China reported only one case yesterday in Wuhan, a coronavirus outbreak, and another 20 returning. According to updates from the National Health Commission (NHC), 13 were killed, including 12 in the province of Hubei - of which Wuhan is the capital - and one in that of Shaanxi. Of the fatal cases, nine were detected in Beijing, three in Shanghai and Guangdong, and one in the provinces of Zhejiang, Shandong, Guangxi, Yunnan and Shannxi. The return infections thus rose to 143.
South Korea approved a tightening of controls from Thursday on all international arrivals against the risks of return infection, while it announced on Monday 84 new cases of coronavirus that brought the total to 8,320. According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the death toll rose to 81. Despite a slight increase on 74 cases on Sunday, the trend is below 100 for the third day in a row. About 61% of certain cases are related to the Church of Jesus Shincheonji, Daegu religious sect.
The coronavirus pandemic has reached another alarming milestone: for the first time, infections and deaths worldwide have exceeded those in China . In this scenario, Europe, which is the new epicenter, closes the external borders of the Union from today to noon. "This is a health crisis that marks our era," stressed the WHO, warning that the fight against this "serious disease, which also kills young people and children", will take "months". This is demonstrated by the 87,000 cases of infection worldwide, which exceeded 80,000 in China, and the same is true for the number of deaths , well beyond the 3,200 of the over 7,000 in total.
The strongest growth is in Europe , where in several countries we are witnessing the escalation that began in Italy . The situation in the Old Continent was among the themes at the center of the videoconference of the G7 leaders in which it was agreed to do everything possible to ensure growth. To her partners, the President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen said she had proposed "a temporary restriction on all non-essential trips to the EU for thirty days, but to be extended if necessary". This block, subject to exemptions for European citizens returning home, but also for health workers and researchers, has the objective of "not further burdening the health systems", explained von der Leyen, who will discuss it tomorrow with the heads of State and government convened for extraordinary advice, always on video. But the decision is made, so much so that in the evening it was the French President Emmanuel Macron to announce that the closure will start from Tuesday at noon.
And one hundred thousand officers between policemen and gendarmes will be deployed in France to place themselves at fixed and mobile checkpoints as part of the coercive measures announced by French President Emmanuel Macron against the coronavirus: Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said so.
However, more and more Member States have already renounced the free internal movement enshrined in Schengen. So after Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Poland, Lithuania and Germany , Spain also sealed its borders: it is the second most affected country in Europe, with over 9,000 infections (also the Catalan governor Quim Torra ) and 300 deaths .
It is no better in Germany, where health experts have confirmed that cases "are growing rather quickly". While Chancellor Angela Merkel explained that parliament and Laender have launched "extraordinary but necessary measures" to reduce social contacts. Wealthy Bavaria has declared a state of disaster and is practically closed.
The alarm is also growing in Great Britain : the sharp increase in Covid-19 infections has convinced Boris Johnson to abandon the line of waiting, so much so that the head of the government of Her Majesty has recommended the stop of all unnecessary travel, work from home and the renunciation of social contacts, including 'institutional' drinks in the pub.
Draconian measures along the Italian lines have been adopted in Switzerland and a similar scenario has been imposed in France : drastically reduced travel for 15 days and penalties for those who do not respect the rules. "We are at war," was Macron's warning . The anti-pandemic squeeze is not just about Europe.
In the United States, the two symbolic cities, New York and Los Angeles, will in fact stop, stopping at schools, bars, restaurants, cinemas and the iconic Statue of Liberty. Washington will also stay at home and Las Vegas has closed casinos, while curfew has started in New Jersey. The city of San Francisco has ordered residents of much of the Bay region to stay home for the next three weeks and as far away from other people as possible to stop the spread of coronavirus infection.
Finally, in Africa there are only about a hundred cases of infection in 27 countries but there is no doubt that the controls are massive. WHO warned low-income countries because infection would have a devastating impact on the weaker segments. For this reason the imperative is always the same: "Test, test, test" on every suspicious case.