The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic as Italy tightened its quarantine and the US imposed a ban on flights to Europe.
As US President Donald Trump announced new measures to address the US’s growing outbreak, Italy further tightened the nationwide quarantine it imposed earlier this week – with all but essential services and shops to close for two weeks – after leaders from the European Union promised to do “whatever it takes” to tackle the coronavirus.
More than 126,000 have been infected globally, according to the WHO. Of those, over 68,000 have recovered, according to Johns Hopkins University, which is tracking the virus.
Here are the latest updates:
Thursday, March 12
09:05 GMT – Iran asks IMF for $5bn emergency funding
Iran has asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for emergency funding to help it fight the coronavirus outbreak, which has hit the Islamic Republic hard, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a tweet.
The IMF managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, “has stated that countries affected by #COVID19 will be supported via Rapid Financial Instrument. Our Central Bank requested access to this facility immediately”, Zarif said.
Iran’s Central Bank chief Abdolnaser Hemmati wrote on his Instagram page that “in a letter addressed to the head of IMF, I have requested $5bn from the RFI emergency fund to help our fight against the coronavirus”.
08:32 GMT – California bans mass gatherings to slow spread of coronavirus
California is banning mass gatherings of 250 people or more until the end of March in response to the coronavirus outbreak, the office of Governor Gavin Newsom said.
Health experts in the state advised that smaller events could be held if organisers implemented social distancing of six feet (two metres) per person, the governor’s office said in a statement.
08:26 GMT – South Africa reports first case of local transmission
South Africa’s health ministry reported the first case of local coronavirus transmission, saying a 32-year-old man had contracted it after coming into contact with a Chinese businessman.
“All others (cases) have been by patients who had travelled abroad,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that the number of confirmed cases had risen to 17 from 13 on Wednesday.
08:14 GMT – Three infected Britons on cruise on Cambodia’s Mekong
Cambodia has found three British nationals infected with the coronavirus on a tourist boat on the Mekong River, bringing its tally of cases to five, the health ministry said.
A 73-year old British tourist, his 69-year old wife and a 65-year-old woman were on Viking Cruise Journey, docked in Kampong Cham province, north of the capital, Phnom Penh, the ministry said.
It also said 61 people from the vessel had tested negative and had been put in isolation on land and were being monitored.
08:02 GMT – Czech Republic introduces controls on German, Austrian borders
The Czech Republic is introducing controls on its borders with Germany and Austria and banning crossings away from official frontier border posts to help fight the spread of the coronavirus, Interior Minister Jan Hamacek said.
The country, which is part of the European Union’s Schengen area, will start the checks on Friday, news agency CTK reported.
07:20 GMT – China says it has passed peak of coronavirus epidemic
China’s National Health Commission said the country has passed the peak of the coronavirus epidemic.
06:55 GMT – Tokyo chief: Cancelling Olympics ‘impossible’
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said cancelling the summer Olympic Games was “impossible”, saying Japan was “not thinking of changing directions nor changing plans at all”.
Koike said Tokyo was coordinating and closely discussing with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and organisers “toward holding the games”.
The president of the Tokyo 2020 organising committee said he had received an apology from an executive board member who said the Games should be delayed a year to two because of the coronavirus.
06:15 GMT
Here’s a quick summary of this morning’s developments:
US President Donald Trump spoke to Americans earlier from the White House, announcing a European travel ban and a series of measures to tackle the virus.Democrats in Congress have also drawn up a bill that they aim to pass later on Thursday to provide sick pay, financial support and other benefits to those affected by the virus.
The NBA has suspended the basketball season, while Oscar-winning Hollywood actor Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, have both been hospitalised in Australia with the virus.
In the Philippines, there is growing anxiety within political circles with President Rodrigo Duterte being tested and the parliament sealed off for disinfection after a top transport official was diagnosed with COVID-19. The Asian Development Bank, which has its headquarters in Manila, has also been closed for deep cleaning.
Meanwhile, in China, the number of new cases fell to the lowest since the outbreak began.
06:10 GMT – Johns Hopkins changes Taiwan designation after outcry
Johns Hopkins University, has changed the way it refers to Taiwan on a map detailing the spread of the new coronavirus, after the institution began referring to the self-ruled island as part of China prompting objections from the government of the self-ruled island.
Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its own, has been exerting pressure on foreign companies and organisations to identify the territory as part of China, and often to name it as a Chinese province.
Taiwan has objected saying it is an independent country called the Republic of China, its official name, that has never been part of the People’s Republic of China.
The World Health Organization (WHO) lists Taiwan’s coronavirus case numbers under China’s, referring to the island as “Taipei and environs”.
That same designation appeared on the Johns Hopkins interactive map earlier this week, but has now reverted to calling the island “Taiwan”.
05:50 GMT – Kazakhstan suspends all public events
Kazakhstan is suspending all public events and taking special preventive measures because of the coronavirus, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev wrote on Twitter on Thursday.
Separately, the Interfax news agency quoted deputy prime minister Alikhan Smailov as saying that the World Trade Organisation ministerial conference that was supposed to take place in Kazakhstan in June had been cancelled because of the outbreak.
05:40 GMT – Singapore, Malaysia tracking people who attended religious gathering
Health officials in Malaysia and Singapore are trying to trace thousands of people who attended a mass religious gathering in Malaysia after a number of participants were confirmed with COVID-19.
Malaysia’s Director General of Health Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah says about 10,000 people were thought to have taken part in the event at a mosque on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, including a man from Brunei who was later confirmed to have tested positive for the coronavirus.
The ministry is tracking down the Malaysians who were present and urging them to contact the authorities. Singapore, meanwhile, is looking for 95 people from the city-state who were at the event, the local Straits Times reported.
With the WHO designation of a pandemic, Malaysia is also advising that all mass gatherings and events be postponed.
04:40 GMT – Saudi Arabia suspends travel, flights to EU, several other countries
Saudi Arabia has temporarily suspended travel of citizens and residents and halted flights with several states, state news agency SPA said on Thursday citing an official source at the Interior Ministry.
The ban includes the European Union, Switzerland, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Sudan, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Eritrea, Kenya, Djibouti, and Somalia, the source added, saying the Kingdom had also suspended entry to those coming from these countries.
The decision excludes health workers from the Philippines and India, and evacuation, shipping and trade trips taking necessary precautions.
04:35 GMT – Thailand reports 11 new cases, bringing total to 70
Thailand reported 11 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, bringing the total number of cases in the Southeast Asian nation to 70, health officials said.
All the new patients had socialised and shared drinks, health officials said, adding that a tourist from Hong Kong had been the source of the infection.
“The Hong Kong tourist came alone and already went back. The 11 infected are all Thai,” said Sopon Iamsirithawon, director-general of the Communicable Diseases Department.
04:30 GMT – Greece reports first death from COVID-19
Greece has reported its first fatality from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
The health ministry says the man who died was 67 and had recently returned from a religious pilgrimage to Israel and Egypt. He also had underlying health issues.
04:15 GMT – US House leaders unveil coronavirus bill
Democrats in the US House of Representatives on Wednesday unveiled a broad package of proposals to help Americans affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
The legislation, which Democratic leaders aim to push through on Thursday, would grant workers 14 days paid sick leave and up to three months of paid family and medical leave, a summary of the bill shows.
Other provisions in the 124-page “Families First Coronavirus Response Act” introduced late on Wednesday include unemployment insurance, hundreds of millions of dollars for nutrition programmes and assistance for pregnant women.
It will also guarantee free coronavirus testing for anyone who requires it, including those who don’t have health insurance.
04:00 GMT – Japan must plan for Olympic cancellation risk
Japan must plan for any postponement or cancellation of the Tokyo Olympic Games, even if it seems unlikely, Shigeru Ishiba, a ruling party heavyweight seen as a leading candidate to be the next prime minister told Reuters.
Ishiba, an outspoken critic of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, said on Wednesday the fate of the summer games was a decision best left to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). He declined to comment on what the best move might be.
“Not thinking about worst-case scenarios won’t eliminate the risk of them materialising,” Ishiba said.
“The government must start thinking now about what to do” in case the Olympics Games is cancelled or postponed, he added.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said on Thursday there has been no change to plans for the games, which are supposed to start on July 24.
03:10 GMT – State department urges US citizens to reconsider all overseas travel
The State Department is urging all US citizens to reconsider travel overseas amid the deepening coronavirus outbreak.
02:50 GMT – New York postpones annual St Patrick’s Day parade
New York’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade has been postponed because of the coronavirus, governor Andrew Cuomo said.
Hundreds of thousands usually line the streets of Manhattan for the parade, which was due to take place on March 17 this year.
02:40 GMT – Hanks and wife, Rita Wilson, in isolation in Gold Coast hospital
Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson are in isolation in a hospital on Australia’s Gold Coast after being confirmed to have the coronavirus, Queensland state health officials said.
Hanks and Wilson, who are both 63, are in Australia to shoot an Elvis Presley biopic. Work on the film has now been suspended.
02:30 GMT – South Korea expresses concern over cases at Seoul call centre
Authorities in South Korea warned a new cluster of cases in a Seoul call centre could see the coronavirus spread in the capital.
Around 100 people linked to a call centre in the city have tested positive for the virus in recent days.
“This could lead to a ‘super spread’ in the metropolitan area, where half of the entire population are concentrated,” Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun told a meeting on Thursday.
So far, about 90 percent of the country’s cases have been in the southern city of Daegu and the neighbouring province of North Gyeongsang.
02:05 GMT – NBA suspends US basketball season after positive test
The National Basketball Association said on Wednesday that it was suspending the season until further notice after a Utah Jazz player tested positive for the coronavirus.
The test result was reported shortly before the start of the Utah Jazz game with Oklahoma City Thunder.
The league said the affected player was not in the arena.
“The NBA is suspending game play following the conclusion of tonight’s schedule of games until further notice,” the league said.
“The NBA will use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic.”
01:55 GMT – Asian Development Bank, Philippine Senate closed
The Philippines Senate has been sealed off and the Manila headquarters of the Asian Development Bank closed after visitors to both buildings were confirmed to have the coronavirus.
The parliament building is being disinfected and President Rodrigo Duterte will be tested for the virus as a precaution, his office said.
ADB staff have been told to work from home, while the building is deep-cleaned and disinfected.
“The safety of staff, visitors to the Bank, and their families is of utmost importance to us. We are providing support to staff who interacted with the visitor,” ADB Vice President for Administration and Corporate Management Deborah Stokes said in a statement posted on the ADB’s website.
01:40 GMT – Guyana, French Polynesia record coronavirus cases
Guyana, and French Polynesia have announced their first cases of coronavirus.
The person with the virus in Guyana was diagnosed after a trip to the US last week, while the case in French Polynesia involves Maina Sage, one of the islands’ representatives in the National Assembly. She returned from Paris at the weekend.
01:25 GMT – Actor Tom Hanks says he has been diagnosed with coronavirus
The Hollywood actor Tom Hanks says he and his wife have been diagnosed with the coronavirus after feeling a bit tired and having a slight fever while visiting Australia.
“To play things right, as is needed in the world right now, we were tested for the Coronavirus,” he wrote in a statement posted on social media.
01:20 GMT – South Korea reports 114 new cases
South Korea has given the first of its two daily updates of the coronavirus. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say there were 114 new cases, as well as six more deaths.
With the new cases, South Korea has 7,869 people with the virus, and a total death toll of 66.
01:15 GMT – China announces 15 new cases of coronavirus, 11 deaths
China, the country where it all began, has given its daily update on the situation there.
The National Health Commission says it had 15 new cases – the lowest since the outbreak began at the end of December – and 11 deaths.
The hardest-hit province of Hubei and its capital Wuhan continue to account for the bulk of the country’s 80,793 cases and 3,169 deaths.
01:10 GMT – US to suspend all travel from Europe, except for UK
US President Donald Trump is speaking on the coronavirus from the White House.
He’s suspending all travel from Europe to the United States, with the exception of the United Kingdom, from midnight on Friday.
The ban will remain in force for a month.
He also announced a range of other measures, seeking to rebuff those who’ve criticised his response to the outbreak, which he attributed to a “foreign” virus.
“This is the most aggressive and comprehensive effort to confront a foreign virus in modern history,” he said. Our team at Impact has been writing about the measures.
00:15 GMT – Australia announces $11.4bn stimulus plan
Australia announced a 17.6 billion Australian dollars ($11.41bn) economic stimulus plan on Thursday that includes wage subsidies and cash payments for small businesses to counter the effect of the coronavirus.
“Both this financial year and in the next two financial years, the gross impact of that stimulus is A$22.9 billion ($14.82 billion). That’s 1.2 percent of GDP (gross domestic product),” Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters in Canberra.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES