Last Updated on March 12, 2020

Coronavirus Crisis Declared a Pandemic

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The World Health Organization has declared the worldwide outbreak of the new coronavirus a pandemic, with more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries and 4,291 deaths.

WHO’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday that the organisation has called every day for countries to take urgent and aggressive action. “We have rung the alarm bell loud and clear”. 

Leaders from the European Union are promising to do whatever it takes to tackle the coronavirus outbreak, which first emerged in China at the end of last year

The coronavirus has continued to spread in the United States and appeared in new countries including Bolivia, Honduras and Turkey, while Indonesia, Bulgaria and Sweden recorded their first deaths.

According to a John Hopkins University report, more than 66,000 people have recovered from the illness around the world.

Here are some of the latest updates:

Italy PM Conte toughens coronavirus lockdown with new measures

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has added new restrictions on Wednesday to the lockdown imposed to fight the coronavirus after figures showed Italy posting the highest daily increase in deaths of any country since the outbreak began.

In a televised address to the nation, PM Conte said all shops would be closed except supermarkets, food stores and pharmacies. He also said companies must close all their departments that are not essential to production.

Services such as hairdressers and beauty parlours will also be closed, along with all bars and restaurants. Company canteens can remain open if they are able to guarantee they can keep a distance of at least one metre between customers.

“We will only be able to see the effects of this great effort in a couple of weeks,” he said, referring to the daily bulletins announcing the number of new cases and deaths.

Trump ready to use full government power

United States President Donald Trump has sought to calm fears of the fast-spreading coronavirus and said he would use all government resources necessary to combat it.

He posted a tweet saying that he is fully prepared to use the full power of the federal government to deal with our current challenge of the coronavirus.

NBA Suspended Until Further Notice

The NBA, the world’s biggest basketball league has been suspended until further notice after its star player, Utah Jazz centre Rudy Gobert tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

France reports 15 more coronavirus deaths

Health authorities in France have reported 15 new coronavirus deaths, taking the country’s death toll from the outbreak to 48. The number of reported infections also sharply rose.

During a press conference, French Health Minister Olivier Veran also announced restrictions in two new areas of the country, the isle of Corsica and the urban area around the southern town of Montpellier.

Veran added that there were 497 new infections raising the total number of confirmed cases rose to 2,281. 

Iran’s VP Eshaq Jahangiri stricken by the coronavirus

Iran’s senior vice president Eshaq Jahangiri and two other cabinet members have tested positive to the new coronavirus.

The news report comes amid days of speculation about the health of Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri, who has not been seen in images of recent top-level meetings.

The other sick officials are Ali Asghar Mounesan, minister of cultural heritage, handicrafts and tourism, and Reza Rahmani, minister of industry, mines and business.

Italy’s death toll jumps to 827

The death toll from the outbreak of the coronavirus in Italy has jumped in the last 24 hours by 196 to 827, the largest rise since the contagion came to light in the country on February 21.

The total number of cases in Italy rose to 12,462 from a previous 10,149, according to the Civil Protection Agency.

However, the agency said some 600 new cases were confirmed on Tuesday but only reported on Wednesday.

WHO declares the Coronavirus a Pandemic

The World Health Organization has declared the global coronavirus outbreak a pandemic.

At a news briefing in Geneva, Switzerland, WHO DG chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “We are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction. We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterised as a pandemic”. 

He added that in the past two weeks, the number of COVID-19 cases outside the outbreak epicentre in China has increased 13-fold and the number of affected countries has tripled. 

First death in Sweden from coronavirus

Sweden has reported its first death coronavirus death with an elderly patient dying in intensive care at a hospital in the Stockholm region.

Related: Timeline of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus

Sweden has around 460 confirmed cases of the virus, the first of which was identified at the end of January. The regional health authority said the patient had the coronavirus as well as an underlying sickness.

FIFA Congress postponed due to coronavirus 

FIFA has decided to reschedule its annual Congress from June to September due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The football world’s governing body said in a statement that the 70th FIFA Congress will now be held on September 18 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Ivory Coast confirms first case of coronavirus 

Ivory Coast has confirmed its first case of coronavirus, a 45-year-old Ivorian man who had recently travelled to Italy, the health ministry said in a statement.

Number of cases in UK rises to 456

The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus across the United Kingdom has risen to 456, up from 373 a day earlier, the health ministry said.

The number of patients who died after testing positive for the virus remained unchanged at six.

Virus will infect up to 70 percent of Germans

German Chancellor Angela Merkel cited expert estimates that up to 70 percent of the population could be infected by the coronavirus.

Germany has confirmed some 1,300 infections, with two deaths.

At a news conference in Berlin, Angela Merkel said: “You have to understand that if the virus is there, and the population has no immunity yet to this virus, there are no vaccines and no therapy so far, a high percentage – experts say 60 to 70 percent – of the population will be infected”.

She said the priority is to slow the spread of the disease “so all the measures we are taking are of the greatest significance because they are giving us time – it does matter what we do, it is not in vain.”

The government recommended the cancellation of events with more than 1,000 people, among other things.

South Africa confirms six new cases

South Africa has confirmed six new cases of the coronavirus, increasing the total toll to 13, according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases.

The new cases are a 33-year-old woman who had been in Italy; a 34-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman who had been in Germany; a 57-year-old man who had been in Austria and Italy; a 40-year-old man who had been in Portugal; and a 36-year-old man who visited Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Turkey.

“Some of these patients are already in the hospital, while some, specifically those who are asymptomatic, are in self-quarantine,” the institute said in a statement.

Bundesliga matches to be played without spectators

More of Germany’s top division Bundesliga matches will be held behind closed doors this weekend including Union Berlin against leaders Bayern Munich on Saturday, and Eintracht Frankfurt versus Borussia Monchengladbach on Sunday.

Several matches are already confirmed without fans including the Ruhr derby between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke on Saturday.

Frankfurt’s Europa League last -16 match against Basel will meanwhile go ahead as planned with spectators.

Globally the coronavirus has claimed over 4,000 lives with more than 118,000 infected globally.

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