Spain death pass 1,000, Italy deaths pass 4,000; More US states, including New York, tell people to stay home; Dow Jones falls 900 points. Follow the latest.
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Major UK supermarkets have been asked to set aside supplies for food banks after a tumultuous few days in which several emergency food aid charities closed and others struggled to meet rocketing demand from people hit by the fallout from coronavirus.
Many food banks said they were finding it impossible to replenish food stocks, even as thousands more people turned to them for help, and others said they had been overwhelmed as hundreds of elderly volunteer regulars were forced to go into self-isolation.
Related: Food banks plead with UK supermarkets to set aside supplies amid coronavirus fallout
Hungary’s government is seeking to indefinitely extend a coronavirus-related state of emergency that would allow rule by decree, as well as introduce prison sentences of up to five years for those who spread false information about the pandemic.
Hungary’s anti-migration prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has long been accused of democratic backsliding and critics are likely to portray the move as trying to take advantage of a crisis. The government said the measures were necessary in case a large number of MPs became ill and parliament was unable to function. “The government is required to adopt responsible decisions and to introduce, if necessary, unusual and unfamiliar restrictions. Observing these measures, remaining united and maintaining discipline are our most important tasks,” said a government statement.
The mayor of the London borough Newham has written to the government asking for powers to be given to local councils so they can take action against businesses seeking to profit from a national crisis.
Rokhsana Fiaz, the Labour mayor, called on residents to tell the council about a business they think is acting unfairly during the coronavirus outbreak.
I’ve written to government asking for powers for Councils to enforce against some businesses seeking to profit at a time of national crisis. Report via the form below if you think a business in #Newham is acting unfairly during the #coronavirus outbreak https://t.co/4Y6wYr9zOq
Lewis Hamilton has revealed he has been in self-isolation but is showing no symptoms of the coronavirus after attending an event with Idris Elba and Sophie Trudeau.
“There’s been some speculation about my health, after I was at an event where two people later tested positive for coronavirus,” Hamilton wrote on Instagram. “I wanted to let you know that I’m doing well, feeling healthy and working out twice a day. I have zero symptoms, and it’s now been 17 days since I saw Sophie and Idris. I have been in touch with Idris and happy to hear he is OK.”
Related: Lewis Hamilton self-isolating but showing no coronavirus symptoms
The coronavirus crisis has sparked a ferocious political row in Brazil, pitting its far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, against a legion of critics from across the political spectrum and sparking nightly protests against what many see as Bolsonaro’s weak response.
There have also been powerful expressions of solidarity and support for the healthcare workers battling the pandemic.
This video was shot last night in one of Latin America’s biggest favelas, Rocinha, in Rio, and shows the level of support for Brazil’s doctors and nurses as the situation worsens.
Wow. One of Latin America’s biggest favelas - Rocinha in Rio - pays tribute to the doctors and nurses battling coronavirus https://t.co/sbn8TUZi9C
The death toll now stands at 1,326, while there are 1,612 people in intensive care. A total of 2,125 people have recovered from the virus.
According to the latest figure from Spain’s health ministry, the country now has 24,926 confirmed cases of the Coronavirus, up from 19,980 on Friday.
Hotels in central London will offer beds to rough sleepers to help protect them against coronavirus, PA Media reports.
An initial trial will take place over the weekend, offering 300 rooms to vulnerable people known to homelessness charities. The mayor’s office is working with Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) to block book rooms, at a discounted rate, for the next 12 weeks.
Pakistan and Vietnam have suspended international flights in a bid to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
Pakistan will suspend international flights for two weeks, the civil aviation authority said. Cargo and diplomatic flights will be exempt.
The government of Pakistan has decided to suspend operation of all international passenger, chartered and private flights to Pakistan, effective from 21st March 2020 (2000 hrs PST) to 4th April 2020 (2000 hrs PST)
The Scottish finance secretary, Kate Forbes, called on the UK government to scrap tax and excise duties on alcohol that is being used to make hand sanitiser.
Distilleries across the country, such as Brewdog and Leith Gin, have been switching production away from their usual products to make hand-cleaning gels.
Air raid sirens echoed across Amman early on Saturday to mark the start of a nationwide curfew affecting 10 million Jordanian citizens to combat the spread of coronavirus.
In one of the strictest measures yet, Jordan has ordered all shops to close and everyone to stay off the streets until at least Tuesday, when it plans to announce specific times for shopping. The army said anyone violating the curfew, which restricts movement beyond emergencies and essential services, could be jailed for up to a year.
Related: Coronavirus: Jordan begins nationwide curfew for 10m citizens
Wholesale traders at New Covent Garden market in London are launching fruit, veg and essential item boxes for delivery to the public, following a catastrophic collapse in regular orders from restaurant chains and pubs as a result of the closures ordered by the government.
Normally the market’s 150-plus traders supply the capital’s vast food service network, from Michelin-starred establishments through to airlines, cruise ships, hotels, pubs and even food for the animals at London zoo.
An NHS trust in Cambridge has begun to send patients that have recovered from the coronavirus home, Cambridge News reports.
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trusts said they had been “inundated” with offers of support and money amid the coronavirus epidemic.
Manchester United and Manchester City have donated a combined £100,000 to local food banks in a joint initiative between the clubs to fight the threat of coronavirus to the most vulnerable.
The move comes after Fans Supporting Foodbanks told the Guardian on Thursday it was launching a fund with MUFC Foodbanks to help schemes in the area.
Related: United and City donate combined £100,000 to Manchester food banks
She told her fans not to panic on Twitter
I am in bed with #coronvirusuk It’s not a very pleasant bedfellow, but nothing more than sore throat, dry cough, headache & tiredness. As long as it stays that way....DON’T panic!
John Bird, the founder of the Big Issue magazine, has announced that it will be going digital during the coronavirus pandemic due to fears that street vendors could be put at risk.
In a post on Twitter on Saturday, Bird wrote: “With heavy heart I have had to say to Big Issue vendors “your wellbeing comes first, so no selling on the streets. You have to be indoors. Out of harm’s way.”
Jake Knowles-Jenssen, a 27-year-old British freelancer, sent a photo from outside the normally bustling Ostbahnhof as Bavaria’s stricter measures come into effect.
He said that up until midnight last night restaurants could open until 6pm and only non-essential shops were closed, but people were still out in large numbers. Bavarian leader, Markus Söder, responded with stricter restrictions.
UK supermarket chain Morrisons has announced a number of measures to support frontline staff responding to the coronavirus epidemic and the most vulnerable groups affected by the crisis.
Morrisons said it would take on staff from Marie Curie and CLIC Sargent charity shops, whose doors may close because of the coronavirus. It announced on Saturday that it would take on up to 500 colleagues to help the elderly and vulnerable in stores across the UK.
The European Union commission moved to formalise an agreement reached by EU finance ministers to suspend budget rules that put limits on borrowing so that governments have a free hand in fighting the coronavirus, Reuters reports.
The European Union executive proposed late on Friday to activate the ‘general escape clause’ in the rules to respond to the pandemic that has caused lockdowns in most EU countries and the closure of Europe’s borders.
UK car parking firm NCP is offering free parking to all NHS staff to help them to get to work at a time when slimmed-down transport networks are offering limited services.
NHS workers can access the offer directly via the NCP website and pre-book their space each time they need to park. The offerapplies to more than 150 locations across the UK and is available to book any time up to an hour before arrival.
Stephen Barclay, the Treasury chief secretary, said that providing protection for the the self-employed during the coronavirus outbreak would be “operationally” difficult to deliver, following criticism that current UK government plans to underwrite the wages of millions of workers did not cover freelancers, contractors and the self-employed.
Barclay said the self-employed would benefit from measures such as the deferral of self-assessment tax requirements, holidays for mortgage payers and the strengthening of the welfare “safety net”.
For some comic relief, Guardian media editor Jim Waterson has talked to the man behind the WhatsApp audio clip poking fun at coronavirus misinformation.
Billy McLean, a 29-year-old Londoner who works in software sales, is the man responsible for a spoof WhatsApp audio clip that claimed the Ministry of Defence was about to requisition Wembley Stadium to cook the world’s biggest lasagne. He told the Guardian that his “viral” success highlighted the risks of believing everything that gets sent to you on the messaging service.
Related: They’re building a massive lasagne’: man behind WhatsApp virus spoof revealed
Indonesia has confirmed 81 new coronavirus cases and six more deaths, bringing the total number of cases to 450 and deaths to 38, a health ministry official told reporters on Saturday, Reuters reports.
This comes a day after the governor of Jakarta declared a state of emergency in the Indonesian capital for the next two weeks.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said social distancing measures to combat the coronavirus outbreak in the country will only need to be applied for two to three weeks as he expects the crisis to ease by then.
On Saturday, Iran announced 123 more deaths from the coronavirus, bringing the toll to 1,556, with 20,610 confirmed cases.
The Highland hotel that attracted widespread condemnation on Friday after it sacked staff and made them homeless during the coronavirus outbreak has apologised and excused their actions as “an administrative error”.
The Guardian reported yesterday that more than a dozen workers at the Coylumbridge hotel near Aviemore received a letter on Thursday informing them management was “taking the latest government advice” and that staff employment had been terminated, with those who live at the hotel complex asked to leave the premises immediately.
The government’s message that there is enough food for everyone still hasn’t stopped large queues forming outside of supermarkets.
A reader sent the following two photos of the long queues of shoppers at 5.45am at Tesco Extra on Sunbury-on-Thames in Middlesex. The store’s opening time was 6am.
The husband of a British woman who died while on holiday in Bali after contracting coronavirus said he was able to say goodbye to her.
Kimberley Finlayson, who had underlying health conditions, underwent two emergency operations before she died on 11 March.
All shopping centres in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, will be temporarily closed, it was announced on Saturday, as the country reported its biggest leap in cases yet.
Shopping centres, except for supermarkets, will be closed from Sunday until April 12 in an attempt to stop the outbreak from spreading further.
Panic buy at the supermarket at Central Chidlom. The store staff said the supermarket will stilll operates tomorrow. But many shoppers rushed to the store despite the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration saying mall closure tomorrow will not include supermarket and pharmacies pic.twitter.com/t6vLTHoybV
Hello, I’m Aamna Mohdin taking over the liveblog from my colleague Rebecca Ratcliffe.
Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt has said NHS staff treating coronavirus patients must have the protective equipment they need. He shared his concerns that not all NHS staff were receiving the correct personal protective equipment (PPE) on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
The tally of global cases has risen to 275,452 on Saturday, as 70 million people across New York, Illinois and California face being largely confined to their homes, and Britain closes its pubs, cafes, gyms and restaurants.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organisation, has given some advice on staying healthy and looking after yourself at this time. You can see his comments in full, posted on Twitter, here.
“Life is changing dramatically for many of us, but it’s important to continue looking after your physical and mental health,” he writes, adding that you can do so by adopting a healthy diet, limiting alcohol consumption, and exercising regularly.
It’s normal to feel stressed, confused and scared during a crisis. Talking to people you know and trust can help. If you’re working at home during #COVID19, make sure you don’t sit in the same position for long periods. Get up and take a 3-minute break every 30 minutes.
Compassion is a medicine. Supporting other people in your community can help you as much as it does them. Check in on neighbours, family and friends.
A longtime employee of NBC News died on Thursday after testing positive for the coronavirus, NBC News chairman Andy Lack said in an email to staff members.
Larry Edgeworth, 61, worked in an equipment room at NBC News’ headquarters in New York. He had previously spent 25 years at NBC News working as an audio technician, and had traveled the world with many of the network’s correspondents.
“Many of you were fortunate enough to work with Larry over the years, so you know that he was the guy you wanted by your side no matter where you were,” Lack wrote.
A citizen who had returned from abroad is the first person in East Timor to test positive for the coronavirus, Reuters reports
“He isolated himself immediately after contacting doctors,” the ministry said in an official Facebook post, without giving details of where the patient travelled from.
The Southeast Asian nation with a population less than 1.3 million was formally part of Indonesia until 2002, and is located east of the Indonesian archipelago.
The governor of Jakarta on Friday declared a state of emergency in the Indonesian capital for the next two weeks over the coronavirus outbreak as the death toll in the country climbed to the highest in Southeast Asia.
South Korea’s prime minister Chung Sye-kyun has strongly recommended religious, sports and entertainment facilities suspend operations, and advised people to avoid socialising for the next 15 days. He added that the government will order any gatherings to disperse.
His comments follow confirmation of 147 new coronavirus infections on Saturday, up from the previous day’s 87.
The country was praised for its quick action and mass testing which helped contain its coronavirus outbreak, but experts have warned that a long battle is ahead.
South Korea has now recorded 8,799 cases. The deathtoll is 104.
Yoon Tae-ho, director general for public health policy, said at a briefing:
You may feel that the current situation has improved a lot compared to the past, but... we continue to see group infection, inflows from foreign countries, mass outbreaks at various workplaces.
Starbucks will close most of its company operated cafes across north America for two weeks, limiting its services to drive-throughs, reports Reuters.
“Let’s be real. Lattes aren’t ‘essential’,” Rossann Williams, president of U.S. company-operated and Canada businesses, said in a letter. “But in times of crisis, the government asks convenient food and beverage outlets to remain open when possible for pickup, Drive Thru, or delivery.”
Exceptions to the closure would be made for cafes serving in or around hospitals and health care centers, she said.
Here’s a breakdown of the latest developments:
The Philippines now has 262 coronavirus cases, after 32 new infections were confirmed, the country’s health ministry said on Saturday. The deathtoll has also risen to 19.
More than 57 million people in the island of Luzon, which includes the capital of Manila, were placed under lockdown this week to try to stop the spread of the virus.
Jordan blew sirens on Saturday to mark the start of a curfew that will limit the mobility of its 10 million citizens indefinitely.
The new restrictions prevent movement beyond emergencies and essential services. Anyone who flouts the rules can be jailed up to a year, the army has warned.
Thousands of soldiers have been deployed inside cities and on main highways across the country to enforce the restrictions. Jordan has also closed land and sea border crossings with Syria, Iraq, Egypt and Israel, and suspended all incoming and outgoing flights since Tuesday.
In Italy, balcony singing has spread across the country as people show solidarity with their neighbours. Here is a scene from Lebanon, where residents have been urged to stay at home.
Remember #Italians singing from balconies during #COVID19 lockdown? This is #Lebanon, singing to #Egyptian song Bent el-Giraan. I love that song! btw the song was used to ban this genre of music called Maharaganat in #Egypt. Clearly it’s much lovedpic.twitter.com/1tshCWR899
Colombia will enter a nationwide quarantine from Tuesday night, President Ivan Duque said late on Friday. The quarantine in the country, which has 158 confirmed cases of the virus, will last for 19 days, reports Reuters.
Duque said the action, which will include strict restrictions on citizens’ movements outside the home, was necessary to fight the disease.
“In the coming weeks we have the opportunity to collectively take away the virus’ speed,” Duque said. A government spokesman said more details would be released about the quarantine before Monday.
Government sources said they will include movement exceptions for medical personnel, security forces and workers at pharmacies and supermarkets.
Colombia’s government has already said it will block incoming international flights from Monday and ordered people aged 70 and over to stay inside until the end of May. It has also closed land and water borders along with schools and bars.
Thailand reported 89 new cases on Saturday, the largest daily increase in infections since the outbreak began, bringing the national tally to 411.
The Thai government has asked people to avoid going out, but so far rejected calls for a lockdown, saying that the needs of workers who are unable to stay at home must be considered.
Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a Public Health Ministry spokesman, said the new cases were linked to earlier infections from a boxing match, an entertainment complex and a religious gathering in neighbouring Malaysia. Cases have risen over the past week as health officials trace the contacts of confirmed patients.
Of those infected, 366 are currently being treated, while 44 have recovered. One death has been recorded in the country.
Japan has recorded 1,016 cases of domestically transmitted cases of coronavirus as of Saturday, according to public broadcaster NHK, hitting a new milestone as the nation grapples with pressure to avoid a health crisis ahead of Tokyo Olympics.
The tally rises to 1,728 if 712 cases of infections from a cruise ship moored near Tokyo last month are included, according to NHK.
Although the number of cases is still on the rise, Japan has started scaling back some measures to fight the spread of the virus.
On Friday, Japan said it would not extend its request to close schools, setting the stage for classes to resume at the start of the academic year in April.
The Tokyo Olympics, set to start from July 24, have been cast into doubt by the coronavirus pandemic and the cancellation of sporting events and qualifiers around the world.
Olympics organizers have repeatedly said the Games will go on as scheduled.
Singapore reported two coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday, marking the city-state’s first fatalities from the infection, Reuters reports.
The patients who died were a 75-year-old Singaporean woman and a 64-year-old Indonesian man, the health minstry said in a statement.
Singapore, widely praised for its fastidious onslaught against the virus, has confirmed 385 cases of the infection and had so far managed to avoid any fatalities since the outbreak began in the city-state in late January.
Here’s some more on the closure of Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach, from Australian Associated Press.
The New South Wales government has temporarily closed Bondi Beach as authorities handed lifesavers unprecedented move-on powers amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Guardian correspondent Justin McCurry has some more detail about the new cases reported in South Korea today:
The 147 new coronavirus cases reported in South Korea on Friday - bringing the country’s total to 8,799 - was the second-highest number of daily positive diagnoses this week, following 152 identified on Wednesday, according to the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).
The pace of daily new infections had shown signs of slowing since the second week of this month after health authorities finished testing 210,000 followers of a secretive church that was at the centre of the country’s outbreak.
Just over 100 of the new daily cases were from Daegu, the southeastern city where the church is located, and nearby North Gyeongsang province. The two locations account for about 60% of all of South Korea’s Covid-19 infections.
There is concern, however, over a rise in infections in Seoul and among people arriving from overseas, Yonhap news agency said.
Seoul reported 15 additional cases and nearby Gyeonggi Province 12, while the number among people arriving in the country rose by six to 23.
In response, South Korea will require all arrivals from European countries to get tested for the virus and self-isolate for two weeks starting Sunday, Yonhap said, adding that temporary shelters had been set up to accommodate up to 1,000 European travelers while they wait for their test results.
South Korean health authorities have won praise for their mass testing regime, which has enabled them to quickly identify infection clusters. The number of people being checked for the virus and under quarantine came to 15,704 as of Friday, the KCDC said. The country has tested a total of 327,509 suspected cases, with 303,006 coming back negative.
People living in poorer areas of the Philippine capital, Manila, have begun building makeshift barricades to halt movement along the tight alleyways of their neighbourhoods, as this image, taken by Ezra Acayan for Getty Images shows.
The Philippine island of Luzon, which includes Manila, has been on lockdown since Monday. The government has urged the island’s 55 million residents to quarantine themselves at home, an impossible task for many of its poorer residents who need to leave their houses daily for work.
The latest case numbers announced from the states and territories throughout the day means 1,049 cases of Covid-19 have now been confirmed in Australia, including seven deaths.
It was also announced that Bondi Beach will close if more than 500 people gather.
This is not something we are doing because we are the fun police. This is about saving lives.
If the community does not comply with the regulations and the health warnings well then this is going to become the new norm. We will be closing down the type of iconic activities that unfortunately we’ve come ... to love and adore about our lifestyle,” said New South Wales police minister David Elliot.
United Airlines has announced that it will cut its international schedule by 95% for April, after governments worldwide imposed unprecedented travel restrictions to to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
United will suspend all flights to Canada from April 1, and will draw down its remaining trans-Atlantic, trans-Pacific and Mexico operations, the airline said in a statement, Reuters reported.
Malaysia’s health minister has been criticised for suggesting that drinking warm water can prevent coronavirus, with experts pointing out that his comments are not evidence-based and that people should follow World Health Organisation advice.
Health Minister Dr Adham Baba had told Malaysia’s public broadcaster, RTM, that people should drink warm water because the virus cannot cope with heat. The water would flush the virus into the stomach, he said.
Following the news that Sydney’s Bondi beach is set to close, here’s a roundup of the latest developments in Australia, from the Guardian’s Melbourne bureau chief, Melissa Davey.
Syria will not allow visitors arriving from countries that are dealing with outbreaks to enter the country, as part of measures to prevent the spread of the virus.
No cases have been recorded by the government, or in the large parts of the country that fall outside of government control.
Among many meetings held remotely this week, I heard from sources on the ground about the potentially devastating impact of #COVID19 in ##Idlib and elsewhere in Syria. If anyone - incredibly - still needed a reason to stop the fighting there, this is it. pic.twitter.com/08eBct8rYD
The New South Wales government is set to announce it will close Sydney’s Bondi Beach, the Guardian’s Ben Smee reports.
The announcement - to be made by NSW and emergency services police minister David Elliot at 2pm AEDT - comes after concerns were raised that large numbers of beachgoers were not abiding by public health advice. Images from Australia’s most iconic beach in recent days have shown large crowds of people.
Five US states have either closed, or are set to close, all non-essential businesses account. Here’s some useful background on the likely economic impact of the shutdowns.
California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey and Connecticut – which are all issuing “stay at home orders” – Account for almost a third of the world’s biggest economy. They rank first, third, fifth, eight and 23rd respectively among all 50 states by GDP, according to Reuters.
The local prefect said the curfew, to be introduced from Saturday, was necessary to enforce the strict confinement measures decided by France.
“A curfew is going to be put in place,” Prefect Bernard Gonzalez told BFM TV. “This decree is essentially aimed at those who find it funny to gather together and defy public authorities.”
Mexico’s health ministry confirmed that the number of infections has risen from 168 to 203. A second death has also been reported. Details of the new cases are not yet clear.
Mainland China reported no new locally transmitted cases of the coronavirus for a third day running, Reuters has reported. The daily log of infections involving travellers arriving from other countries continued to rise.
Mainland China had 41 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections on Friday, the country’s National Health Commission said, all imported from abroad. That brought the total number of imported cases to 269.
High in the charts was Beijing, with 14 new imported cases. Shanghai and six provinces also identified such cases.
That brought the total number of confirmed cases in mainland China to 81,008, the health authority said in a statement on Saturday.
The death toll from the outbreak in mainland China reached 3,255 as of the end of Friday, up by seven from the previous day and all from the central province of Hubei, the epicentre of the outbreak in China.
South Korea has confirmed 147 new cases, brining the total to 8,799, it was reported on Saturday.
The country has been praised for its efforts to contain the virus after it experienced a large outbreak in the city of Daegu. Authorities have remained high alert however, as new clusters have continued to emerge.
Haitians rushed to buy food, gas, soap and face masks on Friday after two cases of the coronavirus were confirmed to have been imported into the country, Associated Press reports.
President Jovenel Moise said Thursday that two patients had been quarantined after testing positive for the COVID-19 virus. One was a 31-year-old Haitian who had just returned from Paris and the other was a Belgian volunteering in a Port-au-Prince orphanage.
Moise said the country was closing all airports, schools, factories and seaports. The measure is designed to halt new cases of the virus, but health workers said it could prevent the arrival of important medical supplies and volunteer doctors and nurses if the virus starts to spread inside the densely population nation of roughly 11 million people.
According to the United Nations, some 35% of Haitians lack basic drinking water services and two-thirds have limited or no sanitation services, making it extremely difficult for people to regularly wash their hands as recommended to deter the spread of the coronavirus.
The country just completed its first year free of cholera, a water-borne disease that was imported by U.N. peacekeepers and killed nearly 10,000 people over the last decade.
New Zeland prime minister Jacinda Ardern has asked citizens to restrict their movements around the country, and cancel all non-essential domestic travel, the Guardian’s Eleanor Ainge Roy reports from Dunedin.
Ardern also asked those aged 70 and over, or with a compromised immune system to stay home for the foreseeable future.
Those who could work from home should now do so, Ardern said, but reassured Kiwis that essential services such as supermarkets and pharmacies would remain open.
There are four alert levels in New Zealand, and the country was currently at stage two.
Ardern took a warm and smiley demeanor for her address, in a bid to reassure New Zealanders in “unprecedented times”. 14 new cases of the virus were confirmed today, bringing the total number of cases to 53. Two of the cases show no link to overseas travel, meaning community transmission may now be underway.
“Protecting New Zealanders from the virus is our number one objective, and we must take decisive action to prevent the worst occurring here,” Ardern said.
“New Zealand is fighting an unprecedented global pandemic. We must fight by going hard and going early with new measures to slow the transmission of the virus.
The number of coronavirus cases keeps rising in Argentina, with 30 new reported cases Friday, brining the tally up to 158, including three deaths so far. The largest number of cases are in the capital city of Buenos Aires and the province of Buenos Aires.
A total of around 200 persons were arrested Friday for violating the nationwide obligatory quarantine announced by President Alberto Fernández Thursday evening. Among them were 13 people arrested at an “hotel alojamiento” (Argentina’s equivalent of a “love motel”), a jogger, a drunk policeman and a doctor who broke her quarantine after testing positive for the virus in the northern province of Chaco.
The hotline for reporting quarantine violators in the city of Buenos Aires alone had already received 116 calls by midday Friday, including 99 cases in which the reported persons resisted the police.
Turkey on Friday recorded five more deaths from the novel coronavirus, bringing the overall total to nine, as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged people not to go out for “non-essential reasons”.
“We have lost five patients who are elderly and with a weak resistance,” Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter.
Good morning and welcome to our coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.
The number of cases reported worldwide has now passed a quarter of a million, according to Johns Hopkins University figures, which show there are now 272,167 infections globally and 11,299 deaths.
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