Sri Lankan police women wearing facemask as a preventive measure against the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus take part in a rehearsal parade in Colombo on Wednesday. With the number of global coronavirus infections shooting past 200,000, governments announced new containment measures and the US Congress approved a $100 billion emergency relief package. AFP
Italy on Wednesday reported nearly 500 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, the highest one-day official toll of any nation, as US President Donald Trump ordered sweeping new action against the pandemic and declared himself a war president.
With the number of global coronavirus infections shooting past 200,000, governments announced new containment measures and the US Congress approved a $100 billion emergency relief package.
Trump announced the deployment of military hospital ships while, in Europe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel issued a dramatic appeal to citizens.
“Not since World War II has our country faced a challenge that depends so much on our collective solidarity,” Merkel said in a television address.
Dire news came out of Italy which reported 475 new deaths. More than 8,700 people have died around the world with fatalities in Europe now topping those in Asia, where the outbreak began in December in China.
Italy has now recorded more than one-third of global deaths and has shut down all businesses and public gatherings, steps that have spread across the world.
“The main thing is, do not give up,” Italian National Institute of Health chief Silvio Brusaferro told reporters.
“It will take a few days before we see the benefits” of containment measures, said Brusaferro.
“We must maintain these measures to see their effect, and above all to protect the most vulnerable.”
French President Emmanuel Macron on Twitter called for further “financial solidarity” within the Eurozone, after the European Central Bank announced a 750-billion-euro bond-buying scheme to contain the economic damage from the virus.
Britain, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson had initially chosen a different path, followed the lead of his European counterparts and said schools would shut nationwide from Friday.
The death toll in Britain has topped 100 and lawmakers were cautioned to steer clear of the prime minister’s weekly question time, amid warnings that parliament was a particularly infectious area.
Preparing for a spike in ill Americans, Trump invoked a Korean War-era law that allows the government to compel businesses to sign contracts, which can be used to expand production of necessities such as protective masks.
“I view [myself] as a, in a sense, a wartime president. I mean, that’s what we’re fighting. I mean, it’s a very tough situation here,” he told reporters at the White House.
“It will be a complete victory,” he vowed.
Governor Andrew Cuomo said that Trump told him the 1,000-room USNS Comfort would sail to New York’s harbour, providing a floating hospital for the metropolis.
The US Senate easily completed passage and Trump quickly signed into law a $100 billion package that would provide for free testing, sick pay and paid family leave.
That came a day after Britain unveiled a £330 billion ($400 billion) package of loans for virus-hit businesses.
Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced they were closing the world’s longest international border to all but essential travellers for 30 days, although trade will continue unfettered.
The International Labour Organisation warned the pandemic could leave up to 25 million more people out of work and drastically slash workers’ incomes.
Africa must ‘wake up’
The head of the World Health Organisation, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned that Covid-19 constituted an “unprecedented threat”.
In a virtual news conference, he stressed the need for countries everywhere to “come together as one against a common enemy: an enemy against humanity”.
He sounded a special alarm for Africa, saying the continent must “wake up” and “prepare for worst”.
Nearly 600 cases have been reported in sub-Saharan Africa, raising particular alarm due to the continent’s fragile healthcare systems.
Latin America has more than 1,300 recorded infections and the continent’s most populous country Brazil announced its first fatality on Tuesday.
Two Brazilian cabinet ministers and the head of the country’s Senate said they had tested positive for the new coronavirus, while two US Congress members became the first from that body to announce they had the virus.
The WHO has also called for “aggressive” action in Southeast Asia to combat Covid-19 after it was largely spared alarming case numbers clocked elsewhere in Asia.
Malaysia has already banned travellers from overseas, while Vietnam has blocked visitors from several European nations.
Australia and New Zealand moved to seal off their borders on Thursday, announcing unprecedented bans on entry for non-residents in the hope of stemming the rise of Covid-19 infections.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the ban on anyone who is not a citizen or permanent resident coming to Australia “will be in place from 9:00 pm [Friday] evening”.
