Outbreak delays new Bond film
ITALY is closing all schools and universities for at least 10 days after its coronavirus death toll shot up to more than 100.
As the virus continued its relentless spread around the world, worried Italian Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, announced a raft of new measures to combat the outbreak.
They included sending home millions of pupils and students until March 15 when the country hit worst by the virus in Europe reviews the situation.
Such an unprecedented move came as Italian authorities revealed there had been 2,706 cases and 107 deaths, including more than 49 in the past 24 hours alone.
The country’s civil protection service chief Angelo Borrelli later stressed that 276 of those people infected had now recovered.
Meanwhile Iran saw 15 new deaths from the virus overnight, bringing the total there to 92.
Ayatollah Khamenei responded to criticism that his regime was burying its head in the sand.
He said: “Our officials have reported with sincerity and transparency since day one.
“However, some countries where the outbreak has been more serious have tried to hide it.”
Iran’s outbreak, which he downplayed as “temporary” was something that “will not last long in the country and will pack up”.
But as nations continued to battle the spread of the virus, soldiers were seen spraying the streets of South Korea with disinfectant.
There is no evidence such measures could stop the virus.
In China, authorities yesterday confirmed 119 new cases and 38 more deaths – the majority in the province of Hubei, where the virus first emerged in December.
In total, the country at the epicentre of the outbreak has now reported more than 80,000 infections and almost 3,000 deaths.
Although the vast majority of cases remain in China, the virus is now spreading faster outside the country than within its borders.
Authorities in Hong Kong yesterday sent two chartered flights to repatriate citizens from Wuhan.
Elsewhere, Argentina and Chile also reported their first cases of coronavirus.
A 43-year-old man who had travelled to Italy was the first case in Argentina, while a 33-year-old Chilean male had spent a month in South East Asia.
The Argentine patient has been in isolation since arriving at a clinic in
Buenos The Chilean man’s symptoms are said to be “quite light”. Meanwhile, India reported 17 new cases, bringing the total to 28.
But the government stressed that it had already screened 600,000 people for the virus at its air and sea ports and put more than 27,000 people “under surveillance” across the country.
Health minister Harsh Vardhan said India was “the first country in the world to prepare for an outbreak” as it began screening on January 17, two weeks before the World Health Organisation declared an emergency.
He said: “India is thoroughly prepared to handle any situation that could emerge.”
But experts warned that the world’s second most populous country would face considerable challenges if it tried to place peoAires. in mass quarantine as China has successfully done.
They also fear India’s creaky public health system would find it difficult to accommodate potentially thousands of extra patients.
Saudi Arabia yesterday announced residents of the Gulf Kingdom were barred from taking pilgrimages to Mecca as a precaution against the spread of coronavirus, state media reported.
Last week, it took the unprecedented step of barring foreigners from visiting Mecca and Medina.
Elsewhere, dozens of people who attended a football match last week in Tel Aviv have been ordered to self-quarantine, Israeli news website Ynet reports.
A teenager among a crowd of away fans at the game between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv was infected with coronavirus, Israel’s health ministry confirmed yesterday.
The teenager is believed to have contracted the virus from the manager of a toy store who had visited Italy and earlier tested positive.
“He is currently in isolation in his room and hasn’t been in conple
tact with the rest of the household [since testing positive],” the boy’s mother said, adding that her son had a stuffy nose and a cough, but no fever.
Closer to home, there were two new cases in Northern Ireland, bringing the total number there to three since testing began.
Both of those infected are adults, with one recently returning from northern Italy, officials say.
The second person was in contact with someone in the UK who had tested positive for Covid-19. The cases are not connected.