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HEALTH-VIRUS
Virus death toll passes 20,000, three billion under lockdown
MADRID, March 26, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – More than three billion people around
the world were living under lockdown on Wednesday as governments stepped up
their efforts against the coronavirus pandemic which has left more than
20,000 people dead.
As the number of confirmed cases worldwide soared past 450,000, UN
Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned that only a concerted global effort
could stop the spread of the virus.
In Spain, the number of fatalities surpassed those of China, where the
novel coronavirus first emerged three months ago, making it the hardest-hit
nation after Italy.
A total of more than 20,800 deaths have now been reported in 182 countries
and territories, according to an AFP tally.
Stock markets rebounded after the US Congress moved closer to passing a
$2.2 trillion relief package to prop up a teetering US economy.
In Washington, President Donald Trump said New York, the epicenter of the
US outbreak with over 30,000 cases, likely has a few “tough weeks” ahead but
he would decide soon whether unaffected parts of the country can get back to
work.
“We want to get our country going again,” Trump said. “I’m not going to do
anything rash or hastily.
“By Easter we’ll have a recommendation and maybe before Easter,” said
Trump, who had been touting a strong US economy as he faces an election in
November.
UN chief Guterres said the world needs to ban together to stem the
pandemic.
“COVID-19 is threatening the whole of humanity — and the whole of humanity
must fight back,” Guterres said, launching an appeal for $2 billion to help
the world’s poor.
“Global action and solidarity are crucial,” he said. “Individual country
responses are not going to be enough.”
– Two deaths in Russia –
India’s stay-at-home order for its 1.3 billion people is now the biggest,
taking the total number of individuals facing restrictions on their daily
lives to more than three billion.
Anxious Indians raced for supplies after the world’s second-biggest
population was ordered not to leave their houses for three weeks.
Russia, which announced the death of two patients who tested positive for
coronavirus on Wednesday, is expected to follow suit.
President Vladimir Putin declared next week a public holiday and postponed
a public vote on controversial constitutional reforms, urging people to
follow instructions given by authorities.
In Britain, heir to the throne Prince Charles became the latest high-
profile figure to be infected, though he has suffered only mild symptoms.
The G20 major economies will hold an emergency videoconference on Thursday
to discuss a global response to the crisis, as will the 27 leaders of the
European Union, the outbreak’s new epicenter.
China has begun to relax its own draconian restrictions on free movement in
the province of Hubei — where the outbreak began in December — after the
country reported no new cases.
Crowds jammed trains and buses in the province as people took their first
opportunity to travel.
But Spain saw the number of deaths surge to more than 3,400 after 738
people died in the past 24 hours and the government announced a 432-million-
euro ($467 million) deal to buy medical supplies from Beijing.
The death toll in Italy jumped in 24 hours by 683 to 7,503 — by far the
highest of any country.
The number of French deaths was up by 231 on Wednesday to more than 1,330,
and metro and rail services in Paris were cut to a minimum.
Spain and Italy were joined by France and six more EU countries in urging
Germany and the Netherlands to allow the issue of joint European bonds to cut
borrowing costs and stabilise the eurozone economy.
The call is likely to fall on deaf ears when EU leaders talk on Thursday —
with northern members wary of pooling debt with big spenders — but they will
sign off on an “unprecedented” recovery plan.
– ‘People dying alone’ –
At La Paz University Hospital in Madrid, nurse Guillen del Barrio sounded
bereft as he related what happened overnight.
“It is really hard, we had feverish people for many hours in the waiting
room,” the 30-year-old told AFP.
“Many of my colleagues were crying because there were people who are dying
alone, without seeing their family for the last time.”
Coronavirus cases are also spreading in the Middle East, where Iran’s death
toll topped 2,000, and in Africa, where Mali declared its first case and
several nations announced states of emergency.
In Japan, which has postponed this year’s Olympic Games, Tokyo’s governor
urged residents to stay home this weekend, warning of a possible “explosion”
of the coronavirus.
Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, believed by Christians to house
Christ’s tomb, was shut as Israel tightened movement restrictions.
The impact of the pandemic is also hitting European football, with leagues
and tournaments cancelled, while the fate of the Wimbledon tennis tournament
could be decided next week.
The economic damage of the virus — and the lockdowns — could also be
devastating, with fears of a worldwide recession worse than the financial
meltdown more than a decade ago.
But financial markets rose after US leaders reached agreement on a stimulus
package worth roughly 10 percent of the US economy, an injection Senate
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said represented a “wartime level of
investment.”
Meanwhile, more than half of all Americans have been told to stay at home,
including residents of the largest state, California.
The United States has at least 65,700 cases and 942 people have died.
BSS/AFP/GMR/0948 hrs