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 theirhomes around the world as countries race to contain the ballooning outbreak byimposing unprecedented lockdown measures, shutting shops and businesses andsealing borders.
The pandemic has sparked fears of a global recession,prompting governments to unleash gigantic emergency measures to avoid aneconomic meltdown.
More than 12,000 people have died from the virus worldwide,with the situation increasingly grim in Italy, the new epicentre of the diseasewhich first emerged in central China late last year before marching across theglobe.
Countries in Asia now worry infections could once againmount on their shores as travellers return from badly-hit parts of Europe, acontinent under siege by the pandemic, with more than 150,000 declared cases.
Italy has now reported more deaths than mainland China andthird-placed Iran combined, and it has a death rate of 8.6 percent amongconfirmed COVID-19 infections — significantly higher than in most othercountries.
The death toll in the Mediterranean nation of 60 millionspiked to more than 4,800 — over a third of the global total.
Lockdown measures have done little to stem new infectionsand deaths and the government announced the closure of all non-essentialfactories in a late-night TV address.
Similar shut-in measures have been rolled out in badly-hitSpain and France, where helicopters and drones were being deployed to ensurecrowds do not gather in parks or along river banks.
Spain saw a sharp spike in deaths again Sunday — a 30percent rise bringing total fatalities to 1,720 — while France saw its deathtoll mount to 562 on Saturday.
Britain is also ramping up its response in the wake ofsteadily rising cases and deaths after the government was criticised forfailing to take stricter measures sooner.
China reported its first local infection in four days onSunday. While the number of cases in the mainland has slumped dramaticallysince the crisis began, there are fears in Asia of “imported” casesfrom other hotspots like Europe.
Thailand reported its highest daily rise in cases, takingits total to nearly 600, while Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia have alsoreported a spike in cases after numbers had plateaued earlier.
Tighter restrictions are now in place elsewhere in Asia,with Australia shutting its borders to foreigners and non-residents andPakistan suspending international flights.
More than a third of Americans were meanwhile adjusting tolife in various phases of lockdown, including in New York, Chicago and LosAngeles. Other parts of the United States are expected to ramp up restrictionsas well.
“This is a time of shared national sacrifice, but alsoa time to treasure our loved ones,” US President Donald Trump said.
In neighbouring New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo warned thatthe disruption is likely to last for months, not weeks.
The pandemic has bludgeoned global stock markets, and theUnited States — the world’s biggest economy — is preparing a huge emergencystimulus package that could top USD 1 trillion.
Several European countries have already announced their ownstimulus packages to stave off economic collapse.
The coronavirus has infected more than 1,100 across Africatoo, where healthcare systems are limited and social distancing measures aredifficult in crowded cities.
The Middle East also remains on high alert, where Iran —which suffered a major outbreak — reported 129 deaths on Sunday. But theIslamic Republic has refused to join the rest of the world in imposing heavyrestrictions.
El Salvador joined several central and South Americancountries in imposing quarantine measures on Saturday, as Colombia announcedits first coronavirus death.While the elderly andthose with pre-existing medical conditions are the hardest hit by the virus,the WHO has warned that young people are also vulnerable.