The number of deaths around the world linked to the new coronavirus has reached 7,330— after Italy announced a new surge in fatalities, report agencies.
A total of 7,330 people have died, with a 175,536 infections recorded globally. European leaders are set to ban non-essential travel into the continent on Tuesday, the latest drastic attempt to curb the coronavirus pandemic.
China has the highest number of fatalities at 3,213, followed by Italy with 2,158 deaths and almost 28,000 cases. However, World Health Organisation updates said on Tuesday morning the death toll was recorded 6,610 with 168,019 confirmed infections in 148 countries.
With French president Emmanuel Macron describing the battle against COVID-19 as a ‘war’, governments around the world are imposing restrictions rarely seen in peace-time, slamming borders shut and forcing citizens to stay home.
The crisis is infecting every sector of the economy and Wall Street stocks sank on Monday more than 12 percent in the worst session since the crash of 1987, despite emergency interventions by central banks and governments to shore up confidence. Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha via Xinhua reports that South Korea confirmed 84 more cases of the COVID-19 on Tuesday midnight, local time, raising the total number of infections to 8,320.
The newly confirmed cases stayed below 100 for the third consecutive day, after recording the first double-digit growth in 23 days on Sunday.
Six more deaths were confirmed, lifting the death toll to 82. The total fatality rate came in at 0.99 per cent.
A total of 264 more patients were discharged from quarantine after making full recovery, pulling up the combined number to 1,401. The number of recoveries kept surpassing new infections.
The Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention decided to update the data once a day at 10:00 a.m. local time from March 10, after having announced it twice a day.
US sees 87 deaths in 4,477 cases
There are at least 4,477 cases of the novel coronavirus in the United States, according to state and local health agencies and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
70 cases are repatriated citizens, such as those evacuated from China or the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan.
4,407 cases were detected, tested, and confirmed in the US.
Washington and New York are the hardest hit states, both with more than 900 cases each. California follows with 450 cases.
Only one state has yet to report a coronavirus case -- West Virginia.
The death toll remains at 87.
Drastic new measures in France
New measures and restrictions will go into effect Tuesday in France, limiting people's movements and activities as the country's coronavirus cases continue to spike.
All vehicle and pedestrian movements nationwide will have to be justified -- meaning "each person, for each movement, will need to fill a document, stating on their honor, the reason of their movement,” French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said yesterday.
Some professions will be able to use their work certificate as proof of justification, and journalists with press cards are allowed to move around “as information plays a major role in the fight against the virus."
The new measures were announced shortly after President Emmanuel Macron said the country was “in a war” against the pandemic, and announced additional measures banning gatherings across France -- including family and social gatherings.
France has seen dramatic jumps in coronavirus case numbers these past two weeks, reporting hundreds of new cases a day. It's now one of the countries with the highest number of cases, at 6,655 total, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Europe under lockdown: It's not just France imposing drastic new measures; much of Europe is now under lockdown and travel restrictions.
Italy remains under complete lockdown. Spain has closed its land borders. And Germany is enforcing border restrictions with Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg and Denmark. Switzerland’s government banned all private and public events.
Singapore reassures citizens that it has enough food
Singapore's Trade and Industry Minister Minister Chan Chun Sing has sought to allay fears that it will run out of food stocks and other supplies.
"While we may have to make some adjustments to our choices, we do have sufficient supplies for all Singaporeans, so long as we buy responsibly," Chan said in a televised news conference.
Singapore imports 90pc of the food it consumes and there has been a rush on panic buying in recent weeks, with concerns that the coronavirus pandemic will disrupt the city state's food supplies.
Those fears grew on Monday after Malaysia announced it will impose a nationwide movement control order that bars citizens from traveling abroad, while foreign tourists and visitors will be restricted from entering the country.
Contingency plans and stockpiling: Chan said Singapore has a contingency plan in place for such a scenario and that food stocks will be sufficient.
"A disruption of supplies from Malaysia is one of the contingency scenarios that we have planned for over the many years," he said. "As such we have plans to manage this contingency with a combination of stockpiling, local production and also diversification of the overseas sources for our supply."
"This will allow us time to bring alternative supplies should our usual supply lines be disrupted," he said.
Egypt reports largest single-day spike in new cases
Egypt has reported its largest spike in daily cases, with 40 more people testing positive and two more deaths, the health ministry announced Monday night.
The first death was a 50-year-old Egyptian man, who died in the city of Dakahlia after coming in contact with a woman who last week also died of the virus.
The man’s family are currently under quarantine after testing positive for the virus, the health ministry said.
The second death was a 72-year-old German man who died in a hospital in Luxor, the health ministry said.
Last week, dozens of tourists were quarantined on a cruise boat, also in Luxor, after testing positive for the virus.
Egypt now has 166 coronavirus cases with a total of four deaths, the health ministry said.
Hong Kong uses wristbands to monitor quarantine
When Declan Chan, a stylist based in Hong Kong, flew home from London this week, he was given a wristband to wear upon arrival.
It was an electronic band, and would track his movements while he stayed home for 14 days under mandatory quarantine, officials explained.
It's the latest preventative measure introduced in the city, which has seen a rise in imported coronavirus cases from overseas in the past two weeks, after a period of slowing infections.
The government announced new travel restrictions today, requiring all arriving travelers from foreign countries to undergo the 14-day quarantine. The wristbands, and an accompanying smartphone app, will alert officials if travellers violate the quarantine. Chan said he was instructed to download the smartphone app, and to walk around his apartment once he arrived home, so that it could map his premises.
"So far, 5,000 reusable wristbands produced by the (technology) centre are readily available and another 60,000 disposable wristbands have been procured from the market, 5,000 of which were delivered and tested and the remaining 55,000 will be delivered in batches," said the government in a statement yesterday.
Pakistan cases triple in two days
Pakistan reported today that the country has 184 cases of the coronavirus -- more than three times the number reported just two days ago.
On Sunday, the national tally was 53 cases. And just the day before that, the tally was 28.
Many of the newly reported cases in these recent spikes have come from pilgrims who were retested in their home districts after already being quarantined two weeks ago at the Iran-Pakistan border.
Pakistan has shut down schools, cinemas, and courts, but public transportation and places of business still remain largely operational. On Friday, Pakistan also shut its borders with Iran and Afghanistan.
Taj Mahal is closing over coronavirus concerns
The Taj Mahal in India has joined the list of attractions around the world that are closing their doors amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Prahlad Singh Patel, the country's Minister of Tourism, made the announcement on his Twitter account today.
"All the ticketed monuments and all other museums have been directed to be closed until March 31, 2020," he wrote.
The enormously popular marble monument often sees 50,000 visitors passing through a day. Almost 6.5 million people visited the Taj Mahal in 2018, according to statistics from the Indian Ministry of Tourism.
The country has suspended issuing any new tourist visas and is enforcing a two-week quarantine on all travelers -- including returning Indian nationals -- who are arriving from or have visited China, France, Germany, Iran, Italy, South Korea and Spain.
"The scale and extent of our interventions have increased in alignment with the evolving situation of COVID-19 across the world, and India in particular," Harsh Vardhan, India's Minister of Health, told reporters earlier this month.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in India stands at 114, including two deaths.
South Korea and Japan expand travel restrictions
South Korea has expanded its special immigration measures to cover all arrivals starting Thursday, the country's health ministry announced during a news conference.
The new policies will require all visitors regardless of the port of origin to undergo a one-on-one temperature check when entering the country, it said. Those exhibiting symptoms will be required to take a diagnostic test and quarantine for two weeks.
All visitors will also be required to confirm their local addresses and phone numbers, and install a self-diagnosis app on their smartphones before they are allowed entry.
In Japan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also raised its outbound travel advisories for several European countries amid the novel coronavirus outbreak.
The highest warning, which advises citizens not to travel, has been issued for all of Iceland, as well as some provinces of Italy, Spain, and Switzerland. The ministry currently also advises its citizens not to make non-essential trips to other continental European countries.
