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Coronavirus pandemic - World News

Ronaldo7 said:
Lol sure.

There are tens of vaccines from all over the world in development. but no matter how quick they're "developed", they'll only be available to the public at least in a year's time
Click to expand...

Asked about the development, the Defense Ministry said: "There has been no breakthrough in the efforts of the biological institute to find a vaccine for the coronavirus or to develop testing kits. The institute’s work is conducted according to an orderly work plan and it will take time. If and when there will be something to report, it will be done in an orderly fashion. The biological institute is a world-renowned research and development agency, which relies on experienced researchers and scientists with great knowledge and quality infrastructures. There are now more than 50 experienced scientists working at the institute on researching and developing a medical remedy for the virus."
 
I think Canada should be under complete lock down for 20-30 days. Kill the virus first. Also, cancel all flights and close down all borders.
 
This is the major event in our lives.

This will be part of the history textbooks our future generations will read about.
 
French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has ordered the closure of all non-essential public locations from midnight (23:00 GMT Saturday) in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

The measure applies to restaurants, cafes, cinemas and discos, as well as non-essential businesses.

Mr Philippe also called on French people to reduce their travel, especially between towns.

France reported a sharp rise in cases on Saturday, from 3,661 to 4,499.

It recorded 12 more deaths, bringing the toll to 79.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51892477
 
Spain is poised to go into lockdown and France is set to close all "non-essential" shops over the coronavirus pandemic.

France will shut most shops, restaurants and entertainment facilities from midnight on Saturday as part of measures to contain the spread of the new virus, which has claimed 91 lives in the country.

French prime minister Edouard Philippe told a news conference that exceptions on the shop ban would include food stores, pharmacies and gas stations.

Meanwhile, the Spanish government is to impose tight movement restrictions on its 46 million citizens as part of a two-week state of emergency, in a bid to curb the outbreak.

The move comes after the number of people with the infection increased by more than 1,500 in 24 hours to 5,753 - half of them in the capital - and the number of deaths rose to 190.

Under the measures, people will only be allowed to leave their homes to buy food and medicine, commute to work, or go to provide care.

With immediate effect Spain is also closing all schools, universities, restaurants, bars and hotels nationwide along with non-essential stores - a move some of the hardest-hit communities have already carried out.

In response, Jet2 planes heading to Spain turned back mid-flight on Saturday morning after the low-cost airline announced the cancellation of flights to the country, as well as the Balearic and the Canary Islands.

The travel company TUI has also cancelled holidays booked to Spain this weekend.

Italy remains the worst affected country in Europe and second only to China, where the highly infectious
virus first emerged.

The number of deaths linked to the outbreak has risen to 1,441, up from 1,266 a day earlier, while confirmed cases soared by nearly 3,500 - a fifth - to more than 21,000.

It comes as the World Health Organisation says Europe has become the epicentre of the pandemic.

In other developments:

Chaos for holidaymakers as flights and holidays are axed over coronavirus fears
In Ireland, a second patient with the virus died as the number of confirmed cases rose to 129
Denmark has reported the first death of a coronavirus patient
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says his country still plans to host the Olympic Games
The US is to extend its European travel ban to the UK and Ireland on Monday
Donald Trump said there had 50 coronavirus deaths in the US and he has been tested for COVID-19
Hard-hit Iran says its fight against the pandemic is being "severely hampered" by US sanctions
The virus has infected more than 153,000 people worldwide and killed nearly 6,000, according to Johns Hopkins

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavi...o-spain-including-ibiza-and-tenerife-11957450
 
Australia's prime minister has ordered a 14-day self-isolation for anyone arriving in the country to try to halt the spread of the coronavirus.

"This is very important," Scott Morrison said at a briefing, adding that the measure would take effect from midnight on Sunday (13:00 GMT).

The measures mirror those announced by New Zealand on Saturday.

Foreign cruise liners will also be banned from docking in Australia for 30 days, but schools will remain open.

Australia has reported nearly 250 confirmed cases, with three deaths.

The prime minister announced the measures following a cabinet meeting on the coronavirus crisis.

"This is very important, what we've seen in recent weeks is more countries having issues with the virus and that means the source of some of those transmissions are coming from more and more countries," he said at the briefing in Sydney.

"We know that the virus cannot be absolutely stopped - no-one can do that - but we can slow the spread.

"And we anticipate that will be our task over the next six months."

He urged people to practise more "social distancing", including not shaking hands.

Mr Morrison said that despite all the changes he hoped Australians would not lose their "sense of Australianness".

Appearing alongside him, Australia's chief medical officer Brendan Murphy admitted that these were "difficult times" for the country.

He called on Australians to be sensible when buying necessities, warning against panic buying.

In February, more than 200 Australian nationals were flown back home after 14 days in quarantine on remote Christmas Island.

They had been earlier evacuated from China's Hubei province, where the outbreak is believed to have started late last year.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-51894322
 
Germany will "largely" shut its borders with France, Switzerland and Austria from Monday to stop coronavirus spreading, government sources say.

Other EU states are also taking radical action, with Austria banning gatherings of more than five people from Monday.

Romania is to declare a state of emergency. The Czech Republic, which has already closed its borders, could introduce a nationwide quarantine.

The moves follow strict measures taken by France and Spain on Saturday.

Spain recorded 97 more deaths and 2,000 new cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the country's total death toll to 288 and overall number of cases to 7,753.

France, with 4,469 confirmed cases and 91 deaths, is holding local elections, despite the shutting of cafes, restaurants and most shops.

Italy, which has recorded 1,441 deaths and and 21,157 cases, began a nationwide lockdown on Monday.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that Europe was now the "epicentre" of the pandemic.

WHO head Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has urged countries to use aggressive measures, community mobilisation and social distancing to save lives.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51897069
 
sjahmed23 said:
We've been told to work from home until further notice.
Click to expand...

Same.

Schools haven’t closed yet here in Sweden but my professor just informed us that my whole university will have lectures online starting tomorrow.
 
Curfew in Iraqi capital

Iraqi officials have imposed a curfew in the nation's capital, Baghdad, as they attempt to control the spread of coronavirus.

There are currently 110 confirmed cases of the virus in Iraq.

The state news agency announced that the curfew would be in effect from 17 to 24 March, Reuters news agency reports.

Iraqi officials had earlier banned domestic travel from today until 25 March, except for emergencies, trade and those commuting for work.
 
Italy reports 368 coronavirus deaths in 24 hours: Latest updates

Over 1,800 killed so far in Italy, the worst-hit country after China, with total number of cases hitting nearly 25,000.

Italy on Sunday reported 368 new deaths from the coronavirus outbreak as the country's death toll hit 1,809 while the number of positive cases rose to 24,747 from 21,157 on Saturday, the country's civil protection authority said.

Governments around the world have stepped up restrictions on the movement of their citizens to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed nearly 5,800 people with over 153,000 infected globally, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Spain became the second European country to impose a nationwide lockdown after 2,000 new cases were confirmed and the number of reported deaths doubled.

Iran announced more than 100 people have died in the past 24 hours, with the confirmed cases nearing 14,000. Tehran said its fight against coronavirus is being severely hampered by US sanctions.

In the Philippines, the capital Manila has been sealed off, with its 12 million residents told to avoid travel for a month. Schools in the city have been closed and large events banned.

In the United States, increased screening measures for people returning from Europe have caused chaos at airports.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...virus-fight-live-updates-200312054153018.html
 
About 650 people died today from this virus.

Death rate is not slowing down. It is increasing.
 
Coronavirus in Gulf states: No warm greetings, no mosque prayers

Life turns upside down in Gulf region as more than 870 COVID-19 cases are recorded across six GCC nations.

No shisha sessions, deserted streets, mosques and shopping malls, drones in the sky broadcasting public health warnings - the new coronavirus has turned life upside down in the Gulf societies.

More than 870 cases of COVID-19 have been recorded so far across the six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), but so far no deaths related to the virus have been reported.

Most of those infected have been people returning from nearby Iran, where more than 700 people had died in the outbreak by Sunday.

Facing a mounting public health threat, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman have taken drastic measures to combat the pandemic.

"It is as if today is the weekend and not the start of the week," Amal al-Hashem, a Dubai resident of 15 years, told AFP news agency on a largely deserted street on Sunday, the start of the week in the Gulf.

Kuwait has taken the most drastic measures in the GCC by largely locking down the country over the weekend, the only nation other than Italy to do so.

Kuwait City's main airport road was empty as all commercial flights to and from the small Gulf nation had been suspended.

Drones in the skies were sounding messages in multiple languages, urging people to return to their homes.

In Qatar's capital, Doha, the usually bustling market in the heart of the tourist centre was eerily quiet, while Riyadh's shopping district also lay barren.

The Gulf countries have shut down cinemas and other entertainment centres - some even closing gyms and spas - as well as halting one of the region's favourite pastimes, smoking shisha in cafes.
'Awkward greetings'

Residents in the Omani capital of Muscat told AFP there had been much "fear and panic" over what many of them have termed "coronaphobia" at a time when a small bottle of disinfectant is in almost everyone's pockets or bags.

They said many people have stopped shaking hands or kissing each other on the cheeks, a common greeting across the Arab world.

In Saudi Arabia, 60-year-old Abu Abdulrahman said he felt awkward about the rapidly changing social norms.

"Do I shake hands and kiss or do I not? I don't know," he said. "I try not to do that, but I get embarrassed.

What if the other person puts their hand out first?"

Meanwhile, the UAE and Qatar have advised their citizens to stop the traditional "nose to nose" greeting, with Abu Dhabi instructing residents that a wave would suffice.

'Pray at home

Measures to combat the spread of the virus have also affected the way many Muslims in the Gulf worship.

After Saudi Arabia suspended the Umrah year-round pilgrimage, it advised residents against praying in mosques if they have any symptoms of the virus.

Kuwait took additional steps and banned all mass prayers, an unprecedented move in a country where hundreds of thousands pray side-by-side every day.

"Pray at home, pray at home," an imam preached in a recording that went viral on social media on Saturday.

In the Sunni Muslim-dominated Gulf, there are hundreds of thousands of Shia Muslims, many of whom travel to Iran regularly for pilgrimages.
Despite continuing tensions between some GCC countries and Tehran, there have been no reports of heightened social friction between the different sects.

This comes amid Saudi Arabia's decision to cordon off the mainly Shia district of Qatif, where the majority of coronavirus cases were reported.

"This is a time for unity locally, regionally and globally," Zainab Abdul Amir, a Bahraini parliamentarian, told AFP.

"There is no room for hatred, anger, discrimination or sectarianism."
Borders closed

In regional tourism and business hub Dubai, there was a rush to supermarkets with many shoppers wearing masks and gloves, as the emirate joined the UAE capital Abu Dhabi in closing cinemas, arcades, spas, gyms and parks.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange said on Sunday it was closing all its trading halls until further notice, a day after Kuwait's bourse said it would do the same.

Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have taken the most drastic steps among Gulf Arab states by halting international passenger flights.

The UAE and Qatar have restricted entry visas. Emirates airline suspended more flights.

An American living in the Saudi capital Riyadh said his parents - in their 60s and 70s - cut short their visit and departed on Saturday before the kingdom's two-week international flight suspension went into effect at 08:00 GMT Sunday.

Kuwait, where the flight ban began on March 13, has offered its citizens stranded at London's Heathrow Airport paid accommodation at an airport hotel with three meals a day, according to an embassy notification seen by Reuters News Agency.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...ates-warm-mosque-prayers-200315160444406.html
 
Coronavirus: Germany to impose border controls over coronavirus

Germany will impose temporary controls on its borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark and Luxembourg on Monday to stop coronavirus spreading.

Other EU states are also taking radical action, with Austria banning gatherings of more than five people from Monday.

The Republic of Ireland is asking all pubs to shut until 29 March and schools in the Netherlands are to close.

The moves follow strict measures taken by France and Spain on Saturday.

In Italy, the number of deaths in a 24-hour period reached a new high, up by 368 since Saturday to reach a total of 1,809. Of those, 1,218 were recorded in the Lombardy region, which is home to the business hub of Milan.

Spain recorded 97 more deaths and 2,000 new cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the country's total death toll to 288 and overall number of cases to 7,753.

France, with 4,469 confirmed cases and 91 deaths, is holding local elections, despite the shutting of cafes, restaurants and most shops.

In Switzerland, the number of infections have leapt by 800 to reach 2,200 in just 24 hours.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that Europe was now the "epicentre" of the pandemic.

WHO head Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has urged countries to use aggressive measures, community mobilisation and social distancing to save lives.

How will the German border shutdown work?

The borders will close at 08:00 (07:00 GMT) on Monday, German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer told reporters

However, goods will continue to flow between the countries and commuters may still cross the borders, government sources said earlier.

The aim is to contain coronavirus but also reportedly to curb panic-buying by foreigners which has led to some supply problems in the border regions.

Germany has seen at least nine deaths with coronavirus and 4,585 cases of infection.

Germany, which is part of the borderless Schengen area, has nonetheless faced mounting pressure to close its frontiers.

Three of Germany's neighbours - Poland, the Czech Republic and Denmark - have already closed their borders or introduced severe restrictions.

Meanwhile, Portugal imposed controls on its border with Spain to begin on Monday.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51897069
 
Coronavirus: US airports in disarray over screening

US airports have been thrown into chaos as new coronavirus health screening measures for people returning from Europe come into force.

Long queues formed as travellers waited for hours for the screenings before passing through customs.

The US is banning the entry of people travelling from the UK and Ireland from midnight on Monday (04:00 GMT Tuesday).

As a result, the UK Foreign Office is now advising against all but essential travel to the whole of the US.

President Donald Trump tweeted on Sunday that the US is "doing very precise Medical Screenings at our airports".

"Pardon the interruptions and delays, we are moving as quickly as possible, but it is very important that we be vigilant and careful. We must get it right. Safety first!"

The US has more than 2,700 confirmed cases, with 54 deaths.

Correspondents say there is a growing sense of unease and confusion in the US, with fears of a run on hospital beds and concern about childcare as tens of millions of children are sent home from school.
During a briefing on Saturday, the White House suggested domestic travel restrictions may be coming.

Mr Trump said: "If you don't have to travel, I wouldn't do it. We want this thing to end. We don't want a lot of people getting infected."

But infectious diseases chief Dr Anthony Fauci told ABC News on Sunday that the notion was "not seriously discussed".

"I don't see that right now or in the immediate future. But remember, we are very open-minded about whatever it takes to preserve the health of the American public."
What has been happening at the airports?

At Chicago O'Hare and Dallas-Fort Worth airports, passengers reported long queues as travellers returning from Europe waited to be screened as part of measures to combat coronavirus.

The US administration has imposed a ban on non-Americans travelling from the 26 European countries in the Schengen free movement zone. The ban will be extended to the UK and Ireland as of Tuesday.

US citizens are allowed to return but face screening.
Ruth Procopi, who has lived in the Chicago area for 20 years, returned on Saturday from the UK, where she had been visiting family.

"I arrived at [O'Hare airport] from Heathrow at about 3:30pm yesterday. It was chaos. Nobody explained anything," she told the BBC.

"And I was one of the lucky ones - I had no checked bags to try to find and because I had not been to a Schengen country, I did not have to undergo additional screening (still not sure what that was), but I didn't find out until I got to the front of this line.

"We were told there was additional screening while on the plane, but no details. We were not told anything at any stage. It took me two hours to get through."

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said the long lines at O'Hare were "unacceptable".
People have been tweeting pictures and videos of passengers waiting to be processed, forming large crowds in airport terminals:
Passengers are being questioned about their medical histories and checked for symptoms.

Another O'Hare traveller, Tim Clancy, told the BBC the airport was "really hectic".

"I felt there wasn't a lot of access to hand sanitiser or restrooms because you'd likely lose your place in the queue. I didn't see too many people coughing though."

Mr Clancy, 20, was returning home after studying in Athens, Greece. He ended up queuing for a total of five hours. A nurse took his temperature before he was allowed to leave the airport.

"After being on a plane where everyone was tightly packed in it felt like they were encouraging the disease to spread rather than doing anything to curb it," he said.
"It truly felt like an apocalyptic scenario," she said.
In New York, there were reports of a flight from Paris being boarded by customs agents wearing masks.

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said his office was working with airlines to improve screening times.

Some public health experts have noted that waiting in crowded terminals could potentially lead to more people becoming infected with the virus.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51895246
 
New reports coming from China and Italy says even young people in 30 to 40 are getting infected severely and these did not have much illness earlier. That’s a scary prospect if true.
 
New York City and Los Angeles shut down bars and restaurants
MGM resorts closes casinos and hotels in Las Vegas "until further notice"
Germany will reintroduce checks with five countries from 07:00 GMT
People "without a significant reason to travel" will not be allowed to pass
Only four new local cases reported in China, rest from overseas
US Federal Reserve chairman cuts rates and says virus is having "profound" impact
Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders "elbow bump" rather than shake hands in debate
US authorities advise against gatherings of more than 50 people
The UN-recognised government in Libya is closing the borders it controls
Turkey quarantines thousands of pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia
 
globalcitizen said:
New reports coming from China and Italy says even young people in 30 to 40 are getting infected severely and these did not have much illness earlier. That’s a scary prospect if true.
Click to expand...

Not a good news at all.

We need the vaccine badly.
 
The three states bearing the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic in Europe have all recorded their highest death tolls for a single day.

Italy saw 368 deaths bring its total to 1,809, Spain recorded 97 more deaths for a total of 288, and France reported 29 deaths, giving a total of 120.

The UK also saw a single-day record, with 14 new deaths and a total of 35.

Governments across Europe have responded by curbing the movements of citizens and tightening borders.

Germany is to impose controls on its borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark and Luxembourg as of Monday morning, while Portugal will clamp down on its frontier with Spain.

The Czech government has introduced stringent lockdown measures: people will be allowed to go to and from work and buy food or medicine, and make urgent family visits, but otherwise free movement will be severely limited from midnight (23:00 GMT) on Sunday until 24 March.

Austria is banning gatherings of more than five people from Monday, and the Republic of Ireland is asking pubs to shut until 29 March.

Schools will be closed across many European states.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has now declared Europe the "epicentre" of the pandemic which originated in China.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51901976
 
IMPORTANT: The French government has issued a warning against taking anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen, Advil, cortisone) with covid-19 symptoms, as it may cause severe cases of the disease, even in young and middle aged adults with no underlying conditions
 
Germany has become the latest country to close borders as European nations try to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

Its borders with France, Austria and Switzerland were shut on Monday morning, except for commercial traffic.

France is considering more stringent lockdowns, with its health chief saying the situation is "deteriorating fast".

Latest World Health Organization (WHO) figures list 164,000 confirmed cases and 6,470 deaths worldwide.

However, last week it said Europe was now the "epicentre" of the virus and urged governments to act aggressively to control the spread of Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

A visual guide to the pandemic
Leaders of the G7 nations are to hold a video conference on Monday to discuss a joint response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Central banks around the world, including the US Federal Reserve and those in the UK, Japan, Canada, and Switzerland have cut interest rates and taken other measures to try to curb the economic turmoil.

But stock markets in Asia and Europe still fell and, on Wall St, trading was temporarily halted after the S&P 500 index dropped 8% on opening. It was the third time in six days that the session was interrupted.

The EU's Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said a recession was now expected, with a 2-2.5% negative growth.

Airlines are also continuing to slash flights as demand slumps.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51905129
 
European countries plan a ban on entry to the 26-state Schengen passport-free travel zone in the most radical response yet to the continent’s escalating coronavirus pandemic, officials said.

The proposed action — expected to be announced later on Monday — would cover all non-essential visits from third countries, with exemptions including for citizens of the Schengen area, people familiar with the work said.

EU officials were still finalising the sweeping move, which comes after a sharp rise in cases of infection in Europe triggered a wave of unilateral decisions by member states to all but seal their borders. The European Commission plan will still need to be signed off by national leaders, while officials stressed details remained under discussion and could change ahead of the announcement.

The commission declined to comment.

The ban is aimed at non-essential travel to the Schengen area in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus across Europe, officials said. The Schengen countries include 22 EU members, as well as Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The five EU states not in Schengen — Ireland, Cyprus, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria — may be invited to also implement the restrictions, officials said.

The status of the UK — which is in a post-Brexit transition period after leaving the EU in January — was not immediately clear.

Exemptions to the ban under discussion include EU citizens, residents and their family members, as well as workers in crucial sectors such as healthcare and transport, officials said.

Diplomats said that the measure was discussed on a phone call this morning between French president Emmanuel Macron, German chancellor Angela Merkel and the heads of the European Commission and Council.

On the call, Mr Macron attacked national moves to close borders and called for a European response.

Brussels is set to announce the plan after a video conference among G7 leaders this afternoon.


https://www.ft.com/content/a5a1878e...ft?token=11a44bab-86e0-4a53-b72c-63b2ed588c9a
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This morning I tested positive for Covid 19. I feel ok, I have no symptoms so far but have been isolated since I found out about my possible exposure to the virus. Stay home people and be pragmatic. I will keep you updated on how I’m doing &#55357;&#56394;&#55356;&#57342;&#55357;&#56394;&#55356;&#57342; No panic. <a href="https://t.co/Lg7HVMZglZ">pic.twitter.com/Lg7HVMZglZ</a></p>— Idris Elba (@idriselba) <a href="https://twitter.com/idriselba/status/1239617034901524481?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Coronavirus kills Iran religious leader as death toll jumps again
COVID-19 has killed a member of the clerical body that appoints the supreme leader, according to Iranian state media, the latest official in the country to die of the highly infectious disease caused by the new coronavirus.

Ayatollah Hashem Bathayi Golpayegani, 78, died two days after testing positive for the new coronavirus and being hospitalised, state news agency IRNA reported on Monday.

Golpayegani represented Tehran in the assembly of experts, an 88-strong body of Muslim scholars that appoints and monitors Iran's supreme leader.

At least 12 Iranian politicians and officials, both sitting and former, have now died of the illness, and 13 more have been infected and are either in quarantine or being treated.

Capacity concerns
The country has been scrambling to contain the rapid spread of coronavirus which so far has infected some 14,000 people and killed 853 - 129 of whom over the past 24 hours, according to official figures,

The number of coronavirus deaths and infections has been on the rise ever since the first two fatalities were announced on February 19.

The official leading Iran's response to the new coronavirus acknowledged on Sunday the pandemic could overwhelm health facilities in his country, which is battling the worst outbreak in the Middle East while under heavy US sanctions.

"If the trend continues, there will not be enough capacity," Ali Reza Zali, who is leading the campaign against the outbreak, was quoted as saying by IRNA.

Iran is believed to have about 110,000 hospital beds, including 30,000 in the capital, Tehran. Authorities have pledged to set up mobile clinics as needed.

Zali also acknowledged "many" of those who have died from COVID-19 were otherwise healthy, a rare admission by local authorities that the virus does not only prey on the sick and elderly.

Health ministry figures show while 55 percent of fatalities were in their 60s, some 15 percent were younger than 40.

Severe illness

Trump imposes new sanctions on Iran, targets supreme leader (1:50)
For most people, the virus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. Most people recover in a matter of weeks.

The virus has infected more than 150,000 people worldwide and killed more than 5,800. More than 70,000 people worldwide have recovered after being infected.

In Iran, the virus has infected a number of senior officials, including cabinet ministers, members of parliament, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members and health ministry officials.

Senior Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri returned to work on Sunday after testing negative, the presidency's website said. He was absent from official meetings last week, and the semi-official Fars News Agency reported he contracted the virus.

Authorities have nevertheless been slow to adopt measures taken by other hard-hit countries. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday ruled out a general quarantine and said the government was working to keep the borders open.

Dalia Samhouri, a senior regional official with the World Health Organization, said both Iran and Egypt, two of the most populous countries in the Middle East, were likely underreporting cases because of the nature of the virus, which can be spread by individuals who show no visible symptoms. Egypt has reported 110 cases, including two fatalities.

"We can easily say that the current figures are an underestimation of the actual figures," she said.

Humanitarian aid

Iran has struggled to respond in part because of crippling sanctions imposed by the Trump administration after the US withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal. The US says it has offered humanitarian aid but Iran has rejected it.

Countries across the Middle East have imposed sweeping travel restrictions, cancelled public events and called on non-essential businesses to close for the coming weeks.

Qatar will bar entry to arriving air passengers except for citizens from Wednesday for at least two weeks, the government said as it announced a $23bn economic stimulus in response to the new coronavirus.

The country is the worst affected in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), with 401 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Sunday. It has not reported any fatalities but has closed universities, schools, gyms and cinemas as well as cancelling many public events including the MotoGP.

In the skyscraper-studded city of Dubai, a global business and travel hub in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), authorities announced on Sunday all movie theatres, arcades and gyms would be closed through the end of the month.

Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, also shut down its amusement parks and museums through the end of the month, including Louvre Abu Dhabi.

In Lebanon, police used loudspeakers to order people to evacuate the city's famous Mediterranean boardwalk. The small country, which has reported 99 cases and three deaths, has already closed all restaurants and nightclubs, halted flights from several countries, and tightened border controls. President Michel Aoun urged people to stay home.

Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque is the latest in a series of religious sites where access has been halted or strictly limited. Saudi Arabia has suspended the Umrah pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina and could be forced to limit or cancel the much larger Hajj later this year.

On Sunday, it announced the temporary closure of all mosques and called off Friday prayers.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...ntainment-concerns-mount-200315180552632.html
 
Coronavirus lockdown: France orders people to stay at home for 15 days due to pandemic

The president of France on Monday said he was ordering people in the country to stay at home for up to 15 days because of the coronavirus outbreak.

President Emmanuel Macron said people should leave their homes only for essential duties, beginning midday Tuesday.

Macron said he was taking the drastic step of limiting people’s movements in France to reduce the risk of contamination from the virus.

He said any violation of the edict would be punished.

“We are in a health war,” Macron said.

Macron also announced he was calling off the second round of municipal elections in light of his order.

Macron’s announcement came as Canada’s leader, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, announced that he was closing that country’s borders to foreigners, with the exception of U.S. citizens.

“It is time to take every precaution to keep people safe,” Trudeau said.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/16/cor...e-limits-movements-of-people-for-15-days.html
 
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will close its borders to non-citizens and non-residents as part of the country's response to coronavirus
 
The Viper said:
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will close its borders to non-citizens and non-residents as part of the country's response to coronavirus
Click to expand...

Exception to US citizens and immediate family members.
 
The Viper said:
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will close its borders to non-citizens and non-residents as part of the country's response to coronavirus
Click to expand...

Brilliant!

Well done, Trudeau.

It is time to do the right thing.
 
San Francisco will be on lockdown for three weeks beginning Tuesday at midnight. It will prohibit residents from leaving home except for basic needs including visiting the doctor, buying groceries or medicine, until at least April 7.
 
Boris Johnson has told Britons to avoid pubs, clubs, restaurants and theatres and to only make essential journeys in the "national fightback" against coronavirus.
 
New Zealand has announced a $12bn coronavirus rescue plan
Iconic buildings the Taj Mahal and the Sydney Opera House have closed to visitors
Hong Kong has told residents to avoid all outbound travel
The UK has asked people to avoid pubs, clubs, restaurants, cinemas and theatres
France and Germany have become the latest countries to impose a social shut down
 
UK to announce new financial support for affected businesses
The European Commission plans to ban all non-essential travel throughout Schengen Area
The Taj Mahal and the Sydney Opera House close to visitors
Hong Kong to quarantine almost everyone arriving from abroad
New Zealand announces a $12bn coronavirus rescue plan
Actor Idris Elba tests positive - but Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson leave hospital
 
The European Commission is planning to ban all non-essential travel throughout Europe's Schengen free-travel zone as more countries close their borders to try to limit the spread of coronavirus.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she would ask leaders to implement the measures on Tuesday.

"The less travel, the more we can contain the virus," she said.

French President Emmanuel Macron earlier said the EU's external borders would be closed to travellers.

"Concretely, all trips between non-European countries and EU countries will be suspended," Mr Macron said in a televised address on Monday.

Long-term residents, family members of EU nationals and diplomats would be exempt as well as cross-border and healthcare workers and people transporting goods, Ms von der Leyen said during a video conference.

The measures would be in place for at least 30 days.

The Schengen agreement allows people to move freely between EU countries without border checks. Citizens of non-Schengen EU member states will also be invited to apply the travel ban, including the UK.

The comments came ahead a video-summit with EU leaders on Tuesday hosted by European Council chief Charles Michel.

The latest World Heath Organization (WHO) figures list 173,000 infections globally and 7,000 deaths.

What is France doing?
President Macron has ordered people to stay at home and only go out for essential duties. He said the previous measures, including the closing of schools, cafes and non-essential shops, had proved insufficient.

"Even while medics were warning about the gravity of the situation, we saw people get together in the parks, busy markets and restaurants and bars that did not respect the order to close," he said in the 20-minute televised address.

"We are at war... we're fighting neither another army nor our own nation. But the enemy is here, invisible, untouchable... and is advancing."

The restrictions in France will be in place for at least 15 days, Mr Macron added, vowing to punish any infringement. The government later said more than 100,000 officers would be deployed nationwide to enforce the lockdown.

President Macron also said the army would be used to help transport the sick to hospital and that the second round of local elections this weekend was being postponed. He also offered reassurance to businesses, saying: "No French company, whatever its size, will be exposed to the risk of collapse".

On Tuesday, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire unveiled a €45bn ($50bn; £41bn) aid package to help businesses and affected employees.

France has so far registered more than 6,000 infections and 148 deaths.

The country will close its land borders from midday (11:00 GMT) on Tuesday, Mr Macron said.

The latest news outside Europe:

Voting on Tuesday in the Democratic primary in the US state of Ohio has been postponed, although voting is set to go ahead in Arizona, Florida, and Illinois
President Donald Trump said the coronavirus emergency could last until the end of the summer or even longer and that Americans over the next 15 days should not gather in groups of more than 10 and avoid bars, restaurants, food courts, gyms and crowds
China reported just one new domestic infection on Tuesday - but 20 more from people arriving from abroad. It also said it "strongly opposed" Mr Trump's reference in a tweet to the "Chinese virus"
Wuhan Zall, the Chinese football team based in the city that saw the virus originate, finally arrived back in China after being stranded in Spain since January - and were immediately quarantined
The Philippines became the first nation to shut its stock exchange indefinitely
A spokesman for the judiciary in Iran - the world's third-worst-affected nation, said some 85,000 prisoners, including political prisoners, had been temporarily released to try to combat the spread, AFP reports
Malaysia is barring people crossing the border with Singapore from Wednesday, sparking a rush on food stores in the city state, which depends on Malaysia for supplies
India's iconic monument Taj Mahal has shut down
Scientists in Australia say they have identified how the body's immune system fights the Covid-19 virus

What is Germany doing?
Chancellor Angela Merkel has banned religious services and told people to cancel any domestic or foreign holiday travel.

Venues including clubs, bars, leisure facilities, zoos and playgrounds will be closed. Restaurants will have to enforce a minimum distance between tables and work under restricted hours. Schools across the country have already been closed.

"The better everyone sticks to these rules, the faster we'll get through this phase," she said at a news conference in Berlin, vowing that the government would try to minimise the economic impact of the outbreak.

Germany now has close to 7,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus, and 14 deaths. Large gatherings nationwide had already been banned.

Traffic crossing Germany's borders with France, Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg were on Monday restricted to goods and people commuting for work.

How are other Europe countries responding?
Spain implemented controls at land borders at midnight on Monday and only Spanish citizens, residents and special cases are allowed in the country.

The Spanish government imposed a partial lockdown on its 47 million inhabitants on Saturday, as part of a 15-day state of emergency. People are barred from leaving home except buy essential supplies and medicines, or for work.

How are lockdowns and other measures being enforced?
The WHO's figures on Tuesday showed that Spain had now passed South Korea as the world's fourth worst-affected nation.

Italy, the worst-affected nation outside China, where the virus originated, announced another surge in deaths, past the 2,000 mark to 2,150, with more than 20,000 cases.

Last week, the WHO said Europe was now the "epicentre" of the virus and urged governments to act aggressively to control the spread of Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

The head of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, also told other countries to follow the containment strategies used in China and South Korea, saying they showed the pandemic was controllable.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51918596
 
Iran has temporarily freed about 85,000 prisoners in an effort to combat the spread of coronavirus, a judiciary spokesman in the country has said.

Gholamhossein Esmaili said: "Some 50% of those released are security-related prisoners... also in the jails we have taken precautionary measures to confront the outbreak."

Political prisoners are also among the inmates who have been released in the move.

Javaid Rehman, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, said on 10 March he asked Tehran to temporarily free all political prisoners from its overcrowded and disease-ridden jails.

The request was aimed at helping to stem the spread of coronavirus in the Middle Eastern country.

The number of dead from the coronavirus has reached 853 in Iran, where a total of 14,991 people have been confirmed infected.

Mr Esmaili did not elaborate on when those released would have to return to jail.

Mr Rehman said earlier in March that Iranian prisoners have been infected with coronavirus.

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavi...isoners-to-combat-spread-of-covid-19-11958783
 
New York's mayor has ordered restaurants, bars and cafes to only sell food on a takeaway or delivery basis as the city battles to halt the spread of COVID-19.

Bill de Blasio also moved to close nightclubs, cinemas, theatres and concert venues.

In a written statement, he said: "This is not a decision I make lightly.

"These places are part of the heart and soul of our city. They are part of what it means to be a New Yorker. But our city is facing an unprecedented threat, and we must respond with a wartime mentality."

Similarly in Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti issued an executive order on Sunday to close bars, nightclubs, entertainment venues and gyms until at least 31 March.

Mr Garcetti said restaurants will be closed to the public but will be allowed to do takeaway and delivery. Supermarkets will remain open.

Illinois, Ohio, Massachusetts and Washington state are also among places that ordered bars to close and restaurants to stop dine-in services.

Health officials have advised people to distance themselves from each other socially, with some states banning gatherings with more than a certain number of people.

The decision comes just hours after Donald Trump urged the public to stop hoarding groceries during the coronavirus outbreak, telling Americans to "take it easy" and "relax".

During a briefing, the president also hailed the "very good news" that the Federal Reserve had slashed its benchmark interest rate by a full percentage point to a target range of 0% to 0.25%.

US officials have recorded more than 4,600 COVID-19 cases and 85 deaths linked to the virus.

Sky's US correspondent, Greg Milam, said cities and states had decided "it's up to them to deal with it" amid criticism of Mr Trump's response.

The new measures came as the confirmed cases of coronavirus around the world surpassed 169,000 - meaning there have now been more confirmed cases outside than inside China, where the figure stands at over 81,000.

Globally, more than 6,500 people have died after testing positive for COVID-19. China, Italy, Iran, South Korea and Spain are the countries with the most cases.

Further restrictions and border closures are continuing to be announced around the world.

Spain has enforced a nationwide quarantine, while Austria's chancellor said his government was limiting people's movement nationwide.

This came shortly after the country's Tyrol province followed Italy and Spain in barring people from leaving their homes except for essential errands and work.

Neighbouring Slovenia said it would shut down all public transport starting today and planned to shut all but food shops and pharmacies.

Estonia and Latvia confirmed they would close their borders to foreign nationals, except residents, from Tuesday.

Turkey has put aside quarantine beds for more than 10,000 people returning from pilgrimage to Islam's holy sites in Saudi Arabia. It has also suspended mass prayers in mosques.

Italy, the worst-hit European country with more than 21,000 infections and 1,400 deaths, wound its nearly week-old lockdown still tighter.

The transport ministry banned passengers from taking ferries to the island of Sardinia, and also banned overnight train trips - which many in the worst-affected north had been taking to reach homes and families in the south.

Nearby Morocco has suspended all international flights and announced it will close all mosques from Monday along with restaurants, theatres and sports clubs. Takeaway food and shops selling essentials are exempt.

Somalia confirmed its first case of coronavirus - a Somali national who travelled from China last week - after they tested positive for COVID-19.

France, which has reported 4,500 cases and 91 deaths, went ahead with nationwide elections to choose mayors and other local leaders despite a crackdown on public gatherings.

The state of Bavaria in neighbouring Germany, which had reported nearly 3,800 cases and eight deaths nationwide as of Saturday, also went ahead with municipal elections.

German newspaper Bild has since reported that the government is looking to close restaurants, non-essential shops and ban church services as part of a new wave of measures to tackle the outbreak.

Meanwhile, German airline Lufthansa has said it will cut 90% of its long-haul flights from Tuesday and the country's Bundesliga and second division football leagues will be put on hold until 2 April at the very least.

There were tough steps being taken in South East Asia too, with soldiers and police sealing the densely populated Philippine capital Manila from most domestic travellers, in one of the region's most drastic containment measures.

In Indonesia, President Joko Widodo asked all people to work, study and worship from home.

Malaysia said it would restrict travel, ban public gatherings, and close schools, universities and shops from Wednesday.

In China, where the virus was first detected, those arriving on overseas flights were routed to a converted exhibition centre for initial checks before being shuttled off to their homes or other quarantine locations.

In the Middle East, Muslim authorities announced that Jerusalem's al Aqsa mosque, Islam's third-holiest site, would be closed indefinitely due to concerns about the outbreak, with prayers continuing to be held on the sprawling esplanade outside.

Iran said it had nearly 14,000 virus cases and 724 deaths, while Egypt has reported 110 cases, including two fatalities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's trial on serious corruption charges, which was supposed to begin this week, was postponed for two months because of restrictions on public gatherings.

Guatemala has logged its first fatality from coronavirus as nations in South and Central America ramped up measures to contain the infection, with Panama banning entry of non-resident foreigners and Honduras closing its borders to passenger traffic for a week.

The leaders of Argentina and Peru also announced border closures.

Several African governments have closed borders, cancelled flights and imposed strict entry and quarantine requirements to contain the spread of coronavirus.

South Africa declared a national state of disaster and warned the outbreak could have a "potentially lasting" impact and banned gatherings of more than 100 people.

Kenya suspended travel from any country with reported COVID-19 cases.

In west Africa, Ghana will ban entry from Tuesday to anyone who has been to a country with more than 200 coronavirus cases in the past 14 days, unless they are an official resident or Ghanaian national.

In southern Africa, Namibia ordered schools to close for a month after recording its first two cases.

Djibouti, which has no confirmed case of COVID-19, has suspended all international flights and Tanzania cancelled flights to India and suspended school games.

In other developments:

Virus has infected more than 169,000 people worldwide and killed over 6,500
Italy records 368 more deaths from the coronavirus outbreak on Sunday, its biggest one day rise
Britain will isolate older people "within weeks" and force into quarantine anyone diagnosed with coronavirus
Public Health England (PHE) warned health chiefs the epidemic in the UK could last until spring 2021
As of 9am on Monday, 1,543 people had tested positive for coronavirus in the UK
Figures from Sunday show 35 people in the UK have died since being diagnosed
More major retailers shut stores in the US including Nike, Under Armour, and Lululemon Athletica

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavi...s-world-reacts-to-spread-of-covid-19-11958145
 
At least 37 suspected COVID-19 patients break out of Afghan quarantine

At least 37 patients thought to be suffering from the novel coronavirus, officially named COVID-19, have fled from a hospital in Afghanistan's western Herat province, a Health Ministry spokesperson said Monday evening.

The people in question were in isolation due to the virus. They escaped the hospital with the help of their relatives after beating up staff members at the medical center, ministry spokesman Wahidullah Mayar said. Mayar also criticized the police for not doing anything to control the situation.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Herat Gov. Farhad Jellani told German news agency dpa that a total of 38 people, the 37 mentioned earlier and one virus-infected person, escaped the hospital.

Authorities managed to return seven of them back to the hospital. Efforts continued on Tuesday to bring all of them back.

According to the Afghan Health Ministry, all those involved in the hospital break-out had recently returned from Iran.

Why the individuals left the medical facility was not immediately clear, but videos on social media suggested they were at odds with the hospital over their treatment.

The border province of Herat is the frontline of Afghanistan’s efforts to contain the virus, as thousands of people cross the border there from Iran – one of the world’s worst-affected countries – every day.

Afghanistan has so far confirmed 21 cases of the coronavirus, mostly in Herat.

https://www.dailysabah.com/world/mi...id-19-patients-break-out-of-afghan-quarantine
 
Bahrain situation:

1. All cinemas to be closed from tomorrow onwards
2. Restaurants will be open only for deliveries, no dine in
3. All schools and universities to be closed indefinitely
4. Shopping malls will remain open
5. Grocery stores will have dedicated timings for the elderly and pregnant women
6. All passengers arriving at the airport will be checked and self quarantine for 14 days compulsory.
 
UK advises against non-essential travel anywhere in the world

The EU is planning to ban all non-essential travel in the Schengen free-travel zone

French residents face a fine if they are outside without good reason

In Italy the number of deaths has passed 2,000 and Spain has reported another 182 deaths, bringing the total there to nearly 500

The European Commission says more than 120bn euros ($13bn) have been pledged to economies within the bloc

New financial measures aimed at helping the economy through the outbreak are set to be announced by the UK government

China has reacted angrily to a tweet from President Trump that described the coronavirus as "Chinese"
 
The World Health Organization (WHO) has described the coronavirus pandemic as the "defining global health crisis of our time", and urged countries to test all suspected cases of COVID-19.

Malaysia recorded its first death from the coronavirus while the United States and countries across Europe, Asia and the Middle East have closed schools, entertainment venues and all but essential services.

Globally, the virus has infected more than 168,000 people and killed at least 6,610, according to the WHO. Almost 80,000 people have recovered from the infection, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.

===
 
Chongqing, China - "Look! What a big fish!" Ding Shijiu exclaimed in joy after catching a carp from the lake where he normally goes fishing.

Sitting under a tree full of spring blossoms on a warm day, Ding is finally able to catch up with old friends over a few fishing sessions - something he has been unable to do since the coronavirus pandemic started to sweep across China in January, prompting a major lockdown of cities and provinces across the country.

"The last two months felt surreal and, trust me, I'm almost 70 years old, and I've seen a lot of things," Yang said while pointing at his friends, unable to contain his excitement of seeing them again.

"But we're all still alive, and I'm just so happy that the worst has passed.

"This is the first time I came back fishing at this lake since Lunar New Year - I'm very happy," Yang said with a smile, before trying to reel in another fish.

Like many people in China, Yang has spent nearly all of the last two months at home as the central government imposed unprecedented quarantine measures across the country in a drastic bid to contain COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. The central province of Hubei and its capital Wuhan, where the virus was thought to have originated, were completely sealed off.

As the number of COVID-19 cases confirmed overseas daily have surpassed those within China, the draconian measures that appear to have quelled the outbreak domestically - particularly outside Hubei - are gradually being relaxed.

Chongqing, Yang's hometown bordering Hubei, has had more than 500 confirmed cases since the disease started to spill into the municipality. But now, there have been no cases in the city for several days.

The slowdown is not only in Chongqing. Across the country, 13 out of 34 provinces in China have cleared their remaining cases, and approximately 69,000 of 81,000 confirmed cases have been discharged.

Pressure easing
Even in Hubei, where some 10,000 cases remain, the pressure on front-line medical workers has eased. On March 17, the first batch of nearly 4,000 medical workers who were parachuted into Wuhan to help control the outbreak were able to leave.

With so many provinces having downgraded their emergency response levels, China is slowly - and cautiously - returning to normal life.

Classes are gradually resuming after most students spent the last month or so at home and studying online. In provinces classified as "low risk of infection," including Guizhou, Qinghai, Tibet and Xinjiang, local governments have allowed educational institutions to resume classes this month.

"I couldn't really focus while taking courses online, and I can't afford to waste any more time because the college entrance examination is in a few months," said Ouyang Yanjiang, a student in Guiyang, referring to the highly competitive national exam that determines which college students can attend. "I'm glad that we are going back to school."

Meanwhile, factories that were ordered to suspend operations are also starting to pick up their assembly lines after what many small business owners who spoke to Al Jazeera described as something akin to a "near-death experience" for their companies.

According to the latest report released by China's National Bureau of Statistics, in January and February, the peak of the outbreak in the country, the industrial output of the world's second-largest economy plummeted to the lowest point since 1998, and the unemployment rate soared to more than 6 percent, the highest on record.

The suspension has pushed many businesses to near-bankruptcy, but as the quarantine measures have been loosened, many are preparing for a rebound in production.

Cities that have a high density of manufacturing industry, including Guangzhou and Shenzhen in the south, are organising their employees' return to work and pushing for the resumption of long-suspended business.

For example, the production line of Woniu, a Guangzhou-based kitchenware factory, came to a halt on January 20 - the day the government confirmed human transmission of the virus.

The head of the factory told Al Jazeera that, with their income near zero for the last two months, they had been on the brink of closing down the facility for good. But on March 9, their proposal to reopen was accepted by the government, and they are now back in business.

"It's still high pressure to just break even, but at least we are now back to work," Liu Lufei told Al Jazeera over a chat session on Taobao, the online shopping site under Alibaba. "Dear God, that was a difficult time."

The harsh toll the outbreak took on people's lives also appears to be easing.

Chengdu, famous for its hotpots and foodie culture, now has only a dozen cases remaining and the provincial government has said no new ones have been detected over the past three weeks.

That has allowed a gradual reopening of restaurants, although people remain cautious.

In videos shared online, restaurant patrons line up in front of the city's many hotpot restaurants - wearing masks and keeping a safe distance from each other.

During the peak of the coronavirus outbreak, residents of Chengdu told Al Jazeera that the first thing they planned to do when the emergency ended was to go to a restaurant, "eating hotpots with friends and family".

For a city whose soul is "hotpot flavoured", as some playfully describe it, the reopening of Chengdu's hotpot restaurants gives residents an almost unparalleled reassurance that the worst of the outbreak has indeed passed.

"We are only allowed to accept 50 percent of our restaurant's maximum capacity for dine-in guests, and that's the rule for all restaurants in Sichuan (the surrounding province)," Xiao Ma, a waiter at Shudaxia, a famous hotpot restaurant in Chengdu, said. "But in the last few days, we have been hitting that line almost non-stop."

"People's taste buds have been pent up for too long," Ma jokingly said.

Travel gradually being allowed
Apart from dining out, people are also gradually regaining their ability to travel. Many provinces and cities have steadily resumed their public transportation, including inter-provincial long-distance buses that were suspended across the country days after Wuhan was sealed off on January 23.

Even in Hubei, the provincial epidemic prevention and control command has allowed "low and middle risk" areas, such as Xianning and Yichang, to begin operating public transport again.

News coverage of the outbreak has also eased. In late January and February, it was difficult to turn on a television or use a mobile phone without constantly being exposed to news about the coronavirus - but with the epicentre shifting to Europe, many entertainment shows are reappearing on Chinese TV.

"Now I'm able to watch something on TV that is not about coronavirus, and that was unimaginable last month," Zeng Yunru, a Wuhan resident, said. "It's funny that all of us seemed to have forgotten what our life was like before the virus."

Barbershops reopening, parks welcoming tourists again, migrant workers making their way back to their jobs - the calamity that disrupted China's society so completely seems to be receding steadily.

As life begins to return to normalcy, however, experts worry that there is still an underlying risk. There are worries that as soon as the expansive quarantine measures are lifted, China will be a hit by a second wave of infection, especially as the coronavirus is now a global pandemic and imported cases outnumber local ones.

China reported only one new domestic coronavirus case on Monday, in Hubei. Twenty other cases were of travellers arriving from overseas.

"I don't think anyone is saying the outbreak is over - only the worst seems to be over," Zeng said when asked about her concerns. "What we can do is still exercising social distancing and slowly driving our lives back to normal."

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...ronavirus-outbreak-slows-200317084803189.html
 
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Deaths from coronavirus in Spain surged to 491 on Tuesday from 309 the day before, health officials have said.

The number of confirmed cases also soared by 2,000 to 11,178, as Spain closed its borders and maintained a partial lockdown on 47 million people.

Spain is the worst-affected part of Europe after Italy, which has had 26,000 cases and 2,500 deaths.

The EU is set to ban all non-essential travel from outside the bloc, as France starts its own strict lockdown.

Death tolls have increased elsewhere, with Iran reporting 135 more, taking its official total close to 1,000.

The EU travel ban will be in place for at least 30 days. It will affect all foreign visitors except long-term residents, family members of EU nationals and diplomats, cross-border and healthcare workers, and people transporting goods.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51927790
 
Coronavirus pandemic 'could kill millions' in Iran
Iran has issued its most dire warning yet about the new coronavirus outbreak ravaging the country, suggesting "millions" could die in the Islamic Republic if people keep travelling and ignore health advisories.

A state television journalist, who is also a medical doctor, gave the warning on Tuesday citing a study by Tehran's prestigious Sharif University of Technology, which offered three scenarios regarding the COVID-19 outbreak in Iran, one of the deadliest outside China, where the illness originated.

On Tuesday, 135 new coronavirus deaths took the country's overall toll to 988, as it curtailed celebrations for a fire festival in a bid to contain the disease.

Dr Afruz Eslami said if people begin to cooperate now, Iran will see 120,000 infections and 12,000 deaths before the outbreak is over. If they offer medium cooperation, there will be 300,000 cases and 110,000 deaths, she added.

But if people fail to follow any guidance, it could collapse Iran's already-strained medical system, Eslami said. If the "medical facilities are not sufficient, there will be four million cases, and 3.5 million people will die," she said.

Eslami did not elaborate what metrics the study used, but reporting it on Iran's tightly controlled state TV represented a major change for a country whose officials had for days denied the severity of the crisis.

At least 12 Iranian politicians and officials, both sitting and former, have now died of the illness, and 13 more have been infected and are either in quarantine or being treated.

No 'unnecessary' travel
Iran has been scrambling to contain the rapid spread of the coronavirus which so far has infected some 16,000, including 1,178 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, according to the health ministry.

On Tuesday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a religious ruling prohibiting "unnecessary" travel in the country.

It came as the public ignored repeated warnings and pleas from security forces. Iran has been urging people to stay home, but many have ignored the call.

Late on Monday night, angry crowds stormed into the courtyards of Mashhad's Imam Reza shrine and Qom's Fatima Masumeh shrine.
Crowds typically pray there 24 hours a day, seven days a week, touching and kissing the shrine. That has worried health officials, who for weeks ordered Iran's Shia clergy to close them.

On Monday, the state TV had announced the shrines' closure, sparking the demonstrations.

Police later dispersed the crowds, state media reported. Religious authorities and a prominent Qom seminary called the demonstration an "insult" to the shrine in a statement, urging the faithful to rely on "wisdom and patience" amid the closure.

Iran's shrines draw Shias from all over the Middle East for pilgrimages, likely contributing to the spread of the virus across the region. Saudi Arabia earlier closed off Islam's holiest sites over fear of the virus spreading.

In its latest attempt to contain the virus, Iranian police banned celebrations marking the traditional fire festival that comes before Nowruz - the Persian New Year.

However, since it announced its first two deaths in the holy city of Qom last month, Iran has yet to impose any lockdowns and the outbreak has spread to all 31 of the country's provinces.

15 million screened
State TV reported that Iran had deployed teams to screen travellers leaving major cities in 13 provinces, including the capital, Tehran.

The teams will check travellers' temperatures and send those with fever to quarantine centres.

Apparently, in a bid to curb the spread of the virus, Iran released 85,000 prisoners on temporary leave, judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said on Tuesday. He said that the order included half of all "security-related" prisoners, without elaborating.

Among those released is Mohammad Hossein Karroubi, son of opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi, who was in jail for nearly two months.

Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said more than 15 million Iranians have been screened for symptoms,

According to the health ministry, the trend of rising reported infections is due to the increasing number of tests being carried out.

Roughly nine out of 10 of the more than 18,000 cases of the new virus confirmed across the Middle East have come from Iran.

Countries across the Middle East have imposed sweeping travel restrictions, cancelled public events and called on non-essential businesses to close for the coming weeks.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...st-covid-19-live-updates-200316234425373.html
 
New coronavirus can persist in air for hours and on surfaces for days: study

The highly contagious novel coronavirus that has exploded into a global pandemic can remain viable and infectious in droplets in the air for hours and on surfaces up to days, according to a new study that should offer guidance to help people avoid contracting the respiratory illness called COVID-19.

Scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, attempted to mimic the virus deposited from an infected person onto everyday surfaces in a household or hospital setting, such as through coughing or touching objects.

They used a device to dispense an aerosol that duplicated the microscopic droplets created in a cough or a sneeze.

The scientists then investigated how long the virus remained infectious on these surfaces, according to the study that appeared online in the New England Journal of Medicine on Tuesday - a day in which U.S. COVID-19 cases surged past 5,200 and deaths approached 100.

The tests show that when the virus is carried by the droplets released when someone coughs or sneezes, it remains viable, or able to still infect people, in aerosols for at least three hours.

On plastic and stainless steel, viable virus could be detected after three days. On cardboard, the virus was not viable after 24 hours. On copper, it took 4 hours for the virus to become inactivated.

In terms of half-life, the research team found that it takes about 66 minutes for half the virus particles to lose function if they are in an aerosol droplet.

That means that after another hour and six minutes, three quarters of the virus particles will be essentially inactivated but 25% will still be viable.

The amount of viable virus at the end of the third hour will be down to 12.5%, according to the research led by Neeltje van Doremalen of the NIAID’s Montana facility at Rocky Mountain Laboratories.

On stainless steel, it takes 5 hours 38 minutes for half of the virus particles to become inactive. On plastic, the half-life is 6 hours 49 minutes, researchers found.

On cardboard, the half-life was about three and a half hours, but the researchers said there was a lot of variability in those results “so we advise caution” interpreting that number.

The shortest survival time was on copper, where half the virus became inactivated within 46 minutes.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-study/new-coronavirus-can-persist-in-air-for-hours-and-on-surfaces-for-days-study-idUSKBN2143QP?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=Social&__twitter_impression=true


:murali:ishant
 
Last edited by a moderator:
shah_1 said:
New coronavirus can persist in air for hours and on surfaces for days: study

The highly contagious novel coronavirus that has exploded into a global pandemic can remain viable and infectious in droplets in the air for hours and on surfaces up to days, according to a new study that should offer guidance to help people avoid contracting the respiratory illness called COVID-19.

Scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, attempted to mimic the virus deposited from an infected person onto everyday surfaces in a household or hospital setting, such as through coughing or touching objects.

They used a device to dispense an aerosol that duplicated the microscopic droplets created in a cough or a sneeze.

The scientists then investigated how long the virus remained infectious on these surfaces, according to the study that appeared online in the New England Journal of Medicine on Tuesday - a day in which U.S. COVID-19 cases surged past 5,200 and deaths approached 100.

The tests show that when the virus is carried by the droplets released when someone coughs or sneezes, it remains viable, or able to still infect people, in aerosols for at least three hours.

On plastic and stainless steel, viable virus could be detected after three days. On cardboard, the virus was not viable after 24 hours. On copper, it took 4 hours for the virus to become inactivated.

In terms of half-life, the research team found that it takes about 66 minutes for half the virus particles to lose function if they are in an aerosol droplet.

That means that after another hour and six minutes, three quarters of the virus particles will be essentially inactivated but 25% will still be viable.

The amount of viable virus at the end of the third hour will be down to 12.5%, according to the research led by Neeltje van Doremalen of the NIAID’s Montana facility at Rocky Mountain Laboratories.

On stainless steel, it takes 5 hours 38 minutes for half of the virus particles to become inactive. On plastic, the half-life is 6 hours 49 minutes, researchers found.

On cardboard, the half-life was about three and a half hours, but the researchers said there was a lot of variability in those results “so we advise caution” interpreting that number.

The shortest survival time was on copper, where half the virus became inactivated within 46 minutes.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-study/new-coronavirus-can-persist-in-air-for-hours-and-on-surfaces-for-days-study-idUSKBN2143QP?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=Social&__twitter_impression=true


:murali:ishant
Click to expand...

Mankind is done lol.

:))
 
Last edited by a moderator:
shah_1 said:
New coronavirus can persist in air for hours and on surfaces for days: study

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-study/new-coronavirus-can-persist-in-air-for-hours-and-on-surfaces-for-days-study-idUSKBN2143QP?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=Social&__twitter_impression=true

The highly contagious novel coronavirus that has exploded into a global pandemic can remain viable and infectious in droplets in the air for hours and on surfaces up to days, according to a new study that should offer guidance to help people avoid contracting the respiratory illness called COVID-19.

Scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, attempted to mimic the virus deposited from an infected person onto everyday surfaces in a household or hospital setting, such as through coughing or touching objects.

They used a device to dispense an aerosol that duplicated the microscopic droplets created in a cough or a sneeze.

The scientists then investigated how long the virus remained infectious on these surfaces, according to the study that appeared online in the New England Journal of Medicine on Tuesday - a day in which U.S. COVID-19 cases surged past 5,200 and deaths approached 100.

The tests show that when the virus is carried by the droplets released when someone coughs or sneezes, it remains viable, or able to still infect people, in aerosols for at least three hours.

On plastic and stainless steel, viable virus could be detected after three days. On cardboard, the virus was not viable after 24 hours. On copper, it took 4 hours for the virus to become inactivated.

In terms of half-life, the research team found that it takes about 66 minutes for half the virus particles to lose function if they are in an aerosol droplet.

That means that after another hour and six minutes, three quarters of the virus particles will be essentially inactivated but 25% will still be viable.

The amount of viable virus at the end of the third hour will be down to 12.5%, according to the research led by Neeltje van Doremalen of the NIAID’s Montana facility at Rocky Mountain Laboratories.

On stainless steel, it takes 5 hours 38 minutes for half of the virus particles to become inactive. On plastic, the half-life is 6 hours 49 minutes, researchers found.

On cardboard, the half-life was about three and a half hours, but the researchers said there was a lot of variability in those results “so we advise caution” interpreting that number.

The shortest survival time was on copper, where half the virus became inactivated within 46 minutes.

:murali:ishant
Click to expand...

The virus transmit by direct droplet transmission like coughing, sneezing etc. These droplets are heavy and they donÂ’t stand in air for long. They fall on surfaces eventually. What the study is talking about is aerosolization of virus. Which happens during nebulisation, ventilation and intubation etc in the hospital. Then there is a high risk of contracting this virus for as long as 3 hours. ThatÂ’s the reason healthcare workers should definitely use the N95 masks, not the normal public.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
sensible-indian-fan said:
Mankind is done lol.

:))
Click to expand...

It doesn’t have airborne transmission. Only direct droplet transmission and fomite transmission is detected for this virus as of now ,So don’t worry. Stay away from people while coughing and sneezing (at least 1-2 metre away).
 
kaayal said:
The virus transmit by direct droplet transmission like coughing, sneezing etc. These droplets are heavy and they don’t stand in air for long. They fall on surfaces eventually. What the study is talking about is aerosolization of virus. Which happens during nebulisation, ventilation and intubation etc in the hospital. Then there is a high risk of contracting this virus for as long as 3 hours. That’s the reason healthcare workers should definitely use the N95 masks, not the normal public.
Click to expand...

Thanks for explaining
 
kaayal said:
It doesn’t have airborne transmission. Only direct droplet transmission and fomite transmission is detected for this virus as of now ,So don’t worry. Stay away from people while coughing and sneezing (at least 1-2 metre away).
Click to expand...

Oh I see. Thanks kaayal. :)

Personally I am all good. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be.

Hope you are alright. Your schedule must be crazy.
 
sensible-indian-fan said:
Oh I see. Thanks kaayal. :)

Personally I am all good. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be.

Hope you are alright. Your schedule must be crazy.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately i am not in the front line now because my baby needs me.

In Sha Allah, i will get back to work as soon as possible.:)
 
I hope and pray sanity prevails at some point

Cancelling large social gatherings such as stadiums is fine, but places like restaurants and other places is an overkill and it’s only going to lead to a major mental disintegration of the public
 
This is a horrific situation -something about all this hasn't been sitting right with me for a while now
Covid-19 is far more deadly than one would naturally understand from just casually reading the news and going about his or her daily life
The other day I was in a supermarket queue and this british idiot was sputtering everywhere. He started making jokes reassuring people he hadn't been to china and started harping on about those 'stupid masks' . The average person here still doesn't get it. An illness that is massacring old people at such a rate can't be without threat to young people. Europe doesn't shut itself down and governments dont sacrifice their economy over an illness that only threatens 'coffin Dodgers'.
We are well in the cr*p and we have a massive fight on our hands
 
kaayal said:
The virus transmit by direct droplet transmission like coughing, sneezing etc. These droplets are heavy and they donÂ’t stand in air for long. They fall on surfaces eventually. What the study is talking about is aerosolization of virus. Which happens during nebulisation, ventilation and intubation etc in the hospital. Then there is a high risk of contracting this virus for as long as 3 hours. ThatÂ’s the reason healthcare workers should definitely use the N95 masks, not the normal public.
Click to expand...

kaayal said:
It doesn’t have airborne transmission. Only direct droplet transmission and fomite transmission is detected for this virus as of now ,So don’t worry. Stay away from people while coughing and sneezing (at least 1-2 metre away).
Click to expand...

Thanks so much, that is really valuable advice.
 
kaayal said:
It doesn’t have airborne transmission..
Click to expand...

Pretty sure this isn't proven, and airborne transmission is suspected, whilst not proven either.

The speed at which covid-19 has spread I find it hard to believe it has been transported solely via cough clouds and touching hand rails and whatnot. Surely this illness is airborne and is lingering in the air
 
majiz said:
This is a horrific situation -something about all this hasn't been sitting right with me for a while now
Covid-19 is far more deadly than one would naturally understand from just casually reading the news and going about his or her daily life
The other day I was in a supermarket queue and this british idiot was sputtering everywhere. He started making jokes reassuring people he hadn't been to china and started harping on about those 'stupid masks' . The average person here still doesn't get it. An illness that is massacring old people at such a rate can't be without threat to young people. Europe doesn't shut itself down and governments dont sacrifice their economy over an illness that only threatens 'coffin Dodgers'.
We are well in the cr*p and we have a massive fight on our hands
Click to expand...

These are sensitive times hence I cannot shut you down rudely. But don’t over exaggerate the threat of this virus without any clear understanding of who it affects/age groups it affects and an understanding of the case studies to pass away.

It’s OTT reactions like this that have lead to millions of people losing their jobs/livelihood now. We humans are such a selfish creature!
 
majiz said:
Pretty sure this isn't proven, and airborne transmission is suspected, whilst not proven either.

The speed at which covid-19 has spread I find it hard to believe it has been transported solely via cough clouds and touching hand rails and whatnot. Surely this illness is airborne and is lingering in the air
Click to expand...

This is a recent study which is published in a medical journal called New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) which our Professors shared with us. It’s a reputed journal and there is no reason to not trust them.
 
kaayal said:
This is a recent study which is published in a medical journal called New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) which our Professors shared with us. It’s a reputed journal and there is no reason to not trust them.
Click to expand...
It proved corona isnt airborne?
 
majiz said:
It proved corona isnt airborne?
Click to expand...

The study talks about the viability of HCoV-19 in aerosols and surfaces compared to SARS-CoV-1. And yeah, they did talk about droplet, aerosol and fomite transmission of the HCoV-19 virus but not about air transmission which means it’s not something to be concerned of.
 
The World Health Organization has called for South East Asia to scale up "aggressive measures" to combat the growing coronavirus outbreak.

It comes as infections in the region continue to rise, forcing countries to lock down borders and close schools.

The WHO's South East Asia region contains 11 countries, almost all of which have now recorded virus cases.

It includes Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bangladesh and North Korea.

Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director of the WHO South East Asia region, said on Tuesday that "more clusters of virus transmission are being confirmed".

"We clearly need to do more, and urgently."

What's the situation in the region?
Many regional countries outside the WHO's definition of South East Asia have had a slow response to the outbreak, only taking drastic measures in recent weeks or days as the number of cases continue to grow.

Malaysia, which now has the highest number of cases in the region, did not put any strict social distancing measures in place until it had a huge leap in the number of cases.

Most of the country's infections have been linked to a religious gathering that was attended by around 16,000 people.

Malaysia has now locked down its borders, banning the entry of all travellers. Schools in the country have also been closed.

In nearby Indonesia, which according to John Hopkins has 172 recorded cases of the virus, President Joko Widodo admitted recently that he deliberately held back information about the spread of the virus to prevent panic.

The Philippines' Rodrigo Duterte had earlier in February joked that he wanted to "slap" the virus. The Philippines has now introduced sweeping quarantine measures that have left millions confined in the capital, Manila.

Myanmar and Laos have both not reported any cases of the virus - though experts have seriously doubted the credibility of this.

A spokesperson for Myanmar's government claimed that people's "lifestyle and diet" have protected them from the virus.

There are also no cases of the virus in Timor-Leste.

The WHO has said the numbers coming out of South East Asia show that "some countries are clearly heading towards community transmission of Covid-19".

It called for continued efforts to "detect, test, treat, isolate and trace contacts".

Dr Khetrapal Singh said "practicing social distancing [could] not be emphasized enough... this alone has the potential to substantially reduce transmission".

"We need to act now," said Dr Singh.

What's the situation worldwide?
According to John Hopkins, there are now 197,139 confirmed cases worldwide, with 7,916 global deaths recorded.

The main bulk of deaths come from China, where the virus first emerged last December.

But the virus is now spreading faster outside China than inside, with a lot of the focus moving to Europe, where cases have spiked over recent weeks.

The EU has now ban travellers from outside the bloc for 30 days, as cases continue to soar in Italy and Spain.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-51939911
 
majiz said:
It proved corona isnt airborne?
Click to expand...

kaayal said:
The study talks about the viability of HCoV-19 in aerosols and surfaces compared to SARS-CoV-1. And yeah, they did talk about droplet, aerosol and fomite transmission of the HCoV-19 virus but not about air transmission which means it’s not something to be concerned of.
Click to expand...

It is now suspected that Airborne Transmission is possible up to 03 Hours.
 
European Union will ban all travellers from outside bloc for 30 days
 
Rana said:
These are sensitive times hence I cannot shut you down rudely. But don’t over exaggerate the threat of this virus without any clear understanding of who it affects/age groups it affects and an understanding of the case studies to pass away.

It’s OTT reactions like this that have lead to millions of people losing their jobs/livelihood now. We humans are such a selfish creature!
Click to expand...

I'm not over exaggerating. More reports of younger people on critical care or dying keep coming
 
11:00 GMT - Iran reports spike in deaths

Iran reported 147 more deaths from the coronavirus, its single biggest jump.

The 15 percent spike raised the death toll to 1,135 people nationwide.

The rise in deaths comes as the number of infections continues to grow each day, with some 17,361 people infected, according to Iran’s deputy health minister, Alireza Raisi.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...irus-spread-live-updates-200318000201088.html
 
11:05 GMT - Infections could reach 10 million if Germans don't act: official

Germany could be dealing with 10 million coronavirus infections in the coming months if its citizens do not adhere to measures aimed at slowing the spread of the virus, the country's top disease control official said.

"We have an exponential development in the epidemic," Lothar Wieler, president of the Robert Koch Institute, said in Berlin.

He appealed to Germany's 80 million people to limit contact with others.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...irus-spread-live-updates-200318000201088.html
 
kaayal said:
No, that 3 hour viability is in aerosol. They are formed mainly while handling medical equipment in hospital.
Click to expand...

regardless, if you're surrounded by a load of coughing people in a supermarket, wearing a mask is going to be beneficial.
 
World community needs to turn to Iran and help it out, good of UAE to do so.

147 deaths is a lot.
 
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