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The wife of Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, his office said late Saturday, just hours after he announced a near total lockdown nationwide. Both Begona Gomez and her husband were well, and were at their official residence following the new measures introduced by the health authorities, said a government statement. © Agence France-Presse
LISBON, Portugal (AFP) — Portugal will close all schools from Monday until at just before Easter to stem the spread of the new coronavirus, Prime Minister Antonio Costa announced. The move will affect more than 1.6 million children and teenagers and remain in force until April 9. Costa also announced a slew of “temporary” measures, including the closure of nightclubs and limiting visitors to retirement homes. Portugal has so far registered 78 cases of COVID-19 […]
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — Belgium will close schools, cancel all cultural events and shutter bars and restaurants to stave off the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, the government said on Thursday. Announced by Prime Minister Sophie Wilmes after a meeting of the national security council, the measures will come into force at midnight on Saturday (2300 GMT on Friday). “This is not a lockdown,” Wilmes said. “We want to avoid situations like Italy. These measures […]
VATICAN CITY (AFP) — The Vatican on Thursday took the unprecedented step of closing all Catholic churches across Rome to stem the spread of a coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 1,000 people across Italy. The papal vicar for Rome said the churches would reopen when a broader Italian government crackdown on public gatherings expires on April 3. “The faithful are consequently exempt from their obligation to fulfill the festive precept,” a statement […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP)– Britain on Thursday said up to 10,000 people in the UK could be infected with the novel coronavirus, as it announced new measures to slow the spread of the outbreak. Government chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance said there were 590 confirmed cases but it was “much more likely we’ve got somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 people infected”. Britain was on a trajectory of cases “about four weeks” behind Italy and […]
DUBLIN, Ireland (AFP) — Ireland on Thursday announced the closure of all schools and colleges, and recommended the cancellation of mass gatherings as part of measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus. Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said “schools, colleges and childcare facilities will close from tomorrow (Friday)”, as would state-run cultural institutions. Indoor events of more than 100 people and those outdoor involving over 500 “should be cancelled”, Varadkar said in a statement […]
MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Spain’s equality minister has tested positive for coronavirus and has been quarantined with her partner, deputy prime minister and Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias, a government statement said Thursday. “The minister (Irene Montero) is in a good condition and second deputy prime minister Pablo Iglesias is also in quarantine due to the situation,” the statement said. “This morning, all members of the government will undergo testing,” it added, indicating the results […]
https://youtu.be/cvGT9ssGKAI by Sebastian Smith Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump suspended travel from Europe to the United States for 30 days on Wednesday in an “aggressive” effort to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic. The ban will go into effect from midnight Friday but will not include travelers from Britain, which recently left the European Union, the president said. Americans were also told to reconsider foreign […]
by Dmitry ZAKS ROME, Italy (AFP) — Italy on Wednesday shut all stores except for pharmacies and food shops in a desperate bid to halt the spread of a coronavirus that has killed 827 in the country in just over two weeks. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced the latest wave of restrictions in a dramatic appeal to the nation that came with the country of 60 million battling its biggest crisis in generations. “Thank you […]
by Robin Millard, with Jastinder Khera in Rome GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization called the new coronavirus outbreak a pandemic on Wednesday, issuing a grim warning that the global spread and severity of the illness was due to “alarming levels of inaction”. The declaration came as Europe faced a mounting number of cases — including a slew of new countries clocking first deaths — prompting governments to roll out increasingly tough measures […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis: More than 4,500 deaths Since the novel coronavirus first emerged in late December 2019, more than 124,101 cases have been recorded in 113 countries and territories, killing 4,566 people, according to an AFP tally compiled at around 1700 GMT on Wednesday based on official sources. The number of cases in Europe passes 22,000, with 930 deaths. Mainland China has 80,778 cases, with […]
MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Coronavirus infections in Spain have passed the 2,000 mark with 47 deaths, the health ministry announced on Wednesday, making it Europe’s second most severe outbreak after Italy. “By this morning, we had 2,002 cases,” said health ministry emergencies coordinator Fernando Simon, up from 1,639 on Tuesday and almost quadruple Sunday’s total. Madrid is the worst-hit region with half of the confirmed cases and 31 of the deaths. Officials quickly unveiled […]
