» Virus brings new travel restrictions, lockdowns around the world.
ROME — Daily life came to a grinding halt around much of the world Sunday amid new travel restrictions, border shutdowns and sweeping closures of restaurants and bars aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
The numbers of cases and deaths continued to rise, including in hard-hit Italy where 368 more deaths brought its overall toll to 1,809. With the country under a nearly week-old lockdown, Pope Francis ventured out of the Vatican to visit two churches in Rome to pray for the sick, a spokesman said.
Public worship was curtailed in many places as faith leaders gave sermons to empty pews or moved to online services. Muslim authorities announced that the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City would be closed indefinitely, and the Vatican said next month’s Holy Week services would not be open to the public.
Americans returning from abroad found historic closures in cities and faced chaos at airports as overwhelmed border agents tried to screen passengers for illness.
In Spain, long lines for food and police patrols marked the first day of a nationwide quarantine. In the Philippines, soldiers and police sealed off the densely populated capital of Manila from most domestic travelers. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced plans to limit movement nationwide, and Lebanon’s government ordered a lockdown in the country, closing down Beirut’s famed seaside corniche.
Ireland ordered all pubs and bars to close for two weeks — including on Tuesday, St. Patrick’s Day — and urged people not even to hold house parties. Two pub industry groups had warned of the “real difficulty” in keeping people apart in the country’s famous watering holes.
With new infections dwindling in Asia, Europe has become the main front line of the fight against COVID-19. The virus has infected 162,000 people and killed over 6,000, but more than 75,000 people have recovered.
Governors in California, Illinois and Ohio on Sunday told all bars and restaurants to close or reduce their number of customers. New York City will shutter the nation’s largest public school system as early as Tuesday, sending over 1.1 million children home.
Travelers returning to the U.S. after the Trump administration imposed a wideranging ban on people entering from Europe faced hourslong waits for medical screenings. Images on social media showed packed arrival halls and winding lines.
Italy, the worst-hit European country, reported its biggest day-to-day increase in infections — 3,590 more cases in a 24-hour period — for a total of almost 24,747.
Spain was under lockdown amid a two-week state of emergency.
The Czech Republic will launch a nationwide lockdown Monday, and Netherlands ordered all schools, day care centers, restaurants and bars to close until April 6. The new restrictions cover Amsterdam’s famed marijuana-selling “coffee shops” and sex clubs.
Elsewhere, Morocco suspended all international flights, and Turkey set aside quarantine beds for more than 10,000 people returning from Islam’s holy sites in Saudi Arabia.
In China, where the virus was first detected in December, those arriving on overseas flights were routed to an exhibition center for initial checks before being shuttled to their homes or other quarantine locations.
France, which has over 4,500 infections and 91 deaths, went ahead Sunday with nationwide elections to choose mayors and other local leaders despite a crackdown on gatherings. The government ordered election organizers to keep a 3foot gap between people and provide soap or sanitizing gel and disinfectant wipes for voting machines.
In Germany, which had reported more than 5,400 cases and 11 deaths, the state of Bavaria also held municipal elections, with poll workers wearing protective gloves. Germany will partially close its borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg and Denmark on Monday, and Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said people will no longer be allowed to cross those borders without a valid reason, such as for work.
Britain, which has not yet restricted everyday activities, said it plans to set out emergency powers this week, including potentially requiring people over 70 to self-isolate for up to four months and banning mass gatherings.
“We will do the right thing at the right time,” Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the BBC.
Puerto Rico ordered nearly all businesses to close for next two weeks and set a nighttime curfew following confirmation of a fifth case.
Even Montenegro, with no confirmed cases, preemptively banned foreigners and ordered the closure of cafes, restaurants, shopping malls, fitness centers and playgrounds.
With the virus having reached 25 of Africa’s 54 countries, sweeping restrictions were announced. Kenya is banning travelers from countries with infections and closing all schools for three weeks.
Dalia Samhouri, a regional official with the World Health Organization, said both Iran and Egypt, two of the most populous countries in the Mideast, were likely underreporting cases because infected people can still show no visible symptoms. Iran says it has nearly 14,000 virus cases and 724 deaths, while Egypt has reported 110 cases, including two fatalities.