Corona: China reports 31 new infections, but there are serious doubts about the numbers

The corona virus is a global issue. New China numbers are also worrying. Protective masks are now mandatory in Bulgaria.

• The corona virus * spreads worldwide. The situation is getting worse in many countries.
• In Italy and France, doctors have to make inhumane decisions.
• The pandemic is changing the image of the streets.
• Our guide through reporting: latest case numbers, symptoms * and possible protective measures *.

Update at 8.40 p.m .:

In Bulgaria, wearing a protective mask in public is now mandatory. In the fight against

the corona virus

Health minister Kiril Ananiew ordered the regulation for closed rooms as well as in open areas on Monday. The minister did not specify the type of mask. Protective masks are in short supply in Bulgaria's pharmacies. If they are available, a customer may only buy up to five of them.

In the poorest EU country , the government decided on Monday to provide financial support to companies affected by the coronavirus lockdown. The state then plans to pay 60 percent of the employees' pay so that they are not fired. Retail, transport, the hotel and catering trade, as well as the areas of culture and tourism can make use of this.

Officials have identified 359 coronavirus cases in the Balkans, including eight deaths . However, it is assumed that the number of infected people is much higher.

Corona: China reports 31 new infections, but there are serious doubts about the numbers

Update at 9.40 a.m .: According to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, residents of the two largest cities in Vietnam have to prepare for curfews because of the corona virus pandemic. According to the authorities in the capital Hanoi and in Ho Chi Minh City in view of increasing numbers of infected people to revise their plans to combat the virus and "prepare for lockdown scenarios," he said on Monday.

On Saturday, the authorities in Hanoi isolated one of the country's largest hospitals because of multiple infections with the virus. So far, the health authorities in the Southeast Asian country have reported 194 cases of lung disease Covid-19, but so far there have been no deaths.

Corona worldwide: China reports 31 new infections, but there are doubts about the numbers

6.29 a.m . : China has reported 31 further infections with the lung disease Covid- 19. As the Beijing Health Commission announced on Monday, four other patients were also killed . With 30 cases, a large part of the infection was detected again in people who entered China.

For weeks now, there have been almost exclusively such "imported cases" in the People's Republic. By contrast, the spread within the country has been brought under control, according to official information. However, the authorities do not provide information on how many people are tested every day.

In addition, it seems unclear to what extent the official statistics reflect the true situation and how high the number of unreported cases is.

According to figures from the health commission, 3304 people in China have been killed by the virus so far. A total of 81,470 infected people were registered on the Chinese mainland, of which almost 76,000 have so far recovered.

The demand for respiratory masks is currently increasing enormously worldwide. US buyers are increasingly trying to outbid European masks. Meanwhile, the situation in Germany continues to worsen. 17 people from a nursing home in Wolfsburg died after being infected with the coronavirus.

Coronavirus worldwide: number of new infections in South Korea decreased again

Update of March 30, 2020, 5.53 a.m .: The number of new infections with the coronavirus registered in South Korea has dropped again to less than 100. On Sunday, 78 people tested positive for the Sars CoV-2 pathogen , the health authorities said on Monday. The total number reached 9661. The number of deaths related to the virus was given as 158.

There was a clear downward trend in new infections this month compared to February. However, the authorities continue to worry about local clusters and “imported” cases.

Now the corona virus is claiming another prominent victim: US country legend Joe Diffie died of the corona virus.

In Austria, the Corona measures were taken into account after two weeks. Chancellor Kurz explains how to proceed and how to proceed with the corona restrictions. *

Corona crisis: More than 650,000 cases worldwide - Five million respiratory masks confiscated in Saudi Arabia

News from March 29:

Update at 19:58: A week after the first coronavirus infection in Syria was announced, the civil war country has now reported the first death related to the lung disease . The health ministry announced on Sunday that a woman had died immediately after being hospitalized. A test showed that she was infected with the corona virus. However, the ministry did not disclose exactly where the patient died or how old she was.

While the corona crisis is getting worse in many other parts of the world, traffic is gradually flowing again in China's epicenter of the pandemic after a long standstill: tens of thousands of people returned to the city ​​of Wuhan after the resumption of train connections at the weekend. On Saturday alone, 60,000 people who had been stranded elsewhere due to the blockade would have entered the city again, the news portal The Paper reported , citing the railways. In addition to the trains, the subways also ran again at the weekend.

Corona crisis worldwide: entry to Wuhan possible again - Trudeau's wife has overcome Covid-19

High-speed trains brought 12,000 people to the city, which was badly hit by the corona pandemic, the official news agency Xinhua reported. However, only entry into Wuhan is allowed until April 8th. Only then can Chinese people with more than ten million inhabitants leave the city again.

There is also good news from Canada : The wife of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau there, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau , has overcome the new lung disease . On Saturday (local time), she wrote on Facebook: "I feel so much better and have received the all-clear from my doctor and the Ottawa Health Department." She urged the Canadian population to stay at home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus .

Canada's First Lady announced a good two weeks ago that it had tested positive for Covid-19 after a trip to London. She then announced that she would remain in isolation . Her husband Justin Trudeau also announced that he would isolate himself and work from home even though he had no symptoms. The Prime Minister announced on Sunday that he would continue to work in his house in the coming days to prevent the residual risk of infection.

Update at 3:52 p.m .: Due to the impending spread of the corona virus , a daily curfew is now also applicable in the civil war country of Libya . Every day from 2 to 7 in the morning of the following day, people are no longer allowed to leave their homes. This was announced by the internationally recognized government based in Tripoli on Sunday. Initially, the curfew should be shorter, but then new infections became known and the measures tightened. Libya officially announced the first case of lung disease Covid-19 on Tuesday. Two other infections were reported in the North African civil war country on Saturday.

Corona crisis: authorities in Saudi Arabia have confiscated five million respirators

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia authorities have confiscated more than five million illegally located respirators, according to a media report. The Ministry of Commerce secured around 1.2 million masks in Hail, northwest of the capital Riyadh, the state news agency SPA reported on Sunday. Another four million masks had already been confiscated on Wednesday for violating trade regulations in the western city of Jedda.

According to the ministry, those responsible would be prosecuted and the equipment would be made available to the free market again. Respiratory masks have also become scarce in Saudi Arabia due to panic buying. According to official figures, more than 1200 Covid-19 infections and four deaths have been reported in the country to date.

Update 10.55 a.m .: There is still a warning about a second wave of infections in China. As the BR reports, the trend continues that more and more new infections in China are due to trips abroad. Of 45 new infections on Saturday, according to BR, only one case is due to an infection in Germany.

Corona crisis: More than 30,000 deaths worldwide - New figures from South Korea

Update 9.06 a.m .: South Korea, which seems to have the relevant figures for the spread of the coronavirus well under control without a country-wide curfew, reports fluctuating new infections again. After a sharp decline in early March, where 900 new infections had been reported within one day, the numbers have fluctuated again between 91 and 152 in the past few days. The increasing number of new infections is probably due to an increase in the particularly affected city ​​of Daegu . The country is also concerned that more and more South Koreans are returning to their home country from abroad and importing cases of infection .

Leading COVID-19 expert from South Korea, explains why everyone should be wearing a mask. Pic.twitter.com/T2eNxBRPFs

Update of March 29, 6.55 a.m . : According to Johns Hopkins University *, there are now 664,695 people infected with corona worldwide. More than 30,000 people died from the virus. 140,156 people have recovered from an illness.

Corona crisis: More than 650,000 cases worldwide - isolation in Wuhan ended

News from March 28th:

7:08 p.m .: The first Covid-19 died in Sri Lanka . The 60-year-old tourist guide suffered from diabetes and had a kidney transplant, the director of the national health authority, Anil Jasinghe, said on Saturday. According to the police, the man was taken to a hospital after working with German tourists two weeks ago. It remained unclear whether he was infected. At first, there were no details about the Germans either. In the meantime, the coronavirus is spreading even more in Russia. *

17:55: More than 600,000 people worldwide have been proven to be infected with the new corona virus . Shortly after Saturday afternoon, the renowned Johns Hopkins University put the number of these infected at 614,884 . Accordingly, more than 28,600 died in a row or with the lung disease Covid-19, which can trigger the virus. Experts assume that the number of unreported cases is high. There is hardly a country where there are enough tests to scan people across the board, with more than 104,830 infections detected in the U.S. alone and more than 81,990 in China .

1:29 pm: In India , the authorities fear that a guru who has died as a result of his coronavirus infection could have infected thousands. In addition to the nationwide curfew, other quarantine measures have been imposed on more than a dozen villages in the north Indian state of Punjab where the guru preached, a government official from the Banga district said on Friday to the AFP news agency .

The first of a total of 15 villages had already been cordoned off on March 18, government official Gaurav Jain said. "We believe there are 15,000 to 20,000 people in the locations."

Corona Crisis: Is a Guru the Origin of Hundreds of Other Infections?

Because of the corona virus pandemic, there is a 21-day curfew across India . Nineteen people who had been in contact with guru Baldev Singh had already tested positive for the coronavirus *, said police spokesman Vinay Bublani. The result of another 200 tests is still pending.

Singh had escaped compulsory domestic isolation after traveling to Italy and Germany and continued his sermon tour in Punjab . While traveling through the villages, he became ill and eventually died of the Covid-19 lung disease caused by the virus, the authorities said.

In France, a 16-year-old girl lost the fight against the corona virus. Her mother now reported the tragic details.

Corona in China: isolation in Wuhan ended - new numbers worry

11:56 : In China , the number of "imported cases" with the corona virus has risen again. As the Beijing Health Commission said on Saturday, 54 other diseases in people who had entered China were detected.

In total, China already has more than 600 such cases. Could there even be a second wave of infections in the country?

In addition, three other people died of Covid-19 *. So far, China has reported a total of 81,394 coronavirus infections, including 3,295 deaths and 74,971 cured patients.

Corona in China: isolation in Wuhan ended - oppressive scenario for Germany?

Update of March 28, 7:28 a.m .: Everyday life is gradually returning in the Chinese city of Wuhan : The isolation of the metropolis, which is the starting point for the coronavirus pandemic , ended on Saturday (local time).

Entry to the capital of the Hubei province is now permitted again, while the exit ban is still valid until April 8th . Subway traffic started up again on Saturday and the first shopping centers will open their doors next week.

Corona in China: Wuhan slowly dissolves isolation - after two months

The banks in Wuhan had already been reopened in the past few days, and the city buses also began operating. The residents are still encouraged to avoid unnecessary journeys and the elderly should avoid local transport. The closure of the Hubei province had largely been lifted on Tuesday.

The authorities had isolated Hubei , which has a population of almost 60 million , from the outside world for two months . Could such a scenario also threaten in Germany? So far, there is said to be a ban on contact until the beginning of April. As merkur.de * reports, one could orientate oneself in this country to the example of South Korea.

Official numbers of new infections within Hubei Province have declined significantly in recent weeks. In total, according to official figures, more than 81,000 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in China, most of them in Wuhan, where more than 50,000 people became infected. Around 3,300 patients died nationwide.

Corona: China fears second wave - a novelty on St. Peter's Square

Update 5.20 pm: Due to the Corona crisis, Pope Francis today donates the traditional Easter blessing "Urbi et Orbi" on a lonely St. Peter's Square. The ceremony begins at 6 p.m.

Article of origin from March 27, 2020: The number of new infections skyrockets worldwide. The corona virus throws itself over the earth like a giant coat. A pandemic has long since broken out. In some countries the health system is in danger of collapse , in many places the development is even more dramatic. Sorting is done there - by chance of survival. The triage * as a last resort. So that such conditions do not also catch up with the former epicenter of the corona virus, China , the state is now largely sealing itself off.

Coronavirus: China with entry stop for foreigners

Fearing a second wave of infections, the People's Republic announced on Thursday that it would initially no longer allow foreigners to enter the country. Visas already issued are temporarily no longer valid. How long the entry stop * should apply was not communicated. The move is necessary because the virus is spreading rapidly across the rest of the world, a statement from the State Department said.

A strong reduction in flight connections was also announced. As of Sunday, each Chinese airline should only be able to offer one connection per week to each country . The same applies to foreign airlines flying to China.

Coronavirus: China: More than 74,000 people recovered

According to the official figures from the Health Commission on Friday, there were again no local illnesses. In the central Chinese province of Hubei, from where the Sars-CoV-2 virus will spread worldwide from the end of 2019, however, another five people died.

According to official information, 3,292 people in China have been killed by the virus so far. A total of 81,340 infected people were registered on the Chinese mainland, of which more than 74,000 have so far recovered .

Coronavirus: animals discover metropolises

All over the world, people remain in their homes. The command of the hour “to keep your distance” is followed with a few exceptions. Public life has therefore come to a standstill in many major cities. The streets are swept empty. A person in the wild is a rarity in many places. The ghostly calm attracts new, unusual guests to the deserted streets. Where life otherwise flourishes, wild animals now enjoy the unusual freedom. Some scenes resemble an Armageddon blockbuster.

For example, in Madrid, Spain, the peacocks from the palace park have walked across the border for the first time in years - and apparently have taken a walk through the city.

A puma was spotted in Santiago de Chile, straying through the city. Then, it seems in the pictures, there are probably too many people around and he leaves the sidewalk with an impressive jump on a wall. "Don't jump that high, my little friend," would be the best thing to call to him.

In Japan's old capital, Nara, the deer conquer the place for themselves. Accordingly, more than 1,000 copies roam free there.

The consequences of the corona virus are terrible - without question. Nevertheless, the deceleration also has something good for some earth inhabitants, as the videos and pictures show.

A young cougar was spotted roaming the streets of Santiago amid widespread shutdown to contain coronavirus. Officials took the big cat to the zoo for a check-up.

Cougar sightings are not unusual in the Chilean capital, which sits at the foot of the Andes. https://t.co/yCX1G5X3Ft pic.twitter.com/PVa1eKfHdy

Coronavirus: South Korea reports slight decline

Meanwhile, there is good news from South Korea. The number of reported new infections with the coronavirus has decreased slightly again. As the health authorities announced on Friday, 91 cases were added on Thursday. This means that the number of cases recorded daily has been around the threshold of 100 for several days. So far, 9,332 people in the country have tested positive for the Sars CoV-2 pathogen . 139 deaths have been linked to the virus.

Since the peak in late February , there has been a clear downward trend in South Korea with over 900 cases of infection within one day. However, the authorities warn that the number could increase again quickly due to an increase in the number of “imported” cases and local accumulations. On Thursday, after 30 cases the day before, the virus was found in a further 13 people who had arrived from abroad.

Meanwhile, the situation in Italy and Spain is getting worse. In Italy, doubts about the current number of cases are growing. In the meantime, the number of deaths in Spain is increasing rapidly.

* merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.

cen / dpa

Rubric list picture: © dpa / Cai Yang