Coronavirus: the state of the world facing the pandemic on Friday, March 20

Text by: RFI Follow

The new coronavirus pandemic continues to rage around the world. More than 10,000 people died, half of them in Europe. Nearly 250,000 people are infected worldwide. The pandemic is accelerating every day, and the measures taken by each country to stop it are becoming more and more restrictive.

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Italy exceeds 4,000 dead

The coronavirus epidemic still seems far from being contained in Italy which counted this Friday 627 people died of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, a new record which brings the total toll beyond 4,000 deaths in the peninsula , the most affected country in the world, announced the civil protection on Friday.

It is still the Milan region, Lombardy, where hospitals are overwhelmed, which pays the heaviest price, with 381 additional deaths (2,549 in total). In the country, nearly 6,000 additional cases have been detected, again a figure never reached before.

Belgium closes its borders

Belgium decided on Friday to close its borders for any " non-essential " movement in order to stem the spread of the new coronavirus, announced Interior Minister Pieter De Crem.

Concretely, the traffic of freight and trucks remains authorized, as well as the return of Belgian nationals from abroad, said the minister. The decision, he said, was taken after " intensive contact " with the five countries concerned: France, Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom.

Spain turns sad

Spain has passed the barrier of 1,000 coronavirus deaths this Friday and is preparing for the worst by transforming trade show pavilions into hospitals, as it approaches 20,000 cases.

" The country has registered 1,002 deaths, " said director of the health alert center Fernando Simon. The death toll increased tenfold in seven days. And the numbers of confirmed cases continue to rise, as the country multiplies the tests. " Nationally we have 19,980 cases (...), an increase of 16.5% " in 24 hours, he said.

Spain finds itself in the sinister leading group of the countries which have confirmed the most cases, behind China and Italy and just ahead of Iran.

Actualización # Covid_19

Consulta aquí el informe de la situación ➡️https: //t.co/Y0HdcYp5va #EsteVirusLoParamosUnidos pic.twitter.com/BVWaQc48aP

In Germany, 150 billion to face the crisis

The most populous regional state, Bavaria (13 million inhabitants) was the first to decree this Friday the containment of its population. " We are going to reduce the whole of public life to almost nothing ," announced the Bavarian head of government, Markus Söder.

As in many other countries, Bavarians can now, for at least two renewable weeks, leave their homes more than to go to work, do food shopping or go to the pharmacy or the doctor.

In addition, Germany is preparing to adopt a special budget of around 150 billion euros to deal with the coronavirus crisis, according to the financial daily Handelsblatt . This budget will be financed entirely by debt and 50 billion will be dedicated to an emergency fund intended for small businesses.

Austria remains confined

" The containment measures will be extended until April 13, " said Austrian Prime Minister Sebastian Kurz. He added that a “ gradual ” lifting of the restrictions would then be envisaged. They relate in particular to all trips deemed not essential, the ban on gathering, the closure of schools, shops, bars and restaurants.

In Austria , 2,203 cases of patients with the new coronavirus were identified on Friday, including 6 deaths for a population of 8.8 million inhabitants.

Wir haben uns darauf verständigt, dass die Maßnahmen bis Ostermontag (13.4.) Verlängert werden. Jede & jeder, der die Maßnahmen mitträgt, ist ein Lebensretter & schützt sich selbst, seine Familie & leistet einen Beitrag dazu, dass wir die gesamte Bevölkerung schützen. # COVID19

Ireland releases prisoners

The number of new daily cases is increasing every day in Ireland but the authorities estimate that they are only at the very beginning of the epidemic. 15,000 cases are expected by the end of the month. To avoid this catastrophic scenario, measures are taken day after day like reducing the number of prisoners in the prisons, reports our correspondent in Dublin, Emeline Vin .

224 convicts left the remand centers in ten days, or 5% of the prison population, as part of a strategy of the prison services to fight against the dissemination of Covid-19.

These approximately two hundred detainees do not benefit from a remission of sentence. They are convicted of crimes, deemed non-violent, and pose no threat to society, according to the prison services. Their release is temporary. As everywhere, prisons are worried about becoming epidemic mini-homes, confined spaces, with sometimes limited access to hot water and soap or hydroalcoholic gel.

They also fear disturbances in their pregnant when visits have been limited, one per week and per prisoner, fifteen minutes maximum, and without children. This fear of disturbing public order extends to Irish society as a whole. The national police brought into its ranks, this Friday, 300 new recruits, a level never equaled in ten years.

Poland monitors

In Poland, the peak of the epidemic is still far away according to the Minister of Health. So far, just under 400 cases have been confirmed and 6 people have died, the last of whom was only 27 years old.

On the spot, the people who may have been in contact with the sick, as well as the hundreds of thousands of Poles who have returned to the territory since last Friday are quarantined for at least two weeks. An application launched this Friday will monitor them, find out if they respect their quarantine, reports our correspondent in Warsaw, Thomas Giraudeau .

Polish police will analyze tens of thousands of selfies in the coming days. It will randomly send a message to the quarantined people. They must take a picture and send it via an application, within 20 minutes of receiving the message. Geolocated, people must be at the address they have indicated.

The objective is to prevent the police from spending their days doing rounds and door-to-door checks to verify that the people under quarantine are locked up in their homes. They will go only to those who have not sent photos within the 20 minutes allowed, and who do not answer the phone.

The fine is steep for those who leave their homes, 5,000 zlotys, or about 1,100 euros. Some even risk up to 8 years in prison if they transmitted the virus to others during their release.

Latin America barricades itself

Each Latin American country is stepping up its efforts to try to stop the spread of the new coronavirus. " It is time for us to understand that we must watch over the health of Argentines, " announced President Alberto Fernandez , before announcing the confinement of his country.

Argentina announced quarantine of its entire population from this Friday until the end of the month. It is the second country, after Venezuela, to take such a decision. In Brazil , confinement is not on the agenda but the State of Rio closes restaurants, bars, access to beaches for at least two weeks from this Saturday. Europeans, Australians and nationals of certain Asian countries can no longer return to the country.

Back from Spain, an Uruguayan spreads the coronavirus to a marriage. It is believed to have infected 44 people.

In Bolivia the Covid-19 weighs on the organization of the presidential election of May 3. For now, the government has decreed a curfew, as in Peru which has abolished all international flights. In Colombia, no more planes will land for 30 days from this Monday.

Indigenous communities and peasant organizations are calling on the government and armed groups to a truce to prevent the spread of the virus on their territories.

Aborigines isolated in Australia

To try to stem the spread of the coronavirus , Australia imposes as of this Friday the closing of the zones where the Aborigines live. While the country has at this stage 785 cases of contamination with coronavirus, the Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison announced the closure this Friday of the areas populated by the Aborigines.

It restricts movements towards these isolated territories in order to protect its indigenous communities. Australian authorities have followed the recommendations of public health experts. They consider it essential to prevent the arrival of the epidemic in these territories marked by poverty, the prevalence of chronic diseases, overcrowding in housing and the lack of hospitals often distant from several hundred km.

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• UK
• Austria
• Uruguay
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