Expressing alarm both about mounting infections and slow government responses, the World Health Organization declared Wednesday that the global coronavirus crisis is now a pandemic but also said itB次元官网网址檚 not too late for countries to act.
By reversing course and using the charged word B次元官网网址減andemicB次元官网网址� that it had previously shied away from, the U.N. health agency appeared to want to shock lethargic countries into pulling out all the stops.
B次元官网网址淲e have called every day for countries to take urgent and aggressive action. We have rung the alarm bell loud and clear,B次元官网网址� said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO chief.
B次元官网网址淎ll countries can still change the course of this pandemic. If countries detect, test, treat, isolate, trace and mobilize their people in the response,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲e are deeply concerned by the alarming levels of spread and severity and by the alarming levels of inaction.B次元官网网址�
The WHO added that Iran and Italy are the new front lines of the battle against the virus that started in China.
B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e suffering but I guarantee you other countries will be in that situation soon,B次元官网网址� said Dr. Mike Ryan, the WHOB次元官网网址檚 emergencies chief.
Media briefing on with .
B次元官网网址� World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO)
Italy weighed imposing even tighter restrictions on daily life and announced billions in financial relief Wednesday to cushion economic shocks from the coronavirus, its latest efforts to adjust to the fast-evolving health crisis that silenced the usually bustling heart of the Catholic faith, St. PeterB次元官网网址檚 Square.
In Iran, by far the hardest-hit country in the Middle East, the senior vice-president and two other Cabinet ministers were reported to have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. Iran reported another jump in deaths, by 62 to 354 B次元官网网址� behind only China and Italy.
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In Italy, Premier Giuseppe Conte said he would consider requests from Lombardy, ItalyB次元官网网址檚 hardest-hit region, to toughen the already extraordinary anti-virus lockdown that was extended nationwide Tuesday. Lombardy wants to shut down nonessential businesses and reduce public transportation.
These additional measures would be on top of travel and social restrictions that imposed an eerie hush on cities and towns across the country from Tuesday. Police enforced rules that customers stay 1 metre (3 feet) apart and ensured that businesses closed by 6 p.m.
Milan shopkeeper Claudia Sabbatini said she favoured stricter measures. Rather than run the risk of customers possibly infecting each other in her childrenB次元官网网址檚 clothing store, she decided to close it.
B次元官网网址淚 cannot have people standing at a distance. Children must try on the clothes. We have to know if they will fit,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� she said.
Conte said fighting ItalyB次元官网网址檚 more than 10,000 infections B次元官网网址� the biggest outbreak outside of China B次元官网网址� must not come at the expense of civil liberties. His caution suggested that Italy is unlikely to adopt the draconian quarantine measures that helped China push down new infections from thousands per day to a trickle now and allowed its manufacturers to restart production lines.
ChinaB次元官网网址檚 new worry is that the coronavirus could re-enter from abroad. BeijingB次元官网网址檚 city government announced that all overseas visitors will be quarantined for 14 days. Of 24 new cases that China reported Wednesday, five arrived from Italy and one from the United States. China has had over 81,000 virus infections and over 3,000 deaths.
For most, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. But for a few, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illnesses, including pneumonia. More than 121,000 people have been infected worldwide and over 4,300 have died.
But the vast majority of people recover. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.
In the Mideast, the vast majority of the nearly 10,000 cases are in Iran or involve people who travelled there. Iran announced another increase in cases Wednesday to 9,000. IranB次元官网网址檚 semiofficial Fars news agency said they include Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri, who had not been seen in photos of recent top-level meetings. Fars said IranB次元官网网址檚 ministers for cultural heritage, handcrafts and tourism, and for industry, mines and business were also infected.
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Cases in Qatar jumped from 24 to 262. Kuwait announced a two-week shutdown of the country.
For the global economy, virus repercussions were profound, with increasing concerns of wealth- and job-wrecking recessions. U.S. stocks sank again in early trading Wednesday, wiping out most of a huge rally from a day earlier as Wall Street continues to reel from worries about the coronavirus.
The Wall Street plunge followed a steep decline by markets across Asia, where governments there and elsewhere have announced billions of dollars in stimulus funds, including packages revealed in Japan on Tuesday and Australia on Wednesday.
ItalyB次元官网网址檚 government announced Wednesday it was earmarking 25 billion euros (nearly $28 billion) to boost anti-virus efforts and soften economic blows, including delaying tax and mortgage payments by families and businesses.
BritainB次元官网网址檚 government announced a 30 billion-pound ($39 billion) economic stimulus package and the Bank of England slashed its key interest rate by half a percentage point to 0.25%.
Normal life was increasingly being upended.
With police barring access to St. PeterB次元官网网址檚 Square, emptying it of tens of thousands of people who usually come on Wednesdays for the weekly papal address, Pope Francis instead live-streamed prayers from the privacy of his Vatican library.
In France, the governmentB次元官网网址檚 weekly Cabinet meeting was moved to a bigger room so President Emmanuel Macron and his ministers could sit at least 1 metre (more than 3 feet) apart.
Athletes who usually thrive on crowds grew increasingly wary of them. Spanish soccer club Getafe said it wouldnB次元官网网址檛 travel to Italy to play Inter Milan, preferring to forfeit their Europa League match rather than risk infections.
Olympic champion skier Mikaela Shiffrin said she would be limiting contact with fans and fellow competitors, tweeting that B次元官网网址渢his means no selfies, autographs, hugs, high fives, handshakes or kiss greetings.B次元官网网址�
In the U.S., the caseload passed 1,000, and outbreaks on both sides of the country stirred alarm.
Former U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders, who are vying to take on President Donald Trump in the presidential election, abruptly cancelled rallies Tuesday and left open the possibility that future campaign events could be impacted, too. TrumpB次元官网网址檚 campaign insisted it would proceed as normal, although Vice-President Mike Pence conceded future rallies would be evaluated B次元官网网址渙n a day to day basis.B次元官网网址�
In Europe, deaths soared among ItalyB次元官网网址檚 aging population. Authorities said Italy has suffered 631 deaths, with an increase of 168 fatalities recorded Tuesday. In Spain, the number of cases surged past the 2,000-mark on Wednesday. Belgium, Bulgaria, Sweden, Albania and Ireland all announced their first virus-related deaths.
B次元官网网址淚f you want to be blunt, Europe is the new China,B次元官网网址� said Robert Redfield, the head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Also sounding the alarm at a Congressional hearing in Washington was Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
B次元官网网址淏ottom line, itB次元官网网址檚 going to get worse,B次元官网网址� he said.
In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel said that if the virus is not halted by vaccines and cures, up to 70% of the countryB次元官网网址檚 83 million people could ultimately become infected, citing estimates that epidemiologists have been putting forward for several weeks. Germany has some 1,300 confirmed infection. MerkelB次元官网网址檚 comments fit a pattern of government officials using sobering warnings to try to get people to protect themselves, most notably by washing their hands and not gathering in large numbers.
Dozens of cases have been tied to a conference in Boston, and leaders in multiple states were announcing curbs on large events. Colleges emptied their classrooms as they moved to online instruction and uncertainty surrounded the upcoming opening of the major league baseball season and college basketballB次元官网网址檚 championships. Even the famed buffets of Las Vegas were affected, with some of the StripB次元官网网址檚 biggest being closed as a precaution.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 terrifying,B次元官网网址� said Silvana Gomez, a student at Harvard University, where undergraduates were told to leave campus by Sunday. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 definitely very scared right now about what the next couple days, the next couple weeks look like.B次元官网网址�
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Barry reported from Soave, Italy; Leicester reported from Paris. Associated Press writers Maria Cheng in London; Jamey Keaten in Geneva; Sylvie Corbet in Paris; Geir Moulson in Berlin; Pan Pylas in London; LLazar Semini in Tirana, Albania; Matt Sedensky in Bangkok; Joe McDonald and Ken Moritsugu in Beijing; Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo; Tales Azzoni in Madrid and Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.
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The Associated Press receives support for health and science coverage from the Howard Hughes Medical InstituteB次元官网网址檚 Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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Nicole Winfield, Colleen Barry And John Leicester, The Associated Press
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