Coronavirus: state of the world on March 17

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Confinement, return of border controls, closed schools ... with the coronavirus crisis, the lives of hundreds of millions of people are being turned upside down all over the world. While France began a period of 15 days minimum confinement Tuesday, March 17, overview of the measures adopted by the countries to combat the spread of the epidemic.

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" Stay at home " is the message that all European governments send to their people. If the conditions of confinement are particularly strict in Italy or Spain, they are much less so in England, where schools, pubs and theaters remain open.

Poland, Denmark or the Czech Republic are closed to foreign travelers

In Germany, the measures to stem the epidemic have hardened considerably, whereas the coronavirus is spreading in particular in the regions of the West and the South and that its borders are already closed, except for transport of goods and the cross-border workers. The government has announced the closure of non-essential stores and all schools, and recommends that its residents give up their vacation. Bars, theaters and museums will also cease their activity, as well as brothels, in a country where prostitution is regulated by law.

Other countries have also announced the total closure to foreign travelers such as Poland, Denmark, again the Czech Republic.

In Austria, the Ischgl ski resort causing infections in Scandinavia

In Austria, the Tyrolean authorities are accused of negligence for not having immediately closed the famous ski resort of Ischgl, which has become a hotbed for the spread of coronavirus. While one of its servers has tested positive for coronavirus, 22 people are then placed in quarantine, without the bar being closed: it will not be closed until March 10, then the whole station in Ischgl on the 12th, we reports our correspondent in Vienna, Isaure Hiace.

The station in Ischgl, however, would have led to the contamination of hundreds of nationals of Scandinavian countries: of the 1,169 infections in Norway on Monday March 16, 513 would be linked to Austria. A situation all the more embarrassing for the authorities since on March 5, Iceland had identified Ischgl as a risk zone.

200 billion for the Spanish economy

Europeans plan to massively support their economies hard hit by this crisis like Sweden, which announced on Monday March 16 a business support plan of up to 28 billion euros.

Spain, which has become the second European epicenter of the epidemic, is also following suit. The president of the government Pedro Sanchez unveiled on Tuesday March 17 a package of measures totaling 200 billion euros, or around 20% of the country's gross domestic product intended to support the economy and businesses.

Crowded metros in Spain, companies questioned

This Iberian country is on its third day of confinement, after the announcement of the state of emergency on Saturday March 14 and the start of isolation the next day. But many non-core businesses continue to force their employees to move. At rush hour, many metro lines were crowded on Monday March 16 in several cities: a measure incompatible with the sanitary rules repeated by the authorities, reports our correspondent in Barcelona , Élise Gazengel .

Janitors, workers and even call center employees are there. Those on precarious contracts must now choose between losing their job, if they refuse to go to work, or taking a health risk. " We stayed confined all weekend, and there, we take the metro, we go to the street, we take the same elevators at work and we find ourselves in the same spaces ", says a French woman living in Barcelona.

Many denounce an improvisation of companies which struggle to understand the confused rules of containment. " We do not have a mask there because the patients do not come, but we are not immune to contagion between us psychologists, " says a Barcelona psychologist.

In Chile, the epidemic in full social contestation

In Chile, the country in South America with the most cases of coronavirus per capita, 181 cases have been confirmed. The country has closed its borders to foreigners, suspended classes for two weeks in schools and universities, and may take further action in the coming days. Many Chileans also question whether the health system will be able to cope with the epidemic.

The social movement which has continued since October against inequalities in the country was to resume in intensity, but calls are now more and more numerous not to go to demonstrate to avoid the spread of the coronavirus, in particular an independent group of first aid. Some demonstrators still believed a few days ago in a government plot to stop the dispute, said our correspondent in Santiago, Justine Fontaine.

The political parties, both majority and opposition, say they are ready to postpone the date of the referendum for or against the abandonment of the current constitution, polls currently scheduled for April 26. And supporters of the social movement are looking for alternatives: the casserole concerts resumed this Monday evening in the capital, while some recall their demand for a profound reform of the Chilean health system, very unequal.

Peak infections in Southeast Asia : a conservative Islam movement originally?

The Malaise has gone from fifty cases to more than 500 in a week and is preparing to close borders, schools, shops and mosques from Wednesday, March 18. As in South Korea, with the Shincheonji Church or the Evangelical Church in eastern France, it is a proselytizing religious movement that is challenged in Southeast Asia: the conservative Islam movement Tablighi Jamaat, at the origin of the largest Muslim gatherings after the pilgrimage to Mecca, explains our correspondent in Kuala Lumpur , Gabrielle Maréchaux .

On February 27, the movement organized a rally with 14,500 Malaysians, as well as Indonesians, Singaporeans, Bruneians, Filipinos, Thai people and Bangladeshis. So many nationalities exposed to the virus of this cluster before returning home.

Brunei, previously spared the virus, now has 50 cases. Singapore had to close its mosques to prevent the spread of the virus brought back by infected devotees. But it is in Malaysia that the consequences are the most alarming for the moment: devotees have returned to the four corners of the country, and some are difficult to find.

To counter the spread of the virus, with more than 500 cases now, Malaysia has had to resolve these drastic closings.

In Thailand, some French people want to return to help

If Thailand has fewer cases, many French have responded to the call for " repatriation " made by French President Emmanuel Macron, especially after the announcement of the closing Tuesday, March 17, borders of the Schengen area. Several hundred French people then rushed to the French embassy in Bangkok, wanting to return to France as soon as possible, while some confusion reigns: the embassies have not yet received directives on possible repatriations, reports our correspondent in Bangkok, Carole Isoux.

Many are afraid of not being able to return to France once the borders are closed, or of no longer being able to transit through certain countries. Others want to return to their families as quickly as possible in these times of crisis or wish to help the community. " I want to help my comrades, but I can't go out and there are no planes ," explains this Breton emergency doctor, on vacation for a few weeks. The only way would be to take Thai Airlines, at 2,500 euros per ticket, which is not within the means of an emergency doctor . "

French people trapped in the United Arab Emirates

The same story goes further west, where French nationals present in Dubai hastened to obtain clarifications at the French Consulate, fearing that they could not return to France, according to our correspondent in Dubai, Nicolas Keraudren .

" The representative of the consulate told us that there was no repatriation solution for the moment and that we had to use our own means to try to return, including family means ," says Mohammed, whose return ticket for Paris via Beirut has been canceled. However, when we look at direct flights, we end up with tickets at 1,500 euros per person, which is not affordable. "

To reassure the thousands of tourists currently present in the United Arab Emirates, the French Embassy set up a toll-free number on Tuesday March 17 to affirm that France is by their side to help them. At this stage, the hypothesis of a repatriation is examined by the Embassy but the priority remains however to be able to identify the people in emergency situation. Other French embassies and consulates are organized.

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• European Union
• Malaysia
• Chile
• Spain
• Austria
• Thailand
• United Arab Emirates
• Poland