Central banks around the world are seeking to reassure markets and overcome the shock of the coronavirus pandemic, the balance sheet of which, mainly in Europe, is worsening exponentially, pushing states to confine their populations and close their borders.

The American Federal Reserve (Fed) thus decided to lower its interest rates to zero on Sunday, March 15, while participating in a concerted global action by central banks to ensure that the world would not run out of liquidity on Monday. And this, while the economic consequences of the coronavirus, which has caused more than 6,000 deaths in the world, including more than 2,000 in Europe, look more and more catastrophic.

China thus reported on Monday the first decline in industrial production in nearly thirty years and a collapse in retail sales.

The cities of New York and Los Angeles have in turn ordered the closure of all bars, restaurants and nightclubs, a measure already in force in several European countries such as France, Italy, Spain or Belgium. In Las Vegas, the MGM group closed its 13 hotels and casinos.

The world number one in tourism, the German TUI, has suspended most of its activities such as package tours and cruises.

Closings, restrictions, cancellations

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the European continent is now the "epicenter" of the disease. The European Union has introduced restrictions on exports of medical protective equipment to guarantee its own supply.

The second most affected country in Europe, Spain has confined its population and declared a state of alert for a fortnight.

Stopped since Sunday - restaurants, bars, nightclubs, cinemas, schools and universities are closed -, France has nevertheless maintained its municipal elections. But participation collapsed.

Austria has banned gatherings of more than 5 people and limited travel to what is strictly necessary.

The Netherlands and Luxembourg also ordered the closure of places and shops welcoming the public on Sunday and Ireland that of pubs.

In the Netherlands, the government has ordered the closure of schools, bars, brothels; and also that of coffee shops, in front of which long queues had formed after the announcement, customers wanting to ensure their supply of cannabis.

A state of emergency has been declared in Serbia for an indefinite period, and the army will be mobilized to help fight the pandemic. Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador have also imposed severe movement restrictions on their populations.

Franco-German border closed

Many countries seek to protect themselves by isolating themselves more and more, even within the European Union, putting the European principle of free movement on hold.

Germany and France will thus partially close their common border by only authorizing the passage to cross-border workers and the transport of goods. Russia, the Czech Republic, Argentina, Colombia and even Guatemala also announced Sunday the total or partial closure of their borders.

In Italy, the authorities in Lombardy (north) are concerned about the capacity of their hospital system to absorb the influx of patients.

In Rome, all the celebrations of Holy Week will be held without the faithful, as will the general audiences of the Pope until April 12.

Queues and containment

In the United States, the new controls for Americans returning from Europe have caused chaos at airports: long queues of several hours.

In Lebanon, the population must remain confined to their homes for two weeks and the Beirut international airport will close from Wednesday until the end of March.

Iran, the third most affected country in the world, has announced 113 additional deaths (724 dead in total, 13,938 cases). Authorities asked residents to cancel all trips and stay at home "and closed the heart of the Shiite Shrine of Machhad.

Morocco has suspended all international flights, but special planes have been authorized to repatriate stranded European tourists.

Chile, now imitated by Peru, has closed its ports to cruise ships, after the quarantine of two of them with around 1,300 people on board.

In the Dominican Republic, authorities organized the repatriation of 3,200 cruise lines stranded on board their ships on Sunday, now banned from docking in the country.

Another ship, with 3,700 people, is under quarantine in New Zealand, a country that has also prohibited cruise ship calls until June 30.

With AFP

The France 24 week summary invites you to come back to the news that marked the week

I subscribe

Download the app

google-play-badge_FR