Worldwide virus lockdown tightens

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Combo photo shows (clockwise from left) Police officers wearing face masks patrol on the empty Red square, with the St Basil’s Cathedral (left) and Kremlin’s Spasskaya Tower (right) in the background, in Moscow; police officers from North Yorkshire Police stop motorists in cars to check that their travel is ‘essential’ in line with the British government’s Covid-19 advice to ‘Stay at Home’, in York, northern England; photo released by the Spanish Defence Ministry shows military personnel unloading a Spanish Air Force’s Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft coming from the Czech Republic loaded with 10,000 personal protective equipment (PPE) destined for the healthcare workers dealing with the Covid-19 disease in Spain, at the Torrejon de Ardoz air base in Torrejon de Ardoz and a US Army National Guard Soldier helps travellers register their arrival at TF Green International Airport in Warwick, Rhode Island. — AFP photo

Death toll rises to more than 37,600 amid new waves of US outbreaks

PARIS: Harsh lockdowns aimed at halting the march of the coronavirus pandemic extended worldwide Monday as the death toll soared past 37,600 amid new waves of US outbreaks.

Despite slivers of hope in stricken Italy and Spain, the tough measures that have confined some two-fifths of the globe’s population to their homes were broadened.

Moscow and Lagos joined the roll call of cities around the globe with eerily empty streets,
while Virginia and Maryland became the latest US states to announce emergency
stay-at-home orders, followed quickly by the capital city Washington.

The scale and speed of the US pandemic continued to expand, with the death toll topping 3,000 out of 163,000 known infections — the highest case count for any country.

President Donald Trump sought to reassure Americans that authorities were ramping up distribution of desperately needed equipment such as ventilators and personal protective gear.

But he also offered a stark warning, saying “challenging times are ahead for the next 30 days” as he acknowledged a potential nationwide stay-at-home order.

“We’re sort of putting it all on the line,” Trump said, likening the efforts against coronavirus to a “war.”

The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases around the world rose above 784,000, with 413,000 of those in Europe, while most of the confirmed deaths are also from the continent, according to an AFP tally.

World leaders — several of whom have been stricken or forced into isolation — are still grappling for ways to deal with a crisis that will have economic and social shockwaves unseen since World War II.

In Russia, Putin urged residents of Moscow to ‘very seriously’ respect a lockdown that has closed all non-essential shops, including restaurants.

Moscow’s famed Red Square was deserted, and surrounding streets were quiet.

Anna, a 36-year-old web designer, said the lockdown would be hard for her and her five-year-old daughter.

“But I don’t want Arina to get sick,” she told AFP on her way to buy bread. “So of course we will observe the quarantine.”

Fears of spiking cases drove Moscow to follow Italy, Spain and France in imposing full lockdowns, and Europe remains the epicentre of the pandemic with the death toll there passing 26,500 on Monday, according to an AFP tally.

After weeks of life spent under a national lockdown in Italy, signs were emerging that drastic action could slow the outbreak’s spread.

Even though the country’s death toll grew by 812 in 24 hours to 11,591, figures from the civil protection service showed the rate of new Covid-19 infections hitting a new low of just 4.1 per cent and the number of people who had recovered reached a new high.

“The data are better but our work continues,” said Giulio Gallera, the chief medical officer of Lombardy, Italy’s worst-hit region.

Spain, which announced another 812 virus deaths in 24 hours, joined the US and Italy in surpassing the number of cases in China, where the disease first emerged in December.

Britain and Italy both warned recently that measures to prevent disease spread would be in place for months to come.

In Britain, Covid-19 has hit high profile figures including Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Prince Charles, who was out of virus isolation, according to royal officials.

In Israel, meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu became the latest world leader to enter isolation, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s third coronavirus test came back negative.

The lockdowns are causing hardship across the world but particularly in impoverished cities in Africa and Asia.

The shutdown has already put millions out of work and forced governments to rush through huge stimulus plans.

Experts in Germany, Europe’s economic powerhouse, said the virus would shrink output there this year by up to 5.4 per cent. — AFP