The coronavirus pandemic, has infected more than 156,000 people and killed more than 5,800. The disease for most people causes only mild or moderate symptoms but for some, especially the elderly or people with underlying health conditions, it can cause more severe illness. Nearly 74,000 people have recovered from it so far, mostly in China.
Italy’s foreign minister says China is sending 150 pulmonary respirators now and more later to help treat seriously ill COVID-19 patients in Italy, the centre of Europe’s coronavirus pandemic.
Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio also said Sunday that China will be shipping 5 million masks for medical staff. A day earlier, the top health official in the hard-hit region of Lombardy complained publicly about the quality of the masks that Italy’s central government had shipped to hospitals in his area, likening them to toilet paper. Lombardy has 13,272 infections and 1,218 deaths alone.
China, which appears to have turned the corner on its own COVID-19 outbreak, will also be sending medical crews to aid the Italians, Di Maio said.
German airline Lufthansa plans more than a dozen special flights from the Caribbean and Spain’s Canary Islands to bring back to Germany between 3,000 and 4,000 vacationers stranded by travel restrictions.
Lufthansa said Sunday that tour and cruise companies had asked the company to put on the flights. There will be 15 special flights, in addition to two regular flights from the Dominican Republic and Barbados.
The first people were expected to arrive Sunday on the flights to Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg and Berlin.
Bulgaria’s government has announced financial bonus for all medics involved in the treatment of coronavirus patients. An additional €500 ($770) will be paid to every medical worker with their salaries, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said Sunday. Bulgaria is experiencing a shortage of medical workers, after many moved to western Europe.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo was being tested for COVID-19 on Sunday after his transportation minister, Budi Karya Sumadi, tested positive for coronavirus.
Morocco suspended all international flights Sunday to limit the spread of coronavirus. The announcement is a drastic move for the North African country, which relies heavily on international tourism to its Atlantic beaches, desert towns and northern mountains.
Hungary has reported its first death linked to coronavirus, a 75-year-old man who had been hospitalized with pneumonia.
Italians are being left even more isolated Sunday amid a national lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus.
Italy’s transport minister signed a decree Saturday banning passengers from taking ferries to Sardinia, a large Mediterranean island.
Sardinia’s governor had asked for the ban to stop travellers from bringing possible infection from the mainland peninsula. Cargo can still go by ferry to the island, but every day people will need special permission from the governor to hop aboard.
The minister also banned overnight train trips, which many in the north had been taking to reach homes and families in the south. Italy has the largest outbreak outside of China, with 21,000 infections and 1,441 deaths.
Alitalia, is co-ordinating with Italy’s Foreign Ministry to arrange for special flights to allow thousands of Italians to return to Italy.
The airline said Sunday said that “it will continue to operate toward some countries that have imposed restrictive measures on Italian citizens and on passengers who have been In Europe.”
It noted that a special flight was departing Sunday evening for the Maldives. Alitalia will continue to operate two flights daily to New York and to London to allow Italians and foreigners, “many students among them,” to return home. It will also fly to Miami and Buenos Aires until March 17, and to many other destinations, including in Europe, northern Africa, New Delhi, Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro.
Spain awoke to its first day of a nationwide quarantine on Sunday after the government declared a two-week state of emergency.
The government imposed the special measures including the confinement of people to their homes unless shopping for food and medicine, going to and from work, and to meet other basic needs.
Restaurants and hotels are closed and public transport reduced.
In Barcelona, people who ventured out on quiet streets to buy bread at one bakery formed long lines with a meter (about three feet) in between each person as recommended by authorities to reduce the risk of contagion. Police patrolled parks and told people who weren’t taking their dog on a quick walk to go home.
The state of emergency declared by the government of Pedro Sanchez includes the temporary centralization of Spain’s health care system which is run by regional authorities.
Health authorities in Spain say deaths from the coronavirus have more than doubled in 24 hours, while total infections approached 8,000.
The Health Ministry said Spain has recorded 288 deaths since the start of the pandemic, up from 136 on Saturday. The European Union nation has 7,753 infections, up from 5,700 on Saturday, with around half of them concentrated in the capital of Madrid.
The Vatican says all Holy Week ceremonies will take place without the “physical presence of the faithful” because of the health emergency over the coronavirus.
The Vatican tweeted Sunday citing an announcement by the office of the pontifical household said that until April 12, when Easter Sunday is celebrated this year, all the general audiences on Wednesday as well as Pope Francis weekly Sunday noon prayer will be streamed by the Vatican.
Holy Week ceremonies usually draw tens of thousands of people to Rome, but with Italy the European centre of the COVID-19 outbreak, tourism in the country has vanished.
Brunei says it will ban its citizens and residents from travelling abroad starting Monday in a drastic move to stem further cases of COVID-19. The tiny oil-rich sultanate has been hit by 50 cases in just a week since it confirmed its first case on March 9. This included 10 new cases reported Sunday.
Britain’s top health official says the government plans to set out emergency powers this week to deal with the viral outbreak, including requiring the elderly to self-isolate and banning mass gatherings.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Sunday the government’s bill laying out its emergency action plan would be unveiled on Tuesday and published Thursday.
Britain has taken a different approach and hasn’t yet heavily restricted everyday activities in the same way other countries across Europe have done, but Hancock’s comments suggested the government was ready to escalate its efforts. Britain has 1,140 confirmed virus cases and 21 deaths.
Singapore has announced that all travellers arriving from Southeast Asian countries, Japan, Switzerland and the United Kingdom or with a travel history to these countries within 14 days upon arrival will have to self-isolate under new efforts to battle the coronavirus.
The health ministry said the measure, starting Sunday, will also apply to Singapore residents. Southeast Asian visitors will also be required to submit information on their health for approval before their travel, it said.
The city-state, which has recorded 212 virus cases, has already banned visitors from China, Iran, Italy, France, Germany, South Korea and Spain. The new measure will not apply to sea and land crossings with Malaysia due to high inter-dependency between the neighbours.
Austria is further tightening restrictions on public life, closing restaurants and sports facilities and halting flights to a number of countries in an effort to fight the coronavirus.
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced the new measures in a parliamentary session on Sunday. The Austria Press Agency reported that he announced flight bans for Britain, Ukraine and Russia.
Restaurants will now have to close entirely starting on Tuesday.
Austria has confirmed 758 cases of the new coronavirus, including one death.
South Korea’s president has declared southeastern parts of the country hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak as “special disasters zones,” a designation that makes residents there eligible for emergency relief, tax benefits and other state financial support.
The Daegu city and some areas in the southeastern Gyeongsang province were declared disaster zones. It’s the first time South Korea has declared any area a special disaster zone due to an infectious disease.
South Korea has so far reported 8,162 coronavirus cases and 72 deaths.
Australia‘s prime minister says all travellers arriving in the country will have to self-isolate for 14 days to try and stem the spread of the new coronavirus.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison made the announcement Sunday, saying in Sydney that the measures are indefinite and will be reviewed periodically.
Morrison also banned all cruise ships from docking in Australian ports for at least 30 days. The measures are similar to what New Zealand announced on Saturday.