That’s it for this blog for today. We’ve launched a new one at the link below, where I’ll be keeping you p to date with the latest major developments for the next few hours.
In Panama, the Guardian’s Patrick Greenfield reports that authorities have announced 32 new Covid-19 cases and another fatality, bringing the Central American country’s today to 345 cases overall and six deaths.
From Tuesday, a nationwide curfew will be lengthened by four hours to 5pm until 5am to suppress the spread of the virus. The previous curfew measures started at 9pm.
Updated
Summary
- The White House Correspondents Association said one of its members is suspected of having Covid-19, something that could put Donald Trump’s daily press briefings at risk - or at least raise the possibility of them being done remotely.
- Donald Trump asked the country not to blame Asian Americans. Reiterating a Tweet of his from earlier in the day, Trump at a White House press briefing said: “It’s very important that we protect our Asian American community in the US and all around the world. They’re amazing people and the spreading of the virus is not their fault in any way, shape or form.”
- Antonio Guterres, the United Nations secretary general, has appealed for an immediate global ceasefire, calling on an end to all armed conflicts so that the world can instead focus on fighting Coronavirus.
- The UK was placed under lockdown. Boris Johnson will order police to enforce a strict coronavirus lockdown, with a ban on gatherings of more than two people and strict limits on exercise, as he told the British public: “You must stay at home.”
- Japan’s government is negotiating with the International Olympic Committee to postpone the Tokyo Olympic Games by a maximum one year, the Sankei newspaper reported on Tuesday.
- Global recoveries passed 100,000 but the pandemic ‘is accelerating’. The World Heath Organization said it had taken 67 days from the first reported case to reach the first 100,000 cases, 11 days for the second 100,000 cases, and only four for the third 100,000 cases.
- UK deaths reach 335 and Britons abroad told to come home. The Foreign Office urged as many as a million Britons on holiday or business trips abroad to return to the UK immediately.
- Italy registered a smaller day-to-day increase in new coronavirus cases for the second day. The death toll from the outbreak grew by 602 to 6,078, the head of the Civil Protection Agency said. While that is an 11% increase, it is the smallest nominal rise since last Thursday.
- The first UK clinical trial enrolled patients. Researchers from the University of Oxford launched a clinical trial to test the effects of potential drug treatments for patients admitted to hospital with the virus. There are currently no specific treatments for the coronavirus, but it is possible that existing drugs used for other conditions may have some benefits.
- New York state confirmed 20,000 infections. The governor, Andrew Cuomo, said the state had 5,707 new cases, meaning it has confirmed 20,875 in total.
- Panama confirmed the death one of the youngest victims of the virus, a 13-year-old girl. Medical experts have been trying to drum home the warning that, while older people and those with underlying conditions are at greater risk, they are not the only ones who need to take precautionary measures.
- Denmark extended its lockdown. The nationwide restrictions will now last until 13 April.
- Russia may be forced to put off a public vote on amendments allowing Vladimir Putin to hold office until 2036. The Kremlin has not rescheduled the 22 April vote, but the prospect was explicitly acknowledged by Putin’s spokesman.
Updated
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and his beard have taken to Twitter to remind people to stay home.
You need to stay home. And so do your friends and family members. Help spread the word with your own video - and tag your friends to remind them to stay home too. And together, we can #PlankTheCurve. @MichaelBuble and @VancityReynolds - can you help? #StayAtHomeSaveLives pic.twitter.com/f1PQQrzMIK
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) March 23, 2020
Updated
Back to the White House now, where Dr Anthony Fauci, the head of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is absent.
My colleague David Smith is in the White House briefing room, and just asked President Trump, “Where is Dr. Fauci?”
Dr Fauci has become a trusted public figure during the coronavirus crisis, sometimes speaking alongside the president. He did not appear at today’s briefing.
“I was just with him,” Trump said, explaining that Fauci was “at a task force meeting.”
David Smith asked Trump if Fauci agreed with him about the need to re-start the economy.
d“He doesn’t not agree,” Trump said. “He understands there’s a tremendous cost to our country.”
Updated
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic games look increasingly like they will become Tokyo 2021. But – perhaps in an effort to provide those under lockdown with consolation prize edge-of-their-sofa entertainment – there is still no official announcement from Japan or the International Olympic Committee.
What we are hearing is that Japan’s government is negotiating with the IOC to postpone the games by a maximum one year – as reported in the Sankei newspaper on Tuesday.
In Australia now, where the market opened up about 2% on Tuesday morning despite a raft of companies revealing the damage the coronavirus pandemic was doing to their operations and falls overseas overnight.
Mining giant Rio Tinto said it was cutting production in South Africa and Canada due to the outbreak.
Broadcaster Seven West Media withdrew n its profit forecasts, citing a fall in ads and the postponement of the Olympics.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, which was formed from the merger of the Australian Westfield group with France’s Unibail-Rodamco and owns shopping centres across Europe and the US, will cancel its final dividend this year but is pressing ahead with an interim one, due to be paid on Thursday.
Shaver Shop has cancelled its dividend.
Many of the companies worst affected by the pandemic, including travel agency Flight Centre and online flight sales site Webjet, are suspended from trade.
We’re moving away from that press conference now with an update from California from the Guardian’s Mario Koran:
Speaking at an afternoon press conference governor Gavin Newsom updated Californians on where the situation stands with available hospital beds and hotel rooms for the state’s unhoused.
Here’s snapshot of the state’s preparedness, by the numbers, according to Newom:
Rooms and hospital beds:
108,000: the number of unhoused in California who need shelter
51,000: the number of hotel rooms Newsom plans to provide for the unhoused
416: Hospitals in California
78,000: Hospital beds that typically exist in the state.
19,500: The number of beds that the state will have to have to meet demand due to coronavirus.
1,000: Number of beds at skilled nursing facilities Newsom is looking to add to assist the elderly
Unemployment claims:
2,000: Unemployment claims California sees in a typical day
40,000: Unemployment claims California saw a week ago Monday
140,000: Unemployment claims the state saw yesterday (meaning it may take additional time to issue payments).
Dr Deborah Birx says “Understand the way you get to [infection rates of 60%, for example] is you do nothing. They’re talking about three cycles.” The three cycles are over three years - infections each season in 2020, 2021 etc. “The reason we’re so much focussed on blunting the curve on this piece is that when the virus comes back we’ll be much better prepared.”
Asked when antibody tests will be rolled out, Dr Deborah Birx says she thinks “we’re still a couple of weeks out.”
Asked how confident she is for the start dates for infection curves for each area, Dr Deborah Birx says:
If you look at the pandemic flu preparedness. All of this was built on the flu platform. It was never thought that you’d have a simultaneous respiratory disease hitting at the same time.
‘Uh-oh’
A bizarre moment of comedy came earlier in this press conference.
“Saturday, I had a little low-grade fever,” Dr. Deborah Birx said. “Uh-oh,” President Trump says, and backs away from the podium. (She said she got a test and tested negative, and the president eventually moved back.)
Birx: "Saturday, I had a little low grade fever." Trump jokes, "Oh-oh!" and recoils in cartoon fashion. Birx says she tested negative. Trump says, "Phew!"
— David Smith (@SmithInAmerica) March 23, 2020
Trump: A bad economy causes deaths too, because of suicide
Trump has repeatedly suggested that a damaged American economy could create “more death” than potential deaths from the coronavirus.
“People get tremendous anxiety and depression and you have suicide over things like this, when you have a terrible economy, you have death, definitely would be in far greater numbers than we’re talking about with regard to the virus,” Trump said. “We have a double obligation. We have a great country, there’s no country like it in the world, and there’s no economy like it in the world.”
Trump: "This is going away. We're going to win the battle. But we have tremendous responsibility." You have suicides in terrible economies.
— David Smith (@SmithInAmerica) March 23, 2020
Hi, Helen Sullivan here.
Still with this Trump presser for now.
Asked about his comments regarding not blaming Asian-Americans, Trump says: “It seems there could have been a bit of nasty language towards the Asian Americans in our country.”
Trump: ‘We’ll see what happens’
Major theme of this press conference: Trump wants to get the American economy going again as soon as possible, and is not open to the idea of restrictive public health measures going on for months.
Asked what he would do if, a week from now, public health experts asked him to extend public health restrictions, Trump said, “We’ll see what happens.”
Later, Trump said that very soon “we’re going to be opening up our country.”
Asked by a reporter if that meant “weeks or months,” Trump s aid, “I’m not looking at months, I can tell you right now.”
Trump is asked what will happen if, a week from now, doctors want him to maintain restrictions but he wants to start reopening the economy.
— Josh Wingrove (@josh_wingrove) March 23, 2020
“We’ll see what happens,” he says. “We can do two things at one time.”
(Health officials will certainly say: no, we really can't.)
White House highlights NYC area as ‘troubling’ coronavirus hot spot
Dr Deborah Birx, the response coordinator for Trump’s coronavirus task force, is addressing tonight’s White House coronavirus press briefing and issues strong warnings about New York, New Jersey and Long Island, saying they are areas of special concern.
She says coronavirus has an attack rate close to 1 in 1,000 in this area and that 28% of submitted specimens are positive in this area, compared to about 8% in the rest of the country.
“This is the group that absolutely needs to social distance, clearly the virus had been circulating for a number of weeks in order to have this level of penetrance of the general community,” she says.
Dr. Birx on the NYC area: "Clearly the virus had been circulating there for a numbers of weeks to have this level of [penetration] into the local community." (So the coronavirus was spreading in NYC as Trump suggested it would go away on its own.) pic.twitter.com/fDBddpr5fp
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 23, 2020
‘This will be a great victory’ against a ‘horrible, invisible enemy’, says Trump
Trump is finishing up his televised press conference now and has some words of comfort to offer to the nation.
“I know this is a challenging time for all Americans, we are enduring a great national trial and we will meet the moment,” says Trump.
Trump says that Covid-19 is a “horrible, invisible enemy. We’re at war, in a true sense we’re at war.”
For those who are feeling alone and isolated, we are joined ... by a spirit of courage, and love and patriotism. No American is alone as long as we’re united and we are united, we’re very united...
No force is equal to the strength of a united America. For those worried and afraid, please know that as long as I’m your president I will fight for you.
This will be a great victory, and it will be a victory that in my opinion will happen much sooner than predicted.
There’s never been anything like this and it’s vicious, some people recover well and some people have a hard time, we all know that. But we will be victorious.
Finishing up, Trump says: “I’m very proud to be your president, you’re very special people.”
President Donald Trump speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Briefing Room. Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP
Donald Trump, who is addressing the country from the White House now, has said that the US economy will “skyrocket” when this crisis has passed. He also says that the timeline for things to return to normal is much shorter than some are saying.
Life will return to normal, the president said, and it will happen a lot faster than the three to four months some have projected.
Trump has also said that hospital ships will be deployed around the country and “alternate care sites” will be built, including additional 1,000-bed hospital sites.
Trump is now listing the medical and protective equipment that has been delivered to states experiencing the largest numbers of the cases, including ventilators, surgical masks and surgical gowns.
Trump says “whatever the states need they should be getting, we’re sort of a back-up for the states”.
The president is praising the private sector for its help in increasing production of PPE.
Donald Trump tells country not to blame Asian-Americans and says US was 'not built to be shut down'
Hi, this is Kate Lyons taking over the blog, which began its life 24 hours ago in Australia and has travelled around the world to arrive back in Sydney again.
Donald Trump is addressing the country at a televised press conference from the White House at the moment.
After an awkward delay of several minutes, the US president has just taken the stage to begin the coronavirus press briefing today.
Trump then reiterates almost word for word the message he tweeted out a few minutes ago: “It’s very important that we protect our Asian American community in the US and all around the world. They’re amazing people and the spreading of the virus is not their fault in any way, shape or form.”
....is NOT their fault in any way, shape, or form. They are working closely with us to get rid of it. WE WILL PREVAIL TOGETHER!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2020
That new message, after the Trump administration spent a week embracing the racist tactic of calling coronavirus the “Chinese virus” and then responding with outrage and denial when it was labeled as racist, comes in the wake of growing evidence of the toll of racist attacks, harassment and blame targeting Asian Americans across the country.
Trump opened his press conference with the promise that “the hardship will end. It will end soon.”
“Our country was not built to be shut down,” Trump said. “This is not a country that was built for this. It was not built to be shut down.”
Cuba is the latest to close its schools, reports CNN’s Havana bureau chief:
Just in: Cuba to suspend classes at all schools for a month.
— Patrick Oppmann CNN (@CNN_Oppmann) March 23, 2020
The AFP news agency calculates that around 1.7 billion people across the world are now living under some form of lockdown due to coronavirus:
Plus d'1,7 milliard de personnes confinées dans le monde, une pandémie toujours en expansion, le point en France: ce qu'il faut retenir sur le covid-19 au 23 mars #AFP pic.twitter.com/Ovxvw33uhN
— Agence France-Presse (@afpfr) March 23, 2020
Asylum seekers and refugees in immigration detention centres across Australia say it is impossible for them to self-isolate and protect themselves from the virus.
“We are sitting ducks for Covid-19 and extremely exposed to becoming severely ill, with the possibility of death,” detainees from across immigration detention centres have written in a letter to prime minister Scott Morrison, pleading to be released into the community on health grounds.
Asylum seekers and refugees said they were “anxious and scared” of a Covid-19 outbreak inside detention, saying they were being held “in a potential death trap in which we have no option or means to protect ourselves”.
The Australian government’s own advisory says “people in detention facilities” are considered most at risk of serious infection of Covid-19. Visits to immigration detention centres – including by family members – have been cancelled.
The White House coronavirus briefing is due to start any minute now. You can follow it in detail on our dedicated US live blog (I’ll have key lines here too):
Leyland Cecco reports from Toronto:
Canada’s two most populous provinces – Ontario and Quebec – have announced plans to effectively shut down their economies in a bid to dramatically slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Orders in both provinces are set to go into effect on Tuesday at midnight. The shut-down – which comes after both Ontario and Quebec ordered all bars and restaurants to close last week – does not apply to essential businesses such as pharmacies and grocery stores. Both provinces have said they will release a list of businesses permitted to remain open on Tuesday morning.
“This was a very, very tough decision. But it is the right decision … This decision was not made lightly and the gravity of this order does not escape me,” said Ontario premier Doug Ford at a press conference on Monday. “But as I’ve said from day one, we will – and we must – take all steps necessary to slow the spread of Covid-19.”
Ontario recorded 78 new cases of the coronavirus on Monday, bringing the province’s total to 503. Canada has recorded nearly 2,000 cases of the virus, and 21 deaths.
Ford’s announcement follows stern remarks from prime minister Justin Trudeau earlier in the day, where he chastised Canadians for ignoring pleas from public health officials to stay home and avoid gatherings outside.
Quebec, which was the first province in the country to declare a state of emergency last week, is also planning to curtail its economy in dramatic fashion.
“Quebec will hit pause for three weeks,” Quebec premier François Legault said Monday. “The faster we can limit contact between people, the faster we can limit the contagion and get back to normal life. I’m asking all Quebeckers to cooperate.”
UK: police to enforce lockdown
Heather Stewart and Rowena Mason report on the drastic new measures just announced that will take the UK into lockdown:
Boris Johnson will order police to enforce a strict coronavirus lockdown, with a ban on gatherings of more than two people and strict limits on exercise, as he told the British public: “You must stay at home.”
The prime minister ratcheted up Britain’s response with an address to the nation on Monday evening, warning that people will only be allowed outside to buy food or medication, exercise alone once a day, or to travel to work if absolutely necessary.
All non-essential shops will close with immediate effect, as will playgrounds and libraries, he said in the address from Downing Street.
After days of being accused of sending mixed messages about what the public should do, Johnson significantly escalated his language as he urged people to comply with the new, more stringent measures.
“You should not be meeting friends. If your friends ask you to meet, you should say No. You should not be meeting family members who do not live in your home. You should not be going shopping except for essentials like food and medicine – and you should do this as little as you can,” he said.
“If you don’t follow the rules the police will have the powers to enforce them, including through fines and dispersing gatherings.”
Updated
In Australia, the state of Queensland has announced that it will shut its borders tomorrow. This will be disruptive for many people, lots of whom live on one side of the southern border and work on the other.
There’s more on our dedicated Australia live blog:
Scotland’s first minster, Nicola Sturgeon, is now delivering an address setting out what the UK measures mean for Scotland.
She says the restrictions are “difficult and unprecedented”. She says she will not seek to sugarcoat it, but adds they are essential to protect people.
News that those in the UK will be asked to stay in their homes brings the country closer in line to others around the world, particularly in the rest of Europe.
Here, my colleague Peter Beaumont examines how the UK coronavirus lockdown compares with others:
And Peter Walker sets out what the measures are and what they mean:
Britons are ordered to stay in their homes
Boris Johnson, the British prime minister, has just announced that UK citizens are now being ordered to stay in their homes in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus. He says people will only be allowed to leave their home for the following “very limited purposes”:
Shopping for basic necessities, as infrequently as possible.
One form of exercise a day – for example a run, walk, or cycle - alone or with members of your household.
Any medical need, to provide care or to help a vulnerable person.
Travelling to and from work, but only where this is absolutely necessary and cannot be done from home.
That’s all – these are the only reasons you should leave your home.
You should not be meeting friends. If your friends ask you to meet, you should say No.
You should not be meeting family members who do not live in your home. You should not be going shopping except for essentials like food and medicine – and you should do this as little as you can. And use food delivery services where you can.
The British prime minster, Boris Johnson, is addressing the nation now and is expected to outline new measures to stop the spread of the virus. You can follow it live on our dedicated UK live blog:
Myanmar has recorded its first cases of coronavirus today, according to the AFP news agency bureau chief, who adds that so far only 214 people had been tested in the country:
BREAKING NEWS: Myanmar confirms first cases of coronavirus late Monday
— Richard Sargent (@rich_sarge) March 23, 2020
- With 54 million people, it had been the world's largest country by population not to report a single case
- Reports of panic-buying at 24-hour supermarkets
Churches and other religious centres are to close in Costa Rica after 24 new Covid-19 cases were confirmed on Monday, bringing the total to 158.
President Carlos Alvarado also announced nationwide vehicle restrictions from Tuesday on the Central America country, with only cargo and emergency transportation allowed on the roads from 10pm until 5am.
Este es el reporte diario de la situación nacional COVID-19 al día de hoy. pic.twitter.com/N4u7mefO4E
— Ministerio de Salud (@msaludcr) March 23, 2020
Earlier on Monday, Panama announced that deaths from from the virus in Panama increased to five on Monday, including a 13-year-old girl.
Confirmed Covid-19 cases rose to 313 over the weekend in the region’s economic and transportation hub.
Belize announced that a 38-year-old woman who had recently returned from the United States was the country’s first Covid-19 case on Monday.
The death toll in New York City is now approaching 100, with the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the city on Monday reaching 12,339 with 99 deaths, Tom Lutz reports.
There are just over 20,000 confirmed cases in New York state as a whole and 157 deaths. For context, there are around 41,200 confirmed cases in the entire United States.
You can follow the latest developments – including a press conference from Donald Trump, expected around 90 minutes from now – on our dedicated US live blog:
The UN special rapporteur on racism and xenophobia has criticised Donald Trump and other politicians for encouraging racism by continuing to refer to Covid-19 as “the Chinese virus”.
Tendayi Achiume, assistant professor of law at UCLA, said US president’s “calculated use of a geographic-based name” for the virus was leading to the stigmatising of people perceived to be of Chinese or east Asian descent.
The World Health Organization, in its guidance for naming new infectious diseases, has previously warned that certain names can provoke a backlash against members of religious and ethnic communities. In a statement published to mark the international day for the elimination of racism, which was on Friday, Achiume said:
These consequences have already become a reality. Over the past two months, people who are perceived or known to be of Chinese or other East Asian descent have been subject to racist and xenophobic attacks related to the virus. These attacks have ranged from hateful slurs to denial of services to brutal acts of violence.
Covid-19-related expressions of racism and xenophobia online have included harassment, hate speech, proliferation of discriminatory stereotypes, and conspiracy theories. Not surprisingly, leaders who are attempting to attribute COVID-19 to certain national or ethnic groups are the very same nationalist populist leaders who have made racist and xenophobic rhetoric central to their political platforms.
Edouard Philippe, the French prime minister, has said that country’s lockdown could last several more weeks, with new restrictions – including limits on daily exercise outside the home – now in place:
Any morning constitutional/jogging now has to be within 1km of home, 1 hour max, alone, and only once per day. https://t.co/3CvQzDtZpb
— Joseph Schmid (@js_paname) March 23, 2020
Olympics reportedly 'to be postponed'
The International Olympic Committee is facing almost irresistible pressure to postpone the Tokyo Olympics this week rather than wait until its mid-April deadline – with a growing number of athletes, governments and national federations saying it is unfair to keep them in limbo during the coronavirus pandemic.
Veteran IOC member Dick Pound told USA Today that the Games would be postponed, likely to 2021, with the details to be worked out in the next four weeks. “The parameters going forward have not been determined, but the Games are not going to start on July 24, that much I know.”
Pound said he believed that the IOC would announce its next steps soon. “It will come in stages,” he said. “We will postpone this and begin to deal with all the ramifications of moving this, which are immense.”
In the Czech Republic, where as of the middle of last week there is ban on being in public spaces without wearing a face mask or some kind of facial covering, volunteers have set to work sewing masks at home.
Zdenek Hrib, the mayor of Prague, wrote on Twitter last week: “On Prague public transport, it is mandatory to have a covered mouth and nose! Whether you have medical masks, self-made masks, or use a scarf, anything is better than nothing.”
Earlier today, Dagmar Havlova, the widow of playwright-turned-president Vaclav Havel, posted videos on Instagram of her making masks at home. “We are sewing masks and giving them to paramedics free of charge. Wear masks, wash your hands, and keep a sound mind,” she wrote.
There is now a fine of up to 20,000 Czech crowns (£670) for not wearing a face covering when in enclosed public spaces.
India has announced that it is stopping domestic flights and said the majority of the country was under complete lockdown, Reuters news agency reports:
India has reported 471 cases of coronavirus, but health experts have said that a big jump could be imminent, which would overwhelm the underfunded and crumbling public health infrastructure.
On Monday, India confirmed two more deaths, bringing the total to nine. One was a 54-year-old man with no history of foreign travel, suggesting the start of community transmission of the virus, officials said.
The government ordered commercial airlines to shut down domestic operations from midnight on Tuesday on top of a ban on international flights to try to contain the coronavirus outbreak. About 144 million people travelled on domestic flights last year.
Rail travel, which is hugely popular in India, has already been suspended after thousands of people, mostly migrant workers, crowded in train stations to go home as businesses shut down and jobs dried up.
The UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, will address the country on new measures to tackle the coronavirus outbreak in a statement from No 10 at 8.30pm GMT – about an hour from now – Downing Street says.
We’ll bring you detailed news of that as it happens on our dedicated UK live blog, but will also have the key lines here.
Summary
Global recoveries pass 100,000 but pandemic ‘is accelerating’
According to figures from Johns Hopkins University, 100,472 people confirmed to have contracted Covid-19 have now recovered from the illness, more than half of them in China.
That figure represents almost a third of the people known to have been infected around the world. However, these figures are partly based on official releases and could, therefore, underestimate the number of confirmed cases. The institution has counted 354,677 confirmed cases and 15,436 confirmed deaths.
The World Heath Organization said it had taken 67 days from the first reported case to reach the first 100,000 cases, 11 days for the second 100,000 cases, and only four for the third 100,000 cases.
UK deaths reach 335 and Britons abroad told to come home
According to the Department of Health and Social Care, 6,650 people have tested positive, 77,295 negative and 335 patients have died. That included 46 more deaths in England, as well as four more in both Scotland and Wales. Two people have died from the disease in Northern Ireland, though it did not record any further deaths on Monday.
The Foreign Office urged as many as a million Britons on holiday or business trips abroad to return to the UK immediately.
Second consecutive smaller daily increase in Italy
Italy, which has seen the most deaths of any nation, registered a smaller day-to-day increase in new coronavirus cases. The death toll from the outbreak grew by 602 to 6,078, the head of the Civil Protection Agency said. While that is an 11% increase, it is the smallest nominal rise since last Thursday.
First UK clinical trial enrols patients
Researchers from the University of Oxford launched a clinical trial to test the effects of potential drug treatments for patients admitted to hospital with the virus. There are currently no specific treatments for the coronavirus, but it is possible that existing drugs used for other conditions may have some benefits.
Thousands of medics to rejoin UK’s health service
In the House of Commons, the UK’s health secretary Matt Hancock said 7,563 former clinicians had answered his call to return to the NHS to help out during the outbreak. This followed news that thousands of private hospital beds had been secured.
New York state confirms 20,000 infections
The governor, Andrew Cuomo, said the state had 5,707 new cases, meaning it has confirmed 20,875 in total. Of those, 13% have needed to be cared for in hospital, around a quarter of whom are in intensive care, and 157 people have died.
Panama confirms death one of youngest victims
Offering yet further evidence that young, healthy people are not invulnerable to Covid-19, Panama confirmed the death of a 13-year-old girl. Medical experts have been trying to drum home the warning that, while older people and those with underlying conditions are at greater risk, they are not the only ones who need to take precautionary measures.
Denmark extends lockdown
The nationwide restrictions will now last until 13 April. The emergency measures, initially imposed on 11 March for a fortnight, closed schools and restaurants in the Nordic country and kept most public sector workers at home. They will now be in place for nearly a fortnight longer.
Plans to allow Putin to continue in power could be shelved
Russia may be forced to put off a public vote on amendments allowing Vladimir Putin to hold office until 2036. The Kremlin has not rescheduled the 22 April vote, but the prospect was explicitly acknowledged by Putin’s spokesman.
"Silence the guns": UN calls for global ceasefire to fight Covid-19
Antonio Guterres, the United Nations secretary general, has appealed for an immediate global ceasefire, calling on an end to all armed conflicts so that the world can instead focus on fighting Coronavirus.
My colleague in Afghanistan, Akhtar Mohammad Makoii, has transcribed Gutteres’s speech:
The world faces a common enemy: Covid19. The virus doesn’t care about nationality or ethnicity, faction or faith. It attacks all relentlessly.
Meanwhile, armed conflict rages on around the world. The most vulnerable - women and children, people with disabilities, the marginalised and displaced - pay the highest price. They are also at the highest risk of suffering devastating losses from Covid-19.
Let’s not forget that in war ravaged countries health systems have collapsed. Heath professionals, already few in number, have often been targeted. Refugees and others displaced by violent conflict are doubly vulnerable. The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of war.
That is why today I am calling for an immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world. It is time to put armed conflict on lockdown and focus together on the true fight of our lives.
To warring parties, I say: pull back from hostilities. Put aside mistrust and animosity. Silence the guns; stop the artillery; end the airstrikes.
This is crucial to help create corridors for life saving aids. To open precious windows for diplomacy. To bring hope to places among the most vulnerable to Covid-19.
Let us take inspiration from coalitions and dialogue slowing taking shape among rival parties in some parts to enable joint approaches to Covid-19. But we need much more. End the sickness of war and fight the disease that is ravaging our world.
It starts by stopping the fighting everywhere, now. That is what our human family needs, now more that ever.
Today I am calling for an immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) March 23, 2020
It is time to put armed conflict on lockdown and focus together on the true fight of our lives – the #COVID19 pandemic.https://t.co/F6JRA6ekvZ pic.twitter.com/7WgtFMk5GC
World health leaders are investigating whether the loss of taste and smell could be an early symptom of coronavirus, amid widespread reports of impaired senses in patients, Mark Rice-Oxley reports.
Maria Van Kerkhove, head of the World Health Organisation’s emerging diseases team, said several countries were investigating the reports to establish whether the correlation was significant. He said:
We have seen quite a few reports now about people who are in their early stages of disease may lose their sense of smell, may lose the sense of taste, but this is something that we need to look in to, to really capture to see whether this is one of the signs of Covid-19.
We have a number of countries that are conducting early investigations where they are capturing standardised information from cases and contacts where they are looking at signs and symptoms.
ENT UK, a body representing ear nose and throat doctors, said in a statement that there was evidence from South Korea, China and Italy that significant numbers of patients had developed ‘anosmia’. The statement, issued jointly by top rhinologists Claire Hopkins and Nirmal Kumar, said:
In Germany it is reported that more than 2 in 3 confirmed cases have anosmia. In South Korea, where testing has been more widespread, 30% of patients testing positive have had anosmia as their major presenting symptom in otherwise mild cases.
Total lockdown imposed in South Africa
President Cyril Ramapahosa has imposed a 21 day total lockdown on the 56 million inhabitants of South Africa, telling them in an address on Monday night that the unprecedented and sweeping measures were necessary to avoid a “catastrophe of huge proportions”, Jason Burke reports from Johannesburg.
The lockdown will come into effect on Thursday night and be enforced by the police and the army. International flights to major airports have been suspended and strict new quarantine regulations will be imposed.
The number of Coronavirus cases in South Africa has risen steeply in recent days, going from 61 to more than 400 in just over a week.
“The numbers will continue to rise. It is clear that ... we need to urgently and dramatically escalate our response,” Ramaphosa said, raising the prospect of tens of thousands or “within a few weeks” hundreds of thousands of cases if nothing was done.
South Africa declared a national disaster last week, closed schools and called for social distancing. But the measures were clearly seen as insufficient to stem the spread of the disease in Africa’s most developed nation.
Though South Africa has a young population, there are millions who are vulnerable as HIV sufferers or have been weakened by malnutrition. The healthcare system has long suffered an acute lack of resources and critical facilities are extremely limited.
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France nears 20,000 confirmed infections
The latest coronavirus figures in France were announced by health minister Olivier Véran on Monday evening, Kim Willsher, the Guardian’s correspondent in Paris, reports.
France now has 19,856 confirmed cases of coronavirus, 3,176 more than the previous day, and the death toll from the virus has reached 860, a jump of 186 in 24 hours.
There are 8,675 people in hospital with the virus, of whom 2,080 are in intensive care.
Véran also announced the death of two doctors; a GP and a gynaecologist.
They died doing their job and we will not forget them.
Véran said 5,000 tests are carried out in France every day. Germany carries out double this number and France is looking to introduce new tests that are “quicker and more rapid”. There are hopes to have these new tests available in the next couple of weeks.
I am aware of the sacrifice we are asking of the French people. Everyone understands the importance of the confinement. It is the only way we can stop the coronavirus and save lives.
We are all hoping there will be a visible impact and we all hope this impact will happen soon. The confinement is absolutely necessary.
He said the French committee for public health had met to look at possible treatments including the anti-malarial hydro-chloroquine. He said the authority had agreed this treatment could not be recommended except in extremely serious cases in hospital conditions, with the agreement of all the clinicians and doctors.
All prescriptions of chloroquine were to be banned and people are urged not to self medicate because of the absence of “proven data” showing the benefits.
Véran concluded:
Fraternity is not an abstract idea or just a word in a motto. The French are proving that fraternity is a choice. The situation is difficult but we will not lose hope. We think of those who are ill and those who are caring for them.
Angela Giuffrida, the Guardian’s correspondent in Rome, has some more on the latest Covid-19 death toll and infection statistics from Italy, Europe’s worst affected country
Italy’s coronavirus death toll and infection rate slowed for a second day on Monday. Deaths rose by 601 to 6,077, 50 less than on Sunday. New infections rose by 3,780, 177 less than on Sunday. Italy’s civil protection authority said 408 more people had recovered from the virus since Sunday, bringing the total number of people recovered to 7,432.
The total number of cases in Italy to date, comprising deaths and those recovered, is at 63,927.
“Today the downward trend is confirmed,” said Giulio Gallera, the welfare councillor for Lombardy, the region worst hit.
We can say that it is the first positive day, it is not the time to sing victory but we finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.
EU to defy US sanctions with Iran aid
The European Union will send 20 million euros in humanitarian aid to Iran, which is subject to U.S. sanctions, to help alleviate the coronavirus, Patrick Wintour, the Guardian’s diplomatic editor, reports.
In a video news conference on Monday the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, also said the bloc support Tehran’s request for IMF financial help.
We’ve not been able to provide a lot of humanitarian help but there is some 20 million euros in the pipeline ... that we expect to be delivered over the next weeks ...
We also agree in supporting the request by Iran and also by Venezuela to the International Monetary Fund to have financial support.
Iran is set to see an increase in the numbers recorded as infected with coronavirus due to increase in the numbers being tested, Iran’s Ministry of Health warned on Monday as the latest figures showed over 20,00 had been infected and killed.
There are also predictions that Tehran would be hit be a specially large increase due to the big numbers that left the capital for the Iranian new year and due to return soon. The ministry said it was willing to introduce new measures to enforce social distancing saying pleading and pleading was not enough.
The widely criticised official figures show the numbers killed each 24 hours by the virus remained steady at 127 with 1,411 new Coronavirus victims. The total number of patients was 23,049 and total deaths 1,812. The number of listed recoveries was 8,376. The average age of infected patients 59 years and age of those died 64 years.
The official death rate has now been stable broadly for a week, raising suspicions that the figures have been manipulated.
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Germany is to take in six coronavirus patients from Italy for treatment. The patients from Lombardy, the Italian region worst-affected by the virus, will be transported to Saxony in the next few hours, according to a report in La Repubblica.
The rest of Europe is watching the UK’s coronavirus plan with disbelief, writes Giles Tremlett, a journalist and author based in Madrid, for the Guardian’s comment pages.
Watching the UK from a distance has felt like scrambling out of your car at the front of a multiple pile-up on the motorway, only to see other cars smashing into the rear 20 minutes later. Didn’t anyone warn them about what lay ahead? Surely everyone knew. That is what it looks like from mainland Europe – the new centre of the pandemic.
Damien Gayle taking back over live blogging duties now, with news that authorities in Madrid, the Spanish capital, have commandeered the city’s ice rink to create an improvised morgue for Covid-19 victims.
From today, the 1,800m rink at the Ice Palace, in Madrid’s Hortaleza district, is to be turned into an improvised cold storage facility for the dead, after the closure of the city’s municipal funeral home.Making the announcement on Monday, Madrid’s city council said:
Given the progressive increase in the number of deceased and the [inability] of funeral homes to be able to bury them within the established period, the Ice Palace concessionary company has ceded its facilities to house these bodies.
According to a report in El Mundo, a “technical surface of synthetic material about two-three centimetres thick” will be installed on the ice rink, so that bodies will not be resting directly on the ice.
Foreign Office tells 1m Britons to return to the UK
Up to 1 million Britons on holiday or on business trips abroad have been asked to return to the UK immediately by the Foreign Office, as they may not be able to get commercial flights within days.
In updated advice, the FCO said British citizens abroad who are resident in the UK should make urgent plans to cut short holidays and other trips and come back home straight away.
Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, said: “We are strongly urging UK travellers overseas to return home now where and while there are still commercial routes to do so. Around the world, more airlines are suspending flights and more airports are closing, some without any notice.
“Where commercial routes don’t exist, our staff are working round the clock to give advice and support to UK nationals. If you are on holiday abroad the time to come home is now while you still can.”
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An update on the situation with the 2020 Olympics, due to be held in Tokyo later this year.
Mike Ryan, head of the World Health Organization’s emergencies programme, said the WHO was feeding into deliberations by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Japanese government and the Tokyo 2020 Committee.
Australia and Canada have already said they are withdrawing from the 2020 Games, while the Swiss Olympic Committee today said the games should be postponed.
Organisers are facing increasing pressure to postpone them first time in their 124-year modern history.
“I believe a decision will be made very soon,” Ryan said.
He said any decision to postpone the Games would be made by Japan and the IOC, adding:
We have every confidence that the Japanese government and the IOC will not proceed with any Games should they be dangerous to athletes or spectators.
British Olympic Association chairman Hugh Robertson warned it was unlikely the country could send a team to Tokyo should the 2020 Games go ahead as scheduled.
“I think it is very simple. If the virus continues as predicted by the (UK) government, I don’t think there is any way we can send a team,” Robertson, a former British sports minister, told Sky Sports News.
We are actually in a process where we are talking to all our sports. We will complete that over the next couple of days. At the end of that we have already said to the IOC that we think their four-week pause is absolutely the right thing to do.
We can’t see any way that this can go ahead as things are constituted at the moment.
Earlier, a spokesman for Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, urged the IOC to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
“Athletes are facing significant uncertainty in the current environment... We want the International Olympic Committee to make a definitive decision soon, to bring clarity to all of those involved,” the spokesman said.
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Smaller daily increase for second day in Italy
Italy has registered a smaller day-to-day increase in new coronavirus cases for the second straight day.
The death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in Italy has grown by 602 to 6,078, the head of the Civil Protection Agency said, an 11% increase but the smallest rise in numerical terms since Thursday, suggesting a clear downward trend.
On Sunday, 651 people died. That followed 793 on Saturday and 627 on Friday.
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France and China are seeking emergency G20 talks over coronavirus.
The two countries have agreed on the need for emergency talks by leaders of the G20 major economies to coordinate an international response to the coronavirus crisis, the French presidency has said.
French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by phone with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping today, after Saudi Arabia, which currently presides over the G20, last week called for a “virtual” summit.
“The two leaders agreed a summit would be helpful in particular on the health front... and on the economic front” the Elysee Palace said in a statement, citing “coordinated fiscal and monetary measures.”
Saudi Arabia has called for an extraordinary videoconference of G20 leaders as the economic fallout from the coronavirus lockdowns spreading worldwide hammered financial markets, putting many countries on course for a recession.
Coronavirus pandemic is accelerating, the WHO says
The spread of the coronavirus is accelerating, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said, with more than 300,000 cases now recorded and infections reported from nearly every country worldwide.
It took 67 days from the first reported case to reach the first 100,000 cases of Covid-19, but it took only 11 days for the second 100,000 cases, and just four days for the third 100,000 cases, WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said.
Speaking in an online briefing to journalists he said:
But we are not prisoners to statistics. We’re not helpless bystanders. We can change the trajectory of this pandemic.
He called for global political commitment to change the trajectory of the pandemic, urging countries to take both defensive and attacking measures.
Asking people to stay at home and other social distancing measures are an important way of slowing down the spread of the virus and buying time, but they are defensive measures.
To win we need to attack the virus with aggressive and targeted tactics - testing every suspect case, isolating and caring for every confirmed cases and tracing and quarantining every close contact.”
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A number of French fashion houses have announced they will be producing coronavirus masks
Design houses Yves Saint Laurent and Balenciaga will shift their attentions from high fashion to producing surgical face masks to aid the global coronavirus assault, their parent company Kering said.
In a statement posted on its website, Kering said:
The French workshops of Kering’s houses Balenciaga and Yves Saint Laurent are preparing to manufacture masks while complying with the strictest health protection measures for their staff members.
Kering also said it would purchase three million masks from China and import them for the French health services.
Another Kering company, Gucci, has committed to donating 1.1 million masks and 55,000 protective medical gowns to aid Italy’s fight against the coronavirus, the statement said.
Kering’s French rival, LVMH, has for its part launched into the production of sanitising hand gel for hospitals at three perfume and cosmetics factories in France.
This is Jessica Murray, I’ll be running the live blog while Damien takes a break.
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13-year-old dies of Covid-19 in Panama
Panama has confirmed the death of a 13-year-old girl from Covid-19 - one of the youngest reported victims so far, Nina Lakhani reports.
Globally, the evidence shows that the virus is much more dangerous in people with preexisting medical conditions and the elderly, with around 20% of infected over 80s dying from complications.
But the Panama case illustrates what medical experts have been trying to drum home in recent days: young adults and children are not immune to the virus or serious complications. There’s been growing frustration across the world at sites of busy play parks and beaches full of youngsters.
The younger the child, the greater the chance of suffering critical or serious symptoms from the virus, according to one large study from China.
Panama also confirmed the death of a 92-year-old man, bringing the death toll to five. Both victims died in hospital. It’s still unclear whether the 13-year-old victim suffered from preexisting health problems. As of Sunday, 313 cases were confirmed in Panama, which borders Colombia to the south and Nicaragua to the north, of which 42 were hospitalised.
Today’s deaths bring the death toll in Central America to eight, but the number of confirmed cases are rapidly rising.
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Greek health authorities say coronavirus cases have risen by 71 overnight bringing the total to 695, Helena Smith reports from Athens. Of that number 114 are hospitalised and 35 in intensive care.
Earlier Monday, the first day of a nationwide lockdown, the Hellenic National Public Health Organisation announced that coronavirus cases had been confirmed in 28 regions of the country. While the vast majority are in Athens, 16 have also been recorded in Thessaloniki, the northern capital, and 43 in the region of Ileia, in the western Peloponnese.
There have been no cases in the Cyclades, which include some of the country’s most popular islands, or on Chios or Samos, the eastern Aegean isles on the frontline of the refugee crisis.
Today, however, state TV said a second case of coronavirus had been confirmed on Lesbos, reporting a 60-year-old Greek man, recently returned from Thailand, had contracted the virus. A woman who was hospitalised on the island earlier this month also after testing positive has been allowed to return home after her condition improved.
Seventeen people (14 men, three women) have died as a result of Covid-19 in Greece with authorities announcing the highest daily jump in cases (94) on Sunday.
The record leap in infections prompted prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ centre-right government to further restrict movement on Monday in what, with few exceptions, has amounted to a comprehensive lockdown for all citizens in Greece. Those living in the country now have to register with authorities, or send prior notice via SMS to a government hotline, if they venture outdoors – or risk being slapped with a fine of 150 euros that will go into a fund to support the health system
Lawyers for Julian Assange, the jailed Wikileaks founder, are to make a fresh application that he be bailed, on the basis that he is vulnerable to the coronavirus outbreak in the UK prison where he is held.
Assange is currently being held at the high security Belmarsh prison in south London while proceedings are underway to clear his extradition to the United States, where he is wanted on espionage charges related to Wikileaks’ publishing of American military and diplomatic secrets.
Assange’s lawyers will make the application on Wednesday, when he is next expected to appear at Belmarsh magistrates court, which is attached to the prison. It comes after Andrea Albutt, president of the Prison Governors Association, has warned that “there will be deaths” in UK prisons.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Don’t Extradite Assange campaign said:
Julian Assange falls into a category of persons who should be released to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 under the recommendations of independent legal charity, the Prison Advisory Service.
Last week, campaigners called for Julian Assange’s release and the release of all low risk prisoners to slow the spread of the virus and minimise the number of deaths in prisons.
South Africa’s coronavirus cases jumped to 402 on Monday, up 128 from the day before, continuing worrying rise in numbers in the continent’s most developed economy, reports Jason Burke in Johannesburg.
There are now 43 countries in Africa hit by Covid-19, 1,600 cases and 54 deaths according to the most recent figures.
Cyril Ramaphosa, the South African president, is expected to speak on Monday evening to the nation about the threat from the disease and is widely expected him to announce new restrictive measures to try to slow its spread.
More than half of South Africa’s total cases are in the populous and relatively prosperous Gauteng province, which include Johannesburg, the country’s largest city with 5.7 million people, and the capital, Pretoria, with 2.4 million, according to the figures released by the government health ministry.
South Africa has overtaken Egypt to become the African country with the highest number of cases of Covid-19, though many believe Cairo is understating its totals. South Africa has yet not registered a death from the disease and the majority of cases are from travellers from Europe and other countries.
Though the number of cases that are locally transmitted is rising in South Africa, there is little evidence so far of drastic change in social behaviour - though the president has declared a national disaster, shut schools and called for the population to forego any non-essential journeys.
Though some shops and businesses are shut, traffic on roads is only slightly diminished and supermarkets and shopping malls remain crowded.
There have been reports of contingents from the South African army mobilising across the country, pending a possible deployment to enforce a lockdown.
British diplomats in Tunisia have failed to find a flight to repatriate British nationals who are stuck in the country, which is on lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus.
Earlier we reported that the Tunisian president had ordered the army on to the streets of the country to enforce the lockdown in the country, which has so far recorded 89 cases of Covid-19 and two deaths.
The British embassy had been trying to charter an Air Tunis flight to return Britons from the country. But earlier today, the ambassador, Louise de Sousa, tweeted a statement saying that it was proving difficult to find Tunisian air crew willing to fly to Europe.
My team and I @UKinTunisia are disappointed not to have better news for stranded 🇬🇧 nationals in 🇹🇳. This is an extraordinarily difficult situation. Our aim is to keep you all supported and updated as best we can. https://t.co/Q9j9sgbVQy
— Louise de Sousa 🇬🇧 (@LouiseADeSousa) March 23, 2020
The statement said:
We have over the past few days been working with the Tunisian government and Tunis Air to try to secure a flight to the UK. However this option is now looking extremely difficult as Tunis Air are unable to find air crew who are prepared to fly to Europe on grounds of their individual safety and potential exposure.
Greece is suspending all flights to the UK and Turkey from today until 15 April, citing concerns over coronavirus, the Guardian’s Athens correspondent, Helena Smith, reports.
The decision, announced in the government gazette on Sunday, came into force as Aegean Airlines, the country’s largest carrier, broke the news that it, too, was halting all its international routes as of Thursday through to 30 April.
The airline said in a statement:
Given the extraordinary circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic, travel restrictions imposed by Greece, EU and other states, as well as the newly adopted measures for the restriction of unnecessary movements in Greece, AEGEAN is obliged to proceed with the temporary suspension of its international flights.
A small number of weekly flights from Athens to Brussels will be operated, in order to maintain the country’s connectivity with the EU’s administrative centre.
The carrier said it would continue to operate repatriation and other emergency flights, and limited domestic routes “ to facilitate minimum essential connectivity for the island’s needs.”
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We ran a piece earlier today about a controversial proposal in Hungary that would allow the far-right prime minister Viktor Orbán to rule by decree, without a clear cut-off point.
This afternoon the Hungarian parliament has rejected changing house rules to pass the bill immediately, as opposition parties refused to vote with Orbán to give him the four-fifths majority he required, Shaun Walker reports from Budapest.
However, Orbán said he would pass the bill next week, when his ruling party’s two-thirds majority will be enough to see it through. “We will solve this crisis, even without you,” Orbán told opposition parties in parliament on Monday.
While many countries are passing emergency legislation to cope with the threat posed by the coronavirus, critics worry that Orbán, who over a decade in power has been accused of flouting democratic norms and eroding rule of law, would abuse the provisions.
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One of the leaders of Yemen’s Houthi rebels has asked the United Nations secretary general for mediation between the warring sides in his country to contain spread of coronavirus, Akhtar Mohammad Makoii reports.
Mohammad Ali Houthi, the head of “high revolutionary committee” of the Ansar Allah movement asked Antonio Guterres to ask “aggressive forces” to stop their attacks on Yemen. He tweeted:
As Coronavirus has invaded the world and is threatening humanity, we ask UN security council and also the UN secretary general Antonio Guterres to stop aggressive forces from attacking Yemeni people and end the siege of the country.
The virus is spreading all over the world and nations of the world should have peace to fight with this dangerous virus.
و وباء #كورونا يجتاح العالم مهددا للبشريةندعو مجلس الأمن والأمين العام للأمم المتحدة انتونيو غوتيرش @antoniojuterres
— محمد علي الحوثي (@Moh_Alhouthi) March 23, 2020
لايقاف القوى المعتدية عن عدوانها على الشعب اليمني وفك الحصار عليه
فالوباء ينتشر بكافة أنحاء العالم ويجب أن تنعم شعوب العالم بالسلام وتتمكن من مكافحة الوباء الخطير
New York confirmed cases pass 20,000
New York governor Andrew Cuomo says the state now has 20,875 confirmed Covid-19 cases, including 5,707 cases confirmed today.
Of those cases, 13% have needed to be cared for in hospital, around a quarter of whom are in intensive care.
There have now been 157 coronavirus deaths in the state.
In a press conference on Monday morning, Cuomo said he will sign an emergency order instructing all hospitals to increase their bed capacity by 50%, and also request that hospitals try to expand their bed capacity by 100%.
He says the state currently has a 53,000 bed capacity, which needs to be doubled according to recent projections to 110,000.
Follow our US coronavirus live blog for more details.
German leader Angela Merkel’s initial test for coronavirus has come back negative, a government spokesman said on Monday, Reuters reports
The German chancellor is to undergo further tests. She has been self-isolating since a doctor who had administered her a vaccine for pneumococcal infection tested positive for Covid-19.
The Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has issued a sternly worded warning to his compatriots to heed health advice and stay at home to slow the spread of Covid-19.
Trudeau reiterated calls for Canadians to abide by social distancing measures by staying at least two metres away from each other and avoiding groups.
If you choose to ignore that advice, if you choose to get together with people or to go to crowded places, you are not just putting yourself at risk, you are putting others at risk too: your elderly relative who is in a nursing home, or your friend with a pre-existing condition; our nurses and doctors on the front lines; our workers stacking shelves at a grocery story. They need you to make the right choices. They need you to do your part.
"Enough is enough. Go home & stay home. This is what we all need to be doing & we're going to make sure this happens, whether by educating people more on the risks or by enforcing the rules if that's needed. Nothing that could help is off the table."pic.twitter.com/hvWdpcCQbn
— Cameron Ahmad (@CameronAhmad) March 23, 2020
Etihad Airways, the United Arab Emirates’ flag carrier, will from Wednesday night suspend all flights to, from and via Abu Dhabi for an initial period of 14 days. The airline said in a statement:
This decision has been made to limit the spread of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus and to protect citizens, residents, and international travellers.
The decision comes after an order by the UAE’s national emergency crisis and disaster management authority, and its general civil aviation authority, to suspend all inbound, outbound, and transit passenger flights in the UAE.
Tony Douglas, the group chief executive officer of the Etihad aviation group, said:
These are unprecedented times and unprecedented decisions are being made by governments, authorities and companies, including Etihad, to contain the spread of the coronavirus and to help minimise its effects around the world.
We stand with our loyal customers, who are having to endure disruption and inconvenience to their travel and their daily lives, and we dedicate all our efforts and resources to ensuring we do all we can to assist them with their travel planning during this challenging period.
As the national airline, we stand in full support of the UAE government’s decision, and are confident that we’re well prepared to weather the commercial and operational impact this suspension will have on our services.
The European Union’s top diplomat has said “fake news” and disinformation are resulting in Europeans being stigmatised for the spread of coronavirus, Jennifer Rankin reports from Brussels.
Following a telephone conference with EU foreign ministers on Monday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters there was “clear stigmatisation of European Union citizens abroad”.
Another thing that worries us [ministers] and we have been talking about is a clear attempt to discredit European Union, even through clear stigmatisation of European Union citizens abroad, presenting the virus as a kind of white people’s disease and blaming European citizens.
He referred to an incident last Thursday when the mayor of Santiago de Guayaquil in Ecuador blocked an empty European plane from landing “to defend the city” against coronavirus. The Iberia plane, which eventually landed in Quito, was repatriating 190 travellers stranded in Ecuador, after flights were suspended to contain the spread of the virus. Borrell said it had been claimed the plane was “bringing the disease” adding that “spreading disinformation is playing with people’s lives”.
Borrell referred to the EU’s disinformation taskforce, which recently produced a report that said pro-Kremlin media were producing false stories about coronavirus with the aim of “aggravating” the public health crisis in the west.
He said the problem was “not a matter” of declarations by any government, but rather “the wide spread of fake news produces reactions and produces attitudes among people which are very dangerous”.
Separately the EU executive announced that Italy was among four countries to respond to a call of help from Croatia, after Zagreb was struck by its biggest earthquake in 140 years.
Italy, the EU country hardest hit by coronavirus, joined Austria, Hungary and Slovenia in offering to send tents, folding beds and other supplies, after Croatia on Sunday activated the EU’s civil protection mechanism – a call for emergency aid when facing a disaster.
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WHO to launch joint coronavirus campaign with Fifa
The World Health Organisation is to announce a joint campaign with Fifa, football’s world governing body, to combat the spread of coronavirus.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino will appear at the press conference alongside Tedros Adhanom Ghebeyesus, the WHO’s director general, at the WHO’s headquarters in Geneva to launch the “pass the message to kick out coronavirus” campaign.
The launch will be followed by the regular WHO briefing on developments in the fight against coronavirus around the world. You can tune in on the player at the top of the live blog.
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Like Eve eyeing the forbidden fruit, Ireland is debating whether to take a mighty bite out of €14bn in disputed taxes paid by Apple, Rory Carroll reports from Dublin.
The money – held in an escrow account pending a court case - could help pay for emergency measures to support workers, companies and a health care system all hit by coronavirus.
Ireland collected the windfall after the European commission ruled in August 2016 that the tech giant had received unfair tax incentives from the Irish government.
Both the Irish government – which does not want to alienate big tech - and Apple are appealing, saying the correct tax was paid.
The appeal ruling could be a decade away – so distant it can be ignored to deal with the current crisis, say some.
“I’m not sure Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, would put up much of a fight if we decided to spend the money now,” Chris Johns, a columnist, wrote in the Irish Times. Mary Lou McDonald, the leader of Sinn Fein, has made the same suggestion, saying the money coule be spent “right this minute”.
But the taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, is not biting. On Monday he accused McDonald of talking rubbish. “The European courts will decide whether that money either belongs to Apple or comes to the Irish revenue commissioners and then has to be distributed out among the counties of Europe. It’s not ours to take and it’s now before the courts. She should know better before coming out with that kind of rubbish.”
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While Canada’s shared border with the United States has closed down to any non-essential travel, two Canadian provinces have taken the rare step of closing their own borders stop the spread of the coronavirus, writes Leyland Cecco in Toronto.
Both Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island have tightened restrictions on their borders, requiring anyone returning to either province to self-isolate for two weeks.
Announcing a state of emergency for the province, premier Stephen McNeil said:
For those who are not essential service and want to enter our province for social purposes, please stay home.
In addition to border restrictions, all non-essential businesses, as well as city and provincial parks have been ordered closed. The province’s justice minister has suggested police enforcement might be used to enforce social distancing and to break up public gatherings.
Prince Edward Island, Canada’s smallest province, began monitoring bridges, ferry terminals and airports over the weekend.
While the Maritime provinces— Nova Scotia, New Brunswick Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island—have documented few cases, there is growing worry their aging population is vulnerable to the quickly-spreading coronavirus.
Denmark extends lockdown
Denmark has extended its nationwide lockdown until 13 April, Reuters reports.
The emergency measures, initially imposed on 11 March for two weeks, have closed schools and restaurants in the Nordic country and kept most public sector workers at home.
Announcing the extension, prime minister Mette Frederiksen told a news conference:
We’ve changed our behaviour a lot. We’ve changed the way we co-exist. We keep a distance and we stay at home. And that is paramount for the strategy of breaking the chain of infections.
The country has restricted public assembly to 10 or fewer people and ordered the closure of schools, universities, day cares, restaurants, cafes, libraries, gyms and hair salons.
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Chile has recorded its second death from coronavirus. The country’s ministry of health said that the victim was an older patient who was already suffering from cancer.
Ministerio de Salud confirma fallecimiento de segundo caso de #COVID_19, corresponde a una paciente adulta mayor, que padecía de cáncer.
— Ministerio de Salud (@ministeriosalud) March 23, 2020
Lamentamos profundamente esta situación y hacemos extensivas las condolencias a toda su familia. pic.twitter.com/l6abs90cut
Chile is among a number of countries in South America where governments have imposed curfews in an effort to stop the coronavirus spreading unchecked; however, it has held back from the kind of lockdown measures imposed in its neighbour Argentina.
The Covid-19 outbreak has dampened months of protests against the Chilean government, Reuters reports.
Enrique Cruz, a street vendor who said he supported the cause but recognised it was time to put it on hold, told the agency.
First we need to stay alive, then we keep trying to change the world.
The country has 632 confirmed cases of Covid-19, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tracker. Eight patients have recovered.
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Ethiopa has closed its borders to nearly all visitors, as officials struggle to enforce prevention measures, including bans on large gatherings, according to the AFP news agency.
Soldiers will be empowered “to halt the movement of people along all borders, with the exception of incoming essential goods to the country,” a statement said.
Ethiopia has kept its main airport open for international flights, although Ethiopian Airlines has been forced to suspend services to destinations in nearly 40 countries, according to its website.
Eleven infections have so far been reported in Ethiopia, Africa’s second-most populous country after Nigeria, and no deaths, and has so far held back from the kind of shutdown imposed in nearby countries such as Rwanda and Mauritius.
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The president of Tunisia has ordered the army on to the streets to enforce a lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus, Reuters is reporting.
The country has so far confirmed 89 cases of Covid-19, according to the Johns Hopkins university coronavirus map, with three deaths and one recovery.
The North African country confirmed its first death from the virus on Thursday, Turkey’s Anadolu agency reports. The most recent victim, an elderly man, died in the capital, Tunis, yesterday.
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The German embassy in Kabul has asked its citizens to leave Afghanistan due to Coronavirus pandemic, Akhtar Mohammad Makoii reports from Herat, the country’s worst-affected city, for the Guardian.
The embassy said in a statement:
Giving the worsening situation in Afghanistan due to the Covid 19 pandemic and the ever-decreasing number of flight connections, the embassy is asking you to leave the country temporarily
Afghanistan has reported 40 coronavirus cases so far, with one death.
Angesichts der sich weiter verschlechternden Lage in 🇦🇫 aufgrund der Covid-19-Pandemie und sich stetig verringernder Flugverbindungen fordern wir Sie auf, das Land übergangsweise zu verlassen. Den aktuellen Landsleutebrief können Sie hier aufrufen:https://t.co/ZTFuADE9fO
— Germany in Afghanistan (@GermanyinAFG) March 23, 2020
Updated
Zimbabwe has recorded its first death from coronavirus.
The Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr Obediah Moyo has confirmed the death of Zororo Makamba, who was the second person to test positive for Covid-19 in Zimbabwe.@GNyambabvu @EMupoperi @JoshMunthali @nickmangwana @MoHCCZim @lizmaggz @samaita44 pic.twitter.com/XIqHLiezR2
— ZBC News Online (@ZBCNewsonline) March 23, 2020
The death comes after the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation reported that the first individual to be diagnosed with Covid-19 in the country was showing signs of recovery and was in self-isolation at home.
Updated
Singapore has confirmed 54 new cases of Covid-19, the overwhelming majority of whom had returned to the Asian city state from overseas, the Straits Times reports.
Of the total, which is a record for the number of new cases detected in Singapore in a single day, 48 arrived in the city already infected.
Together they bring the total number of infected patients in Singapore to 509, 15 of whom are in intensive care. So far 152 in the country people have recovered.
Singapore is still carrying out rigorous contact tracing and quarantine measures in an effort to curb the spread of the virus. At the moment 2,529 people are in quarantine after being in contact with a confirmed carrier of the virus, while 5,822 have completed their quarantine.
Singapore has banned short-term visitors, including tourists, from entry.
Su Xin, who alerted the Guardian to the news report, said it is important to highlight how many of those who make up the recent increase in Singapore seem to be returning students. She writes:
According to the Covid dashboard for Singapore that draws on our ministry’s press releases, there are 65 imported cases from the UK, a shocking 12.77%. The virus is clearly making it around the UK but undetected cause of lack of testing.
Updated
Global coronavirus infections pass 350,000
The number of people confirmed infected with coronavirus around the world has passed 350,000, according to statistics collected by Johns Hopkins university.
According to the tally kept by the university, 350,536 people have been diagnosed with the virus, of whom 15,328 have died and 100,182 have recovered.
The country with the highest number of confirmed infections remains China, with 81,496, followed by Italy, Europe’s worst hit country, with 59,138, then the US with 35,225, Spain with 33,089, and Germany with 26,220.
Updated
In an act of international solidarity, Cuba has sent a brigade of more than 50 medics to Italy to help them in their fight against coronavirus.
The Caribbean island, one of the world’s last remaining communist states, has a long history of sending medical assistance to countries in need.
According to the Cuban news agency, Prensa Latina, the group arriving in Italy includes 36 doctors, 15 graduate nurses and a logistics specialist. They will work in a field hospital built in Crema, a city of about 34,000 people, located in the province of Cremona, Lombardy, the region hardest hit by the epidemic.
Prensa Latina quoted the national coordinator of the Cuban Residents in Italy group as saying:
Our land does not offer what it has left over, our nation shares what it has.
Moving reception for 52 Cuban doctors arriving in Italy to help fight #coronavirus.
— Cuba Solidarity (@CubaSolidarity) March 22, 2020
“He who says he is not afraid is a superhero, but we are not superheros, we are revolutionary doctors.” Leonardo Fernandez, intensive care specialist pic.twitter.com/xigPgyChA3
Updated
In response to calls by Emmanuel Macron and other French leaders for “national solidarity” during the coronavirus crisis, France’s luxury fashion houses are turning their hand to making protective equipment for essential health staff, writes Kim Willsher in Paris.
The latest big-name companies to heed the appeal are haute couture labels Balenciaga, Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent who are turning their ateliers into production of face masks and medical coats.
Parent company Kering said in a statement that the masks would be made “respecting the strictest health protection measures”. It is also donating 3 million masks bought from China.
Gucci expects to make 1.1 million masks and 55,000 hospital coats in the coming weeks that will be sent to Tuscany in Italy, which has been particularly hit by the coronavirus.
Last week, the world’s largest luxury goods group LVMH announced it had found a supplier to provide 40m surgical masks to the health authorities in France, which it was buying from China in batches of 10 million. LVMH has also been using its cosmetics factories to produce antibacterial hand gel, which it is distributing for free to health workers.
In New York, fashion designer Chirstian Siriano said his company would make as many masks as possible to donate to the city’s hospitals that are running dangerously low on supplies.
Bernard Arnault, the head of LVMH and France’s richest man, and François Pinault, head of Kering, are business and philanthropic rivals. After the fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral in April last year, Arnault announced he was donating €200m to the rebuilding operation, doubling the €100m pledged by Pinault.
Updated
This is Damien Gayle taking over on the world coronavirus news live blog now for the next few hours, with the latest updates from the Guardian’s global network of correspondents, the news wires and social media.
As usual, please do get in touch with news and tips from your part of the world. You can reach me on email at damien.gayle@theguardian.com, or via my Twitter profile, @damiengayle.
A sombre warning to Americans has been issued by the US surgeon general who said: “This week it’s going to get bad.”
Dr Jerome Adams, the operational head of the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC), was speaking to NBC News’ Today programme, where he said: “I want America to understand this week it’s going to get bad. We really need to come together as a nation … we really really need everyone to stay at home.”
My plea to all healthcare systems, hospitals, clinics and patients: Until we can flatten the #COVIDー19 curve in the United States — please consider delaying your elective procedures.
— U.S. Surgeon General (@Surgeon_General) March 22, 2020
More from me via @usatodayopinion: https://t.co/pCkCTqvBnc
Updated
Three doctors have died in France after contracting the coronavirus, according to the AFP news agency.
The French health minister, Olivier Véran, confirmed a hospital doctor died on Sunday. He was an accident and emergency medic working at a hospital in Compiègne, north of Paris, in an area that was first hit by a Covid-19 cluster.
Today, news is breaking that a 66-year-old gynaecologist and a 60-year-old GP have also died, both from eastern France where hospitals have also been overwhelmed with patients.
Updated
Russia may postpone vote on extension of Putin rule
Russia may be forced to put off a public vote on amendments allowing Vladimir Putin to hold office until 2036, as the coronavirus threatens to upend a busy political season in Russia.
The Kremlin so far has not rescheduled 22 April vote that was intended as a public endorsement for Putin’s surprise plan to “reset” his term limits, allowing him to run for a fifth and even sixth term as president under a revised constitution.
But as Moscow and other Russian cities introduce stricter preventative measures against the coronavirus, election officials have discussed the possibility of home voting or other ways to pull off a nationwide plebiscite in a country of 140 million when health officials desperately want to reduce face-to-face contact.
“The vote is set for 22 April, but the health of the country’s citizens is most important,” said Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Putin. “If the growth of the epidemiological situation gives cause to reschedule then it will be done.”
Summary
Global coronavirus death toll passes 15,000
The number of people across the world who have died after contracting coronavirus stands at 15,308, according to Johns Hopkins University, which has been collating global data. The worldwide number of confirmed cases currently stands at 349,211.
In Spain, one of Europe’s worst-hit countries, the coronavirus death toll has reached 2,182, the total growing by 462 overnight. The death toll in Iran from the new coronavirus has increased to 1,812, with 127 new deaths in 24 hours.
Upwards curve in infections ‘may be flattening’ in Germany
There were signs that the exponential upwards curve in new coronavirus infections in Germany is levelling off for the first time due to the strict social distancing measures in force, the head of the country’s public health institute has said. However, Lothar Wieler, the president of the Robert Koch Institute, urged caution, saying many health authorities had not yet submitted their data from the weekend. “I will only be able to confirm this trend definitively on Wednesday,” he said. But he said he remained optimistic.
Postponement of Tokyo Olympics under consideration
The head of the Japan Olympic committee (JOC) said on Monday he had to consider postponing the Games among his options amid increasing calls from committees around the world to delay the Olympics due to the coronavirus outbreak. “From the athletes’ point of view of safety and security, we have to come to a stage where we cannot help but consider things including postponement,” the JOC president, Yasuhiro Yamashita, told reporters on Monday. However, he said too long a delay would be a burden to athletes given the possibility of having to qualify again, for example.
Britain warns tougher measures on movement may be on way
Britain’s health minister has accused those still socialising of “very selfish” behaviour that risks the lives of NHS workers and others, as he signalled tougher restrictions on movement are likely to be on the way. The health secretary, Matt Hancock, said stricter rules such as curfews or further closures could come into place “very soon” and urged people still socialising or going to holiday locations to “stop it, and if you don’t stop it then we’re going to have to take more measures.”
French parliament votes for two-month ‘health state of emergency’
The move legalises the restrictive measures already taken – including the confinement introduced on 16 March – and gives the government power to legislate other emergency measures by decree. Indications are the French government will announce that the confinement to home regulations that were initially due to last two weeks, will be extended on Monday following recommendations from the country’s Covid-19 scientific committee.
Markets slump as US Senate deadlocked over Covid-19 stimulus
After stocks slumped in Asia overnight, European markets headed into a rocky start. Among them was the UK-focused FTSE 250 share index, which was down 4.5% after nearly two hours of trading. This latest sell-off has been triggered by the news, overnight, that the US Senate failed to approve a massive funding package to combat the impact of coronavirus.
Syria confirms first case of Covid-19 after weeks of denials.
The patient is a 20-year-old woman who recently returned to Syria from an unspecified country and appropriate measures have been taken, health minister Nizar Yaziji said. Fears are mounting of an outbreak that will have catastrophic consequences on the war-torn country.
Philippines isolates hundreds of health workers
More than 670 Filipino health workers have been quarantined over fears they were exposed to coronavirus, while others have resorted to using bin bags for protection as case numbers rise across much of south-east Asia. More than 50 million people in the Philippines remain under lockdown, while the country’s medical facilities struggle with a lack of testing kits and shortages of protective equipment.
Wuhan’s residents start to emerge from crisis
Residents living in the city of 11 million people at the heart of the virus outbreak have been allowed to leave their residential compounds in small groups for the first time in weeks. Public transport is resuming and people are being allowed to return to work if the are certified healthy. Non-residents, stranded there since stringent travel restrictions went into effect on 23 January, can also begin applying to leave the city. China reported 39 fresh virus cases from Sunday, all imported from overseas.
Updated
A German website can tell you how long your toilet roll supply will last.
It comes as loo roll becomes one of the commodities shoppers across the world have hoarded amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The website Blitzrechner.de can help reassure shoppers that they have enough. Just tell it how many rolls you have and how often you go to the toilet. You can adjust the settings for the number of wipes per trip, the number of paper squares per wipe, the number of family members in your household and how long you plan to stay home.
Authorities in Montenegro have begun publishing a list of all the people currently in quarantine in the country, in the hope of shaming citizens into not breaking the rules.
A government website has published lists divided by city, which give the names and addresses of those who are meant to be confined to their homes, either because they have returned to Montenegro from abroad or because they came into contact with someone later diagnosed with coronavirus.
Criminal charges can be filed for those who break quarantine, but authorities said there was still a large number of people not complying. A statement on the website said the decision to publish names had been deemed preferable to enforcing a lockdown for the whole country.
Montenegro’s first coronavirus cases were confirmed last week, making it one of the last European countries to declare a case. However, strict measures are already in place, including a ban on flights and the closure of restaurants, pubs and most shops. So far there are 22 confirmed cases in the small coastal country, with the first death from the virus announced on Monday morning, a 65-year-old man.
Japan’s Olympic organising committee plans to dramatically scale back the torch relay until a formal decision on the Games is made, public broadcaster NHK said on Monday.
The event, which was due to start on March 26 will now use lanterns to carry the Olympic flame and will be more of a “tour” than a relay, NHK said.
Updated
Two more doctors have died after contracting the coronavirus in France, officials said on Monday.
It comes a day after the country reported the first death of a doctor treating Covid-19 patients.
One of the doctors, a 66-year-old gynaecologist in Mulhouse near the border with Switzerland and Germany, was infected by a patient during a consultation, according to his clinic.
The other was a 60-year-old general practitioner at a hospital in Saint-Avold near Metz, further north along the German frontier, according to the town’s mayor.
Both died on Sunday when officials announced the death of a 67-year-old doctor who was among the first to treat coronavirus cases in the northern Oise department, which has been badly hit by the outbreak.
According to an AFP tally, more than one billion people around the world have now been asked to stay home in line with mandatory or recommended measures rolled out by governments trying to slow the tide of the pandemic.
The Tokyo Olympics due to start in July looked increasingly likely to be postponed, with Canada pulling out and Australia saying it was preparing for a one-year delay.
World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe joined calls for the Games to be postponed after Japan’s prime minister admitted a delay could be “inevitable”.
In Bangladesh a 10-days general holiday has been declared from 26 March to 4 April, to prevent the spreading of Covid-19.
The army will be deployed throughout the country to help the local administration ensure social distancing. The cabinet secretary made the announcements in a press conference this afternoon.
Updated
Hello everyone. I am stepping in for a bit while my colleague Ben takes a break. Please do share any news tips or insight from where you are with me via any of the channels below.
Twitter: @sloumarsh
Instagram: sarah_marsh_journalist
Email: sarah.marsh@theguardian.com
In Stockholm, where transport authorities have reduced the frequency of bus services, there has been anger that the result is that passengers are more closely packed together.
Here is a piece in Aftonbladet in which health workers using the service expressed their astonishment.
It comes as similar concerns have been raised in London, with particular reference to packed underground trains carrying health workers alongside others.
A British MP tweeted this earlier:
A constituent who is not a key worker sent me this photo this morning. He is being forced to work by his employer. This was his tube journey. I've asked Government to consider prosecuting irresponsible employers taking risks with other people's lives and our NHS. pic.twitter.com/cKfXWOZILw
— Neil Coyle (@coyleneil) March 23, 2020
Belgium’s coronavirus lockdown could last for a further eight weeks, the country’s health minister has said, as official figures showed slowing growth in the number of people being admitted to hospital.
Since 18 March, Belgian residents have only been allowed to go out for work deemed essential, visiting supermarkets or pharmacies, or to exercise while respecting 1.5 metres of social distancing.
Asked how long the measures could last, health minister Maggie De Block said:
That’s the million dollar question. We are now heading towards the peak of the epidemic, after which the curve will descend. I think this situation will last for at least another eight weeks. It would be the normal curve.
She was speaking before Belgium’s federal crisis centre released its latest data on Monday, showing slowing growth in the number of people admitted to hospitals.
As of 11am CET on Monday, Belgium had recorded 3,743 coronavirus cases, an increase of 10% on the previous day, a slower rate of increase than Saturday to Sunday. A total of 88 people had died, an increase of 13 on the previous day.
Updated
Global coronavirus death toll passes 15,000 as number of confirmed cases nears 350,000
Johns Hopkins University is collating the total number of deaths from coronavirus worldwide and it now stands at 15,308.
The global number of confirmed cases stands at 349,211. Below, we have more details on some countries, who reported an increase in cases today. You can see the full Johns Hopkins dashboard here.
In Spain, one of Europe’s worst hit countries after Italy, the coronavirus death toll has reached 2,182, adding 462 fatalities overnight.
The figures from the Spanish health ministry came as latest figures for other countries including Belgium, Switzerland and Iran were also released.
The death toll in Iran from the new coronavirus has increased to 1,812, with 127 new deaths in the past 24 hours, a health ministry spokesman told state TV on Monday, adding that the country’s total number of infected people has reached 23,049.
Belgium announced 3,743 cases (up from 3,401 the day before).
Swiss health authorities reported 1,046 (not 956) more coronavirus infections, bringing the total number of people who have tested positive in Switzerland and Liechtenstein to 8,060 as of midday on Monday.
Updated
Syria confirms first case of coronavirus
After weeks of denials from officials in Damascus, Syria has confirmed its first case of Covid-19, as fears mount of an outbreak that will have catastrophic consequences on the war-torn country.
The patient is a 20-year-old woman who recently returned to Syria from an unspecified country and appropriate measures have been taken, health minister Nizar Yaziji said.
The announcement comes after weeks of regime denials of allegations by the Syrian opposition that Iran-backed fighters and Shia pilgrims have already brought the coronavirus to Syria, and reports from healthcare workers in the capital that patients have presented symptoms consistent with Covid-19.
Tens of thousands of German hackers have gathered for a mass hackathon to develop software ideas for solving coronavirus related problems.
For 48 hours, 42,000 hackers, 27,000 of whom were active, brainstormed over 1,500 projects, the German magazine Der Spiegel reported.
Gathered from seven organisations, such as Prototypefund, and Code4Germany the group has formed the initiative #wirvsvirus (us against the virus). They have earned the patronage of the German government, which has said it will offer financial support to the most promising ideas.
The challenges include finding solutions for everything from virus tracking to increasing communication between hospitals, how to distribute food to the homeless and helping farmers find people to bring in the harvest.
Stefanie Weise, one of the hackers, whose parents are among those in the risk category and says she has witnessed first hand the grave inefficiencies in the German health system, told Der Spiegel: “I’m trying to turn my anger into energy”.
The hackathon concluded in a party on YouTube and Slack. A jury will decide which of the projects will be supported.
#WirVsVirusHack started exactly one week ago! What a ride! So many first time experiences I cannot even count!! And now...
— Leon Reiner (@impactpioneer) March 22, 2020
✔️organized an online Hackathon
✔️spoke to 20k people online
✔️ set a world record
👾42.968 Participants👾2922 Mentors 👾 100 Organizers
💥1700+ Projects💥 pic.twitter.com/97SbGUWy4B
Updated
Postponement being considered - Japanese Olympics chief
Japanese Olympic authorities have come to the stage where they “cannot help” but consider measures including a postponement, according to Japanese Olympic Committee President Yasuhiro Yamashita. That’s just breaking on Reuters now.
The Guardian’s Rome correspondent Angela Giuffrida has filed this detailed piece on what other countries may learn from the experience in Italy, where many people are struggling with the lockdown on daily life.
A national lockdown came in on 10 March but the measures only really started to hit home a couple of days later, when bars, restaurants and other non-essential shops were closed across the country.
The tone of the prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, became clearer and more direct but also more humbling as time went on and he thanked Italians for the “great sacrifices” they were making for the common good, while repeating his call for people to stay at home.
Sara Raginelli, a psychologist in Ancona, in the Marche region, said: “The moment the politics changed and started to speak in a more clear and direct way, people’s behaviour also changed and people developed more of an attitude of awareness. “The moment Italians were told to stay at home and rigid containment measures were introduced, the majority of the population complied.”
Updated
Sports fans must accept that it will be many months before packed crowds will be returning to watch live competition, writes Sean Ingle, the Guardian’s chief sports reporter.
There’s a sense that many still do not “get it,” he writes, citing suggestions that the football season could be completed by mid‑July and that the Olympics could take place a week or two after.
Over the weekend, he spoke to a leading expert, who is involved with the national response to the coronavirus pandemic, to ask him when sport as we know it – in front of packed crowds – might return. His response was sober and downbeat.
My expectation is that this is something that is going to be around for a long period of time. There are no silver bullets on the horizon. We are talking months and months – and perhaps even next year and beyond.
Updated
Germany: signs exponential growth curve of new infections levelling off for first time
In Germany, there were signs that the exponential upwards curve in new coronavirus infections is levelling off for the first time due to the strict social distancing measures in force, the head of the country’s public health institute said on Monday.
However, Lothar Wieler, the president of the Robert Koch Institute, urged caution, saying many health authorities had not yet submitted their data from the weekend. “I will only be able to confirm this trend definitively on Wednesday,” he said. But he said he remained optimistic.
Germany has closed all its schools, and on Sunday ruled that no more than two people can gather at once, except for families or people sharing a household.
Wieler said that current data on Germany´s Covid 19 cases indicates that the average age of those infected is 45, the average age of those who have died is 82. Fifty-seven per cent of those with confirmed infections have so far been men, 43% are women. Of the symptoms people have experienced, the most common is coughing (55%) and fever (40%).
In his daily briefing, which has just ended, he appealed to German medical students to volunteer in the increasing effort to track all new cases, which he said continued to be an important part in the fight against the virus.
A nationwide collection data point called Cosmos, which is gathering data on how the illness is being fought, shows a considerable increase in awareness of the virus, but still a considerable gap between awareness and behaviour, he said. Mobile phone data monitored anonymously at the weekend, of 30 million mobile phone users, showed that people have considerably reduced their mobility, but still not as much as was necessary, he said. Keeping a distance, regular hand washing and sneezing or coughing into the elbow still remained the most effective ways to avoid the spread of coronavirus, he added. “Keeping your distance is the order of the day,” he said.
There are about 24,859 cases of coronavirus in Germany. There have so far been 97 reported deaths.
Wieler responded to reports that Germany was not being upfront with the number of deaths owing to the fact the figure is relatively low compared with other countries. He confirmed that in Germany anyone who has died having been diagnosed with coronavirus is registered as having died from the virus, even if they had other illnesses, or medical complications.
Meanwhile, Angela Merkel, who has been quarantined at home since yesterday after a doctor who administered a vaccine to her was tested positive for the virus, reportedly dialled in via telephone to the cabinet meeting of her government this morning.
Updated
Norway plans UN donors fund for poorer states
Amid mounting concern over the potential impact of coronavirus on poorer countries, Norway has announced that it plans to start a United Nations donors’ fund to assist in the effort.
“We are concerned about the way the virus will affect developing countries which have fragile healthcare systems,” Norway’s development aid minister, Dag-Inge Ulstein, said in a statement.
“International solidarity across borders is more important than ever. That’s why it is important for us to contribute financially to such a fund in the UN,” he added.
The proposed fund would be similar to the 2014 response fund set up to counter the west African ebola outbreak.
“We want to make sure that the efforts are as unified as possible and as early as possible so that we can answer up to the demands that countries will have, especially the poorest countries,” the foreign minister, Ine Eriksen Soereide, added.
The initiative comes amid mounting concern over the mounting impact of the coronavirus on aid efforts in the world’s poorest countries already hard hit by border closures and restrictions on travel.
The initiative has been welcomed favourably by the UN deputy secretary general, Amina Mohammed, Oslo said.
On Thursday, the UN secretary general António Guterres warned “millions” of lives were at stake if the international community did not show solidarity, especially with the world’s poorest countries, amid the coronavirus outbreak.
🇳🇴has initiated the creation of a🆕 @UN multi-donor fund to assist developing countries'🏥systems in coping with the #CoronaCrisis ⚕️🌍
— UNDP Norway (@UNDPNorway) March 20, 2020
"Global solidarity is not only a moral imperative, it is in everyone's best interest" -@antonioguterres #FlattenTheCurve #StaySafeHelpOthers pic.twitter.com/r7gGRaDHNN
Updated
France could announce extended lockdown
The French parliament has voted to introduce a two-month “health state of emergency”.
This legalises the restrictive measures already taken – including the confinement introduced on 16 March – and gives the government power to legislate other emergency measures by decree.
Indications are the French government will announce that the confinement to home regulations that were initially due to last two weeks, will be extended on Monday following recommendations from the country’s Covid-19 scientific committee.
The council of state has been under pressure from medical unions to impose a “total confinement” on the population judging that the current restrictions are “too lax” and constitute a “serious and illegal attack on a fundamental freedom to life”.
On Sunday, the council examined an official request, but decided to reject the demand for the moment. In its judgment it decided that a complete confinement to home would require food deliveries that it said “could not be organised across the country”.
However, the council has given the government 48 hours to have another look at whether some movements should be proscribed, notably stopping people going out do practice an individual sport, mainly walking, jogging and running.
French police and gendarmes have reported carrying out about 1.8m stop and checks of the “justifications” needed to leave home and issued 91,824 fines, according to Alain Thirion, director general of the government’s civil security and crisis management unit.
France has 16,018 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 674 deaths., according to figures from the health authority Santé Publique France, published on Sunday evening.
Updated
Too long a delay would burden athletes - Japanese Olympic chief
There’s been pushback today from Japanese Olympic authorities at calls for a postponement of the games to later in the year.
Too long of a delay would be a burden to athletes preparing for the Tokyo 2020 games, according to the president of the Japan Olympic Committee.
Yasuhiro Yamashita made the comment at a news conference today in Japan as speculation deepened that Japan would be forced to delay the Olympics because of the widening coronavirus outbreak.
That development came as Canada became the first country to warn that it won’t send its athletes to Tokyo unless they are postponed for a year.
The BBC meanwhile reported this morning that World Athletics president Sebastian Coe has written a letter to the International Olympic Committee expressing the “unanimous view” of athletics bodies that the games should be moved.
The International Olympic Committee has paved the way for the Tokyo Games to be postponed after giving itself a four-week deadline to consider its options. While the IOC has emphatically ruled out cancelling the Olympics, it will consider a scaled down Games as well as delaying them for a few months or, more likely, a year.
Only last week the IOC president, Thomas Bach, insisted that there was “No Plan B”, but it has since softened its stance amid mounting criticism by athletes amid the coronavirus crisis. The IOC will now examine several scenarios over the next month, but it is thought that deferring to the summer of 2021 is the most likely option.
Harvey Weinstein, the former film producer who is serving a prison sentence for sexual assault and rape, has tested positive for coronavirus.
The 68-year-old American has been placed in isolation at Wende correctional facility in New York state, said Michael Powers, the president of the state’s Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association.
Powers said he learned the test came back positive on Sunday morning and was concerned about the corrections officers, who he said lack proper protective equipment. Several staff have been quarantined, Powers said.
Weinstein arrived at Wende correctional facility, a maximum security prison east of Buffalo, on Wednesday after being housed at New York City’s Rikers Island jail.
He was sentenced to 23 years in prison on 11 March for sexually assaulting the former production assistant Miriam Haley and raping a woman whom the Guardian is not naming because her wishes over identification are not clear.
Delays in testing and giving people results are crippling Ireland’s response to coronavirus, fuelling fears of contagion despite social distancing measures.
The waiting time for a test is four to five days, with several more days for results, according to the Health Service Executive (HSE), meaning people who suspect they have the disease are left in the dark for around a week.
Around 40,000 people are waiting for a test, a backlog that hinders contact tracing and leaves healthcare workers who are in self-isolation, and potentially healthy, unable to work.
Simon Harris, the health minister, told RTE on Monday that additional testing facilities were being opened across the country and that healthcare workers and other groups may be given priority testing until the backlog is cleared.
The minister also warned of potential further closures of public amenities after crowds gathered at parks over weekends.
The HSE confirmed 121 new cases on Sunday, raising Ireland’s total to 906. Northern Ireland reported 20 cases, bringing its total to 128.
A nursing home and a direct provision centre which hosts asylum seekers have reported infections, fuelling fears of rapid contagion among vulnerable people who cannot easily self-isolate.
Spain: 650,000 rapid testing kits distributed
Health authorities in Spain are distributing almost 650,000 rapid testing kits as the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the country approaches 30,000.
The first to receive the kits will be frontline hospital staff and those in the regions most affected by the spread of the virusBy Sunday evening, the health ministry had recorded 28,572 cases and 1,720 deaths.
Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has called on the EU to instigate a “Marshall Plan” to counter the economic effects of the crisis, and also announced that the state of emergency will be extended until 11 April.
Apostamos por un gran "plan Marshall" para impulsar un proceso de reconstrucción social y económica en la #UE con todas las herramientas a nuestro alcance. Seguiremos defendiendo los intereses de España y Europa, que frente al #COVID19 son los mismos.#EsteVirusLoParamosUnidos pic.twitter.com/F25ygtaGSh
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) March 22, 2020
Despite the central government’s nationwide lockdown, some argue it is not doing enough to tackle the virus.
On Sunday, the regional government of the southeastern region of Murcia announced “the total shutdown of the region, except for minimal services”.
It was rebuked by the central government, which said such an order could be given only by the health minister.”The Spanish government continues to follow the WHO’s recommendations at all times and reiterates that it has adopted the strictest measures on Europe and some of the strictest globally when it comes to beating the coronavirus,” the central government said in a statement.”
We once again appeal for unity between administrations and stress out constant willingness to co-ordinate and collaborate with autonomous regions in the fight against the pandemic.”
Updated
Afghanistan has reported six new Coronavirus cases, raising the total number to 40.
Three of the new cases are reported in the western province of Herat, which raised the total number in the most affected part of Afghanistan to 21.
Herat neighbours Iran and concerns are high in the war torn country as around 15 thousands Afghans come from Iran each day.
Wahidullah Mayar, spokesman for Afghanisatan’s health ministry, said officials asked the government to quarantine Herat province but he added that no steps have been taken so far.
In a press conference, Mayar showed pictures of empty streets of France, Italy and India and asked people to stay at home.
Last week was the new solar year eve and thousands of people in Herat and across the country went out. Mayar warned that if things go on with “current state of condition, we will have a catastrophe and in that case heath ministry is not responsible”.
The country reported its first Coronavirus death yesterday.
Strict rules on movement could be "in place soon" - UK health Sec
Britain’s health secretary has accused those still socialising of putting the lives of NHS workers and others at risk, as he promised the army would help deliver more protective equipment for medical staff.
Matt Hancock said stricter rules such as curfews or constraints on movement could come into place “very soon” and urged people still socialising or going to holiday locations to “stop it, and if you don’t stop it then we’re going to have to take more measures”.
He took a much tougher line than the prime minister on those defying social distancing rules, saying people carrying on as usual were being “incredibly unfair to go and socialise in the way we have seen”.
Anger and concern built up over the weekend as images and reports were shared of large numbers congregating in some public places
Columbia Road flower market, East London a couple of hours ago.
— Looking Cat (@lookingcat) March 22, 2020
(photo by BBC newsperson @JJ_Bryant MT @dinosofos)
I don't even know what to say anymore. I think I'm actually going to cry. pic.twitter.com/iZa5GJ7ti9
Hong Kong bans alcohol sales
On top of its ban on foreign arrivals and transits just announced a short time ago, Hong Kong has also declared its intention to stop bars and restaurants serving alcohol.
Why? From chief executive Carrie Lam: “People get intimate when they get drunk.”
#Breaking: Carrie Lam said govt will introduce an amendment to legislation banning licensed bars and restaurants from selling alcohol.
— Daniel Suen (@suen_daniel) March 23, 2020
Her reason: "people get intimate when they get drunk". pic.twitter.com/zrfYf0lggO
It comes after Hong Kongers started to venture out again, only for a second wave of infections as travellers came home. The nightlife district of Lan Kwai Fung has now emerged as the source of an outbreak.
The Hong Kong government is proposing that all bars, clubs and restaurants covered by the Liquor Licensing Board should stop serving alcohol
— Aaron Mc Nicholas (@aaronMCN) March 23, 2020
This has to be done by legislative amendment, so it remains a proposal unless and until it's passed by the Legislative Council pic.twitter.com/QFPOz8tVBq
The suspension of liquor licences for the 8,600 venues in question must be legislated so for the moment it’s only a proposal.
But further south, in large parts of Australia it became a reality today.
Under orders from the federal government, all registered and licensed pubs, clubs, casinos and nightclubs are closed, costing thousands of jobs.
Read more here
British rail franchise agreements suspended
The British government is effectively nationalising the state’s railways for a temporary period, it has been announced.
Rail franchise agreements are to be suspended to avoid train companies collapsing due to the coronavirus, the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced.
Operators will be paid a small management fee to run services, with all revenue and cost risk transferred to the Government.
The emergency measures will be in place for an initial period of six months. Rail timetables have been slashed because of Covid-19.
The DfT said passenger numbers have fallen by up to 70%, while ticket sales are down by two-thirds.
The move is coming as no surprise to critics of Britain’s highly privatised model, and many expect there will be no return.
With rail franchises suspended, pretty clear the privatisation/regulation/competition model in transport has failed. No surprise for those of us involved at the start, inefficient and weak structures created to try and create competition
— Mark Gregory (@MarkGregoryEY) March 23, 2020
The minister for transport tweets:
I've just announced an Emergency Measures Agreement to keep the railway running for key workers, plus fee-free refunds for all advance tickets passengers. Find out more: https://t.co/OYAwZSwX2s
— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) March 23, 2020
Updated
Among those who have died from coronavirus in the UK is a primary school teacher who was admitted to hospital with symptoms.
Wendy Jacobs, the headteacher of Roose Community Primary School was being cared for at Furness General Hospital, according to local reports.
The school’s board of governors said in a statement: “This is devastating news for our school and nursery community and all our thoughts and sympathies are with her family.”
This morning’s front pages of national newspapers in the UK are dominated largely by concern about continuing movement by the public over the weekend and a threat from the government that it may act.
The Guardian has a front page picture of a busy east London flower market, along side the warning by the prime minister, Boris Johnson, that the government is considering taking tougher action.
Monday’s GUARDIAN: Johnson’s ultimatum: obey the rules or risk strict lockdown #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/1RgWBjqhUK
— Helen Miller (@MsHelicat) March 22, 2020
The Daily Telegraph leads on the warning that a tougher lockdown could come within 24 hours.
Monday’s TELEGRAPH: 24 hours to avoid complete lockdown #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/zSrYMU8G2C
— Helen Miller (@MsHelicat) March 22, 2020
The warning also makes the front page of the Daily Mail, Sun and Times
Monday’s MAIL: Obey the virus rules -or else #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/tyLRfUgN7u
— Helen Miller (@MsHelicat) March 22, 2020
Tomorrow's Front Page: Boris Johnson tells Brits to self-isolate or face tougher measureshttps://t.co/CQ8bNOrEhv pic.twitter.com/UtjJsLn3TR
— The Sun (@TheSun) March 22, 2020
Monday’s TIMES: Curfew threat to stop virus #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/5uG2d74Cn7
— Helen Miller (@MsHelicat) March 22, 2020
* With thanks to Senior UK Health Producer Helen Miller.
Updated
Hong Kong bans entry to all non-residents
Hong Kong will ban the entry of all non-residents to Hong Kong from 11.59pm Tuesday, for 14 days.
Hong Kong airport will also stop all transit flights.Anyone entering from Macau or Taiwan must undergo 14 days quarantine.
Chief executive Carrie Lam said the epidemic in Hong Kong has become more serious, and extra measures were needed.She warned people not to break the law.”For people who breach the quarantine orders we will tackle these cases severely,” she added.
Police have tracked down five people who absconded home quarantine. Another 36 are under investigation.
Updated
This compilation of Italian mayors laying down the law in some particularly inimitable ways to those transgressing rules on staying at home is worth a watch.
"I stopped him and said, 'Look, this isn't a movie. You are not Will Smith in I Am Legend. Go home."
— 🌈 (@protectheflames) March 22, 2020
This is the updated compilation of Italian Mayors losing it at people violating #Covid19 quarantine. Yes, subtitles are accurate. pic.twitter.com/60V4Csuonb
Germany: cases rise to 22,672, with 86 deaths
In Germany, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany has risen to 22,672 and 86 people have died from the disease, according to a tally released on Monday by the public health agency, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).
That compares with 18,610 cases and 55 deaths on Sunday, when RKI warned that the actual number was likely higher as not all local health authorities had submitted their figures over the weekend.
Updated
Also in eastern Europe, Poland has said today that it cannot rule out imposing further constraints on citizens to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Poland has shuttered schools, cinemas and theatres, while limiting public gatherings to no more than 50 people. It has also closed its borders to foreigners and introduced a “state of epidemic”, recommending its citizens to stay at home.
But government spokesman Piotr Muller told public radio in Poland today: “The government is considering various options regarding the epidemic situation, including launching other limitations than up to date.”
Hungary to consider bill that would let Orbán rule by decree
In developments to come this week in Europe, Hungary’s parliament will consider an emergency bill that would give prime minister Viktor Orbán sweeping powers to rule by decree, without a clear cut-off date.
The Guardian’s Shaun Walker reports that the bill seeks to extend the state of emergency declared earlier this month over coronavirus, and could also see people jailed for spreading information deemed to be fake news.
The government has portrayed the move as a necessary response to the unprecedented challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic, but critics immediately labelled the legislation as dangerously open-ended and vulnerable to abuse.
Updated
Authorities in Hong Kong have said that they will ban all tourists to the city from Wednesday.
That’s breaking now on Reuters, which adds that people coming from Taiwan and Macau will also need to be quarantined.
A senior British doctor has warned that the rate of increase in Covid-19 patients who will need critical care is at the alarming end of the spectrum.
“The fear is that we are going to be working in very different ways than we have been. We are used to working in a controlled environment, with dedicated staff,” said Ganesh Suntharalingam, President of the Intensive Care Society, which is the largest multi-professional critical care membership organisation in the UK.
We will remain in control but we are going to have to expand to a very high degree. this is more than just putting intensive care beds in wards,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“This is about moving to a different order of magnitude where we will have to provide essential care for as many people as possible using every resources that we have.”
Britain was not yet in the position were decisions will have to be made about who will get particular care and who will not due to limited resources, he said, but a stage may come where a very broad discussion will have to be made, involving society.
UK hospitals are in urgent need of ventilators and are approaching full capacity because of the Covid-19 outbreak, which will increasingly force doctors to make tough decisions about which patients to treat, according to the trade union body for British doctors and medical students.
The comments by British Medical Association spokesman and consultant anaesthetist Tom Dolphin come as senior staff at a London hospital told the Guardian they expect beds in its intensive care unit to be full by 30 March, with one source describing its A&E unit as “like a war zone”.
Dolphin, who works at Imperial College London, said some hospitals in London, such as Northwick Park, which was forced to declare a “critical incident” last week after running out of critical care beds, are already struggling with the number of patients.
“Like any epidemic, there are hotspots. Some hospitals have had to transfer patients out to other intensive care units,” he told PA Media, adding: “We’re going to get to the point where we are running out of capacity and that transfer ability is going to be difficult to do anyway because nowhere else will have anywhere either.”
Updated
Good morning from London. This is Ben Quinn picking up the live blog
In the UK, MPs will be asked today to endorse new powers from the police and other authorities, including doctors. All 390 pages of the coronavirus bill are being rushed through.
The possibility of a much tougher lockdown in line with that of other European states will also be considered today by the prime minister, Boris Johnson, who will discuss this possible measures with ministers and senior officials.
It comes after a weekend of anger in some quarters at the large numbers of people who took to the streets and parks amid sunny weather, as well as concern that Britain is already behind the curve in terms of taking the action needed.
Updated
That’s it from me, Helen Sullivan, for today. I will now be leaving you in the washed and capable hands of colleague Ben Quinn.
People are venting their frustration after airline Emirates announced it would suspend all flights for two weeks in response to the United Arab Emirates’ decision to suspend all inbound and outbound passenger flights and the transit of airline passengers.
@helenrsullivan emirates suspending flights for 2 weeks from 25 March as UAE banning passengers in transit. No indication of when flights will resume. In Sydney with my NHS geriatrician consultant husband and 10 month old with no way back to Glasgow!
— Jo Walsh (@jopswalsh) March 23, 2020
@emirates flight was cancelled from SYD to DXB without an email - need customer service to contact me! Call center will not answer!!!!
— Emma (@Emma10398) March 23, 2020
@emirates we have been trying to contact you around my parents flight back to the UK from NZ. They are due to fly tomorrow but the flight shows as suspended. We can’t get through to your contact centre. Can someone please come back to me ASAP!?
— Simone Toolan (@SimmaSim) March 23, 2020
Updated
Summary
- Coronavirus-related deaths worldwide are approaching 15,000, Johns Hopkins University reports, with the toll at 14,706. Confirmed cases of Covid-19 reached 339,259 on Monday, with the number of recoveries amounting to just under a third of these, at 98,834.
- Emirates has suspended all passenger flights for two weeks starting from 25 March.
- Losing your sense of smell could be used as a key clinical indicator in otherwise symptom-free carriers of Covid-19, according to doctors and scientists.
- Harvey Weinstein tested positive for coronavirus, Reuters reports. The head of the New York state corrections officers union confirmed late on Sunday that the former movie producer, who is serving a prison sentence for sexual assault and rape, has tested positive for the Covid-19.
- China saw a drop in its daily tally of new coronavirus cases, reversing four straight days of higher figures, as the capital, Beijing, ramped up measures to contain the number of infections arriving from abroad.
-
Canada said it will not send athletes to Tokyo Olympics, New Zealand said it would consider boycotting Tokyo 2020 and Australia told its Olympic athletes to prepare for the Games to be held next year – in the wake of Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, saying postponement could be an option.
-
Olympic Organising Committee chief executive Toshiro Muto said later that “all options are open” and that he cannot say whether the Olympics will be held this year or not, Reuters reports, and that it is frustrating to hear the organising committee does not care enough about athletes. Olympics president Yoshiro Mori says the biggest concern is the cost of cancelling the games.
- New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern announced the entire country should prepare for self isolation, as it prepares to move to the highest alert level later this week.
- Nearly one in three Americans was under orders on Sunday to stay home to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic as Ohio, Louisiana and Delaware became the latest states to enact broad restrictions, Reuters reports.
- A European clinical trial involving some 3,200 people has been launched to test four possible experimental coronavirus treatments.
- German chancellor Angela Merkel went into quarantine after a doctor who gave her a vaccine tested positive for coronavirus.
- Germany banned meetings of more than two people, in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
-
Spain plans to extend its state of emergency for a further 15 days until 11 April.
Updated
Coronavirus-related deaths approach 15,000
Coronavirus-related deaths worldwide are approaching 15,000, Johns Hopkins University reports, with the current toll at 14,706.
Confirmed cases of Covid-15 reached 339,259 on Monday, with the number of recoveries amounting to just under a third of these, at 98,834.
Here is the global top 10 for confirmed cases (a reminder that this is in part dependent on testing rates):
- China: 81,439
- Italy: 59,138
- US: 35,206
- Spain: 28,768
- Germany: 24,873
- Iran: 21,638
- France: 16,243
- South Korea: 8,961
- Switzerland: 7,474
- United Kingdom: 5,745
Updated
Emirates cancels all flights for two weeks
Emirates has again changed its decision on flights, temporarily suspending all passenger services for two weeks starting from 25 March 2020, the airline has just announced.
“We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused to our customers and travellers. These measures are in place to contain the spread of Covid-19, and we hope to resume services as soon as feasible,” it said in a statement.
Earlier today the Dubai carrier reversed a previous announcement suspending all passenger flights, saying it is going to continue flying to 13 destinations, including the the U.S., the UK, Japan, Australia and Canada.
More now on the Tokyo Olympics
Earlier today, Canada said it would not send athletes to Tokyo Olympics, New Zealand said it would consider boycotting the games and Australia told its olympic athletes to prepare for the games to be held next year, in 2021 – all in the wake of Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, saying postponement could be an option.
Now, chief executive of the Olympic Organising Committee Toshiro Muto says, “All options are open,” and that he cannot say at this point whether the olympics will be held this year or not, Reuters reports, and that it is frustrating to hear the organising committee does not care enough about athletes.
Olympics president Yoshiro Mori says the biggest concern is the cost of cancelling the games.
This virus is ravaging rich countries. What happens when it hits the poor ones?
“If we are concerned about the failure to contain the virus in western Europe and the US, multiples of that horror await in the developing world. With few means of medical intervention, and several other risk factors such as malnutrition, high population densities, communal living and lack of access to water and washing facilities, the rates of mortality could dwarf what has been seen so far in the west. And economically, the virus risks ushering in an ice age. There are no war chests, no stimulus packages, no insurance payouts.”
Now for the UK front pages kicking off this almost-final week of March, 2020 – a very long month so far.
The Guardian leads with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s warning that the UK public must stop congregating in public or face new coronavirus enforcement measures within 24 hours.
Here is that full story:
Monday’s GUARDIAN: Johnson’s ultimatum: obey the rules or risk strict lockdown #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/1RgWBjqhUK
— Helen Miller (@MsHelicat) March 22, 2020
The Financial Times is focussed on Spain, which currently has the fourth-highest number of confirmed cases worldwide:
Monday’s FT: Spain calls for new Marshall plan from EU states to drive recovery #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/VyxwcFA17W
— Helen Miller (@MsHelicat) March 22, 2020
Monday’s TIMES: Curfew threat to stop virus #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/5uG2d74Cn7
— Helen Miller (@MsHelicat) March 22, 2020
Monday’s EXPRESS: Military to provide lifeline for 1.5m #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/eAFvMb8cUc
— Helen Miller (@MsHelicat) March 22, 2020
Brits are “partying hard online” following the closure of pubs, the Daily Star reports:
Monday’s STAR: Isolated as newts.. Now we’re off our FaceTime #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/Ii43JKEs0j
— Helen Miller (@MsHelicat) March 22, 2020
Monday’s TELEGRAPH: 24 hours to avoid complete lockdown #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/zSrYMU8G2C
— Helen Miller (@MsHelicat) March 22, 2020
Papua New Guinea will enter into a two-week state of emergency on Tuesday after the country confirmed its first case of Covid-19, as the Pacific region recorded its first death from the virus.
The Papua New Guinea government confirmed late on Friday evening that its first case of coronavirus is a foreign mine worker who entered the country on 13 March and travelled to Lae.
Prime minister, James Marape, said that though there was no evidence of community transmission so far, the country would declare a state of emergency for 14 days, beginning on Tuesday 24 March.
The measures to be introduced include stopping all domestic flights, further to a previous ban on incoming international flights; no movement from one province to another for a 14-day period except for approved cargo, medicine and security personnel; the bringing froward of school holidays to start on Monday 23 March; all non-essential workers to stay at home; and for all people who arrived in Papua New Guinea from 7 March to report in to a government hotline.
The state of emergency in Papua New Guinea – the largest Pacific Island nation – comes as cases have spread across some countries in the region over the weekend and the region recorded its first death from Covid-19 in Guam.
The Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem will be entirely closed to the public starting today.
It is the first time since 1967 that Islam’s third holiest site would be closed to worshippers due to a directive from the Waqf, the Muslim foundation that runs the compound, Al-Aqsa mosque director Sheikh Omar al-Kisswani told AFP.
Several hundred people attended the main weekly prayers at the compound on Friday after the mosque itself was closed by the Waqf in response to the virus outbreak - a stark drop from the 30,000 who usually attend, as coronavirus prevention measures kept most away.
Only mosque employees will be able to continue to pray on the esplanade outside the mosque, Sunday’s statement added.
Jordan is the custodian of the compound, known by Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif, or Holy Sanctuary, and Temple Mount by Jews, which includes the Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock.
In Jordan, meanwhile, more than 1,100 people have been arrested for violating a curfew imposed over the weekend:
More than 1,100 people arrested so far in #Jordan for violating curfew that imposed Saturday morning, local media reporting. Government says people should not expect it'll be lifted soon, and are talking about some kind of delivery system for food + medicine- but no details yet
— michael safi (@safimichael) March 22, 2020
In Turkey, nine more people had died by Sunday night, bringing the country’s death toll to 30.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter that 289 people tested positive for Covid-19 Sunday. The total number of confirmed cases in the country is now at least 1,236.
Elsewhere in the middle east: Saudi Arabia will impose a nationwide curfew starting on Monday after reporting a jump of almost a quarter in coronavirus cases, while the United Arab Emirates will suspend all passenger and transit flights to and from the country.
In case you missed this – Syria on Sunday confirmed its first case of the coronavirus after weeks of rejecting opposition allegations that the disease had already reached a country with a wrecked health system.
There are just 57 fully functioning hospitals in war-ravaged Syria, which has a population of 17m.
— Chloe Cornish (@ChloeNCornish) March 19, 2020
There is only one laboratory designated to test for COVID-19.
Still no coronavirus cases officially recorded in Syria.
(med stats: @WHO. pop: PRB).https://t.co/ne7LaofmyF
Iraq’s government has extended a curfew on travel in and out of Baghdad until 28 March as part of strict measures to prevent the coronavirus from spreading.
Iran’s death toll has reached 1,685 with 129 deaths in the past 24 hours, the health ministry’s spokesman told state TV on Sunday, adding that the total number of infected people in Iran had reached 21,638.
Wuhan eases coronavirus lockdown as restrictions intensify outside China
Wuhan, the centre of the coronavirus outbreak in China, has begun to loosen its two-month lockdown on citizens as more countries issued new restrictions to contain the pandemic.
On Monday, small groups of residents in the central Chinese city were leaving their residential compounds, going to grocery stores and walking along the streets for the first time in weeks. At the weekend, the first train arrived in the city ferrying more than 1,000 workers from elsewhere in the province back to the city for work.
On Sunday, local authorities said residents could begin returning to work if they did not have a temperature and could provide a green health code, signifying their virus-free status as well as a certificate from their employer. Officials said the city would be “gradually” reopened and public transportation would resume.
Non-residents, those stranded in Wuhan since the stringent travel restrictions went into effect on 23 January, could also begin applying to leave the city, city authorities said.
Here is a wrap of the day’s biggest coronavirus pandemic news:
It’s been another brutal day on international financial markets after the US Senate failed to agree a US$1 trillion rescue package for the American economy and more countries went into self-isolation.
US stock futures fell past their daily limit as soon as the news broke that Democrats had refused to back the Republican-drafted legislation because they said it favoured big corporations over healthcare.
In Asia Pacific, the Australian ASX200 fell 5.6% – partly due also to a government order closing all pubs, restaurants and gyms – while Hong Kong was off 4.7%. The FTSE100 is expected to drop 5% when it opens later today.
Recently has been quite bad already but even in this new normal, Monday's been quite brutal and ugly in Asia.
— David Ingles (@DavidInglesTV) March 23, 2020
Indian stocks -10%
European futures -5%https://t.co/CF8ueoGfle pic.twitter.com/AOf7rJhDpv
Losing sense of smell associated with coronavirus infection
More now on the association between a loss of sense of smell and coronavirus infection.
Ear, nose and throat surgeons say losing your sense of smell could be used as a key clinical indicator in otherwise symptom-free carriers of Covid-19.
“It is these silent carriers who may remain undetected by current screening procedures, which may explain why the disease has progressed so rapidly in so many countries around the world,” professor at Australia’s Flinders University and ENT specialist Simon Carney told AAP.
“While further research is required, loss of smell, or anosmia, has been reported in as many as one in three patients in South Korea and in Germany, this figure was as high as one in two.”
An ENT professor in London also reported a dramatic increase in patients with anosmia as their only symptom of Covid-19 infection.
He said doctors and COVID-19 detection centres could use the subtle sign as part of their testing criteria and patients should also consider calling their GP if they notice this symptom.
Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert, who recently tested positive for Covid-19, says his experience backs this up:
Just to give you guys an update, loss of smell and taste is definitely one of the symptoms, haven’t been able to smell anything for the last 4 days. Anyone experiencing the same thing?
— Rudy Gobert (@rudygobert27) March 22, 2020
Updated
Australians began living under strict new lockdown rules on Monday as coronavirus cases topped 1,600 and authorities denied entry to a cruise ship carrying hundreds on board complaining of respiratory illnesses, Reuters reports.
As new restrictions closing non-essential services came into effect, there were clear signs of economic and social stress with long queues forming outside offices of the main welfare agency across the country.
After reporting only a gradual spread in January, the number of Covid-19 cases in Australia now appears to be tracking the much sharper increases seen elsewhere with the most populous states of New South Wales and Victoria recording the fastest rises.
Most states have now closed their borders to travellers from other parts of the country and effected their own lockdown laws, in addition to the national curbs announced on Sunday.
The state of Western Australia on Monday banned passengers on board the Swiss-owned MSC Magnifica cruise ship from disembarking.
Of 1,700 passengers on board the ship, more than 250 have complained of respiratory illnesses. It was due to dock at Western Australia’s Fremantle port as early as Monday evening.
That decision comes days after 2,700 passengers disembarked from the Ruby Princess cruise ship in Sydney harbour, with 48 on board subsequently testing positive for the virus.
If you have a tip, or see anything I’ve missed that you think our readers should know – or something that might make them feel good for a moment – get in touch with me on Twitter @helenrsullivan.
A warning to Europe? Italy’s struggle to convince citizens of coronavirus crisis
As Boris Johnson gave his most explicit warning yet on Sunday that the UK might face an Italian-style lockdown, Italy’s experience – particularly the way people went about their business in the early days of the crisis –could serve as a warning to other European countries that appear to be following a similar infection trajectory.
New York state now accounts for half of all of the confirmed US coronavirus cases and 5% of the world’s total, the Guardian’s Kenya Evelyn reports.
Confirmed coronavirus cases have risen sharply in New York as both the state governor, Andrew Cuomo, and Mayor Bill de Blasio, called for urgent and better assistance from the federal government. The city has over 15,000 confirmed cases as of Sunday afternoon, up from 4,812 since Saturday.
The growth is due, in part, to the rapid expansion of testing but also due to the accelerated growth of the virus throughout the city.
On Sunday evening the city faced shutdown after Cuomo, on Friday, ordered the shutdown of all non-essential businesses in the state. Except for essential services, all New Yorkers are now ordered to stay indoors from 8pm Sunday evening. By Sunday the state of New York accounted for half the country’s 30,000 cases nationwide.
Updated
Losing your sense of smell might be associated with being infected with Covid-19, according to the New York Times.
“On Friday, British ear, nose and throat doctors, citing reports from colleagues around the world, called on adults who lose their senses of smell to isolate themselves for seven days, even if they have no other symptoms, to slow the disease’s spread. The published data is limited, but doctors are concerned enough to raise warnings,” the paper reports.
Thailand has 122 new coronavirus cases, raising the total to 721, a health ministry spokesman said on Monday at a news conference.
The new cases include 20 patients linked to previous cases, 10 new imported cases, and 92 cases that tested positive and are awaiting investigation into how they contracted the disease, Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a Public Health Ministry spokesman said.
Thailand has recorded one death since the outbreak while 52 patients have recovered and gone home and 668 are still being treated in hospitals.
Cambodia reported two new coronavirus cases on Monday, bringing the total to 86, health authorities said.
“We have not yet found evidence of community outbreaks, but there is a possibility,” Cambodia’s Communicable Disease Control department said in a Facebook post on Monday.
Walmart has temporarily raised entry wages for workers in its e-commerce warehouses by US$2, following similar moves by rivals, as it attempts to manage a shopping surge brought about by the coronavirus outbreak.
Walmart said the hike will increase entry wages for workers in e-commerce fulfillment centers or warehouses to between $15 and $19 an hour, effective immediately through the Memorial Day holiday on 25 May this year.
The world’s largest retailer, which employs 1.5 million people in the United States, has struggled to keep store shelves stocked and fulfill online orders amid panic-buying by shoppers spooked by the outbreak.
Summary
- Harvey Weinstein tested positive for Coronavirus, Reuters reports. The head of the New York state corrections officers union confirmed late on Sunday that the former movie producer, who is serving a prison sentence for sexual assault and rape, has tested positive for the Covid-19.
- China saw a drop in its daily tally of new coronavirus cases, reversing four straight days of higher figures, as the capital Beijing ramped up measures to contain the number of infections arriving from abroad.
-
Canada said it will not send athletes to Tokyo Olympics, New Zealand said it would consider boycotting Tokyo 2020 and Australia told its olympic athletes to prepare for the games to be held next year, in 2021 – all in the wake of Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, saying postponement could be an option.
- New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern announced the entire country should prepare for self isolation, as the country prepares to move to the highest alert level later this week.
- Nearly one in three Americans was under orders on Sunday to stay home to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic as Ohio, Louisiana and Delaware became the latest states to enact broad restrictions, Reuters reports.
- A European clinical trial involving some 3,200 people has been launched to test four possible experimental coronavirus treatments.
- First cases of the virus were confirmed in Syria, as well as in Grenada and Mozambique.
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel went into quarantine after a doctor who gave her a vaccine tests positive for coronavirus.
- Germany banned meetings of over two people, they are about work on slowing the spread of the coronavirus.
- The death toll in the northern region of Lombardy rose by around 360 in a day to more than 3,450. The area has borne the brunt of Italy’s virus outbreak.
- Spain plans to extend its state of emergency for another 15 days until April 11.
- Dubai carrier Emirates reversed a previous announcement suspending all passenger flights, saying it is going to continue flying to 13 destinations, including the the U.S., the UK, Japan, Australia and Canada.
US President Donald Trump has just said on Twitter that the United States will make a decision at the end of a 15-day period on “which way we want to go” to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
“We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself,” he tweeted.
Trump issued new guidelines on 16 March aimed at slowing the spread of the disease over the following 15 days.
WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF. AT THE END OF THE 15 DAY PERIOD, WE WILL MAKE A DECISION AS TO WHICH WAY WE WANT TO GO!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2020
In the US, Dr. Anthony Fauci, a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has given an interview to Science Magazine in which he says that he, unlike Donald Trump, will not refer to coronavirus as the “China Virus”, and that he has been asking the White house to conduct virtual press conferences to no avail.
When reporter Jon Cohen says:
You stood nearby while President Trump was in the Rose Garden shaking hands with people. You’re a doctor. You must have had a reaction like, Sir, please don’t do that.
Dr Fauci replies:
“I keep saying, is there any way we can get a virtual press conference. Thus far, no. But when you’re dealing with the White House, sometimes you have to say things 1,2,3,4 times, and then it happens. So I’m going to keep pushing.”
Pressed on Trump’s claims that China was “very secretive” and should have informed people of the outbreak three to four months earlier, Dr Fauci replies:
“I know, but what do you want me to do? I mean, seriously Jon, let’s get real, what do you want me to do?”
Dr Fauci continues:
“I told the appropriate people, it doesn’t comport, because two or three months earlier would have been September. The next time they sit down with him and talk about what he’s going to say, they will say, by the way, Mr. President, be careful about this and don’t say that. But I can’t jump in front of the microphone and push him down. OK, he said it. Let’s try and get it corrected for the next time.”
Dr Fauci also gives insight into Trump’s coronavirus press conference ‘creative process’, as it were:
“We go in to see the president, we present [our consensus] to him and somebody writes a speech. Then he gets up and ad libs on his speech. And then we’re up there to try and answer questions.”
Asked about the viral moment when Fauci covered his mouth to hide a smirk following Trump’s reference to the “deep State Department,” conspiracy theory, Fauci responds: “no comment”.
Here is a reminder of the moment, with a soundtrack:
Curb Your Enthusiasm: Dr Fauci facepalms. pic.twitter.com/q1kUAENnem
— Lauren Werner 🗽 (@LaurenWern) March 20, 2020
Singapore Airlines will cut capacity by 96% and ground almost all of its fleet, the carrier said on Monday, in response to coronavirus travel restrictions it called the “greatest challenge” it had ever faced.
All rugby in New Zealand will be suspended “for the foreseeable future,” New Zealand rugby has announced, following the news that the entire country has been asked to prepare for self isolation.
“All New Zealand teams will cease training, and at this stage there are no decisions on the future of the Investec Super Rugby competition or the All Blacks Tests scheduled for July,” the organisation says.
New measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus are due to be rolled out from this morning in the Indonesian capital Jakarta.
The city’s governor Anies Baswedan declared a state of emergency for the next two weeks, closing all entertainment venues and urging businesses to close their offices, and allow staff to work from home.
Anies said on Friday that he would also limit the number of passengers boarding public transport, and reduce the operational hours.
Photos taken during this morning’s rush hour suggest such limits aren’t yet working. On social media, passengers shared images of cramped trains packed with commuters.
This was a peak hour train in Jakarta this morning - no wonder the rate of COVID 19 is now soaring in the capital pic.twitter.com/2p0qAikp1N
— Anne Barker (@AnneABarker) March 23, 2020
There are growing fears about the spread of coronavirus in Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country, which has been criticised for its slow response to the pandemic. Last week, president, Joko Widodo, acknowledged the need to immediately ramp up testing and said that he would introduce drive-through tests.
The number of tests carried out has increased significantly from the 220 completed earlier this month, leading to a rise in identified cases. The country has recorded 48 deaths, prompting speculation that the number of cases is far higher than the 514 infections that have been officially recorded.
Harvey Weinstein tests positive for coronavirus
Harvey Weinstein has tested positive for Coronavirus, Reuters reports.
The head of the New York state corrections officers union confirmed late on Sunday that the former movie producer, who is serving a prison sentence for sexual assault and rape, has tested positive for the Covid-19.
Weinstein, 68, has been placed in isolation at Wende Correctional Facility, said Michael Powers, president of the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association.
Powers said he learned that the test came back positive on Sunday morning and is concerned about the corrections officers, who he said lack proper protective equipment. Several staff have been quarantined, Powers said.
Weinstein arrived at Wende Correctional Facility, a maximum security prison east of Buffalo, New York, on Wednesday after being housed at New York City’s Rikers Island jail.
A lawyer for Weinstein said on Sunday night that his legal team had not been notified of the coronavirus diagnosis. “Given Mr. Weinstein’s state of health, we are of course concerned, if this is the case, and we are vigilantly monitoring the situation,” said lawyer Imran Ansari, who is based in New York.
Two prisoners at the Wende Facility have confirmed cases of Covid-19, a state prison official told Reuters. The official said he could not comment on any individual prisoner’s medical record.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, refused US assistance to fight the new coronavirus on Sunday citing an unfounded conspiracy theory claiming the virus could be man-made by America.
Iran has the sixth-highest number of confirmed cases worldwide, with 21,638, according to Johns Hopkins university.
Khamenei’s comments come as Iran faces crushing US sanctions blocking the country from selling its crude oil and accessing international financial markets.
Iranian civilian officials in recent days have increasingly criticised those sanctions, while Khamenei instead chose to traffic in the same conspiracy theory increasingly used by Chinese officials, AP reports, to deflect blame for the pandemic.
In the US, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky has tested positive for coronavirus, becoming the first member of US Senate to do so.
In a supportive tweet about the diagnosis, Donald Trump once again referred to Covid-19 as the “Chinese Virus”:
Thank you Mr. President! https://t.co/GIsaQTbgQU
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 23, 2020
Updated
South Korea on Monday reported its lowest number of new coronavirus cases since the peak so far on 29 February and the extended downward trend in daily infections has boosted hopes that Asia’s largest outbreak outside China may be abating.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said there were 64 new cases on Monday, taking the national tally to 8,961. The death toll rose by one to 110.
The new numbers marked the 12th day in a row the country has posted new infections of around 100 or less, compared with the peak of 909 cases recorded on 29 February.
In contrast, 257 patients were released from hospitals where they had been isolated for treatment, the KCDC said. South Korea posted more recoveries than new infections on March 13 for the first time since its first case was confirmed on 20 January.
Over to Hong Kong now, where authorities are searching for 36 people who have skipped out on mandatory home quarantine.
Anyone arriving in Hong Kong must spend 14 days in home quarantine, unless they have come from Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk-do in Korea, Iran, or the Italian regions of Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy and Veneto, in which case they must go to a government quarantine centre.
Authorities have also begun issuing tracking bracelets for all international arrivals.
The wristbands, which connect to an app on the holders phone, send alerts to police and health authorities if the holder removes the wristband or leaves their building.
On Sunday the government said police had tracked down five people who had left their buildings without permission. Two had removed their wristbands. All five were taken to government quarantine centres and now face potential prosecution.
Police were investigating another 36 cases of people leaving their designated address without permission.
Under Hong Kong law anyone breaching home quarantine orders faces fines of up to $25,000HKD (US$3220) or six months in prison.
The Government said in a statement it strongly condemned anyone intending to breach quarantine orders.
“Such actions increase the risk of community transmission and will negatively impact the health of others and the public at-large.”
Hong Kong, which kept the infection rate low despite its proximity and connections to mainland China, has seen a rise in cases as students and citizens rushed home in recent weeks. It has reported 317 confirmed cases, and four deaths.
Argentina has announced a fixed sum for self-employed and independent workers who are being left without their livelihood because of the country’s general lockdown to halt the spread of coronavirus. Some four million people are estimated to be eligible for the benefit. They include hairdressers, restaurant workers, construction workers and domestic employees. Argentina’s population is 45 million.
Conversations are under way as well with utility and mobile phone companies to prevent the cutting off of services for lack of payment while the nationwide quarantine remains in effect.
Argentina had a slight respite in the increase of coronavirus cases Sunday, with only 41 new cases reported, bringing the total to 266, compared with an increase of 67 Saturday.
Press reports Sunday affirmed that the government of President Alberto Fernández is handling projections of a minimum 250 thousand coronavirus cases by June and is therefore considering extending the nationwide quarantine beyond its original March 31 deadline.
Staying in Australia for a moment: two beer brewers in the state of Western Australia have teamed up to produce hand sanitiser, AAP reports.
Spinifex Brewing Co and Limestone Coast Brewing have joined forces to produce World Health Organisation grade sanitiser using about 80 per cent ethanol.
Updated
Here is the statement from Australia’s Olympic Committee, announcing that it is planning for a postponed Olympic games.
“The AOC held an Executive Board meeting via teleconference this morning and unanimously agreed that an Australian Team could not be assembled in the changing circumstances at home and abroad,” the statement says.
Australian Team Chef de Mission for Tokyo Ian Chesterman says:
It’s clear the Games can’t be held in July. Our athletes have been magnificent in their positive attitude to training and preparing, but the stress and uncertainty has been extremely challenging for them.
They have also shouldered the burden of concern for their peers around the world. That has been a consistent message to me.
“We are now in a position where we can plan with greater certainty.”
— AUS Olympic Team (@AUSOlympicTeam) March 23, 2020
AOC plans for postponed Olympic Games 👉 https://t.co/7YYRMp4xMI#Tokyo2020 #covid19australia #TokyoTogether pic.twitter.com/oPW6nXGdZk
Australia’s Olympic Committee has joined Canada and New Zealand in expressing the view that the Olympics should not go ahead this year, the ABC reports.
Australia has told its athletes to prepare for the olympics to be held next year, in 2021, the ABC reports.
AOC chief executive Matt Caroll said in a statement:
“We have athletes based overseas, training at central locations around Australia as teams and managing their own programs. With travel and other restrictions this becomes an untenable situation”.
“The IOC had adopted the key principles of putting athlete health first and ensuring it acted in their best interests and the interests of sport. This decision reflects those principles. “We are now in a position where we can plan with greater certainty.”
Updated
Back to the Olympics now: New Zealand Olympic Committee president Mike Stanley has said the country would consider boycotting the olympics.
Earlier today, Stanley published an open letter in which he wrote, “Athletes need a safe, and fair, playing field to compete and, right now, the widespread and evolving impact of Covid-19 is not allowing that to happen,” and urged the International Olympic Committee to “finalise their decision as soon as possible, bringing clarity to our sports and athletes.”
A few hours later, following the news that Japan was considering postponing the games, Stanley told Newshub that, the news organisation writes, “postponement is the only way to go,” and that if the IOC does not postpone the Tokyo Olympics, New Zealand would consider boycotting the games.
Updated
The time of coronavirus is strange indeed – I for one never thought I would feel relieved to learn that car traffic anywhere is increasing, but as my colleague Lily Kuo just reported, enough Beijingers headed to work this morning that the city’s streets were at least somewhat jammed – and that’s a good thing.
China latest figures
We have the latest figures from China now, which saw a drop in its daily tally of new coronavirus cases, reversing four straight days of higher figures, as the capital Beijing ramped up measures to contain the number of infections arriving from abroad.
On Monday, China reported 39 new cases from the previous day, all of which were from imported cases, according to the National Health Commission. On Sunday, China ordered that all international flights to Beijing will be diverted to other cities where passengers will be screened before continuing on to the capital.
Authorities in Wuhan are loosening restrictions. Residents can now leave the city if they have a green health code, issued through an app. Those stuck in Wuhan over the last two months may now leave if they are screened and get a health certificate from local authorities.
Residents and community volunteers can now enter grocery shops but are required to present electronic health codes, from their smartphones, have their temperature tested and register their names.
Other signs of life returning to normal in China include Beijing seeing early morning Monday before work traffic. Several provinces have announced dates for when students will go back to school.
In a press release, the Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian Paraolympic committee called “urgently” for the games to be postponed for one year.
“While we realize the inherent complexities around a postponement, nothing is more important than the health and safety of our athletes and the world community,” it said.
“This is not solely about athlete health - it is about public health.”
RELEASE: The Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian Paralympic Committee have made the difficult decision to not send Canadian teams to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the summer of 2020: https://t.co/HyOBA5wwp4 pic.twitter.com/x9OWABVxMA
— Team Canada PR (@TeamCanadaPR) March 23, 2020
Updated
The announcement from Canada comes as Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, hinted that postponing the Tokyo Olympics could be an option if the coronavirus pandemic made it impossible to hold the Games this summer and with the full quota of athletes and spectators.
It is the first time that Abe has publicly conceded that the timing of the Games, which are due to open on 24 July, may have to change, as more athletes and sports federations added their voices to calls for a postponement.
Cancellation, however, is not among the options, Abe said, echoing the position of the International Olympic Committee [IOC], which said on Sunday that it was drawing up alternative scenarios for the Games but was not considering calling them off.
If holding the Olympics in its complete form “becomes impossible, we may have no option but to consider postponing the Games, given the Olympics’ principle of putting the health of athletes first,” he told parliament on Monday.
The IOC is expected to take up to a month to reach a decision. “These scenarios relate to modifying existing operational plans for the Games to go ahead on 24 July 2020, and also for changes to the start date of the Games,” it said in a statement.
“The IOC will ... start detailed discussions to complete its assessment of the rapid development of the worldwide health situation and its impact on the Olympic Games, including the scenario of postponement. The IOC is confident that it will have finalised these discussions within the next four weeks.”
Canada will not send athletes to Tokyo Olympics
Away from New Zealand now to Canada, where the Canadian olympic committee has just announced that it will not send athletes to Tokyo 2020.
Some reaction now to the announcement.
In general, it seems to be (as one Twitter user put it) “Woah”, but also that it’s the right thing to do:
March 23rd 2020 New Zealand moving up to level 3: Non-essential businesses and schools must close.
— Dr Michelle Dickinson (@medickinson) March 23, 2020
In 48 hours we will move to level 4 and we need to all stay at home.
Hopefully level 2 gave people time to prepare & be confident that these are data based decisions so don’t panic pic.twitter.com/HgXWdlQiMb
New Zealand is starting nationwide shelter-in-place in 48 hours. Woah.
— Rebekah White (@RebekahWh) March 23, 2020
I'm on the edge of tears listening to @JacindaArdern. So pleased that she and the Government are taking decisive action. It's 48 hours till NZ goes to Level 4. In those 48 hours especially, so much depends on what we each do as individuals. #Covid_19nz #COVID19nz
— Tim Jones (@timjonesbooks) March 23, 2020
Level 3 for 48 hours, Level 4 from Wednesday & isolated for 4 weeks. This is the decisive Government I want ""I do not underestimate what I am asking New Zealanders to do. It is huge. It is daunting. I hope you are all with me on that decision" Jacinda Ardern
— Darren Bevan (@geekboy73) March 23, 2020
Level 3 now, level 4 in 48 hours. This is the right call and I'm impressed with the use of the alert level system. Announce and ensure awareness, measured increase to avoid panic, act as soon as it's possible.
— Christian Rika ⚡ (@CrikaRika) March 23, 2020
#nzpol. New Zealand is moving first to Level 3 lockdown until Wednesday and then Level 4 lockdown - essentially everyone except essential services stays at home.
— Peter Bayley (@peterbayley) March 23, 2020
SO glad I moved to NZ. Jacinda and her excellent team are doing a sterling, intelligent job and communicating well
This is a good thing. We're going to keep safe. I've been living at about L4 isolation for a week and it is totally possible to settle into after the initial surrealness. Walks out in parks, online chats, and all the reading/watching help. We're going to get each other though 💚 https://t.co/gTACuEJHG7
— Golriz Ghahraman (@golrizghahraman) March 23, 2020
Below is an explainer on what New Zealand’s Covid-19 alert levels mean, from the NZ government website.
In short, Level four (“eliminate”), which New Zealand will go up to on Tuesday, means it is “Likely that disease is not contained.”
The listed response measures include:
- People instructed to stay at home
- Educational facilities closed
- Businesses closed except for essential services (e.g. supermarkets, pharmacies, clinics) and lifeline utilities
- Rationing of supplies and requisitioning of facilities
- Travel severely limited
- Major reprioritisation of healthcare services
The full PDF is here, or you can check the official site here.
Updated
Just to summarise the latest from New Zealand now, where prime minister Jacinda Ardern has just concluded a press conference announcing that the country should prepare to go into self isolation. Ardern said:
- Medical modelling suggests that without the measures announced today, tens of thousands of people in the country will die.
- The country will move to a higher alert level – a three out of four – for the next 48 hours before the highest level of four is deployed, essentially shutting down the country.
- All non-essential businesses are to close, schools will be closed from tomorrow, and domestic travel restrictions will be in place.
- The level four restrictions will be in place for at least four weeks.
- Supermarkets, pharmacies and essential medical services will stay open.
And news from earlier today:
- There were 36 new cases of coronavirus registered by 8am this morning.
- The New Zealand opposition party suspended all election campaigning amidst the coronavirus crisis.
“I do not underestimate what I am asking New Zealanders to do. It is huge,” Ardern said of the decision to put the country into self isolation and close non-essential services.
“The worst-case scenario is simply intolerable, it would represent the greatest loss of New Zealanders’ lives in our history and I will not take that chance.”
She said it was important that New Zealanders followed the rules by not going to the park to see a friend or to have lunch with a family member.
Ardern said she had no doubt that the measures would cause “unprecedented economic and social disruption, but they are necessary”.
Her final message to people was: “Be kind, I understand that people will want to act as enforcers, I understand that; people are anxious.”
But she said the government would act as the enforcer of these measures.
She encouraged people to go home tonight, to check on their neighbours, to set up a phone tree with their street to check their wellbeing.
Updated
Still in New Zealand for now, prime minister Jacinda Ardern says that medical modelling suggests that without the measures announced today, tens of thousands of people in the country will die.
New Zealand announces move to lockdown in 48 hours
New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern just announced the country would move to a higher alert level – a three out of four – for the next 48 hours before the highest level of four is deployed, essentially shutting down the country.
All non-essential businesses are to close, schools will be closed from tomorrow, and domestic travel restrictions will be in place. The level four restrictions will be in place for at least four weeks.
Supermarkets, pharmacies and essential medical services will stay open.
“We are all now preparing as a nation to go into self-isolation,” Ardern said.
“Staying at home is essential.”
Updated
In New Zealand, prime minister Jacinda Ardern has said that in 48-hours’ time, the country will move to the highest alert level.
Earlier on Monday, director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said there were 36 new cases of coronavirus registered by 8am this morning, bringing the country’s total to 102 cases.
New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern says the country must prepare to go into self-isolation, and that schools will close on Tuesday.
Ardern also raised the nationwide alert level to level three, effective immediately.
This is breaking now, we’ll have more very shortly, so do stay tuned.
Updated
British musicians have already lost an estimated £13.9m (US$16m) in earnings because of coronavirus, according to a Musicians’ Union survey.
The organisation, which has 32,000 members and is the main trade union for the sector in the UK, surveyed its members over the impact of the outbreak, and received more than 4,100 responses. Ninety per cent of respondents said their income had already been affected.
In the US, Donald Trump attempted to blunt growing criticism of the stalled federal response to the coronavirus crisis on Sunday night, promising that more help was on the way for states suffering a critical shortage of medical equipment, hospital beds and testing facilities.
As the death toll from Covid-19 in the US rose to 417, with more than 33,000 cases reported nationwide, increasing numbers of state and city leaders fired off warnings to the White House that a tipping point was near.
Warnings were particularly strong from New York, where cases have risen sharply past 15,000 and now account for around half of those in the US.
Here is the very latest Coronavirus: at a glance.
The New Zealand opposition party has suspended all election campaigning amidst the coronavirus crisis, saying the priority was now on supporting and working with the government in emergency efforts to clamp down on the spread of the virus.
“I have offered the Prime Minister my full support during this crisis, providing they move expeditiously enough. We will work in a supportive and constructive way in the interests of New Zealanders,” said National Party leader Simon Bridges in a statement.
“I have also offered the Government the services of our MPs and staff to assist where we can.
“We want to do all we can to protect the lives and livelihoods of New Zealanders.”
Bridges said he had been “inundated” with calls from doctors, scientists and health professionals, and strongly believed the country needed to be moved to alert level 4 - a total shutdown, as seen in Italy, France and Spain. Bridges had expressed this message to prime minister Jacinda Ardern.
“We won’t regret moving quickly to stop this virus spreading. We may have regrets if we don’t.
“We will support the Government where we can. But we won’t always agree and we will continue to let the Government know when we don’t.
“The Opposition will continue to play an important role to ensure the best decisions are being made in the interests of all New Zealanders. We won’t be campaigning for the foreseeable future, however.”
Here is the latest from the US now (thanks to our colleagues at the helm of the US live blog, which has now closed):
- The number of Covid-19 cases in the US has now gone past 33,000, with 417 deaths.
- New York is a hotspot for the virus, accounting for 5% of cases worldwide.
- Rand Paul has become the first US senator to test positive for Covid-19.
- The national guard have been deployed to New York, Washington and California to help with the outbreak in those states.
- Democrats have blocked an economic stimulus package, claiming it favored big business over the rights of workers.
Updated
Jack Ma, the founder of China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba, has sent more than six million medical items to Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. The supplies will be distributed to African countries in need of supplies to battle the spreading Covid-19 pandemic, AP reports.
An Ethiopian Airlines cargo flight from Guangzhou, China arrived with 5.4 million face masks, 1.08 million testing kits, 40,000 sets of protective clothing and 60,000 protective face shields, according to Ethiopian officials and the Jack Ma Foundation.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed last week pledged to distribute the supplies to other countries in Africa. Ma has sent similar shipments of medical supplies to countries in Asia, Europe, North America and Latin America.
Japanese prime minister says postponing Tokyo Olympics could become an option
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday that postponing the Tokyo Olympic Games may become an option if holding the event in “complete form” became impossible.
Abe also told parliament that cancelling the Games was not an option.
On Saturday, crowds gathered to see the Olympic flame in Tokyo, despite coronavirus concerns.
Updated
In New Zealand, the director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said there were 36 new cases of coronavirus registered by 8am this morning, bringing the country’s total to 102 cases.
Prime minister Jacinda Ardern will hold a press conference in 30 minutes and reveal more about the nation’s alert level.
Dr Bloomfield hinted the country may move up a level, as two cases of the virus had not been ruled out as community transmission. There are four alert levels in New Zealand and the country is currently at level 2 - containing the virus. Level four would mean the entire country shut down, except for health and essential services.
“Of the cases today over half are directly related to overseas travel, most of the remainder are close contacts of a previously confirmed case or associated with an event where there were confirmed cases such as the Queenstown World Hereford Cattle conference,” Dr Bloomfield said.
“More than 1,100 laboratory tests were carried out yesterday, bringing the total number of completed tests to over 7400.”
“Most of our cases are still from people who have travelled to NZ from overseas.”
The Australian market plunged more than 8% on Monday morning amid uncertainty over the effects of a shutdown of hospitality and entertainment operators announced by prime minister Scott Morrison on Sunday night.
Monday’s losses are on top of more than a month of coronavirus-inspired selling that has already cut the value of Australian shares by a third.
Before the market opened, gambling company Tabcorp said its totalisator outlets and on-course betting, both of which are to be shut, accounted for about 28% of its revenue.
With this money now set to be ripped away, the company said it withdrew its previous profit guidance.
A raft of companies temporarily halted trade in their shares to give them time to respond to the new restrictions, including Star Entertainment, which operates Sydney’s casino, and Retail Food Group, which is the franchisor of fast food outlets including Gloria Jean’s coffee shops and pizza joints Pizza Capers and Crust.
Village Roadshow said it was closing Gold Coast theme parks Warner Bros. Movie World, Sea World, Wet’n’Wild and Paradise Country, but Sea World would remain open because it has a hotel.
Airline Virgin Australia, which along with rival Qantas has already slashed flights as travel restrictions bite, said it “expects a material reduction in its domestic capacity as a result” of new travel bans announced by state and federal authorities over the weekend.
In Australia the following types of businesses will all be forcibly closed within the next hour, the federal government has announced:
- Pubs, registered and licensed clubs (excluding bottle shops attached to these venues), hotels (excluding accommodation)
- Gyms and indoor sporting venues
- Cinemas, entertainment venues, casinos, and night clubs
Restaurants and cafes will only be able to serve takeaway.
Religious gatherings, places of worship or funerals (in enclosed spaces and other than very small groups and where the 1 person per 4 square metre rule applies).
A few minutes ago, Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison addressed the country, saying “Australians would be living with this virus for at least the next six months. It could be longer.”
There is no short-term solution to this. We have to steel ourselves for the next six months and work together to slow the spread in order to save lives, to protect the elderly and vulnerableAustralians.
On social media, people are posting pictures of the queues are forming at Centrelink, the national body that delivers social security services and other payments:
Centrelink Canberra. Never seen this before. Spare a thought for our fellow Aussies no matter the background. Starting to be reminiscent of my dad’s stories of queues in the Great Depression. Let’s stick together Australia. Let’s run this place as if everyone matters. #ForAllOfUs pic.twitter.com/IL8IW9E7Eq
— Patrick O'Leary (@PadYeo) March 22, 2020
The line to Centrelink Bondi Junction. It wraps around almost every corner of the block. @9NewsSyd #COVID19Aus #centrelink pic.twitter.com/tyCsuxwb6R
— Hannah Sinclair (@hansinclair9) March 22, 2020
People queueing around the block for Marrickville Centrelink. Goes without saying this hasn’t been seen before 💔 pic.twitter.com/pzsreUYVnS
— Melanie Tait (@MelanieTait) March 22, 2020
Updated
Nearly one in three Americans under orders to stay home
Nearly one in three Americans was under orders on Sunday to stay home to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic as Ohio, Louisiana and Delaware became the latest states to enact broad restrictions, Reuters reports.
The three states join New York, California, Illinois, Connecticut and New Jersey, home to 101 million Americans combined, as cases nationwide neared 34,000, according to Johns Hopkins University figures.
“Every piece of evidence that I can lay my hands on indicates that we’re at an absolutely crucial time in this war and what we do now will make all the difference in the world,” said Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. “What we do now will slow this invader. It will slow this invader so our healthcare system ... will have time to treat casualties.”
Ohio has 351 cases and three deaths, while Louisiana has 837 cases and 20 deaths, several in a senior-care facility. Louisiana has the third highest number of cases per capita and saw a 10-fold increase in cases in the past week, Governor John Bel Edwards said.
Ohio’s order will go into effect at midnight EDT on Monday and stay in effect until April 6. Louisiana’s order goes into effect at 5 p.m. CDT on Monday and lasts through April 12. Delaware’s order starts at 8 a.m. EDT on Tuesday.
In Kentucky, non-essential businesses must close by 8 p.m. EDT on Monday but authorities stopped short of ordering residents to stay home.
Summary
Hi, this Helen Sullivan. I’ll bringing you key developments in the coronavirus pandemic for the next few hours, as we navigate a crisis that has seen around one billion people worldwide confined to their homes.
As the virus continues to spread, governments are introducing stricter isolation measures and enforcement procedures, as well as financial plans in an attempt weaken its economic impact.
- A European clinical trial involving some 3,200 people has been launched to test four possible experimental coronavirus treatments.
- First cases of the virus have been confirmed in Syria, as well as Grenada and Mozambique.
- About 1.5 million UK residents who are particularly vulnerable to coronavirus will be contacted by the NHS and advised to stay at home for 12 weeks.
- There have been 48 new deaths in the UK and 112 in France.
-
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has gone into quarantine after a doctor who gave her a vaccine tests positive for coronavirus.
- Germany has banned meetings of over two people, they are about work on slowing the spread of the coronavirus.
- 23 people have died and 83 have been left injured in overnight prison riots in Bogota as inmates demanded better protection against contamination.
- The death toll in the northern region of Lombardy rose by around 360 in a day to more than 3,450. The area has borne the brunt of Italy’s virus outbreak.
- Spain will ask parliament to extend the state of emergency for another 15 days until April 11.
- Dubai carrier Emirates reversed a previous announcement suspending all passenger flights, saying it is going to continue flying to 13 destinations, including the the U.S., the UK, Japan, Australia and Canada.
Updated
