Daily COVID-19 pandemic roundup: March 13
Miami Desk, Mar 13 (efe-epa).- Here is a roundup of stories from around the world related to the novel coronavirus pandemic:
PANAMA: Panama declared a state of emergency after the country’s first death from Covid-19. The fatality, identified as a 64-year-old man who suffered from diabetes, had not traveled abroad recently and the regional representative of the Pan American Health Organization said there was “no doubt” he acquired the virus via local transmission.
ECUADOR: The health minister reported the Andean nation’s first coronavirus death. The victim was an Ecuadorian national residing in Spain who fell ill soon after flying to Ecuador on Feb. 14.
URUGUAY: The government in Montevideo reported the first four Covid-19 case detected in the small Southern Cone nation. All four of the infected people arrived in Uruguay during the first week of March aboard flights from Milan, Italy.
UNITED STATES: The Augusta National Golf Club announced that the 2020 Masters Tournament, set for April, will be postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak. Also rescheduled was the Boston Marathon. For the first time in its 124-year history, the race will not be run on Patriots’ Day – the third Monday in April – but on Sept. 14. NASCAR said that races planned for the next two weekends at the Atlanta Motor Speedway and the Homestead-Miami Speedway, respectively, would not take place as scheduled.
TURKEY: The country has suspended flights to nine European countries, Spain, Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Sweden from 5am GMT on Saturday until 17 April. It previously cut flights to Italy, China, Iran, Iraq and South Korea.
UNITED KINGDOM: Prime Minister Boris Johnson postponed local elections scheduled to take place on 7 May in 118 constituencies in England, including the mayor of London.
EUROPEAN UNION: David Sassoli, president of the European Parliament, said the institution will work quickly to approve an aid package to help member countries deal with the outbreak. Sassoli, who has been in quarantine in his home since Tuesday, said: “Not since the end of the Second World War have we faced such a dramatic crisis.”
GREECE: The country tightened measures to help stop the spread, after 73 new cases were confirmed in the last 24 hours, including the indefinite closure of bars, restaurants and shops. Only supermarkets, pharmacies, bakeries and food delivery services will continue to operate.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong registered two new cases Friday, which now total 131 and three deaths, while Macau has reported 10 infections. Taiwan reported one new case and has now reached 49 infections with one fatality. In related news worldwide:
AUSTRALIA: Interior Minister Peter Dutton confirmed Friday on Twitter that he had tested positive for COVID-19, making him the Australian government’s first member to contract the virus. Australia has 156 cases and three deaths.
SINGAPORE: The country announced Friday it would block entry to travelers who had visited Spain, Italy, Germany or France in the last 14 days, as a result of the increase in COVID-19 cases. The restriction, which will also ban layovers in Singapore, will take effect Sunday and was decided after the city-state confirmed several COVID-19 infections among people who recently traveled to the European Union, the health ministry said in a statement.
SOUTH KOREA: The government reported Friday it had registered the lowest number of COVID-19 cases for the second consecutive day in almost three weeks. It said it detected 110 new infections Thursday, four fewer than the day before. The country has registered 7,979 cases, 510 of which have recovered, 177 of them discharged yesterday. Deaths stand at 67. South Korea has carried out 18,000 daily tests – a world leader in that regard. EFE dr
