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Coronavirus updates: French citizens ordered to stay in their homes, as Canada closes borders to foreigners – live news | |
(32 minutes later) | |
WHO urges governments to ‘test, test, test’; US measures ramped up; Germany closes shops. Follow the latest news | |
The Trump administration’s measures are particularly focused on older people, whom it urged to stay home and keep away from other people. | |
The US president, Donald Trump, is announcing more radical White House recommendations; telling Americans to avoid any gatherings of more than 10 people over the next 15 days and advising all states with evidence of community transmission to close down bars, restaurants, gyms and other facilities. | |
France will also be closing its borders, in coordination with other EU nations, Macron says. | |
France is taking a slightly different approach. Macron has told the nation he wants no company to be exposed to the risk of collapse as a result of the pandemic. He has also said gas, electricity and water bills are to be suspended – as are rents – and the state will guarantee companies’ loans with a €300bn package. | |
Here’s a summary of the latest developments: | |
The head of the World Health Organizaion, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has implored governments to test more suspected cases, warning that they cannot fight the pandemic blindfolded. In a strongly-worded attack on governments which have neglected or held back testing, he said: “We have not seen an urgent enough escalation in testing, isolation and contact tracing, which is the backbone of the response.” | |
The death toll in Italy from Covid-19 has increased to 2,158, with the announcement of another 349 victims in Europe’s worst his country. Spain confirmed 9,191 cases and 309 deaths, making it the second hardest-hit country in Europe after Italy. | |
The death toll in the UK has increased to 55 people, including the first death in Wales. The latest victims included a 56-year-old, believed to be the youngest in the UK so far. | |
Boris Johnson unveiled a series of stringent new restrictions, including a 14-day isolation for all households with symptoms, a warning against “non-essential” contact, and an end to all mass gatherings. At the first of what is set to be daily Downing Street press conferences, the prime minister Johnson also said those over 70 and will soon need to be “largely shielded from social contact for around 12 weeks”. | |
Germany has closed places of worship, bars, restaurants, museums and cinemas. Announcing the plan, Chancellor Angela Merkel said: “The more individuals stick to these rules, the quicker we will get through this phase.” | |
The actor Idris Elba has become the latest celebrity to contract the virus. Earlier this month he was photographed at an event at London’s Wembley Arena with Sophie Grégoire Trudeau just over week before she tested positive. | |
The European Union has proposed banning all but essential travel for 30 days. Egypt, Canada, and Malaysia have become the latest countries to close airports. | |
France has warned of a “fast-deteriorating” situation and Spain has requisitioned its private healthcare sector. Jérôme Salomon, France’s top health official, said on Monday the epidemic in the country was “very worrying”, with the number of cases doubling every three days. “There is a real worry the speed of the outbreak could saturate hospitals,” he said. | |
Mounting concerns that the pandemic could prompt a global recession have sent financial markets around the world plunging, despite a coordinated effort by central banks to protect growth and jobs. The escalation of the worst turmoil since the 2008 financial crisis, came as world leaders prepared to hold a G7 video summit on Monday devoted to strengthening the financial markets during the coronavirus pandemic and improving coordination on finding a vaccine. | |
Major airlines including British Airways, Ryanair, easyJet and Virgin Atlantic announced a dramatic scaling back of their operations on Monday, with cuts of up to 80% of their services. The moves came as an aviation consultancy warned that the international airline industry will collapse within months, with the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs, unless states worldwide inject billions of dollars of emergency funding to see it through the coronavirus “catastrophe”. | |
The economic impact on Ireland will be “severe”, the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has warned. | |
All Irish residents have been urged not to travel overseas. The deputy Irish premier, Simon Coveney, said the National Public Health Emergency Team has recommended the measure be put in place from now until 29 March. The guidance includes Great Britain, but not Northern Ireland. | |
IN the UK, the health secretary Matt Hancock has said the illness is thought not to come back “for some time” for those who contract it. He has told MPs: | |
Adding weight to his order, Macron says infractions will be punished – going significantly further than the measures announced by the UK’s prime minister in the last few hours. | |
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, is telling the nation people’s movements will be severely limited, saying those who have ignored the government’s advice to isolate have put the health of other people at risk. He has ordered citizens to stay in their homes and only come out where it’s absolutely necessary. | |
Macron says all companies must now take steps to ensure employees can work from home. And he calls off a second round of municipal elections. | |
The leaders of the G7 group of nations – the UK and the US, France, Germany and Italy, as well as Canada and Japan – have promised to do “whatever is necessary” to combat the virus. | |
Focusing on the global scale and nature of the problem, a statement released by Downing Street said the seven nations would focus on | |
Coordinating on necessary public health measures | |
Restoring confidence, growth, and protecting jobs | |
Supporting global trade and investment | |
Encouraging science, research, and technological cooperation | |
Sergeant exams for police officers which had been scheduled to take place in large venues around the country tomorrow have now been cancelled. | Sergeant exams for police officers which had been scheduled to take place in large venues around the country tomorrow have now been cancelled. |
The College of Policing said in a statement: | The College of Policing said in a statement: |