Canada has withdrawn from the 2020 games amid criticism that the IOC has not cancelled or postponed the event. - Copyright Jae C. Hong/Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
The death toll from the coronavirus continued to rise on Monday, as the latest figures showed a total of 14,600 people infected worldwide and more than 335,000 sickened by the virus.
In Italy, infections stood at 59,000 as of March 23, with 5,476 dead. On Sunday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel went into quarantine after a doctor that gave her a flu shot tested positive.
She joins millions of people worldwide who are currently self-isolating or under lockdown, including in Italy, France, Spain and many other European nations.
Shortly before her announcement on Sunday, Merkel said that all gatherings of more than two people will be banned in Germany "for at least two weeks" to stop the spread of COVID-19.
German citizens will be asked to stand 1.5 metres apart while restaurants and hairdressing salons will be closed, she said.
Meanwhile in the U.S., Congress and the White House were continuing to wrangle over a $2 trillion rescue package designed to mitigate the impact on the economy. Rand Paul, a Kentucky lawmaker, became the first member of the U.S. Senate to test positive for the virus.
Iran is also severely hit by the virus, officially reporting 21,600 cases and with 129 deaths on Sunday alone, bringing the total death toll of 1,685. Tehran has refused an offer of help from the U.S.
Canada anounced that it was withdrawing from the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo unless the event was postponed for a year.
The IOC announced Monday that it would take up to four weeks to decide whether it would move the games.
Italy
Sunday evening saw another 651 deaths from COVID-19 announced in Italy: The country had already passed China as the worst-hit nation last week.
The virus has provoked a health care emergency in Italy, with hospitals swamped by the sick and doctors and medical staff lacking protective equipment.
At a glance: key coronavirus developments
- COVID-19 has killed over 14,000 people worldwide, with more than 330,000 global cases
- Italian death toll from COVID-19 exceeds 5,000 with 651 news fatalities on Sunday
- France declares state of health emergency as death toll reaches 674 and first hospital doctor dies
- Germany: Angela Merkel in quarantine, gatherings of more than two are banned
- UK announces shielding measures with vulnerable people asked to stay home for 12 weeks
- Iran announces 129 new deaths, official death toll rises to 1,685
- Jordan announces a three-day curfew on Saturday
- Brazils San Paolo state to go on lockdown from Tuesday
- Latest figures on new infections and deaths.France
France, which has been under lockdown since March 16, with heavy restrictions on residents leaving their homes and workplaces, restaurants and most shops closed, is also struggling to cope with a surge of infections of coronavirus.
France
France, which has been under lockdown since March 16, with heavy restrictions on residents leaving their homes and workplaces, restaurants and most shops closed, is also struggling to cope with a surge of infections of coronavirus.
On Sunday, France announced that 112 died in one day, reaching a total of 674 deaths and 7,240 cases in hospital.
Germany and Switzerland have agreed to allow French patients to be treated in hospitals close to the border in the east of France, which has seen many new cases of coronavirus.
Twelve French patients are to be welcomed in German hospitals in the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg while six others will go to hospitals in three Swiss "cantons" near the French border, the Haut-Rhin authorities in Alsace.
France has started to build field hospitals in its eastern region of Alsace, after hospitals in cities Mulhouse and Colmar were overwhelmed with coronavirus cases earlier this week.
The UK
The UK has reported 281 deaths from the COVID-19 coronavirus and 5,683 cases and the has advised citizens to stay at home and adopt social distancing, it has not ordered the closure of pubs, restaurants and shops as on the continent.
To prevent the spread of the virus, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Friday the UK would be closing bars, restaurants, cinemas and theatres.
The UKs struggling health service, the NHS, has been overwhelmed by the virus, with fears that the situation could worsen in coming days.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he believes the UK can resolve the situation within 12 weeks, but the government has been criticised for the slow speed of its response.
Elsewhere in Europe
Spain announced 1,326 deaths of coronavirus including 283 new deaths on Saturday, a 32% increase from Friday.
The Czech Republic announced its first death due to COVID-19 coronavirus on Sunday, an 95-year-old man with pre-existing medical conditions. There have been 1,120 cases in the Czech Republic, including 74 hospital cases.
Finland has announced its first death on Friday, an elderly man from the Helsinki region. Romania also announced its first death from the virus.
Elsewhere in the world
A first coronavirus cases has been recorded in Syria, the Syrian Health minister Nizar Yaziji reported on Sunday, adding that it was a "foreign person".
The United Arab Emirates announced its first two deaths on Friday, while Tunisia said it would go on lockdown from Sunday and Colombia on Tuesday.
The president of Botswana, Mokgweetsi Masisi, has quarantined himself after visiting Namibia, where three cases of coronavirus have been reported.
Thursday was the first day the Chinese province of Wuhan had not recorded a new case of COVID-19 since the outbreak at the end of last year.
WHO: "Every day, COVID-19 seems to reach a new and tragic milestone"
The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday that "a new and tragic milestone" is reached daily in the coronavirus global pandemic, adding: "Every loss of life is a tragedy."
Ghebreyesus said there are "more than 210,000" reported coronavirus cases and that "more than 9,000 people" have died of the virus.
Speaking at a media briefing, Ghebreyesus also said it was important to celebrate successes, such as the decline of the pandemic in Chinas Wuhan, where it started: "Yesterday, Wuhan reported no new cases for the first time since the outbreak started", he said.
"Wuhan provides hope for the rest of the world, that even the most severe situation can be turned around", Ghebreyesus added.
The WHO Director-General called for solidarity and warned young people about the dangerous effects the virus can have on their health, despite their youth.
"You are not invincible", he said, addressing young people around the world. "This virus could put you in hospital for weeks, or even kill you. Even if you dont get sick, the choices you make about where you go could be the difference between life and death for someone else."
Cash plan from European Central Bank
The crisis in Europe drove the European Central Bank (ECB) to launch a €750 billion plan to calm markets and help the Eurozone economy during the coronavirus pandemic.
Europes unprecedented emergency money plan will allow them to buy government debt to counter the economic impact of the outbreak. Markets have taken historic plunges as the outbreak has spread throughout the world.
The plan announced overnight was significantly more money than the €120 billion package that the bank announced last week.
"Extraordinary times require extraordinary action. There are no limits to our commitment to the euro. We are determined to use the full potential of our tools, within our mandate," said president of the ECB, Christine Lagarde.
SOURCE: EURONEWS
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/14882
Farkhunda Buried, Ghani Appoints Fact-Finding Team
