The European Union has moved to seal off its external borders in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the area that has now become the centre of the pandemic.
The move came as hard-hit Italy reported an additional 345 people had died from the virus, bringing its death toll to 2,503, and France imposed a draconian lockdown unseen during peacetime.
“The enemy is the virus and now we have to do our utmost to protect our people and to protect our economies,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after the grouping held its second videoconference in a week.
“We are ready to do everything that is required. We will not hesitate to take additional measures as the situation evolves.”
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In the United States, meanwhile, the virus has been reported in West Virginia for the first time, meaning it has now spread to all 50 states. The Trump administration announced a plan to send money to Americans immediately to ease the economic pain resulting from the outbreak.
In other developments on Tuesday:
Italy’s total number of cases rose 12.6 percent to 31,506 – the slowest rate of increase since the first cases were reported on February 21.
Iran, with a death toll of 853 and 14,991 confirmed cases, has temporarily freed about 85,000 prisoners, including those held for political reasons.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has described the coronavirus pandemic as the “defining global health crisis of our time”, and urged countries to test all suspected cases of COVID-19.
Globally, the virus has infected 184,976 people and killed just over 7,500, according to the WHO. Almost 80,000 people have recovered from the infection, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.
I’m Kate Mayberry in Kuala Lumpur with Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.
Here are all the latest updates:
Wednesday 18 March
01:50 GMT – South Korea reports 93 new cases
South Korea has also given an update on its numbers. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there were 93 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, bringing total infections to 8,413.
While slightly more than the 84 recorded on Tuesday, it’s still the fourth day in a row that the country has reported fewer than 100 new infections.
01:43 GMT – China reports 13 new cases and 11 deaths
China’s National Health Commission has released its latest data on the outbreak there – 13 new confirmed cases were reported on Tuesday, down from 21 cases the day before.
That brings the total number of confirmed cases in mainland China to 80,894, the health authority said in a statement.
The death toll from the outbreak in mainland China had reached 3,237 as of the end of Tuesday, after 11 people died the previous day.
Those deaths were all in the central province of Hubei, with the provincial capital of Wuhan accounting for 10 of the fatalities.
The number of imported cases of the virus in mainland China reached 155 as of Tuesday, up 12 from a day earlier.
00:50 GMT – Australia advises citizens not to travel
Australia has urged its citizens not to travel given the risks from the coronavirus as it spreads around the world and heightened border controls that are forcing airlines to cancel flights.
It urged anyone already outside the country to return.
“There may be a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 overseas. You may come in contact with more people than usual, including during long-haul flights and in crowded airports,” the government said in upgrading the advice. “Healthcare systems in some countries may come under strain and may not be as well-equipped as Australia’s or have the capacity to support foreigners.”
For all the updates from yesterday (March 17) please click here.
SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies