Grim milestone as worldwide infections tally hits 500,000
Calls grow for lockdown in Italy to be extended as death toll passes 10,000
ROME — The novel coronavirus continues to spread around the world as total infections crossed half a million in more than 200 countries.
According to the World Health Organization, COVID-19 has hit 201 countries and regions with 664,695 confirmed cases, more than half of them in Europe.
Italy remains the hardest-hit country in Europe, with cumulative total infections reaching 92,472 and death toll 10,023 as of Saturday, as the deadline for the end of the government’s national lockdown drew closer, and experts warned it was too soon to lift the restrictions.
On Saturday, leading Italian virologist Roberto Burioni wrote on Facebook that “at this time the situation remains so serious that any idea of relaxing the restrictions any time soon is unrealistic”.
Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese said in an interview that it was too soon to relax the lockdown, which is set to end on Friday.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced that the entire country of 60 million people would remain under lockdown until then.
Italy has continued to buy supplies for hospitals and recruit emergency personnel in the fight against the virus.
The Public Informational Services Dealer, a procurement company owned by the Ministry of Finance, said that it had obtained medical supplies from various parts of the world.
In Spain, second only to Italy in terms of confirmed cases in Europe, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that his cabinet would approve a measure that obliges all non-essential workers to remain at home for the next two weeks.
The measure will come into effect on Monday and last until April 9.
“We have almost seven days of Easter ahead of us, and that is why we propose this as the moment to close non-essential economic activities, so people who work in these non-essential activities can still be paid,” he said in a televised speech.
Workers would be able to make up the hours of work they miss over the rest of the year, he said.
The number of deaths in Spain rose to 6,528 on Sunday, with 78,797 cases confirmed by the country’s Ministry of Health, Consumer Affairs and Social Services.
In France, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said the effort to contain the rapid-circulating coronavirus epidemic “has only just begun”.
“I will tell you things with clarity and frankness: the first 15 days of April will be difficult, harder than those we have just gone through,” Philippe said at a news conference.
Tough restrictions on people’s movements will remain in place until at least April 15, and an extension is likely to be imposed.
Warning of an unprecedented epidemic, Philippe said the virus was spreading at “very rapid pace” and confirmed infection cases doubled “every three to four days”.
As of Saturday, infections rose by a further 4,611 to 37, 575 while a total of 2,314 people had died, an increase of 319 within a day.
In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned in a letter that things will get worse before they get better, as he himself self-isolated in Downing Street.
The country has reported 19,522 confirmed cases of the disease and 1,228 deaths, and the peak of the epidemic in the country is expected to come in a few weeks.
In the letter, Johnson urged people to stick with the lockdown measures that his government had imposed to try to prevent the state National Health Service from being overwhelmed by a surge of cases.
Asia ramps up efforts
In Iran, the hardest-hit country in the Middle East, President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday that the country is to allocate 20 percent of its annual state budget to fighting the outbreak.
Iran’s death toll rose to 2,640 on Sunday, as confirmed cases rose to 38,309, according to the Health Ministry.
The budget allocation, amounting to about 1,000 trillion rials ($23.8 billion), would include grants and low-interest loans to those affected by COVID-19, Rouhani said.
Rouhani reassured the public that the country had a strong health care system able to cope should there be a rapid progression of the disease.
In Israel, 584 people tested positive on Saturday, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 3,619. Twelve had died from the disease, while 89 have recovered.
In South Korea, the country will enforce a two-week mandatory coronavirus quarantine for all entrants, regardless of their nationality, starting on Wednesday, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said on Sunday, amid a steady inflow of cases from abroad.
The country reported 105 new cases on Sunday, taking the nation’s total to 9,583, including 41 from overseas.
The government is considering providing financial support to lower-income households as part of emergency measures in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
The proposed measure is set to be discussed in this week’s emergency economic council meeting to be presided over by President Moon Jae-in.
In Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that Japan will compile its “boldest-ever” stimulus package to boost the economy while warning the country to prepare for a prolonged coronavirus battle.
The size of the stimulus will be larger than the 56.8 trillion yen ($526 billion) emergency package put together in the global financial crisis following the collapse of Lehman
Brothers in 2008, Abe told a news conference.
The total number of COVID-19 infections in Japan had risen to 1,810 on Sunday. The death toll stands at 65, including 10 from the virus-hit cruise ship.
Australia on Sunday introduced a new funding package to support the most vulnerable Australians in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Health Minister Greg Hunt announced the A$1.1 billion ($678 million) package, which includes funding for mental health and domestic violence support, emergency food services and Medicare, Australia’s universal health care system.
“We are asking Australians to stay home, particularly older Australians,” Morrison said. The number of confirmed cases was 3,809 on Sunday morning.
I will tell you things with clarity and frankness: the first 15 days of April will be difficult, harder than those we have just gone through.” Edouard Philippe, French prime minister
Latin America tightens up
Latin America on Saturday reported a general increase in the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the region, which prompted further measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Chile reported 1,909 cases with six deaths. Following the declaration of a 90-day state of emergency over the health crisis last week, the Chilean government has enacted a number of measures, including an overnight quarantine and the closure of national borders to non-residents.
Ecuador announced on Saturday that the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country had risen to 1,823 with 48 deaths, as the government also announced that non-essential traffic would be restricted to two days a week, depending on the number plates of the vehicles.
In Brazil, the government announced that the country’s cases had risen to 3,904 with 114 deaths, and urged citizens to continue taking preventive measures such as social distancing and self-isolation.
South Africa’s confirmed cases increased at a slower rate on Saturday, up by 17 to 1,187 people, the health ministry said, as the country entered the second day of a national lockdown.
Police said 55 people around the country had been arrested for contravening the terms of the lockdown. Authorities struggled to enforce the measures, especially in densely populated townships and rural areas, on the first day of the lockdown.
Deaths in the African continent reached 134 as confirmed cases surpassed 4,282 on Sunday, the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention said.