Europe

UK to open 4,000-bed virus field hospital in London

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The British government said Tuesday it will open a 4,000-bed field hospital at a London exhibition center as part of its plans to treat coronavirus cases. The move comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday ordered the country into lockdown to tackle the spread of the outbreak, which has seen 422 deaths and 8,077 cases in Britain. Health Secretary Matt Hancock told a news conference the temporary hospital, to […]

Short on doctors, Balkans brace for worst of coronavirus

by Darko DURIDANSKI with Sally MAIRS in Belgrade SKOPJE, Republic of North Macedonia (AFP) — With hospitals lacking equipment and low on doctors who have been steadily moving abroad, Balkan countries fear the worst as they watch the new coronavirus ravage their far richer European neighbors. “If much bigger and wealthier countries couldn’t contain the sharp increase of infections, what can be expected from ours?” Zoran Hristovski, a Skopje resident in his late 40s, said. […]

France coronavirus death toll jumps 240 to 1,100: official

PARIS, France (AFP) — The coronavirus has killed another 240 people in France, the top French health official said on Tuesday, bringing the death toll in the country from the pandemic to 1,100. Jerome Salomon told reporters that 22,300 people had tested positive for the virus in France, with a total of 10,176 hospitalized of whom 2,516 people are in intensive care. Officials believe that the published number of those infected largely underestimates the real […]

UK ‘plague village’ offers lesson for a country under lockdown

by Lindsey PARNABY, Sylvain PEUCHMAURD Agence France-Presse EYAM, United Kingdom (AFP) — In the 17th century, residents in the remote English village of Eyam quarantined themselves to prevent the spread of bubonic plague. Most paid with their lives. Now their descendants and locals are outraged that a steady stream of visitors have ignored government warnings to stay at home to tackle the coronavirus outbreak. Last weekend, walkers were out in force in the spring sunshine in […]

France sees financial aid for Africa as virus threat looms

PARIS, France (AFP) — France on Tuesday said it planned to organize financial aid for poor countries, especially in Africa, to help them from becoming future sources of coronavirus contamination. “We will have the opportunity to mobilize a real financial package, of help, to prevent this epidemic from veering towards regions or sub-continents which aren’t contaminated today but could be a risk for us tomorrow,” Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told the National Assembly. Just […]

More than 2.6 billion worldwide told to observe lockdowns

PARIS, France (AFP) — More than 2.6 billion people worldwide will be in lockdown once India introduces its measures to fight the coronavirus pandemic at 1830 GMT on Tuesday, according to an AFP tally. The figure represents more than one-third of a global population the United Nations estimates at 7.8 billion in 2020. At least 42 countries or territories have imposed a mandatory lockdown, including Britain, France, Italy, and Spain as well as Colombia, the […]

Italy new virus infections drop to lowest point in crisis

by Dmitry ZAKS ROME, Italy (AFP) — Italy on Tuesday received more reassuring evidence that its coronavirus infection rate was slowing thanks to a painful lockdown that other nations are starting to apply at great economic cost. Health officials across the ravaged Mediterranean country are poring over every new piece of data to see whether two weeks of bans and closures have made a dent in the crisis. The harshest restrictions are theoretically due to […]

French lab gets US approval for quick Covid-19 test

LYON, France (AFP) — French diagnostics firm Biomerieux said Tuesday it had secured emergency approval from US regulators for a coronavirus test that can produce results in 45 minutes, potentially offering a new tool for stemming the outbreak. The company said its Biofire Covid-19 test was developed with funding from the US Defense Department, which will be distributing the tests while Biomerieux awaits full commercial approval for the US market and elsewhere. Biomerieux said it […]

Britain asks public to respect coronavirus lockdown

by Alice RITCHIE LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain’s leaders on Tuesday urged people to respect an unprecedented countrywide lockdown, saying that following advice to stay at home would stop people dying of coronavirus. “Unless you stay at home, then the people you love most may die,” senior minister Michael Gove said in a round of broadcast interviews. Prime Minister Boris Johnson late on Monday bowed to pressure to follow other European countries in shutting […]

Spain virus death toll rises by 514 to 2,696

MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Another 514 people have died in Spain over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 2,696, as the number of infections surged towards 40,000, the government said Tuesday. As the health authorities step up the number of tests, the number of people who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 rose by nearly 20 percent to 39,673, the health ministry said. At the same time, the death toll showed an increase […]

France to tighten virus lockdown rules on exercise, markets: PM

PARIS, France (AFP) — France is to tighten its lockdown imposed to battle the coronavirus, strictly limiting physical exercise and closing most open-air markets, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Monday. Philippe told TF1 TV in a live interview that he would later sign a decree banning from Tuesday physical exercise such as jogging more than one kilometer (0.6 miles) from a person’s place of residence and also halting open-air markets, although local authorities could […]

Italy sees second successive drop in virus deaths

by Dmitry ZAKS ROME, Italy (AFP) — Italy on Monday reported a second successive drop in daily deaths and infections from a coronavirus that has nevertheless claimed more than 6,000 lives in a month. The Mediterranean country has now seen its daily fatalities come down from a world record 793 on Saturday to 651 on Sunday and 601 on Monday. The number of new declared infections fell from 6,557 on Saturday to 4,789 on Monday. […]