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Coronavirus live updates: Italy-wide lockdown comes into force
Coronavirus live updates: Italy-wide lockdown comes into force
(32 minutes later)
UK and US had worst days trading since 2008 GFC; Global cases near 110,000; Grand Princess passengers disembark
UK and US had worst days trading since 2008 GFC; Global cases near 110,000; Grand Princess passengers disembark
Kazakhstan has barred entry to travellers from Italy over coronavirus and is adding France, Germany, and Spain to the list from March 12, Reuters reports chief sanitary doctor Zhandarbek Bekshin has said. There are so far reported no cases in the country.
Payments on mortgages are to be suspended in Italy, the Independent reports the country’s government has announced.
The deputy economic minister, Laura Castelli, confirmed to Radio Anch’io that it would be the case for individuals and households.
More than 400 people have died in Italy after contracting the coronavirus, and the total number of infections leapt to 9,172 at the start of this week.
New York University has become the latest US university to announce it will stop in-person teaching and switch to remote learning for all of its 50,000 students from tomorrow.
The university also said that “non-essential“ events and meetings at its Manhattan and other US campuses would be stopped, and staff were barred from any non-essential travel to California and Washington states as well to countries affected by coronavirus.Last week several universities on the west coast of the US, including Stanford, announced they were switching to remote learning, and this week several in the east coast are following suit, including NYU, Colombia and Princeton.In the UK universities are preparing themselves for remote learning, including video lectures and online seminars, with an expectation that many will not reopen their campuses to students after the Easter holidays if the spread of Covid-19 continues.
Hong Kong will quarantine all visitors from Italy and parts of France, Germany and Japan for two weeks from 13 March to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the French consulate in the city has said.
Visitors from Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Grand Est in France, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany, and Hokkaido in Japan will be quarantined from midnight on Friday, it said.
In case you missed it …
The Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, told the country’s 17 million residents to stop shaking hands to help combat coronavirus, then immediately broke the new rule.
“From now on we stop shaking hands,” he said during a Monday evening news conference. “You can foot-tap or elbow-bump, or whatever you can come up with … but from today on we are going to stop shaking hands.”
Minutes later Rutte turned and enthusiastically shook the hand of Jaap van Dissel, the head of the Dutch centre for infectious disease control who was also giving the press conference.
“Sorry, sorry! No, that’s not allowed! Let’s do that again,” Rutte said, breaking into a laugh.
The Netherlands had reported 321 confirmed cases of coronavirus as of Monday.
All air traffic to Denmark from areas severely hit by coronavirus, will cease later on today, the prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, has said.
“Effective from later today, all air traffic to Denmark from red areas will be suspended,” he said, referring to areas hard hit by the coronavirus such as northern Italy, Iran and South Korea.
Serbia has closed its borders to travellers from countries most affected by the coronavirus outbreak to prevent the spread of the disease, the government has said in a statement.
The temporary ban applies to people arriving from Italy, certain provinces in China, South Korea, Iran and Switzerland, it said. The government did not say when the ban would be lifted.
So far, four people in Serbia, including a Chinese national, have tested positive for the coronavirus.
Barcelona’s Champions League match with Napoli will take place without spectators due to fears over the spread of the coronavirus. More details to follow …
Kazakhstan has barred entry to travellers from Italy over coronavirus and is adding France, Germany, and Spain to the list from 12 March, Reuters reports chief sanitary doctor Zhandarbek Bekshin as saying. There are so far reported no cases in the country.
Lebanon has recorded its first death from the coronavirus, local broadcasters said, adding that the patient had been in quarantine since returning from Egypt.
Lebanon has recorded its first death from the coronavirus, local broadcasters said, adding that the patient had been in quarantine since returning from Egypt.
The government has halted flights for non-residents from epicentres of the virus, shut schools and warned against public gatherings as the total number of cases rose to 41 this week.
The government has halted flights for non-residents from centres of the outbreak, shut schools and warned against public gatherings as the total number of cases rose to 41 this week.
Stormont’s leaders have cancelled plans to travel to the United States later this week to attend St Patrick’s events in Washington DC, deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill said.
Stormont’s leaders have cancelled plans to travel to the US later this week to attend St Patrick’s Day events in Washington DC, the deputy first minister, Michelle O’Neill, said.
Ms O’Neill and First Minister Arlene Foster were due to fly to the US capital on Wednesday. They had already cancelled the New York leg of their itinerary.
O’Neill and the first minister, Arlene Foster, were due to fly to the US capital on Wednesday. They had already cancelled the New York leg of their itinerary.
“We remain in the containment stage, however as leaders of the Executive we have decided to suspend our travel to the United States this week since our full attention is on civil contingency planning around the coronavirus outbreak and protecting public health,” said Ms O’Neill.
“We remain in the containment stage. However, as leaders of the executive we have decided to suspend our travel to the United States this week since our full attention is on civil contingency planning around the coronavirus outbreak and protecting public health,” said O’Neill.
“We are fully engaged in the Cobra meetings alongside England, Scotland and Wales in assessing the response to the outbreak on advice from our chief medical officer.
“We are fully engaged in the Cobra meetings alongside England, Scotland and Wales in assessing the response to the outbreak on advice from our chief medical officer.
“There is all-Ireland co-ordination between health and medical professionals on a daily basis also. I am in regular contact with Tanaiste Simon Coveney and health ministers north and south are also working closely.”
“There is all-Ireland co-ordination between health and medical professionals on a daily basis also. I am in regular contact with tánaiste (deputy head of the government) Simon Coveney and health ministers north and south are also working closely.”
The Czech Republic is to close schools indefinitely and ban events hosting more than 100 people in new measures to contain the coronavirus, its prime minister said on Tuesday.
The Czech Republic is to close schools indefinitely and ban events hosting more than 100 people in measures to contain the coronavirus, its prime minister said on Tuesday.
The country has reported 40 cases of coronavirus since detecting the first infections on 1 March. In most cases, the virus appeared in people coming from northern Italy, the worst-hit area of Europe.
The country has reported 40 cases of coronavirus since detecting the first infections on 1 March. In most cases, the virus appeared in people coming from northern Italy, the worst-hit area of Europe.
“Our paramount task is the health of our citizens,” Prime Minister Andrej Babis told a news conference. “We understand this will be very unpleasant for people, but we want to prevent, by all means, what happened in Italy from happening here.”
“Our paramount task is the health of our citizens,” the prime minister, Andrej Babis, told a news conference. “We understand this will be very unpleasant for people, but we want to prevent, by all means, what happened in Italy from happening here.”
Officials said the measures were decided after a Prague taxi driver was diagnosed with the disease, the first case where the source of infection could not be identified.
Officials said the measures were decided after a Prague taxi driver was diagnosed with the disease, the first case where the source of infection could not be identified.
The new measures will close schools and universities, but not kindergartens, from Wednesday. A ban from Tuesday night on events ranges from film and theatre to other cultural, sports and religious gatherings.
The new measures will close schools and universities, but not kindergartens, from Wednesday. A ban from Tuesday night on events ranges from film and theatre to other cultural, sports and religious gatherings.
The Czech government has already banned flights with Italy, and issued mandatory quarantines for thousands returning from vacation in the southern European country.On Monday, it banned hospital and retirement home visits, and started border checks including taking temperatures and testing any foreign travellers feeling ill.
The Czech government has already banned flights with Italy, and issued mandatory quarantines for thousands returning from vacation in the southern European country.
On Monday, it banned hospital and retirement home visits, and started border checks including taking temperatures and testing any foreign travellers feeling ill.
British Airways has cancelled all flights to and from Italy, Reuters is reporting.
British Airways has cancelled all flights to and from Italy, Reuters is reporting.
The European Commissioner for crisis management, Janez Lenarčič, has told MEPs sitting in Brussels that “the economic cost of coronavirus will be significant”.
He said: “We are well aware that exceptional times require exceptional measures and this is such a time. This situation calls for a coherent response and solidarity and cooperation are essential”.
Great Ormond Street children’s hospital has cancelled surgery on children with serious heart problems for two weeks after a health professional there contracted the coronavirus.
The London hospital, which treats seriously ill children from all over the UK, has also cancelled outpatient clinics for under-18s with cardiac conditions.
It is the latest NHS hospital which has had to curtail its services because a member of staff has tested positive for the virus. Last weekend Southampton general hospital had to close its surgical high dependency unit to new admissions after a health professional was found to have the virus.
Great Ormond Street did not name the health professional involved in a statement it posted on its website on Monday or indicate if it was a doctor, nurse or other member of staff.
It is one of the best-known hospitals in the world and treats some children from overseas, especially the Middle East. It is one of the NHS’s network of dedicated children’s hospitals. It has featured in many television documentaries, including the 2015 BBC series Great Ormond Street.
In its statement it said only that: “A healthcare professional who works in our cardiology department has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19).
“We would like to reassure our families that anybody who came into close contact with this individual is being informed and will be offered advice.”
It added: “The majority of services are unaffected and all essential treatment is being carried out, and to ensure patient and staff safety the cardiology department will not be carrying out non-essential cardiac procedures including surgery and outpatients.
“This is for a period of two weeks from Monday 9 March and will be subject to daily review. Any patient affected by this change will be contacted directly.”
The hospital did not say if any patients or other staff were now in isolation following the health worker’s diagnosis.
Its statement said only that: “The trust is working with Public Health England and implementing NHS guidance to control risk from the virus. Patients and staff should continue to attend appointments normally and come into work unless they are unwell or advised not to.”
The president of the European parliament, David Sassoli, has said he will work from home for the next two weeks after visiting Italy on the weekend.
Sassoli, who is from Florence, said in a statement: “The new advice introduced by the Italian government extends the protected area to the whole national territory. This has important consequences for the behaviour of Italian MEPs.
“For this reason, I have decided after having been in Italy over the last weekend, as a precaution, to follow the indicated measures and to exercise my function as President from my home in Brussels in compliance with the 14 days indicated by the health protocol.
“Covid-19 obliges everyone to be responsible and to be cautious. It is a delicate moment for all of us. Parliament will continue to work to exercise its duties. No virus can block democracy.”
Poland’s government has decided to cancel all mass events due to the coronavirus outbreak, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has said.
“At this morning’s meeting we took a decision to call off all mass events,” Morawiecki told a news conference.
The central European country of 38 million people has reported 17 cases of Covid-19.
A call centre in Belfast has closed for deep cleaning after a staff member tested positive for Covid-19, PA Media reports.
About 1,000 people work at the Halifax operation in the Gasworks area of the city. It is understood staff have been asked to self-isolate, work from home or from a contingency site.
Lloyds Banking Group, which owns Halifax, said: “The Belfast Gasworks building has been temporarily closed to allow for the appropriate areas of the site to be cleaned, after a colleague based there was diagnosed with Covid-19.
“Our priority is the wellbeing of the individual, as well as the colleagues and visitors to the building. We’re closely monitoring the developing situation and continue to follow official guidelines.”
Pope Francis has urged Catholic priests on Tuesday to “have the courage” to go out and help those sickened by the novel coronavirus, hours after Italy was placed on a nationwide lockdown.
“Let us pray to the Lord also for our priests, that they may have the courage to go out and visit the sick … and to accompany the medical staff and volunteers in the work they do,” the pontiff said during a mass in Vatican City.
St Peter’s Square in the Vatican was almost empty on Tuesday with only a few dozen people walking around, most of them without masks.
The Italian government has asked for people not to travel if they can avoid it and to avoid contact with the sick.
Officials passed a decree late Monday extending nationwide restrictive measures that had been put in place at the weekend in the hardest-hit northern regions.
The restrictions – including checkpoints on roads and in railway stations – are set to remain until 3 April.
Italy is the epicentre of the European virus outbreak, with more than 9,000 cases and 463 deaths so far.
In Greece this morning, the infection rate has risen from 84 to 89 overnight, according to the country’s health ministry.
One of the cases, it said, had been “imported” from London. Medical authorities, who confirmed the first case of the novel virus in Greece on 23 February, described the condition of a 65-year-old man battling pneumonia in a hospital isolation unit in the western port city of Patras as being “very serious.” He had been among a group of Greeks who contracted coronavirus after travelling to Israel and Egypt on a tour of religious sites.
Of the total, 27 were hospitalised in specialist units and 57 were in isolation at home, the health ministry said.
On Monday, it was confirmed that a 40-year-old woman on Lesbos had also been infected following a trip to Israel. Local authorities ordered the school attended by her two children in the resort town of Plomari to be closed amid fears of an outbreak on the island, which is hosting 27,000 migrants and refugees – most in appalling conditions in Moria, the reception centre outside Mytilene, the port capital. MPs have called for the local health system, already vastly overstretched, to be bolstered with more doctors, saying Mytilene’s hospital barely has room to cope with six coronavirus patients raising the spectre of meltdown if more people test positive.
The rise in numbers came as the first case of coronavirus was also confirmed in the Turkish-run breakaway republic of northern Cyprus. Turkey’s Anadolu news agency reported that a German woman, on holiday in the rump state, had contracted the virus. On Monday, authorities in the island’s internationally recognised south announced the first two cases of coronavirus, including a prominent heart surgeon believed to have been infected on a recent trip to London.
Moldova has banned all foreigners from entering by plane from any country affected by the coronavirus. The ban took effect on Tuesday, three days after the eastern European state reported its first coronavirus case.
Announcing the move late on Monday, the prime minister, Ion Chicu, said the country could not completely ban flights, but that only Moldovan citizens would be permitted to board planes departing for Moldova from virus-infected countries.
It was not immediately clear how the ban would be implemented. More than 100 countries and territories have reported cases of the new coronavirus, Covid-19.
Moldova’s first case, a 48-year-old woman, was critically ill with acute respiratory failure, the health ministry said on Tuesday. She had been hospitalised after arriving from Italy by plane on Saturday.
The French culture minister, Franck Riester, has tested positive for the coronavirus. He said he is self-quarantining. Riester is the first high-profile French politician to confirm he has tested positive, but five MPs from the Assemblée National and two other parliamentary members of staff are among those who have the virus.
The French health authority in its daily briefing on Monday evening said there were now 1,412 cases in France, a jump of 286 on the previous day. There have been 25 deaths: 10 women and 15 men. Of those who have died, 21 were aged over 70. There are seven clusters of virus cases including a new cluster at Ajaccio, capital of Corsica, where 38 new cases have been confirmed.
France is still at stage 2 of its disease alert, but officials admit that stage 3 is looking increasingly inevitable.
As the whole of Italy goes into lockdown, there are some reassuring signs that measures are starting to work. Across the 11 towns that went into quarantine more than two weeks ago, the number of cases is beginning to fall.
“In the province of Lodi, and even more so, in Codogno, there’s a net reduction in the number of positive cases,” said Giulio Galleria, the welfare councillor for Lombardy, the region worst affected.
The 38-year-old man from Codogno, who was Italy’s first locally transmitted case, was moved out of intensive care on Monday. The number of people to have so far overcome the virus is 724.
