World scrambles to curb outbreak
Leaders take tough measures to contain the virus: More than 82,000 cases have been reported globally with infections in every continent except Antarctica
Saudi Arabia cut travel to holiest sites, South Korea toughened penalties for those breaking quarantines and airports across Latin America looked for signs of sick passengers on Thursday as a new virus troubled a mushrooming swath of the globe.
With the illness pushing its way into a sixth continent and the number of sick and dead rising, the crisis gave way to political and diplomatic rows, concern that bordered on panic in some quarters, and a sense that no part of the world was immune to the disease’s spread.
“Viruses don’t know borders and they don’t stop at them,” said Roberto Speranza, the health minister in Italy, where northern towns were on army-guarded lockdowns and supermarket shelves were bare.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his country, which has 23 cases of the virus, was operating on the basis of a pandemic and hospitals were under orders to ensure enough medical supplies, personal protective equipment and staff.
“There is every indication that the world will soon enter a pandemic phase of the coronavirus,” Morrison told a news conference in Canberra.
“As a result we have agreed to- day and initiated the ... coronavirus emergency response plan.” French President Emmanuel Ma- cron called the outbreak a “crisis, an epidemic that is on the way”.
As growing parts of Europe and the Middle East saw infections and a first case was found in South America, air routes were halted and border control toughened. But for an illness transmitted so easily, with its tentacles reaching into so many parts of the world, leaders puzzled over how to keep the virus from proliferating seemed willing to try anything to keep their people — and economies — safe.
Some 12.8 million students across Japan were told to stay home for weeks as schools were shut- tered, a decision some called un- avoidable. “The most important thing is to prevent infections,” said Norinobu Sawada, vice principal of Koizumi primary school, “so there aren’t many other options.”
In South Korea, the hardest-hit country outside China, four Busan markets known for colorful silks and a dizzying array of other wares were shuttered while the country’s military sent hundreds of its doctors and soldiers to aid in treatment and quarantines.
In Iran, the front line of Mideast infections, officials loosened rules barring the import of many foreign-made items to allow in sanitizers, face masks and other necessities, and removed overhead handles on Tehran’s subways to eliminate another source of germs. Peru put specialists on round-theclock shifts at its biggest airport, Argentina took the temperature of some new arrivals and El Salvador added bans for travelers from Italy and South Korea.
The Saudi holy cities of Makkah and Madinah were cut off to potentially millions of pilgrims, with Saudi Arabia making the extraordinary decision to stop the spread of the virus.
COVID-19’s westward creep — including a case in California in the United States that does not appear linked to overseas travel — had some countries warning their people to obey measures intended to keep a single case from blossoming into a cluster that could paralyse a community.
A man originally from Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of the global outbreak, who contracted the virus was charged alongside his wife in Singapore for allegedly lying about their whereabouts as officials tried to stem further infections. In Colombia, which has yet to report any cases, officials reminded residents they could be jailed for up to eight years if they violate containment measures. And in South Korea, the National Assembly passed a law strengthening the punishment for those violating self-isolation, more than tripling the fine and adding the possibility of a year in prison. “It came later than it should have,” said Lee Hae-shik, spokesman for the ruling Democratic Party.
Countries’ efforts to contain the virus opened up diplomatic scuffles. South Korea fought prohibitions keeping its citizens out of 40 countries, calling them excessive and unnecessary. China warned Russia to stop discriminatory measures against its people, including monitoring on public transit. Iran used the crisis to rail against the US, which it accused of “a conspiracy” that was sowing fear. —
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The Saudi kingdom’s government has decided to take the following precautions: Suspending entry to the kingdom for the purpose of Umrah and visit to the Prophet’s Mosque temporarily.” saudi foreign ministry
Iran calls off the Friday prayers in the capital Tehran and bans Chinese citizens from entering the country
I think that there’s a chance that it could get worse, a chance it could get fairly substantially worse, but nothing’s inevitable.”
Donald trump,
US President
Saudi Arabia suspends visas for visits to the holiest sites for the Umrah pilgrimage
We know that we’re only at the beginning... we’re going to try with all our caretakers to make the right decisions. You had a case here... I know this affected many of your teams.” emmanuel macro,
President of France