Skip to main content

Coronavirus: Countries opt to mass closures to stem spread

Schools have been closed, sports events cancelled and cultural institutions shut around the world as countries try to stem the coronavirus outbreak.
In the US, all major sport has been suspended and Broadway performances are off for a month.
Meanwhile, France is one of the latest European countries to close all schools, universities and nurseries.


More than 125,000 people have been diagnosed with Covid-19 in 118 countries around the world, according to the World Health Organization. The total number of deaths is more than 4,600.

How is the cultural sector being affected?

Some of the world's top museums and galleries have now shut their doors.
The Van Gogh museum and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, are closing until the end of March.
In the US, New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, the largest art museum in the world, said it was temporarily closing all three of its locations in the city. All Smithsonian museums in Washington DC and New York City will close from Saturday.
New York State's Governor Andrew Cuomo banned all gatherings of more than 500, prompting Broadway to suspend all its performances for a month.
Chart showing confirmed cases rising outside China, 12 March
Presentational white space
Disneyland in California announced it would close its doors from Saturday amid a wave of Covid-19 infections in the state.
In the world of film, the release of the latest Fast and Furious instalment was pushed back by 11 months, one of a number of movies to postpone opening dates. And the Tribeca Film Festival was postponed in the US.
Also on Thursday, Qatar announced the closure of all cinemas, theatres, gyms, play areas and museums.

And what sporting events are off?

It has been hard to keep up with all of the moves, but here are some of the key ones.
The NHL, NBA and MLS have all suspended their seasons in the US, and the ATP tour shut down for six weeks "to protect the health and safety of our players, staff, the wider tennis community and general public health".
This weekend's Formula One season-opening Australian Grand Prix has been called off.
The Nepalese government has cancelled all climbing permits for Mount Everest, following China's decision not to allow any expeditions on the northern side of the mountain.
Media captionBoris Johnson: "More families will lose loved ones before their time"
Ski areas in western Austria's Tyrol province are also to close down from Sunday, regional officials said Thursday.
A host of postponements and suspensions have hit European football, including Manchester City versus Real Madrid, while all French football matches are being suspended until further notice.

What is the latest on quarantines?

Four towns in Spain's Catalonia region were put under lockdown on Thursday, in a first in the country. The measures, affecting some 70,000 people, came as Spain's death toll rose to 84 - up from 47 the day before.
In Italy the government imposed a blanket closure of restaurants, bars and almost all shops expect food stores and pharmacies. The death toll there has passed 1,000 but Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio says the measures imposed in the first area of the outbreak have been proving effective.
Media captionItalian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio: "There is a way to defeat this virus"
Also on Thursday, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced a ban on domestic travel to and from Manila, in what he called a "lockdown" of the capital.
A number of key figures have also revealed they are self-isolating amid concerns they may have caught the virus, among them Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie.

What about school closures?

Ireland, Spain, France, the Philippines, Portugal and Bolivia were among the countries to announce school closures on Thursday.
In the UK, the government said such measures were being considered but that the scientific advice was that "this could do more harm than good" at this stage.
UK PM Boris Johnson said this was "the worst public health crisis for a generation" and warned many families they would "lose loved ones before their time".

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

European Union will close its borders to all non-essential travel to fight coronavirus

Madrid (ITNTV) The European Union will close its borders to all non-essential travel as it attempts to contain the  ongoing spread of the coronavirus  on the continent. "The less travel, the more we can contain the virus," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Monday following a video conference between G7 leaders. She appeared confident that the European Council would sign off on the restriction in a Tuesday vote. The bloc's member states imposed aggressive measures on Monday,  days after the  World Health Organization (WHO) said Europe was at the epicenter of the pandemic. French President Emmanuel Macron declared "war" on the virus during a national address on Monday, banning all social events across the country -- including family gatherings. Macron said those who have gathered in public places in recent days have not been respecting previous measures to limit the outbreak's spread in France, which as of Monday had 5,380 con...
Post a Comment
Read more

PhD positions: In Institute of Biochemistry, Jena University Hospital - Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany

PhD positions: In Institute of Biochemistry, Jena University Hospital - Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany   🇩🇪 . Subjects: Neurobiology / Imaging Description: 1 PhD position in Neurobiology / Imaging Prof. Britta Qualmann, Inst. of Biochem. I, UKJ - Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany Prof. Christian Geis, Section of Translat. Neuroimmunol., Dept. Neurol., UKJ We seek for a productive addition to our research team in a collaborative project. We plan to study pathomechanisms of synaptic changes underlying autoimmune disorders of the central nervous system applying super-resolution microscopy. The Geis lab examines immune-mediated changes of synapses by interactions with pathogenic human antibodies against neuronal proteins. Short- and long-term effects on neuronal networks are analyzed using electrophysiological and various microscopy methods. The Qualmann lab is an internationally well-known lab that focusses on proteins with the power to s...
Post a Comment
Read more

80 pct of life stopped in Turkey due to outbreak, says interior minister

Turkish citizens, especially those living in metropolises, have been abiding by the “social isolation” principles laid out by the government, Interior Minister  Süleyman Soylu  has said, adding that almost 80 percent of life “stopped” in  Turkey . “Up until now, just our ministry issued 38 circulars, 17 of which concern the borders. Many high-level precautions have been taken. Right now, 80 percent of life stopped in Turkey,” Soylu said on March 26 in an interview with a private broadcaster. Soylu also provided updated figures for passenger traffic. He said that there is a 73 percent decline in inter-city bus services, adding that these services can also be suspended if needed. On intra-city traffic, Soylu said that there has been an 80 percent decline. This figure was 65 percent according to another interview the minister held on March 25. The government has four cruxes it predicates on when taking measures against the spread of the novel  coronaviru...
Post a Comment
Read more