Daily US Times: For the first time since the coronavirus outbreak began, China has reported no new domestic cases. This a remarkable news from China today.
The China Daily newspaper reported that the lockdown in the Chinese city of Wuhan could be lifted once there are no new cases for 14 days.
34 new cases confirmed, all on Wednesday. Most of the country’s recent cases have been people who came in from other countries – classified as imported cases. As the country reported no domestic cases, seems situation is under control there.
Here’s a full list of where they came from by state media outlet Global Times.
Meanwhile, Russia reported its first coronavirus death. The patient was a 79-year-old woman with coronavirus and other underlying health issues died from pneumonia.
Though China has reported no domestic cases, Europe is facing the most critical time now as more and more cases and deaths have been reported from the continent. The European Central Bank (ECB) launched an emergency €750bn ($820bn; £700bn) package to ease the impact of the coronavirus pandemic
Here’s a full list of where they came from by state media outlet Global Times:
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced that his country is set to ban all non-residents from entering the country. The order comes into effect from 21:00 local time on Friday (10:00 GMT).
New Zealand has also announced the same measure. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that she is closing borders to all foreigners from midnight on Thursday.
Qantas Airways has canceled all international flights as it struggles during the coronavirus pandemic, as it joins the growing list of airlines canceling flights.
Greg Waldron of Flight International said ”What we are seeing is unprecedented. Along with the safety issue, there is a huge disincentive to travel with confusion over quarantine and visa rules.”
Olympics will still go ahead?
Despite growing concerns among athletes who say it’s too risky to go there, Japan is still planning to host the Olympics as scheduled from July 24 to August 9.
Many other sports events have been postponed or canceled.
The International Olympic Committee meanwhile said it held “constructive” talks with athlete representatives about the virus crisis.
President Thomas Bach insisted that “everybody realized that we still have more than four months to go” until Tokyo 2020.
British four-time Olympic rowing gold medallist Matthew Pinsent criticized Bach’s comments on Twitter. ‘I’m sorry Mr Bach but this is tone deaf. […] Call it off.”
20,000 UK military personnel to go standby
The UK’s defense ministry said, up to 20,000 British military service personnel will be put on standby to help tackle the coronavirus outbreak.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that schools, colleges, and nurseries are to shut from Friday until further notice.
The UK death toll increased to 104 as confirmed cases rose to 2,626 on Wednesday, from 1,950 on Tuesday.
The only virus-free continent…
Antarctica remains the only virus-free continent in the world right now. There are several teams of international researchers are working on the continent now but no infections or symptoms have been reported so far.
There are more than 1,000 researchers from different countries on Antarctica throughout the year. The closest hospital with an intensive care unit is thousands of miles away in Chile.
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