As cases ballooned in Europe, the new epicenter of the coronavirus, several countries imposed new restrictions to try to curb the spread. California and three other US states directed tens of millions of people to stay at home.
- More than 274,800 people have been infected across the world and 11,389 have died.
- Italy imposed further draconian restrictions on public life on Friday. The death toll in Italy leaped by 627 to 4,032, an increase of 18.4% - by far the largest daily rise in absolute terms since the contagion emerged a month ago.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered pubs, restaurants, theaters, cinemas and gyms to shut their doors.
Spain said it would turn a Madrid conference center into a giant military hospital, as Europe’s second-worst outbreak claimed another 235 lives.
France reported 78 new deaths on Friday, taking the total to 450, an increase of 21 percent.
Germany may enforce a nationwide curfew if the country’s 83 million people fail to keep their distance from each other this weekend.
YouTube said it would reduce its streaming quality in the European Union to avoid straining the internet as thousands switch to teleworking and watch vide
New York state, Illinois and Connecticut on Friday followed California in directing tens of millions of people to stay at home in the most sweeping U.S. social-distancing measures yet imposed.
The total number of known U.S. infections has climbed past 18,000, including at least 250 deaths as of Friday evening, with the surge in cases over the past few days reflecting an increase in diagnostic testing.
The U.S. Homeland Security Department said restrictions on travel across the U.S.-Canadian land border will begin at 11:59 p.m. EDT Friday and last until April 20.
Mexico and the United States have agreed to form a joint task force to combat the spread at their border.
Brazil restricted entry of foreign visitors at its borders, while its Senate has approved emergency.
ASIA * China reported a record rise in imported coronavirus cases as students and expatriates returned home from the United States and Europe, sparking fears of a second wave of infections just as the country recovers from the initial outbreak.
All 41 of the new confirmed cases in China were imported from overseas, the country’s National Health Commission said on Saturday.
A Chinese report into the coronavirus death of a young doctor reprimanded by police when he tried to raise the alarm about the disease drew quick criticism online.
Indonesia’s total of cases rose to 450, with 38 deaths, a health ministry official said on Saturday. This comes a day after the governor of Jakarta declared a state of emergency in the Indonesian capital for the next two weeks.
Malaysia’s cases jumped to 1,183 on Saturday with four deaths, and the government warned of more cases next week as it looks for people who attended a mass religious gathering linked to a majority of the cases.
Vietnam will suspend all inbound international flights, the government said in a statement on Saturday.
An Olympic torch event in Japan, which plans to reopen schools after spring recess, drew hundreds of spectators on Friday, creating the type of gathering government and Tokyo 2020 organizers have warned against.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
Iran’s death toll from the coronavirus outbreak rose on Saturday by more than 100 to 1,556, and the total number of people infected now exceeds 20,000, a health ministry official said.
Saudi Arabia, which has announced a $31.93 billion support package, has suspended all domestic flights, buses, taxis and trains for 14 days starting Saturday.
Syria, already shattered by nine years of war, has banned entry for foreigners arriving from many virus-hit countries.
The coronavirus stopped communal Muslim prayers for the first time in living memory in many mosques from Indonesia to Morocco on Friday.
Syria, already shattered by nine years of war, has banned entry for foreigners arriving from many virus-hit countries.
Wall Street retreated on Friday after New York ordered residents to stay at home, rattling investors who had welcomed this week’s fiscal and monetary measures.
The Trump administration plans to send a special energy envoy to Saudi Arabia to work with the kingdom on stabilizing the global oil market, officials said on Friday.
Lockdowns and panic food buying could ignite world food inflation even though there are ample supplies of staple grains and oilseeds in key exporting nations, a senior economist at FAO and agricultural analysts said.
The British government will pay a massive share of private sector wage bills to discourage bosses from firing staff.
Vehicle production could be reduced by about 1.44 million in Europe, North America and Latin America, according to an estimate by information provider IHS Markit.
Shattered airlines were left counting the cost of government support as countries from the United States to New Zealand set out conditions for bailouts.
The container shipping industry, a bellwether for international trade, has been blown off course with container lines re-routing cargoes and reducing calls to Chinese ports.
The coronavirus has forced 15% of manufacturing companies in Vietnam to cut production, with the clothes and textile industry hard hit.
Indian key crop prices have plunged as much as 50% just as farmers prepare for harvest, putting paid to prospects for a rural economic rebound.
Formula One drivers will join video gamers in virtual grand Prix to replace postponed races.
Multiple sports events have been canceled or postponed.
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