US President Donald Trump declared a national state of emergency as the World Health Organization named Europe the new epicenter of the coronavirus and more countries scrambled Saturday to slow the expanding pandemic by shutting borders and closing businesses.
Saudi Arabia said it would suspend international flights while Russia announced plans to close its land borders with Poland and Norway to foreigners
as COVID-19 spreads relentlessly around the world.
That followed a rally on Wall Street Friday as financial markets endured a rollercoaster ride after a week of spectacular losses triggered by fears that
the deadly outbreak will lead to a global recession.
“To unleash the full power of the federal government, I’m officially declaring a national emergency,” Trump said, announcing $50 billion in federal funds to battle the contagion.
The measure came as infections and deaths soared in Europe, with WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus saying the continent now had “more reported cases and deaths than the rest of the world combined, apart from China.”
He described it as a “tragic milestone”, and warned it was impossible to say when the virus would peak globally.The overall death toll jumped to more than 5,000, including nearly 1,500 in Europe, with total infections topping 140,000 internationally, according to an
AFP tally based on official sources.
Italy, Spain as well as Iran — which have emerged as virus hotspots — all clocked a dramatic rise in cases and fatalities in the past 24 hours, while
infections were reported in Kenya and Ethiopia, the first in east Africa.
Venezuela declared a “state of alert” after confirming its first two cases, and Colombia closed its border with Venezuela and restricted the entry of
foreigners who have been to Europe and Asia in the last 14 days.
Governments have been pushing through tough restrictions to contain the spread of the disease and unveiling big-bang emergency funding plans to try to
limit the economic damage.
Trump said the US would buy large quantities of crude oil for strategic reserves and waived student loan interest during the crisis, stressing that the
“next eight weeks were critical.”
The US House of Representatives also overwhelmingly passed a virus relief package early Saturday for Americans hit by the outbreak.
Leaders of the G7, the world’s richest economies, will hold an extraordinary summit via video conference on Monday to discuss the pandemic.
The virus has torn up the sporting and cultural calendar, with top-flight events from Broadway to English Premier League football scrapped. Japan has
furiously denied any question mark over the Tokyo Olympics after Trump said “maybe they postpone it for a year”.
Source: AFP
