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Coronavirus live updates: Trump suspends travel from 26 European countries to US Coronavirus live updates: Ireland closes schools and colleges amid outbreak
(32 minutes later)
Global recession fears intensify; Tom Hanks tests positive in Australia; NBA basketball season suspended indefinitely. Follow the latest.Global recession fears intensify; Tom Hanks tests positive in Australia; NBA basketball season suspended indefinitely. Follow the latest.
The UK government is funding a new international push to challenge dangerous fake news about coronavirus, which is engaging social media influencers to help combat misinformation. The £0.5m from the Department for International Development (DfID) will challenge misinformation in South East Asia and Africa, which it says is then spreading worldwide, and direct people to the right advice to help stop the spread of the virus. Ireland’s taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, has announced the closure of all schools, colleges and childcare facilities from tomorrow as part of a partial lockdown that will apply from 6pm tonight until 29 March.
All indoor gatherings of 100 people or more and outdoor gatherings of 500 or more will be cancelled.
Public transport will still run and shops will remain open. He said:
Staff should work from home where possible with meetings online if possible.
Varadkar said he was acting on new medical advice the government had received following a meeting of the national emergency team last night.
“The virus is all over the world, it will continue to spread but it can be slowed,” he said in an address outside Blair House in Washington before a breakfast meeting with the US vice president Mike Pence.
“Acting together as one nation we can save many lives our economy will suffer but in time it will bounce back,” he warned.
McLaren have withdrawn from the Australian Grand Prix, scheduled for this Sunday, after a member of their team staff tested positive for coronavirus. The news throws increasing doubt on the race going ahead.
A statement from the team said:
Earlier on Wednesday, the world champion Lewis Hamilton admitted he was “shocked” that the race was planned to go ahead at all amid the ongoing outbreak.
When asked why he thought it was going ahead, Hamilton pointedly noted: “Cash is king. I can’t add much more to it. I don’t feel like I should shy away from my opinion.”
The European Space Agency has announced that it will delay the launch of its joint Exomars mission with Roscosmos from this summer to late 2022.
The ExoMars rover, named Rosalind Franklin, includes a drill to access the sub-surface of Mars as well as a miniature life-search laboratory kept within an ultra-clean zone.
Various software and hardware components, including parachutes designed to ensure a soft landing, needed further work, according to the two agencies. Efforts to overcome these engineering problems were said to have been hampered by travel restrictions due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The Earth-Mars journey is only attempted when the planets are favourably aligned, meaning the next opportunity for the robotic mission won’t occur until 2022.
The Roscosmos director general, Dmitry Rogozin, said:
India has barred the entry of all foreign tourists for one month starting tomorrow in a bid to contain the coronavirus.
The ban on foreign visitors includes foreign nationals of Indian origin. Only diplomats, officials and members of international organisations such as the UN are exempt.
All travellers arriving from, or having visited, Italy, Iran, China, south Korea, France, Spain and Germany after 5 February will be quarantined for 14 days.
The move to heighten restrictions came as the number of infected persons rose to 73.
Last week, India suspended visas to nationals from China, South Korea, Italy, Iran, and Japan but set no restriction on travellers from other countries such as Germany and France which have hundreds of confirmed cases.
Indians who were planning holidays abroad or planning to meet children studying overseas will have to cancel their plans. The government has told Indians to avoid all non-essential travel abroad.
Most badly hit will be the Indian diaspora who account for some 50% of the 10 million tourists who visit India every year, mostly to meet family and attend weddings. Many are classified as persons of Indian origin, who can enter India without a visa, but they too are banned under the latest rule.
The health ministry clearly feels that an escalation in preventive measures is necessary given that India’s population density of some 420 people per square kilometre – compared with China’s 146 people per square kilometre will make it easier for the virus to spread at great speed.
All football matches in Spain’s top division, La Liga, have been suspended for two weeks over fears of the spread of the coronavirus, the league’s organising body said in a statement on Thursday.
The league’s statement said the decision came after Real Madrid put its squad into quarantine, and that it had notified the clubs, the Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) and the national sports ministry of the postponements.
The US vice president, Mike Pence, who is charge to the US response to coronavirus, has been defending Trump’s European travel ban.
Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, has announced that the closure of all nurseries, schools and universities for two weeks.
The Local reports her saying:
There are 615 confirmed coronavirus cases in Denmark.
The UK government is funding a new international push to challenge dangerous fake news about coronavirus, which is engaging social media influencers to help combat misinformation. The £0.5m from the Department for International Development (DfID) will challenge misinformation in south-east Asia and Africa, which it says is then spreading worldwide, and direct people to the right advice to help stop the spread of the virus.
DfID says false claims and conspiracy theories have spread rapidly on social media, touting dangerous “cures” like drinking bleach or rubbing mustard and garlic into your skin. As well as posing a serious risk to health they can speed up the spread of the virus, by stopping people taking simple practical, preventative steps like washing their hands, it says.DfID says false claims and conspiracy theories have spread rapidly on social media, touting dangerous “cures” like drinking bleach or rubbing mustard and garlic into your skin. As well as posing a serious risk to health they can speed up the spread of the virus, by stopping people taking simple practical, preventative steps like washing their hands, it says.
The cash will go to the Humanitarian-to-Humanitarian (H2H) Network, which has extensive experience addressing the spread of misinformation during epidemics, for example following the 2015 Ebola outbreak.The cash will go to the Humanitarian-to-Humanitarian (H2H) Network, which has extensive experience addressing the spread of misinformation during epidemics, for example following the 2015 Ebola outbreak.
H2H will work with social media influencers – vloggers and bloggers – in the relevant regions to help spread accurate health information and reach younger online audiences that are more susceptible to fake news. It will also work with partners to create verified content.H2H will work with social media influencers – vloggers and bloggers – in the relevant regions to help spread accurate health information and reach younger online audiences that are more susceptible to fake news. It will also work with partners to create verified content.
Tennis is expected to shut down on Thursday for up to 10 weeks. The French Open in May and Wimbledon in June are thought to be safe at the moment, but the Guardian understands several other big tournaments are almost certain to be cancelled, including the Miami Open, which is due to start on 25 March.Tennis is expected to shut down on Thursday for up to 10 weeks. The French Open in May and Wimbledon in June are thought to be safe at the moment, but the Guardian understands several other big tournaments are almost certain to be cancelled, including the Miami Open, which is due to start on 25 March.
In Paris the show goes on, as smaller concert halls find creative ways to get round France’s ban on gatherings of more than 1,000 people.In Paris the show goes on, as smaller concert halls find creative ways to get round France’s ban on gatherings of more than 1,000 people.
While Madonna cancelled the last dates of her tour in Paris, the US rock band Nada Surf got round the ban by playing the same Paris concert twice in one evening.La Cigale concert hall, where the band performed, is among several smaller venues to have resorted to asking bands to play one set starting at 7 or 7.30pm and another at 9 or 9.30pm, with no opening act.The concert hall, which has a capacity of 1,500, asked ticket holders who could come to the early show to make every effort to do so, so that as many people as possible could be sure to see one of the performances.The veteran Irish singer Van Morrison also played two shows in Paris’s Olympia concert hall, which has a capacity of 1,900, on Tuesday evening to get around the crowd limit, and other venues holding fewer than 2,000 spectators are taking similar steps.While Madonna cancelled the last dates of her tour in Paris, the US rock band Nada Surf got round the ban by playing the same Paris concert twice in one evening.La Cigale concert hall, where the band performed, is among several smaller venues to have resorted to asking bands to play one set starting at 7 or 7.30pm and another at 9 or 9.30pm, with no opening act.The concert hall, which has a capacity of 1,500, asked ticket holders who could come to the early show to make every effort to do so, so that as many people as possible could be sure to see one of the performances.The veteran Irish singer Van Morrison also played two shows in Paris’s Olympia concert hall, which has a capacity of 1,900, on Tuesday evening to get around the crowd limit, and other venues holding fewer than 2,000 spectators are taking similar steps.
It is unclear, however, how long the strategy will continue to work as the French president, Emmanuel Macron, is expected to announce stricter containment measures when he addresses the nation on Thursday evening.It is unclear, however, how long the strategy will continue to work as the French president, Emmanuel Macron, is expected to announce stricter containment measures when he addresses the nation on Thursday evening.
The home affairs committee is to launch a short inquiry into the Home Office’s preparations for and response to Covid-19.The home affairs committee is to launch a short inquiry into the Home Office’s preparations for and response to Covid-19.
Covid-19 has already affected the work of the Home Office and its associated bodies. As part of the “contain” phase of the plan, Border Force has assisted in the repatriation of British nationals and their dependents from affected areas overseas, while the Home Office has provided support to foreign nationals in the UK who were unable to return home.Covid-19 has already affected the work of the Home Office and its associated bodies. As part of the “contain” phase of the plan, Border Force has assisted in the repatriation of British nationals and their dependents from affected areas overseas, while the Home Office has provided support to foreign nationals in the UK who were unable to return home.
The committee is seeking written evidence on how police and fire and rescue service plans are being designed, as well as what trade-offs will have to be made by police if a significant number of officers are unable to work at any given time.The committee is seeking written evidence on how police and fire and rescue service plans are being designed, as well as what trade-offs will have to be made by police if a significant number of officers are unable to work at any given time.
The committee will look at whether UK Border Force is sufficiently equipped to deliver any additional functions required of it during a period of heightened vigilance, and with reduced staffing.The committee will look at whether UK Border Force is sufficiently equipped to deliver any additional functions required of it during a period of heightened vigilance, and with reduced staffing.
The chair of the committee, Yvette Cooper, said: “It’s very important that all of our public services are prepared for coronavirus. We need to know what preparations the Home Office is and should be making and what practical consequence there will be for police and border force as coronavirus continues to spread.”The chair of the committee, Yvette Cooper, said: “It’s very important that all of our public services are prepared for coronavirus. We need to know what preparations the Home Office is and should be making and what practical consequence there will be for police and border force as coronavirus continues to spread.”
A hearing is currently scheduled for next Wednesday.A hearing is currently scheduled for next Wednesday.
Iran has asked for $5bn loan from International Monetary Fund emergency fund in a bid to fight the growing threat of coronavirus in its country.Iran has asked for $5bn loan from International Monetary Fund emergency fund in a bid to fight the growing threat of coronavirus in its country.
The request has been made by the Iranian Central Bank to the IMF managing director, Kristalina Georgieva.The request has been made by the Iranian Central Bank to the IMF managing director, Kristalina Georgieva.
The move was revealed in a tweet by the Iranian foreign minister, Javad Zarif, who urged the IMF to do the right thing and be on the right side of history by providing the cash.The move was revealed in a tweet by the Iranian foreign minister, Javad Zarif, who urged the IMF to do the right thing and be on the right side of history by providing the cash.
Zarif said that Georgieva had said the IMF funds would be available to help the fight against coronavirus through a new rapid financial instrument.Zarif said that Georgieva had said the IMF funds would be available to help the fight against coronavirus through a new rapid financial instrument.
He added the Iranian central bank had asked for access to the $50bn fund immediately.He added the Iranian central bank had asked for access to the $50bn fund immediately.
Iran, partly due to sanctions, says it has been short of medicines, protective equipment for nurses and doctors including gloves and masks.Iran, partly due to sanctions, says it has been short of medicines, protective equipment for nurses and doctors including gloves and masks.
Iran’s official statistics show that 9,000 Iranians have been infected with the virus and 354 have died, making it the third worst affected country in the world. The virus has crippled the already weakened Iranian economy, and led to many of its borders being closed, so disrupting trade.Iran’s official statistics show that 9,000 Iranians have been infected with the virus and 354 have died, making it the third worst affected country in the world. The virus has crippled the already weakened Iranian economy, and led to many of its borders being closed, so disrupting trade.
Zarif’s wording implied he knew the request may find resistance from the US, which is running a policy of maximum economic pressure on Iran over its refusal to renegotiate the Iran nuclear deal signed in 2015.Zarif’s wording implied he knew the request may find resistance from the US, which is running a policy of maximum economic pressure on Iran over its refusal to renegotiate the Iran nuclear deal signed in 2015.
Bizarre scenes are unfolding in Greece’s ancient Olympia where the flame lighting ceremony for the Tokyo 2020 games is currently under way.
The elaborate ceremony that is the usual backdrop to the traditional torch lighting event has been scaled back to the point that only 100 accredited guests are attending it, thanks to coronavirus.
Delegates, including the country’s outgoing president Prokopis Pavlopoulos, have been listening to speeches sitting some distance apart from one another. Addressing the crowd Thomas Bach, the president of the international Olympic Committee, felt fit to mention the virus in a speech otherwise eulogising the Olympics’ universalism. A dress rehearsal on Wednesday was similarly closed to the public to comply with Greek government restrictions to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
The site of the birth of the Olympic games, the stadium at ancient Olympia can seat as many as 3,000 people, the number who attend the ceremony in more normal times.
Lit by a high priestess in the 7thcentury BC Temple of Hera, on an otherwise radiant day replete with birdsong, the flame will begin its week-long rally through Greece before being handed over to Japan’s Olympic committee in Athens next week to start its journey to Tokyo – even if question marks remain over whether the 2020 games will take place at all.
To clarify Trump’s European travel ban, here’s a list of the 26 Schengen countries from where people will not be allowed to fly to US for 30 days:
Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
The European countries that are not part of the Schengen zone, and whose citizens are therefore exempt from Trump’s ban are: Albania, Andora, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Georgia, Ireland, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine, The United Kingdom and Vatican City.
Note that the ban applies to where people are flying from, not an individual’s nationality, so a Brit flying from a Schengen country will still be covered by the ban.
Every member of the Spanish cabinet is being tested for the coronavirus after the country’s equality minister, Irene Montero, became the latest politician to test positive for the virus.
Her partner, the deputy prime minister and Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias, is in precautionary quarantine, the government said in a statement.
The government also announced that the prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, will be using videoconferencing for all his meetings and press conferences once today’s cabinet meeting is over.
News of Montero’s diagnosis comes days after Javier Ortega Smith, the general secretary of the far-right Vox party, was diagnosed with the virus. Vox also apologised for holding a 9,000-person rally in Madrid on Sunday as cases of the virus rose. Ana Pastor, the former speaker of the congress of deputies, tested positive for the virus on Wednesday.
Spain has now confirmed 2,277 cases of the virus, making it the second most affected country in Europe and the fifth in the world after China, South Korea, Iran and Italy. So far, 55 people have died from the virus in the country.
Iglesias tweeted that his partner and their three young children were doing well, and thanked Spain’s health workers for their efforts, calling them “our country’s greatest pride”.
The chief medical officers from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern have instructed doctors to change the way they work to deal with “very abnormal emergency situation”.
In a letter they warned that the expected epidemic will be a “challenge” and exacerbate staff shortages in the NHS.
It says doctors will be required to temporarily work in “clinical areas outside their usual practice for the benefit of patients and the population as a whole”.
It adds: “Clinicians may need to depart, possibly significantly, from established procedures in order to care for patients in the highly challenging time-bound circumstances of the peak of an epidemic.”
Ireland’s caretaker taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, is due to meet Donald Trump in the Oval Office this morning, the first meeting with an EU leader since the president’s travel ban announcement.
Varadkar was in the US ahead of the ban, which does not include flights from Ireland as it is not one of the Schengen zone countries Trump has targeted.
Varadkar’s two-day visit is the shortest undertaken for an Irish premier in recent memory and he was forced to cancel some engagements yesterday to deal with the Coronavirus crisis at home.
The US has also curtailed the traditional Irish American festivities with this afternoon’s shamrock ceremony in the White House usually headed by the US president and taoiseach of the day cancelled.
It is understood that Varadkar’s breakfast meeting with the vice-president, Mike Pence, this morning is also going ahead. Earlier it was announced that New York’s St Patrick’s day parade has been cancelled.
Austria has reported its first coronavirus death.
A 69-year-old man has died in Vienna after contracting the virus, city authorities said on Thursday, Reuters reports.
Austria has confirmed 302 cases so far, and four people have recovered.
A paramedic with the East of England ambulance service has tested positive for coronavirus.
An NHS spokesman said:
Hertfordshire is the worst hit council area in the UK with 18 confirmed cases.
Trump’s travel ban has prompted another plunge in the markets.
Wild trading in London has driven the FTSE 100 as low as 5,482 points, down over 6% today.
Every single company on the blue-chip index, and on the smaller FTSE 250 index, is down.
Cineworld has slumped 30% after it warned it could breach its banking covenants if cinemas are forced to close (see earlier post).
Wall Street is heading for another slump too – trading in futures contracts have been suspended ‘limit down’, after falling 5%.
A man in Rome has come up with an extreme way of enforcing social distancing.