That’s it from this blog for today. We’ve launched a new one at the link below, where I’ll be taking you through the most important new developments in this unprecedented crisis:
Summary
Here’s a summary of the latest news:
- The global number of cases passed 460,000. The number of people known to have been infected with the virus increases to at least 466,955, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. In addition, 21,162 people have died and 113,770 people have recovered since the outbreak began.
- The UK’s death toll reached 465. In England, 414 people have died, while 22 people died in Scotland and the same number in Wales. Seven more lives were lost in Northern Ireland.
- Almost 1,500 more UK cases were identified. The country’s Department of Health and Social Care said that, as of 9am on Wednesday (GMT), 9,529 people have tested positive; an increase of 1,452 on the same time on Tuesday.
- France recorded at least 231 more deaths. The director general of the country’s health service, Jérôme Salomon, said there are now 25,233 confirmed cases, while 1,331 people have died, meaning the known death rate rose by 231 in 24 hours. But those were hospital deaths only and did not include those in retirement homes or outside hospitals.
- Greece reported 78 new cases. The country’s health authorities reported a rise in the death toll, saying 22 people – the vast majority men – have succumbed to the virus. The health ministry announced that the total number of confirmed cases had risen to 821.
- The economic hit that results from the pandemic is likely to be worse than the 2008 crisis, the WTO said. Its director general, Roberto Azevêdo, said concrete forecasts were not yet available but its in-house economists expect “a very sharp decline in trade”.
- The US authorities prepared to bring home tens of thousands of people more than they had expected. As many as 50,000 Americans may need their government’s help in getting home, the US State Department said.
Assange loses bid to be bailed over coronavirus
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Wednesday failed in his bid to be bailed after he argued that he was at risk of catching coronavirus in the British prison where he is being held, AFP reports.
“As matters stand today, this global pandemic does not as of itself provide grounds for Mr Assange’s release,” said judge Vanessa Baraitser at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
Assange is currently in the high security Belmarsh prison in south London as he fights an extradition request by the United States to stand trial there on espionage charges.
Baraitser pointed out that the 48-year-old, who followed proceedings via videolink, had already violated a bail order when he fled to the Ecuadorian embassy in 2012.
At that time, Swedish authorities were attempting to extradite him over sexual assault claims that were later dropped.
Assange’s lawyer, Edward Fitzgerald, said there was currently no Covid-19 case at Belmarsh but 100 prison officers were off work and there was a “very real risk - and the risk could be fatal”.
You can get in touch with me directly throughout the day with tips, news, questions or jokes on Twitter @helenrsullivan.
Hi, this is Helen Sullivan with you now, taking over from my colleague Kevin Rawlinson.
In the US, Alexandra Villarrea reports for the Guardian that during a press conference Wednesday afternoon, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio blasted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for allegedly standing in the way of real aid to New York.
De Blasio said:
It should have been one of the easiest no-brainers in the world for the U.S. Senate to include real money for New York City and New York state in this stimulus bill, and yet it didn’t happen. And we know why — because Mitch McConnell wouldn’t let it happen. I don’t understand how anybody — any public servant — could live with themselves if they deprived the cities in the middle of the biggest crisis since the great depression — deprived us, deprived our state — of the money we need.”
De Blasio took issue with the fact that New York City only got $1 billion out of the $150 billion pool of funds provided for the entire country in the Senate’s stimulus bill when New York City alone accounts for almost two-thirds of confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S.
To deal with crowd density, de Blasio said he would be removing hoops at 80 of New York City’s 1,700 basketball courts because people weren’t properly social-distancing.
He also said that he’s working to release any inmates who can be directly acted on, who don’t pose a threat to the community. By tonight, he said he will have released 200 inmates.
UK identifies nearly 1,500 new cases
The UK’s Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) says that, as of 9am on Wednesday (all times GMT), 9,529 people have tested positive; an increase of 1,452 since its last update, which was as at 9am on Tuesday.
UPDATE on coronavirus (#COVID19) testing in the UK:
— Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) March 25, 2020
As of 9am on 25 March, a total of 97,019 have been tested:
87,490 negative.
9,529 positive.
463 patients who tested positive for coronavirus have sadly died. Please note these figures do not cover a full 24 hour period. pic.twitter.com/VxEy3syL0L
A little clarification: the DHSC tweet puts the UK death toll at 463, while we reported it earlier to be 465.
As the tweet says, the figures do not cover a full 24-hour period and are as of 9am on Wednesday, while our earlier report is based on the very latest releases from the health authorities in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Queen has been pictured at Windsor Castle as she held her weekly audience with the UK’s prime minister by telephone.
It comes on the same day Clarence House announced the Prince of Wales has tested positive for coronavirus. Buckingham Palace has said the Queen, 93, who is staying at Windsor Castle with the Duke of Edinburgh, 98, remains in good health and is following all appropriate advice.
The Finnish government is setting up a three-week blockade of the Uusimaa region around Helsinki to prevent people from travelling and spreading the virus to other parts of the country, it has said.
The decision came after the Finnish health authority worsened its forecast for the outbreak, estimating that between 11,000 and 15,500 people would be hospitalised and that between 3,600 and 5,000 of them would require intensive care in the following months.
Authorities have counted three deaths and 880 confirmed Covid-19 cases in Finland; most of them in the capital region.
A third of the world’s population is under lockdown as countries tighten measures to stop the spread of Covid-19. We’ve take a look at some of the strategies – from drones to armed forces, exercises to fines – that governments are using to police their citizens:
As many as 50,000 Americans may need their government’s help in getting home, the US State Department says; a huge increase on its previous estimate of only about 13,500.
Ian Brownlee, the head of the department’s repatriation task force, said it had brought back more than 9,000 people from 28 countries, while another 9,000 are set to return on 66 flights over the next nine days. But the scale of the problem is straining resources.
In as much as this is a truly unprecedented event, the State Department’s capacity to do this is being strained. We’re talking to the Department of Defense as to whether they can potentially help us out in lining up aircraft.
The UK government has asked the vacuum cleaner company, Dyson, to design and manufacture 10,000 ventilators to help deal with the outbreak in the coming weeks, according to an internal email seen by Reuters. The company’s founder, James Dyson, says in the email:
We have received an initial order of 10,000 units from the UK Government which we will supply on an open-book basis .We are also looking at ways of making it available internationally.
Dyson said he received a call from the British prime minister Boris Johnson 10 days ago and has since refocused resources at Dyson to design and build an entirely new ventilator, The CoVent.
Reuters had reported earlier that British industry expected the government to give the go-ahead for an emergency ventilator production plan on Wednesday.
New research suggests that “off label” repurposing of drugs such as hydroxychloroquine could lead to “drug-induced sudden cardiac death”.
A paper by the nonprofit medical organisation the Mayo Clinic found that chloroquine and Kaletra, an HIV drug also being used against coronavirus, can cause the heart muscle to take longer than normal to recharge between beats.
Covid-19 cases have risen to 201 in Costa Rica but there is growing hope the virus could be contained in the Central America country.
No community transmission of the disease has been officially recorded in Costa Rica, the health ministry confirmed again on Wednesday, amid stringent nationwide measures to control the spread of the virus.
The government implemented strict social distancing rules early in the outbreak, including banning tourists from entering the country, closing most public areas and asking the public to stay at home unless absolutely necessary.
Estos son los datos actualizados al mediodía de hoy del COVID-19 en Costa Rica. Esta es información oficial. #EstaEnTusManos pic.twitter.com/7xPnFmEdcJ
— Ministerio de Salud (@msaludcr) March 25, 2020
In neighbouring Panama, a nationwide curfew is in force after 443 confirmed cases and eight deaths were recorded on Tuesday. The country has the largest outbreak in Central America and the number of confirmed cases has increased rapidly in the last week.
Turkey’s death toll from the coronavirus has increased by 15 to 59 as the number of confirmed cases rose by 561 to 2,433, its health minister, Fahrettin Koca, has said. He tweeted that 5,035 tests have been conducted in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of tests carried out in Turkey to around 33,000.
UK death toll rises to 465
A further 28 people have died in England, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths in the UK to 465.
The UK’s Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said 414 people in England have now died, while 22 have died in both Scotland and Wales and seven people have died in Northern Ireland.
The latest patients to die in England were aged between 47 and 93 years-old and all except the 47-year-old had underlying health conditions. Their families have been informed, the DHSC has said.
Updated
Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael say they’ve “agreed the need form a strong, stable government” in Ireland as the number of confirmed cases in the country rises by 235 to 1,564. Ireland’s health department has also confirmed two more deaths, bringing the total number to nine.
The Irish general election earlier this year resulted in an almost tied result with Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael dominating. None won enough seats to form a government by itself and numerous rounds of talks between parties have failed to result in an agreement to form a coalition government. The statement reads:
Both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael met this afternoon and had a productive meeting. They both agree the need to form a strong stable government that will help Ireland recover post Covid-19.
They are working to develop a programme for government that provides stability and majority support in the Dáil. They will meet again over the coming days and will both continue to reach out and engage with other parties.
Andy Burnham, a former UK health secretary and now the mayor of Greater Manchester in the north of England, says he is taking legal advice on whether firms forcing employees to work without adequate protection and not observing guidance to keep them two metres apart are breaking the law.
After a conference call with Greater Manchester MPs, he tweeted:
... I am taking legal advice about whether @gmpolice or other GM agencies can take enforcement action against companies which are exposing their employees in this way. If you would like to make a confidential report, please do so using: the.mayor@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk 2/2
— Andy Burnham (@AndyBurnhamGM) March 25, 2020
Earlier in the day Burnham, announced a £5m fund to pay for 1,000 hotel beds for Greater Manchester’s rough sleepers. The Greater Manchester combined authority said:
Following government instructions to stay at home, the move to accommodate hundreds of homeless people in hotel rooms is a recognition of the vulnerability of many rough sleepers and homeless people in shared accommodation spaces, and their need for support and a safe place to stay at this difficult time.
Updated
In the UK, health workers are being exempted from car parking charges as the government seeks to make it easier for them to carry out their crucial roles.
The Local Government Association (LGA) and the UK government say they have agreed a scheme for all NHS trusts to provide free parking for staff “for the duration of Covid-19” in car parks and on the street. The Department of Health and Social Care said it would cover the cost of car parks for NHS staff at hospitals.
The LGA said it was also urging councils to waive all fines received by health and social care workers while carrying out their extended duties in recent days.
Updated
Economic squeeze likely to be worse than 2008 – WTO
The economic downturn and job losses caused by the pandemic are likely to be worse than the 2008 recession, according to World Trade Organization projections. Its director general, Roberto Azevêdo, has said:
Recent projections predict an economic downturn and job losses that are worse than the global financial crisis a dozen years ago.
He added that concrete forecasts were not yet available but its in-house economists expect “a very sharp decline in trade”.
Updated
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, spoke from eastern France on Wednesday evening after visiting an emergency military hospital set up at Mulhouse in Alsace, where there has been a large coronavirus cluster.
He praised health workers, all those continuing to work to keep the country going and honoured those who have died. He also issued a passionate call for national unity.
I said we are engaged in a war against an invisible enemy, the Covid-19 virus. When you are engaged in a war, you are mobilised, united. I see in our country elements of division, doubt, those who want to split the country when we should have one objective and that is to be united to fight the virus.
Macron insisted the government was working and communicating “transparently” about the availability of masks, ventilators and tests.
We should not give in to any kind of split or false information. We have just one priority and that is to fight the virus.
The president thanked France’s neighbours – Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg – for taking 30 sick patients with coronavirus for treatment, saying:
This solidarity is the real Europe.
Updated
Summary
Here’s a summary of the latest news:
- The global death toll passed 20,000. In all, 20,499 people have died as a result of the pandemic, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The institution says there have been at least 451,355 cases around the world, while 112,982 people have recovered.
- More than 400,000 volunteered to help England’s health service. The prime minister, Boris Johnson, says the government had hoped 250,000 people would volunteer to help those in isolation by delivering medicines, driving patients to and from hospital appointments and making regular phone calls to check up on them.
- Britain’s deputy ambassador to Hungary, Steven Dick, has died. The 37-year-old died in hospital in Budapest on Tuesday after contracting coronavirus, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirmed.
- Hopes were raised that antibody tests could soon be rolled out in the UK. Experts said tests that show whether or not a person has had the virus would first be used to work out how many people contract the virus but remain asymptomatic, before being given to NHS workers.
- Italy’s infection rate slowed for the third consecutive day. The World Health Organization said the country could reach its peak number of coronavirus cases on Sunday.
- Argentina reported its largest one-day increase in cases. According to local media reports, officials in the country say the latest figures show 86 new cases in 24 hours – the highest daily figure of the pandemic to date.
- Belgian hospital admissions increased by half. With experts warning the disease has not yet reached its peak, the country’s federal crisis centre said 434 people had been admitted to hospital in 24 hours; an increase of 50% on the previous day.
- Spain’s deputy prime minister tested positive. Carmen Calvo was hospitalised on Sunday with a respiratory infection. She is doing well and receiving medical treatment, according to the Spanish government.
- The UN launched a global humanitarian response plan. Its secretary general, António Guterres, called on governments to work together to combat the pandemic.
- Widespread New York closures are likely, the state’s governor warned. Andrew Cuomo said New York City could begin closing streets to traffic, while parks and playgrounds could yet see mandatory closures if New Yorkers continue to ignore calls to self-quarantine.
Updated
I’m logging off for the day now, thanks to all our readers from around the globe for your contributions, tips and encouragement. It really does mean a lot to us.
I’m handing over to my esteemed colleague Kevin Rawlinson, you’ll be in very safe hands.
Greece: reports 78 new cases
Greek health authorities have reported a rise in the death toll from Covid-19, saying 22 people – the vast majority men – have succumbed to the virus, writes Helena Smith in Athens.
Giving his daily briefing this evening, the health ministry spokesman and infectious diseases expert, Prof Sotiris Tsiodras, announced that another 78 people had tested positive for Covid-19 overnight, bringing the new total number of confirmed cases to 821. Although 36 patients had recovered, 134 people were being treated in hospital with 54 in intensive care.
Tsiodras said going into the briefing he had learned that one of the latest fatalities was a 42-year-old visiting German academic teaching on Crete.
Meanwhile, in Cyprus, where three people have died as a result of coronavirus, eight new cases were confirmed on Wednesday, bringing the total of coronavirus patients to 132, including three in the country’s sovereign British base areas. The Mediterranean island, like Greece, has adopted draconian measures to curb the spread of the disease, enforcing a curfew that went into effect last night.
Updated
France records 231 deaths in previous 24 hours
Jérôme Salomon, the director general of the French health service, has announced the latest coronavirus figures. There are now 25,233 confirmed cases in France, 1,331 deaths, of which 86% were people aged over 70 years. The death rate rose by 231 in 24 hours. These are hospital deaths only, not those in retirement homes or outside hospitals.
The number of deaths in France the past 24 hours is 9 fewer than in the previous 24 hours.
There are currently 11,539 people in French hospitals with coronavirus, including 2,827 in intensive care.
Here is a summary of the last five days in France:
March 20: 12,612 cases 450 deaths
March 21: 14,459 cases 562 deaths
March 22: 16,018 cases 674 deaths
March 23: 19,856 cases 850 deaths
March 24: 22,300 cases 1,100 deaths
March 25: 25,233 cases 1,331 deaths
Updated
The director of public health at the Aneurin Bevan University health board in south Wales has warned the area is seeing “the same pattern as was seen in Italy”, writes my colleague Steven Morris.
“In Gwent, we are seeing a rapidly rising increase in the number of cases of coronavirus in all our communities and a daily increase in the number of people being admitted to hospital and the number of people dying from the virus,” Dr Sarah Aitken said.
“The pattern we are seeing in Gwent is the same pattern as was seen in Italy, where their healthcare system is now overwhelmed.
“Without a huge effort by all of us, we are heading for the moment in Gwent where our NHS will be overwhelmed too.
“We won’t have enough hospital beds for everyone who needs life-saving ventilators and intensive care.”
She urged people to stay at home to give the health board “essential time” to bring more doctors and nurses into the workforce, as well as extra ventilators and additional intensive care beds.
Updated
A Mexican billionaire has called on the country to rally around the president, whose slow response to the Covid-19 crisis has come under growing criticism, writes David Agren in Mexico City.
Ricardo Salinas Pliego also blasted the idea of quarantines and closing businesses, calling them as a cure worse than the disease, and downplayed the dangers of catching Covid-19.
In a barrage of tweets late Tuesday night – and accompanying coverage from his television network TV Azteca – he questioned the severity of the coronavirus pandemic, claiming “we must choose between fear and reason”.
“In the majority of cases, although its rate of contagion is high, the illness doesn’t present symptoms or it does so very slightly; we also know it’s not highly lethal,” Salinas tweeted. He did tweet that some high-risk populations should self-isolate.
TV Azteca, meanwhile, aired a soft piece from the annual meeting of Salinas’s holding company, Grupo Salinas, in which the founder praised the president’s cautious approach to Covid-19 containment measures – warning they would lead to social unrest.
“What could be mortal is an economic crisis,” Salinas said. “It seems like we would die of coronavirus, but would instead of hunger,” he continued, adding isolation could bring “looting and social violence”.
Salinas, Mexico’s second-richest man, also defended President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, claiming the “toff opposition” – to use the president’s words for his critics – were using the pandemic as an excuse to attack the president.
López Obrador won power as a left-leaning populist, but his supporters have been quick to spread Salinas’s opinions on Covid-19 and express skepticism on the pandemic’s impact.
Amlo, as López Obrador is known, has been reticent to impose strict Covid-19 contention measures such as quarantines or cancelling mass gatherings, arguing such moves would hurt the economy of a country where more than half the population works informally.
On Tuesday, Mexico entered phase two of the pandemic, meaning community spread had started. The country has reported 402 cases of Covid-19 so far.
Updated
Gangs in Brazil have imposed strict curfews to slow coronavirus spread, write Caio Barretto Briso and Tom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro.
Drug traffickers in one of Rio’s best-known favelas have imposed a coronavirus curfew, amid growing fears over the impact the virus could have on some of Brazil’s poorest citizens.
In recent days, as Brazil’s coronavirus death toll has climbed to 46, gang members have been circulating in the Cidade de Deus (City of God) favela in western Rio ordering residents to remain indoors after 8pm.
You can read the full story here:
Updated
Ireland’s health minister, Simon Harris, said two people deliberately coughed at him in what appeared to be part of a social media “game”, writes the Guardian’s Rory Carroll in Dublin.
Harris, who has led Ireland’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, told a press conference on Wednesday that the couple approached him on Tuesday as he walked from Government Buildings to his office in the Department of Health in central Dublin.
“A man and woman on a street thought it was hilariously funny to come up and cough at me out loud and then run off laughing ... there seems to be some sort of social media game going on but it’s not a game, it’s disgusting.”
Harris said those who were doing it tended to target older people. He urged them to reflect on the mass deaths unfolding in Italy, Spain and elsewhere. “Just think if it was your own granny, grandad, mother, father, your own friend with an underlying health condition like cystic fibrosis.” Such behaviour should be dealt with by the full rigours of the law, he said.
Irish police have received several reports of young people coughing at older people but say such cases appear to be rare. This could constitute an offence under the Public Order Act or Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act.
Updated
Number of global deaths as a result of Covid-19 passes 20,000
The total number of confirmed cases has passed 450,000
Number of global deaths as a result of Covid-19 passes 20,000 pic.twitter.com/LCWc4Qmrv4
— Alexandra Topping (@LexyTopping) March 25, 2020
NHS volunteer target smashed
More than 400,000 volunteers signed up in just 24 hours to support the NHS in helping vulnerable people who have been told not to leave their homes during the coronavirus crisis, writes my colleague Simon Murphy.
Four people per second enlisted in the government’s new volunteering scheme in the hours after the health secretary, Matt Hancock, launched a call on Tuesday for 250,000 people in England to help bolster the NHS’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Overnight, the number of volunteers who had pledged support topped 170,000 but as the day went on the target was smashed. “That is already, in one day, as many people as the population of Coventry,” said Boris Johnson in the daily Downing Street press conference, as he provided the new figure of 405,000.
He thanked those who had signed up to help. “They will be absolutely crucial in the fight against this virus,” he said.
The overwhelming response has prompted the NHS to extend its target to recruit 750,000 volunteers in total. Those volunteers who have already signed up will start next week.
Updated
Rate of new infections in Italy slows for a fourth day
The death toll from coronavirus in Italy rose by 683 to 7,503 on Tuesday, writes Lorenzo Tondo in Italy.
The rate of new infections slowed for a fourth day, rising by 3,491 compared with 3,612 new cases on Tuesday.
Civil Protection said 57,521 people in Italy are currently infected with the coronavirus.
Total cases of Covid-19 in Italy (currently infected, deaths and recovered): 74,386
Updated
Britain’s deputy ambassador to Hungary, Steven Dick, has died after contracting coronavirus, writes the Guardian’s Shaun Walker in Budapest.
Deputy British ambassador Steven Dick, 37, died yesterday after contracting coronavirus. He was a really nice bloke and a great diplomat. Last week he told me he had the virus but was feeling fine. Awful. pic.twitter.com/d88iTDIOSF
— Shaun Walker (@shaunwalker7) March 25, 2020
Dick died in hospital in Budapest on Tuesday. He was 37. He had been with the Foreign Office since 2008 and had previously served in Kabul and Riyadh.
In a statement put out by the FCO this afternoon announcing the death, Steven’s parents, Steven and Carol Dick, said: “Steven was a much-loved son, grandson and nephew. He was kind, funny and generous. It was always his dream to work for the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and he was very happy representing our country overseas.”
I got to know Steven a bit in the short time since he was posted to Hungary last October. He was a jovial, intellectually curious and extremely helpful person. He spoke fluent Hungarian, having undergone a year’s training before taking up his position last autumn.
Early last week, when I was on my way back to Budapest from abroad, he helped coordinate arrangements for me to get back into the country, and mentioned that he had tested positive for coronavirus, but at that time said he was feeling fine.
The foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, said: “I am desperately saddened by the news of Steven’s death and my heart goes out to his parents Steven and Carol. Steven was a dedicated diplomat and represented his country with great skill and passion. He will be missed by all those who knew him and worked with him.”
Updated
As cases of the coronavirus continue to surge in Canada, the country’s
health minister will use powers under the Quarantine Act to levy
fines – and criminal sanctions – against travellers refusing to
self-isolate after entering the country, writes Leyland Cecco in Toronto
“Effective at midnight tonight, travellers returning to Canada – with the exceptions of essential workers, will be subject to a mandatory 14-day isolation under the Quarantine Act,” the minister Patty Hajdu said on Wednesday. “Individuals who exhibit symptoms upon arrival in Canada will be forbidden, also, from using public transit to travel to their places self isolation.”
The act, passed in 2005 in wake of the Sars outbreak, has wide-ranging powers and gives officials the ability to levy as much as $1m in fines and three years in jail.
Canada is preparing for a surge in cases after nearly one million residents returned home from abroad in the last week. Many have come from the US, where the virus is spreading rapidly. Last week, the two countries agreed to close their shared border as a way of slowing the spread of Covid-19.
For weeks, public health officials – and the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, have employed a mixture of pleas and stern messaging to discourage residents from taking trips to the grocery store after arriving home from travel. Using powers under the Quarantine Act marks the government’s firm stance on enforcing guidelines from health experts.
Canada has recored more than 3,000 infections with 27 deaths from the virus, amid warnings that hospitals in many parts of the country might soon be overwhelmed.
Updated
I am handing over to my colleague Alexandra Topping now. Please do keep sharing tips and insight with us, it’s very helpful. Thank you.
Nigeria has received test kits and protective gear from China’s richest man, Jack Ma, to help fight coronavirus.
So far, the virus has claimed one life and infected 45 others in Africa’s most populous nation.
Nigeria’s top health official, Abdulaziz Abdullahi, told AFP that the country had received 100,000 face masks, 1,000 protective gowns and 20,000 test kits. He said the equipment would be distributed to frontline health workers and hospital laboratories.
Ma, the founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, has vowed to donate equal amounts of gear to all 54 countries in Africa. He has also offered the US half a million test kits and a million masks.
Health experts are worried about Nigeria’s vulnerability to coronavirus because of its huge population and poor healthcare infrastructure.
Updated
Turkey will extend the closure of all schools in the country until 30 April over the coronavirus outbreak and home schooling will continue during this period, the education minister, Ziya Selçuk, said on Wednesday.
Turkey had shut schools and set up a home-schooling system for students to continue lessons after the outbreak of the virus two weeks ago. The health minister, Fahrettin Koca, speaking alongside Selçuk, said the closure was not a break, but rather a preventative measure to protect families.
Updated
The first Palestinian death from the coronavirus was reported on Wednesday, a woman in her 60s who lived in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
“The woman had experienced symptoms and was later hospitalised” before succumbing to the illness, said Ibrahim Melhem, a spokesman for the Palestinian Authority, which has limited self-rule in the West Bank.
The woman was from Bidu, a Palestinian village north of Jerusalem and south-west of Ramallah, Melhem added.
There are 62 confirmed coronavirus cases among Palestinians in the West Bank, and two in the Gaza Strip.
Updated
Canada is imposing mandatory self-isolation for those returning to the country under the Quarantine Act.
The health minister, Patty Hajdu, tweeted that the government was making it mandatory to better protect Canada’s most vulnerable.
The deputy prime minister, Chrystia Freeland, said it would begin at midnight on Wednesday and the requirement will be for 14 days.
Updated
Britain’s upper house of parliament has approved emergency legislation designed to help the government tackle the coronavirus outbreak, paving the way for the far-reaching bill to become law.
The laws will create temporary powers across different areas, from giving police and immigration officers the ability to detain people to protect public health, to allowing people to leave their jobs to volunteer for the NHS.
The bill now only requires royal assent before it officially becomes law. This is expected by Thursday or earlier.
Updated
The death toll in Switzerland from coronavirus infections has increased to 103, the Swiss government has said. The number of dead was up from the 90 reported on Tuesday. Total confirmed cases also increased to 9,765, it said, from just under 9,000 on Tuesday.
Spanish deputy prime minister tests positive for Covid-19
Spain’s deputy prime minister, Carmen Calvo, has tested positive for coronavirus. It comes after she was hospitalised on Sunday with a respiratory infection.
Calvo tested positive in a test performed on Tuesday after previously testing negative, but one more test was performed because the last one proved inconclusive, the government said.
It added that Calvo, who was born in 1957, was doing well and receiving medical treatment.
Updated
Hello, Sarah Marsh here taking the blog from Alexandra Topping for a bit. Please do share any stories with me via the usual channels below.
Twitter: @sloumarsh
Instagram: sarah_marsh_journalist
Email: sarah.marsh@theguardian.com
Updated
UN launches global humanitarian response plan for Covid-19
The UN secretary general, António Guterres, has launched a global humanitarian response plan for coronavirus, calling on governments to take decisive action and work together to find solutions to the global pandemic.
The plan “will save many lives” and arm humanitarian agencies and NGOs with laboratory supplies for testing, and with medical equipment to treat the sick while protecting healthcare workers, said Guterres.
The plan also includes additional measures to support host communities that continue to open their homes and towns to refugees and displaced persons, he said.
#COVID19 is menacing the whole of humanity – and so the whole of humanity must fight back.
— United Nations (@UN) March 25, 2020
-- @antonioguterres at launch of Global Humanitarian Response Plan for #coronavirus. https://t.co/vusV9bnhSM pic.twitter.com/ftPtvRNI12
Here is an extract, the whole speech can be read here:
We must come to the aid of the ultra-vulnerable – millions upon millions of people who are least able to protect themselves. This is a matter of basic human solidarity. It is also crucial for combating the virus.
The world is only as strong as our weakest health system. If we do not act decisively now, I fear the virus will establish a foothold in the most fragile countries, leaving the whole world vulnerable as it continues to circle the planet, paying no mind to borders.
Updated
The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, has been giving a briefing on the virtual G7 foreign ministers meeting that began by videoconference at 7am (ET). He said the main focus was the coronavirus, which Pompeo made a point of calling the “Wuhan virus”, writes my colleague Julian Borger.
According to a report in Der Spiegel, the G7 ministers have not so far been able to agree on a joint statement because of Pompeo’s insistence that it should refer to the disease as the “Wuhan virus”, a suggestion that was rejected by other members of the group of prosperous democracies.
Asked about the disagreement this morning, Pompeo did not answer directly, but did not deny it.
“I always think about these meetings, the right answer is to make sure we have the same message coming out of it,” he said. “I’m confident that when you hear the other six foreign ministers speak, they will have a common understanding of what we talked about today, and we will talk about the things that we have agreement on.”
Donald Trump has called the disease the “China virus”. Although the president has not used the phrase in his last couple of appearances, the administration is clearly still seeking to emphasise Chinese culpability.
“The Chinese Communist party poses a substantial threat to our health and way of life, as the Wuhan virus outbreak clearly has demonstrated,” Pompeo said this morning.
Updated
The hardcore efforts of Italy’s mayors to stop residents leaving their houses continues, writes my colleague Lorenzo Tondo in Italy.
Airborne drones in Messina, Sicily, are making sure citizens respect the lockdown. The drone broadcast Mayor Cateno De Luca’s voice saying “What the hell are you doing outside? You don’t go out! That is the mayor’s order and that’s that, I’ll get you one by one”. On Sunday Cateno, in order to contain the outbreak in the island, tried to stop a ferry from Calabria carrying Sicilians arriving from the north of the country.
Although the majority of Italy’s population of 62 million are complying with the regulations, the interior ministry said on Monday that 92,367 citizens had been charged for breaking them since the lockdown was enforced. Police now have permission to use drones as controls are upped across the country, and the army is patrolling the streets in some places.
A compilation video of mayors lambasting people for flouting coronavirus quarantine rules has struck a chord with Italians, who have shared it in their thousands on social media. One of the mayors said: “I saw a fellow citizen amiably jog up and down the street, accompanied by a dog that was visibly worn out. I stopped and told him: ‘Look, this isn’t a film. You are not Will Smith in I Am Legend. So, you have to go home.’”
And, because this video compilation is a rare bright spot in this distinctly suboptimal year, here it is again:
Updated
UN calls on nations to protect prisoners and those in closed facilities
The UN high commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, has called on governments to take urgent action to protect the health and safety of people in prison and other closed facilities, as part of overall efforts to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Covid-19 has begun to strike prisons, jails and immigration detention centres, as well as residential care homes and psychiatric hospitals, and risks rampaging through such institutions’ extremely vulnerable populations,” said Bachelet.
“In many countries, detention facilities are overcrowded, in some cases dangerously so. People are often held in unhygienic conditions and health services are inadequate or even non-existent. Physical distancing and self-isolation in such conditions are practically impossible,” she added.
“Governments are facing huge demands on resources in this crisis and are having to take difficult decisions. But I urge them not to forget those behind bars, or those confined in places such as closed mental health facilities, nursing homes and orphanages, because the consequences of neglecting them are potentially catastrophic,” the high commissioner said.
URGENT: UN Human Rights Chief @mbachelet urges Governments to act now to prevent #COVID19 devastating the health of people in detention and other closed facilities, as part of global efforts to contain the pandemic.
— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) March 25, 2020
Learn more 👉 https://t.co/rnNyBisoDM#StandUp4HumanRights pic.twitter.com/xZZyqeVKwn
Updated
Eerie footage of deserted cities around the globe, from Reuters
Cities across the globe look deserted as governments urged people to stay indoors pic.twitter.com/Bf9PBSBURj
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 25, 2020
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo: streets, playground, park closures likely
New York governor Andrew Cuomo warned that more shutdowns to curb public gatherings may be imminent. New York City will begin closing streets to traffic, he said.
In his daily briefing, the governor once again lashed out at defiant New Yorkers who continue to frequent parks amid a coronavirus pandemic.
While Cuomo cautioned that stay-at-home regulations are voluntary, he warned that parks, playgrounds and streets could see mandatory closures if New Yorkers continued to ignore calls to self-quarantine.
“If you can reduce the density, you can reduce the spread very quickly,” he said.
Cuomo kicking off today's presser:
— Marina Fang (@marinafang) March 25, 2020
-rate of infection still going up
-80% have "self-resolved"
-15% have required hospitalization
-hospitalization rate is higher than initially projected, hence the need to increase hospital capacity & slow the number of people coming to hospital
Cuomo says there's evidence social distancing is working: the increase in rate of hospitalization is slowing, doubling every 4.7 days now, instead of every 2 days
— Marina Fang (@marinafang) March 25, 2020
Updated
Four more Italian doctors die
Another four Italian doctors have died with the coronavirus, bringing the toll in the epidemic up to 29, the national federation of doctors told ANSA, reports Lorenzo Tondo in Italy.
Over 5,000 Italian health workers have been infected with Covid-19 so far.
The Assomed union has called for immediate action ‘’to provide all workers with individual protection equipment’’.
Meanwhile, Civil protection department head and coronavirus commissioner Angelo Borrelli has cancelled his daily six o’clock press conference after suffering symptoms of fever. The result of a test is being awaited.
Authorities will still release new figures at 6 pm.
New York governor Andrew Cuomo live now:
Holding a briefing with updates on #Coronavirus. WATCH LIVE: https://t.co/Z3IdQirL3Y
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) March 25, 2020
Updated
Canada’s parliament successfully passed $82bn CAD in funding for residents affected by the economic impacts coronavirus early on Wednesday morning, writes Leyland Cecco in Canada.
The marathon emergency session ran into the early morning as lawmakers sparred over how much power Justin Trudeau’s governing Liberals should be given.
Parliamentarians had initially balked at a Liberal proposal that would grant the party the power to tax and spend –without parliamentary approval – until the end of 2021.
Trudeau had defended the draft legislation leading up to the vote, telling reporters the pandemic required “extreme flexibility” from government to nimbly address a virus that continues to spread quickly throughout the country.
But sensing strong opposition, Trudeau promised the contentious provision wouldn’t be included in the bill.
Opposition lawmakers immediately halted the special session of parliament early Tuesday afternoon to debate the bill, which needed unanimous support to pass.
The successfully passed bill nonetheless gives finance minister Bill Morneau broad powers to spend money in the pursuit of a “public health event of national concern”, including the procurement of medical supplies and funding public health programs. But special powers for the government end after six months.
“The Liberals shamefully tried to use a public health crisis to give themselves the powers to raise taxes, debt and spending without parliamentary approval until January 1, 2022,” conservative leader Andrew Scheer said in a statement following passage of the bill. “But after hours of negotiation, the government has baked down.”
The bill – which gives a mix of financial support and tax breaks – is likely to receive senate approval Wednesday, followed by royal assent.
Updated
UK coronavirus mass home testing to be made available 'within days'
Thousands of 15-minute home tests for coronavirus will be delivered by Amazon to people self-isolating with symptoms or will go on sale on high street within days, according to Public Health England (PHE), in a move that could restore many people’s lives to a semblance of pre-lockdown normality, writes the Guardian’s health editor, Sarah Boseley.
Prof Sharon Peacock, the director of the national infection service at PHE, told MPs on the science and technology committee that mass testing in the UK would be possible by next week.
The UK government has bought 3.5m of the tests, which the health secretary, Matt Hancock, mentioned on Tuesday with no suggestion they would be available to the public so quickly, and is ordering millions more.
Read the full story here:
Updated
Venezuela’s embattled president Nicolás Maduro has suggested a novel solution for the coronavirus crisis: drink more tea, writes Joe Parkin Daniels in Bogotá.
Late on Tuesday, the leader of the South American nation – which is now under a militarized lockdown – gave a rambling televised address on measures his government is taking to combat the spread of Covid-19, with 91 cases confirmed.
Sipping from a small cup, Maduro told Venezuelans to drink aromática – a herbal tea made of lemongrass, ginger, elderberry, black pepper, lemons and honey – “every two or three hours, five or six times a day”. He added that he and his wife prepared 10 jugs of the elixir for their family. “It’s tasty,” he said.
Maduro’s playful tone jars with the bleak outlook for Venezuela, which despite boasting the largest proven oil reserves on the planet is already mired in social and economic turmoil. Shortages in basic goods and medical supplies are widespread and hyperinflation has rendered the local Bolivar currency practically useless.
Public health experts warn the country is far from ready to handle any outbreak amid an already collapsing health system.
Twitter took issue with Maduro’s comments on the disease on Tuesday morning, deleting one of his tweets that shared articles from a discredited scientist on grounds that it amounted to misinformation. One of those articles alleged the tea would remedy the virus. Another claimed Covid-19 was a “bioterrorist weapon”.
Updated
Argentina reports 86 new cases, two deaths in 24 hours
Officials confirmed on Tuesday night that 86 new cases of the novel Covid-19 coronavirus had been diagnosed in Argentina over the last 24 hours – the highest daily figure of the pandemic to date, reports the Buenos Aires Times.
La Nación reported on Wednesday that seven people have now died, the latest an 81-year-old women who has contact with an 82-year-old man who had recently returned from the US.
In total, 387 individuals have been infected with the virus, the health ministry said in a statement.
Our thanks to Peter Lawrence in Argentina for providing information from the country.
Updated
Saudi Arabia reports 133 new positive cases, one death in last 24 hours
Saudi Arabia has reported 133 new positive cases and one death in the last 24 hours, reports Akhtar Mohammad Makoii in Herat.
Saudi Arabia has announced its second coronavirus-related death in the last 24 hours with 133 new infections, pushing the total number of Coronavirus cases in the kingdom to 900.
A health ministry spokesman said a 46-year-old man had died as a result of Covid-19.
He added that the majority of infected patients were receiving medical care but in good condition. Three people are in critical condition but are receiving extra care in the intensive care unit, Al Arabia reported.
Updated
Russia delays vote on changes to allow Putin to stay in power until 2036
Russian president Vladimir Putin has delayed a public vote on constitutional amendments that will allow him to stay in power until 2036 due to the coronavirus outbreak in Russia, writes Andrew Roth in Moscow.
The plebiscite, which was seen as an important public endorsement of Putin’s ability to remain in power after 2024, were scheduled for 22 April. A new date will be set later, Putin said during a nationwide address. The vote does not have any legal impact and the constitutional amendments have already been accepted into law.
The announcement came as the Russian president rolled out a series of emergency measures to limit the health and economic impact of the spread of the virus in Russia . While asking Russians to stay home, the Russian president stopped short of issuing a mandatory quarantine or state of emergency.
Speaking on television, the Russian president announced a nationwide weeklong holiday in order to slow the spread of coronavirus through Russia. The holiday would extend from 28 March until 5 April, he said. Workers across the country would be guaranteed to receive their salaries, he added.
He also announced a series of economic initiatives, debt relief for those diagnosed with coronavirus, support for the unemployed, additional benefits for families with small children, a tax holiday for small businesses, and a moratorium on some bankruptcies.
In a direct appeal to Russians, Putin said: “Don’t think this can’t happen to me. It can happen to anyone.” He told the country to stay home.
The address came one day after a senior Russian official told Putin that government tallies underestimated the number of coronavirus victims in the country and that the Kremlin needed to take urgent measures to address the virus’ spread before it turned into a crisis.
Moscow’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin told Putin on Tuesday that the rate of coronavirus “growth is high; a serious situation is developing”, and warned that the healthcare system may be overwhelmed at the virus’s peak.
[...]
Official statistics have revealed a significant acceleration in the spread of coronavirus in Russia. A record 163 new cases were confirmed by officials on Wednesday, bringing the country’s total to 658 cases. Most of the new infections were identified in Moscow, which posted a jump of 120, or 43%, overnight. One death has been attributed to the disease.
Russia’s parliament on Wednesday said it would review legislation that could put quarantine breakers in jail for a period of three to seven years. Currently, those who return from abroad or exhibit symptoms of sickness are required to self-isolate for 14 days. And those found guilty of intentionally infecting others could even face terrorism charges, a Russian lawmaker said.
“In the event of intentional causing of one or more deaths as a result of the deliberate violation of sanitary and epidemiological regulations, irrespective of the intentions, such an action will be defined as terrorism, hooliganism or sabotage,” Russian lawmaker Pavel Krasheninnikov told reporters.
Updated
The French prime minister, Édouard Philippe, has outlined the help the government is giving businesses to assuage the economic crisis resulting from the lockdown in a debriefing of this morning’s council of ministers, reports my colleague Kim Willsher in Paris.
Philippe said the government was anxious to “mitigate the economic” consequences of the lockdown. The measures he introduced include:
- €1bn economic fund for small “micro” enterprises to stop them going out of business or firing and laying off staff. Small companies will be able to obtain help to pay, electricity, water, rent and bills.
- Extension of eligibility for unemployment and social security benefits.
- ”War economy” number of conditions companies can “temporarily” put in measures for Sunday and overtime work.
He said there would be a total of 25 new decrees coming in next few days. State would take over the salaries of all companies affected by the crisis and had set aside €4.5bn for this.
Philippe concluded: “These decrees help us to bear the brunt of the lockdown. This is a health crisis, a health emergency, but this crisis will also bring about an economic crisis … the president has asked us to take all measures for the long haul. We are preparing for the long haul.”
Updated
I am handing back the blog to my colleague Alexandra Topping now. Thanks everyone.
Updated
An international aid group said that closures aimed at containing the coronavirus pandemic are preventing it from reaching 300,000 people in conflict zones across the Middle East.
It comes after authorities in Libya’s capital reported the first case in the war-torn country.
The Norwegian Refugee Council said it was unable to reach people in Syria, Yemen and the Gaza Strip, where authorities have imposed strict measures to halt the spread of the virus.
All have fragile healthcare systems that could be overwhelmed by an outbreak, and only Yemen has yet to report any cases.
The group said virus lockdowns have also limited access to parts of Africa and Asia.
While governments are taking tough and much-needed measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus, millions of refugees and displaced people still depend on humanitarian assistance, said Jan Egeland, head of the aid group.
If supermarkets and pharmacies can remain operational during this crisis, then so should the delivery of humanitarian aid, he added.
Updated
Russian President Vladimir Putin has postponed a nationwide vote on proposed constitutional amendments that include a change that would allow him to seek another term in power.
Putin didn’t set a new date for the plebiscite originally set for April 22, saying Wednesday that it would depend on how the new coronavirus pandemic develops.
He also announced during a televised address to the nation that the government doesn’t want Russians except those working in essential sectors to come to work next week. He said that stores, pharmacies and banks will stay open.
Health, life and safety of the people is an absolute priority for us, Putin said.
Russian authorities reported 658 cases of the new virus on Wednesday, with 163 new cases registered since the day before. That marked a significantly bigger daily increase from previous days, when the number of new infections grew only by several dozens.
Canadian banks on Tuesday followed US heavyweights in offering one-time bonuses and extra paid days off to customer-service employees who are required to work in branches and call centres amid the coronavirus crisis.
Banks have largely been excluded from government-mandated shutdowns in many countries because they are considered an essential industry, meaning most bank branches, call centres and trading floors have stayed open even as many firms send their employees home.
Updated
The coronavirus is unlikely to disappear in summer, the European Union agency for disease control said on Wednesday, in a stark warning that the epidemic could continue when temperatures rise unless measures to hamper it are applied.
The notice leaves little room for hopes that SARS-CoV-2, the name of the new virus, could behave as the other four coronaviruses, which are endemic in human populations and are usually not detected in summer months.
Updated
The UK chancellor, Rishi Sunak, will give details on Thursday of promised assistance for self-employed workers who lose income as a result of the coronavirus, broadcaster Sky News reported on Wednesday.
Boris Johnson, the prime minister, has told parliament that further news on assistance would come in the next couple of days.
Sky News’s political editor said Sunak would make the announcement at the government’s daily late-afternoon news conference on the coronavirus.
Updated
In the UK, people are having to use videolinks to say their last goodbyes to dying relatives with Covid-19 because hospitals are curtailing visits to prevent spread of the virus.
In a sad scene that is increasingly being played out out across the country, in the early hours of Tuesday morning a patient with coronavirus was taken off a ventilator at a hospital in south-east London.
His wife and two children were unable to be with him but watched at home via videolink, after agreement from staff in the intensive treatment unit.
A matron familiar with the case, who did not wish to be named, said his wife had been offered the opportunity of being there in person but without the children and at her own risk so she requested the family be able to watch it from home instead.
The matron told the Guardian: “It is heartbreaking that he died without his family being able to hold his hands or giving him a goodbye kiss but at least they saw him in his final moments.
“If it’s something we [NHS staff] can do for people in this difficult crisis, it’s the least we can do. Not everybody can see or handle these things but giving that option to everybody is something we can do to perhaps make the pain go away. We know there are many more to come.”
Updated
Everton and England defender Michael Keane said players will be able to return to Premier League action after only a “couple of weeks’ proper training”.
The coronavirus pandemic has led to the suspension of professional football in England until at least 30 April. Premier League clubs are due to meet on 3 April to discuss what the English top flight does next.
“All the lads have been sent individual training programmes to carry out at home,” Keane told Talksport radio. “It’s not easy because you’ve not got the normal equipment, you’ve just got to improvise and do what you can.
“The Premier League could start again in a month, it could be longer. So we’ve just got to keep that base level of fitness. As long as we get a couple of weeks’ proper training before the next game – and the lads have worked hard in the meantime – we’ll be fine.”
Updated
Iran will ban intercity travel within days as it gets tough with the coronavirus that has killed more than 2,000 people in one of the world’s deadliest outbreaks.
The strict new measures come after weeks of cajoling largely failed to prevent hundreds of thousands of Iranians taking to the roads to visit family for the two-week Persian new year holiday.
“New journeys will be banned, leaving towns and cities will be banned,” government spokesman Ali Rabii announced, hours after President Hassan Rouhani revealed the government was poised to introduce “difficult” new measures against the outbreak.
Updated
Hello everyone. I am taking over the live blog while my colleague takes a break. Please share any information, news tips or insight from where you are with me.
Email: sarah.marsh@theguardian.com
Twitter: @sloumarsh
Instagram: sarah_marsh_journalist
Vietnam’s health ministry reported an additional seven coronavirus cases on Wednesday, taking the south-east Asian country’s tally to 141, though it reported no deaths.
Vietnam had said in mid-February that all its then-16 confirmed coronavirus cases had recovered, but it has since been battling an influx of imported cases from overseas citizens and Vietnamese citizens escaping outbreaks elsewhere. There are 1,596 suspected cases in the country, it said, and 24,311 tests have been carried out in Vietnam.
Updated
Zimbabwe’s public hospital doctors went on strike on Wednesday over a lack of protective gear as the coronavirus begins to spread in a country whose health system has almost collapsed.
The Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association president, Tawanda Zvakada, said hundreds of doctors are at “high risk” and will return to work when the government provides suitable protection: “Right now we are exposed and no one seems to care,” he said.
Updated
My colleague Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington has just published this exclusive about plans in the mobile phone industry to track the spread of the pandemic using individual mobile phone devices.
It’s a move that will be welcomed as a weapon against the spread of Covid-19, but is sure to be met with trepidation by security and privacy experts.
Libya announces first coronavirus case.
Libya has announced its first coronavirus case, reports my colleague Akhtar Mohammad Makoii in Herat.
The health minister of the UN-recognized government in Libya announced the first patient infected to Covid-19 late on Tuesday.
After the overthrow of Libyan dictator, Muammar Qaddafi, the country is divided between two warring sides. The Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNA) and forces loyal to eastern-based military strongman Khalifa Haftar.
With two groups trying to take control over the country, experts warn that containing spread of coronavirus pandemic will very challenging.
“The necessary measures have been taken to treat the patient,” said minister Ehmed Ben Omar.
In a show of unity - and despite the pandemic cancelling parades that would normally be the highlight of the day - Greek politicians have marked the 199th anniversary of the nation’s war of independence against Ottoman rule in a ceremony that will forever be remembered for brevity and social distancing, writes my colleague Helena Smith in Athens.
After laying a wreath before the tomb of the unknown soldier at the foot of the Greek parliament in Syntagma Square and listening to a wind-swept rendition of the national anthem - played by a band in an otherwise empty plaza - the country’s newly installed president, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, greeted the political party leaders, lined up a meter or so apart, with a smile and a nod.
As of Monday, Greece has been, with few exceptions, in full lockdown as authorities enforce draconian measures to curb the spread of coronavirus. Nationwide, the streets of cities are empty. To date, the health ministry has announced 743 confirmed cases and 20 deaths attributed to Covid-19. A total of 134 people have been hospitalised with 45 in intensive care although figures are likely to rise.
“This year the national anniversary finds our country in an unprecedented situation. We are not celebrating it in streets and squares but we are honouring it in our homes,” prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a “message” to the nation. “The enemy, now, is the pandemic and against it we will parade our strength and unity .... our battle now is one: to keep Greece strong and Greeks healthy. The pandemic will cost us but we will emerge victorious and more mature.”
Usually a barrage of fighter jets and other aircraft participate in the fly-past but today social distancing prevailed even in the air with four mirage fighter jets and six helicopters swooping over the Acropolis and central Athens at a safe distance from one another. Two F-16’s later flew over the Evros land border Greece shares with Turkey - the site of chaotic scenes earlier this month when Ankara announced it was “opening the gates” to Europe for tens of thousands of migrants and refugees - and the eastern Aegean islands of Samos, Lesbos and Chios where the vast majority of some 42,000 men, women and children are currently living in camps also in lockdown as a result of the novel virus.
Kuwait announced four new Coronavirus cases in last 24 hours, raising the total number to 195, reports my colleague Akhtar Mohammad Makoii in Herat.
تعلن #وزارة_الصحة عن تأكيد إصابة أربع حالات جديدة ب #فيروس_كورونا_المستجدّ COVID19 ليصبح الإجمالي 195 حالة pic.twitter.com/WYJXnMBLE7
— وزارة الصحة - الكويت (@KUWAIT_MOH) March 25, 2020
The heath ministry of Kuwait said two of the new positive cases were related to travel to Saudi Arabia and United Kingdom and two others were under investigation.
Tokyo implements lockdown
Warning of the risk of an explosive rise in coronavirus infections in Japan’s capital, Tokyo’s governor on Wednesday asked residents to avoid non-essential outings through until April 12, Reuters reports.
Yuriko Koike told a news conference that the situation was “severe” after 41 new cases were reported in Tokyo on Wednesday alone.
She asked residents to cooperate to stem the spread by avoiding unnecessary outings, working at home as much as possible and staying away from restaurants and gatherings.
“To avoid an overshoot in infections, the cooperation of Tokyo residents is critical. I ask you to act with a sense of crisis,” Koike said.
The city has become the centre of Japan’s coronavirus epidemic, with 212 cases, more than any other region after increases this week. It overtook the hard-hit northern island of Hokkaido island on Tuesday as the prefecture with the most infections, public broadcaster NHK reported.
The outbreak has infected 1,271 people in Japan as of Wednesday evening, with 44 deaths linked to the virus, NHK said. That excludes 712 cases and 10 deaths from a cruise ship moored near Tokyo last month.
Infections in Italy slow for a third day
According to the World Health Organization, Italy could reach its peak number of coronavirus cases on Sunday, reports my colleague Lorenzo Tondo.
The death toll from coronavirus in Italy rose by 743 to 6,820 on Tuesday, dampening hopes that a slowdown in the rate of deaths on Sunday and Monday would follow a trend. However, the rate of new infections slowed for a third day, rising by 3,612, compared with 3,780 new cases on Monday.
‘’This is an extremely positive factor,’’ told Radio Capital on Wednesday, Ranieri Guerra, WHO assistant director general. ‘’In some regions we are close to the falling point of the curve and therefore probably the peak could be reached this week and then fall. I believe that this week and the first days of the next will be crucial.’’
Belgium sees 50% increase in hospital admissions on previous day.
Belgium has seen a significant rise in people being admitted to hospital for coronavirus, as experts warned the disease had not yet reached its peak, reports my colleague Jennifer Rankin in Brussels.
At a daily briefing, Belgium’s federal crisis centre announced that 434 people had been admitted to hospital in the last 24 hours, an increase of 50% on the previous day. Hospital admissions had declined for two consecutive days, although experts had previously warned against calling that decline a trend.
Belgium now counts 4,937 people with a coronavirus diagnosis, an increase of 668 cases in the last 24 hours. A total of 178 people have lost their lives, including 56 recorded in the last count. Officials said not all had died in the last 24 hours and there had been delays in recording people who had passed away in care homes.
Crisis centre spokesman Emmanuel André said the increase in hospitalisations was significant: “It is very clear that we are not yet at the peak of the epidemic.” He added that it was very important that current measures - a nationwide lockdown - remain in force.
And he urged people not to wear surgical masks in the street, voicing concern that they give a “false impression of protection”, as people are less diligent in washing their hands.
Belgium’s prime minister Sophie Wilmès has been put on the defensive, after two surgeons criticised the government in a widely-shared open letter for not having enough tests for medical staff or patients, as well as a shortage of masks.
In a letter entitled “the double penalty on hospital staff” the medics deplored the lack of systematic tests for medical staff, meaning they could infect patients or family.
In a three-page reply published in Belgian media on Wednesday, Wilmès said the government was “working without respite” to safeguard the health of the population and medical staff. She said that in the last ten days 11.5m surgical masks and 459,000 specialist masks had arrived in the country and work was ongoing to increase stocks further.
This is Alexandra Topping, taking over from my colleague Damien Gayle on the global coronavirus liveblog.
If you think we’ve missed a global story, please do email on alexandra.topping@theguardian.com or on Twitter I am @lexytopping - my DMs are open.
You can follow our UK focused coronavirus liveblog here
Summary
Death toll in Spain surpasses China
Spain now has the world’s second-highest tally of coronavirus deaths, after 738 more were reported on Wednesday, the country’s deadliest toll in one day.
Prince Charles tests positive for coronavirus
Britain’s Prince Charles has tested positive for coronavirus and is displaying mild symptoms “but otherwise remains in good health”, Clarence House has said.
US agrees $2 trillion emergency bill
The White House and Senate leaders of both major political parties announced agreement on a $2 trillion emergency bill to rush aid to businesses, workers and a health care system hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
Iran to impose social distancing
A major crack down on travel and an imposition of social distancing measures are to be introduced in Iran in the next 24 hours. Iran reported 2,206 new Coronavirus cases in last 24 hours raising the total number to 27,017. The country also announced 143 deaths in the same period raising the total number of deaths to 2,077.
India goes into lockdown
Indians struggled to comply with the world’s largest coronavirus lockdown on Wednesday as the government attempted to keep 1.3 billion people indoors. In five days, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, has gone from about 200 to 519,. Experts have warned current tested is insufficient.
170,000 volunteer for NHS England
More than 170,000 people have already signed up overnight to volunteer for the NHS to help tackle the coronavirus, according to Stephen Powis, National Medical Director of NHS England. It comes after Matt Hancock yesterday asked for a quarter of a million volunteers to come forward to help support the NHS.
EU to call for Europe-wide crisis management centre
European Union leaders are to call for “a true European crisis management centre”, according to a leaked document that seeks to draw lessons from the coronavirus pandemic. The EU already has an Emergency Response Coordination Centre, which operates 24/7 and can organise help when any country in the world suffers an earthquake, forest fire, floods or pandemic.
Macron told: ‘lockdown should last six weeks’
French government scientific advisers have recommended a total of six weeks’ lockdown. France is carrying out 9,000 tests for the virus every day. The country’s health authority has said this will be increased by an additional 10,000 by the end of this week.
Dutch public health institute: measures are working
The head of the Netherlands’ public health institute has told the Dutch parliament that measures to control the spread of coronavirus appear to be working.
Imperial College: Measures in Wuhan appear to have ended coronavirus
China’s tough lockdown and social distancing measures in Wuhan and other provinces appear to have successfully ended coronavirus infections and may chart a route back to normal life, according to a report from Imperial College.
Updated
US agrees $2tn emergency bill
The White House and Senate leaders of both major political parties announced agreement early on Wednesday on an unprecedented $2tn emergency bill to rush sweeping aid to businesses, workers and a healthcare system slammed by the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reports.
The pandemic response measure is the largest economic rescue measure in history and is intended as a patch for an economy spiralling into recession.
White House aide Eric Ueland announced the agreement in a Capitol hallway shortly after midnight. The deal still needs to be finalized in detailed legislative language.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we are done,” Ueland said. “We have a deal.”
Updated
India goes into lockdown
Indians struggled to comply with the world’s largest coronavirus lockdown on Wednesday as the government began the gargantuan task of keeping 1.3 billion people indoors, Reuters reports.
Official assurances that essentials wouldn’t run out clashed with people’s fears that the disease toll could soon worsen, gutting food and other critical supplies.
In five days, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, has jumped from about 200 to 519, and experts say the real toll is likely to be much higher because of insufficient testing.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a three-week countrywide lockdown covering nearly one-fifth of the world’s population “to save India and Indians.”
He said the lockdown would be “total,” but officials after his speech released advisories explaining that medical, law enforcement, media and other sectors were exempted and that stores selling food and other essentials would remain open.
Iran reports 2,206 new Coronavirus cases
Latest numbers from Iran disturbing. New cases per day has risen over past 4 days from 996, 1,028, 1,762 and today a new record of 2,206. Major travel bans and social distancing finally being imposed. Nature Day cancelled. Real test of regime's authority and capability.
— Patrick Wintour (@patrickwintour) March 25, 2020
Iran reported 2,206 new Coronavirus cases in last 24 hours raising the total number to 27,017, reports my colleague Akhtar Mohammad Makoii.
Spokesman for Iran’s health ministry also announced 143 deaths in the same period raising the total number of deaths to 2,077.
So far 9,625 patients have recovered.
Kiyanoosh Jahanpoor, Iranian health ministry spokesman said 68 % of the deaths are above 60 years old, 32 % are under 60.
Updated
The head of the Netherlands’ public health institute has told the Dutch parliament that measures to control the spread of coronavirus appear to be working, Dutch News reports.
Jaap van Dissel said the country was seeing a “positive trend”, 10 days after authorities introduced a ban on mass gatherings and closed restaurants, bars, schools and cannabis-selling coffee shops.
Van Dissel said initial estimates showed the infection rate per carrier was on or below one, rather than the expected two or three, meaning that a graph of the number of infections should rise in a straight line, rather than a curve.
The number of new confirmed cases in the Netherlands grew by 17% on Tuesday from a day earlier to 5,560, according to official data.
Those figures likely reflect infections from early March, before the government banned public gatherings and closed schools, according to a report by the Reuters news agency.
Updated
Death toll in Spain surpasses China
Spain now has the world’s second-highest tally of coronavirus deaths, after 738 more were reported on Wednesday, the country’s deadliest toll in one day, Associated Press reports.
With 3,434 coronavirus patients dead, Spain surpassed China’s death toll of 3,285. Italy still has the most deaths of any nation in the world with 6,820.
Infections in Spain also rose 20% from a day earlier to 47,610.
Updated
Prince Charles tests positive for coronavirus
Prince Charles has tested positive for coronavirus and is displaying mild symptoms “but otherwise remains in good health”, Clarence House has said.
Charles, the next in line to the throne, is 71 years old, making him a member of those at risk groups who have been encouraged by the government to completely self-isolate for 12 weeks.
A Clarence House spokesman said the Duchess of Cornwall had also been tested but does not have the virus.
In accordance with government and medical advice, the prince and the duchess are now self-isolating at home in Scotland. The tests were carried out by the NHS in Aberdeenshire where they met the criteria required for testing.
It is not possible to ascertain from whom the prince caught the virus owing to the high number of engagements he carried out in his public role during recent weeks.
Updated
Iran to impose social distancing
A crack down on travel and an imposition of social distancing measures are to be introduced in Iran in the next 24 hours, Patrick Wintour, the Guardian’s diplomatic editor, reports.
The country’s President Hassan Rouhani made the announcement at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday following recommendations from the health ministry about the course of the pandemic.
Initial details of the new laws, and their enforcement, were vague, but is likely to include a ban on inter-city travel, including journeys out of Tehran.
A requirement for people to cut short their new year holidays and greater controls on cars as holiday makers return to their homes in cities such as Tehran is also likely, the president said, in what amounts to a major change of policy.
The closure of parks, the abandonment of Iran’s nature day and tighter social distancing laws are also to be introduced. Nature day, or Sizdah Bedhar, is celebrated on the 13th of the first month of the Persian new year, marking the end of the Nowruz celebrations before a return to work. It normally sees Iranian families spending the day out of doors having meals in the fields, parks and gardens, preferably by a river or stream.
Rouhani said the harsh measures were needed to save people’s lives, and the new bill “may advise people to cut their holidays short and get back to their homes”. The government has been widely criticised within Iran for not taking more stringent measures earlier, but Rouhani repeatedly claiming the crisis was under control pointed to statistics on declining numbers of rail journeys and cancelled hotel bookings to claim the guidance was largely being followed.
The President also said only a third of government employees should be in work, with a large proportion of those permitted to work being health workers. He said more than 1.2m of the 2.5m government employees would continue to be kept away from work.
Claiming the coronavirus pandemic was about to enter a second phase in Iran, he praised those Iranians that had abided by advice and not travelled to holiday resorts during Iran’s new year break, but there is clearly a concern that the pandemic will spread again when millions return from their holidays. The ability of Iran to track those with the infection is limited, and promises by the army to clear the streets have been made before, only for little to happen.
Rouhani also claimed the issue of US economic sanctions on Iran was set to be raised at the UN Security Council. The head of the Central Bank of Iran claimed Iran had made progress in being allowed to repatriate its assets in overseas banks to purchase medicines following fresh guidance to banks.
The US has claimed it has allowed Iran to purchase medicines, but banks have been wary of financing the deals.
Rouhani has already announced that prisoners released on furlough will now not be required to return to jail at the beginning of April, as originally planned, but instead the end of the April, an implicit admission that the pandemic is going to take longer to control than originally hoped.
There is widespread distrust within Iran of official daily government figures on the numbers killed or infected by the disease.
Updated
China’s tough lockdown and social distancing measures in Wuhan and other provinces appear to have successfully ended coronavirus infections and may chart a route back to normal life, according to a report from the University of London’s Imperial College, Sarah Boseley, the Guardian’s health editor, reports.
The report, from Prof Neil Ferguson and his team who have been the main modellers of the epidemic for the UK and other governments, suggests it is possible to lift the social distancing restrictions, as China has begun to do, without a resurgence of the epidemic.
Prof Chris Donnelly of Imperial and Oxford Universities, one of the team, said:
At this difficult time, these results suggest that, after containment, a carefully managed and monitored relaxation of effective large-scale lockdowns may be possible even before an effective vaccine is available.
Ferguson said their analysis “provides some hope for countries currently in various levels of lockdown that once case numbers are brought to low levels, it might be possible to relax social distancing – provided equal measures to limit the risk of the resurgence of transmission are introduced.”
But, he stressed, relaxing the lockdown policies would depend on “rapid and ubiquitous testing and rigorous case and contact isolation policies”.
That would mean testing everyone with symptoms and following up and isolating their contacts, in order to stamp out any further flare-ups of infection.
Updated
Restrictions on movement brought in to curb the spread of the coronavirus are preventing aid from reaching refugees and displaced peoples, the Norwegian Refugee council has said.
The organisation said 300,000 refugees in the Middle East are among those who it is not able to reach, as it called on governments to relax border restrictions for the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Appealing to world leaders, Jan Egeland, the NRC secretary general, said:
While governments are taking tough and much-needed measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus, millions of refugees and displaced people still depend on humanitarian assistance. Aid workers should fall into the same category as medical staff, food retailers or pharmacists. If supermarkets and pharmacies can remain operational during this crisis, then so should the delivery of humanitarian aid.
The risk of Covid-19 spreading to overcrowded displacement sites in Asia, Middle East and parts of Africa is extremely high, and will lead to a humanitarian catastrophe if we can´t protect those most at risk of infection.
Two cases have already been confirmed in densely populated Gaza, where a decade long blockade has devastated the health service, while the first case in Syria was reported on Sunday, the NRC said.
Updated
The head of Germany’s leading public health body, said it is still “too early” to say whether physical distancing measures are having an effect in the country, Kate Connolly reports from Berlin.
Lothar Wieler, president of the Robert Koch Institute, said he had hoped that by today it might have been possible to see if the measures had led to a fall in infections.
As to why there is a relatively low death rate in Germany (officially 146 deaths, and over 31,500 infections, according to RKI figures), Wieler said it was due to the fact Germany had tested widely from the start, and was able to detect the virus earlier, and many milder cases were discovered.
In addition as yet, fewer older people in Germany have been infected, he said.
Wieler said “we are at the beginning of this epidemic” and the number of deaths would rise. “It is still completely unclear how this epidemic will develop,” he said.
Our UK-focused coronavirus and politics live blog is now online, anchored by Andrew Sparrow and Lucy Campbell.
As well as general UK coronavirus news lines they will be covering evidence from Prof Neil Ferguson, director of the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial College, to the Commons science committee about coronavirus at 10.15am, Prime Ministers’ Questions at 12pm, and the resumption of the debate in the Lords on the draconian coronavirus bill at 3.30pm.
Ireland has changed the criteria for testing for coronavirus to prioritise people that show two symptoms rather than just one, Rory Carroll reports from Dublin.
The National Public Health Emergency Team announced late on Tuesday that people must show fever and at least one sign of respiratory disease, such as coughing or shortness of breath, before being referred for testing.
The change is a response to a backlog of 40,000 cases awaiting testing, and an additional 20,000 people per day seeking testing, which has “cast the net too widely”.
The chief medical officer, Tony Holohan, said this had led to inappropriate testing and the goal now was to focus on people in hospital, healthcare workers and other priority categories.
Of 17,992 tests carried out so far 6% have tested positive. Authorities hope in coming weeks to increase capacity to 15,000 tests a day. Ireland has recorded 1,329 confirmed cases, and seven deaths. Northern Ireland has recorded 172 cases and five deaths.
On Tuesday the taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, announced fresh restrictions – all non-essential shops to close, all sport events cancelled, no outdoor gatherings of more than four people – that came into effect at midnight.
Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has warned that more tube services in the UK capital may have to be cut because of staff sickness rates approaching 30%, Rowena Mason, deputy political editor, reports. He said the highly trained staff could not be replaced and repeated calls for the government to forcibly shut construction sites.
The government has been under pressure over the conditions of construction workers packing on to crowded public transport and gathering together on sites and in canteens, failing to heed social distancing rules. But Robert Jenrick, the communities secretary insisted that sites could remain open where social distancing is observed and claimed it was essential for infrastructure works to continue and dangerous cladding to be removed from buildings.
Those sites that cannot operate within the rules should shut immediately, he said in a round of broadcast interviews.
There will be construction sites where following the government guidelines is possible. Where it isn’t possible they shouldn’t operating.
He also released revised guidance on exactly which premises can remain open, which specifies that shops can only allow in small numbers of people at a time and must operate outside queuing systems with distancing measures.
It clarifies that tradespeople can carry out work in people’s homes as long as they are well, they observe social distancing and are not working for people being shielded unless in an emergency.
EU to call for Europe-wide crisis management centre
European Union leaders are to call for “a true European crisis management centre”, according to a leaked document that seeks to draw lessons from the coronavirus pandemic, Jennifer Rankin reports from Brussels.
The EU’s 27 leaders will hold a conference call on Thursday, replacing the spring summit that was due to take place in Brussels, which is usually devoted to the economy. Instead the agenda will be dominated by coronavirus, the impact on people, health systems and the economy.
According to a text of the EU conclusions seen by the Guardian, EU leaders are expected to sign off on “a more ambitious and wide-ranging crisis management system within the EU, including, for instance a true European crisis management centre”.
The EU already has an Emergency Response Coordination Centre, which operates 24/7 and can organise help, if asked, when any country in the world suffers an earthquake, forest fire, floods or pandemic.
The text also makes a muted plea for the lifting of export bans on medical protective kits, such as masks and goggles. Germany and France have been criticised in recent weeks for imposing export bans on some of these products. The text states that a recent decision requiring all countries to seek approval for export of these goods outside the EU “should lead to the full lifting of any internal bans”, but stops short of member states pledging to do so.
EU leaders will also pledge to ensure “smooth border management” for people and goods, amid rising concern that internal border controls are slowing the supply of vital medical goods. As of 24 March at midday CET, 12 countries in the European border-free travel zone had told authorities in Brussels they had introduced border restrictions.
Manufacturers are warning that vital supplies, such as masks and surgical equipment, are not getting through.
The head of the Swedish Employers’ Association Anna Stellinger told publication Borderlex.
It’s a real catastrophe. There is medical equipment produced by Swedish companies that – due to trade restrictions – can’t reach the patient.
- 82% of Swedish companies have difficulties in exports/imports due to Corona. Today’s figures.
— Anna Stellinger (@AnnaStellinger) March 24, 2020
- 70% last week
1.3 million people have a job in Sweden thanks to exports.
We need to
- secure the Single Market
- avoid all types of export bans
- secure that goods can cross borders
Updated
The Nepali government has decided to allow Nepalis stranded at the border with India to come home ‘one last time’, provided they abide by a 14-day quarantine after returning to the country, the Himalayan Times reports.
Yubaraj Khatiwada, the spokesperson for the government, said returnees would have to show their identity cards in order to be admitted. Quarantines will be arranged by provincial governments.
The government does not intend to unnecessarily bother citizens. These measures are for their own safety. I hope people will cooperate.
Nepal acted fast to close its borders as the pandemic spread earlier this month. According to the tally kept by Johns Hopkins university’s coronavirus resource centre it has had just three patients who have been confirmed to have contracted the virus.
A British man is reportedly among nine people who have died from Covid-19 in Hungary, which so far has confirmed 226 coronavirus infections.
Hungarian authorities say the pandemic has now reached its second stage in the central European country, with infections now spreading in the community, About Hungary reports.
Announcing the increase in risk, chief medical officer Cecília Müller said:
The virus can be anywhere and anybody can become infected.
On Tuesday a plane landed in Hungary with almost 70 tons of medical equipment aboard, including more than 3 million face masks and 86 ventilators, officials said.
An international survey has found that 70% of people in the world’s seven wealthiest economies expect their households to lose income as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, Reuters reports.
The poll, by Kantar, included results from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.
It found that people in Italy, now the centre of the global pandemic, were the most pessimistic about their future economic prospects, with 82% saying it would, or has already, affected their household income.
The country expecting the least financial impact was Germany.
In Britain, where 70% expected to be left worse off, just 28% reported that they had started working from home more often and only a little over half said they were avoiding visits to elderly and vulnerable relatives and friends where possible.
The online survey was conducted last week - before the British government announced it would enforce its advice to stay home.
Japan had highest number of people who said they had started wearing a mask (65%) but the lowest number of people doing all other measures listed in the survey, such as social distancing, washing hands more and avoiding unnecessary social contact.
170,000 volunteer for NHS England
More than 170,000 people have already signed up overnight to volunteer for the NHS to help tackle the coronavirus, according to Stephen Powis, National Medical Director of NHS England, Simon Murphy reports.
It comes after Matt Hancock yesterday launched a call to arms for an army of a quarter of a million volunteers to come forward to help support the NHS fight back against the coronavirus pandemic.
As the coronavirus death toll rose to 422 on Tuesday, the government called on fit and healthy adults to volunteer to ensure vulnerable people have vital supplies such as food and medicines, drive them to appointments or make regular phone calls to those in isolation.
Announcing that more than 170,000 had signed up within hours of Hancock’s announcement, Powis told BBC Breakfast:
Yesterday we sent out a call to arms for an army of NHS volunteers, looking for a quarter of a million volunteers, and I can say that overnight we’ve already had 170,000 people sign up – so that’s three a minute signing up to help the NHS. It’s an absolutely astonishing response.”
Asked if he expected such a response, he replied:
I think at times of crisis, people come together. And the vast majority of people in this country are doing what the government has asked us all to do. But it’s important that everyone does that as that will save lives.
I know there’s vast numbers of people looking to help neighbours, vulnerable people who live close by, so no it doesn’t surprise me at all. In times like this as the chief medical officer has already said, we see outbreaks of altruism, people wanting to help, so it’s a wonderful response in the same way that all those doctors coming back, nurses coming back, I’m bowled over by it.
Updated
Macron told: 'lockdown should last six weeks'
French government scientific advisers have recommended a total of six weeks’ lockdown, a suggestion president Emmanuel Macron and his ministers are considering but seem reluctant to announce at this moment, Kim Willsher, the Guardian’s Paris correspondent, reports.
France is carrying out 9,000 tests for the virus every day. Jérôme Salomon, director of the country’s health authority, has said this will be increased by an additional 10,000 by the end of this week.
A further 10,000 tests should be available next week. France has asked all private and public hospitals to join the coronavirus battle and has increased the number of intensive care ventilator beds from 5,000 to 8,000.
The military hospital sent to Alsace in eastern France is now up and running and Macron is planning a visit today. The situation in the region, where there is a coronavirus cluster, is described as “critical”. Neighbouring Luxembourg, Switzerland and Germany have offered to take patients and about 20 seriously ill people are being evacuated onboard a “medically equipped TGV”.
All non-essential operations are being cancelled across the country, but those needing urgent medical attention will be seen. Women will still have access to contraception, pregnancy terminations and pregnancy scans, Salomon said.
French scientists and medical researchers are carrying out tests on various possible cures, including the anti-malarial drug chloroquine, but people are strongly advised not to self-medicate.
As well as the public clapping in support of essential health workers that happens in France at 8pm every evening, all the bells of French churches will ring in unison at 7.30pm today as a sign of solidarity and national unity and to boost morale during the second week of lockdown.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in France, as reported from the daily update last evening, is 22,300, a rise of 2,444 in a day, 10,176 people are in hospital with the virus, 2,516 of them in intensive care (34% of ICU cases are aged under 60). There have been 1,100 deaths in hospitals, 85% of which are of people over 70 years. The number of deaths rose sharply by 240 in 24 hours. This figure does not include those who have died in retirement homes or outside hospitals.
Updated
Rabbis in Israel have made an exemption for the upcoming Passover feast, ruling that families and friends do not have to gather around a single table, Oliver Holmes, the Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent, reports.
Instead, the traditional dinner can be held via the video conference call program Zoom to prevent the spread of Covid-19, according to the Jerusalem Post newspaper.
The decision was made by several Orthodox Sephardic rabbis, the Jerusalem Post reported, and does not apply to all sects. It was focused on making sure elderly members of the family can, if not in person, still attend the event.
Passover, which commemorates the flight of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery, begins on 8-9 April this year with an elaborate Seder meal. The dinner, often lasting deep into the night, involves ritual wine drinking and symbolic foods.
Updated
A charity taking legal action to call for the release of hundreds of people with underlying health disorders held in immigration detention in the UK, PA Media reports.
Detention Action says a “significant proportion” of the approximately 1,500 people detained over their immigration status in the country have serious underlying health conditions that place them at “a significant risk of serious harm or death” during the Covid-19 crisis.
It also argues that “significant numbers of detainees will no longer be detainable because widespread travel restrictions prevent removals from taking place”, rendering their detention unlawful.
The Home Office has released almost 300 people from detention centres in the last few days because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Guardian reported on Saturday.
The case, which will be heard in London on Wednesday, is thought to be the first Covid-19-related case heard in the courts of England and Wales.
Updated
Afghanistan has reported 33 new Coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, marking the biggest one-day rise in the war-torn country, Akhtar Mohammad Makoii reports from Herat, the country’s worst-affected city.
One death has also been reported, raising the total number of deaths to two. The latest death is a 45-year-old woman who died of Covid-19 last night in Herat.
The total number of positive cases jumped to 75 from 42 the day before, an Afghan health ministry spokesman said in a press conference in Kabul.
Four members of the international coalition forces in the country have also tested positive for the coronavirus.
Wahidullah Mayar said a partial curfew had been implemented in Herat, Zaranj, and Farah, three cities close to the border with Iran.
Thirty-two of the new positive cases were confirmed in Herat, and concerns are high with around 15,000 Afghans returning from Iran each day. Herat is the worst affected city with 54 of Afghanistan’s Covid-19 patients.
On Tuesday night, the governor of Herat announced a partial curfew to contain the spread of the virus and asked the people to stay at home. With most shops closed, some parts of Herat looked deserted Wednesday morning compared to the previous day. Police rangers patrolling in the city used loudspeakers to order to close their shops.
Officials said the curfew would badly affect more than 100,000 people in Herat who are living in extreme poverty and dependent on working each day. Despite the new rules, early on Wednesday morning the Guardian saw child workers in the empty streets.
Updated
In Japan, businesses, sports fans and the people feel “massively let down” by the decision to postpone the Olympics, which has been pushed back to an unspecified date, Justin McCurry, the Guardian’s Tokyo correspondent, reports.
On Tuesday, the Tokyo 2020 countdown clock showed there were just 122 days to go before the Olympics opening ceremony.
By Wednesday morning, the clock, outside the Tokyo station building, simply displayed the current date and time. The switch was so sudden that commuters paused to take photos.
The countdown clock will be reset as soon as organisers and the International Olympic Committee [IOC] decide when a supposedly post-coronavirus world is ready for the second coming of the Tokyo Games.
Hours after Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, confirmed that the Games would be held “no later than next summer”, some Tokyoites were conflicted about their reaction.
Updated
We begin with some news from Africa, just published on the Guardian this morning. Lucy Lamble, of our global development team, reports that government ministers across Africa have called for the suspension of debt interest payments as their countries adapt to cope with the Covid-19 crisis.
The numbers of cases being reported in Africa are still behind Europe and the US but rises are being confirmed in South Africa, Kenya, Egypt, Algeria and Burkina Faso, among others, and there is fear of what economic consequences the pandemic might wreak.
On Monday, the heads of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund expressed support for debt relief to help countries strengthen their health systems in readiness.
During a conference call for G20 ministers, the IMF’s leader, Kristalina Georgieva, pointed to the replenishing of funds used in a debt relief and aid mechanism during the 2014 Ebola epidemic that struck three African countries.
The ministers also requested that principal payments – the actual debt payment, as opposed to interest charges – be waived for fragile states, where people are deeply vulnerable to a pandemic.
Updated
Hello, this is Damien Gayle taking charge of the coronavirus live blog as a quiet, locked-down morning begins in London.
For the next few hours I will be bringing you news from the Guardian’s network of correspondents across the planet, the news wires and whatever I can dredge up from social media.
As usual, you can contact me with news from your part of the world either through email, at damien.gayle@theguardian.com, or via my Twitter profile, @damiengayle. I look forward to hearing from you.
Updated
That’s it from me, Helen Sullivan for today. I’ll now be handing the blog over to my esteemed colleague Damien Gayle, who will, from a safe distance, be taking you through the next few hours of coronavirus pandemic news.
Updated
Coronavirus latest: at a glance
A summary of the biggest developments in the global coronavirus outbreak.
More on the state of the pandemic in China now.
Mainland China reported a drop in new confirmed coronavirus cases on Wednesday as imported infections fell and no locally transmitted infections were reported, including in central Hubei province.
China is ramping up quarantine and screening rules for all international arrivals due to the risks from imported cases, Reuters reports. These include:
- Quanzhou city in Fujian province will cancel all international and regional flights, starting March 26, after four imported cases from the Philippines were found on Tuesday.
- The Quanzhou Jinjiang international airport will cancel 17 routes including those connecting Manila, Hong Kong, and Macau, the Fujian government said in a notice.
- China’s capital city Beijing has already diverted flights to other cities where passengers will be screened and quarantined.
- China has encouraged airlines to keep international flights running by offering cash subsidies.
The number of new coronavirus cases totalled 47 on Tuesday, all of which were from travellers returning home, down from 78 a day earlier, the National Health Commission said.
In Hubei province no new infections were reported despite three new deaths - two of those in Wuhan city, where the virus first appeared late last year. On Wednesday, local authorities downgraded Wuhan’s epidemic risk level from “high” to “medium”.
The total number of confirmed cases in mainland China stands at 81,218, with 474 imported infections. The death toll in mainland China reached 3,281 as of the end of Tuesday, up by four from the previous day.
Malaysia will extend a two-week restriction of movement order and unveil a second economic stimulus package as the number of coronavirus cases continue to climb, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said on Wednesday.
The measures come as Malaysia reported 172 new coronavirus cases, taking the total to 1,796, the highest in Southeast Asia.
Since last week, Malaysia has closed its borders to travellers, restricted internal movement, and ordered schools, universities and non-essential businesses to shut until 31 March.
Muhyiddin said the curbs on movement would be extended another two weeks to 14 April as Malaysia had yet to see a decline in the number of new virus cases.
Taiwan’s government announced 19 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, all imported, bringing the total number of infected people on the island to 235.
Taiwan also reported one extra case late on Tuesday, in addition to the 20 new cases it announced earlier that same day.
Going viral: fake news and Covid-19 (podcast)
On Wednesday’s episode of Today in Focus: An avalanche of misinformation, fake news and hoaxes are being shared widely online as people seek reliable information on the coronavirus crisis. The Guardian’s media editor, Jim Waterson, examines where the falsehoods are coming from.
Updated
Summary
- US Senate leaders have reached a deal with Trump administration officials on a nearly $2tn stimulus package to help rescue the American economy.
- There are 423,121 confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide, of which 108,619 patients have recovered. There have been 18,919 deaths. Italy’s number of deaths (6,820) is more than twice those in Hubei, China (3,160). Spain looks likely to lose more lives than Hubei soon, too, with 2,991.
- The Indian government has banned the export of hydroxychloroquine and formulations made from the medication, as experts test the efficacy of the drug in helping treat patients infected with Covid-19.
- Australia’s drugs regulator has been forced to restrict powers to prescribe a drug undergoing clinical trials to treat Covid-19, because doctors have been inappropriately prescribing it to themselves and their family members despite its potentially deadly side-effects.
- Philippines’ New Peoples Army announced it would observe the UN’s ceasefire call. The communist guerrillas said on Wednesday they would observe a ceasefire in compliance with the UN chief’s call for a global halt in armed clashes during the coronavirus pandemic.
- South Korea said it would tighten border checks for travellers from the US by Friday as concerns rise over imported coronavirus cases despite a decline in domestically transmitted infections.
- UN secretary general António Guterres urged G20 nations to adopt a wartime plan including a stimulus package in the trillions of dollars for businesses, workers and households in developing countries trying to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
- The global economy is going to take a “massive hit” as lockdown measures are rolled out across much of the world, according to the rating agency S&P. Economists are revising their forecasts for world GDP on a near-daily basis, S&P added.
-
New Zealand declared a state of national emergency as it heads into a national lockdown tonight for at least four weeks.
- Libya recorded its first confirmed case of the coronavirus, the UN-backed government announced, stoking concern that an outbreak could overwhelm the war-torn country’s already weakened health care system.
- Trump insisted on an easing of restrictions by Easter. Despite much of the rest of the world choosing to accelerate restrictions designed to control the virus’ spread and the World Health Organization warning the US is in grave danger of a rapid escalation in the severity of its situation, Donald Trump has claimed the nation is nearing the end of the fight against the virus.
- There was speculation over the Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro’s diagnosis. Brazilian media reported that two names were scrubbed from a list of patients handed over by the hospital where he was tested, leading some to speculate he and his wife contracted the virus and were treated in secrecy.
- The WHO said the US risks becoming the next centre of the coronavirus outbreak as the country is seeing a “very large acceleration” in cases.
Updated
Spanish hotels fear tourists will take a long time to return
The Guardian’s Sam Jones reports from Madrid with Stephen Burgen in Barcelona:
Wednesday may be the deadline by which all of Spain’s hotels and tourist lodgings must shut down, but most closed their doors two weeks ago when the coronavirus epidemic began emptying out rooms and reservation schedules.
“A tsunami has arrived,” Ramón Estalella of the Confederation of Spanish Hotels said on 12 March. “A meteorite has fallen on us and we have to see how we survive.”
The next few weeks and months will determine how deep the virus’s impact will be in a country that depends on tourism for 11% of its GDP, and which was shaken by the collapse of Thomas Cook last year.
Even before the lockdown came into force on 14 March, Barcelona’s 10,000 bars and hotels were already feeling the pinch.
If you see anything we haven’t covered but possibly should, have something you’d like more clarity on, or think you’ve seen something new that might make our readers laugh do let me know on Twitter @helenrsullivan.
UK front pages, Wednesday 25 March
For those of you just waking up in the UK, here are the front pages for Wednesday, 25 March.
Guardian front page, Wednesday 25 March 2020: Doctors and nurses in threat to quit over safety pic.twitter.com/RckIo71rly
— The Guardian (@guardian) March 24, 2020
Tomorrow's @independent front page #tomorrowspaperstoday To subscribe to the Daily Edition: https://t.co/XF8VnDpHYF pic.twitter.com/SG0UuslpoF
— The Independent (@Independent) March 25, 2020
Wednesday’s Daily TELEGRAPH: “Police to use persuasion rather than punishment” #BBCPapers #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/UakeQREmbw
— Allie Hodgkins-Brown (@AllieHBNews) March 24, 2020
Wednesday’s FINANCIAL TIMES: “We cannot protect every single job and business, Sunak admits” #BBCPapers #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/IfoL3xygNE
— Allie Hodgkins-Brown (@AllieHBNews) March 24, 2020
Wednesday’s TIMES: “Call for army of volunteers” #BBCPapers #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/JRYKV0dAjP
— Allie Hodgkins-Brown (@AllieHBNews) March 24, 2020
China’s premier warns local officials not to ‘cover up’ new Covid-19 cases as Hubei reopens
Chinese premier Li Keqiang has warned local governments not to cover up new cases of Covid-19, as low daily rates of infection prompted the relaxing of travel restrictions in Hubei province, where the pandemic started.
Li’s comments came as analysts questioned the veracity of China’s claims that the nation has had several days with no new domestic cases.
Speaking to a meeting of the central leading group responding to the outbreak on Monday, Li urged officials to report honestly on the number of cases, and “not cover up reports for the sake of keeping new case numbers at zero”, according to Caixin Global.
Li said worldwide analysis of the virus showed the virus was unlikely to dissipate like Sars.
He warned that while the epidemic in Hubei and Wuhan had essentially been stopped, there were still risks of sporadic outbreaks.
“[We] Have to realise the prevention measure - ‘early detection, reporting, isolation and treatment’, to stop the epidemic in certain areas and prevent an even bigger outbreak.”
For several days now China has reported few or zero new domestic cases of Covid-19 infection, claiming success in controlling the outbreak which just one month ago saw thousands of confirmations a day.
However, residents and analysts have questioned the near-zero rate of community transmissions, expressing concern that the Chinese government is prioritising economic recovery over total virus containment.
The low figures have led Chinese authorities to lift stringent travel restrictions in Hubei, effectively freeing millions of people from two months of extraordinary lockdown.
US Senate leaders reach deal with White House on $2tn coronavirus package
US Senate leaders have reached a deal with Trump administration officials on a nearly $2tn stimulus package to help rescue the American economy ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic as Donald Trump considers easing restrictions aimed at combating the contagion.
After days of around-the-clock negotiations between senators and administration officials, a bipartisan compromise was struck over what is expected to be the largest US economic stimulus measure ever passed.
“We have a deal,” said Eric Ueland, the White House legislative affairs director, just before 1am, adding that the text of the bill still needed to be completed. “We have either, clear, explicit legislative text reflecting all parties or we know exactly where we’re going to land on legislative text as we continue to finish.”
The bill will then go to the House, where Democrats have introduced their own proposal.
The Australian stock market leapt suddenly in last-minute trade to close up 5.5% on Wednesday.
Earlier, the market opened strongly after extraordinarily surges on Wall St overnight, before drifting lower during the afternoon.
Buy-now-pay-later outfit Afterpay, which has been smashed by the coronavirus outbreak, surged a third to become the biggest gainer among top 200 companies.
Australia’s flag carrier Qantas recorded the second-biggest rise, of 26%, after successfully raising a $1.05bn line of credit by mortgaging some of its planes.
As Australians receive the following text message:
Neighbouring New Zealand – which today has seemed a world away – has sent people in the country a much starker SMS, as the nation, already under a state of emergency, prepares to enter Level 4 Coronavirus restrictions, “Act as if you haveCOVID· 19. This will save lives,” the message reads.
Australia currently has 2,318 confirmed cases and has had eight deaths.
New Zealand has 205 cases and zero deaths.
Australia’s population is five times larger than New Zealand’s.
Updated
In rural France, which is one week into the national coronavirus confinement, some places are even more eerily quiet than usual.
The A6 Autoroute de Soleil that heads out of Paris to the south-east to join the A7 to the Mediterranean coast, normally a constant stream of traffic and frequently jammed in both directions, is now dotted with an irregular stream of lorries.
Tractors pull off the fields to hog the narrow roads and lanes because they are not expecting to meet any other traffic, forcing the occasional car to swerve; in the streets and shops and supermarkets people are body-swerving to avoid others.
But the demand for physical distance seems to have lessened the psychological space, and as people perform a little dance to put a few more centimetres between each other, many smile apologetically.
Scenes from India under lockdown now:
China new cases
Mainland China reported a drop in new confirmed coronavirus cases on Wednesday as imported infections fell and zero locally transmitted infections were reported, including in central Hubei province.
The number of new cases totalled 47 on Tuesday, all of which were from travellers returning home, down from 78 a day earlier, the National Health Commission said.
Here are the latest global figures, according to Johns Hopkins University.
There are currently 422,915 confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide, of which 108,573 patients have recovered.
There have been 18,915 deaths. Italy’s number of deaths (6,820) is more than twice those in Hubei, China (3,160). Spain looks likely to lose more lives than Hubei soon, too, with 2,991.
Here are the ten countries with the highest numbers of confirmed infections – Italy is around 10,000 confirmed cases from overtaking China and the US is not far behind.
- China: 81,591
- Italy: 69,176
- US: 55,148
- Spain: 42,058
- Germany: 32,991
- Iran: 24,811
- France: 22,633
- Switzerland: 9,877
- South Korea: 9,137
- United Kingdom: 8,164
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s late night coronavirus messages only sow confusion
This pandemic has plunged us all into whitewater, but there are some certainties, writes Guardian Australia political editor Katharine Murphy.
The first rock solid certainty is 10pm media conferences unveiling fundamental changes to Australians’ livelihoods and freedom of movement really don’t work. At the risk of being blunt, they need to stop, and stop now, because the chaos risks being counterproductive.
Tuesday night’s cascading instructions from Scott Morrison’s podium were stay home everyone, but if you have a job, you are an essential worker, so make sure you keep working. Go to school, but don’t go to the foodcourt. Five at a wedding, 10 at a funeral, 10 at a bootcamp, but no yoga. No waxing, but a hairdresser for 30 minutes is still OK.
A thread of logic ran through the various delineations – or some of them anyway – but holding onto that thread was really challenging.
The dull thud that could be heard in the distance as Morrison spoke at a fiendish clip was the sound of a million Australian heads exploding in their lounge rooms.
Updated
An Australian man has been charged over a “prank” in which he coughed on a police officer on purpose while pretending he was infected with the new coronavirus as a friend filmed the incident, authorities said.
The man, aged 21, went into a police station at Coffs Harbour, a coastal city about 525 km (326 miles) north of Sydney, on Tuesday and approached a 71-year-old female officer.
“(He) deliberately coughed on the woman and claimed he had Covid-19, while a friend filmed,” police said, referring to the disease caused by the coronavirus.
The police station was closed and isolation protocols put in place while authorities checked his status. It turned out he did not have the virus that has infected more than 2,000 Australians and brought most of the country to a standstill.
Authorities did not identify the man or give any detail about his motive other than to call the incident a prank.
Australian doctors prescribing potentially deadly Covid-19 trial drug to themselves
Australia’s drugs regulator has been forced to restrict powers to prescribe a drug undergoing clinical trials to treat Covid-19, because doctors have been inappropriately prescribing it to themselves and their family members despite its potentially deadly side-effects.
The anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine and the similar compound chloroquine are currently used mostly for patients with autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, but stocks in Australia have been diminished thanks to global publicity – including from Donald Trump – about the potential of the drug to treat Covid-19.
Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine have potentially severe and even deadly side effects if used inappropriately, including heart failure and toxicity. Some Australian media outlets have wrongly reported the drug as a “cure” for the virus even though trials have been either inconclusive or too small to be useful, have only been conducted in test tubes, are not yet complete, or have not even received ethics approval.
Updated
Thailand has recorded 107 new coronavirus cases, bringing total to 934, a health official said on Wednesday.
The new cases consist of 27 patients linked to previous cases, 13 new cases including imported ones, and 67 people who tested positive and are awaiting investigation into how they contracted the disease, Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a Public Health Ministry spokesman said.
Thailand has recorded four death since the outbreak while 70 patients have recovered and gone home. 860 patients are still being treated in hospitals.
If you have any tips, news you think we need to know, or something funny to share, get in touch on Twitter @helenrsullivan.
On Wednesday morning, India’s population of 1.3bn people awoke to the first day of lockdown. The confinement of the world’s second most populous nation to their homes for the next 21days, to combat the spread of coronavirus, is not only the largest attempted lockdown so far, but for a country where community and communal spaces form the basis of society, will also challenge the entire Indian way of life.
The national capital Delhi was almost unrecognisable. The wide highways that criss-cross the vast city which are usually at a standstill with rush hour traffic stood eerily empty. The dense maze of back alleys and narrow streets, usually thronging with bicycles, rickshaws, chai wallahs, fruit and vegetable markets and densely packed crowds doing their morning shopping, there were only a few people bearing bags of food. In the usually hectic hub of old Delhi, cows and police were the only ones roaming the streets. Temples, gurdwaras and mosques, usually overflowing with life, stood silent.
The lockdown will have a particularly calamitous impact on the 300m Indians who live below the poverty line, and exist hand to mouth. The reality of a lockdown for the tens of millions who live on the streets; for the swathes of large families who live crammed into a single room often with no ventilation or running water; and for the rickshaw drivers who live in their rickshaws and rely entirely on their daily income is likely to be devastating.
Trump seeks to reopen ‘large sections’ of US by Easter, clashing with experts
Donald Trump is aiming to reopen “large sections of the country” by Easter, he told reporters on Tuesday, as officials advised anyone who has recently left New York to self-quarantine for two weeks.
The US president has put himself on collision course with his own health experts by floating a deadline for firing up the economy, claiming without evidence that the current shutdown would cause more deaths than the coronavirus itself.
“I hope we can do this by Easter,” Trump told reporters at an unusually brisk White House briefing. “I think that would be a great thing for our country.”
Asked if that timeline – 12 April – was realistic , he replied: “We’re going to look at it. We’ll only do it if it’s good and maybe we do sections of the country, we do large sections of the country.”
The president, known for his love of media spectacle, said he picked Easter because “I just thought it was a beautiful time, a beautiful timeline, it’s a great day”, adding: “It was based on a certain level of weeks from the time we started. And it happened – actually, we were thinking sooner. I’d love to see it come even sooner.”
Walmart Inc’s Flipkart has suspended services, a notice on the Indian e-commerce firm’s website said on Wednesday, as India began a 21-day lockdown to fight the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered the lockdown from Tuesday midnight, but a federal government advisory suggested exempting e-commerce deliveries of essentials such as food and medical equipment in addition to grocery stores and banks.
Flipkart, whose services include grocery deliveries, did not say how long the suspension would last.
“Our promise is that we will be back to serve you, as soon as possible,” the notice said.
Amazon India’s pantry service that delivers groceries was also not available in several cities. It has not said, however that it is suspending pantry services, only that it will halt orders for non-essential products to prioritise customers’ critical needs.
Modi’s announcement led to long queues at grocery stores in cities such as New Delhi and Mumbai as customers began panic buying before the ban came into effect.
India bans export of key malaria drug amid coronavirus outbreak
The Indian government has banned the export of hydroxychloroquine and formulations made from the medication, as experts test the efficacy of the drug in helping treat patients infected with Covid-19.
There are currently no approved treatments, or preventive vaccines for Covid-19.
Researchers are studying existing treatments and working on experimental ones, but most current patients receive only supportive care such as breathing assistance.
Hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug, is among the medications that are being tested, as a potential treatment for patients with the disease. Earlier this week, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, which maintains a list of drug shortages, said hydroxychloroquine was in shortage.
US President Donald Trump fully supports a delay in the Tokyo Olympics agreed between Japan and the international Olympic panel, a Japanese government spokesman said on Wednesday, citing comments made to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in a telephone call.
“President Trump repeatedly said the postponement is an excellent and wise decision,” Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Akihiro Nishimura told a news briefing. “There was a remark that he supports Prime Minister Abe’s stance 100%.”
On Tuesday, the Tokyo Games were postponed to 2021, for the first time in the event’s 124-year modern history, because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump privately appeals to Asia and Europe for medical help to fight coronavirus
The US has been appealing to its allies for help in obtaining medical supplies to overcome critical shortages in its fight against coronavirus.
In his public rhetoric Donald Trump has been talking up the domestic private sector response to the crisis.
“We should never be reliant on a foreign country for the means of our own survival,” Trump said at a White House briefing on Tuesday evening. “America will never be a supplicant nation.”
However behind the scenes, the administration has approached European and Asian partners to secure supplies of testing kits and other medical equipment that are in desperately short supply in the US.
On Tuesday, Trump spoke by phone with the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, asking if his country could supply medical equipment.
The official White House account made no mention of the request, but according to the South Korean presidency, the Blue House, the call was made at Trump’s “urgent request”.
Summary
-
The global number of cases stands at 422,652. According to figures from Johns Hopkins University, which has been tracking the pandemic, 18,901 people have died and 108,349 people have recovered.
- Philippines’ New Peoples Army announced they would observe the UN’s ceasefire call. The communist guerrillas said Wednesday they would observe a ceasefire in compliance with the UN chief’s call for a global halt in armed clashes during the coronavirus pandemic.
- South Korea said it would tighten border checks for travellers from the United States by Friday as concerns rise over imported coronavirus cases despite a decline in domestically transmitted infections.
- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged G20 nations to adopt a wartime plan including a stimulus package in the trillions of dollars for businesses, workers and households in developing countries trying to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
- The global economy is going to take a “massive hit” as lockdown measures are rolled out across much of the world, according to the rating agency S&P. Economists are revising their forecasts for world GDP on a near-daily basis, S&P adds, and identifies key concerns.
- New Zealand declared a State of National Emergency as it heads into a national lockdown tonight for at least four weeks.
- Australia cancelled all elective surgery (outside urgent electives) from Wednesday night.
- Libya recorded its first confirmed case of the coronavirus on Tuesday, the UN-backed government announced, stoking concern that an outbreak could overwhelm the war-torn country’s already weakened health care system.
- Trump insisted on an easing of restrictions by Easter. Despite much of the rest of the world choosing to accelerate restrictions designed to control the virus’ spread and the World Health Organization warning the US is in grave danger of a rapid escalation in the severity of its situation, Donald Trump has claimed the nation is nearing the end of the fight against then virus.
- There was speculation over the Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro’s diagnosis. Brazilian media reported that two names were scrubbed from a list of patients handed over by the hospital where he was tested, leading some to speculate he and his wife contracted the virus and were treated in secrecy.
- Poland, India and Egypt all implemented lockdown measures, while South Africans prepare to do the same after the number of confirmed cases increased by more than a third in a day.
- The WHO said the US risks becoming the next centre of the coronavirus outbreak as the country is seeing a “very large acceleration” in cases.
- The Japan Olympics will be delayed for one year. The games will still be called Tokyo 2020.
- The European Union has been urged to evacuate asylum seekers from overcrowded camps on the Greek islands in order to save lives. The first case was confirmed earlier this month when a Greek woman on Lesbos tested positive.
-
Spanish doctors complained of a lack of equipment. The latest figures also revealed that Spanish healthcare workers accounted for more than 13% of the country’s 39,673 cases.
Updated
The Nigerian president’s influential chief of staff has tested positive for coronavirus, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday.
Abba Kyari, who is in his 70s, is an important figure in President Muhammadu Buhari’s government and his illness could have ramifications for the running of the country.
His case was one of a growing number in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, with a state governor also testing positive and the Lagos state health commissioner warning that they were beginning to see the virus “spread in the community”.
Previously, most cases were travellers who had recently returned from the United Kingdom or the United States.
Kyari has a history of medical complications, including diabetes, and is the gatekeeper to the president. Many who wish to deal with Buhari must go through Kyari, including Nigeria’s top politicians and business owners.
It is unclear if Kyari, who three diplomats also said had tested positive for coronavirus, self-isolated upon his return to Nigeria.
As of Tuesday, Nigeria had 42 confirmed cases of coronavirus, two of whom had recovered, and one death - a 67-year-old former oil official. It was unclear if Kyari or Mohammed’s diagnoses were included in that total.
The Australian market has been sliding back all day after a strong start that saw the benchmark ASX200 index jump 5.8% at the opening bell.
Shortly after 2pm the index was up by just 2.3% compared to Tuesday’s closing price, driven down by a steady stream of company announcements revealing the damage the coronavirus crisis is doing to the economy.
So far today ASX-listed companies have announced the dismissal or stand-down of almost 24,000 staff, including 8000 stood down at Virgin Australia, which has reduced its operations to almost nothing, and 8,100 at Star Entertainment, which has shut its casinos in order to comply with new social distancing rules.
In addition, Crown Resorts stood down 10,000 employees on Monday, according to the United Workers Union, and Qantas did the same to 20,000 staff last week.
With dole queues stretching around the corner in some suburbs, the job losses in the listed sector are clearly just the tip of the iceberg.
An important message from the New Zealand police, who somehow still have a sense of humour. ‘Save the human race’ is a little strong, but otherwise a fairly good message for people in most countries:
#StayHomeNZ pic.twitter.com/T1EilIm9f2
— New Zealand Police (@nzpolice) March 25, 2020
N0w for a bit of stress relief with the help of the bored, rich and famous: here are the best celebrities to follow on social media, as curated by Sinead Stubbins for the Guardian.
Florence Pugh yelling about food
Actress Florence Pugh is very good on Instagram – partly because it’s fun discovering that she’s extremely English and just did very good accents in Little Women and Midsomma, and partly because her stories just involve her yelling quite simple recipes at you.
Despite her yelling, which just seems to be the natural tenor of her voice, there is something soothing about seeing Florence Pugh pottering around her huge kitchen, holding up bruised tomatoes and eating bits of sausages off a cutting board. “I found this on the floor in a shop,” she said yesterday, holding a butternut squash and justifying why she’s about to clean it. She even has a tab for Cooking in her profile.
Sam Neill drinks wine and reads poetry
New Zealand actor Sam Neill has always been very active on social media, but has used this crisis as an opportunity to post more content (“content” often meaning pictures of his pigs). He also posts lots of videos, sometimes talking about wine as if you have just run into a particularly chatty stranger at a vineyard, or reading a bedtime story (for instance, Hairy MacLary and Friends).
A couple of days ago he read out some poems about love to make us feel OK about social distancing. Each to their own!
Two Short Pomes For Twitter . Love pomes. ( btw stay safe. keep distance, wash yr hands and look — get on FaceTime or Skype- makes all the difference to those you love) pic.twitter.com/BDDgozz0su
— Sam Neill (@TwoPaddocks) March 22, 2020
There’s more where that came from:
People who suffer from hypertension appear to be very susceptible to the coronavirus, according to figures from Italy’s epidemiology institute.
The institute is releasing details about who is dying from the disease in Italy, which has seen the most fatalities of any country. One of the interesting details refers to the victims’ underlying health conditions, so-called comorbidities.
The data up to 20 March shows that almost 75% of people who died suffered from hypertension, or high blood pressure. Almost 34% had diabetes. Only 1.2 % of cases had no comorbidities.
The data shows the vast majority are aged over 70.
Updated
Peru’s death toll has climbed to seven. A 38-year-old man died after he contracted the disease while on a trip to Canada, the country’s health ministry has said. He dies in hospital in Lima after being admitted on Monday with respiratory failure. He was then diagnosed with atypical pneumonia.
The ministry also said a 66-year-old woman died from coronavirus after she returned from Spain on 14 March 14. She died from acute respiratory failure and pneumonia.
Philippines' New Peoples Army guerrillas to observe UN ceasefire call
More news from the Philippines now, where communist guerrillas said Wednesday they would observe a ceasefire in compliance with the UN chief’s call for a global halt in armed clashes during the coronavirus pandemic, AP reports.
New Peoples Army guerrillas have been ordered to stop assaults and shift to a defensive position from Thursday to 15 April, the Communist Party of the Philippines said in a statement.
The rebels said the ceasefire is a direct response to the call of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for a global ceasefire between warring parties for the common purpose of fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.
Guterres issued the call on Monday, saying, It is time to put armed conflict on lockdown and focus together on the true fight of our lives.”
The communist insurgency has raged mostly in the Philippine countryside for more than half a century in one of Asias longest-running rebellions. The military estimates about 3,500 armed guerrillas remain after battle setbacks, infighting and surrenders reduced their forces in decades of fighting although the rebels claim they have more armed combatants.
The rebels said their ceasefire is unrelated to a similar move by the military and police but said it can foster the possible holding of preliminary talks to resume long-stalled peace negotiations.
A twist on jobs from Jacinda Ardern as opposed to Scott Morrison's "Everyone who has a job in this economy is an essential worker." https://t.co/f6TqiEhu15
— Ben McKay (@benmackey) March 25, 2020
The streets of New Zealand’s largest cities are beginning to empty, with most shops now closed, after the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, declared a state of emergency a few hours ago.
In Dunedin packs of students continued to haunt the main thoroughfares, seeming to ignore the physical-distancing rules, and liquor stores did a swift trade, many running out of spirits such as bourbon and gin.
Homeless people were the most common demographic remaining on the streets of Dunedin, while the few remaining tourists were wearing masks and gloves.
Doctors are only seeing urgent patients in-person, and triaging everyone else over the phone. Many pharmacies were not allowing anyone inside, and were instead receiving and handing out prescriptions through the door.
Lines of an hour or more stretched outside the Warehouse, hardware stores, supermarkets and firewood depots.
The mood on the streets was calm, if slightly strained. “It feels like we’re in a movie,” said one man standing outside an inner-city pharmacy, waiting for a prescription. “It’s buzzy, it’s weird”.
Libya confirms first case
Libya recorded its first confirmed case of the coronavirus on Tuesday, the UN-backed government announced, stoking concern that an outbreak could overwhelm the war-torn country’s already weakened health care system.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 100 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, bringing the total infections in the country to 9,137. The death toll rose by one to 126.
Of the new cases, 34 were from travellers, KCDC data showed.
The number of new cases is up from the previous day’s count of 76.
Updated
South Korea tightens border checks for US travellers
South Korea said it would tighten border checks for travellers from the United States by Friday as concerns rise over imported coronavirus cases despite a decline in domestically transmitted infections.
Seoul has imposed strict border checks on visitors from Europe, China, Italy and Iran, requiring them to sign up to a smartphone application to track whether they have any symptoms such as fever. A two-week mandatory quarantine for all long-term arrivals from Europe took effect last Thursday.
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said similar measures should be implemented for entries from the United States no later than Friday.
“We don’t have much time given the situation where our citizens living in North America including students who are anxious about a rise in confirmed patients there and expected to return home,” Chung told a meeting.
As New Zealand enters a state of emergency and prepares for the highest threat level to come into effect at midnight tonight, food delivery service Uber Eats has suspended operations in the country.
In an email sent to customers the company wrote:
The NZ Government has announced additional public health and social safety measures in response to Covid-19, which means only a very limited list of essential services will be allowed to operate during the four-week lockdown.
In light of that decision, and with all restaurants and cafes across the country asked to close, we are temporarily suspending the Uber Eats app in New Zealand, turning off the service at 10.00pm NZDT on Wednesday, March 25.
Uber’s ridesharing platform however, has been classified by the NZ Government as an essential service and will remain online for those who need to travel from A to B.
Bolsonaro says he ‘wouldn’t feel anything’ if infected with Covid-19 and attacks state lockdowns
Brazil’s far-right president Jair Bolsonaro has claimed he “wouldn’t feel anything” if infected with coronavirus and rubbished efforts to contain the illness with large-scale quarantines as his country’s two biggest cities went into shutdown in a desperate bid to save lives.
In a televised address to the nation on Tuesday night, Bolsonaro slammed what he branded the economically damaging “scorched earth” tactics being used to slow the advance of an illness that has now claimed about 15,000 lives around the world.
“The virus has arrived and we are fighting it and soon it will pass,” claimed Bolsonaro, who is facing a growing backlash in Brazil for repeatedly dismissing coronavirus as a media “fantasy” and “trick”.
Bolsonaro’s incendiary remarks came as both Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo were placed under partial lockdown by municipal and state authorities who fear an explosion of cases in the coming days.
The Philippine Congress on Tuesday approved a bill declaring a national emergency and authorizing the president to launch a massive aid program for 18 million families and tap private hospitals and ships in fighting the coronavirus outbreak.
President Rodrigo Duterte can reapportion the executive department’s budget under the legislation, which will also punish people disobeying quarantine orders and spreading false information about the outbreak, legislators said. The state of national emergency will last for three months but can be extended by Congress.
The Senate and the House of Representatives, which are dominated by Duterte’s allies, both held emergency sessions Monday and worked beyond midnight to deliberate the bill, with most lawmakers participating online as a health precaution. Duterte is expected to sign the bill into law soon.
Duterte has already locked down the main northern island of Luzon, home to more than 50 million people, by restricting travel to and from the region, which includes Manila, the capital. Most residents have been ordered to stay home and work and classes have been suspended under the monthlong containment.
If you have any tips, news you think we need to know, or something funny to share, get in touch on Twitter @helenrsullivan.
UN urges G20 to adopt wartime plan
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged leaders of the worlds 20 major industrialised nations on Tuesday to adopt a wartime plan including a stimulus package in the trillions of dollars for businesses, workers and households in developing countries trying to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
He said in a letter to G20 leaders that they account for 85% of the worlds gross domestic product and have a direct interest and critical role to play in helping developing countries cope with the crisis.
“Let us remember that we are only as strong as the weakest health system in our interconnected world,” the UN chief said. “We must create the conditions and mobilise the resources necessary to ensure that developing countries have equal opportunities to respond to this crisis in their communities and economies.”
Guterres warned: Anything short of this commitment would lead to a pandemic of apocalyptic proportions affecting us all.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said G20 leaders are expected to hold a virtual summit meeting Thursday.
Updated
In Argentina, new cases of coronavirus had their greatest daily leap so far Tuesday, with 86 new reported cases and two new deaths, bringing the total tally to 387 cases and six deaths so far. Argentina’s number is expected to grow at an accelerating pace in the days ahead, according to government projections, which estimate a minimum of 250,000 cases in the coming months.
The capital city of Buenos Aires and the Greater Buenos Aires area, which have a combined population of nearly 13 million people, continue to be the hardest hit, with 60 of the new cases Tuesday. With testing capabilities limited, the real number is believed to be much higher.
Authorities are worried about the importation of more coronavirus cases, despite all incoming flights being suspended, with the repatriation of tens of thousands of Argentinians still stranded in Europe, the US and especially from South American neighbours Chile and Brazil, where the lockdown has not been as stringent.
Authorities are hoping to stay ahead of the curve of the virus by reacting earlier than Spain or Italy did. “It’s a race against time,” said Buenos Aires governor Axel Kiciloff, whose province has been the hardest hit so far. “It’s a war and the first thing in a war is to save lives,” said Santa Fe governor Omar Perotti.
The country’s lockdown, originally set to end next Monday, looks certain to be extended until at least April 13 now.
“My hand will not shake,” President Alberto Fernández said, should he need to sign an extension.
Nike executives said Tuesday that shoppers in key Asian markets are beginning to return to stores as the company reported a rare drop in Chinese quarterly revenues cushioned by stronger e-commerce sales.
“Traffic is back,” Nike chief executive John Donahoe said of the dynamic in China that is also beginning to play out in Japan and South Korea, two other countries that also appear to be past the worst of the outbreak.
“Consumers are back in the stores,” he told analysts during an earnings conference call.
“They are often wearing facemasks, but they’re back in the store.”
Updated
New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has meanwhile addressed the country regarding the state of emergency declared there today:
Giving a statement to New Zealand’s parliament, Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister, told lawmakers that a state of emergency had been invoked for the country, calling the measures “tools of last resort,” and exhorted New Zealanders to take an impending four week period of total self-isolation “deadly seriously.”
The country will go into lockdown from just before midnight on Wednesday, meaning that everyone except the most essential workers are required to stay at home all the time, unless they are buying groceries or seeking medical help.
“Make no mistake, this will get worse before it gets better,” Ardern said of the spread of the virus through New Zealand. There are 205 confirmed or probably cases in New Zealand; no one has died and none of the five people in hospital are in intensive care or on ventilators.
“We have an early opportunity to stay home, break the chain of transmission, and save lives,” she said. The stringent lockdown was happening “ahead of any potential overrun of our hospitals, ahead of any deaths on New Zealand soil.”
Despite the restrictive measures, there would be an increase in cases “for a week or more,” Ardern said, as those already infected before the lockdown began to show symptoms.
“You may not be at work, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have a job,” Ardern said. “Your job is to save lives, you can do that by staying home and breaking the chain.”
“Act like you have Covid-19. Every move that you make is a risk to someone else,” she said. “That’s how we must all think from now on.”
Adding that the government could have waited to plan “every intricate detail” of the national shutdown, she said that “every hour we wait is one more person, two ore people, three more people exposed to Covid-19, this is why we did not wait.”
Updated
On the question of mixed messages, Scott Morrison says, confusingly:
The most urgent message that we’re getting for people to stay home is to stay home if you’re sick.
That is the most important urgent message.
It is also important that people should stay home when they’re in self isolation, and as I said last night, our preference and our instruction is more generally - stay home unless you’re going out for essential.
But the most dangerous thing that you can do, and we know of people who are sick and have sought to go to pharmacies. And that is very dangerous. And so the most important part of the message that we’re seeking to get out is that message.
There will be more messages.
With Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison now is mining executive Neville Power who, gratingly, Morrison keeps calling “Nev” (although this does seem to be a common nickname used by Power).
Power, the former head of Fortescue Metals, is to lead the country’s Coronavirus Commission.
The mockery from Australians on Twitter – as the country looks for clarity and leadership amid a set of confusing rules and instructions – emerged swiftly.
#ScottMorrison having a laugh with his mate Nev during his speech while the rest of the country are in panic. Nice.
— Justin (@Justin47073994) March 25, 2020
Nev Power is also what I call Neve Campbell making me gay
— Bec Shaw (@Brocklesnitch) March 25, 2020
Scott Morrison's COVID-19 Commission will be led by Neville 'Nev' Power, a former CEO of Fortescue Metals Group. When in doubt, always put the mining execs in charge
— Kishor (@kishor_nr) March 25, 2020
Updated
Elective surgeries postponed in Australia
Australian prime minister Scott Morrison is speaking to media now and has announced that all elective surgery (outside urgent electives) will be postponed from tonight.
Morrison says the national cabinet has taken on board the medical experts recommendations to stop all non-urgent surgeries, to free up hospitals, staff, and resources, for what is coming:
From today, midnight, March 25 until further notice, all elective surgery other than Category 1 and urgent, and I stress, urgent Category 2 cases will be suspended.
This will apply in both the public and the private hospital system. Cancellation of elective surgery will allow the preservation of resources like personal protective equipment and allow health services to prepare for their role in the COVID-19 outbreak.
Now, this had already largely been implemented for Category 1 and Category 2, and what this means is a further scaling back of those elective surgeries in Category 2.
New Zealand is now in a State of National Emergency as it heads into a national lockdown tonight for at least four weeks.
The country, which now has more than 200 confirmed and probable cases of Covid-19, will move to a level four alert -- the highest possible -- at just before midnight on Wednesday, requiring almost everyone, except essential workers, to stay home at all times, unless they are buying groceries or seeking medical services.
No one has died of the virus in New Zealand.
Sarah Stuart-Black, the Director of Civil Defence Emergency Management, told reporters on Wednesday that the declaration of a state of national emergency, which will last at least seven days, allowed the authorities to requisition essential goods such as fuel and food, close roads, and stop people from doing anything they are not supposed to do -- which is most activities.
“We don’t want thousands of people to die, so if we’re asking for people to stay home… this is for the good of everyone,” Stuart-Black said. “There will be no tolerance for people who do not comply.”
The police would work out compliance matters, she said; she did not deny that the military could be used to enforce the demand that people stay home.
Stuart-Black said if New Zealanders left their houses, it should only be to buy groceries, “not just going out for a bit of a mooch.”
Global economy will take a massive hit, says S&P
We’ll have more on the news from New Zealand shortly. Moving to markets news now:
The global economy is going to take a “massive hit” as lockdown measures are rolled out across much of the world, according to the rating agency S&P. Economists are revising their forecasts for world GDP on a near-daily basis, S&P adds, and identifies key concerns.
The US economy is set to decline by at least 12% in the second quarter– double the figure S&P pencilled in last week. It also expects a Q1 contraction now as well.
A similar decline in European GDP in the first half of the year but with a larger decline in the first quarter than the second because the shock started earlier there.
In contrast, China’s economy seems to be stabilising based on anecdotal evidence such as traffic patterns and shipping data. S&P estimates China’s GDP contracted 13% (annualized) in the first quarter but should begin to grow again in the second quarter.
Emerging markets such as Brazil, India, and Mexico are expected to suffer a similar shock to US and Europe, with possible double-digit percent GDP declines in the second quarter.
The S&P comments come after a huge rally on US stock markets on Tuesday thanks to the promise of trillions of dollars in stimulus for the economy. Shares in Asia Pacific have taken up the baton on Wednesday. The Nikkei is up 5% in Tokyo while the ASX200 is up almost 4% in Sydney.
The state of emergency just declared in New Zealand is effective immediately.
A state of emergency was declared in parliament at midday, with Level 4 restrictions – which the government had announced warned would to come into effect – to begin on Wednesday night at 11.59pm.
The New Zealand Health Ministry announced that there were 50 new confirmed and probable coronavirus cases in the country.
“There are 50 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand as at 9.30 am this morning,” it said in a statement.
“There were 47 confirmed and 3 probable cases in the past 24 hours.”
New Zealand declares a national state of emergency
New Zealand has declared a national state of emergency, Reuters reports. More on this soon.
Updated
Summary
HI, Helen Sullivan here. I’ll be taking you through the next few hours of coronavirus pandemic news from around the world.
As Hubei, China lifts some restrictions, Italy’s Prime Minister has promised theirs will end sooner than the end of July, and Trump insists the US doesn’t need a national lockdown.
- The global number of cases reached 417,582. According to figures from Johns Hopkins University, which has been tracking the pandemic, 18,612 people have died and 107,247 people have recovered.
- France confirmed it has seen more than 22,000 cases. The director general of the country’s health service, Jérôme Salomon, said the pandemic was now across France and “rapidly getting worse”.
- Trump insisted on an easing of restrictions by Easter. Despite much of the rest of the world choosing to accelerate restrictions designed to control the virus’ spread and the World Health Organization warning the US is in grave danger of a rapid escalation in the severity of its situation, Donald Trump has claimed the nation is nearing the end of the fight against then virus.
- The Australian market opened up almost 6%. The news followed the extraordinary gains of as much as 11% on US markets.
- European countries tried to mitigate the economic damage. A series of measures was approved in the Czech Republic, Romania and Norway.
- There was speculation over the Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro’s diagnosis. Brazilian media reported that two names were scrubbed from a list of patients handed over by the hospital where he was tested, leading some to speculate he and his wife contracted the virus and were treated in secrecy.
- Poland, India and Egypt all implemented lockdown measures, while South Africans prepare to do the same after the number of confirmed cases increased by more than a third in a day.
- The WHO said the US risks becoming the next centre of the coronavirus outbreak as the country is seeing a “very large acceleration” in cases.
- The Japan Olympics will be delayed for one year. After a conference call between the Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, Tokyo’s governor, Yuriko Koike, and the International Olympic Committee president, Thomas Bach, the29 Olympics will be postponed for 12 months.
- The European Union has been urged to evacuate asylum seekers from overcrowded camps on the Greek islands in order to save lives. The first case was confirmed earlier this month when a Greek woman on Lesbos tested positive.
- Spanish doctors complain of lack of equipment. The latest figures also revealed that Spanish healthcare workers accounted for more than 13% of the country’s 39,673 cases.
- Greta Thunberg believes she had Covid-19. The environmental campaigner, Greta Thunberg, says she believes it “extremely likely” she has had Covid-19. In an Instagram post, she wrote that she has been staying inside for the past two weeks.
Updated
