Singapore reports 23 new cases of coronavirus, taking tally to 455
Read the latest developments of the novel coronavirus worldwide here
Trade at two transit points on India-Bangladesh border halted
Trade at two transit points on the India-Bangladesh border has been halted to curb the spread of novel coronavirus.
"The restrictions will be effective till March 31. After that we will meet to take stock of the situation and decide on the course of action," said Bimal Kumar Ghosh, secretary of the Changrabandha Exporters' Association, The Telegraph India reported.
The two transit points are located at Changrabandha in Cooch Behar and Fulbari in Jalpaiguri district.
US Vice President and wife test negative for coronavirus
US Vice President Pence Mike Pence and his wife have tested negative for coronavirus, his press office said on March 21.
“Pleased to report that the COVID-19 test results came back negative for both Vice President @Mike_Pence and Second Lady @KarenPence,” the vice president’s press secretary Katie Miller tweeted, AFP reported.
Earlier, Pence had confirmed he would be tested for the virus after one of his office staffers contracted the illness.
US offer to help Iran fight coronavirus is strange: Iran's Khamenei
The offer by the United States to help Iran fight the coronavirus pandemic is strange, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on March 22.
"Several times Americans have offered to help Iran to contain the virus. Aside from the fact that there are suspicions about this virus being created by America ... their offer is strange since they face shortages in their fight against the virus," said Khamenei in a televised speech, Reuters reported.
"Iran has the capability to overcome any kind of crisis including coronavirus outbreak," he added.
El Salvador govt places country under 30-day quarantine
El Salvador’s president announced the country would be placed under a 30-day quarantine on March 21 to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The central American nation of 6.4 million people has three confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins global tally, but has not recorded any deaths so far, AFP reported.
“From this evening, from today, we have decided to put a complete home quarantine in place on the entire country for 30 days,” Nayib Bukele said.
Individuals who violate the quarantine would be arrested and transferred to a confinement center, he added.
Bukele said exceptions included people buying food — limited to one person per family — and some key industries.
Police, soldiers, journalists, and health workers can continue to travel to maintain medical care and the supply of basic products.
Taiwan to suspend airline passenger transits through island
Taiwan will stop airline passengers transiting through Taiwan from March 24 until April 7 to help control the spread of the coronavirus, the government said today.
The government separately announced 16 new cases, bringing the total to 169, Reuters reported.
Bangladesh bans foreigners’ entry through land ports
Bangladesh has restricted entry to the foreigners through its all land ports from March 22 to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
A notice signed by Home Ministry's Senior Assistant Secretary Monira Haque made the disclosure on March 21, The Business Standard reported.
The ports are- Benapole, Bhomra, Banglabandha, Hili, Burimari, Roumari, Darshana, Nakugaon, Tamabil, Sheola and Akhaura.
The restriction will remain imposed until further notice.
Russian army to send coronavirus help to Italy
The Russian military will start sending medical help to Italy from today in order to help it battle the new coronavirus after receiving an order from President Vladimir Putin, Russia's Defence Ministry said in a statement.
Putin spoke to Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on March 21, the Kremlin said, saying the Russian leader had offered his support and help in the form of mobile disinfection vehicles and specialists to help the worst hit Italian regions, Reuters reported.
The Russian Defence Ministry said military transport planes would deliver eight mobile brigades of military medics, special disinfection vehicles, and other medical equipment to Italy starting from March 22.
Singapore to ban on all short-term visitors
Singapore will not allow any short-term visitors to transit or enter the city-state in its latest measures to fight the spread of the coronavirus and to conserve healthcare resources for its citizens. The ban takes effect 2359, Monday, local time.
The country will also only allow the return and entry of work pass holders, including their dependents, for those who provide essential services such as healthcare and transport.
The city-state, with a small and open economy, reported its first fatalities from the virus on Saturday and has confirmed 432 cases of the infection, Reuters reported.
Rwanda imposes shutdown, suspends ‘unnecessary movements’
Rwanda has suspended all “unnecessary movements” outside the home and clamped down on travel across its borders, in one of the toughest measures yet imposed in sub-Saharan Africa to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Reuters reported.
“Unnecessary movements and visits outside the home are not permitted,” the government announced in a statement late Saturday, excusing trips for healthcare, food, or banking.
All borders are closed except for the passage of goods and cargo and returning Rwandan citizens, read the statement, which also announced the closure of all but the most essential markets and restrictions on travel between cities and districts.
Rwanda as of Saturday had recorded 17 confirmed cases of coronavirus, the highest number in the East Africa region.
All commercial flights to the country had already been suspended, and all bars closed.
Kuwait imposes partial curfew nationwide
Kuwait will impose a nationwide curfew starting on Sunday from 5 p.m. until 4 a.m. to fight the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, state news agency KUNA said, citing the cabinet.
Kuwait, which went into virtual lockdown on Thursday, has taken some of the most drastic steps in the region to curb the virus' spread, Reuters reported.
The Gulf Arab country, which has reported 176 cases of the virus, said violators of the curfew could face up to three years in jail or fines of up to 10,000 dinars ($32,157). The Kuwait National Guard will aid police in imposing the curfew.
London-returnee woman dies in corona isolation in Sylhet
A London-returnee Bangladeshi female expatriate has died at the coronavirus isolation ward of Shahid Shamsuddin Ahmed Medical Hospital in Sylhet early today.
The women, aged around 60, returned from England on March 4.
Thailand reports 188 new coronavirus cases
Thailand reported 188 new coronavirus infections on Sunday, its largest daily increase, taking the total to 599 cases, a senior health official said.
The majority of the new infections are connected to a previous cluster of cases from a boxing stadium, Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a Public Health Ministry spokesman, told a news conference adding one patient had recovered.
"Most of the new cases were found in Bangkok and were among young people who continue to have social activities, which can lead to more infections," he said urging the public to stay home.
There has been one death in Thailand, Reuters reported.
Cuban doctors head to Italy battle coronavirus
Communist-run Cuba said it dispatched a brigade of doctors and nurses to Italy for the first time this weekend to help in the fight against the novel coronavirus at the request of the worst-affected region Lombardy.
The Caribbean island has sent its "armies of white robes" to disaster sites around the world largely in poor countries since its 1959 revolution. Its doctors were in the front lines in the fight against cholera in Haiti and against ebola in West Africa in the 2010s.
Yet with the 52-strong brigade, this is the first time Cuba has sent an emergency contingent to Italy, one of the world's richest countries, demonstrating the reach of its medical diplomacy.
This is the sixth medical brigade Cuba has sent in recent days to combat the spread of the new disease abroad. It has sent contingents to socialist allies Venezuela and Nicaragua as well as Jamaica, Suriname and Grenada, Reuters reported.
Japan confirms 14 coronavirus cases at medical centre
Japan's Oita prefecture confirmed two new coronavirus infections at a medical centre on Sunday, bringing the total at the facility to 14 and making it a suspected cluster, Kyodo newswire said.
Two female nurses who work at the Oita Medical Center, one in her 20s and another in her 50s, were confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus although they showed only mild symptoms, Kyodo said.
The new cases follow 12 others confirmed at the medical centre, including nurses and doctors, Reuters reported.
The southwestern prefecture is conducting virus tests for about 600 staff and patients who are or were hospitalised, the newswire said, with the view that they may be linked to a cluster.
Stay home for three months: UK tells 1.5 million people
Up to 1.5 million vulnerable people in Britain, identified as being most at risk from the coronavirus epidemic, should stay at home for at least 12 weeks, the government said Sunday.
Those with underlying health conditions such as bone or blood cancers, cystic fibrosis, or who have had an organ transplant have been advised by health officials to do all they can to shield themselves from the virus, including confining themselves at home for a long period, AFP reported.
“People should stay at home, protect our NHS and save lives,” Communities secretary Robert Jenrick said in a statement.
He added that the government was asking “extremely vulnerable individuals” to take “extra steps to shield themselves”.
A statement from the communities department outlined the time frame the government wanted the most vulnerable to follow.
Italy shuts factories as daily toll nears 800
Italy on March 21 shut all non-essential factories after recording another record coronavirus toll that brought its fatalities to 4,825 — over a third of the world's total and a grim reminder that the pandemic remains out of control.
"The decision taken by the government is to close down all productive activity throughout the territory that is not strictly necessary, crucial, indispensable, to guarantee us essential goods and services," Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said in a dramatic late-night TV address, AFP reported.
Colombia confirms first coronavirus death
Colombia's health ministry late on March 21 confirmed the country's first death attributed to the coronavirus, as the disease continues to spread worldwide.
The victim was a 58-year-old man who worked as a taxi driver in the coastal city of Cartagena, the ministry said in a statement, Reuters reported.
"On March 4 he transported Italian tourists in his vehicle and two days later presented the first symptoms," the ministry said, adding the man had untreated hypertension and diabetes.
The patient's sister, a doctor who cared for him and one of his taxi passengers have all tested positive for the virus.
Colombia has so far recorded 210 cases of COVID-19.
The Andean country will enter a nationwide quarantine from March 24 night, as the government seeks to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Colombia will block incoming international flights from Monday and has ordered people aged 70 and over to stay indoors until the end of May. The government has closed terrestrial borders, schools and bars and will halt domestic flights from Wednesday.
The capital Bogota began holding a four-day obligatory quarantine drill on Friday. It will continue straight into the national quarantine.
More than 300,000 people have been infected by the coronavirus worldwide and over 13,000 have died.
Canada's coronavirus death toll rises to 13
Canada's death toll from the coronavirus rose to 13 on Saturday, and the country stepped up efforts to repatriate Canadians stranded overseas as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the situation "unprecedented, exceptional and very difficult."
The government has tested around 83,000 people so far for COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the virus, Canada's deputy chief public health officer Howard Njoo told reporters. There have been 1,099 confirmed cases.
Canada has taken several measures to contain the fast-spreading virus, including closing its border with the United States, which came into effect on Friday night, Reuters reported.
Trudeau, who is himself in self-isolation after his wife tested positive for COVID-19, told reporters on Saturday the government is ramping up testing to detect as many cases as possible.
Spain’s virus death toll shoots past 1,300
Spain on Saturday reported a 32 percent spike in new deaths from the coronavirus, bringing the country total to 1,326 fatalities, the second highest in Europe after Italy.
The number of infections across the country also shot up to 24,926, the health ministry said in a statement.
The capital Madrid remains the hardest hit in the country, according to the tally reported by the ministry.
Australia adds $38bn in stimulus to curb coronavirus
Australia's government will inject A$66.4 billion ($38.50 billion) into the economy as part of a second stimulus package to shelter the country from the financial impact of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday.
The new stimulus, which dwarfs the initial A$17.6 billion ($10.20 billion) in measures announced last week, coincides with a pledge by the government to enforce social distancing rules after many people in Australia appeared to disregard health warnings and flocked to pubs and beaches amid a warm autumn spell.
Australia has recorded seven deaths linked to COVID-19, and registered 1,098 confirmed cases of the virus, Reuters reported.
India starts 14-hour curfew to curb coronavirus spread
India launched a 14-hour long curfew on Sunday to limit the fast-spreading coronavirus epidemic in the country, where 315 people have so far been found to have contracted the disease.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an address to the nation last week urged citizens to stay indoors from 0130 GMT to 1530 GMT - a move that he said would be a crucial test for a country to assess its abilities to fight the pandemic, Reuters reported.
"Let us all be a part of this curfew, which will add tremendous strength to the fight against the COVID-19 menace," Modi tweeted minutes before the curfew commenced. "The steps we take now will help in the times to come," he said in the tweet.
Health experts said India's cases have been growing at a rate seen during the early stages of the outbreak in other countries, which subsequently reported exponential increases in infections.
First coronavirus cases confirmed in the Palestinian
The first two cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the densely-populated Gaza Strip, Palestinian health officials said on Sunday, reportes Reuters.
Two Palestinians who had travelled from Pakistan and entered Gaza through Egypt had tested positive for the virus late on Saturday and have been in quarantine in Rafah, a town near the Egyptian border, since their arrival on Thursday, the Gaza health ministry said.
Africa lockdowns begin as coronavirus cases above 1,000
Lockdowns have begun in Africa as coronavirus cases rise above 1,000, while Nigeria on March 21 announced it is closing airports to all incoming international flights for one month in the continent's most populous country.
Rwanda said all unnecessary movements outside the home are banned for two weeks as of midnight except for essential services such as health care and shopping. The East African nation, which has 17 cases, told all public and private employees to work from home. Tunisia earlier imposed a lockdown as well, AP reported.
Uganda, Eritrea and Angola announced their first cases, meaning 42 of Africa's 54 countries are now affected.
Guam confirms first death due to coronavirus
The US Pacific territory of Guam said on Sunday a 68-year old woman with underlying health issues had died from COVID-19, the first death on the island due to coronavirus.
The office of the governor of Guam urged people to continue to stay indoors and limit social contact. The woman who died was among the 15 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Guam, Reuters reported.
South Korea's new daily coronavirus cases fall to 98
South Korea reported 98 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, maintaining a downward trend in daily infections, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
The daily tally brought national infections to 8,897 while the death toll remained unchanged at 104. It marked the 11th day in a row the country has posted new infections of around 100, compared with the peak of 909 cases recorded on February 29.
But Seoul officials urged facilities to stay closed and citizens to maintain social distancing, as concerns of imported cases and new outbreaks around small clusters persisted, Reuters reported.
Of the new cases, 43 were from the hardest-hit city of Daegu, while 26 were traced to the greater Seoul area where small outbreaks from hospitals and workplaces have been reported.
China sees continued rise in imported coronavirus cases
China on Sunday reported 46 new cases of coronavirus, the fourth straight day with an increase, with all but one of those cases imported from overseas, according to the country's National Health Commission, Reuters reported.
While China has drastically reduced the number of reported domestically transmitted cases - the one reported on Sunday was the first in four days - it is seeing a steady rise in imported cases, mostly from Chinese people returning from abroad.
On Saturday, China reported 41 new coronavirus cases for the previous day, all of them imported.
Among the new cases from abroad, a record 14 were in the financial hub of Shanghai and 13 were in the capital Beijing, a decline from 21 the previous day.
Philippines reports 73 new coronavirus cases, six more deaths
The Philippines reported 73 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 380, the health ministry said on Sunday.
It also announced six more deaths related to coronavirus, bringing total fatalities to 25, Reuters reported.
Health Undersecretary Rosario Vergeire told DZBB radio that the increase in the number of confirmed cases could be "artificial" as the government is only now catching up on a backlog of tests.
Singapore reports 23 new cases of coronavirus, taking tally to 455
Singapore reported 23 new cases of coronavirus on Sunday, mainly imported and taking the city state's tally of the infection to 455, according to a health ministry statement.
Earlier on Sunday, authorities said they will not allow any short-term visitors to transit or enter Singapore, a move aimed at trying to contain the spread of the virus and conserve resources for citizens who are returning from other countries.
New York state becomes COVID-19 epicenter in U.S. with over 10,000 cases
Governor of the US state of New York Andrew Cuomo said on Saturday that a total of 10,356 people in the state had tested positive for novel coronavirus, jumping 3,254 compared with the previo US day.
The Empire State has the US become the first state in the country that reported over 10,000 COVID-19 cases, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.
The governor said the increase of confirmed cases demonstrated the scale of testing in the state.
Spain's coronavirus deaths surpass 1,700, cases over 28,000: reports
Spain's death toll from the coronavirus epidemic soared to 1,720 on Sunday from 1,326 the day before, according to multiple media outlets citing the latest health data.
The number of registered cases in the country rose to 28,572 on Sunday from 24,926 in the previous tally announced on Saturday, the reports added.
Japan confirms 14 coronavirus cases at medical center
Japan's Oita prefecture confirmed two new coronavirus infections at a medical center on Sunday, bringing the total at the facility to 14 and making it a suspected cluster, Kyodo newswire said.
Two female nurses who work at the Oita Medical Center, one in her 20s and another in her 50s, were confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus although they showed only mild symptoms, Kyodo said.
The new cases follow 12 others confirmed at the medical center, including nurses and doctors.
Danish supermarket uses clever price trick to stop hand sanitiser hoarding
The coronavirus situation has prompted panic buying. People are stuffing their carts with cases of toilet papers, dry food, cleaning products, masks and especially hand sanitisers.
As a response to Covid-19 hoarding, Hellerup Foodmarket implemented a price trick to stop consumers from buying too many hand sanitisers.
Coronavirus outbreak could become worse by April: DSCC mayor
Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Sayeed Khokon has said that the coronavirus outbreak may get even worse by the beginning of April.
He said this on Sunday at an emergency meeting of the newly formed committee to prevent coronavirus from spreading in the city corporation area, according to a press release.
"Giving the foreign returnees a chance to move about freely was a fatal mistake. Death tolls could massively increase because of this."
To prevent the coronavirus from spreading in Dhaka South, a stronger committee needs to be formed by reviewing the existing committee, Sayeed recommended.
Iran's death toll from the coronavirus reaches 1,685: official
Iran’s death toll has reached 1,685 with 129 deaths in the past 24 hours, the health ministry’s spokesman told state TV on Sunday, adding that the total number of infected people in Iran had reached 21,638.
“There were 1,028 new confirmed infected cases in the past 24 hours ... and 7,913 people have recovered,” said Kianush Jahanpur.
Iran is the Middle Eastern country most affected by the coronavirus.
Army patrols Malaysian streets as coronavirus cases spike
Malaysia deployed the army on Sunday to enforce a two-week curb on travel in a country that has the highest number of coronavirus cases in Southeast Asia, most of them linked to a mass religious gathering.
The country has so far reported nine deaths and 1,183 infections. Southeast Asia has recorded a total of more than 3,200 positive cases, with the other big centers being Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines.
Indonesia turns athletes village to emergency hospital as coronavirus cases rise
Indonesia has turned its "Athlete's Village" built for the 2018 Asian Games into an emergency hospital with a capacity to hold more than 4,000 patients, authorities said on Sunday, as coronavirus cases and deaths in the country rose.
Four out of 10 towers in the Athlete's Village, located in the country's capital city, have been converted into a medical facility that would house more than 7,000 people, including a coronavirus task force, medical staff and up to 4,208 patients.