Countries around the world are shutting down and demanding far-reaching restrictions on their lives in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Many countries fear that an immense number of critically ill people will soon collapse their health care system.
Berlin (dpa) - The corona virus now has virtually all regions of the world under control. In many places, weekend public life was further restricted to slow the spread of Sars-CoV-2.
Fears are growing in countries around the world that one's own health care system could quickly reach its limits with a sudden number of critically ill people.
According to Johns Hopkins University in the United States, which collects government-reported coronavirus data, the number of people infected worldwide was 286,816 on Saturday. So far, just under 12,000 people have died from the Covid-19 lung disease caused by the virus.
EAST ASIA
China - as the starting point for the virus, the country most affected to date with more than 81,000 cases - did not report any new infections that had been transmitted domestically for the third day in a row. However, according to the Health Commission, there are 41 new "imported" cases, i.e. travelers who have returned from abroad. China has launched measures to prevent a second wave of infection by immigrants. For example, a quarantine was ordered for anyone wishing to travel to the capital from abroad.
Fear of a second infection phase also increased in the island state of Taiwan, east of the Chinese mainland. 18 Taiwanese who have recently returned from trips to different countries around the world have Covid-19, said Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC). The patients are of different ages, from people in their 20s to 70s. In addition, around 3,300 citizens were in quarantine at home after returning from abroad.
SOUTH EAST ASIA
Southeast Asian countries also stepped up their measures against virus spread. In Thailand's capital Bangkok, shopping centers and restaurants should remain closed from Sunday. All of the city's educational institutions and exhibitions also closed. The low-cost airline Thai AirAsia has announced that it will suspend all international flights in Thailand from March 22 to April 25.
In Malaysia, the Ministry of Health reported a further surge in cases of infection. 90 of the newcomers were due to infection during an Islamic ceremony near Kuala Lumpur in late February, in which an estimated 15,000 people from all over Southeast Asia took part. After the number of cases quadrupled within a week, far-reaching closings and exit restrictions apply since Wednesday. From Sunday, the army should support the police in the controls. A general ban on leaving the country until the end of the month caused uncertainty. This would also have affected the approximately 300,000 Malaysians who commute to work in the city-state of Singapore in the south of the Malaysian peninsula every day. On Friday, the government ruled that those with a job could leave abroad.
Singapore must face further deaths, warned Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong after the first Covid 19 deaths were reported in the metropolis on Saturday. Wealthy Singapore, one of the world's most important hubs in terms of economy and aviation, had tightened its border controls and restricted travel due to the growing number of infections in the surrounding countries. Rigorous health screens were carried out for the citizens, and thousands have been placed under a strictly monitored quarantine as a precaution. The city-state is also afraid that a sudden rush of seriously ill patients could bring its health system, which is particularly popular among Malaysians and Indonesians, to its knees.
According to Johns Hopkins University, a total of 2645 people were infected in the ten countries of the Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) by Saturday.
The multi-island states of Indonesia and the Philippines have so far reported only a few hundred fewer corona cases in relation to their many million inhabitants.
According to the Philippine Ministry of Health, the country recently received 100,000 virus test kits donated by China, South Korea and Brunei. These would now be distributed to test possible suspected cases. A month-long curfew has been in effect on the main island of Luzon for almost a week. Around half of the population lives in Luzon, where the capital is Manila, with almost 60 million people. Foreigners are no longer allowed to enter the country unless they have local spouses or children.
Vietnam suspended all international flights. In addition, all travelers should first go into 14-day isolation from Saturday.
SOUTH AND FRONT ASIA
Bangladesh ceased flights to several countries by the end of March. In addition, 14,000 recently returned citizens were instructed to maintain a two-week domestic quarantine. Campaign events and pilgrimages were canceled for an indefinite period. Bangladesh's schools are also closed until the end of the month.
Other countries also largely stopped international air traffic, including Pakistan and Turkey. According to the Anadolu news agency, 46 more countries can no longer be flown to from the latter, after Ankara has already banned flights to 22 countries, including Germany. It is unclear how long the flight barrier should be in effect. In Turkey, where confirmed coronavirus cases are now almost doubling daily, most public places have been closed and sporting events and prayer meetings have been canceled. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent an audio message on Twitter to the people, "not to leave the house except for essentials."
AMERICA
In the US, according to the New York Times, one in five citizens should be curfewed by the end of the week. After California, the states of New York and Illinois recently announced far-reaching measures to slow the spread of the virus, instructing millions of residents to stay at home, among other things.
AFRICA
Cases of Sars-CoV-2 have now been detected in 38 countries in Africa, a mostly white spot on the world infection map for weeks. Congo and Zimbabwe reported their first corona deaths on Saturday.
NY Times on US curfews