Tag: Virus

Merkel calls coronavirus ‘biggest challenge since WWII’

by Michelle FITZPATRICK / Tom BARFIELD BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany is facing its biggest challenge “since the Second World War” in the fight against the coronavirus, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday, in what observers called a “final warning” for citizens to heed sweeping confinement measures. In a dramatic television appeal, Merkel said everyone played a part in slowing down a pandemic that has raced across the globe and triggered unprecedented peace-time lockdowns. “The situation […]

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France reports 89 new coronavirus deaths in last 24 hours: official

PARIS, France (AFP) — The coronavirus epidemic has caused 89 new deaths across France over the last 24 hours bringing the total death toll in the country to 264, the top French health official said on Wednesday. “We have an epidemic that is rapidly becoming more serious,” Jerome Salomon told reporters, adding that France now had 9,134 confirmed cases, 3,626 of whom were in the hospital. He said that the number of new cases was […]

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First US Congress member tests positive for coronavirus

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A Florida lawmaker became the first member of the US Congress to test positive for the novel coronavirus on Wednesday. Representative Mario Diaz-Balart’s office said in a statement that “just a short while ago, he was notified that he has tested positive for COVID-19.” The Republican, who represents part of Miami, follows Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who announced that he had tested positive for coronavirus last week. Diaz-Balart said that […]

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Canada announces Can$82 billion coronavirus aid package

by Michel COMTE OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Can$27 billion in direct aid Wednesday to help workers and businesses cope with the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. He said tax payments worth an estimated Can$55 billion could also be deferred until August. The combined amount equals three percent of this G7 nation’s gross domestic product (GDP). “This is a time where you should be focused on your health, not […]

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WHO chief calls COVID-19 ‘enemy against humanity’

by Nina LARSON GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The head of the World Health Organization on Wednesday called the new coronavirus an “enemy against humanity”, as the number of people infected in the pandemic soared past 200,000. Worldwide fatalities topped 8,000 and more deaths have now been recorded in Europe, the new virus epicenter, than in Asia since the outbreak first emerged in China in December. “This coronavirus is presenting us with an unprecedented threat,” Tedros […]

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Virus keeps 500 million people home around the world

PARIS, France (AFP) — Some 500 million people have been subject to lockdown measures around the world because of the coronavirus outbreak that started in China and has quickly ballooned globally, according to an AFP count. From China to the Czech Republic to Venezuela, governments have told their citizens to stay indoors to try and slow the spread of the pandemic. Here are the populations affected. Obligatory confinement  The central Chinese province of Hubei and […]

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Pandemic could make another 25 million jobless: UN

GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The COVID-19 pandemic will significantly increase global unemployment, pushing up to nearly 25 million more people out of work, the United Nations said Wednesday. “The economic and labor crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic could increase global unemployment by almost 25 million,” the International Labour Organization said as it released a fresh study. It added however that an internationally coordinated policy response could “significantly lower” that number. © Agence France-Presse

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More than 850 million students worldwide not at school: UNESCO

PARIS, France (AFP) — More than 850 million young people, or about half the world’s student population, are barred from their school and university grounds because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, UNESCO said Wednesday. Calling it an “unprecedented challenge,” UNESCO said schools had been closed in 102 countries, with partial closures in 11 more — with more closures to come. “Over 850 million children and youth — roughly half of the world’s student population — […]

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Iran’s Rouhani defends virus response despite no lockdown

TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday defended the response to the new coronavirus outbreak by his administration, which has yet to impose a lockdown to stop the disease spreading. The COVID-19 outbreak in sanctions-hit Iran is one of the deadliest outside China, where the disease originated. Rouhani’s government says the virus has killed 1,135 people and infected 17,161 others in the month since it first emerged in the Islamic republic. “Some […]

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Spain virus cases top 13,700 with nearly 600 deaths

MADRID, Spain (AFP) — The number of people infected by COVID-19 in Spain soared past 13,700 on Wednesday with the number of deaths rising to almost 600, government data showed. “We have 13,716 cases in Spain, which is 2,538 more than yesterday, which implies an increase of 18 percent,” said Fernando Simon, the health ministry’s emergencies coordinator. Over the same 24 hour period, the number of deaths rose to 598, an increase of 107, a […]

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Japan expands entry ban, quarantine over virus

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s prime minister said Wednesday the country will expand quarantine measures and a ban on entry from parts of countries including Italy and Spain affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The announcement by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe adds parts of Italy, Spain and Switzerland and all of Iceland to existing rules banning the entry of foreign travelers coming from hard-hit parts of China, South Korea and elsewhere. The new measures also expand […]

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Iran says, 147 new virus deaths bring total to 1,135

TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran said Wednesday that the novel coronavirus has killed 147 more people, a new single-day record in the virus-stricken country that raised the overall toll to 1,135. “Now everyone knows about this disease, and what is very strange is that some don’t take it seriously,” Deputy Health Minister Alireza Raisi said in a televised news conference. “If people help, we can control it, and if not, then expect it to last […]

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