Coronavirus latest: at a glance
Key developments in the global coronavirus outbreak today include:
Global Covid-19 death toll passes 75,000
The number of deaths worldwide from the coronavirus has passed 75,000 since the outbreak was first identified at the end of 2019, according official statistics kept by Johns Hopkins University.
The Maryland, US-based research university has been compiling statistics since the first case of Covid-19 was reported in China 97 days days ago, on 31 December.
Italy remains the worst affected country, with 16,523 deaths so far, followed by Spain, where the death toll is 13,798. The US is now third worst-affected, with 10,993 deaths – 3,485 in New York City alone.
Japan declares a state of emergency
Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe has declared a state of emergency to fight new coronavirus infections in major population centres. He also unveiled a stimulus package he described as among the world’s biggest to soften the economic blow. Abe announced the state of emergency targeting the capital Tokyo and six other prefectures – accounting for about 44% of Japan’s population – for a period of about one month.
“We have decided to declare a state of emergency because we’ve judged that a fast spread of the coronavirus nationwide would have an enormous impact on lives and the economy,” he told parliament earlier.
Some French cities make masks mandatory
A number of French cities, including Nice, have announced they plan to make face masks mandatory for those who go out. The mayor of Nice, the capital of the French Riviera, has said all city inhabitants will receive a mask within eight to 10 days that they can reuse for a month. Cannes and a few other places are following suit, and the capital, Paris, has said it is considering introducing the rule.
French authorities have also tightened their lockdown measures in the capital by banning Parisians from outdoors sports activity between 10am and 7pm local time, aiming to curb the spread of the new coronavirus.
Boris Johnson in intensive care
The British prime minister was moved to intensive care on Monday night after his condition worsened. Donald Trump paid tribute to Johnson at his daily White House briefing: “I found him to be a fantastic person, a fantastic warm strong smart guy. He loves his country, you see that. He fought like hell for his country. But intensive care is big stuff, really big stuff.” The British foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, will run the country’s coronavirus response in Johnson’s absence.
Slight increase in pace of deaths in Spain
The pace of coronavirus deaths in Spain increased slightly on Tuesday for the first time in five days, with 743 people succumbing overnight to reach a total of 13,798. That compared with 637 people who died during the previous 24 hours in the nation with the second highest toll of fatalities from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Total cases rose to 140,510 on Tuesday from 135,032 on Monday, the health ministry said.
Drop in new cases in China
Mainland China reported a drop in the number of new coronavirus cases after closing its borders to virtually all foreigners to curb imported infections.
It comes as the central city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, had no new deaths for the first time. China had 32 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus on Monday, down from 39 cases a day earlier, the national health commission said. All of the 32 cases involved travellers arriving from overseas, compared with 38 imported cases a day earlier.
The overall number of imported infections so far stands at 983, the health authority said.
