Coronavirus updates As it happens (2020-03-22)
Mar 22, 2020
EU to stockpile masks and ventilators for member states
The EU has decided to create a stockpile of medical equipment such as masks and ventilators to help those member countries who are struggling to secure supplies in the battle against coronavirus.
The European Commission said it would finance 90% of the stockpile, which will distributed to countries that need most.
The announcement comes amid criticism that the EU is not doing enough to support the many states dealing with a rising death toll from Covid-19.
In addition, the EU continues to help members bring back their citizens who are stranded abroad because of the outbreak. Up to 75% of the cost of repatriation is covered by the EU, providing the flight repatriates citizens of more than one member state.
Mar 22, 2020
German Chancellor Angela Merkel quarantined
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is in quarantine after meeting a doctor on Friday who has since tested positive for the virus, her spokesman said.
She was told about the contact after a press conference on Sunday in which she announced further measures to try to curb the spread of coronavirus.
Her government banned meetings of more than two people outside work and home for two weeks.
Mar 22, 2020
First US senator tests positive
US Senator Rand Paul has tested positive for the virus, his office has announced.
The Republican from Kentucky is the first member of the upper chamber of Congress to announce he has Covid-19.
Several members of the House of Representatives have already tested positive for the virus.
Mario Diaz-Balart, a Florida Republican, and Utah Democrat Ben McAdams announced they were in self-quarantine earlier this week.
Mar 22, 2020
Why has Italy been so badly affected?
You’ve probably heard by now that Italy has been hit hard by the virus.
It’s now at the epicentre of the outbreak, and the country's president has urged other countries to learn from its struggle to slow the spread of Covid-19.
The number of recorded deaths there recently overtook those in China, where the virus originated last year. Italy reported 651 coronavirus deaths on Sunday and saw its toll for the past month reach 5,476, the highest in the world.
So why has Italy been so badly affected? A number of possible reasons have been mooted.
Some studies point to the large number of elderly people in the worst affected regions, such as Lombardy in the north. Italy also has the oldest population in the world after Japan with some 23% of people there over the age of 65.
This matters because the virus is especially dangerous for older people.
The vast majority of Italy's fatal cases involved elderly people with at least one pre-existing condition, officials say. The average age of the first 3,200 people who died was 78.5.
Experts also say a large proportion of 18-34s live at home with these older people, which increases the risk of the virus spreading.
Another factor that may help explain Italy's crisis is the length of time the virus has been active.
Some health officials believe it arrived in Italy long before the first case was officially confirmed in late February. It likely spread undetected through northern Italy, possibly for several weeks.
Mar 22, 2020
France's Covid-19 lockdown poses conundrum for homeless and migrants
The plight of people living on French streets and in camps has been brought into sharp focus by the coronavirus pandemic. But how to get them to respect the lockdown when they have no homes to go to?
On Friday, police in Lyon, south-eastern France, fined dozens of homeless people for loitering on the streets as they tried to enforce a government lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
The fines drew the ire of rights groups, who put pressure on authorities to overturn the decision. They have promised to do so, but the incident highlights the confusion stemming from an order to enforce self-isolation on people who have no homes.
Mar 22, 2020
Church coronavirus restrictions hit African faithful
Nigerian police with megaphones struggled to keep the faithful in bustling Lagos away from church on Sunday, as worshippers in Africa faced tough restrictions aimed at halting the spread of coronavirus.
"Go home, coronavirus is not a joke," a uniformed officer shouted at a crowd in the tightly-packed slum Makoko.
Authorities in the city of around 20 million have limited religious gatherings to no more than 50 people -- a miniscule number compared to the thousands who regularly pack out churches.
Mar 22, 2020
Czech Republic sends face masks to Italy after China shipment 'stolen'
As world leaders call for solidarity in fighting the coronavirus, a shipment of hundreds of thousands of face masks from China to Italy was allegedly confiscated in the Czech Republic and then stolen, according to Italian media.
The news comes as Italy reports consecutive record single-day death tolls from the coronavirus, far surpassing the total fatalities in China, where the outbreak began in December.
The initial report of the stolen masks was carried by Italian state radio Giornale Rai 1 (GR1), and confirmed by the daily La Repubblica.
Mar 22, 2020
Coronavirus: Cases Hit 24
Ghana has recorded an additional three confirmed coronavirus cases.
This brings the total number of cases to 24.
Mar 22, 2020
World ramps up restrictions as virus cases top 300,000
From Italy to India to the United States, governments rolled out tougher measures to halt the rapid spread of the coronavirus pandemic as global cases surged past 300,000 on Sunday and Asia braced for a possible second wave of infections.
Nearly one billion people are already confined to their homes around the world as countries race to contain the ballooning outbreak by imposing unprecedented lockdown measures, shutting shops and businesses and sealing borders.
The pandemic has sparked fears of a global recession, prompting governments to unleash gigantic emergency measures to avoid an economic meltdown.
Mar 22, 2020
Iran refuses US offer of aid
By BBC News
Iran's Supreme Leader has rejected America's offer of aid to help the country with its battle against coronavirus.
In a televised speech, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the US was Iran's "most evil enemy" and hinted at a conspiracy theory, also voiced by some Chinese officials, that America was responsible for the pandemic.
“I do not know how real this accusation is but when it exists, who in their right mind would trust you to bring them medication?" Mr Khamenei said. "Possibly your medicine is a way to spread the virus more.”
Without offering any evidence, he also alleged that the virus “is specifically built for Iran using the genetic data of Iranians which they have obtained through different means”.
Other Iranian officials have also accused America of hypocrisy for offering aid while refusing to lift heavy sanctions.
Iran has become one of the worst-hit countries in the world since the coronavirus outbreak began, and it has recorded the highest number of cases in the Middle East - more than 21,600. The official death toll has also risen to 1,685. But there are concerns that the actual number of infections and deaths in Iran is higher.
Today, French medical charity MSF said it was establishing a 50-bed emergency centre in Iran's Isfahan province to assist with relief efforts. Alongside Britain and Germany, France is already contributing a medical aid package to Iran, amid rising political tensions.