This virus is ravaging rich countries. What happens when it hits the poor ones?
“If we are concerned about the failure to contain the virus in western Europe and the US, multiples of that horror await in the developing world. With few means of medical intervention, and several other risk factors such as malnutrition, high population densities, communal living and lack of access to water and washing facilities, the rates of mortality could dwarf what has been seen so far in the west. And economically, the virus risks ushering in an ice age. There are no war chests, no stimulus packages, no insurance payouts.”
Papua New Guinea will enter into a two-week state of emergency on Tuesday after the country confirmed its first case of Covid-19, as the Pacific region recorded its first death from the virus.
The Papua New Guinea government confirmed late on Friday evening that its first case of coronavirus is a foreign mine worker who entered the country on 13 March and travelled to Lae.
Prime minister, James Marape, said that though there was no evidence of community transmission so far, the country would declare a state of emergency for 14 days, beginning on Tuesday 24 March.
The measures to be introduced include stopping all domestic flights, further to a previous ban on incoming international flights; no movement from one province to another for a 14-day period except for approved cargo, medicine and security personnel; the bringing froward of school holidays to start on Monday 23 March; all non-essential workers to stay at home; and for all people who arrived in Papua New Guinea from 7 March to report in to a government hotline.
The state of emergency in Papua New Guinea – the largest Pacific Island nation – comes as cases have spread across some countries in the region over the weekend and the region recorded its first death from Covid-19 in Guam.
The Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem will be entirely closed to the public starting today.
It is the first time since 1967 that Islam’s third holiest site would be closed to worshippers due to a directive from the Waqf, the Muslim foundation that runs the compound, Al-Aqsa mosque director Sheikh Omar al-Kisswani told AFP.
Several hundred people attended the main weekly prayers at the compound on Friday after the mosque itself was closed by the Waqf in response to the virus outbreak – a stark drop from the 30,000 who usually attend, as coronavirus prevention measures kept most away.
Only mosque employees will be able to continue to pray on the esplanade outside the mosque, Sunday’s statement added.
Jordan is the custodian of the compound, known by Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif, or Holy Sanctuary, and Temple Mount by Jews, which includes the Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock.
In Jordan, meanwhile, more than 1,100 people have been arrested for violating a curfew imposed over the weekend:
michael safi
(@safimichael)More than 1,100 people arrested so far in #Jordan for violating curfew that imposed Saturday morning, local media reporting. Government says people should not expect it’ll be lifted soon, and are talking about some kind of delivery system for food + medicine- but no details yet
In Turkey, nine more people had died by Sunday night, bringing the country’s death toll to 30.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter that 289 people tested positive for Covid-19 Sunday. The total number of confirmed cases in the country is now at least 1,236.
Elsewhere in the middle east: Saudi Arabia will impose a nationwide curfew starting on Monday after reporting a jump of almost a quarter in coronavirus cases, while the United Arab Emirates will suspend all passenger and transit flights to and from the country.
In case you missed this – Syria on Sunday confirmed its first case of the coronavirus after weeks of rejecting opposition allegations that the disease had already reached a country with a wrecked health system.
Chloe Cornish
(@ChloeNCornish)There are just 57 fully functioning hospitals in war-ravaged Syria, which has a population of 17m.
There is only one laboratory designated to test for COVID-19.
Still no coronavirus cases officially recorded in Syria.
(med stats: @WHO. pop: PRB).https://t.co/ne7LaofmyF
Iraq’s government has extended a curfew on travel in and out of Baghdad until 28 March as part of strict measures to prevent the coronavirus from spreading.
Iran’s death toll has reached 1,685 with 129 deaths in the past 24 hours, the health ministry’s spokesman told state TV on Sunday, adding that the total number of infected people in Iran had reached 21,638.
Wuhan eases coronavirus lockdown as restrictions intensify outside China
Wuhan, the centre of the coronavirus outbreak in China, has begun to loosen its two-month lockdown on citizens as more countries issued new restrictions to contain the pandemic.
On Monday, small groups of residents in the central Chinese city were leaving their residential compounds, going to grocery stores and walking along the streets for the first time in weeks. At the weekend, the first train arrived in the city ferrying more than 1,000 workers from elsewhere in the province back to the city for work.
On Sunday, local authorities said residents could begin returning to work if they did not have a temperature and could provide a green health code, signifying their virus-free status as well as a certificate from their employer. Officials said the city would be “gradually” reopened and public transportation would resume.
Non-residents, those stranded in Wuhan since the stringent travel restrictions went into effect on 23 January, could also begin applying to leave the city, city authorities said.
Here is a wrap of the day’s biggest coronavirus pandemic news:
It’s been another brutal day on international financial markets after the US Senate failed to agree a US$1 trillion rescue package for the American economy and more countries went into self-isolation.
US stock futures fell past their daily limit as soon as the news broke that Democrats had refused to back the Republican-drafted legislation because they said it favoured big corporations over healthcare.
In Asia Pacific, the Australian ASX200 fell 5.6% – partly due also to a government order closing all pubs, restaurants and gyms – while Hong Kong was off 4.7%. The FTSE100 is expected to drop 5% when it opens later today.
David Ingles
(@DavidInglesTV)Recently has been quite bad already but even in this new normal, Monday’s been quite brutal and ugly in Asia.
Indian stocks -10%
European futures -5%https://t.co/CF8ueoGfle pic.twitter.com/AOf7rJhDpv
Australians began living under strict new lockdown rules on Monday as coronavirus cases topped 1,600 and authorities denied entry to a cruise ship carrying hundreds on board complaining of respiratory illnesses, Reuters reports.
As new restrictions closing non-essential services came into effect, there were clear signs of economic and social stress with long queues forming outside offices of the main welfare agency across the country.
After reporting only a gradual spread in January, the number of Covid-19 cases in Australia now appears to be tracking the much sharper increases seen elsewhere with the most populous states of New South Wales and Victoria recording the fastest rises.
Most states have now closed their borders to travellers from other parts of the country and effected their own lockdown laws, in addition to the national curbs announced on Sunday.
The state of Western Australia on Monday banned passengers on board the Swiss-owned MSC Magnifica cruise ship from disembarking.
Of 1,700 passengers on board the ship, more than 250 have complained of respiratory illnesses. It was due to dock at Western Australia’s Fremantle port as early as Monday evening.
That decision comes days after 2,700 passengers disembarked from the Ruby Princess cruise ship in Sydney harbour, with 48 on board subsequently testing positive for the virus.
A warning to Europe? Italy’s struggle to convince citizens of coronavirus crisis
As Boris Johnson gave his most explicit warning yet on Sunday that the UK might face an Italian-style lockdown, Italy’s experience – particularly the way people went about their business in the early days of the crisis –could serve as a warning to other European countries that appear to be following a similar infection trajectory.
Losing your sense of smell might be associated with being infected with Covid-19, according to the New York Times.
“On Friday, British ear, nose and throat doctors, citing reports from colleagues around the world, called on adults who lose their senses of smell to isolate themselves for seven days, even if they have no other symptoms, to slow the disease’s spread. The published data is limited, but doctors are concerned enough to raise warnings,” the paper reports.
Thailand has 122 new coronavirus cases, raising the total to 721, a health ministry spokesman said on Monday at a news conference.
The new cases include 20 patients linked to previous cases, 10 new imported cases, and 92 cases that tested positive and are awaiting investigation into how they contracted the disease, Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a Public Health Ministry spokesman said.
Thailand has recorded one death since the outbreak while 52 patients have recovered and gone home and 668 are still being treated in hospitals.
Cambodia reported two new coronavirus cases on Monday, bringing the total to 86, health authorities said.
“We have not yet found evidence of community outbreaks, but there is a possibility,” Cambodia’s Communicable Disease Control department said in a Facebook post on Monday.
Walmart has temporarily raised entry wages for workers in its e-commerce warehouses by US$2, following similar moves by rivals, as it attempts to manage a shopping surge brought about by the coronavirus outbreak.
Walmart said the hike will increase entry wages for workers in e-commerce fulfillment centers or warehouses to between $15 and $19 an hour, effective immediately through the Memorial Day holiday on 25 May this year.
The world’s largest retailer, which employs 1.5 million people in the United States, has struggled to keep store shelves stocked and fulfill online orders amid panic-buying by shoppers spooked by the outbreak.
