ZCZC
BFF-37
HEALTH-VIRUS-LEAD
Virus deaths pass 10,000 as California shuts down
PARIS, March 20, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – More than 10,000 people have now died in
a coronaviruspandemic that has swept from China throughout the world, forcing
the confinement of tens of millions in their homes.
As the virus has marched westwards, the severity of the outbreaks and the
focus of concern has shifted from Asia to Europe, with increasingly tough
restrictions being imposed by national governments.
The US state of California, among the worst hit in the country, has told
its 40 million residents to stay at home, the most drastic move yet in the
United States to combat the pandemic.
However, the California measures will not be enforced by police unlike in
France, Italy, Spain and other European countries where people face fines if
they break the rules.
Germany’s biggest state Bavaria on Friday became the first region in the
country to order a lockdown for two weeks, imposing “fundamental
restrictions” on going out.
The strict measures follow the template set by China, where a lockdown
imposed in Hubei province where the new coronavirus first emerged appears to
have paid off.
The country is now reporting on a handful of new infections each day,
apparently from overseas visitors.
Italy is battling the single most deadly outbreak on the planet with 3,405
deaths, followed by 3,248 in China and Iran with 1,433, according to an AFP
tally of official data.
Europe now accounts for half of the 10,000 fatalities linked to the COVID-
19 disease around the world.
However, accurate figures are difficult to come by as many of those who
die are suffering from other illnesses and infection rates are uncertain
because of a lack of testing in many countries.
– Scramble for treatments –
The United States is showing signs that it is ramping up its efforts on all
fronts, fast-tracking antimalarial drugs for use as a treatment against the
virus and promising a $1 trillion emergency relief package to combat the
economic turmoil.
The package — coupled with a European Central Bank plan to buy 750 billion
euros in bonds — saw stock markets rebound on Friday with exchanges up
throughout Asia and Europe.
US President Donald Trump, who has come under fire for his response to the
crisis, said on Thursday that US officials would make antimalarials
chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine available “almost immediately”.
Experts are divided over whether the drugs are suitable though, having
undergone only the briefest of clinical trials.
German and American drug firms are frantically trying to synthesise
treatments for the disease and Chinese scientists are also carrying out
clinical trials, though no studies have yet been published.
Trump also sparked an international row after he accused the Chinese of
being secretive over its initial spread and severity, saying the world is now
“paying a big price”.
Chinse foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang hit back, saying “some
people” were trying to “stigmatise” China’s fight against the virus.
“This approach ignores the great sacrifice made by the Chinese people to
safeguard the health and safety of humankind, and slanders China’s major
contribution to global public health,” he said.
– European lockdown bites –
Across Europe, governments continued to rigorously enforce lockdown
measures.
France announced more than 4,000 people were fined on the first day of its
confinement and ministers branded those breaking the rules as “idiots”.
France and Italy have both said they will most likely extend the
confinement beyond the initial periods, while British schools will close
indefinitely on Friday.
As Europeans battle to cope with the isolation, technology companies have
begun to hint at the strain being put on their systems.
Both Netflix and YouTube, which both say they have experienced a surge in
demand since lockdowns began, have promised to reduce the default image
quality of streaming video in Europe to ease pressure on the internet.
The restrictions are also ironically bringing communities together in some
places.
In sparsely populated rural Spain — a country that ranks fourth in the
world for coronavirus infections — neighbours are pulling together to help
the old and the vulnerable.
Sergio Caminero, 30, who lives in Lovingos, a hamlet of just 50 people
north of Madrid, went to pick up some shopping for an elderly neighbour.
“She’s older and is quite frightened and tense,” he told AFP.
The strain on public health and education systems as well as the economy
is likely to deepen in the coming weeks.
The shadow of the virus is lengthening across Africa, which is no stranger
to deadly outbreaks, but it has reported little more than 700 out of the
nearly quarter million cases worldwide.
The global sporting calendar, shredded by the spread of the pandemic,
still has one major event coming up that has not yet been called off — the
Olympic Games, set to take place in Japan in the summer.
Japan Olympic Committee member Kaori Yamaguchi broke ranks with the
official line, telling the Nikkei daily: “It should be postponed under the
current situation where athletes are not well prepared.”
BSS/AFP/RY/1848 hrs