Italy has surpassed China as the country with the most deaths fromcoronavirus as California, home to more than 39 million people, was placedunder lockdown in the most drastic containment measure yet by a US state.
President Donald Trump said meanwhile that the United States isfast-tracking antimalarial drugs for use as a treatment and lashed out at Chinafor not informing the world earlier about the original outbreak.
China for its part reported on Friday a second day with no new domesticcases since the virus appeared in the central city of Wuhan in December, beforespreading worldwide.
While there was a glimmer of hope in China, several nations tightenedtheir borders and imposed lockdowns, trapping tens of millions of people intheir homes.
And the UN chief warned “millions” could die if the virusspreads unchecked around the globe.
World leaders also unleashed nearly a trillion dollars to prop up theteetering global economy, only to see the once-in-a-century pandemic seeminglyspiral further out of control.
The death toll soared in Europe as Italy announced another 427fatalities on Thursday, taking its total to 3,405, according to a tallycompiled by AFP from official sources.
China has officially reported 3,245 deaths from the virus, which cancause respiratory failure, particularly in the elderly.
France reported 108 more deaths over the last 24 hours, bringing thetotal number to 372.
Globally, the death toll from the virus has risen to over 9,800 withmore than 232,650 cases in 158 countries and territories, according to the AFPtally.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Thursday of the virus’spotentially devastating effects.
“If we let the virus spread like wildfire — especially in the mostvulnerable regions of the world — it would kill millions of people,”Guterres said.
The number of infections and deaths in the rest of the world hassurpassed those in China, which appears to have staunched the virus with strictmeasures including a complete quarantine of Wuhan since January.
Trump, who has come under fire for his response to the crisis, chargedThursday that the world was paying for China’s lack of transparency about theoutbreak there.
“It could have been contained to that one area of China where itstarted. And certainly the world is paying a big price for what they did,”he said.
Trump said US authorities were fast-tracking antimalarials chloroquineand hydroxychloroquine for use as a coronavirus treatment, making themavailable “almost immediately.” The drugs are synthetic forms ofquinine, which has been used to treat malaria for centuries.
As the toll surged in Italy, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said thenational lockdown, which has been copied around Europe, would be prolonged toApril 3.
France also mooted extending its two-week lockdown ordered this week byPresident Emmanuel Macron, as the interior minister blasted “idiots”who flout home confinement rules and put others at risk.
In Argentina, President Alberto Fernandez announced a “preventativeand compulsory” lockdown from Friday to March 31, while Brazil’s Rio deJaneiro state will close its famed beaches as well as restaurants and bars for15 days to try to contain the pandemic.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said the state’s lockdown would beginThursday evening in a “recognition of our interdependence.” InBritain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the country could “turn thetide” on coronavirus within 12 weeks — but only if people heed advice toavoid social contact.
The disease continued to hit high-profile figures with EU Brexitnegotiator Michel Barnier, Monaco’s Prince Albert II and at least a half-dozenNBA players in the United States among those testing positive.
Also falling victim to the pandemic was the G7 summit in June, which wasmeant to be hosted by Trump at the Camp David presidential retreat nearWashington. The group of seven wealthy democracies will now meet viavideoconference.
With countries paralysed by the pandemic and stock markets imploding,policymakers this week unleashed a wave of measures to shore up the globaleconomy.
The European Central Bank announced a 750-billion-euro bond-buyingscheme, dubbed the “big bazooka.” In the United States, TreasurySecretary Steven Mnuchin urged Congress to pass a USD 1-trillion emergencystimulus package.
Wall Street finished higher Thursday following a volatile session asinvestors weighed the government stimulus measures against some of the firstdata pointing to a sharp US economic slowdown.
European stocks staged a rebound on the stimulus news, although Asianmarkets took another beating.
The battle is only just beginning across the rest of the world, with theshadow of the virus lengthening across Africa.
The Nigerian mega-city of Lagos announced it would shut its schoolswhile Burkina Faso confirmed the first death in sub-Saharan Africa.
Russia reported its first death and even the Pacific nation of Fiji saidit had its first case.
Countries are taking increasingly drastic steps to stem infections, withAustralia and New Zealand banning non-residents from arriving.