Coronavirus: state of the world pandemic on March 16, 2020

Text by: RFI Follow

More than 169,710 cases of infection and 6,640 deaths were counted Monday in 142 countries while the WHO announces that there are officially more cases in the world than in China. Emmanuel Macron will speak to the French in the evening when the latter are expecting containment measures.

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Emmanuel Macron will speak to the French again on Monday at 8:00 p.m., while the doctors are sounding the alarm and speculation about the confinement of the country is mounting. Prime Minister Édouard Philippe consulted on Monday afternoon the party leaders and presidents of the National Assembly and the Senate concerning the advisability of maintaining the second round of the municipal elections, scheduled for Sunday March 22, but threatened by the coronavirus.

The deputies LR Guy Teissier and LREM Sylvie Charrière announced Sunday March 15 and Monday March 16 to be reached by the coronavirus, which strongly affects the National Assembly, where the date of resumption of works is uncertain and suspended to the announcements of the executive. Fifteen deputies are infected at this stage, but this figure could be underestimated, because it is only the parliamentarians who carried out the screening tests.

At the same time, the 59 department heads of the Paris-Saclay hospital decided to " freeze " their administrative resignation " until the end of the epidemic " of the Covid-19 coronavirus.

The world is looking for a global answer

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, whose country is hit the hardest in Europe, called for " European coordination " in health and the economy. Tuesday, March 17 will take place an extraordinary meeting of the 27 leaders of the European Union . Meanwhile, within the EU itself, many countries seek to protect themselves by becoming increasingly isolated and the European Commission proposes to restrict " non-essential travel " to the European Union.

An extraordinary G7 summit of seven industrialized countries, currently chaired by the United States, took place today, Monday, March 15. The G7 calls for coordination on border management while talking about a human tragedy. The various heads of state say they are ready to do " whatever is necessary " to restore growth.

Faced with the " major global health crisis of our time ", the WHO calls for a " test for each suspected case " of coronavirus, announced this Monday in Geneva the World Health Organization (WHO). There are now " more cases and deaths in the rest of the world than in China, " added the head of the organization during a press conference.

A closed Europe

This Monday evening, Italy counts 2,158 deaths with new 349 deaths. 1,420 of these deaths take place in Lombardy. The contagion is not showing any signs of slowing down, since the health authorities have detected an additional 3,200 positive cases.

The coronavirus epidemic also continued to progress in a stationary Spain with nearly 1,500 new cases in 24 hours. The government warned that the containment of 46 million people could last and then announced that the country was closing its land borders. Portugal, for its part, announces that the country recorded its first death linked to the coronavirus.

In an attempt to stem the spread of the new coronavirus, Germany first decided to carry out checks at its land borders since 08:00 local time. Then it was the “ non-essential ” play areas and stores that had to close while gatherings in places of worship were prohibited. German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier calls on these citizens to stay at home.

In Switzerland , the canton of Geneva, which hosts many international organizations including the European headquarters of the UN, declared a state of emergency on Monday against the coronavirus pandemic, prohibiting all gatherings of more than five people. In Russia , the city of Moscow has announced the closure from March 21 of all schools and will drastically limit most public activities on Tuesday March 17 due to the coronavirus pandemic. While in Ukraine , authorities announced on Monday new measures to combat the spread of the new coronavirus, with the closure of public spaces in Kiev.

First cases in Tanzania, Somalia and Greenland

Tanzania and Somalia recorded their first case of coronavirus on Monday, March 15, while their neighbors in East Africa took new measures to close borders or schools in the face of the growing number of cases in the region. Greenlandic authorities also announced on Monday that they had detected a first case of the new coronavirus in Greenland , a huge Danish autonomous territory in the Arctic. The infected patient lives in the capital Nuuk, and has been placed in solitary confinement at his home, they said.

In Morocco , authorities announced Monday drastic new measures to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, with the closure " until further notice " of cafes, restaurants, theaters and cinemas, but also mosques. For its part, Algeria has decided to suspend from Thursday all its links with all European countries, announced its Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad.

India announces that all museums and monuments, including the famous Taj Mahal palace, will be closed to the public from Tuesday March 17, according to Tourism Minister Prahlad Patel.

After New York, Los Angeles has ordered the closure of bars, restaurants and nightclubs, except for takeout. The governor of the United States of New Jersey imposes a curfew. In Las Vegas, the MGM Resorts group closes 13 casinos and hotels. At the same time, a first clinical trial for a vaccine against the coronavirus is announced in Seattle in the United States . Canadians are invited to " stay at home " by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Canada will close its borders " to people who are not (Canadian) citizens and to those who are not permanent residents of Canada ", with the exception of American citizens, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continued on Monday.

A new outbreak of Church-related contamination has emerged in South Korea: a third of the 135 worshipers at Grace River Church in Seongnam, near Seoul, tested positive for Covid-19.

Stock markets collapse again

The US Federal Reserve (Fed) cut interest rates to zero on Sunday, while participating in concerted global action by central banks to ensure the world is not short of cash. The stock markets nevertheless relapsed on Monday in Asia-Pacific and then in Europe.

US airlines, in dire straits, asked government officials for at least $ 50 billion in aid on Monday to deal with the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.

China has announced the first decline in industrial production in nearly 30 years and a collapse in retail sales. The European Union anticipates a recession in 2020.

The Nigerian Central Bank (CBN) announced on Monday the creation of a fund to support the economy of the most populous country in Africa, hard hit by the effects of the coronavirus, as well as other measures to support the sector of health.

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