The death toll from the coronavirus pandemic today soared past 5,000 as Europe continues to battle its escalating crisis.
A total of 3,176 people have died in mainland China, followed by 1,016 in Italy, and 514 in Iran – the three countries with the highest number of deaths.
Since COVID-19 was first detected in December, more than 134,300 people have been infected in 121 countries and territories.
Cases have also soared past 600 in the UK, after Wales confirmed 13 people had been diagnosed today.
Europe has rapidly become the new epicentre of the killer coronavirus, with a total of 28,549 cases.
Travel across the 51 states has been partially suspended to curb the epidemic which largely stemmed from an outbreak in northern Italy.
The death toll from the coronavirus pandemic today soared past 5,000
The death toll from the coronavirus pandemic today soared past 5,000. A medic wearing protective clothing treats a patient in Iran today
Travel across the 51 states has been partially suspended to curb the epidemic which largely stemmed from an outbreak in northern Italy. Pictured, a worker sanitising the streets of Milan
Europe has rapidly become the new epicentre of the killer coronavirus. Pictured, a man wearing a protective face mask as commuters cross London Bridge this morning
A London Underground driver has tested positive for coronavirus. The man, who works on the Tube’s Jubilee Line, returned from Vietnam. Pictured, empty lines on the service today
A medic wearing a hazmat suits while treating a patient infected with the new coronavirus COVID-19, at Sina hospital in southern Tehran, Iran
New cases of the coronavirus – which had never been seen before December 2019 – are being reported daily around the world.
Eight countries have reported more than 1,000 cases so far, including the US, where 1,663 have been infected and 41 have died.
Kazakhstan, Kenya and Ethiopia today confirmed their first cases. The only places in Europe left to declare a case are Montenegro and Kosovo.
Turkey has become the most recent EU state to be hit with coronaivrus, with its second case announced today.
The killer bug first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. A small cluster of people had pneumonia with an unknown cause, which spurred scientists on to do further tests.
COVID-19 is the name given to the disease caused by the coronavirus, which can cause mild symptoms or leave some hospitalised and battling to survive.
The impact on the world has been large enough for the World Health Organization to label the crisis a ‘pandemic’ – defined as a worldwide spread of a new disease.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the pandemic is France’s worst health crisis in a century, following comments from the UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday that Britain was facing the ‘worst public health crisis for a generation’.
The World Health Organization said Iran’s healthy system is being significantly challenged by the outbreak. Figures show 11,364 have fallen ill with COVID-19, but there is widespread suspicion that the true scale of the crisis is being covered by health officials.
Some countries that were initially the worst effected are seeing improvements – South Korea, once the largest coronavirus outbreak outside China, today reported its lowest number of new cases for three weeks.
China has benefited from strict lock downs never practised before. At its coronaivrus peak in mid-February, the country was recording around 3,500 new cases a day.
This dramatically slowed, with only 26 new cases recorded yesterday.
However, the infection is sweeping across Europe. The death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in Italy has jumped by 33 per cent in the last 24 hours.
More than 1,016 people have died across the nation, 189 of whom were in a single day.
The crisis has led to aggressive control measures, with people confined to their homes in a nationwide ban on shops, restaurants and schools opening.
Today France banned gatherings of more than 100 people in a public place, following Italy, Ireland and Scotland.
Mass gatherings are being cancelled as a result, including football matches and other sporting events. There have been prompts to postpone the London Marathon, which has at least 40,000 runners and 750,000 spectators, after Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations were called off.
Nations including Austria, Portugal, France, Denmark and Norway have closed schools and universities.
One of the most dramatic interventions is to begin today – US President Donald Trump has imposed a 30-day ban on travellers from 26 European countries.
Meanwhile, flights to Italy have been cancelled across the globe to stop travellers taking coronavirus across borders.
Austria and Slovenia imposed border restrictions with the Mediterranean country.
The labelling of a pandemic ensures more money is pumped into strategies to end it. The UN have released US$15 million to global funds, while France has pledged US$100million to the WHO.
The European Union will establish a €37billion investment initiative as part of a cushion the bloc’s fall in economy. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said.
Global development today include:
- A Chinese spokesman accused the US military of bringing the coronavirus to Wuhan – the Chinese city where the COVID-19 outbreak began;
- A 37-year-old US woman who beat the infection claimed she didn’t suffer the tell-tale symptom and instead only had a headache and tingling arms and legs;
- An Italian medical chief died of the coronavirus at the age of 67, as the death toll in the country – the centre of Europe’s escalating crisis – jumped to over 1,000;
- Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the government will effectively ban ‘non essential’ public gatherings of more than 500 people from Monday
- Millions of British workers have stayed at home today as commuters found car parks empty, train carriages deserted and seats available on the busiest routes
- Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has self-isolated after his wife tested positive
- Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations have been cancelled in London due to the coronavirus threat, the Mayor has announced
- A further 13 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Wales, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 38, Public Health Wales says
- Two ex-ministers today tore apart Boris Johnson’s ‘risky’ decision not to lockdown Britain to tackle the coronavirus ‘national emergency’
- The FTSE 100 index of the UK’s leading companies rose by 380 points or 7 per cent to 5,634 points shortly after opening, despite fears of a recession
