Virus lockdowns spreading
The United States declared a state of emergency yesterday as many European countries went on a war footing amid mounting deaths, as the world mobilised to fight the widening coronavirus pandemic.
At the White House, where US President Donald Trump made the emergency decree, drug company executives vowed to work together and with the government to quickly expand the country’s coronavirus testing capabilities, which are far behind those in many other countries.
While the aggressive spread of the virus in Europe, North America and the Middle East has dashed any hopes for quick containment, dozens of countries have imposed increasingly severe measures over the past two days – shutting borders, expanding testing, closing schools, and ordering tens of thousands of businesses to close their doors – to try to face down the disease.
Among those testing positive were the Canadian prime minister’s wife, a top aide to Iran’s supreme leader, Miami’s mayor, a Brazilian official who met with Trump, and an Australian cabinet minister who met with the US attorney-general and Trump’s daughter, Ivanka.
New infections in Italy soared by more than 2500, and virusrelated deaths made their biggest single-day jump there, increasing by 250. New infections also rose sharply in Spain, and the government put 60,000 people in four towns on a mandatory lockdown that echoed Italy’s.
In just 24 hours, the numbers of confirmed cases spiked ominously in some places. France saw an additional 800 cases to reach more than 3600; Britain went from 590 to 798; and New York state jumped 30 per cent, hitting 421.
In Africa, six new countries confirmed infections.
Cases topped 1700 across the
US, where thousands of schools have been closed, concerts and sporting events cancelled and even Broadway theatres shut down.
The spread of the virus in Europe, North America and the Middle East has drawn contrasts with waning outbreaks in the hardest-hit nations in Asia. China, where the virus emerged late last year, still accounts for more than 60 per cent of global infections but reported just eight new cases and seven deaths yesterday.
In South Korea, which has had more than 8000 cases, yesterday was the first day that recoveries outnumbered new infections. It reported another 107 cases.
New travel restrictions sprang up practically by the hour as Switzerland, Sri Lanka, Portugal and the Czech Republic started barring entry to Europeans considered at risk.
Ukraine announced that it would halt all passenger air traffic, Poland said anyone entering the country would be put under a 14-day quarantine, and the Czech Republic and Slovakia stopped almost all movement in and out of their countries. The European Union urged member countries to put health screening procedures in place at their borders.
Canada closed parliament and advised against all nonessential travel outside the country, while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau governed remotely from his home, in selfimposed quarantine after his wife tested positive.
Tests confirmed three cases of the new coronavirus in Puerto Rico, the first for the US territory. Governor Wanda Vazquez announced that the public school system would close for 14 days, and that no cruise ships would be allowed to dock.
Colombia’s president yesterday ordered his nation’s border with Venezuela closed. Venezuelan officials announced earlier that they had confirmed their first two coronavirus cases.
Venezuela’s announcement deepened anxiety in a struggling nation where many hospitals lack basics such as water and soap and struggle to treat even basic ailments.
Over 4.5 million Venezuelans have fled in recent years, many arriving in Colombia. Experts in Colombia, which has 16 confirmed cases, are concerned that the migration crisis could exacerbate the spread of coronavirus throughout the region.