Coronavirus worldwide: Nations race to blunt the impact of pandemic

A man adjusts his face mask as he walks past a mural of a crying woman in Rome's Trullo neighbourhood in Italy. Photos / AP

The Covid-19 is causing massive disruption in countries around the world.

Here's a look at what is happening in different countries.

THE AMERICAS

UNITED STATES
The White House urged all older Americans to stay home and everyone to avoid crowds and eating out at restaurants as part of sweeping guidelines meant to combat an expected surge of coronavirus cases. US President Donald Trump and the coronavirus task force released the guidelines as the Government moved to try to blunt the impact of the virus, racing to bolster testing and aid even as financial markets fell and Americans scrambled to reorder their lives.

CANADA
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he will close the border anyone not a citizen or a permanent resident amid the pandemic. Trudeau asked all to Canadians to say home as much as possible amid the pandemic. The Government will restrict flights to Canada to airports in four major cities.

MEXICO
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that he will suspend his tours of the countryside and intimate interactions with supporters when his coronavirus tsar tells him it's time to do so. After a weekend visit to Guerrero where he waded into crowds, shook hands and gave and received cheek-kisses, in contrast to advice from health officials that Mexicans begin practicing social distancing to slow the virus' spread, López Obrador said the decision will be up to Health Department Deputy Secretary Hugo López-Gatell. Mexico has 53 confirmed cases of the virus.

A soldier tries to organize people waiting to enter Gamarra clothing and textile market in Lima, Peru.

PERU
Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra has declared a state of emergency, ordering citizens to stay in their homes and temporarily suspending certain constitutional rights, to contain the spread.

CARIBBEAN
A British cruise ship that was turned away from several Caribbean ports after passengers fell ill with novel coronavirus is scheduled to dock in Cuba tomorrow after the island agreed to help transfer those aboard to planes bound for the United Kingdom. The Cuban Government said it had decided to allow the Braemar to dock in the port of Mariel, "due to the urgency of the situation and the risk to the lives of sick people." Fred Olsen Cruises said that the ship had 22 passengers and 21 crew members in isolation after displaying flu-like symptoms and five aboard who tested positive for the coronavirus. The ship with more than 1000 people aboard has been turned away from ports in Curacao and Barbados in recent weeks. Two cruise ships were denied permission to return to their home port in San Juan, Puerto Rico, two cruise lines said. Both the Royal Caribbean Cruises' Freedom of the Seas and the Carnival Fascination are instead sailing to Miami.

EUROPE

EUROPEAN UNION
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen suggested putting in place a 30-day ban on people entering the bloc for non-essential travel reasons in an effort to curb the spread of the virus. "The less travel, the more we can contain the virus," she said in a video message. Von der Leyen said people with long-term EU residency or who are family members of European citizens, plus diplomats, doctors and health care workers could be exempted from the ban. Transport workers could also be exempt to help keep goods flowing.

BRITAIN
Britain is dramatically ramping up measures to combat the new coronavirus, telling residents to avoid "all unnecessary contact" with others. Prime Minister Boris Johnson says people should work from home whenever possible and avoid pubs, theatres and restaurants. If anyone in a household has a fever or persistent cough, everyone there should stay at home for 14 days. Johnson said the most vulnerable should be shielded from social contact for 12 weeks starting this weekend. Until today, the UK had resisted taking some of the tough measures seen in other European countries. But Johnson said that the "without drastic action" cases of the virus could double every five to six days. The Government was asking manufacturers, including automakers such as Ford and Rolls-Royce, to make ventilators for coronavirus patients.

RUSSIA
The Russian Government says that it has decided to bar entry to all foreigners starting on Thursday NZT. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced the decision to deny entry to all foreign nationals until May 1. The decision will not apply to diplomats, foreigners permanently staying in Russia, plane and ship crews and truck drivers.

SPAIN
Spain officially became the fourth-most infected country in the world, surpassing South Korea as its arc of contagion curved higher. Only China, Italy and Iran have more confirmed cases of Covid-19 than Spain, where the Health Ministry said the number of infections increased overnight by roughly 20 per cent to 9,191 and the number of fatalities rose to 309. The actual figure was presumed to be even higher, because Spain switched to a new system of reporting. A cut in the frequency of commuter trains created considerable crowds in Atocha, one of Madrid's main train stations. Wearing blue latex gloves, cleaner Mari Carmen Ramírez said she, like many others, couldn't afford to risk her salary of 950 euros per month. "I fear the coronavirus, but I fear more not being able to pay the utility bills," said the 55-year-old. "When this is all over, how are we going to eat?"

Two passenger wearing protective masks sit inside a train in Barcelona, Spain.

FRANCE
France is imposing nationwide restrictions on how far from their homes people can go and for what purpose. French President Emmanuel Macron said "movements will be very strongly reduced" for 15 days. He says residents will only be permitted to leave their homes for necessary trips such as going to work or the supermarket. Macron said the Government decided to order the restrictions because people haven't complied with earlier public health measures and "we are at war." The multimillion-dollar effort to reconstruct Paris' Notre Dame cathedral is being suspended because of the pandemic. Paris parks such as the historic Buttes Chaumont created by Emperor Napoleon III in 1867 will close to the public.

ITALY
Italy yesterday reported its biggest day-to-day increase in infections — 3590 more cases — for a total of 24,747. With 1809 virus-related deaths, Italy has more than a quarter of the global death toll. The Government today approved 25 billion euros in emergency aid to help families, workers and employers confront the coronavirus emergency and activate lines of credit for another 350 billion euros.

GERMANY
Germany saw its infections increase by over 1000 in 24 hours. "We have a window of time at the moment to slow the spread of the virus," German government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer told reporters. A German medical adviser urged people not to hold "corona parties" at home amid a shutdown of bars and clubs. Organisers of the biggest international Arctic research expedition say they are suspending aerial survey campaigns focusing on the atmosphere and sea ice after being hit by restrictions and a positive case of coronavirus. Germany's Alfred Wegener Institute said that a researcher who was due to participate in the MOSAiC mission tested positive for the virus in Bremen. The Norwegian Government also required all travellers from non-Nordic countries to be placed in quarantine for 14 days. The main expedition remains ongoing aboard the German icebreaker Polarstern currently in the Arctic.

SWITZERLAND
The Swiss Government has declared a state of emergency, ordering shops, restaurants, bars and other facilities to be shut down. The measures exclude healthcare operations and supermarkets but include entertainment and leisure facilities, which will be closed until April 19. The nation, which had already implemented border controls on people coming from risk areas, extended them to include checks on the borders with Germany, Austria and France. The Government approved the use of up to 8000 members of the military to help in hospitals, as well as where needed with logistics and security. Geneva has banned gatherings of more than five people, though exceptions were made for business meetings

THE NETHERLANDS
"There is no easy or quick way out of this extremely difficult situation," said Mark Rutte, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, in the first televised speech by a Dutch premier since 1973. A somber Rutte told viewers that "a large part" of the country of 17 million are likely to contract the virus. So far, 1413 people have tested positive in the Netherlands and 24 have died. The Government has ordered schools, restaurants and bars closed until April 6 and banned gatherings of more than 100 people.

CROATIA
In the Croatian capital, Zagreb, the public company in charge of the city's cemeteries has told people to bury their loved ones only in the presence of closest relatives to avoid the spread of the new coronavirus.

HUNGARY
From today, primary and secondary schools stay closed to students as a precaution against the spread of the novel coronavirus. Lessons will be delivered through the internet, and teachers' instructions will continue remotely.

A member of Indonesian Red Cross sprays disinfectant in the wake of coronavirus outbreak at a school in Jakarta.

ASIA

CHINA
China, where the virus was first detected in December, now accounts for less than half of the world's nearly 175,000 cases, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. China relaxed travel restrictions in the hardest-hit virus province of Hubei, sending thousands of workers back to jobs at factories desperate to get production going again. Chinese officials said the outbreak had mostly run its course domestically but they remained vigilant against imported cases. Travelers arriving in Beijing from overseas will be quarantined for 14 days in designated facilities at their own expense. While traffic has begun returning to Beijing, office buildings were enforcing strict screenings for fever and many restaurants still only offer takeaways. Children who would usually be snowed under with classes remained glued to computer screens, shopping, chatting and watching video clips.

SOUTH KOREA
South Korea on Monday reported only 74 more cases but there were still worries that infections might surge again from those returning from Europe or from local people attending church services. Some urged authorities to further postpone the new school year. "If we loosen our grip on the quarantine, it could be just a matter of time for the embers of small-scale cluster infections to be revived," the South Korean Dong-a Ilbo newspaper said in an editorial. Prime Minister Chung Se-kyun called the country's decline in cases a "hopeful sign" but said South Korea should "never loosen its guard."

MALAYSIA
Malaysia's leader has announced a drastic two-week lockdown, with travel in and out of the country banned and only essential services allowed to remain open. Malaysia reported a sharp spike of 315 new cases in the last two days to raise its total to 553.

INDIA, PAKISTAN
India further tightened its borders. Pakistan meanwhile reported a surge of new cases, bringing its total to 183. Of those, around 150 are from the southern Sindh province bordering Iran, where authorities have quarantined 4,000 recent arrivals from Iran who are undergoing testing.

INDONESIA
Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta announced a lockdown of all tourist destinations and entertainment as well as the closing all of its public schools for the next 14 days amid the global outbreak.

MIDDLE EAST

IRAN
Iran reported another 129 fatalities, the largest one-day rise in deaths since it began battling the Middle East's worst outbreak, which has claimed more than 850 lives and infected a number of senior officials in the country. Businesses in Iran's capital remained open. Many Iranians have dismissed fears about the virus and advice from public health officials to avoid social contact. Restaurants and cafes have remained open, though business has diminished. Iran closed the Masoume shrine, a major pilgrimage site in the city of Qom. Authorities also closed the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad.

ISRAEL, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES
Israel, where the number of confirmed cases has more than doubled to 277 in recent days, has authorised the use of phone-snooping technology long used against Palestinian militants to track coronavirus patients. Such practices will spark renewed debate over privacy issues as countries around the world confront the pandemic. Israel's Health Ministry said more than 1000 doctors and a similar number of nurses have been quarantined. The Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, said anyone entering the territory would be placed in quarantine for 14 days. The Palestinians have reported nearly 40 cases, most linked to an outbreak in the town of Bethlehem.

IRAQ
Iraq announced a weeklong curfew. People raced to supermarkets and swiftly emptied shelves, while others stocked up on cooking fuel. The curfew, which is set to begin tomorrow, includes the suspension of all flights from Baghdad's international airport.
Iraq's Health Ministry has reported 124 cases of coronavirus and nine deaths.

LEBANON
In Lebanon, where the government ordered a lockdown, traffic was thin and some streets were completely empty. Restaurants, cafes and bars have been closed since last week and most private businesses were shut. The small country has reported 99 cases and three deaths.

TURKEY
Turkey's highest religious authorities suspended Friday prayers in tens of thousands of mosques across the country.

EGYPT
Egypt has reported 150 cases, including 70 foreigners, and three deaths. It suspended all flights in and out of the country starting Friday, lasting until the end of the month.

JORDAN
Jordan says travellers arriving in the country will be quarantined at hotels on the Dead Sea and the southern Red Sea city of Aqaba. Health Minister Jaber Saad said the popular tourist area along the Dead Sea would be isolated and administered by the military.
Jordan has reported 19 cases.

DUBAI
Bars and pubs were closed in Dubai through the end of the month, and authorities ordered people not to hold weddings or parties in their homes. Community pools were also locked down.

SAUDI ARABIA
Saudi Arabia closed shopping centres, cafes and parks, allowing only grocery stores and pharmacies to stay open and limiting restaurants to delivery.

AFRICA

The coronavirus has now been confirmed in at least 30 of Africa's 54 countries, officials said. Somalia, Tanzania, Liberia and Benin announced their first cases. African nations have begun imposing travel restrictions as many confirmed cases come from abroad. Algeria cut off all air and sea contact with Europe, effective from Friday, and Botswana barred travellers from 18 high-risk countries.

SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa warned of a new crisis once the virus begins to spread at home and into crowded low-income communities. South Africa announced it will revoke nearly 10,000 visas issued to people from China and Iran, two of the hardest-hit countries, in January and February. It also will require visas from several hard-hit countries that had been visa-free, including the US and Italy. Both are dramatic steps that target important business partners at a time when South Africa's economy has again slid into recession. "The internal transmission risk is now setting in," South Africa's Health Minister, Zweli Mkhize, told reporters a day after the country declared an unprecedented national disaster. It has 62 cases, all from abroad. Health officials are investigating two cases of possible local transmission.

SOMALIA
The most alarming confirmation of a first case came from Somalia, the Horn of Africa nation with one of the continent's weakest health systems after nearly three decades of conflict between the Government and the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab extremist group.

-AP