PARIS, March 21, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Here are the latest developments in the
coronavirus crisis:
– China: no domestic cases for third day –
China reports no new local cases for a third consecutive day, but confirms
the highest one-day tally yet in infections from abroad, with another 41
cases.
– More than 11,000 dead globally –
At least 11,737 deaths have been recorded since the virus first emerged in
December, according to an AFP tally compiled at 1230 GMT on Saturday based on
official sources.
There have been more than 277,106 infections reported in 164 countries and
territories.
Italy has recorded 4,032 deaths out of 47,021 cases, with 5,129 recoveries.
China has 81,008 cases, including 3,255 fatalities and 71,740 people
recovered.
The worst affected countries after Italy and China are Iran with 1,556
deaths, Spain with 1,326 deaths, and France with 450 deaths.
– Nearly one billion people confined to homes –
An estimated 900 million people are now confined to their homes in 35
countries around the world — including 600 million hemmed in by obligatory
government lockdown orders — according to an AFP tally.
Colombia will impose obligatory confinement on Tuesday evening.
The same will begin across Tunisia on Sunday.
In the US, seven US states have issued orders to stay home — California,
New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut and Nevada.
In total, one in five people in the US are affected by stay-at-home orders.
– Toughening measures –
Switzerland, which has so far not followed other countries in ordering full
confinement, announces it will ban all gatherings of more than five people,
and that anyone standing closer than two metres to others risks a fine.
Haiti, Dominican Republic, Jordan and Burkina Faso introduce curfews.
– Borders closing –
Cuba, which is largely dependent on its tourism revenue, will close its
borders to non-residents on Tuesday, for 30 days. The Ivory Coast and Burkina
Faso close their borders as of this weekend.
Brazil will close its borders as of Monday to all visitors from Europe,
Australia and several Asian countries.
– Businesses hit –
Smartphone shipments take a historic plunge in February, the industry
tracker Strategy Analytics says, dropping to 61.8 million, a 38 percent dip
from the same month a year earlier.
Air Canada and Air Transat announce they will temporarily lay off some
7,000 staff.
Boeing announces it will suspend its dividend until further notice and that
its chief executive and chairman will forgo pay until the end of the year.
Guatemala announces a partial halt to industrial production as of Monday
but says this will not affect food and pharmaceutical sectors.