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Coronavirus live updates: US health chiefs advise against events of more than 50 as 100m Europeans locked down Coronavirus live updates: US health chiefs advise against events of more than 50 as 100m Europeans locked down
(32 minutes later)
New York closes schools; US Federal Reserve cuts interest rates to near zero; Deaths jump in Spain, Italy and Iran. Follow the latest news.New York closes schools; US Federal Reserve cuts interest rates to near zero; Deaths jump in Spain, Italy and Iran. Follow the latest news.
Health authorities are imploring Mexicans to change lifestyles and deeply ingrained customs to slow the spread of the new coronavirus: Avoid physical greetings, keep your distance from others, avoid nonessential activities, among others. The message doesn’t seem to have sunk in with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who isn’t practicing what his own officials are preaching, AP reports.
Touring the Mexican countryside this weekend, López Obrador gave a series of campaign-style speeches to crowds of townspeople touting his administration and barely mentioning the pandemic, saying Sunday that he has great faith that we are going to advance our beloved Mexico, no misfortune will hurt us, pandemics, none of that. On Saturday he waded through a crowd of fans jostling each other to get selfies with him outside a hotel, giving out hugs and even cradling and kissing a young girl on the cheek. Hours later, back in Mexico City, Health Department Deputy Secretary Hugo López-Gatell gave his daily evening news conference, soberly updating the country on the number of confirmed coronavirus cases 41, up from 26 the previous day and 11 the day before that and warning that the situation in Mexico is expected to get more serious soon. We have already said, it is highly recommendable starting today that we avoid greeting with handshakes, kisses, hugs. ... Let us greet each other in a way that we do not need to be inside the healthy distance, López-Gatell said.
The Australian sharemarket had clawed back some losses by midday after diving 7% at the opening bell, with the benchmark ASX200 index down 5.3% from Friday’s closing price.
In reactions to the coronavirus crisis this morning, Air New Zealand has cut 85% of its international flights and will cut jobs, Crown Resorts has closed every second poker machine at its casinos and hearing implant company Cochlear has withdrawn its previous profit forecasts.But the big development is that financial regulators are going to meet with the big banks this week. The immediate problem is that small to medium businesses have no money to repay their loans. Banks have said they will allow those customers to delay repayments, which in turn will put pressure on their own businesses.If small businesses start sacking people in droves, defaults on home mortgages become more likely. This is a potentially big problem for the banks, which have lent heavily against houses.
The Democratic Debate so far
The debate has paused for a short commercial break. Here’s where things stand so far:
Most of the first hour of the debate unsurprisingly focused on the coronavirus crisis, as Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders criticised the Trump administration’s response and emphasised the need to confront the crisis and adhere to medical experts’ guidance.
While answering the question about how he is limiting his potential exposure to coronavirus, Joe Biden tried to contrast his health to Bernie Sanders’. “Well fortunately I don’t have any of the underlying conditions you talked about,” Biden said. The line was a clear reference to Sanders’ heart attack in October, although it’s worth noting both candidates are in their late 70’s, putting them both in the highest-risk age group for coronavirus.
The debate has been more contentious than many commentators expected, considering the unfolding crisis. There was a testy exchange where Sanders criticised Biden for his refusal to disavow a super PAC supporting his candidacy and his past comments on potential cuts to social security.
Joe Biden vowed to choose a woman as his running mate if he won the presidential nomination. He also reiterated his first nominee to the Supreme Court would be an African-American woman, which would be a first for the country.
Sanders has delighted viewers after telling debate viewers to “go to the YouTube” to research about Biden’s record on social security, writes Max Benwell.
Donald Trump urged Americans to refrain from panic buying basic supplies during the Covid-19 pandemic as the administration announced plans to expand testing for the virus and health officials were preparing to release “advanced guidelines” on how to mitigate its spread.
During a press briefing at the White House on Sunday evening, Trump again appeared to downplay the threat of the novel coronavirus. “Relax, we’re doing great,” he said, during short, meandering comments that focused mostly on celebrating a decision by the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. “It all will pass.”
Vittorio Gregotti, an Italian architect who helped design the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics stadium, has died aged 92 after catching the coronavirus, Italian media said.
Gregotti died of pneumonia on Sunday after being hospitalised in Milan, having fallen ill with Covid-19, the Corriere della Sera newspaper and AGI news agency reported.
Argentina went into a full official lockdown Sunday evening as President Alberto Fernández announced the closing of the country’s borders to all arrivals, including the closure of its land borders with its South American neighbours, the suspension of all classes until March 31, permission for all persons who can work from home to do so in both the public and private sectors and a number of other important measures aimed at slowing the spread of coronavirus here.
“Everyone who can, should stay home,” said the president in a press conference. Among the new measures are a mandatory leave of absence for all persons over 65, special bank and pharmacy hours for persons over 65 to reduce their exposure to large groups of people, the nationwide cancellation of all music shows and other entertainment events, the closure of shopping malls and a series of measures to restrict the flow of people on trains, subways and other forms of public transport.
“We’ve closed Argentina’s border for the next 15 days, except obviously for the entry of Argentine citizens or residents,” the president said. Argentina’s borders will nonetheless remain open for persons wishing to leave the country.
Argentina last week already closed the arrival of flights from the countries most affected by the virus, China, South Korea, Japan, Iran, all of Europe, the UK and the US, but that ban has now been extended to include even its closest neighbours, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Bolivia and Uruguay.
“We found that a number of people who had been in the most affected countries were entering across our land borders,” Fernández said, referring to persons who flew to a neighbouring country from Europe, the US or other affected countries and then entered Argentina by land.
The number of coronavirus cases in Argentina ascended to 56 confirmed cases Sunday, up from 46 Saturday, almost all involving persons arriving from Europe and the US, with the number of deaths remaining at two so far.
Have any tips, good news or stories I may have missed? Send me a message on Twitter @helenrsullivan.
Former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd writes, of the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic:
The New Zealand director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield has assured the thousands of people in self-isolation it is safe to “walk, bike or do some gardening” outside, as long as they undertake those activities alone, and not in crowded public spaces.
“Going out for a drive, or a ride” is also ok, and Bloomfield said family and friends can visit or drop off supplies “to have a chat,” as long as they stay two metres away, and contact is not prolonged. The number of corona cases in New Zealand remains at 8. “It’s about physical distancing, in fact we need to be more socially connected at the moment” Bloomfield said.
Australia’s National Rugby League is making sure to wash its balls. Hopefully that helps ward off the virus despite the the packed crowd in attendance.Australia’s National Rugby League is making sure to wash its balls. Hopefully that helps ward off the virus despite the the packed crowd in attendance.
In the US, where Democratic candidates Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders are debating one another in an audience-less studio, an emerging theme has been the candidates mixing up coronavirus with other deadly diseases.In the US, where Democratic candidates Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders are debating one another in an audience-less studio, an emerging theme has been the candidates mixing up coronavirus with other deadly diseases.
First of all Biden referred to coronavirus when he meant to say swine flu, then mispronounced H1N1 (which swine flu is also called).First of all Biden referred to coronavirus when he meant to say swine flu, then mispronounced H1N1 (which swine flu is also called).
It hasn’t gone unnoticed by Donald Trump Jr:It hasn’t gone unnoticed by Donald Trump Jr:
But Biden’s not the only one. Sanders later made a similar blunder, saying ebola instead of coronavirus, before blaming Biden for the error:But Biden’s not the only one. Sanders later made a similar blunder, saying ebola instead of coronavirus, before blaming Biden for the error:
A US sailor aboard a warship ship tested positive for the coronavirus for the first time, the US Navy said on Sunday, as it disclosed the case of a sailor assigned to an amphibious assault ship.
The Navy said the sailor was quarantined at home and that personnel that the sailor immediately identified having close contact with have been notified and are in self-isolation at their residences. “None of them is aboard the ship currently. US Navy ships conduct routine, daily cleanliness procedures geared toward health, wellness and the prevention of communicable disease spread,” the Navy said in a statement, adding the sailor had been assigned to the USS Boxer.
Mainland China had 16 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections on Sunday, the National Health Commission said on Monday, down from 20 a day earlier. That brings the total number of confirmed cases in China so far to 80,860. The death toll from the outbreak in China had reached 3,213 as of the end of Sunday, up by 14 from the previous day. In the central province of Hubei, the epicentre of the outbreak in China, there were 14 new deaths, with the provincial capital of Wuhan accounting for 13 of the fatalities.
Biden: “People are looking for results, not a revolution,” in response to Bernie Sanders, who has argued the coronavirus crisis demonstrates the need for systematic change.
In the US, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders both said they would deploy the US military to help confront the coronavirus crisis.
Trump has not yet taken that step, but senior administration officials said today that all options remain on the table.
The National Guard has already helped set up a “containment area” in New York’s Westchester County, which has seen a high number of coronavirus cases.
Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders are sparring over whether the coronavirus crisis underscores the need for an overhaul of the US healthcare system.
Biden is essentially arguing that America needs to take extraordinary steps to combat the virus but not necessarily long-term steps toward changing our healthcare system.
Sanders is arguing that the current crisis underscores the problems inherent in the US healthcare system and demonstrates the need to switch to a single-payer system.
After rebounding in remarkable fashion, Biden now leads Sanders by roughly 150 delegates after a second consecutive week of commanding primary victories. A strong showing on Tuesday - when Illinois, Ohio, Arizona and Florida will go to the polls to vote for their preferred candidate - could all but guarantee Biden’s ascent to the nomination to face Donald Trump in the November election.
This week, Sanders telegraphed his intention to press Biden on a laundry list of proposals, including healthcare, climate change, student debt, immigration and wealth inequality.
Ahead of the debate, Biden extended an olive branch to the party’s left wing, adopting a bankruptcy reform plan introduced by his former rival Elizabeth Warren and expanding his higher education platform to move closer to Sanders’ proposal to eliminate college tuition at all two- and four-year public colleges for students regardless of income. In a statement, Sanders said the plan did not go far enough.
Both men sought to strike a delicate balance between debating the issues and addressing the urgent health crisis gripping the nation.
Sanders used the crisis and warnings about how the shortcomings in the American healthcare system will affect the nation’s response to highlight his signature policy issue, Medicare for All.
The 11th US Democratic debate, the first since the coronavirus crisis kicked into high gear in the United States, has now started.
Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders have taken the stage and, with CDC guidelines advising against handshakes, the two candidates greeted each other by tapping elbows.
Because of the coronavirus crisis, tonight’s debate is taking place without a live audience or a media spin room.
According to CNN’s Jake Tapper, one of the moderators tonight, this will be the first presidential debate between two candidates held in a television studio without a live audience since 1960.
We’ll be posting any virus-related debate news here, but if you would like to follow all of the US political developments, here is the US politics live blog.
The Australian market plunged 7.3% on Monday morning as coronavirus fears again gripped traders.
This follows a rollercoaster day on Friday when the benchmark ASX200 index plunged as much as 8% before roaring back to finish the day up 4.4%.
Here is our latest Coronavirus: At a Glance for the key developments in the global pandemic:
The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has published an advisory on its website recommending that “for the next 8 weeks, organisers (whether groups or individuals) cancel or postpone in-person events that consist of 50 people or more throughout the United States.”
The note continues:
Welcome to today’s coronavirus liveblog. An increasing number of world leaders have made the decision to impose partial shutdowns or total lockdowns in their countries as Italy, Iran and Spain saw sharp increases in the number of deaths caused by the virus. We’ll be bringing you the latest developments throughout the day.
The US Federal Reserve announced it is cutting its benchmark interest rate to near zero and said it would buy US$700bn in Treasury and mortgage-backed securities as it attempts to head off a severe slowdown.
New York City will close the largest public school system in the US on Monday, sending more than 1.1 million children home in hopes of curbing the spread of coronavirus, the city’s mayor announced on Sunday, calling it a “very troubling moment”.
UK over-70’s will be asked to self-isolate for up to four months, in order to protect them from the virus, he told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday.
UK health secretary Matt Hancock said Britain has not ruled out following other countries and closing restaurants, bars and other shops to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
British police will have powers to arrest Covid-19 patients not self-isolating, the health secretary has confirmed.
Boris Johnson plans to hold daily ministerial press conferences on the crisis, in an attempt to shore up public confidence in the government’s handling of the pandemic.
Iran recorded the highest number of deaths in a single day from coronavirus on Saturday, with 113 new deaths in the past 24 hours, meaning the country’s death toll from the coronavirus has reached 724. There are 13,938 people infected across the country.
Spain reports deaths have jumped in a day to 288. The number of deaths in Spain from the coronavirus have more than doubled in a day, to 288, with the number of infections near 8,000.
People in Norway have been ordered to leave their countryside cabins and return to their homes, due to fears rural hospitals could be overwhelmed, according to Norwegian media.
Nike is set to close all of its stores in the United States and several other countries to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
The US embassy and the British Foreign Office are advising their non-resident citizens to leave Argentina quickly while flights are still open.
The death toll in Italy increased by 25% to 1,809 from 1,441 on Sunday – a rise of 368. The total number of confirmed cases in Italy rose to 24,747 from 21,157 on Saturday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tested negative for coronavirus, his office said in a statement on Sunday.
Louis Vuitton owner LVMH has said its cosmetics unit would manufacture large quantities of hand disinfectant gel to help stave off a nationwide shortage across France as the coronavirus continues to spread.
South Africa has declared a national disaster and introduced a series of drastic measures to fight the coronavirus outbreak in the country.
Luxembourg on Sunday followed its neighbours France and Belgium in closing bars and restaurants to try to stem the spread of the coronavirus epidemic.
California governor Gavin Newsom has directed the closure of all bars, wineries, nightclubs and brewpubs in the state and called for all seniors age 65 years or older to stay in home isolation to curb the spread of coronavirus.
The US now has more than 2,900 cases in 49 states, Vice-President Mike Pence said in a press briefing on Sunday evening.
Lawyers acting for the mother of a child who has asthma and attends a primary school in County Armagh are planning to launch a judicial review of the Stormont government’s decision not to close schools in Northern Ireland.