Coronavirus latest: Merkel says no social distancing end in sight
- Cases of COVID-19 in Germany have surpassed 100,000, with more than 1,500 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University
- Germany has ordered Germany residents to self-isolate for 2 weeks when coming from abroad from April 10
- Austria aims to lift some restrictions to allow many shops to reopen from April 14
- Chancellor Merkel says it is too soon to consider similar rollbacks on social distancing measures in Germany’s case.
- US President Donald Trump says US virus death toll will reach ”a horrific point”
Updates in Universal Coordinated Time (UTC/GMT)
18:35 A man has been arrested in Spain, accused of stealing some 2 million protective face masks and other protective material with an overall value of roughly €5 million ($5.4 million). The suspect, a businessman, was accused of pilfering the masks from a warehouse near the city of Santiago de Compostela, in the region of Galicia. He is then said to have sold them in neighboring Portugal.
The man appeared in court and was released pending a later court hearing.
As well as masks, the individual is accused of stealing gloves, protective clothing and disinfectant. He reportedly removed them from their original packaging so as to disguise the origin of the goods.
17:55 More than two-and-a-half months after a lockdown was imposed on residents of the Chinese city of Wuhan, restrictions on travel around the city are set to be lifted in the next 24 hours.
In the metropolis, which is home to some 11 million people and where the initial outbreak that led to the pandemic occurred, transport restrictions are to be lifted as of midnight local time into Wednesday.
People will once again be allowed to drive cars through the city and take trains, provided they are healthy and have not had contact with infected individuals. Air travel to and from the city is also set to resume from Wednesday.
Of the more than 80,000 reported infections in China some 50,000 were in Wuhan alone. Some 2,500 of the more-than 3300 listed deaths nationwide were in the city.
17:28 Officials in the historic southwestern German city of Speyer are unapologetic after they imposed fines of €4,000 ($4,300) on two ice-cream parlors for selling their products to take away.
Officials said such sidewalk sales “are and remain banned.”
Enforcement officers said that, when they arrived at both parlors, long lines of people had already formed, many not keeping the recommended German minimum of 1.5 meters (roughly 5 feet) apart as they stood and queued.
“I once again make the urgent appeal to restaurateurs and ice-cream sellers — but also to citizens — to comply with the country’s corona control regulations,” said Speyer’s mayor, Stefanie Seiler. “At a time when meetings and contact is banned, it cannot and should not be the case that uncontrolled long queues form at ice cream stands.”
Most food and drinks outlets on Speyer’s picturesque high street are boarded up for the moment
17:15 New York has extended social distancing regulations until the end of April, and increased the penalty for violation to $1,000 (€920), Governor Andrew Cuomo said during his daily briefing, adding that the state’s health system was “at its capacity.”
New York is at the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the US, with cases on Monday increasing to 130,689 from 122,031 in 24 hours. Deaths rose to 4,758 from 4,159 in the same period. Over 3,000 of those deaths were in New York City alone.
16:45 Norway says it considers the coronavirus outbreak to be “under control” in the country, but warned that it was too early to say if restrictions could be lifted.
The government said the reproduction rate at which new people are infected by each patient with the virus had fallen to 0.7 — down from 2.5 in mid-March when containment measures, such as banning sports and cultural events and the closing of all educational institutions, were introduced.
“This means that we have brought the coronavirus infection under control,” Health Minister Bent Hoie told reporters.
However, Hoie added it was still necessary to keep regulations to contain the outbreak in place: “The measures have led to us getting a solid upper hand. We have to keep that.”
On March 12, Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg announced what she described “the strongest and most intrusive measures” the country had seen in peacetime, although the restrictions were less extensive than most other European countries.
Bars are closed across the country, along with public swimming pools, gyms, hairdressers and massage and tattoo parlors. However, restaurants are permitted to remain open — although they can no longer serve buffets and must ensure guests keep a minimum distance from each other.
Open-air walks and jogging are still allowed, and most shops and businesses are still open.
As of Monday, the Nordic country had 5,755 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 59 deaths.
15:45 Chancellor Angela Merkel said her government was acutely aware of the question of when personal distancing measures to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus might be relaxed. However, she said Germany would not be following Austria into issuing a timed program of dates for restrictions to be lifted.
“We would be a bad government if we didn’t think hard about how we could start life back up once again while also adhering to health protection measures,” she said.
Merkel said the disease timeline in Austria, which is planning to start loosening its restrictions starting on April 14, was different.
“Austria was always a bit ahead of us,” said Merkel, referring to the stages to which the COVID-19 pandemic had progressed in the two countries. The chancellor said Germany would have to make a decision based on how its figures panned out.
At her press conference, Chancellor Angela Merkel made no mention of mooted new common debt facilities for the eurozone dubbed “coronabonds.” to help reduce the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Italy, France and Spain have urged Germany, Austria and the Netherlands for common debt facilities to help them out.
However, northern European countries fear the plans would mean the eventual mutualization of all sovereign debts, meaning their taxpayers would have to foot the bill for supposed southern profligacy.
Instead, Merkel reiterated her government’s stance of activating the European Stability Mechanism – the eurozone’s existing bailout fund.
14:55 More from Merkel’s recent press conference, now that she is out of precautionary isolation and back to business as usual, having not tested positive:
The chancellor said that any easing of restrictions should be done step by step. She said it was not time to talk about a date to relax Germany’s partial lockdown and that health would always be the priority. “Our goal is to avoid overwhelming our health system,” she said.
She was speaking hours after Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said his government would aim to lift some of the social distancing limitations in the middle of the month.
14:45 German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said the European Union faces the greatest challenge in its history as the bloc deals with the public health and economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Merkel, speaking after the meeting of a “corona cabinet” of various ministers, said it was in the interest of everyone that Europe should emerge stronger from the crisis.
“Germany will only do well in the long run if Europe does well,” she said.
Merkel, who also spoke to other European leaders by teleconference, stressed that Germany and Europe as a whole should strengthen their capability when it came to the manufacture of protective gear such as face masks.
“We must work hard so that medical personnel can be equipped with the required products,” she said.
14:39 Dolors Sala Carrió, the 82-year-old mother of Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, died on Monday of COVID-19 in Manresa near Barcelona, Spain. Manchester City announced the news on Tuesday afternoon.
“Everyone associated with the club sends their most heartfelt sympathy at this most distressing time to Pep, his family and all their friends,” the club said.
Former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach Guardiola donated €1 million to his native Catalonia for its efforts fighting the novel coronavirus last week. He also appeared in part of a Manchester City video encouraging people to follow social distancing guidelines.
14:14 This year’s first major golf tournament, The Open at St. Andrew’s in the UK, will be canceled and played in 2021 instead. The RA club at St. Andrew’s said in a statement that the 149th installment of the tournament, scheduled for July 12-19, will now take place between July 11 and July 18 in 2021.
“I can assure everyone that we have explored every option for playing The Open this year but it is not going to be possible,” said RA chief executive Martin Slumbers.
Next year’s competition will take place on the Royal St. George’s course; the tournament will return to St. Andrew’s (where it would have been played this year) for its 150th installment in 2022. It’s the first cancellation of the event since World War II.
Read more: Coronavirus stops real sport, opens door to virtual world
13:36 Here’s a lengthier roundup of the latest developments in Asia:
In Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says he is set to declare a state of emergency for Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka and four other hard-hit prefectures as early as Tuesday. However, he said there would be no hard lockdowns. Abe also told reporters that his government would launch a 108 trillion yen ($1 trillion, €927,065,000,000) stimulus package — Japan’s largest ever and nearly twice as much as expected — to cushion the economic impact of the pandemic.
Japan’s health ministry has confirmed 3,654 cases, including 84 deaths, as well as a further 712 infections and 11 fatalities on a cruise ship quarantined in the port of Yokohama earlier this year.
China reports 39 new coronavirus cases, up from 30 a day earlier, with a surge in the number of asymptomatic cases. The country’s National Health Commission says 78 new asymptomatic cases were identified as of the end of Sunday, compared with 47 the previous day. Imported cases and asymptomatic patients, who show no symptoms but can still pass the virus on, have become China’s main concern since strict containment measures succeeded in slashing the infection rate.
Hubei province, the original epicenter, accounted for almost half the new asymptomatic cases. China has now reported a total of 81,708 cases, with 3,331 deaths.
Thailand has extended a ban on passenger flights landing in the country to curb the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. The prohibition came into effect on Saturday morning and was originally set to run until the end of Monday. The latest order extends the ban until the end of April 18, and comes after authorities reported 51 new coronavirus cases and three more deaths on Monday, raising Thailand’s figures to 2,220 cases and 26 fatalities.
Officials in Malaysia say 236 people have recovered from the new coronavirus over the past 24 hours, the highest daily total so far.
The recoveries substantially exceed the 130 new infections diagnosed over the same period. Officials at a press conference jubilantly displayed signs emblazoned with the number 236. The country has recorded 3,773 cases of COVID-19, with 61 fatalities.
Indonesia has announced its biggest daily increase in novel coronavirus cases, with a medical association saying 24 doctors had now died after contracting the virus. The death toll among doctors has doubled since last week, and follows criticism about a lack of protective equipment. The 218 new coronavirus cases took the number overall in Indonesia to 2,491, with 209 confirmed deaths – the highest number of fatalities in Asia outside China.
In Singapore, Changi Airport, one of the busiest travel hubs in Asia, is set to suspend operations at its Terminal 2 for 18 months from May 1. The move is due to the steep fall in passenger numbers, the airport operator said.
India has seen a major private hospital in Mumbai closed to new patients. The facility was declared a coronavirus containment zone after 26 nurses and three doctors tested positive, an official said. Since the coronavirus hit India, which has been under lockdown since March 25, medical workers have complained about not receiving adequate protective gear. India has so far recorded over 4,000 coronavirus cases, but experts warn that the real numbers are likely to be far higher in the country of 1.3 billion.
Read more: Millions across India light lamps in solidarity amid coronavirus lockdown
In Pakistan, riot police carrying batons have used force to break up a protest by Pakistani doctors and medical staff. The clinicians were protesting against a lack of protective gear which they say there were promised. The scene, in the southwestern city of Quetta, was witnessed by Reuters journalists with hundreds of doctors and paramedics chanting their demands. Pakistan has reported a total of 3,277 cases of COVID-19, including 50 deaths.
12:45 The German government has confirmed a quick loan scheme for medium-sized companies to bolster jobs and futures amid the current coronavirus-induced economic restrictions. Under the scheme, such companies can receive government-guaranteed loans of up to €800,000 ($862,942) at 3% interest at short notice. The government will decide by looking at the companies’ performance in 2019 whether they are eligible, rather than predicting their future profitability, as banks do. Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said such checks were sufficient to ensure that the vast majority of loans would be honored.
“The decision is: Anyone who was economically active last year — who had turnover, reasonable economic activity and profits — will be able to receive a loan equivalent to three months’ turnover from the bank,” Scholz said.
12:14 German citizens, EU and foreign nationals entering Germany are required to undergo two weeks of quarantine, according to an Interior Ministry spokesperson.
DW political correspondent Kate Brady said the two-week rule was agreed upon by German states.
Germany has imposed border controls and travel restrictions for people attempting to enter the country.
Read more: Germany’s coronavirus travel restrictions: What you need to know
11:37 The German government said it does not yet have a date on which restrictions to combat the coronavirus would be lifted, government spokesperson Steffen Seibert said.
Seibert told a press conference in Berlin that it was too early to relax measures and that the government recommends people maintain a distance of 1.5 meters (5 feet) with one another when out of their homes.
Germany’s so-called “Corona-Cabinet” has not spoken over a requirement to wear face masks, Seibert said. He added that the government wanted to help companies that have changed their production to make medical protection equipment.
11:21 Hungary will raise this year’s budget deficit from 1% to 2.7% of gross domestic product (GDP) to help finance an economic stimulus package, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.
The spending package, which would amount to between 18% and 20% of GDP, includes massive loans to Hungarian companies. Orban said the stimulus would help jump-start the economy, which, like many around the world, has suffered greatly during the coronavirus pandemic.
“The goal is to create as many jobs as are destroyed by the virus,” Orban said in a televised speech.
Orban said the government was ready to pay some wage costs of companies in case they are forced to cut working hours. It would also support investments with 450 billion forints (€1.23 billion, $1.33 billion).
The National Bank of Hungary is also expected to announce new measures on Tuesday.
10:27 France will likely experience its worst economic downturn this year since World War II, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said.
“The worst growth figure in France since 1945 was -2.2% in 2009, after the financial crisis of 2008. We will probably be at more than the -2.2% in 2009,” Le Maire told the Senate in hearing by teleconference. “That shows the magnitude of the economic shock we are facing.”
The French government estimated in an emergency budget update last month that the economy would contract 1% this year, but it has since revised that forecast.
09:34 Philip Jansen, the chief executive of Britain’s biggest telecommunications company BT, said his company committed to no job losses related to the coronavirus crisis for at least three months.
Jansen, one of the UK’s richest executives, also said he would donate his salary to health workers for at least six months. He also committed to handing out raises to BT’s frontline staff who are maintaining broadcast networks during the shutdown.
A commitment to award 500 million pounds ($615 million) worth of shares to all employees would also go ahead, Jansen said.
“This is an unprecedented situation, and I want to give our people some certainty about the months ahead,” said Jansen, who tested positive for COVID-19 in early March.
“This period requires sacrifices from us all, and I want our people to know we are all in this together,” he said.
09:50 UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in hospital and being treated for COVID-19, but says he is still in charge. Watch DW’s latest news report:
09:48 ICU staff in Germany struggle to keep up with the physical and emotional toll of fighting off the coronavirus. Watch DW’s latest report from the town of Heinsberg, one of the worst affected areas in Germany.
09:34 Iran “has never and will never” ask for help from the United States in its battle with the new coronavirus, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said.
He added that Washington should lift its “illegal” sanctions on the Middle Eastern nation. “Iran has never asked and will not ask America to help Tehran in its fight against the outbreak,” Mousavi said in a televised news conference. “But America should lift all its illegal unilateral sanctions on Iran.”
Mousavi claimed the US “is trying to force Tehran to accept negotiations with America.”
08:37 Austria plans to begin relaxing its coronavirus lockdown measures beginning on April 14, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said.
Kurz said businesses with floor space up to 400 square meters (4,306 square feet) and hardware and garden stores would be allowed to open again.
All other stores, including shopping centers and hair salons, will be allowed to open on May 1, he said. Schools will remain closed until at least the middle of May. Events have been barred until the end of June.
Kurz stressed that these early returns to work would only be possible if efforts to socially isolate continued in the mean time. Austria was among the first hard-hit countries in Europe, but its rate of new infections has since begun to slow, now at the stage where the total is doubling roughly once every two weeks.
08:34 Austria has tripled the funding available to companies instituting short-time work policies to ease the financial burden of the coronavirus crisis, according to the Finance Ministry.
Unemployment in Austria last month increased to hits highest level since data began in 1946 — despite the government encouraging employers to use the scheme designed to prevent layoffs.
The Finance Ministry said the funding limit was being increased from €1 billion ($1.08 billion) to €3 billion.
“The rush of applications for reduced working hours at the [employment agency] AMS has increased enormously in recent days,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement.
Some 400,000 jobs have been “secured” through the program, Labor Minister Christine Aschbacher said in the statement. She said she will encourage firms to use the scheme, even retroactively, for jobs that have already been cut.
07:43 The German Chancellery has called for a Europe-wide smartphone app that tracks coronavirus infections.
“We need definitely need one EU-wide,” Helge Braun, head of the Chancellery, said on RTL television. “The worst thing that can happen is that there are many different tracking apps.”
Such apps should ensure that the contact person for a coronavirus infection is found and contacted more quickly, Braun added.
He said a tracking app should be available in Germany soon. The government is working with app developers and testers to get the app “to the point that we can bring it into widespread use among the population in the coming days or weeks,” Braun said.
Get more details on Germany’s stance on tracking apps in this latest report from DW:
07:11 Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich have resumed team practices at their training ground, the club announced on their website.
The FC Bayern Munich first team will return to training at Säbener Straße in small groups from Monday, April 6,” the club said.
“This will be done in coordination with government policy and the relevant authorities.”
The Bundesliga, which last held a match on March 11, has suspended its season until at least April 30.
The Deutsche Fussball Liga (DFL), the company that presides over Germany’s top two divisions, recommended that training not resume until April 5. However, several German teams are still having their players train individually in their homes.
Read more: Coronavirus and sports: Bundesliga could return with ‘special bubble’
07:19 Two demonstrations in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia against the transport of nuclear materials have received official permission to go ahead despite coronavirus restrictions, according to several German media outlets.
However, the vigils in the cities of Münster and Gronau were permitted to take place only under the condition that the 15 participants at each event wear protective masks and stay 1.5 meters (5 feet) from each other, organizers said.
The demonstrators want to protest against a planned transport of uranium hexafluoride, used in the process of uranium enrichment, from the Gronau enrichment plant to the Russian nuclear facility in Novouralsk.
Watch this video to find out more about Germany’s struggle to find a solution for the storage of nuclear waste:
06:46 British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spent the night in hospital with acute coronavirus symptoms and will have further tests today, UK Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick told the BBC.
Jenrick added that Johnson continues to lead the government despite his condition.
“He’s been working extremely hard, leading the government and being constantly updated, that’s going to continue,” Jenrick said. “Obviously, today, he’s in hospital having the test, but he’ll continue to be kept informed as to what’s happening and to be in charge of the government.”
06:39 Japan is considering calling a six-month period for an impending state of emergency declaration in response to the coronavirus pandemic, according to broadcaster TBS.
The move would cover Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures, as well as Osaka, TBS said. These prefectures would decide the length of time for their individual measures within the six-month period.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe could declare a state of emergency as soon as Tuesday, according to Japanese media. The Yomiuri Shinbun newspaper said Abe would likely announce his plan for the emergency later Monday.
06:30 Taiwan has urged people who visited tourist spots during the popular Tomb Sweeping Festival last week to do adopt disease control measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center asked peopleto minimize time spent outside, wear a face mask in public and check their body temperature twice daily for 14 days.
Despite being advised to practice social distancing, millions of people traveled around Taiwan during the four-day festival, which ended on Sunday.
06:01 A 4-year-old Malayan tiger at the Bronx Zoo in New York City has become the first tiger in the world to contract the new coronavirus. The tiger began showing respiratory symptoms on March 27. An asymptomatic employee of the zoo is believed to have infected it.
Six other cats have also fallen ill, but they have not tested positive for COVID-19. The zoo has been closed to the public since March 16.
The zoo said there is no evidence that animals play a role in the transmission of COVID-19 to people other than the initial event in the Wuhan market, and no evidence that any person has been infected with COVID-19 in the US by animals, including by pet dogs or cats.”
Other animal coronavirus cases have been documented around the world. A pet cat in Belgium tested positive for the disease, as has two dogs in Hong Kong. No animal deaths from the virus have been reported.
Malayan tiger Nadia has tested positive for coronavirus
05:36 Germany’s government has allowed breweries to defer the annual beer tax, giving them greater financial flexibility during the coronavirus crisis.
Breweries can submit applications to defer the tax to main customs offices until December 31, 2020, Germany’s Finance Ministry told the German DPA news agency.
A standard crate with 20 half-liter beer bottles is charged €0.94 ($1.02) in beer tax in Germany, according to trade publication Lebensmittel Zeitung. The tax is paid to federal states.
Beer tax payments from 2019 are expected to amount to €650 million, according to Finance Ministry figures.
04:38 Germany’s confirmed coronavirus infections rose by 3,677 in the past 24 hours, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases (RKI).
The figure was lower than the 5,936 new infections reported on Sunday and represents a fourth straight drop in the daily rate of new cases.
The new infections put Germany’s total at 95,391 according to RKI data, though Johns Hopkins University has reported a slightly higher figure of 100,123.
03:45 Here is the latest from across the Americas
Ecuador President Lenin Moreno warned that the death toll from the coronavirus pandemic was likely higher than current figures show. Authorities are collecting more than 100 bodies a day and storing them in giant refrigerated containers, with morgues and hospitals at capacity.
Ecuador has one of the highest COVID-19 tallies in Latin America. “This pandemic is overcoming the capacity of our hospital services,” Guayaquil’s Teodoro Maldonado Carbo hospital said in a statement on Friday.
Moreno said his government expected the total number of fatalities in Guayaquil’s surrounding province to reach up to 3,500, adding that a “special camp” was being built to bury the dead.
Authorities have promised to activate a new digital system to allow families to find out where their deceased relatives were buried.
Latest figures: 3,646 infected, 180 deaths, 100 recovered
Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador unveiled a plan to help the poor and create jobs, as the coronavirus pandemic takes a toll on the economy. Lopez Obrador has promised to create 2 million new jobs in the next nine months and boost small business and housing loans.
But he also vowed to increase public sector austerity to avoid debt.
Read more: How the coronavirus lockdown is hitting Mexico’s drug cartels
“This crisis is temporary, transitory,” Lopez Obrador said in a televised speech. “Normality will return soon. We will defeat the coronavirus, we will reactivate the economy.”
Latest figures: 1,890 infected, 79 deaths, 633 recovered
Haiti reported its first death linked to COVID-19, the Health Ministry said. Experts have warned that a spread of COVID-19 in the impoverished country could be devastating, given Haiti’s widespread malnutrition and overburdened healthcare system
Most homes do not have proper sanitation, lacking piped water and relying instead on communal taps, water trucks or often contaminated springs.
Latest figures: 21 infected, 1 deaths, 1 recovered
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the global spread of COVID-19
Pneumonia-like virus hits Wuhan
On December 31, 2019, China notifies the World Health Organization of a string of respiratory infections in the city of Wuhan, home to some 11 million people. The root virus is unknown and disease experts around the world begin working to identify it. The strain is traced to a seafood market in the city, which is quickly shut down. Some 40 people are initially reported to be infected.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the global spread of COVID-19
First death in China
On January 11, China announces the first death from the coronavirus — a 61-year-old man, who had shopped at the Wuhan market, dies from complications with pneumonia. Like SARS and the common cold, scientists identified that the new virus is in the coronavirus family. It is temporarily named 2019-nCoV. Symptoms include fever, coughing, difficulty breathing, and pneumonia.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the global spread of COVID-19
Virus reaches neighboring countries
In the following days, countries such as Thailand and Japan begin to report cases of infections in people who had visited the same Wuhan market. In China, a second fatality is confirmed in the city. By January 20, three people have died in China and more than 200 are infected.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the global spread of COVID-19
Millions under lockdown
China places Wuhan on quarantine on January 23 in an attempt to limit the spread of the virus. Transportation is suspended and workers attempt to quickly build a new hospital to treat infected patients, which total over 830 by January 24, as the death toll climbs to 26. Officials eventually extend the lockdown to 13 other cities, affecting at least 36 million people.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the global spread of COVID-19
A global health emergency?
More and more cases are confirmed outside of China, including in South Korea, the US, Nepal, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan. As the number of infections rises, the World Health Organization on January 23 determines that it’s “too early” to declare a global public health emergency.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the global spread of COVID-19
Coronavirus reaches Europe
On January 24, French authorities confirm three cases of the new coronavirus within its borders, marking the disease’s first appearance in Europe. Hours later, Australia confirms four people have been infected with the respiratory virus.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the global spread of COVID-19
First cases confirmed in Germany
On January 27, Germany announces its first known case of the virus — a 33-year-old in Bavaria who contracted it during a workplace training with a visiting Chinese colleague. He is put under quarantine and observation at a Munich hospital. The following day, three of his colleagues are confirmed infected. The death toll in China reaches 132, with around 6,000 infected worldwide.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the global spread of COVID-19
WHO declares global health emergency
On January 30, the UN’s World Health Organization (WHO) declares coronavirus a public health emergency of international concern in a bid to protect countries with “weaker health systems.” However, WHO Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus does not recommend trade and travel restrictions, saying these would be “an unnecessary disruption.”
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the global spread of COVID-19
First death outside China
The first death linked to the novel coronavirus outside of China is reported in the Philippines on February 2. A 44-year-old Chinese man had traveled from Wuhan to Manila before falling ill and being taken to hospital, where he later died of pneumonia.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the global spread of COVID-19
Bad ending to a cruise
Also on February 3, the cruise ship Diamond Princess is quarantined off Yokohama in Japan after cases of the new coronavirus were found on board. As of February 17, the number of people infected has grown to more than 450, the largest cluster of cases outside of China. Several of the 3,700 passengers and crew onboard the ship are being or have been flown back to their home countries.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the global spread of COVID-19
Italy under quarantine
Cases in Italy rise dramatically, with 77 deaths and thousands of confirmed cases by March 3. Many countries instigate travel restrictions to northern Italy and tourist numbers plummet. On March 8, the Italian government put the entire Lombardy region into quarantine, affecting 16 million people. March 10 sees 168 fatalities in Italy, the highest in a single day.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the global spread of COVID-19
Economic woes
European and US stock markets slump on March 6, leading to the worst week since the 2008 financial crisis. The effect on global business has been significant, with many companies reporting losses and the tourism industry and airlines badly hit. The EU pledge €7.5 billion ($8.4 billion) on March 10 in an investment fund to try to stop the Eurozone falling into a recession.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the global spread of COVID-19
WHO declares outbreak as pandemic
As worldwide cases top 127,000 and deaths pass 4,700, the World Health Organization designates the global outbreak as a “pandemic” on March 11. US President Donald Trump announces a travel restriction on people coming from the Schengen Zone in Europe, annoying the EU. German Chancellor Angela Merkel announces that in Germany, 70% of the population could get the virus.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the global spread of COVID-19
Public life on hold in Europe
On March 14, Spain joins Italy in imposing a near-total nationwide lockdown to prevent the virus spreading. The population of 46 million is told not to leave their homes unless for essential tasks. In France, cafés, restaurants and non-essential shops are closed as of March 15. Many public events in Germany are cancelled and schools close.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the global spread of COVID-19
International travel severely restricted
As of March 15, many countries impose strict travel bans or restrictions in an attempt to stop the spread of Covid-19. For example, New Zealand and Australia require all international passengers to self-isolate for 14 days after arrival in the country. The US extends a European travel ban to include the United Kingdom and Ireland.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the global spread of COVID-19
Germany imposes partial lockdown
In a landmark televised address German Chancellor Angela Merkel announces far-reaching restrictions on everyday life on March 22, banning meetings between more than two people not from the same household outside of the workplace. The country has a surprisingly low death rate, a phenomenon attributed to a high level of testing, and a high number of intensive care beds.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the global spread of COVID-19
Virus strikes at top as UK locks down
On March 23rd Britain becomes the latest country to impose restrictions on personal freedoms, with people only allowed to leave their homes in a limited number of circumstances. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is diagnosed with the viruson March 27, as well as heir to the throne Prince Charles on March 25. Meanwhile, there are complaints that not everyone is taking social distancing seriously.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the global spread of COVID-19
Grim milestone for the US
On March 27 the US overtakes China in terms of the number of people infected, making it the country with the most cases of COVID-19. This came as President Donald Trump claimed that the nation would get back to work “pretty quickly.” At the same time, it emerged that more than 3 million Americans had lost their jobs due to the pandemic. New York is worst-hit, with a hospital ship sent to help out.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the global spread of COVID-19
Spain’s surging death toll
Spain also overtakes China in the number of COVID-19 cases on March 30, as the government toughens the severity of its lockdown. All non-essential activities are halted. Only Italy has a higher death toll than Spain. Most affected is the capital, Madrid. With funeral services overwhelmed, officials turn the Palacio de Hielo ice skating rink into a temporary morgue.
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Coronavirus: Timeline of the global spread of COVID-19
More than a million
On April 2nd the Johns Hopkins University announced on Thursday that there were more than a million confirmed coronavirus cases around the world. The US is the most affected with three times the number than China, where the virus emerged in December. Over 50.000 people have died — and the outlook remains grim.
Central Chile has grown vulnerable to the coronavirus pandemic, gripped by a drought that has left river flows historically low and reservoirs running dry.
Greenpeace-Chile has called on the government of President Sebastian Pinera to “guarantee that there are no second-class citizens without the basics to protect themselves from COVID-19.”
“Having soap is useless if there’s not enough water to wash with it,” said Matias Asun, the director of Greenpeace-Chile.
Rodrigo Mundaca, spokesman for the Movement for the Defense of Water, the Earth and the Protection of the Environment, told AFP that there were currently “400,000 families, nearly 1.5 million people approximately,“ facing water insecurity.
Latest figures: 4,471 infected, 24 deaths, 618 recovered
The number of people killed by COVID-19 in Canada jumped by just over 20% to 258 in a day, officials said. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said officials would tap army reservists to offer them full-time jobs for the coming months.
“Bolstering the military’s ranks will help offset some of the economic consequences of COVID-19 and ensure our communities are well supported,” Trudeau told a daily briefing.
The prime minister had already announced on Friday that members of the Canadian Rangers, reservists based in remote regions, would be deployed to northern Quebec to help provide healthcare to the isolated indigenous population.
Nearly half Canada‘s coronavirus cases are in the province of Quebec, whose premier, Francois Legault, said he was extending a shutdown of non-essential businesses for another three weeks to May 4.
Latest figures: 15,871 infected, 281 deaths, 3,054 recovered
Despite sparking outrage over his response to the coronavirus epidemic, most people in Brazildo not think President Jair Bolsonaro should resign, a poll by newspaper Folha de S.Paulo revealed.
Some 59% opposed Bolsonaro’s resignation, while 37% approved.
Read more: Coronavirus: Brazil is headed toward a ‘perfect storm’
The Brazilian president has downplayed COVID-19 as a “little flu” and clashed with governors, as well as his own health minister, over social distancing measures, which he sees as economically disastrous.
Bolsonaro called for a national day of fasting and prayer on Palm Sunday to “free Brazil from this evil” epidemic.
Latest figures: 11,281 infected, 487 deaths, 127 recovered
The government of Guatemala has asked the US to limit its deportations of migrants to the Central American country to 25 people per plane, Health Minister Hugo Monroy said.
“We are requesting that … to safeguard the health of the country,” Monroy told a news conference.
The request comes after two deported migrants, who had arrived asymptomatic, tested positive for the virus and were hospitalized.
Latest figures: 70 infected, 3 deaths, 15 recovered
03:23 United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres is urging governments across the world to look at prevention of violence against women in their response to the coronavirus pandemic, warning of a “horrifying global surge” in domestic violence.
“We know lockdowns and quarantines are essential to suppressing COVID-19. But they can trap women with abusive partners,” Guterres said in a video message. “Over the past weeks as economic and social pressures and fear have grown, we have seen a horrifying global surge in domestic violence.”
Guterres urged governments to ensure that prosecution of abusers continues during the pandemic. He also discussed the possibility of setting up warning systems in pharmacies and grocery stores and listing shelters under essential services.
Several nations including Germany have highlighted that the lockdowns and social restrictions imposed to tackle the spread of COVID-19 could lead to a rise in cases of domestic violence.
Read more: Coronavirus fuels domestic violence in the Middle East
02:18 South Korea reported less than 50 new cases of COVID-19 for the first time since infections peaked on February 29.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said there were 47 new cases of coronavirus in the country, with the total number of cases reaching 10,284.
Deaths in South Korea rose by three, taking the total number to 186.
01:33 Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to declare a state of emergency in Japan, news agency Kyodo reported, citing a government official. The move is said to be in response to the rising numbers of coronavirus infections in the country.
Just this weekend, 143 new cases were recorded. Japan has a total of 3,654 COVID-19 infections, 1,000 of which are in Tokyo. Eighty-five people have died from the virus.
The emergency declaration will enable authorities to close schools and issue stay-at-home orders, particularly in major cities such as Tokyo and Osaka.
Though Japan has not been acutely affected by the epidemic, experts worry that a sudden surge in cases could strain the medical system, in a country with a large elderly population.
Read more: Millions across India light lamps in solidarity amid coronavirus lockdown
01:11 The total number of coronavirus cases in mainland China has risen by 39 to 81,708 as of Sunday. All except one were imported cases.
A total of 3,331 deaths have been reported in the country since the start of the outbreak, with one new death on Sunday in Hubei province, where the COVID-19 pandemic began. No new cases of infection were reported in Hubei, however.
Seventy-eight new asymptomatic cases were also reported by the National Health Commission.
Read more: How Brazil’s evangelicals are spinning COVID-19
00:00 President Donald Trump said he was hopeful that the US could be seeing a ”leveling off” of the coronavirus crisis in some of the country’s hot spots for the viral outbreak.
“We see light at the end of the tunnel. Things are happening,” the president said during his daily White House briefing on the subject. But he warned that still, the US would reach ”a horrific point” in terms of deaths.
Trump added that some 1.67 million Americans had been tested so far and he again pushed the notion that hydroxychloroquine would be effective against the virus.
Despite the fact that no conclusive evidence exists to support the claim, Trump said that there were ”some very strong signs” that the drug helped and announced that the government had purchased ”a tremendous amount” of it.
Catch up on yesterday’s coronavirus news: UK PM Boris Johnson hospitalized with COVID-19 symptoms
In reporting on the coronavirus pandemic, unless otherwise specified, DW uses figures provided by the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Coronavirus Resource Center in the United States. JHU updates figures in real time, collating data from world health organizations, state and national governments and other public official sources, all of whom have their own systems for compiling information.
Germany’s national statistics are compiled by its public health agency, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). These figures depend on data transmission from state and local levels and are updated around once a day, which can lead to deviation from JHU.
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