FACT BOX: The latest on the spread of the coronavirus around the world

A man wears a tear gas mask to help protect himself from the new coronavirus as he walks at Beirut's seaside corniche, or waterfront promenade, along the Mediterranean Sea, which is almost empty of residents and tourists. Picture: Hassan Ammar/AP

A man wears a tear gas mask to help protect himself from the new coronavirus as he walks at Beirut's seaside corniche, or waterfront promenade, along the Mediterranean Sea, which is almost empty of residents and tourists. Picture: Hassan Ammar/AP

Published Mar 21, 2020

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As cases ballooned in Europe, the new

epicentre of the coronavirus, several countries imposed new

restrictions to try to curb the spread. California and three

other US states directed tens of millions of people to stay at

home.

DEATHS, INFECTIONS 

* More than 274,800 people have been infected across the world

and 11,389 have died, according to a Reuters tally. 

EUROPE 

* Italy imposed further draconian restrictions on public life on

Friday. The death toll in Italy leapt by 627 to 4,032, an

increase of 18.4% - by far the largest daily rise in absolute

terms since the contagion emerged a month ago. 

* Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered pubs, restaurants,

theatres, cinemas and gyms to shut their doors. 

* Spain said it would turn a Madrid conference centre into a

giant military hospital, as Europe's second-worst outbreak

claimed another 235 lives. 

* France reported 78 new deaths on Friday, taking the total to

450, an increase of 21%.

* Germany may enforce a nationwide curfew if the country's 83

million people fail to keep their distance from each other this

weekend. 

* YouTube said it would reduce its streaming quality in the

European Union to avoid straining the internet as thousands

switch to teleworking and watch videos at home. 

AMERICAS 

* New York state, Illinois and Connecticut on Friday followed

California in directing tens of millions of people to stay at

home in the most sweeping U.S. social-distancing measures yet

imposed. 

* The total number of known US infections has climbed past

18,000, including at least 250 deaths as of Friday evening, with

the surge in cases over the past few days reflecting an increase

in diagnostic testing. 

* The US Homeland Security Department said restrictions on

travel across the US-Canadian land border will begin at 11:59

p.m. EDT Friday and last until April 20. 

* Mexico and the United States have agreed to form a joint task

force to combat the spread at their border. 

* Brazil restricted entry of foreign visitors at its borders,

while its Senate has approved emergency. 

ASIA 

* China reported a record rise in imported coronavirus cases as

students and expatriates returned home from the United States

and Europe, sparking fears of a second wave of infections just

as the country recovers from the initial outbreak. 

* All 41 of the new confirmed cases in China were imported from

overseas, the country's National Health Commission said on

Saturday. 

* A Chinese report into the coronavirus death of a young doctor

reprimanded by police when he tried to raise the alarm about the

disease drew quick criticism online. 

* Indonesia's total of cases rose to 450, with 38 deaths, a

health ministry official said on Saturday. This comes a day

after the governor of Jakarta declared a state of emergency in

the Indonesian capital for the next two weeks. 

* Malaysia's cases jumped to 1,183 on Saturday with four deaths,

and the government warned of more cases next week as it looks

for people who attended a mass religious gathering linked to a

majority of the cases. 

* Vietnam will suspend all inbound international flights, the

government said in a statement on Saturday. 

* An Olympic torch event in Japan, which plans to reopen schools

after spring recess, drew hundreds of spectators on Friday,

creating the type of gathering government and Tokyo 2020

organisers have warned against. 

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA 

* Iran's death toll from the coronavirus outbreak rose on

Saturday by more than 100 to 1,556, and the total number of

people infected now exceeds 20,000, a health ministry official

said. 

* Saudi Arabia, which has announced a $31.93 billion support

package, has suspended all domestic flights, buses, taxis and

trains for 14 days starting Saturday. 

* Syria, already shattered by nine years of war, has banned

entry for foreigners arriving from many virus-hit countries. 

* The coronavirus stopped communal Muslim prayers for the first

time in living memory in many mosques from Indonesia to Morocco

on Friday. 

* Syria, already shattered by nine years of war, has banned

entry for foreigners arriving from many virus-hit countries.

People form a long queue snaking a long way around the parking lot, as they wait to enter a wholesaler supermarket in Coventry, England. Picture: Jacob King / PA via AP

ECONOMIC FALLOUT 

* Wall Street retreated on Friday after New York ordered

residents to stay at home, rattling investors who had welcomed

this week's fiscal and monetary measures. 

* The Trump administration plans to send a special energy envoy

to Saudi Arabia to work with the kingdom on stabilizing the

global oil market, officials said on Friday. 

* Lockdowns and panic food buying could ignite world food

inflation even though there are ample supplies of staple grains

and oilseeds in key exporting nations, a senior economist at FAO

and agricultural analysts said. 

* The British government will pay a massive share of private

sector wage bills to discourage bosses from firing staff. 

* Vehicle production could be reduced by about 1.44 million in

Europe, North America and Latin America, according to an

estimate by information provider IHS Markit. 

* Shattered airlines were left counting the cost of government

support as countries from the United States to New Zealand set

out conditions for bailouts. 

* The container shipping industry, a bellwether for

international trade, has been blown off course with container

lines re-routing cargoes and reducing calls to Chinese ports. 

* The coronavirus has forced 15% of manufacturing companies in

Vietnam to cut production, with the clothes and textile industry

hard hit. 

* Indian key crop prices have plunged as much as 50% just as

farmers prepare for harvest, putting paid to prospects for a

rural economic rebound.

Workers in protective suits disinfect the park in front of the Blue Mosque in response to the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in Istanbul. Picture: Reuters

EVENTS 

* Formula One drivers will join video gamers in virtual grands

prix to replace postponed races.

* Multiple sports events have been cancelled or postponed.

Reuters

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