The Tokyo Olympic Games will go ahead as
planned in July, despite coronavirus concerns resulting in the postponement of
sporting events, Japan PM Shinzo Abe said.
The prime minister added the International Olympic Committee (IOC) would
have the final decision whether Tokyo 2020 goes ahead.
He said: “We will overcome the
spread of the infection and host the Olympics without problem, as planned.”
Japan has had more than 1,400 cases and 28 deaths resulting from
coronavirus.
According to organizers, the Tokyo Games is expected to cost about 1.35
trillion yen.
The Japan section of the Olympic Torch relay is due to start in Fukushima on
March 26. The recent torch-lighting ceremony in ancient Olympia was held
without spectators, before the rest of the relay in Greece was suspended to
avoid attracting crowds.
Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike said:
“We’re taking thorough infection measures with regards to the torch relay
domestically.”
Several Olympic trials events in the US have been postponed, including wrestling, rowing and diving.
The Tokyo Olympic Games will go ahead as
planned in July, despite coronavirus concerns resulting in the postponement of
sporting events, Japan PM Shinzo Abe said.
The prime minister added the International Olympic Committee (IOC) would
have the final decision whether Tokyo 2020 goes ahead.
He said: “We will overcome the
spread of the infection and host the Olympics without problem, as planned.”
Japan has had more than 1,400 cases and 28 deaths resulting from
coronavirus.
According to organizers, the Tokyo Games is expected to cost about 1.35
trillion yen.
The Japan section of the Olympic Torch relay is due to start in Fukushima on
March 26. The recent torch-lighting ceremony in ancient Olympia was held
without spectators, before the rest of the relay in Greece was suspended to
avoid attracting crowds.
Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike said:
“We’re taking thorough infection measures with regards to the torch relay
domestically.”
Several Olympic trials events in the US have been postponed, including
wrestling, rowing and diving.
Italy’s coronavirus death toll has
soared to 366, with 133 deaths in just one, officials say.
According to the Civil Protection
agency, the total number of infections leapt 25% to 7,375 from 5,883.
The jump in figures comes as
millions adapt to radical measures introduced on March 8 in an attempt to
contain the outbreak.
Under new quarantine rules, up to 16
million people in Lombardy and 14 provinces need special permission to travel.
PM Giuseppe Conte also announced the
closure of schools, gyms, museums, nightclubs and other venues across the whole
country.
The restrictions will last until April
3.
The latest figures mean Italy now
has the highest number of confirmed infections outside China, where the outbreak
originated in December. The outbreak has overtaken South Korea, where the total
number of cases is 7,313.
Among the latest people to test positive
in Italy is the army’s chief of staff. Salvatore Farina said he felt well and
was self-isolating.
The strict new quarantine measures
affect a quarter of the Italian population and center on the rich northern part
of the country that powers its economy.
The health system is under immense
strain in Lombardy, a northern region of 10 million people, where people are
being treated in hospital corridors.
Prime Minister Conte said as he
announced the measures on March 8: “We
want to guarantee the health of our citizens. We understand that these measures
will impose sacrifices, sometimes small and sometimes very big.”
Under the new measures, people are not supposed to be able to enter or leave
Lombardy, where Milan is the main city.
The same restrictions apply to 14 provinces: Modena, Parma, Piacenza, Reggio
Emilia, Rimini, Pesaro and Urbino, Alessandria, Asti, Novara, Verbano Cusio
Ossola, Vercelli, Padua, Treviso and Venice.
Some transport in and out of the regions affected continued on March 8.
Flights still arrived at Milan’s Malpensa and Linate airports, though some
scheduled flights were canceled.
However, Italy’s national carrier Alitalia said it would suspend all operations
from Malpensa from March 9 and Linate would only serve domestic routes.
International flights would continue to and from Rome.
The
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus praised Italy for making “genuine
sacrifices” with the restrictions. Until March 8 only about 50,000 people
in northern Italy had been affected by quarantines.
The number of infections worldwide is more than 107,000, with about 3,600
deaths.
Most of the fatalities have been in China. However, the country reported on
March 8 its lowest number of new infections in a single day since January – an
indication that the virus’s spread there is slowing.
Iran, one of the worst hotspots outside China, has now confirmed 6,566
infections and 194 deaths.
However, the real figure is feared to be much higher. One report on March 8, quoting a government envoy, said there had been 200 deaths in the northern Gilan province alone – but the figures were later removed.
Coronavirus has been seen in more than 30 countries. The newly
discovered virus can spread from person to person and health officials
recommend simple steps to avoid becoming infected.
So, how can you prevent spreading or catching a virus?
Avoid touching your
face, your mouth, your nose and your eyes as this is a possible route of the
virus to enter and cause infection.
If you cough or sneeze and you don’t put your hand to your mouth and you touch surfaces, the virus can survive for several hours outside the body.
Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds especially after you have been in public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing.
If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
So it’s important that you wash your hands effectively.
How to wash your hands:
take some soap
create a lather
clean the back of your hands and in between your fingers, the end of your fingers, your thumb (germs are present around nail area and on the back of the hands). Again, your palms. Your wrist and the top of your hand again.
rinse the soap off with water
turn off the tap with a tissue to prevent cross-contamination
The Iranian government has decided to limit
travel between its major cities as it tries to halt the spread of the
coronavirus, which has killed at least 107 people in the country.
Iran has already shut schools until April.
Health Minister Saeed Namaki said people should not use the break as an opportunity
to travel.
He also urged people to reduce the use of paper banknotes.
The measures come as the WHO warned some countries were not doing enough to
stop the virus.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus insisted containment was still
possible, adding: “This is not a
time to give up.”
Iran is one of the worst-hit countries outside China, where the Covid-19
virus – which causes the coronavirus disease – originated.
Worldwide, authorities have confirmed more than 92,000 cases of the virus,
of which more than 80,000 are in China.
According to recent reports, more than 3,000 people have died globally, the
vast majority of them in China.
On March 5, Iran’s official death toll rose by 15 to 107, and the number of
confirmed cases increased by 591 to 3,513.
Iran’s state news agency Irna said the number of dead could be higher,
citing data from medical universities.
The data did not include statistics from the capital Tehran and Gilan province – two of the hardest-hit areas. The toll there was listed as “unknown”, Irna said.
The Italian government is considering closing schools and
universities until mid-March because of the coronavirus outbreak, local media
reports say.
The plan to close schools and universities across the country until mid-March
was reportedly discussed at a government meeting focusing on the introduction
of emergency measures for tackling the spread of coronavirus.
Responding
to the reports, Italian Education Minister Lucia Azzolina said that the
decision – reported by the Italian news agency Ansa and several local outlets –
had not yet been taken but would be decided “in the next few hours”.
Earlier officials reported a jump in cases and deaths from the virus.
Italy has reported a 50% jump in deaths in the past 24 hours, with the total
standing at 79. Most of the deaths are in Lombardy.
Meanwhile, World Bank announces $12 billion aid package for
developing countries struggling with the virus.
The emergency package includes low-cost loans, grants and technical
assistance.
The action comes as leaders around the world pledge to shield their
countries from the economic impact of the outbreak.
It follows warnings that slowdown from the outbreak could tip countries into
recession.
The aid is intended to help countries improve their public health response
to the crisis, as well as work with the private sector to reduce the economic
impact.
Authorities have confirmed more than 92,000 cases of the virus worldwide of which more than 80,000 are in China. More than 3,000 people have died globally, the vast majority in China.
Three unexplained coronavirus cases in
California, Oregon and Washington State raised concerns the virus could be
spreading within the community, officials say.
The patients have no known connection to a badly hit country.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a total of 59 coronavirus
cases have been confirmed in the US.
On February 28, health officials in California’s Santa Clara County said an
older woman with chronic health conditions had been diagnosed with Covid-19.
According to officials, the patient is not known to have traveled to a
country badly affected by the coronavirus or been in contact with a person who
had.
Dr. Sara Cody, director of the Santa Clara County Public Health Department,
said: “This new case indicates that
there is evidence of community transmission but the extent is still not clear.”
Oregon health officials said a school employee in Clackamas County had
tested positive for the new coronavirus.
In Washington State, authorities said another case concerned a high school
student in Snohomish County.
Neither had any contact with a known case nor any history of travel to an
affected region.
These bring the total of unexplained cases in the country to four, after
another such case was reported in California on February 25.
The Democratic Party has criticized President Donald Trump’s response to the
outbreak, arguing that he has contradicted his own health officials and tried
to downplay the severity of the virus.
On February 28, President Trump hit back at Democrats, accusing them of
politicizing the outbreak.
“This is their new hoax,”
Donald Trump told a rally in South Carolina.
The president accused Democrats of advocating a policy of open borders and
said this was “a direct threat to the health and wellbeing of all
Americans”.
Earlier this week a patient who had no known connection with an affected
region died in France.
On February 28, the WHO upgraded the global risk of the outbreak to its
highest level.
However, it said there was still a chance of containing the new coronavirus
if its chain of transmission was broken.
WHO head Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also stressed that fear and
misinformation were the biggest challenges to overcome.
He tweeted: “Our greatest enemy
right now is not the #coronavirus itself. It’s fear, rumors and stigma. And our
greatest assets are facts, reason and solidarity.”
Meanwhile, South Korea, which has the highest number of cases outside China,
mobilized the army on February 29.
Soldiers are disinfecting large parts of Daegu, the south-eastern city that has
been at the center of South Korea’s coronavirus outbreak.
On February 29, South Korea reported a sharp rise in the number of cases of
the Covid-19 disease. It now stands at 3,150.
The respiratory illness has killed 17 people in South Korea so far.
The spread of the virus there has been linked to the fringe Christian group
Shincheonji Church.
Authorities believe members infected one another during services in Daegu and then fanned out around the country, apparently undetected.
On February 26, the World Health Organization said that for the first time
the virus was spreading faster outside China, where it originated.
Globally, more than 80,000 people in about 40 countries have been infected
with the new coronavirus, which emerged in December. The vast majority remain
in China.
Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by the virus, has
killed more than 2,700 people so far.
On February 26, authorities reported a total of 400 cases – a rise of 80
from February 25.
The worst-affected areas are in the industrial north of Italy – Lombardy,
the region around Milan, and Veneto near Venice. The outbreak has killed 12
people in the country so far.
Government officials have sought to reassure the public, and insisted steps
were being taken to prevent the spread of the disease.
Schools, universities and cinemas have been closed and several public events
cancelled.
Eleven towns at the epicenter of the outbreak – home to a total of 55,000
people – have been quarantined.
There are fears that the outbreak may tip Italy into economic recession.
EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides told reporters after meeting the
Italian health minister in Rome: “This
is a situation of concern, but we must not give in to panic.
“There are still many unknowns about this virus and in
particular its origin and how it spreads.”
In the past two days, Austria,
Croatia, Greece, Norway, Switzerland, Georgia and North Macedonia reported
their first coronavirus cases. Many of them involved people who had been to
Italy.
Most coronavirus infections are in China,
the original source of the virus, where 77,000 people have the disease and
nearly 2,600 have died. The number of new cases there is now falling.
More than 1,200 cases have been confirmed in about 30 other countries and
there have been more than 20 deaths. Italy reported four more deaths on
February 24, raising the total there to seven.
China’s government announced a ban on the consumption of wild animals and a
crackdown on the hunting, transportation and trade of prohibited species, state
media say.
It is thought that the outbreak originated at a market in the city of Wuhan
selling wild animals.
On February 24, China reported 409 new infections, the bulk of which were in
Wuhan.
South Korea has the largest number of confirmed cases outside China. On February 24, the Asian country reported another 231 COVID-19 infections on taking the total there to more than 830. Eight people have died.
Around 7,700 troops have been quarantined after 11 military members were
infected.
However, the biggest virus clusters have been linked to a hospital and a
religious group near the south-eastern city of Daegu.
Italy has the largest number of cases in Europe, 229, and
announced a series of drastic measures over the weekend to try to contain the
outbreak.
In the regions of Lombardy and Veneto, a lock-down is in place in several
small towns. For the next two weeks, 50,000 residents will not be able to leave
without special permission.
Even outside the zone, many businesses and schools have suspended
activities, and sporting events have been cancelled.
Three deaths announced on February 24 were all in Lombardy, Italian media
reported.
It is not yet clear how the virus entered the country, officials said.
On
February 23, Iran announced it had 61 confirmed cases of coronavirus,
most of them in the holy city of Qom. Twelve of those infected have died, the
highest number of deaths outside China.
On February 24, a lawmaker in Qom accused the government of covering up the
extent of the outbreak, saying there were 50 deaths in the city alone. However,
the country’s deputy health minister quickly denied the claim.
On the same day, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain reported their first cases, all involving people who had come from Iran. Officials in Bahrain said the patient infected there was a school bus driver, and several schools had been closed as a result.
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