Coronavirus: latest global developments
Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:
North Korea first case?
"The vicious virus could be said to have entered the country," says leader Kim Jong Un, according to the official KCNA news agency, as North Korea becomes one of the last countries to declare its first suspected case.
Authorities lock down the city of Kaesong, near the frontier with South Korea, as state media says a defector who left for the South three years ago has returned and is suspected to be infected.
- More than 645,000 dead—The pandemic has killed more than 645,715 people worldwide since it surfaced in China late last year, with more than 16 million people infected, according to an AFP tally at 1100 GMT on Sunday based on official sources.
The United States has the most deaths with 146,463, followed by Brazil with 86,449, Britain with 45,738, Mexico with 43,374 and Italy with 35,102.
- Deadliest day in Australia—Australia suffers its deadliest day since the pandemic began, with 10 fatalities and a rise in new infections despite an intense lockdown effort.
- UK self-isolation-
Following a snap move by the UK government to remove Spain from the travel corridor, passengers arriving from there into Britain must now self-isolate for two weeks.
Spain 'under control'
Madrid says the situation in the country is "under control". The central government insists the new surge in cases is not a "second wave" and has ruled out the possibility of a new state of emergency.
- Bolsonaro tests negative—Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro says he has tested negative for the virus more than two weeks after being diagnosed, attributing his recovery to the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine, whose efficacy against COVID-19 has not been proven.
- No party for Rio—The annual New Year's Eve celebrations which traditionally see millions of people gathered on Brazil's Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro are cancelled this year.
The celebrations are "not viable in this pandemic scenario, without a vaccine," the city's tourism office says in a statement, noting that the world-famous Carnival celebrations, normally set for February, might also have to be cancelled.
- Italy imposes hefty fines—Three businesses in the southern Italian city of Salerno are hit with 1,000 euro ($1,166) fines after police found they had not respected tough new regulations imposed by the region of Campania requiring people to wear masks in enclosed spaces.
- Hong Kong focuses on quarantine—Hong Kong will stop most ships from changing crews in the territory from Wednesday to cut back on quarantine exemptions, which some health experts have blamed for a rise in cases.
- Football disruptions—Following the news of its first locally transmitted case in nearly 100 days, Vietnam suspends its domestic football leagues until further notice.
And Japan's top-flight football league calls off a match after two Nagoya Grampus players test positive, the first game shelved since the J-League resumed a month ago.
© 2020 AFP
