Corona epidemic .. the leaders of the crisis in Spain and Britain among the injured and a strict curfew in Mecca

Coronavirus cases have emerged in the ranks of politicians and the elite in charge of managing this crisis in a number of countries, while the total number of infections worldwide is increasing, approaching 800,000 cases.

The death toll from the virus worldwide has exceeded 35,000, while more than 156,000 have recovered, according to updated statistics compiled by Johns Hopkins University of America from several institutions.

And the authorities in Spain announced today, Monday, that the head of the Health Emergency Authority, Fernando Simon - who led the efforts to tackle the crisis with the new Corona virus - was infected after the examination.

It is noteworthy that Simon has been in constant contact with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

However, Maria Jose Sierra - who replaced Simon - heralded the Spanish people at a press conference with a slowdown in the daily rate of infection with the Corona virus since the application of the mass quarantine procedures, and indicated that infections are now increasing by about 12% per day compared to 20% before March 25.

Spain recorded a slight decline in the daily death toll from the new Corona epidemic, as it recorded 812 deaths within 24 hours, after a record number of 838 yesterday.

This brought the total death toll in this country to 7,340, the second highest in the world after Italy.

The death toll from confirmed cases of the Corona virus emerging in Spain exceeded 85,000, an increase of about 6,400, from yesterday.

At the heart of the British government
In Britain, the virus appeared to continue to circulate in the heart of the British government today, as Dominic Cummings, the most prominent adviser to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, was subjected to self-isolation, after symptoms appeared that might indicate his infection within days of Johnson's confirmation.

A spokesman for Downing Street's Prime Minister headquarters confirmed a report in the Daily Mail newspaper that Cummings - one of the most influential figures in the government - had symptoms similar to Covid-19 disease caused by the emerging coronavirus, and that he had isolated himself.

Over the past few days, analyzes have also confirmed that British Health Secretary Matt Hancock has been injured, while Chris Whitney, the government's top health adviser, has been subjected to self-isolation.

In the United States, the number of people infected with the Coronavirus has exceeded 143,000, out of about 741,000 confirmed infections worldwide, and in recent hours the country recorded 322 new deaths, bringing the total number to 2513 deaths.

America authorizes chloroquine
The Food and Drug Administration has allowed the use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to treat the emerging corona virus, but only in hospitals, which are two anti-malarial drugs that US President Donald Trump has high hopes for.

In a statement, the US Department of Health confirmed that the Food and Drug Administration gave the green light "for doctors to distribute and prescribe (these treatments) to adolescent and adult patients with Covid-19 who are hospitalized appropriately when clinical trials are not available or possible."

Earlier, US President Donald Trump suggested that the United States would experience the highest death rate from corona virus within the next two weeks, and announced the extension of the social separation guidelines until the end of next April.

He also stressed during a press conference with members of the Crisis Committee to confront the Corona epidemic that work will be done to ensure that tests are speeded up in order to circumvent and undermine the spread of the virus, and emphasized that the US Army and Army National Emergency Engineering Brigades are working around the clock to build hospitals in the affected areas.

Trump added that there was talk of more than two million deaths, but more than two trillion dollars was prevented.

The Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, accused President Trump of denying the true extent of the spread and severity of the Corona epidemic, and said that this behavior is taking lives.

Arab world
In Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of Interior announced today the application of additional precautionary measures in a number of residential neighborhoods in Makkah Al-Mukarramah and the prevention of curfews in it starting today.

The official news agency quoted an official source in the Ministry of Interior as saying that the neighborhoods of Ajyad, Al-Masafi, Al-Masfalah, Al-Hujun, Al-Nakasa and Hawsh Bakr were isolated in Mecca.

The source pointed out that these neighborhoods will be "prevented from entering or exiting them and preventing roaming throughout the day 24 hours, starting from three in the afternoon until another notice."

Meanwhile, the Saudi Ministry of Health announced the registration of 154 new cases of the emerging coronavirus, taking the total infections in the country to 1453 cases.

A ministry spokesman said at a press conference that no deaths were recorded today, while 49 patients recovered, bringing the total recovery to 115.

No parades for Earth Day
In Palestine, the spokesman for the Ministry of Interior confirmed that Earth Day will not be revived by marches, for the first time due to the outbreak of the virus.

In Jordan, the army began this morning to evacuate about five thousand people who were subjected to compulsory quarantine in hotels in Amman and the Dead Sea, after completing 14 days as a precaution and to ensure that they are not infected with the Corona virus.

Dubai Expo
Reuters news agency reported that the steering committee of the Expo 2020, to be held in the emirate of Dubai, recommended that the global exhibition be postponed for a year due to the global epidemic of the Corona virus.

And organizers' estimates last year were that 11 million visitors from outside the country would attend the event, which includes wings from 192 countries.

The death of the first doctor in Egypt
The Doctors Syndicate in Egypt announced today the death of the first Egyptian doctor after he was infected with the new Corona virus.

The syndicate wrote on its official page on Facebook, "The first martyr for the duty of doctors in Egypt, Ahmed El-Louah from Port Said under the protection of God at the Isolation Hospital in Ismailia after he was infected with the Corona virus."

He was a professor and head of the Department of Medical Analysis at Al-Azhar University, and he died at the age of 57.