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Coronavirus live news: Spain set to extend state of emergency after 394 new deaths Coronavirus live news: Spain set to extend state of emergency after 394 new deaths
(30 minutes later)
First two cases in Gaza; Australia shuts pubs and cinemas but schools stay open; Italy warns of worst crisis since WWII; India launches curfew Reports say 360 more people have died in Italy; first two cases in Gaza; Saudi Arabia cases pass 500; India launches curfew
Poland went ahead with six by-elections on Sunday and reaffirmed plans to hold presidential elections on May 10 as pressure rises to call off the poll amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“We have to prepare this. That is the law in our country - nothing has changed,” Tomasz Grzelewski, spokesman for the National Electoral Commission, said. “If there was a decision by the President about introducing a state of emergency, then we would behave differently.”
Poland has shuttered schools, cinemas and theatres, while limiting public gatherings to no more than 50 people. It has also closed its borders to foreigners and introduced a “state of epidemic”.
The country has 627 confirmed cases of coronavirus and seven deaths as of Sunday.But despite calls from opposition critics and candidates to call off the presidential elections, the government says it will not postpone them as it could only do so if it introduces a state of emergency.
Earlier this month, voters turned out in low numbers in France’s mayoral elections after the government imposed stringent restrictions on public life. The second round of the election was then called off.
Grzelewski said protective measures had been taken to ensure the by-election went ahead smoothly. Staff at voting booths had masks, disinfectant gel and gloves for voters to use. Voters were also to be given single-use pens to mark their ballots.
Germany will ban public meetings of more than two people unless they are about work on slowing the spread of the coronavirus, the premier of North Rhine-Westphalia state said on Sunday.
“The danger lies in the direct social interaction,” state premier Armin Laschet said, adding that the federal government and regional states had agreed on the stricter rules.
Spain’s Interior Ministry has said that Spain will impose 30 day entry restrictions on most foreigners from midnight at ports and airports. Spanish nationals, foreign residents, air crew, cargo workers, health workers and diplomats will be exempted from restrictions.
Colombia’s prisons were rocked by riots and protests overnight, with inmates demanding better protection against the spread of Covid-19 in the South American country’s jails.
Shootouts were heard outside some prisons as videos circulated on social media showing fires and unrest.
One video appears to show armed riot police outside La Modelo prison in Bogotá, the capital, as shots and explosions can be heard inside.
Another video appeared to show a fire raging inside the same prison.
Colombia’s overcrowded prisons have long been hotbeds for organised crime, with violent power struggles between inmates and guards flaring up on occasion. Earlier this month, the government banned visitors to prisons in a bid to isolate inmates from the coronavirus.
“The authorities must urgently hand over an official report on the protests and riots that occurred last night in the country’s jails,” José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch, tweeted on Sunday morning. “Many of the detainees demanded conditions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. They denounce several dead and wounded.”
The Justice Ministry said Sunday that the rioting left 23 dead and 83 injured in Bogota.
Prison authorities have not yet reported how many casualties resulted from the disturbances.
Bogotá’s mayor, Claudia López, joined the chorus calling for a report on Sunday morning, tweeting that if authorities don’t “face up and explain [what happened] to families of prisoners, there will be another right, but of distressed families.”
The riots broke out on the same night that Colombia confirmed its first death as a result of Covid-19. On Sunday morning, confirmed cases stood at 231, with two people dying from the disease.
A nationwide quarantine - expanding on those currently in place in cities across the country, including Bogotá - will come into effect at midnight on Tuesday.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said at a press conference that “Life shouldn’t feel normal right now, so if your life still feels entirely normal, ask yourself if you are doing the right things”Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said at a press conference that “Life shouldn’t feel normal right now, so if your life still feels entirely normal, ask yourself if you are doing the right things”
She also said that people shouldn’t go shopping except for essentials or gather at parties, celebrations or weddings. She said that gathering together in the park or at the beach should be avoided, because this is almost as dangerous as going to the pub.She also said that people shouldn’t go shopping except for essentials or gather at parties, celebrations or weddings. She said that gathering together in the park or at the beach should be avoided, because this is almost as dangerous as going to the pub.
Mozambique has confirmed its first case of the new coronavirus - a 75-year-old man who had recently returned from Britain, health minister Armindo Tiago said on Sunday.The man returned to the country mid-March, Tiago told journalists.Mozambique has confirmed its first case of the new coronavirus - a 75-year-old man who had recently returned from Britain, health minister Armindo Tiago said on Sunday.The man returned to the country mid-March, Tiago told journalists.
The death toll in the northern region of Lombardy, which has borne the brunt of Italy’s virus outbreak, has risen by around 360 in a day to more than 3,450, a source has told Reuters.The death toll in the northern region of Lombardy, which has borne the brunt of Italy’s virus outbreak, has risen by around 360 in a day to more than 3,450, a source has told Reuters.
The number of cases in the region, which includes Italy’s financial capital Milan, has increased by around 2,590 to more than 28,370. However, a number of results were still awaiting confirmation and it was not clear if they would be added later.The number of cases in the region, which includes Italy’s financial capital Milan, has increased by around 2,590 to more than 28,370. However, a number of results were still awaiting confirmation and it was not clear if they would be added later.
Sunday’s figures represented an improvement on Saturday, when the death toll in the region rose by 546 and new cases increased by 3,251. The national death toll is due to be released later on Sunday. The tally stood at 4,825 on Saturday - the highest in the world.Sunday’s figures represented an improvement on Saturday, when the death toll in the region rose by 546 and new cases increased by 3,251. The national death toll is due to be released later on Sunday. The tally stood at 4,825 on Saturday - the highest in the world.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said his government would ask parliament to extend for another 15 days until April 11 a state of emergency it imposed this month to try to curb the spread of the virus.Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said his government would ask parliament to extend for another 15 days until April 11 a state of emergency it imposed this month to try to curb the spread of the virus.
The nationwide state of emergency was first announced on March 14 and it bars people in the nation of around 46 million people from leaving home except for essential outings like buying food or seeking medical care.The nationwide state of emergency was first announced on March 14 and it bars people in the nation of around 46 million people from leaving home except for essential outings like buying food or seeking medical care.
Sanchez said the request to extend the state of emergency would be approved by his cabinet on Tuesday and he was confident the assembly would approve it.Sanchez said the request to extend the state of emergency would be approved by his cabinet on Tuesday and he was confident the assembly would approve it.
“I know that is a drastic measure... but experts agree that it is an effective measure in the fight against coronavirus,” he told a news conference after holding talks via video conference with the heads of Spain’s regional governments.“I know that is a drastic measure... but experts agree that it is an effective measure in the fight against coronavirus,” he told a news conference after holding talks via video conference with the heads of Spain’s regional governments.
The announcement comes after Spain announced 394 new deaths caused by the pandemic, raising to 1,720 the official death toll in Europe’s worst-hit country after Italy, a 30 percent increase over the previous day.The announcement comes after Spain announced 394 new deaths caused by the pandemic, raising to 1,720 the official death toll in Europe’s worst-hit country after Italy, a 30 percent increase over the previous day.
The number of confirmed cases of the disease rose by 3,646, or 14.6 percent, to 28,572, according to health ministry figures, straining Spain’s health care system.The number of confirmed cases of the disease rose by 3,646, or 14.6 percent, to 28,572, according to health ministry figures, straining Spain’s health care system.
Sanchez has said his country’s situation was now the most difficult since the 1936-39 civil war, and he warned that the outbreak would worsen.Sanchez has said his country’s situation was now the most difficult since the 1936-39 civil war, and he warned that the outbreak would worsen.
“We must prepare ourselves emotionally and psychologically for very hard days ahead,” he told the nation in a televised address late on Saturday.“We must prepare ourselves emotionally and psychologically for very hard days ahead,” he told the nation in a televised address late on Saturday.
A French doctor has died from coronavirus, the first medic to succumb in the country, health minister Olivier Veran has said.A French doctor has died from coronavirus, the first medic to succumb in the country, health minister Olivier Veran has said.
The minister paid tribute to all front-line medical staff and urged other workers to keep essential services running despite the nationwide lockdown. “The medical profession is making a heavy sacrifice in our country today,” Veran told LCI television.The minister paid tribute to all front-line medical staff and urged other workers to keep essential services running despite the nationwide lockdown. “The medical profession is making a heavy sacrifice in our country today,” Veran told LCI television.
The doctor who died was an emergency specialist working at a hospital in Compiegne, north of Paris, public television reported, citing a Facebook post by one of his children. “We’re asking citizens to continue mobilising to keep our economy working,” Veran said. “Not for the sake of economic objectives or budgets, but because a single missing link can bring down the entire production system.”The doctor who died was an emergency specialist working at a hospital in Compiegne, north of Paris, public television reported, citing a Facebook post by one of his children. “We’re asking citizens to continue mobilising to keep our economy working,” Veran said. “Not for the sake of economic objectives or budgets, but because a single missing link can bring down the entire production system.”
France’s death toll rose by 112 to 562 on Saturday, according to health ministry numbers, while the number of confirmed cases increased 15% to 14,459 in 24 hours.The government may also roll out a tax-free coronavirus “attendance bonus” for people who need to be at their workplace to carry out their jobs, officials have said.France’s death toll rose by 112 to 562 on Saturday, according to health ministry numbers, while the number of confirmed cases increased 15% to 14,459 in 24 hours.The government may also roll out a tax-free coronavirus “attendance bonus” for people who need to be at their workplace to carry out their jobs, officials have said.
Dubai carrier Emirates has reversed a previous announcement suspending all passenger flights, saying it is going to continue flying to 13 destinations, including the the U.S., the UK, Japan, Australia and Canada. The company said Sunday that the decision comes after receiving requests from governments and customers to support the repatriation of travellers. Hours earlier, Emirates said it was suspending all passenger flights starting Wednesday.Dubai carrier Emirates has reversed a previous announcement suspending all passenger flights, saying it is going to continue flying to 13 destinations, including the the U.S., the UK, Japan, Australia and Canada. The company said Sunday that the decision comes after receiving requests from governments and customers to support the repatriation of travellers. Hours earlier, Emirates said it was suspending all passenger flights starting Wednesday.
Cambodia has reported 31 new cases of coronavirus on Sunday, 29 of them among French tourists, bringing the total number of infections recorded in the Southeast Asian country to 84, the health ministry said in a statement.
The statement said the two Cambodians who were infected had been tour guides accompanying the tourists. All were now being kept in isolation in a hotel in the beach city of Sihanoukville, the statement said.
The Canadian death toll from the coronavirus outbreak jumped almost 50% percent to 19 in less than a day, according to official figures released by the federal government on Sunday.
Ottawa said late on Saturday that 13 people had died from the respiratory illness caused by the virus, but by 9 a.m. ET (1300 GMT) on Sunday that number had grown to 19. The number of confirmed cases rose to 1,302 from 1,099, with a further 69 people listed as probably suffering from the highly contagious virus.
Canada has already closed its borders to all but essential travel, announced a C$27 billion aid package for the most affected by the health crisis and is urging people to practice self-isolation.
Health Minister Patty Hajdu said on Saturday that “Canadians need to understand this isn’t about two weeks of social distancing. This is about months of social distancing.”Nova Scotia on Sunday became the latest of Canada’s 10 provinces to declare a state of emergency, closing its borders to non-residents and threatening to arrest those who did not practice self-distancing.
Premier Stephen McNeil told a news conference that despite warnings to avoid meeting in large groups, people were flocking to provincial parks and other common areas.“We are dealing with a deadly virus and this behavior is unacceptable,” he said.
Saudi Arabia has reported a jump in coronavirus cases. Saudi Health Ministry spokesman Mohammed Abdelali said the kingdom recorded 119 new cases, raising the total number to 511, the highest to date in the Gulf Arab region.
The tally of cases in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council now stands at more than 1,700.
José Ameal Peña was just four years old when the 1918 flu tore through his small fishing town in northern Spain, its deadly path narrated by the daily ringing of church bells.
More than a century later, Ameal Peña – believed to be Spain’s only living survivor of a pandemic described to be the deadliest in human history – has a warning as the world faces off against Covid-19: “Be careful,” he said. “I don’t want to see the same thing repeated, it claimed so many lives.”
The 1918 flu, known as the Spanish flu after the country’s press were among the first to report on it, killed between 50 and 100 million people around the world.
In Ameal Peña’s town of Luarca, it claimed some 500 lives, or a quarter of the town’s 2,000 residents. He watched from his window as a steady stream of funeral processions made their way to the local cemetery.
In autumn 1918, he became the only one out of his seven siblings to catch the flu. “I still can’t figure out how I’m here,” he told Spanish newspaper El Mundo. “When I woke up, I could barely walk. I had to crawl on my hands and knees.”
As he wrestled with a relentless fever, a local doctor prescribed vapours of boiled eucalyptus and seaweed.
In recent weeks, he’s watched anxiously as another pandemic tightens its grip on the world. Spain has emerged as one of Europe’s hardest-hit by the coronavirus, with 1,720 people killed.
“He knows exactly what is happening with the coronavirus,” his daughter Anunciata told El Mundo. “Since he lived through all that, he’s having a hard time now. He’s afraid that something similar will happen again, even though we’re living in very different times.”
While the fear unleashed by both pandemics is similar, this time the battle is unfolding against a backdrop of scientific advances, allowing the virus to be isolated, antiviral drugs to be tested and complex medical treatments to be carried out.
Across the Atlantic, another survivor of the 1918 flu, 107-year-old Joe Newman, offered his perspective. “There are those of us who say, well, this too shall go away. And it will,” the resident of Sarasota, Florida told NBC news. “But at what cost, at what expense?”
Newman urged people to lean on each other for support. “You have to be my crutch. I have to be yours. It’s been that way through every crisis we’ve had,” he said. “And then we find – when we do look back – that is what got us through it.”
One of the world’s biggest airlines, Emirates, said it was suspending all passenger flights starting Wednesday. It’s a pivotal move that reflects the dramatic slowdown in traffic through the airline’s hub in Dubai, the world’s busiest international airport, due to disruptions caused by the coronavirus.
The state-owned carrier stressed in a statement on Sunday it will continue to operate cargo flights through its fleet of Boeing 777 freighters for the transport of essential goods, including medical supplies across the world. It also said the company would reduce salaries for the majority of its employees for three months, but will not cut jobs.
23 new cases of the virus have been confirmed in Singapore. 18 of the cases had recently travelled to Europe, North America, South America and ASEAN countries, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in its daily update. Nine of the cases had travelled to the UK and three to the US.
Singapore confirmed its first deaths yesterday. A 75-year-old Singaporean woman and 64-year-old Indonesian man.
During his weekly Sunday blessing, Pope Francis urged all Christians to join in reciting the Our Father prayer on Wednesday at noon. “To the virus pandemic, we want to respond with the universality of prayer, of compassion, of tenderness”, the pope said.
Francis, who began streaming his audiences online earlier this month due to virus concerns, said he would also lead a global blessing to an empty St. Peters Square on Friday. The Urbi et Orbi, blessing is normally reserved for Christmas Day and Easter.
Waitrose and John Lewis have outlined measures that will be in place from tomorrow to support NHS workers:
All Waitrose shops will protect a proportion of deliveries of ‘hard to find’ and essential stock exclusively for NHS workers to ensure they have better opportunity to access basic shopping items at all times of the day.A proportion of deliveries
NHS staff will receive priority checkout treatment in all Waitrose supermarkets either through a dedicated till or moved to the front of the queue
John Lewis is donating comfort items and Easter gift food to local hospitals, to support workers
Berangere Michel, Executive Director for Customer Service at the John Lewis Partnership, said: “Through these steps we want to recognise the tireless work of NHS staff, supporting us all through these unprecedented circumstances. We hope these measures make their life a little easier; our Partners are keen to do something to help, and we are offering this with sincere thanks from us all.”
These new measures follow steps outlined by the John Lewis Partnership earlier this week to support customers, including the launch of a £1million Community Support Fund to help local communities along with a protected shopping hour for the elderly and vulnerable.
Many Waitrose shops have already been using their community funds to assemble care packages of essential items for vulnerable or elderly people in the local community.
Greece’s centre right government is hours away from announcing further restrictive measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus with media reports saying the latest clampdown on movement will likely take the form of a curfew. starting either tonight or tomorrow morning. News sites reported that prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to announce the emergency measure in a TV address at 6pm local time. The step follows alarm at the number of citizens still flouting regulations enforced as part of gradual lockdown to halt transmissions of the virus.
On Saturday Greeks could be seen flocking to beaches along the Athenian riviera despite repeated government entreaties for people to remain at home. A mass exodus of Greeks from Athens, and other urban areas, to villages in the countryside has also caused consternation. As of Saturday afternoon, when the latest health ministry figures were announced, authorities had confirmed 530 cases of coronavirus and 13 fatalities - with the exception of one, all men.
Mitsotakis and other officials have repeatedly warned that the coming weeks are critical in containing the disease. Addressing reporters last night, the deputy civil protection minister Nikos Hardalias felt fit to remind Greeks that Italy, the country worst hit in Europe by Covid-19, had recorded the same number of coronavirus cases and deaths 24 days ago.
Officials fear that Greece’s health system - savaged by years of budget cuts during the country’s long-running debt crisis - is far from ready to deal with a sudden surge in numbers requiring immediate hospitalisation. That, and the country’s proximity to Italy, played a central role in the government taking a tough stance from the outset announcing measures that included the closure of schools early on.
Afghanistan has announced its first Coronavirus death. The Health Ministry confirmed that the patient, who was 40 years old, died three days ago in northern Balkh province and the result of his coronavirus test arrived today.
Wahidullah Mayar, spokesman for the Health Ministry said the body was transferred to a Taliban controlled area [by his relatives] and buried there.
Another suspected patient died today in western Herat province. The coronavirus test result will arrive tomorrow. Herat neighbours Iran and is the most affected city with 18 positive cases so far.
Afghanistan has reported 34 coronavirus cases so far, 10 in last 24 hours. Testing remains low and experts fear the full extent of the spread is not known. With as many as 15,000 people arriving daily from Iran, one of the worst-hit countries, Afghanistan remains vulnerable to the spread.