The death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in Italy has jumped in the last 24 hours by 189 to 1,016, a rise of 23 percent, the country’s Civil Protection Agency said on Thursday.
The total number of cases in Italy, the European country hardest hit by the virus, rose to 15,113 from a previous 12,462, an increase of 21.7 percent.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a pandemic as Italy tightened its strict quarantine and the United States imposed a ban on flights to Europe.
More than 4,613 people have died and over 126,000 have been infected globally, according to the WHO. About 68,000 victims have recovered, according to Johns Hopkins University, which is tracking the virus.
More:
The escalating coronavirus emergency has sent stocks crashing to their worst losses in 30 years.
Investors continued to bail out in the US, Europe, Asia and the Middle East amid travel restrictions and business shutdowns, that are bringing economies to a halt.
Here are the latest updates:
Friday, March 13
01:37 GMT Friday – Japan says Olympics on track despite Trump’s suggestion to postpone
Japan is on track to hold the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games as planned, top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said on Friday, after US President Donald Trump suggested a possible delay of a year.
Suga did not confirm or deny whether Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe discussed Trump’s comments in a phone call earlier on Friday.
The two leaders spoke for about 50 minutes about the coronavirus pandemic, among other topics, Suga said.
A senior government spokesman is set to brief on the talks shortly.
“They did not talk about travel restrictions between Japan and the United States while I was present,” he said, adding he left the talks before they ended.
00:27 GMT Friday – Saudi Arabia detects 17 cases of coronavirus, total at 62
At least 11 of the new cases of coronavirus infections in Saudi Arabia involve Egyptian citizens [File: Amr Nabil/AP]
Saudi Arabia detected 17 new cases of coronavirus, 11 of whom were Egyptians, state news agency (SPA) said on Friday.
This brings the total of cases detected in the kingdom to 62, SPA added.
23:55 GMT Thursday – Major Mexican university to suspend classes until further notice
Mexico’s Tecnologico de Monterrey university said on Thursday it would suspend all academic events and classes at its campuses from next week until further notice to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
The university, one of the most important in Mexico, said in a statement the suspension would take effect from March 17. It would review the measures after the week of the “Semana Santa” Easter holidays, which ends on April 12, the university added.
Separately, Mexico’s National Autonomous University (UNAM), said it would be tightening preventative measures against the spread of coronavirus, but was not suspending classes yet.
22:00 GMT Thursday – Portugal orders schools, nightclubs shut due to coronavirus
On Thursday, Portugal’s government ordered the shutdown all schools nationwide starting on Monday to contain the coronavirus epidemic until further evaluation on April 9, Prime Minister Antonio Costa said in a televised address.
He also said cruise-ship passengers would not be allowed to disembark except those residing in Portugal. Nightclubs in the country will be shut, and there will be capacity restrictions on entry to shopping malls and restaurants.
21:55 GMT Thursday – Belgian government says schools, restaurants, clubs to close due to coronavirus
Belgium’s government ordered schools, cafes, restaurants and some shops to close due to the coronavirus, following decisions by France and other European countries to limit all but essential activities.
The measures take effect from Friday at midnight central European time and run until April 3, although schools are set to be shut for five weeks, including during the Easter holidays, Belgium’s caretaker Prime Minister Sophie Wilmes told a news conference.
“There is no lockdown,” Wilmes told reporters, stressing that supermarkets and pharmacies would remain open and other shops would only be required to close on weekends. “We want to avoid the Italian situation and avoid lockdowns.”
I’m Ted Regencia in Kuala Lumpur.
You can read all the updates from yesterday (March 12) here.