India locks down; cases and deaths rise again in Italy
NEW DELHI — Around the globe, India, with 1.3 billion people, or onesixth of the Earth’s population, ordered the biggest lockdown in the world.
A flicker of hope that Italy might be turning the corner faded after officials reported an increase in new cases and deaths.
And Spain had so many bodies it commandeered an ice rink to store them.
More than 400,000 people worldwide have been infected and over 18,000 have died, according to a running count kept by Johns Hopkins University.
The International Olympic Committee postponed the 2020 Tokyo Olympics until the summer of 2021 at the latest, acting on the recommendation of Japan’s prime minister. That could be a heavy economic blow to Japan and could upset athletes’ training regimens, perhaps costing some of them a shot at a medal.
Still, the decision met with relief from some competitors.
“A huge decision but I think the right one for sure,” British sprinter Adam Gemili said on Twitter. “Time to regain, look after each other during this difficult period and go again when the time is right!”
In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi decreed a “total lockdown” of the country for 21 days. India has reported about 500 cases.
Spain, meanwhile, registered a record oneday increase of nearly 6,600 new infections and a leap of more than 500 in the death toll to almost 2,700.
The country started storing bodies in an ice rink converted to a morgue until they could be buried or cremated. Also, army troops disinfecting nursing homes discovered elderly people living amid the corpses of suspected coronavirus victims. Prosecutors opened an investigation.
Spain’s Interior Minister said police have arrested more than 900 people for defying the government’s order to stay home.
In France, authorities said the virus had claimed 240 more victims, raising the country’s death toll to 1,100.
As health care workers worked around the clock, they also struggled with scarce supplies.
“All over the country, you see examples of workers inventing homemade suits using plastics,“said Olga Mediano, a lung specialist at a hospital in Guadalajara, a city outside Madrid. “The protective suits are fundamental because without health workers we won’t be able to do anything.”
In Italy, a jump in the number of new deaths and cases over the past 24 hours dashed hopes fed by two days of declines. The 743 deaths reported Tuesday pushed Italy’s toll past 6,800, by far the highest of any country.
“Woe to whoever lets down the guard,” Health Minister Roberto Speranza said. “Now, more than ever, the commitment of everyone is needed.”