Coronavirus pandemic cases top 200,000
PARIS: The number of global coronavirus infections shot past 200,000 on Wednesday, as governments across Europe, North America and Asia rolled out tough measures to put the brakes on the ferocious spread of the deadly pandemic.
Worldwide fatalities topped 8,000 and more deaths have now been recorded in Europe, the new virus epicentre, than in Asia since the outbreak first emerged in China.
From Belgium to Britain and the United States, governments across the world have imposed draconian lockdown measures, forcing unprecedented social change and sending financial markets into a tailspin.
The European Union sealed its borders, barring travellers from outside the bloc for 30 days to try to slow the rapid spread of the virus.
Europe has now recorded 3,437 deaths — including 2,503 in Italy — leapfrogging Asia’s 3,384 fatalities..
There are more than 79,000 cases across Europe, with Italy, Spain and France leading infections and fatalities. As the spectre of a deep global recession looms large, London and Washington announced massive economic stimulus packages after coming under fire over their response to the crisis.
But financial markets were unimpressed, with US, European and Asian stocks all sinking on Wednesday.
And the International Labour Organization warned that the pandemic could leave up to 25 million more people out of work and drastically slash workers’ incomes.
US President Donald Trump said the White House was discussing a “substantial” spending bill with Congress that would include immediate cash payments to Americans.
The EU warned of long-term ripples from the virus as it imposed its new travel restrictions, the most significant emergency measure from Brussels, which has struggled to develop a unified response.
EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen told Germany’s Bild newspaper that politicians had initially underestimated the virus threat.