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Coronavirus live news: Trump says UK may be included in travel ban as WHO calls Europe 'centre of pandemic' Coronavirus live news: Trump says UK may be included in travel ban as WHO calls Europe 'centre of pandemic'
(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
The International Monetary Fund has advised all staff at its Washington, DC headquarters to work from home until further notice after an employee was diagnosed with Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, a spokesman has said.
The fund said it also has suspended all mission travel to European countries designated as Level 3 community spread areas by the Centers for Disease Control, but it “remains fully operational and stands ready to serve its members.”
In the UK, mass gatherings are set to be banned as part of the battle against coronavirus in a significant shift in the government’s position, the Press Association reports. A Whitehall source has told the news agency:
Other countries to introduce stringent measures include Cyprus, Bosnia and Uzbekistan.
Cyprus is banning entry to non-residents for 15 days, its president Nicos Anastasiades has announced. From Sunday, only Cypriots, legal residents, diplomats, registered students and specific authorised people will be admitted.
Anastasiades asked Cypriots abroad not to travel back to Cyprus unnecessarily and said all private and public educational institutions will remain closed until 10 April.
Anastasiades said restrictions at crossing points on the divided island’s ceasefire line would remain in place, asking Cypriots to cross only for “necessary trips”.
Bosnia’s authorities have agreed to require two weeks of isolation starting Monday for all its nationals arriving in the country from abroad. The move is likely to discourage members of the large Bosnian diaspora from visiting during forthcoming Easter holidays.
And Uzbekistan has suspended all flights to and from France, Spain, and Britain, as well as barring citizens of six countries –including Iran and Italy – from entering the country.
In addition to Italian and Iranian nationals, Uzbekistan has barred French, Spanish, South Korean and Chinese citizens from entering. The Central Asian country, which had already suspended flights to China, South Korea and Iran, has yet to report any cases of the virus.
Canada has unveiled aggressive new measures to contain the outbreak; shutting down parliament and advising against foreign travel, even as Justin Trudeau urged citizens to remain calm in a national address delivered from self-imposed quarantine. He told the nation:
Trudeau, whose wife has been confirmed as having contracted the virus, said he remained symptom free.
Officials announced a raft of new measures including closing parliament for five weeks and redirecting incoming international flights to a small number of airports as part of enhanced screening measures.
The government also announced it will ban cruise ships with 500 people from docking in the country’s ports until 1 July – but stopped short of closing the borders. Canada’s health minister, Patty Hajdu, said:
Instead, the government has asked Canadians to avoid non-essential travel outside the country and to limit contact with crowds. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, said:
Officials in Toronto, the country’s largest city, announced the closure of all child care facilities, public libraries and community centres. They also announced the surprise cancellation of all spring break camps and urged residents to reconsider taking public transit.
Experts cautioned that no clear blueprints yet exist on now to stem the spread of the virus— but that certain measures have shown degrees of success. Dr Susy Hota, an infectious disease specialist and the medical director of prevention and control at Toronto’s university health network, said:
Egypt has reported 13 new cases, bringing the total of cases detected in the country to 93, Reuters quotes its health ministry as saying. The new cases reported include five Egyptians and eight foreigners.
The country has recorded two deaths because of coronavirus – one of a German tourist and another of a 60-year-old woman, the ministry added.
Another to reported its first coronavirus cases was Kosovo, which said a 20-year-old Italian woman and a 77-year-old Kosovar man were confirmed sufferers. The health minister, Arben Vitia, has said:
Local media said the 20-year-old Italian woman was working for a humanitarian organisation, while the man had also arrived from Italy in the past few days.
The also government said it would isolate two regions where the first patients were discovered, as well as closing all restaurants and shopping centres. Schools were closed on Wednesday.
Uruguay has also confirmed its first four recorded cases, its ministry of health announced in a tweet. All four cases were people who had arrived to Uruguay from Milan, Italy between 3 and 6 March, the ministry said, adding that the patients are stable and at their homes.Uruguay has also confirmed its first four recorded cases, its ministry of health announced in a tweet. All four cases were people who had arrived to Uruguay from Milan, Italy between 3 and 6 March, the ministry said, adding that the patients are stable and at their homes.
Suriname has identified its first case, the country’s vice president told the national assembly. Michael Ashwin Adhin said the patient had traveled to the South American country last week from the Netherlands and that borders and airports will close at midnight for all persons and flights.Suriname has identified its first case, the country’s vice president told the national assembly. Michael Ashwin Adhin said the patient had traveled to the South American country last week from the Netherlands and that borders and airports will close at midnight for all persons and flights.
Plans to close off Catalonia have been announced by the northeastern Spanish region’s president, Quim Torra, who called on the central government to help by authorising the closure of ports, airports and railways.Plans to close off Catalonia have been announced by the northeastern Spanish region’s president, Quim Torra, who called on the central government to help by authorising the closure of ports, airports and railways.
While Catalonia is one of Spain’s 17 autonomous regions, major transport hubs come under the mandate of the central government.While Catalonia is one of Spain’s 17 autonomous regions, major transport hubs come under the mandate of the central government.
His call, which would affect Catalonia’s 7.5 million residents, came hours after the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said that a national state of emergency would be declared on Saturday. And, in Madrid, the regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso recommended that residents not leave their homes.His call, which would affect Catalonia’s 7.5 million residents, came hours after the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said that a national state of emergency would be declared on Saturday. And, in Madrid, the regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso recommended that residents not leave their homes.
In Europe, Hungary is closing all schools and will continue education as best as it can via digital channels, its prime minister Viktor Orbán has said.In Europe, Hungary is closing all schools and will continue education as best as it can via digital channels, its prime minister Viktor Orbán has said.
In a Facebook video, he said he expected the Hungarian economy to stall soon and it will have to be restarted; an effort the government will participate in.In a Facebook video, he said he expected the Hungarian economy to stall soon and it will have to be restarted; an effort the government will participate in.
Multiple times during this press conference, Trump has been asked about the Brazilian official whom he met and who subsequently tested positive. He was asked if he was offering different advice to Americans than he’s practising himself.Multiple times during this press conference, Trump has been asked about the Brazilian official whom he met and who subsequently tested positive. He was asked if he was offering different advice to Americans than he’s practising himself.
In response to a followup question Trump said he would be tested “fairly soon.”In response to a followup question Trump said he would be tested “fairly soon.”
Asked how long the national emergency would go on for, Trump did not give a specific answer. Trump said:
He also said that the Trump administration is in touch with other countries dealing with the coronavirus.
Trump again refuses to take responsibility for the US’s response to the spread of coronavirus, which many have said was too slow. Asked about the closure of the White House’s pandemic office under his watch, he said:
Here’s a little more detail on Trump’s comments in respect of the US’s travel ban. Addressing potentially adding the UK to the list, he said:
Trump also stressed the importance of local governments staying consistent in their steps to fight coronavirus. Governors around the country have issued bans of large gatherings at varying levels.
Then Trump made a small tangent to note all the major sporting events that have been postponed, canceled, or dramatically scaled back to prevent transmission of the virus.
It’s important to note that Trump, during a question and answer session following his remarks, was asked whether he or his staff were taking any precautions to make sure they get tests for coronavirus. Trump stressed repeatedly that he and his staff did not have any exposure.
Trump is asked why the UK was exempted from the travel ban list. He says that was the expert advice and, looking at the increase in the number of cases in the UK, the country may be added to the list soon, while other countries might be taken off it.
Trump, who initially called coronavirus a “hoax”, explicitly refuses to take responsibility for the “lag” in testing in the US, blaming what he says were outdated rules and regulations that he says were not designed for this sort of outbreak.
Fauci backs him up, saying the CDC-designed system was not designed for this and the US needed the help of private business.
Trump also said the United States would take advantage of low oil prices and buy a large quantity of crude to fill the nation’s strategic reserves.
The US vice president, Mike Pence, says coronavirus is now present in 46 of the 50 states of the union.
He says the administration will be able to say when Google’s screening website will be available by Sunday.
Meanwhile, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, the top Democratic senator in Congress, released a statement welcoming Trump’s invocation of the Stafford Act. His response, blasted out before Trump’s presser ended, is below: