SPAIN, March 17: The Latest on the world’s coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 183,000 people and killed more than 7,100. The COVID-19 illness causes mild or moderate symptoms in most people, but severe symptoms are more likely in the elderly or those with existing health problems. More than 79,000 people have recovered so far, mostly in China.
The number of deaths in Spain due to the new coronavirus has jumped from 309 to 491 in 24 hours and new infections have risen to 11,178, nearly 2,000 more than a day earlier.
The numbers were reported Tuesday by the nation’s health emergency center director, Fernando Simón. With a population of 46 million, Spain became on Monday the fourth country in the world with most coronavirus cases, surpassing South Korea and edging closer to Iran.
Spanish police started enforcing land border checks Tuesday after the country, already under strict lock-down measures, banned people from entering or exiting the country in an attempt to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.
At the La Jonquera border, a key crossing point for trucks from and to France in northeaster Spain, masked agents of Spain’s national and Catalan regional police stopped cars and trucks, checked documents and redirected some of the vehicles back to France.
Spanish citizens and residents are allowed to return home, and goods are allowed in and out.
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Britain’s dramatic escalation of social restrictions to fight COVID-19 was sparked by new scientific evidence suggesting that 250,000 people in the U.K. and more than 1 million in the U.S. might die if the country did not suppress the spread of the new coronavirus.
Imperial College London epidemiologists advising the U.K. government have published an analysis drawing on data from Italy, the hardest-hit European country with nearly 28,000 cases and 2,158 deaths.
They found that a strategy of “mitigation” -- slowing but not stopping the spread of the virus while protecting vulnerable groups like the elderly -- would still lead to a huge number of cases that would overwhelm the health care system.
The scientists said “even if all patients were able to be treated, we predict there would still be in the order of 250,000 deaths in (Britain), and 1.1-1.2 million in the U.S.”
They said a tougher “suppression” strategy would sharply reduce deaths but would “need to be maintained until a vaccine becomes available (potentially 18 months or more).”
On Monday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told people to eliminate unnecessary contact with others, working from home where possible and avoiding bars, restaurants, theaters and other venues. Some scientists said the government should have taken tough action sooner.
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Border closures are causing problems across Europe.
In Lithuania, the cargo truck line on the border to enter Poland stretched 60 kilometers (37 miles) long after Poland closed its border to foreigners due to the new coronavirus.
On the Polish-German border, hundreds of vehicles have been stranded because they are not allowed to transit through Poland to go back home but don’t want to return to Germany.
German police helped stranded citizens from Baltic states get back home by ferry after Poland closed its border.
Police in the northeastern city of Stralsund on the Baltic coast said they escorted 30 cars Tuesdsay with citizens from Lithuania and Estonia via a bridge to the German island of Ruegen’s ferry port, the German news agency dpa reported. The cars needed an escort because access to the island has been mostly limited to residents. From Mukran, the stranded Baltic citizens were hoping to catch a ferry to Lithuania.
A Lithuanian military plane flew 31 people stranded in Germany back to Lithuania.
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A 60-year—old church pastor has become the first victim of COVID-19 in Malaysia.
The pastor died Tuesday in eastern Sarawak state on Borneo island. State officals were still trying to identify the source of his transmission.
It said 193 of his close contacts have been put into quarantine. Malaysia is the worst affected country in Southeast Asia with 553 cases.
The government has announced a near-lockdown of the country beginning Wednesday, closing borders and shutting down all businesses except essential services for two weeks.
Spain passes China in infections; Trump extends US lockdown
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Sweden’s Prime Minister Stefan Lofven is urging high schools, universities and other educational institutions to close but not kindergartens or schools, which he could be shut down later.
Lofven told a press conference on Tuesday it had not been decided how long they would be closed, adding the government would follow the recommendations of the Public Health Agency of Sweden.
Education Minister Anna Ekstrom said that the Swedish “society must continue to function.”
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Sri Lanka’s defense authorities are warning more than 100 Sri Lankans who have evaded quarantine process after returning from coronavirus-hit countries to register with the police immediately or face legal action that includes six months imprisonment.
Sri Lanka’s defense ministry says all citizens who arrived from European countries and Iran, Italy and South Korea from March 1 to 15 must register with the police or face legal action.
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Turkey is bringing home more than 3,600 of its citizens who have been stranded in nine European countries after Turkey suspended flights to 20 destinations over the coronavirus outbreak.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Tuesday that the citizens will be returned to Turkey later in the day, on board 34 Turkish Airlines flights.
He said the returnees will be placed in quarantine for 14 days in Istanbul and in the nearby city of Kocaeli.
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Germany has launched a drive to bring home thousands of tourists stranded in popular winter vacation spots across the globe — particularly people on package holidays in Morocco, the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, the Maldives and Egypt.
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Tuesday that the government is spending up to 50 million euros ($56 million) on the effort to bring Germans home over the coming days in cooperation with airlines including Lufthansa.
Maas didn’t give a precise number of stranded Germans but said there was a particularly large number in Morocco, with around 4,000 or 5,000. He said that “even if we will do everything humanly possible, we cannot in every case provide a solution within 24 hours.”
Maas said his ministry has issued a formal warning against tourist travel to any country.
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Japan’s Defense Ministry says it has indefinitely postponed an international defense conference of Pacific island countries that Japan was to host in April because of the coronavirus outbreak.
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France’s government is pledging 45 billion euros ($50 billion) in aid for small businesses hurt by the spreading coronavirus.
That’s in addition to tens of billions already promised for French workers forced to stop working because of store and restaurant closures and strict new confinement measures.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire announced the new aid Tuesday morning, after another dark day for French markets. The makers of Renault, Peugeot and Citroen cars suspended all production and other companies were forced to sharply curtail activity to stem the virus’ spread.
The aid will include tax breaks and a “solidarity fund” for struggling small businesses across the economy.
Le Maire said the pandemic “will be a catastrophe for all countries of the world. The shock will be violent.”
France now has more than 6,600 cases of the virus, including 148 deaths.
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India says it will bar all passengers — including Indian citizens — from entering the country on flights from the European Union, Turkey and the United Kingdom beginning Wednesday.
According to a statement issued by India’s aviation regulator, travelers coming from or transiting through the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar will be required to undergo a 14-day quarantine when they arrive. Arrivals from China, Italy, Iran, South Korea, France, Spain and Germany are already subject to similar restrictions, while many border points with neighboring Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar have been shut.
India’s tourist ministry announced this week that it is shutting down the Taj Mahal, its iconic “monument of love,” to visitors.
Several other important monuments have also been shut across the country to keep people safe amid the coronavirus outbreak. Most schools and entertainment facilities have also been shuttered across India.
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Qantas, Australia’s largest airline, says it will cut its international passenger capacity by 90% until the end of May due to falls in travel demand due to the new coronavirus and travel restrictions across multiple borders.
Qantas said in a statement Tuesday that domestic capacity will be cut by 60% until at least the end of May.
This represents the grounding of around 150 aircraft, including almost all of Qantas’ wide-body fleet.
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A third Australian government lawmaker has tested positive for the coronavirus ahead of the planned resumption of Parliament next week following a scheduled two-week break.
New South Wales state Sen. Andrew Bragg said Tuesday that he had suffered flu-like symptoms and tested positive for the virus after attending a friend’s wedding on March 6. Authorities say at least six wedding guests have contracted the virus.
Queensland state Sen. Susan McDonald said she tested positive on Monday after becoming unwell on Friday evening. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, who is also from Queensland, tested positive after showing symptoms a day earlier. Dutton has since been discharged from the hospital but remains in isolation at home. McDonald was admitted to a hospital on Monday, which is standard procedure in Queensland regardless of the severity of symptoms. Bragg is expected to self-isolate at home.
Lawmakers have been told to bring minimum staff back to the national capital, Canberra, when Parliament resumes to legislate a 17.6 billion Australian dollar ($11.4 billion) economic stimulus package meant to stave off a recession due to the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Only around 90 lawmakers of 151 in the House of Representatives are required to return under a deal struck between the major parties. Planning is also underway to excuse some of the 76 senators from attending.
Also, Australia’s highest court has decided not to sit as a full bench to hear cases until at least August because of the coronavirus. The High Court announced on Tuesday that hearings that were to be heard by what’s known as a full bench of seven or five judges will be postponed starting next week.
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South Korea has further postponed the beginning of the new school year by two weeks to protect students from the spread of the coronavirus.
Education Minister Yoo Eun-hye said Tuesday that kindergartens as well as elementary, middle and high schools nationwide would now reopen on April 6, which is five weeks later than usual. It was the third time the country delayed the start of new school terms amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
Yoo said in a nationally televised briefing that the Education Ministry is also looking closely into the rise of infections among people under the age of 19, which rose from 379 on March 7 to 505 on March 14.
She said education authorities are also considering rescheduling college admission processes to ease disruption for high school seniors. She said it’s unclear whether the country will be able to announce the date for the national college exam on March 31 as scheduled.
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Wuhan, the city at the center of China’s coronavirus outbreak, recorded just one new case on Tuesday as officials said they believed the country was over the worst of the crisis. Another 20 cases were recorded around the country, including nine in Beijing. All were reported among people who arrived from overseas.
Beijing has required all arrivals to undergo 14 days of quarantine but has not closed its borders. Other Chinese cities have adopted similar measures, even as authorities work to restart industries that are key to global supply chains.
With foreign universities closing classes, thousands of Chinese studying overseas are seeking to return home, shifting the focus from domestic containment to preventing infected people from bringing the virus back with them.
Wuhan has closed emergency field hospitals and state broadcaster CCTV on Tuesday reported the nation is now counting down to its final domestic cases. With the infection still growing overseas, China has sent personal protective gear and medical experts to Italy, Iran and other nations grappling with the epidemic.
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A South Korean province surrounding Seoul has threatened to shut down nearly 140 churches that have failed to implement preventive measures amid a spread of the coronavirus in the country’s most populous metropolitan region.
Gyeonggi Province said Tuesday that it has issued an administrative order for the churches to list the names of attendants, screen them for fever and ensure that they wear masks and are at least 2 meters apart during services until March 29. The province can close the churches and fine them as much as $2,400 if they fail to abide by the order.
More than 70 of the province’s COVID-19 cases have been connected to gatherings at Protestant churches. Forty-six of the infections have come from a small church in the city of Seongnam/
South Korea has confirmed 84 new cases of the virus and six more deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing its total numbers to 8,320 infections and 81 fatalities.
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Sri Lanka says it will add more quarantine centers to help fight the coronavirus in the Indian Ocean island nation.
Army commander Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva said Tuesday that 23 army vacation bungalows will be used as quarantine centers for a group of travelers who arrived recently from London.
The government, meanwhile, said it has imposed new measures to limit gatherings. Court cases to be taken up from March 17 to 20 will not be called in open courts. The public can obtain information on their cases at courts in the first week of April.
Sri Lanka has confirmed 28 cases of the virus, with no deaths so far.
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Ohio’s top health official halted the state’s presidential primary over concerns about the coronavirus, hours before voting was to begin.
Gov. Mike DeWine announced the decision after failing to persuade a judge to delay in-person voting because crowds at polling places Tuesday could put people at unacceptable risk of catching and spreading the virus.
DeWine’s office later confirmed Dr. Amy Acton had issued the order.
Officials in Arizona, Florida and Illinois felt they had done enough to ensure the safety of voters, even though there may be too few poll workers and some poll locations have changed. Georgia, Kentucky and Louisiana have postponed their scheduled primaries.
Turnout is already expected to be light as only the Democrats have a contested primary, between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders.
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The Philippine Stock Exchange was closed with no trading Tuesday after the president placed the northern part of the country including Manila in quarantine.
The exchange’s CEO said the end of trading activity would be “until further notice.”
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte placed the northern third of the country under an “enhanced community quarantine” that requires millions of people to stay mostly at home in an attempt to contain the coronavirus.
Most office work and mass transit on Luzon Island, including Manila, will be suspended for a month. Public movement will be restricted and large gatherings banned except for medical and other emergencies.
Banks, hospitals, drugstores and supermarkets will remain open but only one family member can make such trips and should observe “social distancing.”
The Philippines has 140 cases of infection and 12 deaths.
