This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2020/mar/13/coronavirus-live-updates-uk-us-australia-italy-europe-school-shutdown-share-markets-sport-events-cancelled-latest-update-news

The article has changed 49 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 14 Version 15
Coronavirus live updates: Justin Trudeau's wife tests positive, Australia limits gatherings, sporting world in crisis Coronavirus live updates: Justin Trudeau's wife tests positive, Australia limits gatherings, sport in crisis
(32 minutes later)
First case at UN headquarters; Australian home affairs minister infected, schools close across Europe First case at UN headquarters; Australian home affairs minister infected; schools close across Europe
Turkey has announced its second coronavirus patient, the day after the Turkish government implemented a number of new measure to try to stem the spread of the virus. All major public events have been banned in Kenya after it confirmed the first case of coronavirus in east Africa.
The patient is a woman who had returned to the country from the United States via the UK.
Health Minister Mutahi Kagwe told reporters on Friday morning
Kagwe told a news conference the government had suspended all public gatherings, sporting events, open-air religious meetings and “all events that are of a huge public nature”, Reuters reported. He also warned traders that “This is not the time to make abnormal profits by charging abnormal prices”.
All rugby fixtures in France have been suspended.
In the UK, a student at the University of Hertfordshire who has tested positive for coronavirus was a resident of campus student halls, the Guardian has been told.
A reader, the parent of another student, has written in to say that students are fearful because the university has said it will not close. Deep cleaning is taking place at the infected student’s flat, the Guardian was told.
According to a statement on the university website:
Here is a video of the Australian prime minister Scott Morrison’s announcement that all non-essential gatherings of more than 500 people are to be suspended from Monday.
Nepal has announced that visa-on-arrival has been suspended for all visitors to the country and that all foreign arrivals entering the country from tomorrow must stay in self-quarantine for 14 days.
Here is the official announcement on the Nepali department for immigration website.
Turkey has announced its second coronavirus patient, the day after the government implemented a number of new measure to try to stem the spread of the virus.
The health minister, Fahrettin Koca, wrote on Twitter that the second patient, whose test results came on Thursday evening, was from the circle of people close to the first patient diagnosed on Wednesday.The health minister, Fahrettin Koca, wrote on Twitter that the second patient, whose test results came on Thursday evening, was from the circle of people close to the first patient diagnosed on Wednesday.
It comes after the presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin announced that Turkish schools will be closed for one week and universities for three weeks from 16 March, and all sports events will be played without spectators until the end of April.It comes after the presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin announced that Turkish schools will be closed for one week and universities for three weeks from 16 March, and all sports events will be played without spectators until the end of April.
At a news conference following a meeting of ministers at the presidential palace, Kalin also said that President Tayyip Erdoğan’s foreign visits and programmes will be postponed for some time due to the spread of the virus, according to Reuters.At a news conference following a meeting of ministers at the presidential palace, Kalin also said that President Tayyip Erdoğan’s foreign visits and programmes will be postponed for some time due to the spread of the virus, according to Reuters.
Kalin said primary, middle and secondary schools would initially be closed for one week and after that students will receive remote online teaching from 23 March.Kalin said primary, middle and secondary schools would initially be closed for one week and after that students will receive remote online teaching from 23 March.
Turkey was the last of the world’s major economies to report an outbreak, though all its neighbours except war-ravaged Syria had reported cases.Turkey was the last of the world’s major economies to report an outbreak, though all its neighbours except war-ravaged Syria had reported cases.
Spanish-language Twitter feeds have been reporting that Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, has tested positive for coronavirus, Tom Phillips reports from Rio de Janeiro.Spanish-language Twitter feeds have been reporting that Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, has tested positive for coronavirus, Tom Phillips reports from Rio de Janeiro.
It comes after Bolsonaro’s press secretary was found to have the disease following a trip to the US, but the reports are being denied as fake news and none of Brazil’s main media sites have confirmed them.It comes after Bolsonaro’s press secretary was found to have the disease following a trip to the US, but the reports are being denied as fake news and none of Brazil’s main media sites have confirmed them.
Bolsonaro has taken a test, however, according to local media, and the results will be ready on Friday. His son Eduardo Bolsonaro, a congressman who was also on the trip, tweeted that his father “is not exhibiting any signs of the disease”.Bolsonaro has taken a test, however, according to local media, and the results will be ready on Friday. His son Eduardo Bolsonaro, a congressman who was also on the trip, tweeted that his father “is not exhibiting any signs of the disease”.
On Thursday, the Brazilian government confirmed media reports that Bolsonaro’s press secretary, Fabio Wajngarten, tested positive following the US trip he was also on, along with ministers, congressmen and the first lady, Michelle Bolsonaro, as well as Eduardo Bolsonaro.On Thursday, the Brazilian government confirmed media reports that Bolsonaro’s press secretary, Fabio Wajngarten, tested positive following the US trip he was also on, along with ministers, congressmen and the first lady, Michelle Bolsonaro, as well as Eduardo Bolsonaro.
Bolsonaro dined with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday night and videos and photos, including some on Wajngarten’s own Instagram account, showed the press secretary, Bolsonaro and Trump all in close proximity. “I’m not concerned,” Trump told reporters on Thursday.Bolsonaro dined with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday night and videos and photos, including some on Wajngarten’s own Instagram account, showed the press secretary, Bolsonaro and Trump all in close proximity. “I’m not concerned,” Trump told reporters on Thursday.
The Intercept has reported that aside from Wajngarten, three other members of the delegation have also reported feeling flu-like symptoms and been tested, quoting an anonymous source. It did not name the three others.The Intercept has reported that aside from Wajngarten, three other members of the delegation have also reported feeling flu-like symptoms and been tested, quoting an anonymous source. It did not name the three others.
Meanwhile conservative Brazilians planning pro-Bolsonaro demonstrations across Brazil that are attacking Congress on Sunday have begun sharing images of people wearing masks – but are insisting the protests, which Bolsonaro himself endorsed, will go ahead. Bolsonaro has cancelled an interview for the launch of CNN Brasil due to air the same day, the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper site reported.Meanwhile conservative Brazilians planning pro-Bolsonaro demonstrations across Brazil that are attacking Congress on Sunday have begun sharing images of people wearing masks – but are insisting the protests, which Bolsonaro himself endorsed, will go ahead. Bolsonaro has cancelled an interview for the launch of CNN Brasil due to air the same day, the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper site reported.
Yesterday we reported that a number of UK universities, including the LSE and the Manchester Metropolitan university, had decided to move classes online to combat the spread of coronavirus. But it appears students across the country have called on their universities to do the same.Yesterday we reported that a number of UK universities, including the LSE and the Manchester Metropolitan university, had decided to move classes online to combat the spread of coronavirus. But it appears students across the country have called on their universities to do the same.
Many other universities across the world have already decided to close their doors and continue semesters remotely, or even to postpone teaching altogether.Many other universities across the world have already decided to close their doors and continue semesters remotely, or even to postpone teaching altogether.
Change.org says it is hosting more than 40 petitions relating to university measures across the UK, with most calling for teaching to move online. Kajal Odedra, the UK executive director of Change.org, said:Change.org says it is hosting more than 40 petitions relating to university measures across the UK, with most calling for teaching to move online. Kajal Odedra, the UK executive director of Change.org, said:
This is Damien Gayle in London taking control of the liveblog now, as the sun moves across the world from Asia towards Europe, the Middle East and Africa. As ever, I will be posting updates from the Guardian’s network of correspondents across the world, as well as the most-important updates from the news wires and social media.This is Damien Gayle in London taking control of the liveblog now, as the sun moves across the world from Asia towards Europe, the Middle East and Africa. As ever, I will be posting updates from the Guardian’s network of correspondents across the world, as well as the most-important updates from the news wires and social media.
If you have any news that you think we should be reporting on the live blog, please do get in touch. You can reach me on email at damien.gayle@theguardian.com or via my Twitter profile, @damiengayle. With the huge interest in the coronavirus story, I won’t be able to reply to all messages, but I’ll do my best to look at all of them.If you have any news that you think we should be reporting on the live blog, please do get in touch. You can reach me on email at damien.gayle@theguardian.com or via my Twitter profile, @damiengayle. With the huge interest in the coronavirus story, I won’t be able to reply to all messages, but I’ll do my best to look at all of them.
That’s it from me, Helen Sullivan. I’ll be handing over to my colleague Damien Gayle who will be bringing you the latest developments in the coronavirus pandemic for the next while.That’s it from me, Helen Sullivan. I’ll be handing over to my colleague Damien Gayle who will be bringing you the latest developments in the coronavirus pandemic for the next while.
For those of you just waking up, below is our latest coronavirus At a Glance summary piece, as well as the very fresh and more in-depth wrap of the key developments over the last few hours.For those of you just waking up, below is our latest coronavirus At a Glance summary piece, as well as the very fresh and more in-depth wrap of the key developments over the last few hours.
The latest blog summary is here.The latest blog summary is here.
The Australian home affairs minister, Peter Dutton, has confirmed via Twitter that he has coronavirus.The Australian home affairs minister, Peter Dutton, has confirmed via Twitter that he has coronavirus.
“This morning I woke up with a temperature and sore throat. I immediately contacted the Queensland Department of Health and was subsequently tested for Covid-19. I was advised by Queensland Health this afternoon that the test had returned positive,” he wrote.“This morning I woke up with a temperature and sore throat. I immediately contacted the Queensland Department of Health and was subsequently tested for Covid-19. I was advised by Queensland Health this afternoon that the test had returned positive,” he wrote.
Dutton has been admitted to hospital, per Queensland health’s general advice.Dutton has been admitted to hospital, per Queensland health’s general advice.
Earlier today, Dutton did not attend his usual Today Show interview. Host Allison Langdon said it was “a stomach bug”.Earlier today, Dutton did not attend his usual Today Show interview. Host Allison Langdon said it was “a stomach bug”.
As stated in his release today, Dutton said he woke up with the symptoms this morning and got the test back this afternoon.As stated in his release today, Dutton said he woke up with the symptoms this morning and got the test back this afternoon.
Universities and colleges across the US are halting teaching, moving lessons online, and even asking students to move out of campus accommodation in an attempt to prevent the spread of coronavirus.Universities and colleges across the US are halting teaching, moving lessons online, and even asking students to move out of campus accommodation in an attempt to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Dozens of institutions – including UCLA, NYU, Yale and Princeton – are cancelling in-person lessons in favour of online teaching. Harvard and Amherst have gone as far as to ask their students to move out, disrupting the lives of thousands of students in the process.Dozens of institutions – including UCLA, NYU, Yale and Princeton – are cancelling in-person lessons in favour of online teaching. Harvard and Amherst have gone as far as to ask their students to move out, disrupting the lives of thousands of students in the process.
The first case of someone suffering from Covid-19 can be traced back to 17 November, according to media reports on unpublished Chinese government data.
The report, in the South China Morning Post, said Chinese authorities had identified at least 266 people who contracted the virus last year and who came under medical surveillance, and the earliest case was 17 November – weeks before authorities announced the emergence of the new virus.
The Chinese government was widely criticised over attempts to cover up the outbreak in the early weeks, including crackdowns on doctors who tried to warn colleagues about a new Sars-like virus which was emerging in the city of Wuhan in Hubei province.
Singaporeans have been advised by the country’s health ministry to defer all non-essential travel to Italy, France, Spain and Germany.
China’s city of Yichang in central Hubei province will loosen travel curbs adopted to rein in a coronavirus outbreak, allowing people to move in and out, the government said on Friday, in a statement on its website. It will also allow the return of people from outside the province, employing a “health code” monitoring system that makes use of mobile telephone.
Nepal has closed all of its Himalayan peaks including Mount Everest this climbing season because of fears of the coronavirus outbreak, a government minister said on Friday, Reuters reports. Nepal, home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains including Mount Everest, gets more than four million dollars in permit fees for the world’s highest peak and other mountains every year.
Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai said expeditions to all peaks in the March-May spring season had been suspended.
“Climbing this season has been closed,” Bhattarai told Reuters. “It is as a precaution for that,” he added, when asked it its was because of the coronavirus. Nepal has confirmed just one case of the coronavirus - a student studying in China on a trip home - out of 450 people tested. The suspension of expeditions in Nepal will affect hundreds of foreign climbers now preparing for the spring season, a window of relatively good weather between the end of the bitterly cold winter and the rainy season, which begins in June. Everest, the world’s highest mountain at 8,850 metres (29,035 feet), is on the border between Nepal and the Chinese region of Tibet. China announced the closure of its side of the mountain on Thursday.
The coronavirus pandemic is forcing the food service industry to review its policies.
This brushing off of illness is common in many places within the food service and restaurant industry and has been for many years. But with the recent coronavirus outbreak, being sick is no longer something people can shrug off given the illness’ ability to spread rapidly and efficiently.
The culture around sick leave in the food service industry is that it is nearly nonexistent. The CDC says that 15% of food workers have paid sick leave. That means a bulk of people in the industry are part of the 32 million American workers who are without paid sick leave.
Poor sick leave policies are an “industry standard” in food service, particularly fast food, said Judy Conti, government affairs director for the National Employment Law Center. The US does not have a federal sick leave policy, with 12 states and Washington DC having paid sick leave laws.
A nurse on the frontline of Italy’s coronavirus outbreak has described the experience as “war-like”.
Doctors and nurses are working around the clock as the country tries to halt the spread of a virus that has so far claimed over 1000 Italian lives.
Among the dead was a 59-year-old doctor and close friend of Roberta Re, a nurse at Piacenza hospital in Emilia-Romagna, the region with the second highest number of cases.
“It’s an experience I would compare to a world war,” Re told the Guardian. “But it’s a war that isn’t fightable with traditional arms – as we don’t yet know who the enemy is and so it’s difficult to fight. The only weapon we do have to avoid things getting even worse is to stay at home and to respect the rules, to do what they did in China, as this is paying off.”
A summary of the latest developments in the global coronavirus outbreak, below:
Today’s Covid-19 news so far has included the effects of the virus on sports stars, politicians, religious ceremonies, New York City, the Nikkei and the United Nations – as the number of deaths worldwide approached 5,000.
Here is what has been going on:
A female diplomat from the Philippines mission to the United Nations tested positive for coronavirus. She is the first known case at the world body’s New York headquarters.
New York state banned all gatherings with 500 or more people as New York City declared a state of emergency.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints suspended all of its worship services globally because of the spread of the coronavirus.
The Vatican closed all Catholic churches across Rome to stem the spread of the virus.
Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, wife of Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, tested positive for coronavirus. Justin Trudeau in self-isolation.
Chelsea player Callum Hudson-Odoi tested positive for coronavirus, becoming the first confirmed infection among Premier League players.
The Australian share market closed 4.4% up after falling almost 7% on opening.
India registered its first coronavirus death: a 76-year-old man in Karnataka who had fallen sick on returning to India on 29 February after a pilgrimage to Mecca.
Japan again insisted that the Tokyo Olympics will go ahead this summer, hours after Donald Trump added to speculation that the coronavirus pandemic could force them to be postponed or cancelled.
Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disneyland Paris Resort announced they would close through the end of the month, starting at the close of business Sunday.
Ghana and Gabon confirmed their first cases, becoming the ninth and tenth countries in sub-Saharan Africa to register positive cases.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison advised against non-essential travel, and, from Monday, gatherings over 500 people. He said he would be attending a football match this weekend. The advice did not extend to schools and universities.
The Australian Grand Prix was cancelled, after a member of the McLaren Racing Team tested positive for Covid-19.
A second person has tested positive for coronavirus in Turkey, the country’s health ministry has said.
In Vietnam, there is also a risk of British nationals being turned away from, or asked to leave, hotels in Vietnam, the British Embassy in Hanoi said in a statement on Twitter.
“You are at risk of being put into quarantine or instructed to self-isolate for 14 days even after you have arrived in Vietnam if you either develop flu-like symptoms, or it is suspected you have been in contact with some who has tested for coronavirus. There are also increased restrictions on British nationals wishing to visit Vietnam.
“From 12 March, Vietnam has suspended its visa waiver programme for British nationals. There are reports that e-visas have also been suspended and the Vietnamese embassy in London will not be processing visa applications until further notice.
“The Vietnamese embassy in London say that it is possible to get a visa, but there is uncertainty around the replacement process and timeline for such applications.”
The statement added that British citizens are “strongly advised” to familiarise themselves with these risks before travelling.
So far, 10 British citizens are among those who have tested positive for the virus.
Key attractions across Hanoi, as well as the ancient town of Hoi An, in central Vietnam, have closed, while several areas in Quang Ninh province, including Ha Long Bay, a Unesco world heritage site, and Bai Tu Long Bay, have also stopped receiving visitors.
A total of 44 cases have so far been confirmed across the country.