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Coronavirus live updates: Justin Trudeau's wife tests positive, Europe shuts schools, sport events cancelled Coronavirus live updates: Justin Trudeau's wife tests positive, Europe shuts schools, sport events cancelled
(32 minutes later)
Mount Everest calls off climbing season; Canadian prime minister self-isolates; London Underground driver tests positiveMount Everest calls off climbing season; Canadian prime minister self-isolates; London Underground driver tests positive
Ethiopia has confirmed its first case of coronavirus, Agence-France Presse reports, shortly after Kenya became the first east African country to report a case of the disease.
A 48-year-old Japanese man who had arrived in the country on 4 March 4 from Burkina Faso was confirmed to have contracted the virus, the French news agency reported the Ethiopian health ministry as saying.
PA Media reports that a school in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, has been closed due to a case of coronavirus. Lanark Grammar school in Lanark was closed by South Lanarkshire Council and NHS Lanarkshire.
Dr John Logan, NHS Lanarkshire consultant in public health medicine, said:
Tony McDaid, executive director for education at South Lanarkshire council, said:
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has advised Britons against all but essential travel to Madrid and some other regions of Spain.
Turkey has announced its second confirmed case of Covid-19, two days after the virus finally reached the tourism and travel hub, Bethan McKernan, the Guardian’s Turkey and Middle East correspondent, reports.
The new patient is a relative of the first, who contracted the novel coronavirus after a visit to Europe. Both are in isolation and are in a stable condition, health minister Fahrettin Koca said on Friday morning.
The new case follows extra measures announced Thursday evening by Ibrahim Kalin, a senior aide to president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to contain the spread of the virus.
Turkey’s spring school holiday will be moved up one week to 16 March, after which there will be at least one week of online remote teaching. Universities will also be closed for at least three weeks from Monday and all sports events will take place without spectators until the end of April.
Turkey, a tourist hub linking Europe and western Asia, had around 50 million visitors last year. It also hosts the largest number of refugees in the world, including some 3.5 million Syrians. Aid agencies have warned of possibly catastrophic consequences if the coronavirus reaches vulnerable undocumented and refugee populations in the region.
Hospitals in Istanbul and the capital Ankara have been set up to test and quarantine patients suspected of having the virus.
The border with Iran, one of the worst affected countries, remains shut, and flights to several destinations with high rates of infection were cancelled last month. International travel for public servants is now under review.
On Thursday, Kalin also advised against all travel excluding extraordinary circumstances and 14-day self-quarantine on return to Turkey for all citizens and foreigners.
Erdoğan is still set to meet with his German and French counterparts in Istanbul next Tuesday, as well as possibly Boris Johnson, for talks on the fighting in Syria’s Idlib province.
In her inaugural speech, Greece’s first female president, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, has urged citizens to comply with the emergency measures announced by health authorities to stem the spread of coronavirus, reports Helena Smith in Athens.
Speaking after taking the oath of office in a ceremony dominated by Covid-19, the progressive former high court judge singled out the pandemic, underlying the risk it posed especially for the elderly.
“We are called upon, as an absolute priority, to effectively confront the recent coronavirus pandemic which is a real danger for older citizens,” she told the nation emphasising that the restrictions were vital “so as not to sow panic and prompt the collapse of the health system.”
Sakellaropoulou, who was endorsed by an overwhelming majority of MPS when she was nominated for the post in January, was sworn in before an almost empty chamber as parliamentarians, in line with a government ban on mass gatherings, stayed away.
There were no handshakes in a ceremony depicted on state-run TV as being both swift and subdued, if also emotionally charged.
Greek health authorities have so far declared 117 confirmed Coronavirus cases and one death.
The country was among the first in Europe to shut schools and universities. On Thursday, after revealing the fatality, the government announced that cinemas, theatres, gyms and nightclubs would also be closed. A 66-year- old man, who contracted the virus during a tour of religious sites in Israel and Egypt, died after waging a week-long battle for his life in a hospital in the western port city of Patras.
Michelle O’Neill, Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister, has broken ranks with government colleagues and urged the immediate closure of schools and colleges to slow coronavirus, reports Rory Carroll in Dublin.
The Sinn Fein member said the region should buck the decision by Boris Johnson to keep UK education facilities open and instead emulate Ireland’s shutdown. O’Neill said:
On Thursday Sinn Fein agreed with the decision to keep schools open but the example south of the border, and restrictions announced by sporting clubs and churches, paved a u-turn.
Earlier on Friday Arlene Foster, the first minister and leader of the Democratic Unionist party, said schools would need to close but at a later, unspecified date. Northern Ireland has recorded 20 cases of Covid-19.
The split happened hours before the publication of an official report into the cash-for-ash scandal that is expected to censure Foster.
From Monday, almost no-one will be allowed to enter or leave the Czech Republic, as it effectively closes its borders in response to the coronavirus outbreak sweeping the world.
According to a report on expats.cz, all foreign nationals without residence will be barred from entering, while all Czech citizens and holders of residence permits will be barred from leaving.
The only exceptions to the ban will be Czech nationals and holders of residence permits returning to the country - although they may face quarantine - and those who live within 50km of the borders with Austria and Germany and work in those countries.
A further 13 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Wales, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 38, Public Health Wales has announced.A further 13 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Wales, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 38, Public Health Wales has announced.
On Friday Dr Robin Howe, incident director for the Covid-19 outbreak response at PHW, said the new cases include four people in the Caerphilly area and two in the Swansea area, the Press Association reported.On Friday Dr Robin Howe, incident director for the Covid-19 outbreak response at PHW, said the new cases include four people in the Caerphilly area and two in the Swansea area, the Press Association reported.
Dr Howe said:Dr Howe said:
Kate Connolly, our correspondent in Berlin, reports that 3,000 people in Germany now have coronavirus. Six people have so far died.Kate Connolly, our correspondent in Berlin, reports that 3,000 people in Germany now have coronavirus. Six people have so far died.
Berlin, Bavaria and two other states are the first to announce the blanket closure of schools and kindergartens. Two others, the worst-hit state of North Rhein Westphalia where over 1,000 are infected, and Rheinland Pfalz, are expected to make similar decisions later today.Berlin, Bavaria and two other states are the first to announce the blanket closure of schools and kindergartens. Two others, the worst-hit state of North Rhein Westphalia where over 1,000 are infected, and Rheinland Pfalz, are expected to make similar decisions later today.
Michael Müller, the mayor of Berlin, said public transport is also due to be reduced to a minimum.Michael Müller, the mayor of Berlin, said public transport is also due to be reduced to a minimum.
In the Bundestag legislation has been passed this morning allowing companies to access compensation if they put their employees on so-called ‘Kurzarbeit’ or reduced working hours, enabling them to continue paying them their full wage. The law in all its detail will be fully enacted within the next ten days.In the Bundestag legislation has been passed this morning allowing companies to access compensation if they put their employees on so-called ‘Kurzarbeit’ or reduced working hours, enabling them to continue paying them their full wage. The law in all its detail will be fully enacted within the next ten days.
“We will not leave anyone alone,” Olaf Scholz, the finance minister said. In addition Scholz and the economics minister Peter Altmaier are planning billions of Euros of liquidity help for businesses, in an effort to protect firms and jobs.“We will not leave anyone alone,” Olaf Scholz, the finance minister said. In addition Scholz and the economics minister Peter Altmaier are planning billions of Euros of liquidity help for businesses, in an effort to protect firms and jobs.
Meanwhile the German Football League, the DFL has announced that Bundesliga and second league matches will be halted from next Tuesday until 2 April. Matches this weekend will continue to take place, but without spectators.Meanwhile the German Football League, the DFL has announced that Bundesliga and second league matches will be halted from next Tuesday until 2 April. Matches this weekend will continue to take place, but without spectators.
This morning at a regular press conference which the head of the Robert Koch Institute, the leading public health and safety body in Germany has been holding for the past two and a half weeks, its director, Lothar Wieler said public health bodies had three aims in their attempts to tackle the virus.This morning at a regular press conference which the head of the Robert Koch Institute, the leading public health and safety body in Germany has been holding for the past two and a half weeks, its director, Lothar Wieler said public health bodies had three aims in their attempts to tackle the virus.
Wieler said Bavaria’s decision to stop visitors to care homes was “a very sensible measure” and that school and kindergarten closures were “a good measure in helping the slowing down” of the virus.Wieler said Bavaria’s decision to stop visitors to care homes was “a very sensible measure” and that school and kindergarten closures were “a good measure in helping the slowing down” of the virus.
“But then you have to ask who looks after the children,” he said. “The medical staff is mainly made up of females. So a concept needs to be created as to who will look after the children to allow these people to still be able to work”.“But then you have to ask who looks after the children,” he said. “The medical staff is mainly made up of females. So a concept needs to be created as to who will look after the children to allow these people to still be able to work”.
Wieler said that between 60-70% of the population would get the virus, due to the fact that it is new, there is no immunity against it, no vaccination against it and no treatment for it” and that “many many people” will have had it already without knowing it, and will have already recovered. Those numbers are unquantifiable, but the more people who get it, long term, the better, as that will increase the immunity levels.Wieler said that between 60-70% of the population would get the virus, due to the fact that it is new, there is no immunity against it, no vaccination against it and no treatment for it” and that “many many people” will have had it already without knowing it, and will have already recovered. Those numbers are unquantifiable, but the more people who get it, long term, the better, as that will increase the immunity levels.
Four-fifths of people will get it very mildly with many not even realising they have it, he added.Four-fifths of people will get it very mildly with many not even realising they have it, he added.
One fifth will suffer serious symptoms. That could still amount to millions of people being severely ill at once, hence the repeated stress by health officials on slowing down its stress.One fifth will suffer serious symptoms. That could still amount to millions of people being severely ill at once, hence the repeated stress by health officials on slowing down its stress.
Ireland is to swear in around 325 trainee police officers next week to boost frontline policing as the country adapts to a partial lockdown to delay the spread of coronavirus, reports Rory Carroll in Dublin.Ireland is to swear in around 325 trainee police officers next week to boost frontline policing as the country adapts to a partial lockdown to delay the spread of coronavirus, reports Rory Carroll in Dublin.
An Garda Síochána, the name of the force, announced on Friday that it would also defer training until further notice and reassign tutors and instructors to operational roles.An Garda Síochána, the name of the force, announced on Friday that it would also defer training until further notice and reassign tutors and instructors to operational roles.
The commissioner, Drew Harris, has restricted annual leave and asked senior officers who were due to retire soon to stay on in the national interest.The commissioner, Drew Harris, has restricted annual leave and asked senior officers who were due to retire soon to stay on in the national interest.
“The commissioner has designated the ongoing situation as an ‘exceptional event’, the force said in a statement.“The commissioner has designated the ongoing situation as an ‘exceptional event’, the force said in a statement.
Additional duties include showing a visible police presence at shops and pharmacies which have been the scene of panic buying since the government announced restrictions on Thursday. Harris told a media briefing:Additional duties include showing a visible police presence at shops and pharmacies which have been the scene of panic buying since the government announced restrictions on Thursday. Harris told a media briefing:
The garda training college at Templemore, in county Tipperary, is being considered as a medical centre or quarantine facility.The garda training college at Templemore, in county Tipperary, is being considered as a medical centre or quarantine facility.
The staff union for the NHS, the GMB, is calling on the UK government to requisition all private hospital beds if more capacity is needed to treat patients seriously ill as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak.The staff union for the NHS, the GMB, is calling on the UK government to requisition all private hospital beds if more capacity is needed to treat patients seriously ill as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak.
In a statement, GMB London called on the government to act now to give itself the legal powers it would need to take control of private sector hospitals. Warren Kenny, GMB London regional secretary, said:In a statement, GMB London called on the government to act now to give itself the legal powers it would need to take control of private sector hospitals. Warren Kenny, GMB London regional secretary, said:
UK rail unions are reporting widespread anger among tube workers and loss of trust in the Transport for London management, amid fears over workers’ exposure to infection on the London Underground, Gwyn Topham, the Guardian’s transport correspondent, reports.UK rail unions are reporting widespread anger among tube workers and loss of trust in the Transport for London management, amid fears over workers’ exposure to infection on the London Underground, Gwyn Topham, the Guardian’s transport correspondent, reports.
The RMT general secretary Mick Cash said:The RMT general secretary Mick Cash said:
A spokesperson said:A spokesperson said:
A British woman who died in Bali after contracting coronavirus has been named in Australian media as Kimberley Finlayson.A British woman who died in Bali after contracting coronavirus has been named in Australian media as Kimberley Finlayson.
Finlayson died earlier this week in a Bali hospital after coming down with Covid-19 while on holiday with her husband, Ken, who has since tested negative for the virus. She was said to have suffered from a series of pre-existing medical conditions.Finlayson died earlier this week in a Bali hospital after coming down with Covid-19 while on holiday with her husband, Ken, who has since tested negative for the virus. She was said to have suffered from a series of pre-existing medical conditions.
Sanglah Hospital director, Wayan Sudana told 7NEWS.com.au: “Based on information from Bali Health Agency the laboratory test result of the husband of the Covid-19 patient number 25 are complete. The lab test result is negative.”Sanglah Hospital director, Wayan Sudana told 7NEWS.com.au: “Based on information from Bali Health Agency the laboratory test result of the husband of the Covid-19 patient number 25 are complete. The lab test result is negative.”
The Scottish government has opened an advice helpline for businesses following yesterday’s announcement that gatherings over 500 will be advised to cancel from Monday, Aamna Mohdin reports.The Scottish government has opened an advice helpline for businesses following yesterday’s announcement that gatherings over 500 will be advised to cancel from Monday, Aamna Mohdin reports.
Economy secretary Fiona Hyslop said the government wrote to all planning authorities this week encouraging them to relax their approach to the enforcement of planning restrictions on shop delivery times and opening hours.Economy secretary Fiona Hyslop said the government wrote to all planning authorities this week encouraging them to relax their approach to the enforcement of planning restrictions on shop delivery times and opening hours.
Scotland’s football authorities announced they would “enter discussions” with the Scottish government before deciding whether to postpone matches.Scotland’s football authorities announced they would “enter discussions” with the Scottish government before deciding whether to postpone matches.
In a joint statement, the Scottish Professional Football League and Scottish FA confirmed games would go ahead as planned this weekend. Following the discussion with the Scottish government, the football authorities will “provide clear and unequivocal advice” on what happens to games from next week.In a joint statement, the Scottish Professional Football League and Scottish FA confirmed games would go ahead as planned this weekend. Following the discussion with the Scottish government, the football authorities will “provide clear and unequivocal advice” on what happens to games from next week.
The Scottish FA confirmed they would also take part in a Uefa video conference call on Tuesday to discuss whether Euro 2020 will need to be cancelled.The Scottish FA confirmed they would also take part in a Uefa video conference call on Tuesday to discuss whether Euro 2020 will need to be cancelled.
Scotland are due to face Israel in the Uefa Nations League play-off semi-final against Israel on 26 March at Hampden Park.Scotland are due to face Israel in the Uefa Nations League play-off semi-final against Israel on 26 March at Hampden Park.
The Guardian’s Today in Focus podcast has been looking at the question of whether the UK National Health Service is fit to tackle the developing coronavirus pandemic.
The NHS is bracing for a major surge in hospital admissions as the coronavirus outbreak continues to grow. Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, made a firm commitment to helping the NHS get “whatever it needs”.
Denis Campbell, the Guardian’s health policy editor, tells Rachel Humphreys there is genuine concern among staff that the service will not be able to cope in the event of a sustained crisis of the type being seen in Italy.
The Premier League, the Football League and the Women’s Super League and Championship have suspended all matches until 3 April in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Paul MacInnes reports.
An unprecedented development, it follows the revelation overnight that several Premier League clubs have members of staff, including players and coaches, who are displaying symptoms of the virus.
All schools in Croatia are to shut from Monday, the country’s prime minister announced on Friday morning. Andrej Plenkovic told reporters:
Reuters currently has the country down as having 27 cases, but a reader who sent in details of the schools closures says the most recent figure is 31.
From Monday, all schools in the German state of Bavaria will be shut until the end of the Easter holidays on 19 April, the Süddeutsche Zeitung reports.
The five week holiday means almost no child in Bavaria will be able to go to school or kindergarten, with emergency care organised in only a few cases, according to the paper.
Bavarian prime minister Markus Söder also announced that he would ban visits to retirement homes and hospitals and that events with more than 100 visitors would be banned unless they were absolutely necessary.
The climbing season on Mount Everest has been called off amid fears over the coronavirus pandemic, Pete Pattisson reports.
The Nepal government suspended all mountaineering permits on Thursday and, as we reported earlier, will stop issuing on-arrival tourist visas, dealing a devastating blow to the country’s tourism industry.
Nepal’s tourism minister Yogesh Bhattarai told the Guardian, “We will review the decision if the situation improves, but for now everything has been cancelled. Those who have paid for climbing permits will be refunded.”
The Chinese government has also cancelled all expeditions from the north side of Everest.
The announcement comes as Nepal enters its peak tourist season when tens of thousands of trekkers and mountaineers were expected to test themselves among the highest mountains in the world.
Trekking and climbing are a lucrative and vital source of revenue for Nepal. Last year the government earned over £3.5 million from issuing climbing permits on peaks above 6000 metres, including Everest.
Despite its impact, the decision appears to have the support of the tourism industry.
Mingma Sherpa, the director of Seven Summit Treks, Nepal’s biggest and arguably most successful expedition company, supported the move. “No doubt our business will suffer but who will be responsible if the virus spreads on the mountain,” he said. “The mountain is here, it’s not moving anywhere. People can come and climb next year.”
Nuru Janbu Sherpa, the CEO of International Sherpa Adventure, a trekking and expedition company said, “It’s a positive decision as it will help to contain the spread of the virus. If waiting six months helps to protect people, we have no problem with suspending our business.”
However, Sherpa warned that the decision will hit many low wage labourers who depend on climbing for their livelihood.
The mountaineering industry in Nepal has suffered a series of setbacks in recent years. Climbing on Everest was effectively called off following an avalanche in 2014 and the 2015 earthquake. Last year, the government was widely criticised for failing to manage the huge numbers of climbers on the peak, which some claimed contributed to the deaths of 11 mountaineers.
Nepal has had just one confirmed case of the coronavirus, said Basu Dev Pandey, the director of the Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease hospital in Kathmandu, but he warned the country was at risk due its location between China and India.
In a further blow to the economy, last week Qatar barred entry to travellers from 14 countries, including Nepal, leaving tens of thousands of migrant labourers unable to start work in the emirate. Almost 30% of Nepal’s GDP comes from remittances sent by its migrant workers, who are largely based in the Gulf and Malaysia.
PA Media has more details on the London underground train driver who has tested positive for coronavirus.
The man, who works on the tube’s Jubilee Line, has been off work this week after returning to the UK from holiday in Vietnam, sources told the news agency. An internal message to staff said the driver, based at the North Greenwich depot, had been self-isolating but had tested positive for Covid-19. The memo said:
Rail union leaders wrote to the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, on Thursday, voicing concern about what advice transport workers are being given. The letter said:
The Scottish government is advising that gatherings of more than 500 people should be cancelled next week, as the number of positive cases jumps to 60 yesterday.Were you planning on attending an event or a trip that might now not go ahead? If so, please get in touch with the Guardian reporter Aamna Mohdin, who is based in Edinburgh, at aamna.mohdin@theguardian.com.
Barack Obama is to blame for shortcomings in the United States government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, Donald Trump has said.
But not to worry, he has fixed the problems by slashing red tape.
In the UK, a hospital left a patient with coronavirus on a ward of critical ill patients while she was being tested, according to a local newspaper report.
The Basingstoke Gazette reports that it was told by an employee of Basingstoke and North Hampshire hospital that the woman, who was showing coronavirus symptoms, was moved into a ward with critically unwell women.
According to the paper:
You can read more on the Basingstoke Gazette website.
England’s tour of Sri Lanka has been officially called off due to the global spread of the coronavirus, Ali Martin reports.
The decision was announced by the England and Wales Cricket Board and their Sri Lankan counterparts on Friday morning while Joe Root’s players were out in the middle playing the second day of their final warm-up fixture in Colombo.
The two-match series, part of the World Test Championship, was due to start in Galle next Thursday. But with England supporters due to begin travelling out to the island in the coming days, and apparent unease among the squad about the situation, a postponement became inevitable.