 7,730, up from 6,633 on Monday, which is a rise of 16.5% in 24 hours.
Salomon said 699 people were in a serious condition, needing life support.
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In view of the latest UK government advice on the coronavirus pandemic, the Masons have suspended all lodge and chapter meetings within England and Wales for a period of four months, with immediate effect, says an official communication from the Grand Master, HRH the Duke of Kent.
Updated
With the UK’s economy heading towards critical condition, more radical action needs to be taken if it is to ever recover, writes Tom Kibasi. Read the full opinion piece here:
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Edinburgh Science Festival will be cancelled in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
The festival, scheduled for 4-19 April, is the first in the yearly cycle of Edinburgh festivals to be cancelled and could be a harbinger of what will follow if the pandemic worsens.
The festival’s key venue partners, the National Museum of Scotland, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and City Art Centre managed by Museums and Galleries Edinburgh, have all announced their closures today until further notice.
Festival and creative director Amanda Tyndall said:
Now more than ever it is imperative that the public have access to robust, evidence-based science, delivered in a manner that is accessible to them. The Science Festival remains committed to that goal and to working with our wonderful partners across the science sector to help connect people with the latest science in these unsettling and challenging times.
We are exploring how we might do more online and whether any elements of the Festival might potentially be run later in the year and will keep you informed as plans develop. For now, we would like to thank ourfunders, sponsors, partners, participants and audiences for their loyalty, support and understanding in these unprecedented times.
The festival had a programme of over 270 events.
Updated
In a moment Billboard has called “a massive dance track with a touch of ominousness well-suited for moment”, DJ Snake has turned Cardi B’s viral rant into a song.
He recorded the process in a video which shows him tapping a fork on a glass to make percussion sounds and incorporating the sound of him pumping some antibacterial gel into his hands too.
Enjoy.
Corona Virus @iamcardib 🤣😷 pic.twitter.com/8VY7U2zPOc
— DJ SNAKE (@djsnake) March 16, 2020
Readings of Shakespeare plays will be streamed online by a group seeking to entertain those who “do not like Netflix” after all major British theatres closed their doors.
Lucy Aarden, a professional actor who has been cast in the lead role of Julia for the hastily organised production of The Two Gentleman of Verona said three different companies cancelled her upcoming work this morning and she was delighted to be cast in the unpaid role.
The streamed performance on Thursday, she said, would continue weekly with the playwrights’ works in chronological order, and allow actors and theatre makers to stay connected with each other.
“My dog has also been cast,” she said. “Hopefully when it’s his bit he’ll bark. I’m going to get his cues shortly.”
She said the reading, directed by Rob Myles and introduced by renowned Shakespeare expert Ben Crystal, would also include amateur actors, and that she was already rehearsing for her role alone at home after being cast earlier today.
“150 now unemployed actors got in touch from different time zones across the globe to take part,” she said. “It’s a really nice platform for actors. No one is going to theatres for the foreseeable. And not everyone likes Netflix.”
In what seems apt during times of crisis, she will say:
But say, Lucetta, now we are alone,
Wouldst thou then counsel me to fall in love?
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Bafta has postponed its annual television and TV craft awards. The former were were due to go ahead on May 17, while the craft awards, which celebrate technical achievement in television, were due to take place on April 26.
On the day that Royal Mail workers have voted hugely in favour of strikes in a long-running dispute over job security and the company’s future direction, they have also offered to serve as an additional coronavirus emergency service in the UK.
A statement reads:
If we can agree the introduction of the very best health and safety provisions and equipment that can guarantee our members safety, they will become an additional emergency service.
Postal workers can play a crucial role in to keep everyone in this country connected & informed, delivering medical aid, checking on the elderly and vulnerable, delivering local to local services and supporting people working from home. We could also assist with food bank collections and the delivery of food parcels to those most in need.
In any national emergency in our history and in our day to day existence the universal postal service has played a vital role, these unprecedented events remind us all of that postal workers always come through and will stand ready to serve the nation again but Royal Mail Group must play their part by agreeing our proposal and ensuring the very best standards of safety and support to its employees.
We will be writing to the prime minister to gain the governments support for this approach.
In the meantime, we will meet with the company tomorrow to move this proposal forward.
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Public crowds of more than 10 people will be banned in Denmark starting Wednesday at 10am local time in a move to curb the spread of coronavirus, the country’s prime minister said.
All restaurants, bars, cafes, night clubs as well as gyms, tanning centers and tattoo parlors will be required to shut down for two weeks until March 30, Mette Frederiksen said told a press conference.
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Jordan’s King Abdullah has approved a law that gives the government sweeping powers to enforce a state of emergency to help it combat the spread of coronavirus, state media said.
The royal decree gives the prime minister, Omar Razzaz, extraordinary powers under a defence law enacted in times of war and disasters to enforce curfews, closing businesses and placing restrictions on freedom of movement of people.
The cabinet announced the closure of all government agencies except hospitals from Wednesday and ordered private firms to also close their offices and send employees home.
All shops in malls would be shut apart from those selling food and medicine. Gatherings of more than 10 people will be banned.
The public security department said it would use force if necessary against anyone resisting these government decisions.
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Edinburgh city council has announced the closure of galleries and museums, along with the cancellation of events at its venues, in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
A spokeswoman for the council confirmed that events at the Usher Hall, Assembly Rooms, Church Hill Theatre and Ross Bandstand to be held before the end of April will not go ahead.
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The Olivier Awards, which were due to take place on April 5, have been cancelled.
A statement from the Society Of London Theatre said: “Following the government’s new advice on social distancing yesterday, and the subsequent closing of many theatres and public venues, we no longer feel that it is feasible to host the ceremony that we had planned to deliver.
“As the Royal Albert Hall has announced closure until further notice, we have taken the difficult decision that the event will not be going ahead.
“The Society of London Theatre would like to thank all nominees, shows, producers, theatres, sponsors, suppliers and creatives for their ongoing support.
“We are working through plans on how to properly honour and announce this year’s winners, and will release further information soon.
“All tickets will be refunded, and the Royal Albert Hall will be in touch with ticketholders, who are asked to be patient during this process.”
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Uber Technologies Inc and Lyft Inc began suspending shared rides on their ride-hailing platforms in the United States and Canada to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
Uber also said it has suspended its shared rides services in London and Paris.
Regular rides and the company’s food delivery platform, Uber Eats, remain available, but Uber said it was in contact with local authorities to adjust operations as needed.
Oman has closed all tourist sites, sports clubs, mosques, all shops in malls except food stores and pharmacies, traditional and local souqs, and has banned gatherings in public places over coronavirus fears, state tv reports.
Tesco is expected to announce all its 24-hour stores will from tonight reduce their hours to open between 6am and 10pm, PA understands.
The Cheltenham Jazz Festival and the Cheltenham Science Festival have both been cancelled, in response to what senior management called “the worst public health crisis in a generation”.
John McDonnell MP, the shadow chancellor, responding to Rishi Sunak’s coronavirus update, said:
People are being laid off today and losing their incomes. We are disappointed that this package does not address their concerns.
The further announcements laid out by the chancellor lack the certainty required amidst growing public anxiety, and still do not go far enough in protecting workers, renters and those who are losing their jobs, or in fully supporting businesses at the scale necessary.
In particular, the chancellor’s claim that new forms of employment support will be developed does not appreciate the urgency and gravity of the situation. Workers and businesses need to know now that they will be supported, not in a few days’ time.
Labour will continue to engage with the government to ensure we have the proper scale of interventions required to secure proper funding of public services at the time of crisis, public control and oversight of those key services, a strong safety net, and the wellbeing of all.
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The Science Museum Group has announced its sites will be closed from Tuesday evening until further notice.
This includes its five museums: the Science Museum in London, National Railway Museum in York, Science and Industry Museum in Manchester, National Science and Media Museum in Bradford, and Locomotion in Shildon, County Durham.
Curzon cinemas will be closed on 19 March onwards.
CEO Philip Knatchbull said in a statement:
At Curzon, the health and safety of our staff and customers is paramount, and we have therefore made the difficult decision to close all our cinemas from the end of play tomorrow until further notice.
Curzon head office will also be closed during this time with all staff now fully equipped to work from home.
During this incredibly challenging period, we would ask our customers to continue to support us through the Curzon Home Cinema platform. We are working with a number of third-party distributors to provide an outlet for their new and current film releases, and we are also launching a number of exciting initiatives to keep film fans entertained during the lockdown.
We intend to keep our current distribution slate on their published release dates and look to increase audiences through Curzon Home Cinema.
Updated
The Royal Academy will be closed from 6pm.
A statement said:
Like our peer organisations, our aim is to ensure the health and wellbeing of our friends, visitors and staff - as well as the general public - during this unprecedented time.
While our front doors will close, we plan to stay open in other ways.
The RA has been a voice for art and artists for more than 250 years, and in the coming weeks we’ll draw on this deep well of experience as we continue to share video tours, interviews and exhibition highlights; revisit popular events; encourage you to get your paint and pencils out; and offer creative inspiration for your new ways of working and connecting.
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UK high street coffee chain Pret a Manger has become the latest to announce that from today (Tuesday) it is no longer accepting customers’ own reusable coffee cups (typically made of plastic, glass or bamboo material) because of the risk of contamination for staff and customers. It will hand out cardboard disposable cups instead, although customers are still eligible for the 50p discount per cup.
In further measures, it has also removed water cups from its free water stations, and moved all cutlery and napkins to behind its tills, to be handed out by staff members. It is also sanitising all surfaces that are regularly touched by its teams or customers at a minimum of every 30 minutes.
In a blogpost published on its website on Tuesday, chief executive Pano Christou seeks to reassure customers, saying: “We are living in unprecedented times, and as the everyday is rapidly changing, I want to reassure you that everyone at Pret is devoted to taking care of you when you shop with us.”
Starbucks has already temporarily banned the use of reusable cups for the safety of both customers and staff.
Updated
Bulgaria put its ski resort of Bansko under a two-week lockdown after three people there tested positive for coronavirus on Tuesday, the deputy prime minister, Tomislav Donchev, said.
Access to the resort, home to some 10,000 people and located in south-western Bulgaria, will be curtailed until the end of the month. Some 200 foreign tourists currently in Bansko will be escorted to Sofia airport if they opt to leave.
Among the confirmed cases is a nine-year-old British boy, who was in Bansko with his family on a skiing holiday. Tests for the rest of the family came back negative.
Bulgaria’s confirmed coronavirus cases jumped to 81 on Tuesday. It has banned all holiday trips to the country in an effort to contain the infection.
Updated
Luxury jeweller Tiffany & Co has said it would temporarily close several stores, including its Fifth Avenue flagship store in New York, and reduce working hours at other outlets, in an effort to contain the spread of coronavirus.
Earlier in the day, L Brands Inc, Ralph Lauren and American Eagle Outfitters announced temporary store closures, joining a spate of retailers, including Nike Inc, which have made similar announcements in recent days.
Tiffany, which is being bought by Louis Vuitton owner LVMH , will be reporting quarterly earnings report on Friday.
Updated
The foreign ministry of Guatemala has temporarily suspended flights of deported Guatemalans and other nationalities returned from the United States, Reuters reports.
Visits to Scottish prisons will continue to operate as normal amidst the coronavirus outbreak, as prisoners with symptoms are told to self-isolate in their cells.
Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s Justice Minister, confirmed on Twitter on Tuesday that the Scottish Prison Service has a Coronavirus Response Group that has been implementing its national pandemic plan. Governors in charge of prisons have been overseeing local delivery plans as advice is given to every prisoner via letters and in-cell TV messages.
Updated guidance shows that visits to prisons will continue to operate as normal. Those with symptoms who live alone have been advised to stay at home for seven days, while those who live with others have been told to stay at home and not leave the house for 14 days.
A Scottish Prison Service spokeswoman said:
“The safety and wellbeing of those living and working in our establishments is a priority for the Scottish Prison Service (SPS).
“SPS is following the advice of Health Protection Scotland and we have issued guidance to staff and those in our care about steps which should be taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“At this time there are no restrictions on movement in place therefore establishments are continuing to operate visits as normal.
“Anyone within our care who is presenting with symptoms of COVID-19 is required to self-isolate within their cell for seven days.
“Those who are self-isolating still have access to food and medication and we are working on ways to maintain communication with friends and family.”
Another major casualty of the film calendar, Disney has delayed the release of Marvel film Black Widow, as well as The Woman In The Window and the US release of The Personal History Of David Copperfield. New dates have not yet been finalised.
Updated
Nespresso is the latest company to announce it has closed all stores in the UK and Ireland in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
We have made the decision to temporarily close all Nespresso boutiques in UK&ROI and are offering compensation to our retail team. We are continuing to navigate the complexities of the COVID-19 pandemic and determining the best ways to keep employees, customers and partners safe. pic.twitter.com/FmukUul2fK
— Nespresso UK&Ireland (@NespressoUK) March 17, 2020
Updated
There’s more bad news for the UK’s beer drinkers. The Campaign for Real Ale, which runs over 180 local beer festivals across the country, has cancelled all events – including local beer festivals - planned between now and the end of June following the new advice on mass gathering.
All physical events, festivals and meetings, from branch to national levels, have been cancelled for an initial three-month period, with further cancellations to be considered regularly as the situation evolves.
Nik Antona, CAMRA National Chairman said: “While we understand the important social benefits of CAMRA and the huge pleasure in pub going, we feel it would be highly irresponsible to continue to promote gatherings of people in pubs – both of which have been advised against by the Government.
“We will, of course, be looking into what campaigning measure we can take to help support the British beer and pub industry during this unsettling time – and would repeat our calls for the Government to put together a support package to support the pub and brewery trade during this period.”
CAMRA’s flagship festival, the Great British Beer Festival, is currently under review as it is due to take place at Olympia, London from 4-8 August.
Government-backed loans worth £330bn announced to support companies
In the second daily coronavirus press conference, the UK chancellor Rushi Sunak has announced that he will make £330bn available in lending to keep firms in business.
You can follow all the latest political developments over on Andy Sparrow’s politics live blog.
Updated
Italy's death toll rises by 16% in 24 hours
The total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Italy has risen to 31,506, from 27,980 on Monday, Reuters reports.
The death toll also increased by 16% in the last 24 hours, by 345 to 2,503.
Updated
Following in the footsteps of Italy, the Spanish government has vowed to suspend mortgage payments for workers and self-employed affected by the coronavirus epidemic.
The government will also prohibit the cutting off of basic utilities such as electricity, water, gas and telecommunications for vulnerable groups during the crisis.
“These are extraordinary times and they require extraordinary measures,” Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said as he unveiled what he described as the “greatest mobilisation of resources in Spain’s democratic history”.
A surge of recent cases in Spain have made it one of Europe’s hardest hit countries, with 491 deaths and 11,178 confirmed cases. The country has been in a near-total lockdown since Saturday.
Among the latest victims are 19 senior citizens who died after the virus spread throughout their care home in Madrid.
Companies across the country responded to the epidemic with plans to temporarily lay off at least 100,000 people, adding to the anxiety in a country where the unemployment rate already ranks among the highest in the industrialised world.
Under the measures promised by Sánchez, laid-off workers will be guaranteed unemployment benefits, while salaried workers will be able reduce their working hours or take time off to care for dependents.
Companies will be offered state-backed credit guarantees and unlimited liquidity lines, while €30m will be set aside for research on a Covid-19 vaccine.
The measures will cost a total of €200bn, or around 20% of the country’s gross domestic product, said Sánchez. Around €117bn euros will come from public coffers, with the rest from private funds, he added.
Updated
A crown court judge has gone into self-isolation, the judiciary has confirmed.
A spokesman for the judiciary said: “Following the latest government advice, a judge at Canterbury crown court has taken the decision to self-isolate.”
Updated
Richard Radcliffe said unlike other prisioners given temporary release, his wife has to wear an ankle tag, which her parents had to hire from the authorities, and her movements will be restricted to 300 metres from her parents’ home.
He said: “My feelings today have been all of a mix – pleased at the happiness for Nazanin and (their daughter) Gabriella, but fear this is a new drawn-out game of chess.”
He added: “The issue now is to make it permanent and bring Nazanin home. It is one feeling to walk out of prison. It is completely different to walk back in. No one should be asked to go and be a hostage again. So we are watching carefully.”
Nazanin said: “I am so happy to be out. Even with the ankle tag, I am so happy. Being out is so much better than being in – if you knew what hell this place is. It is mental. Let us hope it will be the beginning of coming home.”
Her MP, Tulip Siddiq, said: “We are pleased and relieved that Nazanin will be with her family rather than in jail at this time of terrible chaos and uncertainty.
“However, we have been here before and know from past experience that Nazanin will be treated like a prisoner in her own home. The UK government must get reassurances from Iran that she won’t be harassed or intimidated while on temporary release.”
Updated
Eleven hours ago, 30 Seconds to Mars frontman Jared Leto emerged from a 12-day silent retreat in the desert to a very different world.
His post on Instagram certainly put things into perspective:
Updated
Public buildings are rapidly closing across Scotland as authorities announced the second death from the coronavirus outbreak.
The second person to die was an elderly patient with underlying health conditions. This follows the first death of a patient in Scotland with coronavirus on 13 March.
Chief medical officer Catherine Calderwood confirmed they were being treated by the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board.
The death comes as a range of institutions, from the arts to churches, announced they would be closing their doors to the public or limiting access.
V&A Dundee, National Museum of Scotland, and National Galleries of Scotland all announced they would be closing following government advice that people stay at home as much as possible and avoid unnecessary social contact.
The Scottish Episcopal Church have asked clergy to cease church services until further notice, to help protect the vulnerable from coronavirus. Church buildings will be allowed to stay open for private prayer.
Following yesterday’s guidance to decrease social contact, parliamentary service staff in Scotland have been told to work from home until further notice. Only staff required to deliver key essential business on site will attend work at Holyrood.
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The UK is eligible to take part in a European Union wide-scheme on buying ventilators and other medical equipment needed in the coronavirus crisis.
A European commission spokesperson confirmed the UK was “eligible to participate in these joint procedures” despite leaving the EU on 31 January.
Under David Cameron, the British government in 2014 signed a voluntary “joint procurement agreement”, which was drawn up after the H1N1 pandemic of 2009 showed some countries found it difficult to get medical supplies on the open market. The agreement allows EU countries to band together to use their combined purchasing power to get a good deal on vaccines and other medical supplies.
The EU executive is organising joint procurement of protective clothing for medics, including masks, as well as ventilators. The commission spokesperson said “a very big majority of member states [were] interested” in taking part in the joint procurement on ventilators. The British government has not revealed whether it intends to take part in any of the procurement schemes.
On Monday, the prime minister, Boris Johnson, urged British industry to step forward and build 20,000 ventilators “at speed”. The NHS has 5,900 ventilators, but might need more than three times as many in the worst-case scenario for the spread of Covid-19.
The UK will be expected to apply EU-wide restrictions on the export of medical goods outside the bloc, passed in emergency legislation on Sunday. For a period of six weeks, EU countries and the UK will have to seek approval to export critical medical supplies outside the bloc.
Later on Tuesday, EU leaders are expected to adopt a 30-day travel ban on non-EU citizens entering the union, but the commission has said restrictions will not apply to the UK. There are exemptions for residents, diplomats, healthcare workers and researchers, and people delivering goods.
The UK and Ireland, neither in the EU’s Schengen passport-free travel zone, are being “encouraged” to enforce the travel ban.
A UK spokesperson said: “The UK can choose whether to opt in to this proposal if it is agreed. We will make our own decisions on entry to the UK, notably on the basis of our scientific advice.”
Updated
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe temporarily released from Iranian jail
The British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is among thousands of prisoners temporarily released from prison in Iran because of the coronavirus outbreak, her husband has said.
The British foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, said:
I am relieved that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was today temporarily released into the care of her family in Iran. We urge the regime to ensure she receives any necessary medical care. While this is a welcome step, we urge the government now to release all UK dual nationals arbitrarily detained in Iran, and enable them to return to their families in the UK.
New photo of Nazanin after being temporarily released from Iranian jail. She has to still wear an ankle tag. pic.twitter.com/DND2l6NtWM
— SejalKariaITV (@SejalKaria) March 17, 2020
NEW: Here's a picture of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe who has been released from prison in Iran for two weeks.
— Shehab Khan (@ShehabKhan) March 17, 2020
Note the ankle tag - she is required to wear this and her movements are restricted to 300m from her parents’ home. pic.twitter.com/siJTUgA36a
Updated
The British Museum will close temporarily from March 18.
Director Hartwig Fischer said: “We have taken this decision with a heavy heart but our absolute priority is the health and safety of our staff and visitors.
“At present we do not know when we will be able to reopen but we hope to be able to provide further updates soon.’
“The museum remains accessible through our digital channels. We will be updating and adding to this content during the period we are closed to allow visitors to stay in touch with the museum.
“We will share our collections, research and programmes in new ways that will not require a trip to the museum. We look forward to welcoming our visitors back to the museum as soon as we can.”
Updated
UK death toll rises to 67
A further 14 people have died after being diagnosed with coronavirus in England, the Department of Health said, bringing the death toll in the UK to 67.
The patients were aged between 93 and 45 and had underlying health conditions, it added.
Updated
In an address to the nation, the Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has called the battle against coronavirus “a war against an invisible but not invincible enemy”.
“If we manage to curb the spread of transmission, we’ll give time to our health system to handle urgent cases. Our first priority is non-negotiable: to save lives,” he told Greeks in a televised speech from his Maximos office. “That is why, much earlier than other European countries, we enforced measures that are unprecedented in peacetime. And we are continuing in that direction.”
So far, Greek health authorities have announced 387 confirmed cases of coronavirus, revealing this afternoon that a fifth person had fallen victim to Covid-19. There were 35 new cases in the last 24 hours, the health ministry spokesman and infectious disease expert professor Sotiris Tsiodras told reporters. Of the total number, 11 were in intensive care, he said.
Fearing the fate of Italy, the centre-right government has threatened to be merciless with those who flout tough restrictions that as of Wednesday will also include all shops being closed across Greece, with the exception of supermarkets. Banks, pharmacies, pet-stores, mobile phone stores, opticians, bakers, mini-markets, couriers and food delivery outlets are among the few that will also be allowed to remain open.
After nearly a decade of hard-hitting austerity – measures that hurt the health system in particular – Greek officials worry that hospitals would be rapidly overwhelmed if the outbreak required untold numbers needing intensive care.
Mitsotakis said the resources of private clinics would also be tapped during the health crisis and that with their help 1,900 additional beds would be available for coronavirus patients.
The government had three goals: containing the disease’s spread, bolstering the health system and weighing in with support for workers as the economy feels the effect of the crisis.
Hinting that people’s lives were likely to be put on hold for at least two months, Mitsotakis said: “The dangers will multiply over the next two months and because of that other new restrictions will follow. We must all show discipline. Whoever behaves in an antisocial manner will face exemplary punishment because they will have committed a double crime against the law and against life.”
Updated
Center Parcs has said it is closing all its UK villages from Friday.
In light of the latest government advice regarding coronavirus, the decision has been taken to close all of our UK villages from 20 Mar - 16 April 2020. 1/4
— Center Parcs UK (@CenterParcsUK) March 17, 2020
Updated
Brazil has reported its first confirmed death from the coronavirus outbreak, as Congress cancelled a joint session due to a lack of quorum and the country braced for the mounting epidemic, reports Reuters.
The Natural History Museum has closed its buildings in South Kensington and Tring.
Following UK Government advice to limit the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Museum will be closed from 13.00 today, Tues 17 March.
— Natural History Museum (@NHM_London) March 17, 2020
Read our full statement below or visit the website for more details.
Thank you for your ongoing support, patience and understanding.#COVID2019 pic.twitter.com/GgjiPyaGfj
A statement said: “We are disappointed to have to delay welcoming you to the exciting exhibitions and events which we have planned, but the most important thing for us is the welfare of our visitors, supporters, staff and volunteers.
“We currently expect to reopen in early summer but until then we will continue online with our mission to create advocates for the planet so that in the future both people and the planet thrive. We’ll keep you up to date with what’s going on via email and our social channels.
“We will continue to update our website with brilliant content that connects people with the natural world.”
Updated
The number of Greece’s confirmed coronavirus cases rose to 387 from 352 with the death toll increasing to five, health officials confirmed.
Updated
The French Open has been postponed until late September amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Guardian Sport has the developing story here:
Talks on a post-Brexit trade deal between the UK and EU will not take place on Wednesday as planned.
A government spokesman said: “In light of the latest guidance on coronavirus, we will not formally be convening negotiating work strands tomorrow in the way we did in the previous round.
“We expect to share a draft FTA alongside the draft legal texts of a number of the standalone agreements in the near future still, as planned.
“Both sides remain fully committed to the negotiations and we remain in regular contact with the European commission to consider alternative ways to continue discussions, including looking at the possibility of video conferencing or conference calls, and exploring flexibility in the structure for the coming weeks.
“The transition period ends on December 31 2020. This is enshrined in UK law.”
Updated
Gatwick airport said it has terminated the employment of 200 staff as part of “decisive action to protect the business”, PA Media reports.
It will also be closed to flights between midnight and 5.30am with immediate effect, except for emergency landings.
The airport’s chief executive, Stewart Wingate, and his executive team will take a 20% salary cut and waive any bonus for the current financial year.
Updated
The UK communities secretary Robert Jenrick has announced £3.2m of emergency funding to help rough sleepers self-isolate to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The funding, to be available to all local authorities in England, will reimburse them for the cost of providing accommodation and services to help rough sleepers self-isolate.
Mr Jenrick said:
Public safety and protecting the most vulnerable people in society from coronavirus is this Government’s top priority. We are working closely with councils and charities to ensure they have the support they need throughout this period.
The initial funding that I’ve announced today will ensure councils are able to put emergency measures in place to help some of the most vulnerable people in our society to successfully self-isolate.
I would urge anyone who is concerned about someone sleeping rough to use the Government’s StreetLink app to alert local support services who can reach out to those in need at this difficult time.”
It’s important that we care for #roughsleepers at this time.
— Robert Jenrick (@RobertJenrick) March 17, 2020
Today I’ve announced an initial £3.2m of funding to ensure accommodation is available should individuals need to self-isolate.
And with @PHE_uk we’ve published guidance for local authorities, charities and others.
Updated
Apple Inc said it is closing all its retail stores in the Unites States until further notice.
That follows an announcement by the iPhone maker on Saturday that it was closing retail stores globally, except in Greater China, for the next two weeks due to the fast-spreading coronavirus.
The National Portrait Gallery in London will close temporarily from 18 March, it has announced.
A statement from the gallery said: “In line with UK government guidance, the National Portrait Gallery, London, will temporarily close from Wednesday March 18 2020 until further notice, in order to help contain the spread of the Covid-19 virus, and ensure the safety and wellbeing of our visitors and staff.
“We will continue to closely monitor the situation and act on the advice of the UK government and Public Health England. In the meantime, we look forward to staying connected to our audiences online and hope to be able to welcome visitors back to the gallery again soon.”
Updated
Saudi Arabia will no longer allow Muslims to conduct their five daily prayers and the weekly Friday prayer inside mosques as part of efforts to limit the spread of coronavirus, the state news agency SPA said on Tuesday.
The prayers will continue only at the two holy mosques in Mecca and Medina, the holiest places in Islam, SPA said, citing a decision from the Council of Senior Scholars, the kingdom’s highest religious body.
Updated
A second person in Wales has died after testing positive for Covid-19, the chief medical officer for Wales, Frank Atherton, has said.
“I offer my sincere condolences to their family and friends, and ask that their request for privacy is respected. The patient, who had underlying health conditions, was 96 years old and was being treated at the Morriston hospital.”
Updated
Turkey has detained 19 people over “unfounded and provocative” social media posts about the government’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak, the interior ministry has said.
A statement late on Monday said that 93 suspects have been identified for social media posts “targeting officials and spreading panic and fear” by suggesting that the virus had spread widely in Turkey and that officials had taken insufficient measures.
While no deaths have been recorded, since the first case of Covid-19 was reported last Wednesday the number of patients in Turkey has risen to 47.
Ankara has intensified a crackdown on government criticism since a failed coup attempt in 2016. To date, hundreds of people, including prominent political opposition members and journalists, are facing criminal charges under sweeping anti-terrorism laws related to social media posts.
The arrests come as Turkey implements a lockdown across the country to fight the virus, with cafes, restaurants and entertainment venues shut and communal prayers in mosques banned until further notice. Schools and universities were closed last week and civil servants over the age of 60 told to stay away from workplaces.
Turkey has also quarantined at least 5,300 pilgrims returning from holy sites in Saudi Arabia, suspended flights to 20 hard-hit destinations and closed its borders with Iran and Azerbaijan.
Approximately 3,600 Turkish nationals stranded in Europe will be evacuated to Istanbul and quarantined, foreign minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Tuesday.
Turkey, a major economy and tourist hub linking Europe and western Asia, had around 50 million visitors last year. It is also host to the largest refugee population in the world, mostly Syrians displaced by the neighbouring civil war.
The Red Cross, Red Crescent and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) have said Covid-19 could have catastrophic effects if it reaches vulnerable undocumented and refugee populations in the Middle East, including Turkey.
Updated
Islington food bank in north London has announced it is to close after running low on food stocks and losing many of its volunteers who have been forced to self-isolate to avoid coronavirus infection.
The food bank, part of the Trussell trust network, is understood to be the first of the trust’s 426 food banks to close. The trust said no others had yet reported difficulties but it was carrying out a rapid survey of its members to gauge “pressure points”.
In a statement on its website, Islington food bank said:
We understand that we provide a service to vulnerable people who may need us more now than ever, but still feel this is the best course of action for several reasons:
- The health and safety of our volunteers and clients is our top priority, and we feel this is the best way to minimise the risk of infection.
- Our food supplies are running low, with donations down and supermarkets limiting how much we can order, meaning that soon we will not be able to give our clients full food bags.
- We need a minimum number of volunteers at each session to operate safely. Increasing numbers are self-isolating and this is set to increase further if restrictions on over-70s come in as many of our volunteers are retired.
Many food banks warned last week that they were running out of staple food such as UHT milk and tinned pasta and tinned meat because of increased demand for food parcels coupled with lower donations caused by panic-buying in shops and supermarkets.
Islington food bank said it would close on 23 March until further notice, adding that it would reopen “as soon as we feel it is safe to do so”.
Emma Revie, the chief executive of the Trussell Trust, said:
Our main priority is ensuring the safety of everyone who comes to a food bank – whether it’s someone needing help, someone volunteering their time, or someone making a donation. Food banks sometimes run low on certain items, but we’ve not yet heard that any food bank in our network is running out of all food donations. A crisis can often bring out the best in people, and we encourage everyone to carry on donating after checking with their local food bank which items are most needed.
* Whether you need the support of your local food bank or wish to donate items, find out more here.
Updated
Schools across England are announcing full or partial closures because of staff shortages, suggesting that widespread closures and government intervention may not be far off. The UK and Belarus are alone in Europe in requiring all schools to remain open.
Among those closing is City of London School for Girls, which announced it would close from Wednesday, “in the face of unsustainable pupil and staff absence from the site over the past couple of days”. Pupils will be given remote learning in all subjects, while those whose parents are “key frontline staff” will be offered supervision at the independent school.
Meanwhile, Maiden Erlegh school in Berkshire announced that most pupils will be able to attend only every second day because of staff shortages. “We just cannot operate the school safely with the numbers of staff now absent,” the school’s head has told parents.
Headteachers say that the government’s announcements about increased isolation has forced many teachers to stay home, along with other workers such as bus drivers and catering staff, placing them in a difficult position.
Full story here:
Updated
A biopharmaceuticals company in southern Germany, which has been working on a coronavirus vaccination has just given an insight into the frontline fight to find a solution to the current global health crisis.
CureVac in Tübingen, held a dial-in press conference for journalists at which it laid out details of its work on a vaccine. Its main challenge is how to mass produce it, and at speed, company bosses told journalists. Trials of the drug, which are necessarily thorough, including checking its efficacy and potential side effects, mean that even if approved, it is not likely to be available until next spring.
It spent the first 15 minutes, though, attempting to quash the reports in recent days according to which the company had been approached by the US government with an offer to exclusively buy up the vaccine it is working on, for one billion dollars.
First, to those rumours, the companies managers said they were just that. They categorically denied there was any truth in them, explaining that company bosses had been invited at extremely short notice to visit the White House last week, and speak to US government officials, along with representatives of other international companies working on coronavirus vaccines. This is despite the fact that the German interior minister, foreign minister, even the chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the owner of CureVac, Dietmar Hopp, had commented on the reports as if they had been true, saying that “Germany is not for sale”.
“This technology (to make the vaccine) can be applicable for anyone and there have not been requests for us to do it exclusively for the US,” CureVac’s deputy CEO Franz-Werner Haas told journalists. “We did not talk to Maas (the foreign minister) or Seehofer (the interior minister) so we cannot comment on that.”
CureVac is a 20 year old company which develops therapies based on the molecule messenger RNA (mRNA) and has specialised in developing vaccines for infectious diseases as well as on drugs to treat cancer. Mariola Fotin-Mletczek, PhD, chief technology officer, explained the vaccine technology she is currently working on. “Nature has very good mechanisms for fighting against pathogens - viruses and bacteria - and with our technology we mimic nature’s approach,” she said. “The way we formulate this messenger molecule means it mimics this virus situation.
This means that we induce the immune response which is very similar to the natural immune response. With our approach, messenger RNA encodes one specific protein from the virus, the critical one, which is sufficient to mobilise the immune system. We do this in such a way that we use this natural mechanism which really helps to induce and to produce huge amounts of potent anti-bodies which neutralise the virus.
And that is exactly what we saw in the trial with our latest vaccine based on exactly the same technology. Also here we see that two doses of one microgram are sufficient to mobilise the immune system in the right way and to induce production of protective antibodies above the defined threshold, which means protection.”She said that laboratory trials on the vaccine would start in April and clinical trials would begin in the early summer.
The company has received an 80 million Euro grant from the European Commission in the last few days, which will enable it to “accelerate the upscaling of a manufacturing unit which would produce the vaccine which is already being built,” according to Florian von der Mülbe, chief production officer and co-founder of CureVac.
This means once it got the go-ahead, the company could potentially produce high quantities of the drug so that it could be made available worldwide. The production facilities could be replicated easily elsewhere, increasing the efficiency and speed with which it could be made available, he added.
Lothar Wieler, president of the Robert Koch Institute, the main public health body in Germany, said earlier today, the concept was based on tumour therapy, with the vaccine “reacting to the protein in the virus and receiving an answer from it”. It is a technology already used to fight cancers, he said. “If it works, it would be amazing,” he said, calling the technology “fast, cheap and efficient”. But based on current information, and he would not expect a vaccine to be ready until next spring.
Summary
• The EU is set to endorse the strictest travel ban in its history as France joined Italy and Spain in full lockdown and Donald Trump told Americans to change their behaviour, acknowledging for the first time that beating the coronavirus could take months.
EU leaders are expected on Tuesday to suspend all travel into the passport-free Schengen zone by non-EU nationals for at least 30 days in a bid to instil uniformity across the bloc after some member states, including Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland, unilaterally began imposing border checks.
• Donald Trump has referred to the coronavirus as “the Chinese virus”, escalating a deepening US-China diplomatic spat over the outbreak.
After giving an address on Monday warning of a possible recession, the US president posted on Twitter: “The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries, like Airlines and others, that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus. We will be stronger than ever before!”
China’s foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Trump should take care of his own matters first.
• This summer’s European Championship has been postponed until 2021, Uefa has decided, as it contemplates the unprecedented disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
European football’s governing body held its scheduled conference call with the continent’s 55 national football associations at noon UK time and 17 minutes later the Norwegian FA was the first to tweet the news that the tournament has been postponed until next year. Shortly after 2pm GMT, Uefa confirmed the news in a statement.
• As Britons were advised agains all but essential travel abroad, the UK’s chief scientific advisor said that around 55,000 people in the country have coronavirus and the aim is for fewer than 20,000 people to die from it.
Sir Patrick Vallance said the number of predicted deaths was “horrible” and there would still be a huge amount of strain on the health service from Covid-19.
He also suggested people should not take ibuprofen. French health minister Olivier Veran has suggested that anti-inflammatory drugs could worsen the infection.
• Amid massive pressure on the aviation industry globally, Britain’s three largest airports have warned that they may have to close down operations unless there is government intervention to help them weather the coronavirus crisis.
The call by Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester airports came as the International Air Transport Association (Iata) said about only 30 of more than 700 airlines operating commercial flights around the world were likely to survive the next few months without help.
• Saudi Arabia, the current chair of the group of the 20 most industrialised nations, is to stage a virtual G20 summit in the coming days in a bid to show world leaders have coordinated medical and economic plans to control coronavirus.
Members of the G20, mainly western nations and Japan, held a smaller virtual summit on Monday promising to do whatever it takes to bring the west through the crisis. The G20 also brings in China, India, Brazil, Russia, Korea, Turkey, Australia and South Africa, and other big drivers of the world economy.
• Iran has temporarily freed a total of 85,000 prisoners, including political prisoners, a spokesman for its judiciary said on Tuesday, adding that the prisons were responding to the threat of a coronavirus epidemic in jails.
“Some 50% of those released are security-related prisoners. Also in the jails we have taken precautionary measures to confront the outbreak,” the spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said.
A claim by Britain’s chief scientific adviser in testimony to MPs ( reported earlier) that Taiwan has been successful in containing coronavirus without closing schools is at best somewhat disingenuous, at worst inaccurate.
Taiwan was already on winter break for the Chinese Lunar new year holiday when the scale of the threat became evident to its leadership, which includes an epidemiologist, the vice-president, Chen Chien-jen.
In response, they extended the winter break. They also promised to extend the summer term, so holidays in July would start two weeks later and as a result children wouldn’t lose any of their classroom time. That may have been the basis of the claim by Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK government’s chief scientific adviser.
But there is no question that schools were closed in February when they would normally have been open. And when the closures were announced, the minister of health and welfare Chen Shih-chung specified that disease control specialists had “suggested pushing back the start of classes to reduce the risk of clustered infections”, according to the Taipei Times.
The government even brought in a special type of parental childcare leave “to prevent infection”, for those workers who needed time off to care for school-age kids.
Updated
Julian Assange, the founder of the whistleblowing website Wikileaks, must be released from a British prison before the coronavirus spreads among inmates, according to campaigners for him.
The Don’t Extradite Assange (DEA) campaign added that prison authorities had signalled that prison inmates will be especially vulnerable to the virus.
WikiLeaks ambassador Joseph Farrell said: “With the authorities about to end social visits it’s essential that Julian Assange be included in any release policy. His health is already in jeopardy and further isolation would be damaging in itself, let alone the threat that he might contract the virus itself.”
Assange is fighting extradition to the US, where he faces 18 charges in the US of attempted hacking and breaches of the Espionage Act over the publication of classified US cables a decade ago.
His defence argues that he should be protected from extradition because the US-UK treaty rules it out for political offences.
Updated
Far from taking the coronavirus threat seriously, thousands of Argentinians, rather than going into self-isolation during the government-mandated two-week leave of absence from non-essential jobs, are rushing to the beach in the last days of Argentina’s southern
hemisphere summer.
A line of cars two kilometres long queued outside the Atlantic beach
resort of Monte Hermoso on Monday, waiting to get in and take advantage of the warm weather.
“There’s a lot of irresponsibility and little understanding by people,” the Monte Hermoso mayor, Alejandro Dichiara,, said in a radio interview.
“We need to stay home and not contaminate.”
Alguien me puede explicar a qué está yendo tanta gente a Monte Hermoso a esta hora? Es cuarentena.. no vacaciones! No aprendemos más! pic.twitter.com/W3IaXM4Phb
— #LeandroGrecco (@leandrogrecco) March 16, 2020
“Can somebody explain to me why so many people are going to Monte
Hermoso at this hour? It’s a quarantine ... not holidays! We never
learn,” Leandro Grecco, a resident of the city of Ingeniero White, in
the same province of Buenos Aires as Monte Hermoso, asked in the
caption to a video he tweeted of the long line of cars.
Argentina reported nine new cases of coronavirus on Monday, including a health worker, bringing the total number of cases to 65, including two reported deaths, almost all recent arrivals from Europe, at least one from the US and another from Israel.
Updated
A letter has been sent to UK hospitals postponing all non-urgent elective surgery from the middle of April, reports James Illman of the Health Service Journal.
BREAKING: NHS to postpone all non-urgent elective operations from 15th April at the latest, for a period of at least three months. - letter sent to all hospitals pic.twitter.com/WVloPnkf4K
— James Illman (@Jamesillman) March 17, 2020
Updated
People need to urgently change their behaviour in order to limit how coronavirus is transmitted, according to academics whose research in the UK suggests that workplaces were “hotspots” for transmission by younger people. But for the over-65s, it’s shops and restaurants.
That comes from a piece in the Guardian by Petra Klepac, assistant professor of infectious disease modelling at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
What we have found in this data is that adults aged 20-50 make most of their contacts in workplaces. If those of us who can work remotely start doing so now, it will contribute to lowering overall transmission in the population.
Another important finding is that people over 65 – who are particularly at risk from severe Covid-19 illness – make over half of their contacts in other settings (not home, school or work), such as shops, restaurants and leisure centres.
By avoiding these interactions, people who are most at risk from the new coronavirus could halve their risk of infection. By changing our behaviour now, and sustaining these changes throughout the outbreak, we can significantly reduce our own risk of infection, and the risk to others, and by doing so help protect those most vulnerable.
Updated
The sensible thing at the moment would be to avoid ibuprofen in cases of people who have coronavirus amid some uncertainty about its impact, MPs have been told by the UK’s chief scientific adviser.
Take something else such as paracetamol, added Sir Patrick Vallance.
His comments, in answer to a question at a parliamentary committee, come after experts criticised Britain’s NHS advice that people self-isolating with Covid-19 should take ibuprofen, saying there is plausible evidence this could aggravate the condition.
French authorities have warned against taking widely used over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs. The country’s health minister, Olivier Véran, a qualified doctor and neurologist, tweeted on Saturday: “The taking of anti-inflammatories [ibuprofen, cortisone … ] could be a factor in aggravating the infection. In case of fever, take paracetamol. If you are already taking anti-inflammatory drugs, ask your doctor’s advice.”
Vallance’s testimony has now ended.
Updated
UK positive tests just short of 2,000 - official figures
The number of people to test positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 9am on Tuesday is 1,950, up from 1,543 on Monday, the country’s Department of Health has said.
A total of 50,442 people have been tested with 48,492 negative results. The department said an update on the number of deaths would be announced later on Tuesday.
Updated
Euro2020 officially postponed - Uefa
This summer’s European Championship has been postponed until the summer of 2021, Uefa has decided, as it contemplates the unprecedented disruption caused by the coronavirus.
European football’s governing body held its scheduled conference call with Europe’s 55 national football associations at 12pm UK time, and 17 minutes later the Norwegian FA was the first to tweet the news that the tournament had been postponed until next year. Shortly after 2pm GMT, Uefa confirmed the news in a statement.
The proposed new dates are 11 June until 11 July 2021, with decisions on dates for other club and international competitions for men or women to “be taken and announced in due course”.
Meanwhile, on the UK footballing scene National League club Barnet have responded to the suspension of football during the coronavirus crisis by putting all the club’s non-playing staff on immediate notice of redundancy.
The club’s owner, the businessman Tony Kleanthous, told the Guardian there are approximately 60 employees being laid off, and he was holding meetings with them all on Tuesday.
Kleanthous said that as players’ contracts are protected in football and cannot be terminated early, clubs’ general employees are the ones vulnerable, and with no money coming in, he said he had no choice but to lay everybody off.
He called on the Football Association to give more leadership in the crisis, and for the Premier League to set up financial assistance for clubs lower down the football pyramid.
Updated
The governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, has been providing his daily update, which you can follow here:
In Albany with an update on #Coronavirus. WATCH LIVE: https://t.co/ifz17mk2w2
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) March 17, 2020
School closures have all sorts of complicating effects, including leading to children being with grandparents and having an impact on the workforce, MPs have been told by the chief scientific adviser.
He points out that Taiwan - which has been very successful in suppressing the virus - has not closed their schools. But it is still on the table here in the UK and one of the levers which could be pulled.
You can watch Vallance’s evidence here by the way.
Updated
Britain needs 'big increase in testing' - government adviser
Britain needs a big increase in testing, MPs have been told by Britain’s chief scientific adviser, who added that he is “pushing for it very hard”
“The quicker we can get to a true community-based test the better,” said Sir Patrick Vallance.
He went on to say that at the moment entire households are being put into quarantine even if they do not have it, and may have to be put into quarantine again, but that is still the right thing.
On tests, there are lots of laboratory tests being done and lots of people claiming to have them but a lot of work was being done in the UK now on that front.
Vallance suggested that the private sector could play a big part in testing being ramped up.
There was a question from Jeremy Hunt, the former health secretary, about whether Britain could and should follow the example of some Asian countries in using mobile phone tracking to identify movements of people who may have the virus - even though there may be civil liberties implications
That approach would have made total sense back in January, replied Vallance, and may well yet come back into play at a later stage. But he knows that people are working very, very hard in the UK and elsewhere in developing that approach.
Updated
UK measures should reduce outbreak peak by 50% - science official
The social distancing measures that have now been introduced in the UK should reduce the peak of the spread by around 50%, MPs have been told by Britain’s chief scientific adviser.
Sir Patrick Vallance also answered a particular question that has been exercising the minds of many people: why Britain has not continued with the mass testing in place in some other countries.
Public Health England has done 44,000 tests so far, which is in the top three or four countries and the state body has a capacity of about three or four thousand a day, he said.
He went on to explain that one of the recommendations from the UK government’s “Sage” expert committee is that testing should be put in “the right place”. As capacity ramps up, it will be extended to other groups from the current focus on groups such as those now in hospital.
The second type of testing – which is incredibly important – will be for those who have already had the virus and may be asymptomatic.
“it will change a lot if we can understand that,” he added.
Updated
Global travel and tourism industry in fight for survival - trade body
The travel and tourism sector is in a fight for its very survival and governments should pursue a raft of measures to preserve as many as 50 million jobs at risk globally, a global trade body has warned.
The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has implored governments around the world in an open letter to take drastic and immediate action to protect and preserve the travel & tourism sector.
The WTTC said that its figures show travel and tourism contributes 10.4% of global GDP, and 320 million jobs.
The WTTC president, Gloria Guevara, said:
Firstly, financial help must be granted to protect the incomes of the millions of workers in the sector facing severe economic difficulties.
Secondly, governments must extend vital, unlimited interest-free loans to global travel & tourism companies, as well as the millions of small and medium sized businesses as a stimulus to prevent them from collapse.
Thirdly, all government taxes, dues and financial demands on the travel sector need to be waived with immediate effect at least for the next 12 months.
Updated
Public worship suspended - archbishop of Canterbury
In Britain, the archbishop of Canterbury has announced that public worship is “suspended until further notice”, but a Church of England spokesman said weddings and funerals could still go ahead.
Justin Welby, who is the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, said in a joint statement with John Sentamu, the archbishop of York, that it was now necessary to put public services on hold until further notice
But they added: “We may not be able to pray with people in the ways that we are used to, but we can certainly pray for people. And we can certainly offer practical care and support.”
Archbishops call for Church of England to become radically different as public worship put on hold to help stem spread of coronavirus.
— The Church of England (@churchofengland) March 17, 2020
Read more: https://t.co/MtN90ryzJ3
This is Ben Quinn picking up the liveblog again.
Updated
Iranian police have dispersed crowds who forced their way into two popular shrines soon after they were closed because of the threat from the coronavirus outbreak.
Shia Muslims entered the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad and the Fatima Masumeh shrine in Qom on Monday night, protesting at the closures announced earlier in the day on Iranian state television.
The shrines are normally open for prayers around the clock. Health officials had told pilgrims that kissing and touching the shrines could spread the virus, and had urged clergy to close them for weeks.
Worshippers who entered the shrines chanted objections to the closures. In a statement, religious leaders and a prominent Qom seminary urged pilgrims to rely on wisdom and patience during the crisis.
The incident comes as religious authorities all over the world take steps to limit contact or close places of worship in response to the pandemic.
The virus has erupted as the world’s most popular religions prepare for important festivals during which large numbers of people usually gather to pray and celebrate. Easter and Passover take place next month, and the Islamic holy month of Ramadan – during which most of the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims will fast – begins around 23 April.
Updated
Another day has brought another raft of cancellations and postponements of high-profile sporting events. But one sport is determined to carry on.
The two-week-long Candidates chess tournament, the final eliminator for the world chess championship, kicked off in Yekaterinburg, Russia, this morning, despite a country-wide ban on sports events.
However, the tournament is subject to strict infection-control procedures.
Leon Watson, from UK-based chess learning site Chessable, said: “The Candidates, which is one of biggest events in the chess calendar, is still going ahead regardless mainly because the organisers were prepared weeks in advance.
“Measures have been taken to protect against the spread of coronavirus such as players being quarantined beforehand, spectators being banned from the playing area and during the competition, those involved are being virus-tested twice a day.”
Health authorities in Switzerland estimate that around 2,650 people had tested positive for coronavirus and said that 19 people had died, Reuters reports.
After criticism over a perceived failure to act early enough, the Swiss federal government yesterday declared an “extraordinary situation”, including a ban on all private and public events and the closure of restaurants and bars.
Only businesses providing essential goods and services such as supermarkets, bakeries, pharmacies and post offices, were to remain open, swissinfo.ch reported.
Schools have been closed across the country until 19 April.
Announcing the latest infection statistics, Daniel Koch, the head of the communicable diseases department at the Federal Office of Health, predicted that the number of cases in the country would escalate.
He urged residents to observe strict measures ordered by Bern including bans on events and gatherings, calling these critical in helping limit the damage.
Bloomberg Philanthropies, the multibillionaire Michael Bloomberg’s charitable foundation, has announced it is to fund a $40m global initiative to fight the spread of coronavirus in low- and middle-income countries.
Announcing the plan, Bloomberg, who recently spent about 14 times that amount in an abortive bid for the Democrat presidential nomination, said:
Millions of lives depend on getting the coronavirus response right – and so does the economic and social health of communities around the world. We need to slow transmission of the virus and minimize the impact of the outbreak in all countries.
As we launch the Coronavirus Local Response Initiative this week here in the U.S., we also are creating a new effort to prevent its spread globally, particularly in Africa. I know from my experience as mayor of New York City that giving public health professionals the tools to protect the public is vital to saving lives – and to help mitigate the kind of economic and social damage that could make this crisis even more debilitating for families and communities.
It comes after Bloomberg spent about $558m in three months in his punt to run for the US presidency.
Updated
The governor of Rio de Janeiro state and mayor of São Paulo have both declared an “emergency situation” over coronavirus as numbers of confirmed cases in Brazil rose to 234.
Rio’s famous Sugar Loaf mountain was also closed to visitors but its Christ the Redeemer statue remains open – for now.
Rio’s state governor, Wilson Witzel, suspended sporting events, shows, cinemas, theatres, prison visits, visits to coronavirus patients in hospitals, state schools, and interstate busses from states with coronavirus circulation for 15 days. He said.
We are trying to avoid what happened in other countries with many deaths, like Italy and Spain.
He also recommended that bars and restaurants operate at 30% capacity, gyms close, trains, ferries and busses be only half full, and that flights and cruise liners from states or countries with coronavirus no longer land or dock in Rio.
People were recommended to avoid beaches, a message reinforced on Monday by lifeguards with megaphones. Rio city hall has also suspended classes and holidays for health workers and will no longer licence public events.
The São Paulo mayor, Bruno Covas, closed theatres, libraries and cultural centres, cancelled events, ordered busses disinfected and suspended classes from 23 March. City employees over 60 were told to work from home. São Paulo state government on Saturday banned events with more than 500 people and suspended classes for a week.
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Hello, this is Damien Gayle taking over the live blog for the next hour or so while Ben Quinn takes a break.
The Queen has cancelled five garden parties at Buckingham palace in an effort to stem the spread of coronavirus, the Press Association reports.
More than 8,000 guests at a time mingle on the lawns of the Queen’s official residence in London at the parties, which are usually held between May and July.
Guests also queue in tea tents and take their seats in nearby chairs, with around 27,000 cups of tea, 20,000 sandwiches and 20,000 slices of cake consumed at each party.
Although the event is outdoors, guests – many of them elderly – gather to watch the Queen and senior royals circulate down lanes of people.
The Palace of Holyroodhouse garden party, which takes place in July, will remain under review
Updated
Euro 2020 postponed
The Euro 2020 football tournament has been postponed to 2021 as a result of the coronavirus crisis, the Norwegian Football Association has announced.
The tournament was due to have been held this year from 12 June to 12 July across 12 countries, including England, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland.
The Norwegian FA tweeted: “Uefa has decided that the Euros should be postponed until 2021. It will be played from 11 June to 11 July next year.”
UEFA har bestemt at EM utsettes til 2021. Det skal spilles fra 11. juni til 11. juli neste år. Mer informasjon kommer.
— NorgesFotballforbund (@nff_info) March 17, 2020
The postponement of the European Championship frees a month to try to finish club competitions including the Champions and Europa Leagues but will cause another headache, given the women’s European Championship is scheduled for 7 July to 1 August in England next year.
Britons advised against all non-essential travel
British people are being advised by the government against all non-essential travel abroad.
Dominic Raab, the UK foreign secretary, has been making making a statement to MPs about new travel advice. You can follow my colleague Andy Sparrow’s coverage of that here.
He says for the next 30 days the government is advising against any non-essential travel globally.
He says this is partly because of the risk of people not being able to return, because so many countries are closing borders.
BREAKING: British nationals are advised against all non-essential travel anywhere in the world, says U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raabhttps://t.co/lF4G63MhwA pic.twitter.com/SVBLmyRRwp
— Bloomberg Brexit (@Brexit) March 17, 2020
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Lothar Wieler, the president of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) in Berlin, the National Public Health Institute in Germany, has said the risk to Germans was now “high”, adding that is the highest gradation there is.
He told a daily conference said that 99% of registered cases had so far survived the illness, and although he had “no idea” what the death rate would eventually be, at the moment all evidence points to the fact that only 1/5 of persons infected will be seriously ill.
Four out of five people will suffer only light symptoms or none at all. And according to information based on existing and previous cases, only around half of those who will be infected, actually get sick, “the other half do not notice it at all”, he said.
The RKI is developing various tools to assist Germany’s medical system, including one which monitors intensive bed capacity in order to enable the optimisation of the health system.
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Stanley Johnson, father of the UK prime minister, has indicated he would ignore official advice to tackle the spread of coronavirus and still go to the pub.
His comments came a day after Boris Johnson urged everyone to “avoid pubs, clubs, theatres and other such social venues”.
The prime minister said the advice was particularly important for people over 70. But Stanley Johnson, 79, said: “Of course I’ll go to a pub if I need to go to a pub.”
Speaking on ITV’s This Morning, he said landlords “don’t want people to be not in the pub at all”.
His comments come as the industry voices concern that the measures could result in mass job losses and permanent pub closures. He suggested his son’s government would produce a major financial package to support businesses.
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This is a pandemic that will open up sinkholes in society and volunteers may have to help out in services from deliveries to education, writes Gaby Hinsliff in the Guardian today.
Referring to the UK – although it’s as relevant to other places as well – she adds:
People whose jobs have vanished from beneath their feet need money to live on but soon they’ll also need a purpose, something to do for months on end.
We will have a vast reservoir of bored, frustrated, depressed citizens whose jobs weren’t essential to survival on one hand, and on the other, a shortage of people to do essential work from social care to food production as others go down sick.
Ministers should be thinking now about how to match them up, in ways that don’t spread infection – if those who have had it do turn out to be immune, should they be trained or organised to fill the sinkholes that will open up in society?
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In Scotland, no new jury trials will begin until further notice as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
The Scottish courts and tribunals announced today that no new criminal jury trials would be commenced or new juries empanelled until further notice. The measure follows yesterday’s extraordinary advice that the general public stay at home as much as possible and avoid unnecessary social contact.
In a statement, the Scottish authorities said jury trials that have already commenced would run to conclusion of the trial, if practical to do so.
“It is likely that further measures will be announced in the coming days,” the statement notes.
Updated
Summary
Saudi Arabia to stage ‘virtual’ G20 summit
Saudi Arabia, the current chair of the group of the 20 most industrialised nations, is to stage a virtual G20 summit in the coming days in a bid to show world leaders have coordinated medical and economic plans to control coronavirus.
Members of the G20, mainly western nations and Japan, held a smaller virtual summit on Monday promising to do whatever it takes to bring the west through the crisis. The G20 also brings in China, India, Brazil, Russia, Korea, Turkey, Australia and South Africa, and other big drivers of the world economy
Iran to free tens of thousands of prisoners
Iran has temporarily freed a total of 85,000 prisoners, including political prisoners, a spokesman for its judiciary said on Tuesday, adding that the prisons were responding to the threat of a coronavirus epidemic in jails.
“Some 50% of those released are security-related prisoners. Also in the jails we have taken precautionary measures to confront the outbreak,” the spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said.
British change in strategy defended
Britain had “no time to lose” in changing tactics in order to prevent thousands of deaths and the NHS being overwhelmed, scientists providing guidance to the UK government have said.
The Imperial College Covid-19 response team – which is one of several scientific teams advising UK ministers – published a paper showing that 250,000 people could die if efforts were focused only on delaying and slowing down the spread of Covid-19.
Separately, England’s deputy chief medical officer, Prof Jonathan Van-Tam, could not rule out the strict measures having to last for a year but predicted they would last at least “several months“.
Australians urged by government to come home
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs has advised Australians to return home as soon as possible by commercial means because overseas travel is becoming “more complex and difficult” as countries impose travel restrictions and close their borders.
The new travel advice, issued on Tuesday night, triggered speculation that the Morrison government could be about to impose a lockdown in Australia. But officials told Guardian Australia that was not in contemplation.
EU to close all external borders
The European Union is set to endorse the strictest travel ban in its history – with France joining Italy and Spain in full lockdown – as Donald Trump told Americans to change their behaviour, acknowledging for the first time that beating the coronavirus could take months.
Leaders of EU states were expected on Tuesday to suspend all travel into the passport-free Schengen zone by non-EU nationals for at least 30 days in a bid to instil uniformity across the bloc after some member states, including Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland, unilaterally began imposing border checks.
Germany’s foreign minister, Heiko Maas, just announced that the government was going to start an operation to bring home thousands of citizens who have been stranded abroad by the coronavirus.
Global quarantines enforced and cities locked down
More countries and cities around the world followed each other in locking down borders and introducing draconian restrictions on citizens’ movements or enforcing quarantines on new arrivals
They included moves by Vietnam to start mandatory quarantine of all arrivals from the US, Europe and countries from the Asean group. In India, airports and hospitals in Mumbai were ordered to use 14-day ink to stamp the left hand of those who were to be quarantined at home.
More than 150 die in Spain in past 24 hours
In Spain, one of the European countries hardest hit, the virus claimed more than 150 lives in the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 491 people, health authorities said Tuesday.
The number of confirmed cases across the country now sits at 11,178 – the first time that known cases in Spain have officially passed the 10,000 mark. Nearly half of the cases are in the Madrid region. Among the latest to test positive were several more players and coaching staff of La Liga’s Valencia.
China reacts angrily to Trump ‘China Virus’ tweet
China has issued an angry reaction to the US president Donald Trump’s characterisation of the disease as “the Chinese virus.” China’s foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the US president should take care of his own matters first and not seek to “stigmatise” China.
Coronavirus upends US presidential primaries.
Three US states will hold their Democratic presidential primaries as scheduled on Tuesday, but an election in Ohio was thrust into chaos when the state defied a judge’s orders and proceeded to delay the election hours before polls open amid concerns over the coronavirus outbreak.
Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders are competing again on Tuesday for the opportunity to lead their party in a campaign season suddenly overshadowed by a pandemic that closed borders, shaken the economy and swept every corner of public life.
Research on vaccines and treatments progress
China has authorised clinical trials on its first vaccine developed to combat the new coronavirus, state media reported on Tuesday.
In other developments, US company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc said it had identified hundreds of antibodies that could potentially treat the coronavirus.
Cancellation of Uefa 2020 looms
The postponement of soccer’s Euro 2020 Championship may already have been decided after Uefa last week cancelled its hotel bookings in Copenhagen.
Uefa has called a video conference for today to discuss football’s response to the coronavirus crisis, with all 55 of Europe’s football associations, the European Club Association, European Leagues and the international players’ union Fifpro.
Thailand and Cambodia report new cases
Thailand reported 30 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, raising the total to 177, with 70-80% of them in Bangkok, according to the health ministry. Cambodia reported 12 new cases, bringing the total to 24.
Updated
It was an eloquent exhortation: “We are asking our people, in order to pull together, to stay apart.”
The words of Simon Coveney, Ireland’s foreign minister, captured Ireland on St Patrick’s day when deserted streets, shuttered pubs and silence – a thick silence, stripped of cheers and speeches and marching bands – showed a communion of spirit.
Instead of a gathering of the diaspora with parades and paeans to Irishness, national identity found expression in social distancing, a quiet and stillness that produced a St Patrick’s day like no other.
Families wore green, paraded around their living rooms, shared images of the Niagara Falls and other international landmarks turned green, and generally made the best of it.
The Irish World Academy of Music and Dance and the University of Limerick released a video of the song Mo Ghile Mear that celebrated the global nature of Irish culture.
A photo on the front page of the Irish Times showed a grandmother greeting two granddaughters with a huge smile and open arms, her palms pressed against the glass separating them.
Page One Photo: Elena (7) and Lucy (5) Tintori visit their grandmother Sheela. It has been seen as critical to maintain social distancing during the spread of the coronavirus in Ireland. Photograph: Tom Honan (@tom_honanphotos)#irishtimespage1 #CoronaIreland #CoronavirusOu ... pic.twitter.com/i1u1Ci3SCO
— The Irish Times (@IrishTimes) March 17, 2020
Coveney made his appeal for social distancing last week when Ireland closed schools and universities, banned large gatherings and urged people to miniminise contact.
Not everyone got the message: images of packed pubs in Dublin’s Temple Bar district last weekend prompted an outcry. Pubs and nightclubs subsequently shut. The penny seemed to drop.
On Monday the taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, warned that Ireland’s 223 cases of coronavirus may balloon to 15,000 in just two weeks.
On Tuesday Lidle and Tesco supermarkets asked shoppers to respect a new policy: 9-11am is reserved for the elderly, to minimise their exposure to contagion. Anecdotal evidence in Dublin suggested it was going well.
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In the UK, the network coverage website Down Detector is showing a surge in reports of issues with most of the country’s major mobile networks.
It comes as many Britons are working from home and, presumably, much more reliant on their mobile devices to make work calls, emails and other communications.
From the graphs shown on the Down Detector home page, reports of problems began to accelerate from around 9am this morning, before peaking just after 11am. The rate of reports now appears to be slowing.
Updated
Saudi Arabia, the current chair of the group of the world’s 20 most industrialised nations, is to stage a virtual G20 summit in the coming days in a bid to show global leaders have coordinated medical and economic plans to control coronavirus.
Some members of the G20, mainly western nations and Japan, held a smaller virtual summit on Monday promising to do whatever it takes to bring the west through the crisis.
The G20 includes China, India, Brazil, Russia, Korea, Turkey, Australia and South Africa, and other big drivers of the world economy.
India’s prime minister Narendra Modi has been pressing hardest in public for such a summit, but the Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez also called for the e-meeting in a phone call with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The next formal summit of the G20 is not scheduled until November in Riyadh.
Largely established by Gordon Brown, the Labour leader at the time of the financial crisis in 2008, the G20 is seen as the more natural forum to develop an international economic response.
Updated
Several sources are reporting that UK mobile phone networks including EE, O2, Vodafone, Three and GiffGaff are reporting problems and connectivity issues.
I’m investigating and will give you more information as soon as I have it.
Italy to renationalise former national carrier Alitalia
The government of Italy has announced it is to renationalise the former national carrier Alitalia to make sure Italian nationals are never again left stranded overseas by a crisis like the coronavirus pandemic.
The takeover, part of a €25bn coronavirus response plan, will cost taxpayers up to €600m, AFP reports. Deputy economy minister Laura Castelli told Italian radio on Tuesday:
At a time like this, a flag carrier gives the government more leeway. We all saw the difficulties our compatriots faced in returning to Italy. Our decision stems from this.
The transport minister Paola De Micheli said a “national carrier was strategic for our country at a time of crisis”.
Alitalia faced the threat of closure even before Covid-19 killed more than 2,100 people in Italy and grounded the overwhelming majority of most airlines’ flights. The 74-year-old company filed for bankruptcy in 2017 and looked doomed in January when it failed to secure rescues from either the Italian state railway or Germany’s Lufthansa.
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The Pakistan Super League has seen its knockout stages called off after Alex Hales, the England batsman, returned home early from the tournament and went into self-isolation due to symptoms that could indicate Covid-19.
Hales was among the overseas cricketers who opted to leave the PSL last week due to uncertainty over travel restrictions. On Monday the 31-year-old Nottinghamshire opener stated on Twitter: “Self-isolation begins… TV series to binge-watch please?!”, with that post subsequently deleted.
Ramiz Raja, the former Pakistan captain who has been commentating on the PSL, told reporters: “It is an unfortunate scenario. A good and right decision has been made in the end. The news is coming, you people will know more.
“Alex Hales has developed some symptoms and the tests are under way. We, the broadcasters and commentators, are also undergoing tests in the next two hours.”
A leading scientist behind the modelling of the spread of the coronavirus has said that shutting schools would reduce the transmission of the disease, as pressure grows on the government to introduce closures.
Prof Neil Ferguson, of Imperial College London and director of the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis, said that while it was not fully understood whether children transmitted the virus in the same way as other illnesses, school closures was a measure that could have an effect.
Speaking to the BBC Radio 4 Today programme on Tuesday, Ferguson said: “From a purely epidemiological perspective we think, with a lot of uncertainty, that closing schools and universities would further reduce transmission.”
Huge numbers of cinemas across the UK and Ireland are shutting down due to the coronavirus, Andrew Pulver reports.
Major chains, including Odeon, Cineworld and Picturehouse, as well as BFI Southbank, the screening complex operated by the British Film Institute, have announced they are closing their doors with largely immediate effect.
Updated
The latest figures from Iran show 135 new deaths from the coronavirus outbreak - a 13% rise - raising the death toll to 988 in what is one of the world’s worst affected countries.
Iranian health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour, who reported the latest number at a televised news conference on Tuesday, said there were 16,169 infections in the country, which has temporarily freed 85,000 prisoners in an effort to stop the virus spreading through jails.
Friday will mark the Persian New Year, Nowruz, raising fears of people traveling and further spreading the virus.
Updated
Cancellation of Euro 2020 football looms
The postponement of soccer’s Euro 2020 Championship may already have been decided after Uefa last week cancelled its hotel bookings in Copenhagen, one of the host cities, reports Reuters.
The CPH Hotel told the news agency over the phone that Uefa had booked 80 of its 102 rooms but cancelled them just over a week ago. The Marienlyst Strandhotel, where the Danish team usually bases itself, told Reuters in an email that Uefa had cancelled the rooms booked on behalf of the Danish side.
The Guardian’s David Conn meanwhile reports here in more depth on the unknown question of restarting leagues across Europe, as well as the likely cancellation of Euro 2020.
He reports on how Uefa called a video conference last Thursday, for today, to discuss football’s response to the coronavirus crisis, with all 55 of Europe’s football associations, the European Club Association, European Leagues and the international players’ union Fifpro.
There is expected to be more than one meeting, probably with the FAs holding theirs separately.
There was some criticism when the video-conferences were announced that no supporters organisations are included, although the postponement of matches clearly affects fans in huge numbers.
Updated
Australia urges citizens to fly home
Australians are being urged to fly home as soon as possible to avoid being stranded overseas due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Travel advice issued on Tuesday evening by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Australians should return home before the virus caused more borders to close.
Travellers are also being urged to reconsider their need to go overseas.
“If you’re already overseas and wish to return to Australia, we recommend you do so as soon as possible by commercial means,” the advice read.
“You may not be able to return to Australia when you had planned to. Consider whether you have access to health care and support systems if you get sick while overseas.”
The Guardian is covering that development on an Australian liveblog here
Updated
Happy St Patrick's Day
Happy St Patrick’s Day - and apologies for taking a little bit of time before saying that.
It’s certainly a national day like no other - even with personal childhood memories of cold days watching some particularly outlandish floats making their way through Donegal Town - and the traditional parades and festivities across Ireland are all obviously cancelled (or perhaps postponed).
The streets of Dublin, traditionally thronged for festivities, will be largely empty, while the Irish government has cautioned people against gathering for private parties as pubs are closed.
But that’s not to say people are not celebrating. An annual “Global Greening” project organised by Tourism Ireland is still going ahead and will involve hundreds of landmarks in over 50 countries turning green.
They range from the London Eye to the the Sydney Opera House in Australia.
#GlobalGreening to go ahead to mark #StPatricksDay https://t.co/sY0dP54vHa via @rte
— Tourism Ireland (@TourismIreland) March 16, 2020
Communities are meanwhile posting images on social media under the hashtag #StPatricksDayTogether of the costumes and activities that are being worn or are taking place in line with offical guidance.
The state broadcaster is also encouraging a virtual parade.
So: the #StPatricksDay parades might not be happening but with your help we'll create a virtual parade of our own.
— RTÉ (@rte) March 12, 2020
You could be twirling a baton, dancing a jig or donning the green ... just use #RTEVirtualParade for all your pix or vids@RadioRayRTE @zuroph @RyanTubridyShow pic.twitter.com/76TgHuNfDU
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Kazakhstan will effectively close its capital Nur-Sultan and biggest city Almaty from March 19 after both reported coronavirus cases, the state emergency commission said on Tuesday.
In addition to restricted movement of people and vehicles, the authorities instructed restaurants to switch to delivery-only mode and said they may shut down public transport, Reuters reports.
Kazakhstan has reported 32 coronavirus cases so far.
The move by Britain’s Tate galleries to close (reported earlier) has been welcomed by people including Professor Ian Donald, a prominent psychologist specialising in behavioural factors in anti-microbial resistance.
All #Tate Galleries are closing from today. It’s not the most important event today, but good to see Organization staking immediate action in support of the govt new instructions. And #TateModern is one of the most visited sites in London. Looking forward to the reopening.
— Professor Ian Donald (@iandonald_psych) March 17, 2020
This makes my heart hurt but it's absolutely the right thing to do. Tate Modern has been my sanctuary for a long time and I can't wait to visit again ❤️ https://t.co/IgwObURxmU
— Chloe. (@clowheee) March 17, 2020
Iran temporarily frees tens of thousands of prisoners
Iran has temporarily freed a total of 85,000 prisoners, including political prisoners, a spokesman for its judiciary said on Tuesday, adding that the prisons were responding to the threat of a coronavirus epidemic in jails.
“Some 50% of those released are security-related prisoners. Also in the jails we have taken precautionary measures to confront the outbreak,” the spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said.
Iran refers to political prisoners as security prisoners, and has been under intense pressure to speed up its prisoner release programme as the coronavirus outbreak spreads through its jails.
At least five women had started a hunger strike in protest at the government inaction and the repeated changes to the list of those to be released. The authorities have already released tens of thousands from jails.
The World Health Health Organization said it feared the number of people suffering from the disease in Iran was five times the official figures compiled by the Iranian health ministry, not due to deliberate under-reporting by the government, but the difficulty in identifying all those infected.
Esmaili did not elaborate on when those released would have to return to jail. Among those released was Mohammad Hossein Karroubi, the son of the opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi, who was in jail for nearly two months.
There was no word on the fate of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the most famous of the British-Iranian dual nationals being held in Ervin jail since 2016. Her family went to the jail on Sunday to lobby for her release, but the logic behind those being released and detained is unclear.
The campaign to free her has been retweeting reaction to the Iranian government’s announcement.
The #Iranian government feels it is appropriate to release 80k+ prisoners due to #Covid_19 ,including murderers&drug dealers,but continuously refuse to release the innocent political prisoners,because they hold too much value as bargaining chips #freeanoosheh
— Elika Ashoori (@lilika49) March 17, 2020
Updated
On the island of Jamaica, political and social messages have long been spread through the dancehalls and music, and so it is with coronavirus.
Just days after the island’s first confirmed case, an educational single, New Hail, was released to teach listeners how to avoid spreading the virus.
As well as trying to popularise a new method for greeting your friends, New Hail, by Zagga, educates listeners about hygiene, including covering their mouths when they cough, and eating the right foods to fortify their immune systems.
Explaining his reasons for recording the song, Zagga told the Jamaica Star:
Mi just ah think, we cyan a guh roun’ and touch touch people like we used to. Then me link wid one of my G dem - and you know da likkle supm deh weh we ah rub off big finga? Mi seh dah hail deh now, it haffi guh cut out. Because dis nuh good fi we health, right now. Right deh so now, di song pop inna mi head, like yow, we need fi hail wid we foot enuh.
Despite the dancehalls closing, many fans had also been hoping that a new dance would emerge to mark the coronavirus crisis. But dance star Ding Dong of the Ravers Clavers dance crew has refused calls to come up with a new coronavirus move, calling the outbreak “a serious matter”. He told the Star:
It a affect yuh, and it nuh care ‘bout race, riches or gender. A nuh everything make fi gimmick and joke ‘bout. As an artiste, I’m all about the fun, but this is not a fun thing and me coulda never do a dance fi some people siddung and joke and laugh about. Yuh know how much street dance cancel over this thing, how many people livelihood affected? Yuh know how much a my show dem get cancel because no travelling nah gwaan?
With 12 confirmed cases as of yesterday, Jamaica’s lack of advanced medical infrastructure and close links to countries with outbreaks, such as the UK, United States and Canada, makes it potentially vulnerable. Jamaican prime minister Andrew Holness declared the island a disaster area on Friday, and announced a travel ban on visitors from the UK, the source of Jamaica’s first case.
On Monday, Holness announced a raft of restrictions to contain the spread of the virus, including calling for all non-essential public and private sector employees to work from home, a ban on public gatherings of more than 20 people; the closure of all bars, nightclubs and other entertainments; and restrictions on numbers in taxis and on public transport.
Penalties for anyone caught breaking the rules include imprisonment for up to 12 months and a maximum J$1m fine.
Updated
Britain’s Tate - one of the UK’s major tourist attractions - has become one of the first national museums and galleries to announce closure.
It said it would close Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Tate St Ives and Tate Liverpool from 18 March until 1 May.
In a statement to its members Tate said:
We believe that access to art is a universal right. Now more than ever, art can lift our spirits, brighten our days and improve our mental health. So whilst our galleries are shut, we’ll be sharing some ideas for how you can still enjoy the best of Tate wherever you are.
The safety of our staff, visitors and community is our top priority. So, in line with the latest advice from Public Health England, Tate's four galleries will all be temporarily closed from this evening until 1 May. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/YaFi28HXm9
— Tate (@Tate) March 17, 2020
Many other smaller galleries, from the Baltic in Gateshead to the Serpentine in London, have announced they are closing until further notice.
The museum and gallery sector is anxiously awaiting the statement from the chancellor Rishi Sunak on what government help there will be to get through the crisis.
Sharon Heal, director of the Museums Association, called for an emergency fund to be created. She added: “The government has earmarked £120m for a ‘festival of Britain’ in 2022. We believe this should now be made available to support museums at risk of permanent closure as a result of the coronavirus epidemic.”
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UK airports may shut down “within weeks without government intervention”, according to the Airport Operators Association, which represents companies running British hubs.
The trade body’s chief executive, Karen Dee, said: “Governments across the world are supporting their national aviation industries as many parts of the global travel industry have come to a halt.
“As some airlines call on the UK government to act similarly, we are clear that airports will shut down in weeks unless urgent action is taken to support the industry.”
She called for measures including:
• Emergency financing as a measure of last resort.
• Requiring banks to temporarily not enforce financial performance-based banking covenants.
• Suspending business rates and other government and local government rates and taxes on airports.
Updated
UK finances face 'wartime' scenario - budget watchdog
Britain is facing a wartime scenario for its public finances as it seeks to offset the coronavirus hit to companies through higher public spending and borrowing, the country’s independent budget office said on Tuesday.
Robert Chote, head of the Office for Budget Responsibility, told MPs today that Britain’s budget deficit hit 20% of economic output during World War Two and he said now was not the time for the government to be squeamish about higher debt.
Chote’s evidence at a parliamentary committee has been streaming online.
It's our second evidence session on #Budget2020 this morning.
— Treasury Committee (@CommonsTreasury) March 17, 2020
We'll hear from the Office for Budget Responsibility's Robert Chote, Prof. Sir Charlie Bean and Andy King.
📺Watch it live from 9.30am here ➡️ https://t.co/lOd6xGV9wN pic.twitter.com/T9IuM06mdJ
It’s an issue that you can follow in more detail on our business liveblog here and is also likely dominate a press conference being given at 4pm local time by the prime minister, Boris Johnson, and the chancellor of the exchequer, Rishi Sunak.
Both men will likely face questions about details of how the UK is going to replicate the massive fiscal support packages being rolled by other states, from France to New Zealand.
My collague Andy Sparrow is also meanwhile livebloggin all political developments in the UK today.
Updated
The health damage inflicted on people by long-standing air pollution in cities is likely to increase the death rate from coronavirus infections, experts have said.
Dirty air is known to cause lung and heart damage and is responsible for at least 8m early deaths a year. This underlying health damage means respiratory infections, such as coronavirus, may well have a more serious impact on city dwellers and those exposed to toxic fumes, than on others.
However, strict confinement measures in China, where the coronavirus outbreak began, and in Italy, Europe’s most affected nation, have led to falls in air pollution as fewer vehicles are driven and industrial emissions fall.
A preliminary calculation by a US expert suggests that tens of thousands of premature deaths from air pollution may have been avoided by the cleaner air in China, far higher than the 3,208 coronavirus deaths.
In Jordan, the army has said it will deploy at entrances and exits of main cities in the kingdom in a move officials said was ahead of an imminent announcement of a state of emergency to combat the spread of coronavirus.
The country, which has already announced a tight lockdown after the number of confirmed cases of the virus rose to least 34, was about to take further imminent steps that include announcing a state of emergency, officials told Reuters.
“These measures aim at preventing the spread of coronavirus,” said an army statement.
Britain’s hospitality industry could effectively be destroyed without urgent state help to get through the coronavirus pandemic, industry leaders have warned.
Pubs and restaurant owners are calling for immediate financial support after Boris Johnson advised people not to go out but stopped short of ordering entertainment venues to close.
The London mayor, Sadiq Khan, has added his voice to the plea for clarity, saying the UK should be following measures being enacted in other countries such as France.
The British Beer and Pub Association has written to the prime minister, demanding urgent steps be taken to prevent mass job losses and permanent pub closures.
The letter, seen by the PA Media news agency and dated Monday, follows the government issuing new advice for people to avoid pubs, clubs and theatres in a bid to halt the spread of coronavirus.
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South-east Asian countries, which had previously reported low case numbers, are continuing to see a rise in infections following an increase of testing.
Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country, has just reported another 26 cases, bringing its total to 172.
The country of 264 million did not record its first cases until 2 March. A week ago, the country had carried out only 220 tests; it has now done nearly 1,000.
The Philippines also reported another 45 cases on Tuesday afternoon, bringing its total to 185. Its cases rose from six to 140 just last week.
Earlier today, officials in Thailand reported a further 30 people had tested positive for coronavirus, taking the total to 177. The cabinet approved plans to close schools and postpone the traditional New Year celebration, Songkran, due to be held from 13-15 April.
Several countries in the region, including the Philippines and Malaysia, have recently introduced sweeping restrictions affecting millions of people.
Updated
Facebook and Google are among the technology firms that have issued a statement pledging to protect and inform people during the coronavirus outbreak.
The group of companies have said they have committed to work together and with governments in response to the pandemic.
In a joint statement, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Reddit and YouTube said they would help ensure people could stay connected to each other during isolation as well as fight any misinformation and fraud linked to the outbreak.
“We are working closely together on Covid-19 response efforts,” the statement said.
“We’re helping millions of people stay connected while also jointly combating fraud and misinformation about the virus, elevating authoritative content on our platforms, and sharing critical updates in co-ordination with government healthcare agencies around the world.
China hits out at Trump tweet
China has issued an angry reaction to US President Donald Trump’s characterisation of the disease as “the Chinese virus.”
China’s foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the US president should take care of his own matters first.
“Some US politicians have tried to stigmatise China … which China strongly condemns. We urge the US to stop this despicable practice,” he said at a regular press briefing on Tuesday.
“We are very angry and strongly oppose it,” he added, referring to Trump’s tweet.
Updated
Germany begins to airlift thousands of citizens home
Germany’s foreign minister, Heiko Maas, has just announced that the government is going to start an operation to bring home thousands of citizens who have been stranded abroad by the coronavirus. He has set aside €50m to do so. We are expecting more details on that soon.
Meanwhile across the country, people are scrambling to buy last-minute items from shops that are considered non-essential for daily life, after the government’s surprise announcement last night that, from tomorrow, most shops will be forced to close. Supermarkets, chemists and medical stores are allowed to stay open, even on Sundays (there is normally a Sunday trading ban for most shops in Germany). Ikea has closed its 53 German stores, but has said its online store remains open.
The government has advised citizens against all non-essential travel within Germany as well as abroad.
As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases stands at over 7,000 this morning, with 17 deaths (though that figure is now several hours old and is due to be updated soon), German hospitals chiefs have said they are gearing up to increase their intensive bed capacity nationwide from the current 28,000 to 34,000 with ventilators.
Currently 25,000 intensive care beds have ventilators. With 34,000 beds, experts say as long as the current measures slow down the spread of the virus sufficiently, they should be able to treat the tens of thousands they expect to have to be admitted to hospital over the next few months.
In the corporate world, VW has said it will close production at all of its German plants and most of those in Europe. The last shift will take place on Friday, the VW boss Herbert Diess has said. The closures are initially planned for the next two to three weeks. On a positive note, production at the company’s plants in China has resumed again.
And most journalists, including the Guardian’s two-person team in Berlin, are now excluded from physically accessing government press conferences. We can, however, log in remotely via a livestream, and submit questions, the government has announced this morning. Large news agencies and Germany’s main broadcasters are still able to attend but numbers will be restricted.
Updated
Governments in Asia are preparing to tackle a “boomerang wave” of coronavirus cases as their nationals leave Europe, North America and the Middle East.
The latest tally from mainland China, where the outbreak first began, showed 21 new confirmed cases on Monday, of which 20 involved infected travellers arriving from abroad, mostly Chinese nationals, Reuters reported. Hong Kong said most of the recent confirmed cases in the past two weeks were “imported”.
In Taiwan, 24 new cases up to Tuesday were all imported, while South Korea had 44 new infections involving infected travellers as of Sunday. Singapore confirmed 17 new infections on Monday, its biggest daily jump in cases, with 11 of those imported.
Hong Kong’s leader, Carrie Lam, told a press briefing on Tuesday:
In many countries the number of confirmed cases can be described as explosive. If we don’t adopt some strict measures ... I’m afraid all precaution efforts done in the past two months would be wasted.
Ling, a Cambridge University student, spoke to Reuters after landing in Hong Kong wearing a surgical mask and rubber gloves. She said:
It is safer home than in Britain as the policy to contain the outbreak under Boris Johnson is doubtful.
Updated
In the UK, the leftwing campaign group Momentum has called on supporters to begin an “emergency mobilisation” to support vulnerable members of society, and to pressure the government to provide more support.
In a statement to its members, the group called on them to join community mutual aid groups and outlined a plan to repurpose its campaign tools to support grassroots initiatives. It is to publish an online map of all mutual aid groups in the country next week.
But it rejected calls from some quarters to “leave our politics at the door” and vowed to campaign to pressure the government to take measures including suspending mortgage, rent and bill payments, as well as guaranteeing full sick pay for all workers.
It is also calling on the government to bring all private hospitals and healthcare facilities into emergency public ownership, as was announced by the Spanish government yeseterday.
The group’s statement, sent to 100,000 supporters, said:
With the local elections postponed, we call on the Labour Party and other trade unions to make fighting Covid-19 their top priority. This means dedicating resources and infrastructure to supporting solidarity initiatives while being unafraid to make big, political demands of the government.
This crisis is our biggest priority. Already the right are exploiting the pandemic to stoke racism and division, with Trump calling Covid-19 a ‘foreign virus’ and attempting to buy up vaccine research for US-use only. Other governments may well be tempted to make restrictive containment measures permanent and erode democracy over the long term. Crises have the potential to change the way we live. We must face this fact with our eyes open, lead from the front and take every opportunity we can to shape things for the better.
The next few months will test our strength and resolve like nothing else. But together, we can show our communities will not be divided, no matter how bad the crisis gets.
Updated
UK measures will last 'several months' - health chief
England’s deputy chief medical officer has insisted the stricter measures to tackle the coronavirus had not been introduced too late.
Prof Jonathan Van-Tam told the BBC: “We are following the science very carefully and consider the measures we announced yesterday have been announced at the right time - not too early and certainly not too late.
“We don’t rule out taking further measures if these are necessary but much of this depends on how the next two weeks play out.”
He could not rule out the strict measures having to last for a year but predicted they would last at least “several months”.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that more people will encounter the coronavirus and become resistant with herd immunity, but “that will take time”.
“But, yes, you’re absolutely right that we can’t say how long this will need to go on for,” he said.
“I don’t know if it could be a year yet. I think we are too far out to make those kind of predictions but I certainly think it could be several months.”
Updated
Anger at Trump 'Chinese virus' tweet
The US president, Donald Trump, has referred to the global coronavirus outbreak as “the Chinese virus”, escalating a deepening US-China diplomatic spat over the disease.
After giving an address on Monday warning of a possible recession, Trump posted on Twitter: “The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries, like Airlines and others, that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus. We will be stronger than ever before!”
The World Health Organization has advised against terms that link the virus to China or the city of Wuhan, where it was first detected, in order to avoid discrimination or stigmatisation.
The comment comes as Beijing and Washington appeared to be locked in a game of shifting blame. Last week, outspoken official Zhao Lijian from China’s ministry of foreign affairs accused the US military of bringing the virus to Wuhan. The US summoned Chinese ambassador Cui Tiankai over the comment and issued a “stern” warning to Cui.
Updated
The apparent switching of places between China and other states continues.
The coastal province of Shandong has said that all overseas arrivals will be subject to 14 days quarantine, Reuters reports.
Olympic organisers in Japan are asking people not to create crowds along the route of the Olympic torch relay and not to gather near the route if they feel sick.
The introduction of new rules which radically change the way in which the tradition unfolds come amid continuing uncertainty about whether the Tokyo Olympics will even take place or not.
Jack Tarrant, a Reuters journalist, tweeted this photo of some of the changes in the case of the relay.
Some of the rules and changes #Tokyo2020 applying to #Olympics #torchrelay. Going to be a sad sight to see torch being run with no crowds IF that can even be enforced... #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/Dxo4VOsmis
— Jack Tarrant (@TarrantJack) March 17, 2020
A Boeing aircraft flew to Greece on 15 March to bring the torch to Japan.
Updated
Amid signs of some global stock markets stabilising on the back of indications that government actions are having an effect, Britain’s FTSE 100 Index has rebounded by nearly 2% - up 100.1 points at 5251.4 - soon after opening.
That followed steep losses on Monday. My colleague Graeme Wearden is liveblogging all the business developments here.
Updated
Britain got the timing of its new measures “about right”, Prof Ferguson has said in the last few minutes on BBC Radio 4.
There could be a need to escalate still further, he adds, citing the case of France.
Asked if the measures taken in Britain should have been taken sooner, he said that he believed the UK was still behind the epidemic seen in other European countries.
“I overall think we have got the timing about right.
“We are about three weeks behind Italy, two weeks behind France and Spain, so we are making these decisions in a more timely manner but certainly there wasn’t any time to lose.”
Updated
There is much discussion today of the shift in UK strategy to one of “total containment”, which involves new quarantine and social distancing based on modelling by Imperial College.
Explaining what cause that switch, the Guardian’s health editor, Sarah Boseley, writes that just last week Boris Johnson and his advisers had announced that anyone with symptoms of a cold should stay at home for seven days, but otherwise live life as normal.
What changed was new data on the impact of Italy’s epidemic on its health service. Basically, it is catastrophic, with 30% of hospitalised patients having to be admitted to intensive care. The teams of modellers at Imperial College and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine who advise the government crunched those numbers – and the death toll and pressure on the NHS that came out were unacceptable.
Prof Neil Ferguson at Imperial College’s MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis and colleagues found that the mitigation strategy, as they called it – or scenario 1 – that the government had just announced would lead to 260,000 deaths.
That would be not just deaths from the virus, but from other illnesses that the NHS would be too hard-pressed to treat.
Updated
Advice on schools policy may change - Khan
Advice on whether schools should close in the UK may change before Easter, according to London’s mayor Sadiq Khan, who attended a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee for the first time yesterday.
Khan, who said he had been frustrated for some time there was not a London presence at the meeting but was glad to be invited, said that the British government policy of allowing schools to remain open was challenged during the discussions. They were briefed on how the current policy was in line with scientific advice and that there was no reason for closing them at present.
He added that he would not be surprised if that position changes before Easter.
Khan said he was particularly concerned about vulnerable sections of London’s population, such as those working in the gig economy and the homeless, and spoke of how there was an impact on them already from “the form of rationing” taking place at supermarkets.
#Coronavirus: Today I attended COBRA where the Government’s medical and scientific experts laid out the next set of measures to protect Londoners. Good to speak to @ITVLondon about what this means for our city. #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/PHp0Etautx
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) March 16, 2020
Updated
A familiar face on British morning television, Susanna Reid, has told viewers this morning that she is self-isolating after one of her children developed a “persistent cough”.
Appearing on Good Morning Britain via video link, she said: “That means that immediately I thought ‘I can’t go into work’ and work with you guys for 14 days.
“The children are off and, of course, we are effectively two households because like many families we are a separated family, so we have two families who have gone into self-isolation.”
Will now be broadcasting from home on a regular basis.... https://t.co/UqIMoGr7Om
— Susanna Reid (@susannareid100) March 17, 2020
Updated
As people in France wake up to their first day under lockdown this morning following an order by their president to “severely restrict” their movements for the next 15 days at least, the country’s finance minister has announced a €45bn package in crisis measure to bolster the economy, which is expected to contract 1% this year. Bruno Le Maire told French RTL radio: “We don’t want bankruptcies.”
It comes after the president, Emmanuel Macron, outlawed all journeys outside the home unless necessary for work or health reasons, with punishments for anyone flouting the new regulations. He said:
“There can be no more outside meetings, no more seeing family or friends on the street or in the park. We must slow the spread of this virus by limiting the number of people we are in contact with each day to the strict minimum. If we do not, we endanger the lives of those we hold dear.”
So far, 148 coronavirus patients have died in the country, while 6,633 are confirmed to be infected, according to a Reuters tally. Yesterday, the Guardian reported that hospital beds in Paris were beginning to fill with coronavirus patients.
Updated
Israel approves phone tracking
Israel’s government has approved emergency measures to track people suspected or confirmed to have been infected with the coronavirus by monitoring their mobile phones, immediately raising privacy concerns in the country.
The cabinet unanimously approved the use of the technology, developed initially for counter-terrorism purposes, in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, first raised the issue during the weekend. He said authorities would use the data to notify people who may have come into contact with someone infected with the virus, and also to enforce quarantine orders.
In a Monday evening televised speech, the leader said the cyber monitoring would be in effect for 30 days.
“Israel is a democracy and we must maintain the balance between civil rights and the public’s needs,” Netanyahu said. “These tools will very much assist us in locating the sick and stopping the virus from spreading.”
Using emergency powers, he bypassed what would typically be a process of approval by Israel’s parliament, the Knesset. It had looked likely a parliamentary subcommittee would have delayed the rollout.
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel said providing the country’s internal security agency, the Shin Bet, with new secretive powers was a “dangerous precedent and a slippery slope that must be approached and resolved after much debate and not after a brief discussion”.
Netanyahu’s authority to implement such measures has also been questioned. The country is battling the coronavirus while also under an extending political crisis, with Netanyahu ruling as interim leader. His opponent, Benny Gantz, is prime minister-designate and attempting to form a government, although it is unclear if enough lawmakers will back him.
Updated
Supermarkets in Britain are ramping up contingency plans to help tackle demand from shoppers for essential provisions, with more sections of the population – including vulnerable and elderly people – preparing for self-isolation during the coronavirus outbreak.
The discounter Aldi has become the first supermarket to introduce across-the-board rationing, which means customers can buy no more than four of any single grocery line when they visit a store.
With the UK still in the grip of panic buying, two major online supermarket websites crashed and imposed “virtual queues” for their shoppers as retailers battled to cope with the ongoing surge of online grocery orders.
Waitrose said 500 John Lewis staff – including many drivers – had been temporarily moved to its food retail operation to bolster delivery and help fill gaps in its supply chain.
Grocery retailers are struggling to cope with demand for store cupboard essentials, including toilet roll, dried pasta and tinned tomatoes, as shoppers stock up in preparation for potential self-isolation and amid fears of shortages or store closures. Wet wipes, kitchen roll and biscuits are also selling out.
Everyone is learning as the outbreak evolves and it means we have to find ways of adapting and changing circumstances, the World Health Organisation envoy David Nabarro has said.
Nabarro declined to criticise the UK government when asked about the change in British strategy which was unveiled last night but said he was “really pleased” by the shift.
He was speaking on the morning after Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged the British public to take unprecedented peacetime measures, including avoiding all unnecessary contact and travel and staying away from pubs and theatres, following expert modelling which suggests the approach could cut the estimated coronavirus death toll from 260,000 to 20,000.
“We have to be prepared from what I am calling a change in tack from time to time, even though it’s very distressing, because it’s what people are having to cope with all over the world,” Nabarro told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
But he stressed the need for further testing so plans on tackling the coronavirus can be formed.
Good morning from London. This is Ben Quinn picking up the liveblog now.
Updated
That’s it from me for today – a special thank you to our readers for the tips and messages.
I’m now handing over to my colleague Ben Quinn, who will take you through the next few hours of coronavirus pandemic news.
Summary
- The Ohio primary was ordered to be delayed on health grounds. The state’s governor, Mike DeWine, had recommended on Monday that in-person voting during Tuesday’s primary elections be postponed.
- Global infections passed 180,000. There have been 7,154 deaths, and 79,433 recoveries worldwide.
- France tightened its lockdown and orders 100,000 officers to police it, President Emmanuel Macron has told French citizens to “severely restrict movements for the next 15 days at least” and limit social contacts as much as possible.
- Asian markets sank on Tuesday as investors struggled to pick themselves off the floor following the previous day’s global bloodbath.
- India has closed the Taj Mahal, its top tourist site. The financial hub of Mumbai has also ordered offices providing non-essential services to function at 50% staffing levels as efforts to control the spread of coronavirus in South Asia ramped up.
- More than 100 Australian doctors are trapped onboard a cruise ship that is stuck off the coast of Chile after the country banned cruise ships from docking in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
- The Greek Orthodox Church suspended daily services. Against a backdrop of incredulity and consternation, the Greek Orthodox church has, if reluctantly, decided to suspend daily services after a marathon session of its Holy Synod, citing the need to prevent the spread of Coronavirus.
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Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, have been released from an Australian hospital, five days after they were diagnosed with the new coronavirus, media reported.
- Hundreds of prisoners escaped from prisons in São Paulo state in the south-east of Brazil on Monday.
- Amazon.com said it would hire 100,000 warehouse and delivery workers in the US to deal with a surge in online orders, as many consumers have turned to the web to meet their needs during the coronavirus outbreak.
- US president Donald Trump posted a tweet referring to Covid-19 as “the Chinese virus”. Trump also warned that social upheaval caused by the outbreak could last beyond August.
- New Zealand announced an enormous spending package, equivalent to 4% of the country’s GDP in an attempt to fight the effects of Covid-19 on the country’s economy, in what ministers called the most significant peacetime economic plan in the country’s modern history.
- Californians were urged to ‘shelter in place’. San Francisco and five other Bay Area counties in California have ordered all residents to shelter-in-place to curb the spread of coronavirus, in a drastic move similar to ones taken in Italy, Spain and China, but the first of its kind in the US. Here is what the order means.
- China’s state planner said the economy would return to normal in the second quarter, as the country reported just one case outside Wuhan.
- Australia is looking at developing a mass testing process. The country has 415 confirmed cases of coronavirus.
- The White House recommended isolation. The US president Donald Trump told Americans to avoid any gatherings of more than 10 people over the next 15 days and advising all states with evidence of community transmission to close down bars, restaurants, gyms and other facilities.
Here is the very fresh Coronavirus latest: at a glance:
Updated
Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, have now both been released from an Australian hospital, five days after they were diagnosed with the new coronavirus, media reported.
Queensland state’s health department would not comment on media reports that the 63-year-old celebrities had been discharged from the Gold Coast University to self-isolate in a rented house.
Hanks management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The couple’s son, Chet Hanks posted on Instagram announcing that both were out of hospital and doing well.
“If you went to the grocery story and hoarded all the toilet paper and the water for yourself I think you’re the problem,” he added, urging people to remain calm in the face of the virus.
Rita Wilson has added songs to the “quarantunes playlist” she created during her hospital stay.
Hi all! Added some new songs to my Quarantunes @spotify playlist. I keep getting great suggestions from you all. https://t.co/Jo0zSpRhiE
— Rita Wilson (@RitaWilson) March 17, 2020
South Korea latest figures
South Korea reported 84 new coronavirus cases as of Tuesday, marking a third day in a row that the county has reported fewer than 100 new infections.
South Korea said it plans to tighten border checks for all arrivals from overseas to prevent new virus cases coming into the country.
Podcast: is the UK government moving fast enough on coronavirus?
Britain has not joined its European neighbours by shutting schools, closing borders or rolling out mass testing. So why not? Health editor Sarah Boseley looks at the arguments the government is making for its approach.
The US president, Donald Trump, has referred to the global coronavirus outbreak as “the Chinese virus,” escalating a deepening US-China diplomatic spat over the disease.
Trump, after giving an address on Monday warning of a possible recession, posted on Twitter: “The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries, like Airlines and others, that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus. We will be stronger than ever before!”
The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries, like Airlines and others, that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus. We will be stronger than ever before!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 16, 2020
The comment comes as Beijing and Washington appeared to be locked in a game of shifting blame. Last week, outspoken official Zhao Lijian from China’s ministry of foreign affairs accused the US military of bringing the virus to Wuhan. The US summoned Chinese ambassador Cui Tiankai over the comment and issued a “stern” warning to Cui.
In case you missed this earlier, two penguins have been allowed to tour the exhibits at the Chicago aquarium they call home.
The Shedd aquarium in Chicago has let its penguins wander around freely after closing to visitors indefinitely due to the coronavirus outbreak. The aquarium said on social media: ‘While this may be a strange time for us, these days feel normal for animals at Shedd’.
What the UK papers say
Unprecedented measures to fight the spread of coronavirus in the UK reverberate across the front pages today, with many newspapers giving prominence to a picture of Boris Johnson’s “your country needs you” gesture:
A roundup of the UK’s front pages, below:
A further 30 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Thailand, bringing its total number of cases to 177, as countries across Southeast Asian witness a fresh wave of infections.
A spike in patient numbers across the region – which initially recorded relatively few cases - has increased doubts over a theory that warmer weather may prevent the spread of the virus, Reuters reported last night.
Malaysia, which announced sweeping measures to stop the virus on Monday evening, now has 553 reported cases, while in the Philippines, cases rose from six to 140 last week.
The Philippines has placed its capital region and the island of Luzon under lockdown, stopping public transport, closing schools and many businesses. The measures have caused chaos for those who still need to travel to and from work, Rappler reported, forcing commuters to scramble onto the backs of crowded trucks.
WATCH: Commuters rush to ride trucks in Philcoa, Quezon City on March 17, as mass public transpo is suspended due to the Luzon-wide #COVID19quarantine. | via @jaegermaraester pic.twitter.com/RnISKU71nS
— MovePH (@MovePH) March 17, 2020
In Malaysia, all mass gatherings, including religious activities, have been banned. It follows a surge in infections linked to a gathering of 16,000 people at a mosque in Kuala Lumpur.
There is also anxiety about a recent Hindu gathering that attracted 30,000 people.
In Indonesia, the country’s most important Muslim body issued a fatwa stating that people should not attend Friday prayers if they live in an area which has a “high or very high transmission potential” but that people in areas with “low potential for transmission” must attend. So far, the country has recorded 134 cases of the disease.
Indonesian president Joko Widodo said on Saturday that he had withheld some information about cases to prevent the country from panicking, the Jakarta Post reported. He has rejected calls for a lockdown to be imposed on hard hit areas.
In contrast to other countries in Southeast Asia, both Mynamar and Laos have not reported any cases of the virus. Myanmar officials have denied suggestions that there are unreported cases.
More than 100 Australian doctors and dentists are stuck on cruise ship off Chile
More than 100 Australian doctors and dentists are trapped on board a cruise ship that is currently stuck off the coast of Chile after the country banned cruise ships from docking in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Roald Amundsen, owned by cruise company Hurtigruten, is one of several stranded off the Chilean port of Punta Arenas, and has a capacity of less than 500 passengers.
Chile has banned cruise vessels from docking until September after an elderly passenger on one cruise ship tested positive for coronavirus.
The country’s health minister, Jaime Mañalich announced the ban on Twitter on Sunday.
In the US, legendary comedian Mel Brooks has made a video with his son Max warning of the dangers posed to the elderly by young people who don’t practice social distancing:
A message from me and my dad, @Melbrooks. #coronavirus #DontBeASpreader pic.twitter.com/Hqhc4fFXbe
— Max Brooks (@maxbrooksauthor) March 16, 2020
Updated
More on India’s response to the coronavirus pandemic now – and in particular its tourism sector.
Tourism has all but ground to a complete halt in India as the country attempts to contain the spread of Covid-19. Most reported cases in India so far have been those who have been abroad or come into contact with people who recently travelled and in response the country has locked its borders.
With India’s economy already in a sustained slump, it is likely to have a devastating impact in a country which usually has upwards of 10 million foreign tourists a year, and where tourism accounts for almost 10% of the GDP.
All tourist visas have been suspended until 15 April, a deadline which is expected to be extended, and the government has requested that tourists be encouraged to leave the country. Certain states such as Odisha have instructed all foreign tourists to register themselves and be put into mandatory 14 day quarantine when they enter the state, while Kerala and Nagaland remain closed to tourists altogether.
In Goa, a popular holiday destination for Europeans, hotels and resorts have already begun to shut down for the season at least a month earlier than they usually would and the beaches and restaurants are empty.
All India’s national museums and monuments have also been closed, including the Taj Mahal. On Tuesday morning, India reported its third death from Covid-19, a 64-year-old man who died in a Mumbai hospital.
Latest global figures
Here are the latest figures worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Global infections have passed 180,000. They currently stand at 182,406
There have been 7,154 deaths, and 79,433 recoveries. The ten countries with the highest number of confirmed infections so far are:
- China: 81,050
- Italy: 27,980
- Iran: 14,991
- Spain: 9,942
- South Korea: 8,320
- Germany: 7,272
- France: 6,650
- US: 4,661
- Switzerland: 2,330
- United Kingdom: 1,553
There continue to be more cases and more deaths outside mainland China than inside.
The Australian sharemarket has surged back to close up 5.8% for the day, bouncing back after its worst fall since 1987 on Monday.
Futures markets are pointing to a strong day ahead for US markets, but they have become a less reliable indicator than usual amid intense volatility on global bourses.
The Australian market’s extraordinary rebound on Tuesday was led by mining stocks that have been battered by the Covid-19 outbreak, but banks, other financial stocks, and supermarkets also soared.
Grocery wholesaler Metcash was the biggest gainer, skyrocketing by 27%.
Airline stocks were smashed as flag carrier Qantas slashed its flights. Qantas dropped 5.3% while rival Virgin Australia plummeted 8.7%.
Tuesday’s gains aren’t enough to claw back many of the extraordinary losses experienced by the market over the past three weeks, including Monday’s extraordinary 9.7% tumble.
The coronavirus rout means gains since October 2016 have been wiped out.
Singaporeans rushed to stock up on food on Tuesday amid fears of a disruption in supplies after Malaysia announced the closure of its borders to combat the coronavirus spread, though Singapore’s government said there would be no shortages.
Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced on Monday that Malaysia would shut its borders, restrict internal movement, close schools, universities and most businesses after its tally of coronavirus cases climbed to 553, the highest in Southeast Asia.
Muhyiddin said the order would take effect on Wednesday and last for two weeks.
Malaysia is a key source of staples for Singapore, which imports more than 90% of its food. Tens of thousands of Malaysians commute every day into the wealthy city-state to work in businesses from restaurants to semiconductor manufacturing.
Long queues started forming at some Singapore shops on Tuesday morning, reminiscent of panic-buying a month ago when Singapore raised its alert response level on the coronavirus, although this time around store shelves were well-stocked.
Singapore has had 243 cases of the coronavirus, with no deaths.
India's Taj Mahal closed
India has closed the Taj Mahal, its top tourist site. The financial hub of Mumbai has also ordered offices providing non-essential services to function at 50% staffing levels as efforts to control the spread of coronavirus in South Asia ramped up.
Mumbai, a densely populated metropolis of 18 million, also authorised hospital and airport authorities to stamp the wrists of those who have been ordered to self-isolate with indelible ink reading “Home Quarantined” and displaying the date until which the person has been ordered to self-quarantine, Reuters reports.
The moves, announced late on Monday, come just days after authorities in the city shut down schools, cinemas, malls, gyms and banned mass gatherings.
India’s western state of Maharashtra, home to Mumbai, has been the hardest hit in India with 39 confirmed coronavirus cases, or about a quarter of the 120 plus confirmed cases in the country.
Along with the Taj Mahal, dozens of other protected monuments and museums across in the country including the Ajanta and Ellora caves and religious sites such as the Siddhivinayak temple in Mumbai, were ordered closed.
India expanded its travel and visa restrictions on Monday, banning passengers travelling from member countries of the European Union, the European Free Trade Association, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
Updated
‘This is like a war’: the view from Italy’s coronavirus frontline
There are the elderly couples who died hours apart and without their families around them. There is the 47-year-old woman who died at home, and who remained there for almost two days because funeral companies refused to collect her body. There are the doctors who lost their lives after assisting their infected patients.
Among the 2,158 people to have been killed by the coronavirus pandemic in Italy as of Monday, the oldest was 95 and the two youngest were 39.
Brazil’s largest favela, Rocinha, has asked that foreigners to be banned from entering the area, AP reports. Rocinha was home to about 70,000 people as of the latest census.
Wallace Pereira da Silva, president of Rocinhas residents’ association, says he delivered the official request to the state tourism secretariat on 13 March.
“What we have most news of is that the disease comes from foreigners, and that worries us,” Pereira da Silva said in an interview. “Obviously we’re taking precautions washing our hands, using hand sanitiser, etc. but the big worry for me personally is foreigners visiting.”
The tourism secretariats press office wasn’t immediately able to confirm receipt of the document, which was reviewed by the AP.
Vacationers often include a favela visit on their checklist, be it independently, on a walking tour with a local guide, or riding in the bed of safari-like trucks, the latter of which have been widely criticised as dehumanising. Rocinha, located near the hotels of Ipanema and Copacabana, is a common destination.
Ukraine late on Monday announced shutdowns of public transport, bars, restaurants and shopping malls to stem the spread of the coronavirus after President Volodymyr Zelensky promised to act “harshly, urgently, perhaps unpopularly”, AFP reports.
The government supported Zelensky’s proposals and introduced restrictions on domestic movement, including full closure of the country’s three metro systems - in Kiev, Kharkiv and Dnipro - until April 3.
The government also banned mass events with more than ten people participating.
Ukraine has officially confirmed seven cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, and one death. Two new cases were confirmed in Kiev late Monday.
Ukraine has already implemented drastic preventative measures including banning entry to foreigners, and it will stop all flights to and from the country from Tuesday.
It has also closed schools and universities and banned major public events.
“We need to buy time. We must reduce the chances of the virus spreading through the capital,” Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said in a statement earlier the day.
Ukraine’s other major cities, from Lviv in the west to the southern port of Odessa, have closed museums and swimming pools.
The country’s parliament is to hold an extraordinary session on Tuesday to consider further steps.
Meanwhile in Australia:
The ‘beef-free’ sausages still aren’t fooling anybody.. #COVID19au pic.twitter.com/I02eYmPVwD
— Michael Rowland (@mjrowland68) March 17, 2020
Asian markets tumble again
Asian markets sank Tuesday as investors struggled to pick themselves off the floor following the previous day’s global bloodbath, the AFP writes, which saw Wall Street suffer its worst day in more than three decades as coronavirus sweeps the planet.
Despite government and central bank attempts to soothe markets with massive stimulus pledges and interest rate cuts, more countries are going into lockdown to prevent the outbreak’s spread - bringing the world economy juddering to a halt.
There is a broad consensus that the disease, which has wiped trillions off market valuations, will cause a global recession, with the airline industry first in the firing line leading company heads to plead for billions of dollars in state help to prevent them going under.
The Philippines became the first country to shut down its stock market as the country goes into lockdown.
Elsewhere, Sydney rose more than 4%, a day after crashing 9.7% in its worst day on record.
But after an early advance, the rest of Asia resumed its downward trend.
Hong Kong and Shanghai lost more than 1%, while Seoul, Jakarta and Taipei dropped more than 3%. Tokyo ended the morning down 0.5%.
Singapore was slightly lower and Wellington was flat after New Zealand became the latest country to announce monetary support.
The losses came after Wall Street indices collapsed in their worst day since 1987, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq dropping about 12% and the Dow sinking nearly 13%.
Thousands of Australian doctors have called on the government to ramp up its coronavirus response.
Almost 2,500 doctors have urged the health minister, Greg Hunt, to take immediate action on containment measures around the country to curb coronavirus.
Led by Dr Hemant Garg, the letter states doctors are “dismayed at the disconnect between the actions being taken within the medical community and the recommendation for actions being passed on to the general population”.
What does California's 'shelter in place' order mean?
In the US, San Francisco and five other counties in California issued a shelter-in-place order in an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus.
The order, which goes into effect at midnight Tuesday until 7 April, is similar to the drastic lockdown measures taken in places like Italy, Spain, France and China, but it’s the first of its kind in the United States.
What does the order do?
This order requires 6.7 million residents in San Francisco and five other Bay Area counties – Santa Clara, San Mateo, Alameda, Marin and Contra Costa – to stay home unless absolutely necessary.
Santa Cruz county issued a similar order later on Monday.
They can’t ever go outside?
Residents “may leave to provide or receive certain essential services or engage in certain essential activities and work for essential business or government services”.
The key word here is “essential”.
Updated
New Zealand on Tuesday deported its first unruly traveller flouting the country’s mandatory 14-day self-isolation rule for almost all arrivals, the health ministry said. The tourist, who had checked into a backpackers hostel in the city of Christchurch, was removed from the accommodation by the police after officials learned she did not have clear self-isolation plans.
But on the second day of the country’s strict travel restrictions, the new rules appeared to have sunk in for many others. The mood on Wellington airport on Tuesday was subdued and compliant as a handful of travellers arrived on flights from Sydney and Melbourne.
The plane had felt like a ghost ship, said Addison Li-Strong. “I had a whole row to myself.”
All of those who spoke to the Guardian were New Zealanders returning home, and almost all said they planned to self-isolate; one trio was looking forward to a “dreamy” fortnight at a stocked-up family beach house on Wellington’s south coast.
Some questioned whether the border checks in New Zealand and Australia were stringent enough; masked and gloved officials had helped passengers fill in forms stating their health status and plans, and had asked travellers how they were feeling, said Luke Furness, arriving from Thailand via Sydney, but had not performed temperature checks.
“They chucked me a bit of paper and asked me how I was feeling, and I said ‘good’ but why would I say ‘bad’?” he said. “But I am feeling a hundred.”
The procedures were “pretty vague really. They just give you a sheet of paper and make you fill in a card and that’s it,” said Cory Turnewitsch, who planned to move his belongings into the spare bedroom and avoid his four-year-old’s hugs and kisses for the duration of his mandatory isolation.
Not all travellers were so well-behaved. Two young men arriving from Melbourne said they could not stop to chat because their father was waiting outside to whisk them off. To self-isolation?
Both laughed. “Yeah, at the golf course!” one said.
The New Zealand Herald reported on Tuesday evening that two people from South East Asia would be deported after “irresponsible” behaviour that had put New Zealanders at risk when they failed to self-isolate, according to the immigration agency.
Updated
Summary
- The Greek Orthodox Church suspended daily services. Against a backdrop of incredulity and consternation, the Greek Orthodox church has, if reluctantly, decided to suspend daily services after a marathon session of its Holy Synod, citing the need to prevent the spread of Coronavirus.
- Hundreds of prisoners escaped from prisons in São Paulo state in the South East of Brazil on Monday.
- Amazon.com Inc on Monday said it would hire 100,000 warehouse and delivery workers in the United States to deal with a surge in online orders, as many consumers have turned to the web to meet their needs during the coronavirus outbreak.
- All cricket in Australia has been cancelled, including the Sheffield Shield final, with NSW declared champions.
- US president Donald Trump has posted a tweet referring to Covid-19 as “the Chinese Virus”. Trump also warned that social upheaval caused by the outbreak could last beyond August.
- New Zealand announced an enormous spending package, equivalent to 4% of the country’s GDP in an attempt to fight the effects of Covid-19 on the country’s economy, in what ministers called the most significant peace-time economic plan in the country’s modern history.
- Californians were urged to ‘shelter in place’. San Francisco and five other Bay Area counties in California have ordered all residents to shelter-in-place to curb the spread of coronavirus, in a drastic move similar to ones taken in Italy, Spain and China, but the first of its kind in the US. Here is what the order means.
- The Ohio primary was ordered to be delayed on health grounds. The state’s governor, Mike DeWine, had recommended on Monday that in-person voting during Tuesday’s primary elections be postponed.
- The Sydney Opera House announced it would cancel all public performances starting Tuesday, March 17.
- The UN Security Council called off its remaining two remaining meetings for the week, Agence France-Presse reported.
-
China’s state planner said the economy would return to normal in the second quarter, as the country reported just one case outside Wuhan.
- Australia is looking at developing a mass testing process. The country has 415 confirmed cases of coronavirus.
-
The head of the World Health Organizaion, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, implored governments to test more suspected cases, warning that they cannot fight the pandemic blindfolded.
- The White House recommended isolation. US President Donald Trump told Americans to avoid any gatherings of more than 10 people over the next 15 days and advising all states with evidence of community transmission to close down bars, restaurants, gyms and other facilities.
Here is the most recent Coronavirus latest: at a glance.
The latest venture into the brave new world of live-streaming-in-the-age-of-coronavirus-shutdown is none other than Chris Martin – the frontman of Coldplay, who had already put a hold on all touring until they could find a sustainable way to do it.
Martin is the curator – and inaugural act – of new online festival the Solidarity Sessions: Together, At Home, in which artists will be performing for their fans, over Instagram, from home.
Martin offered up a half-hour concert, featuring Coldplay hits and a David Bowie cover which has already been watched by 585,000. The festival is happening in partnership with the World Health Organization, and intends to raise awareness for their new Solidarity Response Fund – and John Legend is next on the lineup.
My friend Chris Martin did a lovely little concert from home today. I'll be doing one tomorrow at 1pm Pacific time. See you soon. We'll try to get through this together! #TogetherAtHome https://t.co/YZ8Y1W8esc
— John Legend (@johnlegend) March 16, 2020
A strong contender for cutest coronavirus-induced lockdown news today (and perhaps ever) is penguins Annie and Edward being allowed out of their enclosure to explore some if the exhibits at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago:
oh my god, the chicago aquarium closed due to coronavirus, so they let the penguins run around and check out the other exhibits. (staff was present.) pic.twitter.com/YGa8CugymE
— Evan McMurry (@evanmcmurry) March 16, 2020
The adventure continues! 🐧🐧
— Shedd Aquarium (@shedd_aquarium) March 16, 2020
This morning, Edward and Annie explored Shedd’s rotunda. They are a bonded pair of rockhopper penguins, which means they are together for nesting season. Springtime is nesting season for penguins at Shedd, and this year is no different! (1/3) 👇 pic.twitter.com/VdxN3oQAfe
Penguins in the Amazon?! 🐧🌴
— Shedd Aquarium (@shedd_aquarium) March 15, 2020
Some of the penguins went on a field trip to meet other animals at Shedd. Wellington seemed most interested in the fishes in Amazon Rising! The black-barred silver dollars also seemed interested in their unusual visitor. pic.twitter.com/KgYWsp5VQD
While this may be a strange time for us, these days feel normal for animals at Shedd. Our caregivers are constantly providing new experiences for the animals to explore and express their natural behaviors with. Let us know what penguin activities you would like to see! (3/3) pic.twitter.com/ftlow7iPHl
— Shedd Aquarium (@shedd_aquarium) March 16, 2020
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau is currently working from home, prompting a senior government official who has participated in calls with the prime minister to tell Reuters, “You can run a G7 country from home.”
Trudeau has help in the form of “a very large box of Legos” to keep his children occupied, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland told Reuters.
Friendly reminder: If Trudeau can pull that off, many of you can and should work from home, too (though we understand Trudeau has many helpers and resources beyond Lego at his disposal).
An update now on Canada, which closed its borders to all foreign nationals except US citizens and permanent residents on Monday.
Several other countries have taken the same step. The 27-nation European Union proposed shutting its external borders for 30 days on Monday.
“We will be denying entry into Canada to people who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents ... it is a significant step that we take in exceptional circumstances,” Trudeau told reporters outside his home, where he is under quarantine after his wife, Sophie, tested positive for the respiratory virus.
As the virus’ spread accelerates in Canada, Trudeau urged people to stay home and restrict contact with others.
“Staying home is an important step to protect the community and each other. We all have to do it,” he said.
The death toll in Canada rose to four on Monday from one on Sunday. The number of infected jumped to 407 from the 341 reported at 9 a.m. (1300 GMT) earlier in the day, medical officials said.
As former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard self-isolates after embracing Sophie Trudeau a week before Trudeau tested positive for coronavirus, now is a helpful time to remind you to please wash your hands, this time to Gillard’s famous misogyny speech:
A worthy alternative to singing happy birthday: pic.twitter.com/a5G5LQzyp1
— Bonnie Malkin (@bonniemalkin) March 7, 2020
Updated
The Philippine Stock Exchange was closed with no trading Tuesday after the president placed the northern part of the country including Manila in quarantine.
The exchange’s CEO said the end of trading activity would be “until further notice.”
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte placed the northern third of the country under an “enhanced community quarantine” that requires millions of people to stay mostly at home in an attempt to contain the coronavirus.
Most office work and mass transit on Luzon Island, including Manila, will be suspended for a month. Public movement will be restricted and large gatherings banned except for medical and other emergencies.
Banks, hospitals, drugstores and supermarkets will remain open but only one family member can make such trips and should observe “social distancing.”
The Philippines has 142 cases of infection. The 12 deaths due to Covid-19 are the most in Southeast Asia.
Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri said he had tested positive for the virus, becoming the highest Philippine official to be infected.
Still in Australia, in what appears to be a severe escalation of the supermarket wars, a man has been airlifted to hospital from the Victorian town of Rosebud after he was reportedly stabbed at a Woolworths.
Ambulance Victoria said paramedics were called to an incident in Rosebud, which is 88km from Melbourne on the Mornington Peninsula, at 12.55pm and treated a man for “an injury to the lower body.”
Neither paramedics nor Victoria Police — who asked Guardian Australia if we calling about the Rosebud incident almost before we’d stated our name — have provided any more information at this stage.
Australia looking into mass testing process
Australia’s health minister, Greg Hunt, says the country now has 375 confirmed cases of coronavirus.
He also says the country is looking at developing a mass testing process.
“We have actually one of the most advanced testing regimes in the world. We have had over 30,000 tests conducted in Australia, and I expect new figures in the next 24 hours which will be significantly in advance of that,” he says.
Testing is one of his “absolute highest priorities” and he is working with the Doherty Institute to look at how to “expand beyond the individual tests,” he says.
“They are looking at ways of expediting the testing process, and, indeed, some significant new mass testing processes over and above what we’re doing.”
Updated
China's state planner says economy will return to normal in second quarter
China’s economy will return to normal in the second quarter as government support measures to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus epidemic take effect, the state planner said on Tuesday.
Officials from the National Development and Reform Commission also told reporters during a briefing that China has ample policy tools and will roll out relevant measures at an appropriate time.
Wuhan, the central Chinese city that was at one time the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, where the viral illness was first detected in December, was down to just one new case on Tuesday.
New Zealand has recorded three more confirmed cases of coronavirus, all from New Zealanders recently returned from overseas. Two are in Wellington, having returned from the US, and one is in Dunedin, recently returned from Germany. The total of infected persons is now 11.
The Dunedin man only began showing symptoms five days after arriving home. The man and two family members are in self-isolation, including a student from Logan Park High School.
Dr Ashley Bloomfield, director-general of health, said all cases of the virus in New Zealand have been recorded from overseas travellers arriving in the country, and at this stage there was no community outbreak.
“New Zealand has no barrier from cost to testing, nor is there a constraint on capacity.” Bloomfield said.
The health-line helpline answered more than 7,000 calls on Monday, although 24,000 people had tried to get through. The 7,000 was seven times the normal volume.
Five hundred tests for the virus are being undertaken in New Zealand today, with those returning from overseas travel prioritised.
UN Security Council halts meetings due to coronavirus
The UN Security Council called off its remaining two remaining meetings for the week, Agence France-Presse reports.
“Council members will maintain communication and consultation on issues on the agenda with a view to taking necessary actions as needed to fulfil the Council’s mandate,” a spokesperson for the mission said in a statement.
A Philippines delegate at the UN tested positive to Covid-19 last week.
Hong Kong will quarantine arrivals from all foreign countries
Hong Kong has issued a red travel alert covering all foreign, requiring anyone entering the country to self-quarantine for 14 days.
The chief executive, Carrie Lam, said in the previous two weeks, Hong Kong had recorded 57 new infections, 50 of them imported.
The new restrictions would not apply to arrivals from mainland China, Macau or Taiwan.
In her press conference, Lam also said it was unlikely schools would resume on 20 April.
Updated
Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has said that other Group of Seven leaders had agreed to support a “complete” Olympics in Tokyo, as speculation mounts that the coronavirus pandemic could force the Games to be postponed.
Abe said he had told other G7 leaders during their video conference on Monday night: “We are doing everything in our power to prepare, and we want to aim for a complete event as proof that mankind can defeat the new coronavirus.”
He said other leaders had backed his plan, but he would not be drawn on whether their discussions had touched on a possible postponement.
Abe was speaking after the head of the French Olympic committee, Denis Masseglia, said the Olympics would not be able to open as scheduled on 24 July unless the coronavirus outbreak had peaked by the end of May.
“My feeling is that if we’re still in the crisis by the end of May, I can’t see how the Games can happen (on time),” Masseglia told Reuters in Paris. “If we are beyond the peak and the situation is getting better questions will arise about who qualifies, but we will find the least worst solution.”
The International Olympic Committee, which has publicly supported Japan’s insistence that the Games will go ahead as planned, is due to talk to international sports federations on Tuesday, and national Olympic committees the following day.
Tokyo 2020 preparations suffered more disruption this week after organisers said spectators would be asked not to turn out to watch the first part of the Japan leg of the Olympic torch relay, which is due to begin on 26 March. Organisers are expected to ask people not to line the route as the torch passes through the first three of the country’s 47 prefectures, the Kyodo news agency said.
The flame was lit last week in Olympia in a low-key ceremony that was closed to members of the public. The Greek leg of the relay was called off the following day over coronavirus fears, and restrictions will be in place when the flame arrives in Japan at the end of this week.
While Japan has reported comparatively few cases of the virus, some Tokyo residents said they were worried by the prospect of people arriving from overseas to watch the Games.
“To be honest, even if Japan overcomes this crisis, we wouldn’t (want to) receive visitors from the world. I think we’d better not hold it,” Koki Miura, an employee at an internet company, told Agence France-Presse. “We cannot sacrifice people’s lives” for the sake of the Olympics, Miura added.
Public opinion in Japan appears to be hardening against holding the Olympics in the capital in less than four months’ time. In a poll by public broadcaster NHK conducted March 6-9, 45% were opposed to going ahead as planned, with 40% in favour. In a Kyodo survey released on Monday, 69.9% of respondents said they did not believe the Games would be held on schedule.
Ohio primary will ordered to be delayed on health grounds
We are just hearing that the Ohio primary has been postponed, according to Reuters.
The state’s governor, Mike DeWine, had recommended on Monday that in-person voting during Tuesday’s primary elections be postponed.
But a Franklin county court of common pleas judge declined to order the postponement on Monday evening.
But a tweet from DeWine said the polls will be ordered to close by the state’s director of health, Amy Acton.
As such, @DrAmyActon will order the polls closed as a health emergency. While the polls will be closed tomorrow, Secretary of State @FrankLaRose will seek a remedy through the courts to extend voting options so that every voter who wants to vote will be granted that opportunity.
— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) March 17, 2020
China has begun using Xiaotangshan Hospital in Beijing to screen and test people arriving from overseas for Covid-19 . It was originally built to combat Sars in 2003 and has more than 1,000 beds.
Beijing's Xiaotangshan Hospital, originally built in 2003 to treat patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, began new operations on Monday to screen and treat people entering China from overseas with #COVID_19. https://t.co/b8hlFu2wca #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/sOj7zc3r6X
— China Daily (@ChinaDaily) March 17, 2020
Updated
Researchers at the University of Queensland could begin clinical trials on coronavirus sufferers - using HIV and malaria tablets - in Australian hospitals by the end of March.
The trials would be based on test tube results that showed the drugs had effectively treated infections of the COVID-19 virus.
Professor David Paterson from the University of Queensland’s Centre for Clinical Research told Sky News the drugs were already licensed for use in Australila and had “a good safety record”
“This is not a new vaccine that has to be developed from scratch,” he said.
“So we’re finalising the protocol of how we’re going to do it right now, it will go to hospital ethics committees hopefully by Friday and hopefully by the end of next week we will have our first patients enrolled.
“How quickly the study gets finished will depend on how many patients we see but it could be as soon as three months that we know which of these treatments - the HIV drug, the malaria drug or the two put together - is actually the best.
“What we want to do is we want to get in early, as soon as a person is diagnosed in hospital with a case of COVID-19, and we want to stop them going down that path that leads them to an intensive care unit admission ... and unfortunately death.”
As we continue to report on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, we’re looking for stories of how this unprecedented crisis has affected couples, families, friends and communities.
If you’ve been separated from a loved one by lockdowns, have had to cancel your wedding or miss an important family event, we’d like to hear from you. We’re always interested in hearing what you may have done in response, too, or how you and your loved ones (and neighbours) are supporting each other in these trying times.
Please do include photographs if you can and are happy for us to use them.
Send me a message on Twitter @helenrsullivan, tag me in a tweet of your own (if you’re happy for us to include it in the blog), or email me: helen.sullivan@theguardian.com.
There’s a new social media challenge in town, the #stayhomechallenge, in which members of society reflect soberly on the difficulties of social distancing and self-isolation:
Me going to the kitchen to eat the last of the quarantine food #stayhomechallenge pic.twitter.com/lw4d7PdYOq
— Angie (@angiesey02) March 16, 2020
From Spain with love
— Snoubal (@QRancio) March 16, 2020
Yes, we can!!!#stayhomechallenge pic.twitter.com/u9MADTtsH1
#stayhomechallenge
— Tina E 😎 (@cookies1961) March 16, 2020
Rationing Toilet Paper 🧻 pic.twitter.com/17YjVj6ehE
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has updated its advice for pregnant women.
The College says there is a lack of detailed information about the impact of Covid-19 infection on pregnant women and their babies, given the recent and novel nature of the virus.
The pregnancy advice is therefore also based on learnings from influenza infection, and also the medical response to the SARS epidemic in 2003.
“Some babies born to women with symptoms of coronavirus in China have been born prematurely,” the College states.
“It is unclear whether coronavirus was the causative factor, or the doctors made the decision for the baby to be born early because the woman was unwell. Newborn babies and infants do not appear to be at increased risk of complications from the infection.
“At the moment there is no evidence that the virus is carried in breastmilk and, therefore, the well-recognised benefits of breastfeeding outweigh any potential risks of transmission of COVID-19 through breastmilk.
“Pregnant women are advised to avoid all non-essential overseas travel.”
In Australia, only 90 MPs will come to the capital, Canberra, next week for parliamentary sittings.
Ahead of an expected further crack-down on large group gatherings aimed at slowing the spread of the disease, the Coalition and Labor have agreed to limit the number of MPs coming to Canberra.
Under the arrangement, which was thrashed out between Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Labor leader Anthony Albanese in a phone discussion on Tuesday morning, 30 pairs will be agreed between the two parties, meaning 60 of Parliament’s 151 MPs will stay in their electorates.
It is unclear how each side will decide which MPs come to Canberra and which will stay in their electorates.
The move comes after the presiding officers of Parliament announced a range of measures to limit the number of visitors to capital hill, including restrictions on sponsored pass holders, and the closure of public galleries.
“Game of Thrones” actor Kristofer Hivju, who played the beloved character Tormund Giantsbane on the HBO series, announced on his Instagram page that he has tested positive for coronavirus and will be isolating himself at his home in his native Norway.
This, for those who might need their GoT memories jogged (we know a fair bit has happened in the world since), is Tormund:
Sydney Opera House cancels public performances
In Australia, the Sydney Opera House has announced it will cancel all public performances starting today, March 17, until March 29th, after which it “will reevaluate based on the latest health advice and developments in the evolving Covid-19 situation.”
“At this stage, public areas of the site including precinct food and beverage outlets, tours and retail will continue to operate.”
Updated
Californians urged to 'shelter in place'
San Francisco and five other Bay Area counties in California have ordered all residents to shelter-in-place to curb the spread of coronavirus, in a drastic move similar to ones taken in Italy, Spain and China, but the first of its kind in the US.
The order came Monday following a 14% increase in positive coronavirus cases in California, with 335 reported and six deaths. More than a third of all positive cases were in Santa Clara county, the home of Silicon Valley, as well as two deaths. San Francisco has had 40 positive cases.
More than 6.7 million people live in San Francisco and the five counties issuing the order – Santa Clara, San Mateo, Marin, Contra Costa and Alameda counties. The order, which goes into effect at midnight Tuesday until 7 April, does not confine residents to their home unless they have permission to leave, as the lockdown orders in Italy and China do, but directs them to stay inside unless absolutely necessary.
A bit more on New Zealand’s massive stimulus package in response to the coronavirus pandemic now. Just to give you an idea of how this compares to packages announced in other wealthy countries around the world, Grant Robertson, the NZ finance minister described it in the below terms.
He said the stimulus package totalling 4% of New Zealand’s GDP was bigger than:
- Australia’s (1.2% of Australia’s GDP)
- Britain’s (0.6% of Britain’s GDP)
- Ireland’s (0.9% of Ireland’s GDP)
- Singapore’s (1.3% of Singapore’s GDP)
Updated
New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has urged New Zealanders to adopt the “east coast wave” instead of the traditional handshake, and has demonstrated the greeting on national television to ensure citizens are onboard.
#WATCH The Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was asked to demonstrate the East Coast wave.
— RNZ (@radionz) March 16, 2020
The PM, while announcing tough new border restrictions on Saturday asked people to, “Stop handshakes, hugs, and hongi ... the best thing we can do ... is to switch to the East Coast wave." pic.twitter.com/kUXW6AQ30H
The full story, should you wish to be informed before adopting the nod yourself, below:
New Zealand launches massive spending package
New Zealand’s government has announced a spending package equivalent to 4% of the country’s GDP in an attempt to fight the effects of Covid-19 on the country’s economy, in what ministers called the most significant peace-time economic plan in the country’s modern history.
“This package is one of the largest in the world on a per capita basis,” Grant Robertson, the finance minister, told reporters at New Zealand’s parliament on Tuesday.
Updated
Latest China figures – and what they mean
Mainland China had 21 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections on Monday, the National Health Commission said on Tuesday, up from 16 a day earlier.
The death toll from the outbreak was up by 13 from the previous day. Hubei province accounted for twelve pf these deaths, with 11 of these in Wuhan, the provincial capital.
The number of imported cases of the virus in mainland China reached 143 as of Monday, up 20 from a day earlier.
The official China Daily said in an editorial on Tuesday that the rest of the world should learn from China and follow the principles of early detection, early quarantine and early treatment in order to halt the global spread of the coronavirus, Reuters reports.
Though the coronavirus was first discovered last year in the city of Wuhan, where officials initially tried to cover up the outbreak, China has sought to emphasise the positive role it has played in controlling the global spread of the disease.
With the number of new domestic cases dwindling, China has now turned its attention to controlling new infections coming into the country from overseas, where the pandemic continues to spread.
China Daily said Singapore, Japan and South Korea had all “based their responses on the experience and lessons drawn from China’s successful battle with the virus,” and China was now “proactively sharing” its best practices.
Chinese President Xi Jinping told United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres last week that China’s efforts to control the outbreak had given the world “precious time” to formulate their own responses.
China and the United States have been in a war of words about the pandemic, with many senior U.S. government officials, including President Donald Trump, continuing to refer to Covid-19 as the “Chinese virus”.
The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries, like Airlines and others, that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus. We will be stronger than ever before!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 16, 2020
In less exasperating US news, an LA-based songwriter has launched an online Social Distancing Festival “made to celebrate and showcase the work of the many artists around the world who have been affected by the need for social distancing.”
The founder of the project, Nick Green, writes of his reasons for launching the project, which will live stream events and alert people to other live streams, including tonight’s performance of the opera Carmen at the Metropolitan Opera in New York (starting now, 7:30pm ET, for the opera fans among you):
Personally, a production of a new musical of mine was cancelled on March 13, 2020. Yeah, Friday the 13th. Like, come on right? It’s such a weird mix of feelings. Yes it was absolutely the right decision. 100%. But so, so, SO disappointing. That production was years in the making, and my co-creator and artistic team had a lot invested. We didn’t just lose a chance to develop the work, but also to share it, celebrate it, and potentially connect with further opportunities. Instead, I went home, where I was alone, disappointed, and facing a whole lot of free time.
Trump calls Covid-19 "the Chinese virus"
US president Donald Trump has posted a tweet referring to Covid-19 as “the Chinese Virus”:
The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries, like Airlines and others, that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus. We will be stronger than ever before!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 16, 2020
Updated
The Costa Rican president says predictive models on the virus are “not that precise”.
The Costa Rican president Carlos Alvarado has told the Guardian it is “hard to say” whether the coronavirus outbreak in Central America can be controlled and has cautioned that predictive models for the spread of virus are “not that precise”.
On Monday, Costa Rica declared a state of emergency over the global pandemic and announced it would close their borders to foreign nationals that do not reside in the country from the end of Wednesday.
Speaking to the Guardian hours after the announcement, President Alvarado said he expected the economic hit from the virus on the popular ecotourism destination to be temporary. He said:
We are following the situation regionally. I believe it is too soon to assess what the movement of it is going to be. That’s why I believe that all the region has to take extreme measures of social distancing. And yes, we are concerned about what can happen in the weeks to follow but we’re keeping track of how this is developing.”
When asked whether he believes Central America could control the spread of the virus, President Alvarado said:
It’s hard to say. When you look at other countries, many of them have had the exponential peaks and you’ve seen the cases that people are following the most are the ones like South Korea, which they say have been handled in the best manner.
But one of the more complicated things is that it is still not that precise to predict. The models are not that precise to predict [the spread of the virus]. I believe all the countries are hoping for the best but planning for the worst and taking the measures necessary to decrease the effects.”
All Australian cricket cancelled at all levels
All cricket in Australia has been cancelled, including the Sheffield Shield final, with NSW declared champions.
“Cricket Australia has today announced the cancellation of the Marsh Sheffield Shield final and recommended that all cricket played within the community is ceased for the remainder of the 2019-20 season in response to the global coronavirus pandemic,” a statement read.
NSW were awarded the title after leading the Sheffield Shield competition through nine rounds having won six, lost two and drawn one. Their nearest rivals Victoria had posted just three wins.
See anything you think other readers would like to know? Send it through to me on Twitter @helenrsullivan, or tag me in posts. I’m unlikely to be able to can’t respond to very message, but I do try to read them all.
Amazon hires 100,000 extra workers, ups wages for through April
In a rare bit of good news for the US jobs market, supermarket chains – and Amazon.com – are hiring more workers to meet an increase in demand sparked by consumer response to the coronavirus crisis. US supermarket chains Albertsons, Kroger and Raley’s have sought new hires to staff busy sections and fulfil online orders. They are turning to people in the restaurant, travel and entertainment businesses who are suddenly looking for work.
Amazon.com Inc on Monday said it would hire 100,000 warehouse and delivery workers in the United States to deal with a surge in online orders, as many consumers have turned to the web to meet their needs during the coronavirus outbreak.
With shoppers clearing out shelves in fear of quarantines or product shortages, retailers are racing to keep food and hygienic items in stock and have employees on hand for in-store work or delivery.
“We want those people to know we welcome them on our teams until things return to normal and their past employer is able to bring them back,” Amazon said in a blog post https://blog.aboutamazon.com/operations/amazon-opening-100000-new-roles.
Major shipper United Parcel Service Inc (UPS) said its trucking and air deliveries were still on despite growing government restrictions on commercial activities. It said Monday it was meeting demand with its existing workforce.
Amazon’s headcount fluctuates seasonally, recently peaking for the holiday quarter at 798,000 full and part-time workers. It was not immediately clear how many people Amazon would employ after it hires 100,000 more.
To draw new employees, Amazon said it would add US$2 to its minimum US$15 per hour to US workers’ wages through April.
Moving away from that press conference now, in other Australia news – in case you missed it – actor Tom Hanks has been released from a Gold Coast Queensland hospital after being quarantined with coronavirus, AAP reports.
His wife Rita Wilson remains in isolation after also testing positive to the virus last week.
Hanks is in Queensland filming a Baz Luhrmann biopic about Elvis Presley. Production has ceased for two weeks but he is not believed to have infected any other cast or crew. Singer-songwriter Wilson recently performed in Brisbane and Sydney. Nine Network entertainment editor Richard Wilkins has since also tested positive for the virus, saying he met Wilson twice in the week leading up to her diagnosis.
Hanks issued a statement last Thursday saying he and his wife went to hospital after feeling run down. He said they would comply with all Australian health restrictions relating to the virus.
While in hospital Hanks tweeted his gratitude to the medical staff caring for them. The post, which included a photo of two pieces of toast smothered in Vegemite, sparked a furious social media debate about the correct amount and application of the popular spread.
Wilson asked Twitter to help her compile a music playlist for those in isolation, calling it “Quarantunes”.
And the winner for the quarantine playlist naming is QUARANTUNES! Head to @Spotify to listen https://t.co/vue00ncheT
— Rita Wilson (@RitaWilson) March 13, 2020
On Monday, Idris Alba became the next famous actor to confirm he had tested positive. He recently spent time with Sophie Grègoire Trudeau, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau’s wife, who tested positive last week.
Still in New South Wales, Australia for the moment, where state chief economist Stephen Walters says:
There can be no doubt that the next 3 to 4 months are going to be a very difficult time for business in New SouthWales. We’ve had 8 years of drought in this state. We’ve had catastrophic bushfires and we’re facing a large economic slowdown for the winter months ahead of us. There are a lot of worried business people out there. As you would know, small business people tend to view their staff as family and they will do everything in their power to keep those staff employed and not have to lay them off but I think we have to be honest and say some of the small businesses are probably not going to make it through to the other side of this.
New South Wales, Australia treasurer Dominic Perrottet says of the state government’s AU$2.3bn package, AU$700 million of which will be invested into health care:
This is an unprecedented response to an unprecedented situation. This is a package today that protects the people of New South Wales. It is targeted. It is timely and it’s temporary, because New South Wales will come through this situation stronger than ever before.
Updated
The Australian stockmarket rose more than 1.6% at the opening bell on Tuesday morning, defying the strong lead set by a crash overnight in the US.
The ASX is still down by about 30% since the coronavirus crisis started hitting markets about a month ago, and the extreme volatility we’ve seen in recent days means there’s no guarantee the relief will last.
Australian companies rushed out waves of bad news before the market opened, with the flagship carrier Qantas saying it would cut international flights by 90% and domestic ones by 60%.
The move, which will ground about 150 aircraft including almost all the airline’s long-haul fleet, is the latest reaction in an industry put under extreme financial pressure by the coronavirus crisis.
The Australian government has not ruled out a bail-out for the industry.
Elsewhere, the soft-drink manufacturer Coca-Cola Amatil canned its profit forecasts, Auckland airport cancelled its dividend, the property developer Sunland called off a $60m share buyback program and Crown Resorts extended the closure of every second poker machine to its Burswood casino.
In Australia, New South Wales state premier Gladys Berejiklian is addressing media now on a AU$2.3bn (US$1.4) package the state government is announcing.
Updated
Greek Orthodox Church suspends daily services
Against a backdrop of incredulity and consternation, the Greek Orthodox church has, if reluctantly, decided to suspend daily services after a marathon session of its Holy Synod, citing the need to prevent the spread of Coronavirus.
Emerging from the five-hour meeting, the Church’s spokesman said while Sunday mass could continue, daily liturgies would be halted until the Holy week preceding Orthodox Easter on April 19.
Following the decision, prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who had implored clergy to listen to scientific advice, overrode the ruling in a tweet that made clear services would have to end. Period. “A government decision suspends operations in all areas of religious worship of any religion or dogma,” he wrote. “Churches remain open only for individual prayer. Protection of public health requires clear decisions.”
In a country of little separation between church and state, the tweet came as a surprise to many.
Greek congregations, like most across Europe, are comprised of older people thought to be more susceptible to the disease. As the Church’s governing body, the Holy Synod had steadfastly rejected calls for practices such as Holy Communion to be stopped, saying it would continue to hold services and conduct the sacrament despite public health fears raised by the issue of shared chalices.
To the alarm of scientists, high-ranking metropolitans had invoked religious belief as a bulwark again Covid-19.
Today’s decision was taken only after the government’s chief medical advisor on infectious diseases, professor Sotiris Tsiodras, personally intervened, appearing before the church’s top tier to explain the gravity of the situation.
That, say insiders, paved the way for Mitsotakis to be able to take matters into his own hands.
Updated
Hundreds of prisoners have escaped from prisons in São Paulo, Brazil
Hundreds of prisoners escaped from prisons in São Paulo state in the South East of Brazil on Monday. The G1 news site reported that the prison rebellions and escapes happened after temporary exits for Easter due to start on Tuesday were cancelled because of the risk of prisoners infecting other inmates with coronavirus when they returned to prison. Prisoners escaped in Tremembé and Mirandópolis and G1 reported a rebellion was reported at a prison in Porto Feliz.
And in a widely-shared video, hordes of prisoners could be seen running away from the semi-open Dr Rubens Aleixo Sendin at Mongaguá on the São Paulo coast while a man shouts: “Come back Monday, ok?”
Rebelião na penitenciária de Mongaguá, litoral de SP. Até o momento, 8 agentes estão sendo feitos de refém. Presos fugiram pela orla da praia sentido Praia Grande. PM em atuação no local. pic.twitter.com/26JVlAg2IJ
— Leonardo Martins (@___leomartins) March 16, 2020
Other videos showed dozens on a beach and 41 have already been recaptured, G1 said. Semi-open prisons in the state have no armed guards, São Paulo’s state penitentiary administration department said, adding that it is “taking all the due providences to remedy the problem.”
🔴 Litoral de São Paulo 🔴 pic.twitter.com/sIbFqU1wBr
— André Caramante (@andrecaramante) March 16, 2020
Updated
Summary
Hello and welcome to today’s coronavirus liveblog, where we’ll be giving you up-to-the-minute news on the pandemic around the world.
‘Test, test, test,’ is the message of the day from the World Health Organization. The question is: How?
Here is a summary of the latest developments:
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The head of the World Health Organizaion, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, implored governments to test more suspected cases, warning that they cannot fight the pandemic blindfolded. In a strongly-worded attack on governments which have neglected or held back testing, he said: “We have not seen an urgent enough escalation in testing, isolation and contact tracing, which is the backbone of the response.”
- The White House recommended isolation. US President Donald Trump told Americans to avoid any gatherings of more than 10 people over the next 15 days and advising all states with evidence of community transmission to close down bars, restaurants, gyms and other facilities.
- The death toll in Italy from Covid-19 increased to 2,158, with the announcement of another 349 victims in Europe’s worst his country. Spain confirmed 9,191 cases and 309 deaths, making it the second hardest-hit country in Europe after Italy.
- The death toll in the UK increased to 55 people, including the first death in Wales. The latest victims included a 56-year-old, believed to be the youngest in the UK so far.
- Britons were told to avoid pubs, bars and restaurants and to self-isolate if anyone in their family fell ill. The new government advice, something of a U-turn, came during the prime minister’s first daily press conference. Boris Johnson unveiled a series of stringent new restrictions, including a 14-day isolation for all households with symptoms, a warning against “non-essential” contact, and an end to all mass gatherings.
- The G7 nations stressed the importance of 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.
- Germany closed places of worship, bars, restaurants, museums and cinemas. Announcing the plan, Chancellor Angela Merkel said: “The more individuals stick to these rules, the quicker we will get through this phase.”
- The actor Idris Elba has become the latest celebrity to contract the virus. 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.
- The European Union has proposed banning all but essential travel for 30 days. Egypt, Canada, and Malaysia have become the latest countries to close airports.
- France has warned of a “fast-deteriorating” situation and Spain has requisitioned its private healthcare sector. Jérôme Salomon, France’s top health official, said on Monday, “There is a real worry the speed of the outbreak could saturate hospitals.”
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Mounting concerns that the pandemic could prompt a global recession have sent financial markets around the world plunging, despite a coordinated effort by central banks to protect growth and jobs.
- Major airlines including Qantas, British Airways, Ryanair, easyJet and Virgin Atlantic announced a dramatic scaling back of their operations on Monday, with cuts of up to 90% of their services.
- The official global death toll from the coronavirus outbreak has now passed 6,500, with the number of deaths and infections around the world now exceeding those in China, where it began. Infections have been reported in 156 countries.
- In the UK, an NHS document leaked to the media suggested that the coronavirus emergency could last up to a year and put 8m people in hospital. This morning, Downing St said the 8m figure was a worst case scenario, rather than what the government expected.
- Passengers on the London Underground network are down by nearly a fifth compared to the same time last year, while numbers on buses were down by 10%.
- The Spanish government has requisitioned its private healthcare sector and given any company that has supplies of protective gear 48 hours to report to health authorities, or face fines.
- The government of Singapore sharply criticised responses to the outbreak by the UK, Switzerland and Japan, saying that “these countries have abandoned any attempt at containing the spread of the virus,” as he announced new travel restrictions.
- New York City will close the largest public school system in the US on Monday, and its bars, restaurants and entertainment venues from Tuesday.
- The states of California, Ohio, Illinois, Massachusetts and Washington closed their bars, restaurants and entertainment venues, too. Food takeout and delivery are still allowed.
- Luxembourg on Sunday followed its neighbours France and Belgium in closing bars and restaurants to try to stem the spread of the coronavirus epidemic.
