The global battle to contain the coronavirus breached a new level of urgency Monday, as governments locked down borders, millions of workers, students and worshipers were ordered to stay home, and pleas went out to funnel masks and ventilators to places struggling with soaring caseloads.
The shifting fronts in the battle were made clear by figures showing that cases outside China — where the virus originated — surpassed those inside its borders for the first time.
The Persian Gulf island nation of Bahrain, meanwhile, reported its first death from the virus. It has reported 221 confirmed cases.
Bavarian state government tightened its restrictions on public life, saying that it would close bars, cinemas and some shops among other things.
Belgium’s Prime Minister Sophie Wilmes’ government has closed schools, bars and restaurants and suspended all sports and cultural events. Belgium has 1,085 confirmed cases and four deaths.
China is relaxing travel restrictions in the hardest-hit virus province of Hubei, sending thousands of workers back to jobs at factories desperate to get production going again.
The move comes as Chinese officials say the outbreak that spread from Wuhan starting in December has mostly run its course domestically, while they remain vigilant against imported cases.
Authorities in the Czech Republic are ordering a lockdown of 21 towns and villages in an area some 250 kilometres (150 miles) east of the capital to prevent the coronavirus from spreading. The measure comes just hours after the government banned travelling across the country. They have 298 cases of infection.
The health authority in the nearby city of Olomouc barred residents from leaving those places and no one without residency can travel there. The extraordinary measure initially for two weeks includes confining people to their homes except to shop for food and medicine and go to and from work.
Denmark shut down its border with Germany over the weekend
In Dubai, authorities announced that all bars and pubs would be closed through the end of the month and ordered people not to hold weddings or parties in their homes. Community pools were also locked down.
Egypt, with more than 120 confirmed cases and two deaths, suspended all flights in and out of the country starting Thursday and lasting until the end of the month.
Ethiopia has suspended schools, sporting events and other large gatherings for 15 days.
European Union leaders will hold a video-conference summit on efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus, which has now infected around 40,000 people across Europe, and claimed some 2,000 lives.
The EU is urging its member countries to put common health screening procedures in place at their borders to limit the spread of the virus, but not to block the transport of important medical equipment.
Germany has partially closed its borders with five neighbours, launching new controls at the usually check-free borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg and Denmark on Monday. Police turned back some pedestrians at Kehl, across the Rhine river from the French city of Strasbourg.
People who commute across the border to work are still allowed to cross, as can trucks carrying goods, and Germans are being allowed back in. But Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said that people “without a valid reason to travel” wouldn’t be allowed across.
Germany has confirmed over 4,800 infections with the new coronavirus, including 12 deaths.
The former Soviet republic of Georgia is banning the entrance of foreign citizens beginning Wednesday.
Greece is imposing a compulsory 14-day quarantine on anyone entering the country and extending shop closures to fight the spread of the coronavirus.
So far, all restaurants, bar and cafes have already shut down, except for deliveries and take-aways. Deputy government spokeswoman Aristotelia Peloni said the expanded closures as of Wednesday would not affect supermarkets, pharmacies, banks or gas stations.
Greenland reported their first confirmed cases of COVID-19.
Hungary‘s prime minister says the country is closing its borders to foreigners and only citizens will be allowed in. All bars, restaurants and shops will have to close daily at 3 p.m., with only food stores, pharmacies and drug stores allowed to stay open longer.
Cinemas, cultural institutions and nightclubs will also be closed, while sporting events can still be held if organizers assume responsibility, but only without spectators.
India has denied entry to travellers from the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Passengers coming from the UAE, Oman and Kuwait will be subject to mandatory two-week quarantines upon arrival in India. The restrictions will be in place from March 18 and will be in place till March 31, when they’ll be reviewed.
Iran is struggling to contain the worst outbreak in the Middle East. Monday saw the biggest one-day rise in the death toll since the epidemic began. Even senior officials have been infected. The state TV says the new coronavirus has killed another 129 people, pushing the country’s death toll to 853 amid 14,991 confirmed cases.
Iraq announced a weeklong curfew which is set to begin late Tuesday, including the suspension of all flights from Baghdad’s international airport. Iraq’s Health Ministry has reported 124 cases of coronavirus and nine deaths.
Ireland ordered all pubs and bars to close for two weeks — including on Tuesday, St. Patrick’s Day.
Israel has banned large gatherings and its annual Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony scheduled for April 20 would be held this year without an audience. The ceremony typically draws the country’s top leadership, foreign dignitaries and elderly Holocaust survivors.
Authorities at Jerusalem’s Western Wall, the holiest place where Jews can pray, meanwhile, asked visitors to refrain from kissing the stones of the wall. The sprawling plaza has remained open for prayers, but officials have curbed access to enclosed areas.
Italy on Sunday reported its biggest day-to-day increase in infections — 3,590 more cases — for a total of 24,747. With 1,809 virus-related deaths, Italy has more than a quarter of the global death toll. The government on Monday approved 25 billion euros ($39 billion) in emergency aid to help families, workers and employers confront the coronavirus emergency and activate lines of credit for another 350 billion euros ($546 billion).
The government of Kosovo has declared the state of emergency due to the coronavirus threat. Kosovo has 13 COVID-19 cases. It has closed all its borders and suspended flights from its only international airport. The government has closed all schools, cafes, restaurants and gyms and banned mass gatherings.
Lebanon is in a government ordered a lockdown. Restaurants, cafes and bars have been closed since last week and most private businesses were shuttered Monday, as the small country has reported 99 cases and three deaths. Pharmacies, bakeries and other food sellers in Beirut were allowed to stay open.
Malaysia’s leader has announced a drastic two-week lockdown, with travel in and out of the country banned, and only essential services allowed to remain open. Malaysia reported a sharp spike of 315 new cases in the last two days to raise its total to 553.
The Netherlands has recorded its biggest daily jump in the number of coronavirus infections., with 278 new cases confirmed in the last 24 hours.
The new cases reported Monday brought the country’s total to 1,413 with four more people dying, bringing the national death toll to 24.
The government on Sunday ordered all schools, bars, restaurants, sports clubs and sex clubs closed until April 6. The closures also affected the country’s famed marijuana-selling coffee shops, sparking panic buying of pot before the coffee shops closed Sunday evening.
The Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, said anyone entering the territory would be placed in quarantine for 14 days. The Palestinians have reported nearly 40 cases, most linked to an outbreak in the town of Bethlehem.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday placed the northern third of the country under an “enhanced community quarantine” that requires millions of people to stay mostly at home for a month, with residents being allowed to buy food but not be in crowds. The rest of the Philippines is under a state of public health emergency.
Poland shut its border with Germany on the weekend. Lithuania’s government said a convoy of some 500 vehicles (mostly Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians and Ukrainians) will be allowed to enter Poland from Germany and transit toward Lithuania on Monday.
Portugal and Spain have already agreed to halt tourism across their 1,200-kilometre (750-mile) shared border. Goods and workers will still be allowed in and out. About half of the deaths have been in the capital, Madrid.
Romania has declared a state of emergency across the whole country for 30 days.
In Saudi Arabia, the capital and other cities announced the closure of malls, cafes and parks, allowing only grocery stores and pharmacies to stay open and limiting restaurants to delivery.
Serbia’s army troops are being deployed to reinforce a nationwide state of emergency to try stop the coronavirus outbreak, where soldiers be utilized to guard hospitals treating COVID-19 infected patients, and at border checkpoints, airports and train stations where bigger crowds are expected.
Serbia has closed its borders to foreigners and demanded self-isolation for returning Serbian citizens to up to 28 days, depending which country they visited. The measures also include voluntary isolation for all citizens except for visits to the shops and pharmacies and walking pets. People older than 70 were told not to leave their homes till further notice.
Somalia also reported their first case of the Coronavirus, and has one of Africa’s weakest health systems after nearly three decades of conflict between the government and the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group.
South Africa will revoke nearly 10,000 visas issued this year to people from China and Iran, and visas will now be required for other high-risk countries that had been visa-free, including Italy and the United States.
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize says a lockdown might be necessary if tough new measures announced Sunday, including travel restrictions and school closings, don’t work.
Spain has become the fourth most virus-infected country in the world, surpassing South Korea with a sharp curve of contagion, and is considering closing its borders as cases of the coronavirus rose by roughly 1,000 in 24 hours to 9,191 on Monday, and the number of fatalities reached 309.
Minister Fernando Grande Marlaska said a total lockdown could be the next step, after deploying the army to the streets and to clean train stations, ordering 46 million to stay at home and taking over control of private hospitals. A cut in the frequency of commuter trains created considerable crowds Monday morning in Atocha, one of Madrid’s main train stations.
Switzerland‘s government has declared a state of emergency, ordering shops, restaurants, bars and other facilities to be shut down in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The measures exclude health care operations and supermarkets but include entertainment and leisure facilities, which will be closed until April 19. The nation, which had already implemented border controls on people coming from risk areas, extended them to include checks on the borders with Germany, Austria and France.
The government approved the use of up to 8,000 members of the military to help in hospitals, as well as where needed with logistics and security.
The city of Geneva is banning all gatherings of more than five people in one of the most drastic limits on public gatherings, confining people to their homes, having taken effect Monday at 6 pm. It has also mandated the closure of all restaurants, bars, and retail shops aside from grocery stores, pharmacies and gas stations, and the halting of all sporting events, religious services and “prostitution activities.” (Prostitution is legal but regulated in Switzerland).