Coronavirus Update: Embassies closed, Schools shut

CORONAVIRUS WORLD UPDATES 

Embassies close in North Korea as diplomats evacuated over virus

Several embassies in North Korea closed Monday as many diplomats were flown out following weeks of tight quarantine restrictions imposed by Pyongyang over the spread of the novel coronavirus.

North Korea has not confirmed a single infection but has imposed strict rules, including closing its borders and putting thousands of its own people into isolation.

 

It has also subjected hundreds of foreigners including diplomats to a virtual lockdown in their own premises.

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Albania shuts schools after first virus cases

Albania will close schools and ban public gatherings for two weeks after doctors confirmed the first two cases of the novel coronavirus on Monday, the prime minister said.

Edi Rama said all gatherings, including sports events, would be canceled in a bid to contain the virus. 

Flights between Albania and northern Italy Europe's main virus hotspot have also been canceled until April 3, he said at an emergency cabinet meeting.

The Albanian patients are a man who returned from Italy last month and his father, the health ministry said.

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Germany says coronavirus cases top 1,000

The number of coronavirus cases in Germany has passed 1,000, official data from the Robert Koch Institute disease control centre showed on Monday.

There are now a total of 1,112 confirmed cases in Europe's biggest economy, with the region of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) reporting 484 infections the highest number among Germany's 16 states.

 

In a bid to slow contagion, Health Minister Jens Spahn has called for gatherings of more than 1,000 people to be scrapped across Germany, which could affect many events including Bundesliga football matches.

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South Korea sees lowest new virus infections for 2 weeks

South Korea, which has one of the world's largest coronavirus totals outside China, on Monday reported its smallest daily rise in cases for two weeks.

A total of 248 cases were confirmed on Sunday, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said.

 

Each morning, the South announces how many cases were diagnosed the previous day, and gives an update every afternoon with the current day's figures so far -- 96 on Monday, taking the total to 7,478.

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India uses massive mobile phone network to combat coronavirus

India is using its massive mobile phone network to spread coronavirus awareness messages, kicking off with coughing sounds, on how to protect against the outbreak, officials said Monday.

India, the world's second-most populous nation with 1.3 billion people, has 1.1 billion mobile phone connections. The South Asia giant has so far reported 43 positive cases of the contagious disease.

Telecommunications operators were ordered to play the health ministry-approved message from Sunday, which relayed advice on how to help stop the spread of the virus.

When a user calls someone with their mobile phone, they will be played the recording which starts with the sound of someone coughing, followed by a 30-second audio message in Hindi or English.

 

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Britain creates unit to fight virus disinformation

Britain has set up a specialist unit to combat the spread of disinformation about the novel coronavirus outbreak, officials said on Monday.

The culture department said teams had been brought together to provide a fuller picture of the potential extent, scope and impact of the issue.

"The aim is, where necessary, to identify and respond to disinformation related to COVID-19," it added in a statement.

 

As of Sunday, Britain had 278 confirmed cases of the virus, including three deaths. 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson was on Monday chairing an emergency committee with scientific experts, with more stringent measures to delay the spread of the virus expected.

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Cornered ECB faces high expectations for virus response

Economists increasingly hope for intervention from the European Central Bank at a meeting Thursday, expecting the institution to cushion the impact of the novel coronavirus on the already stuttering eurozone economy.

Faced with the "unknown and unprecedented risk" of the coronavirus, "will the ECB under the leadership of Christine Lagarde continue Mario Draghi's 'whatever it takes' policy, or will it return to the... era when the ECB's preferred option was to wait-and-see?" asked ING bank economist Carsten Brzeski.

 

Former president Mario Draghi's 2012 declaration that "within our mandate, the ECB is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro" is widely credited with stabilising the single currency area at the height of its sovereign debt crisis.

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Coronavirus set to cause first annual decline in oil use since 2009: IEA

The world is set for its first annual decline in oil consumption in more than a decade due to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, the IEA said Monday.

 

In its latest report, which did not take into account an oil price war that has broken out after Saudi Arabia and Russia failed to agree to continue production cuts, the International Energy Agency chopped its forecast for oil demand by 1.1 million barrels per day (mbd) in its base case scenario.

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Coronavirus toll at 0900 GMT Monday

The number of novel coronavirus cases globally stood at 109,946, including 3,819 deaths, across 99 countries and territories by 0900 GMT Monday, according to a report compiled by AFP from official sources.

 

Since 1700 GMT on Sunday, 914 new cases and 27 new deaths had been reported.

China excluding the territories of Hong Kong and Macau where the epidemic emerged at the end of December had 80,735 cases, of which 3,119 were fatal. There have been 40 new infections and 22 deaths since 1700 GMT Sunday.

Outside China, a total of 29,211 cases have been recorded around the world since the epidemic began, including 700 deaths.

There have been 874 new cases and five new deaths outside China since 1700 GMT Sunday. 

 

The most affected countries after China are South Korea (7,382 cases, 51 deaths), Italy (7,375 cases, 366 deaths), Iran (6,566 cases, 194 deaths) and France (1,126 cases, 19 deaths).

Since 1700 GMT on Sunday, China, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland have recorded new deaths.

 

Asia recorded a total at 0900 GMT Monday of 89,892 cases (3,188 deaths), Europe 12,211 cases (410 deaths), the Middle East 6,951 cases (200 deaths), US and Canada 614 cases (16 deaths), Oceania 98 cases (three deaths),  Latin America and the Caribbean 91 cases (one death), Africa 89 cases (one death). 

 

This assessment was carried out using data collected by AFP offices from the competent national authorities and information from the World Health Organization (WHO).