Daily Times

Countries around the world on Saturday continued to close borders, impose strict entry and quarantine requirements and restrict large gatherings in efforts to contain the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus.

Countries have shuttered museums, tourist attractions and sporting events to minimise the risk of coronavirus transmission, with more than 138,000 people worldwide infected and more than 5,000 dead.

Colombia said it will close its borders with Venezuela and stop visitors who have been in Europe or Asia, while a US ban on entry for most people from continental Europe was due to start at midnight.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says Europe has become the pandemic’s current epicentre after reporting more cases and deaths than the rest of world combined, apart from China where the coronavirus originated last December.

Saudi Arabia will suspend all international flights for two weeks, starting Sunday, state news agency SPA said. Taiwan will require travellers from mainland Europe, Britain and Ireland to self-isolate for 14 days, while New Zealand implemented a similar measure for all those entering the country. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern also called on cruise ships, a major source of infections in some countries, not to come to New Zealand until June 30.

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera announced a ban on public events with more than 500 people on Friday, joining countries such as Australia where the ban will come into force on Monday.

Britain will introduce emergency laws next week to ban mass gatherings, said a government source, an escalation of its crisis plan which critics had said is too relaxed.

The Philippines capital Manila, home to 12 million people, announced nighttime curfews on Saturday and urged shopping malls to close for one month. “To limit the spread of the virus, we need to limit the movement of people. We are slowing down the movement of people in Metro Manila,” said Jose Arturo Garcia, general manager of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.

In a bid to limit the economic damage from a pandemic that has infected the US, the House of Representatives passed an aid package that would provide free testing and paid sick leave.

The US military said it will halt most domestic travel, extending earlier restrictions on international travel for its more than a million active-duty troops around the world.

Travel bans have hammered airlines and travel companies worldwide, while financial markets have been hit by panic selling this week.

The impact of the coronavirus on everyday life is also deepening.

The Czech government shut most shops and restaurants early Saturday, with exceptions including food stores, pharmacies and gas stations.

In Paris, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre museum and the Moulin Rouge cabaret closed their doors. The Smithsonian museums in Washington were preparing to do so on Saturday and Broadway theatres in New York went dark.

The kissing of the Blarney Stone, one of Ireland’s oldest tourist traditions, was suspended.

Apple Inc said it will close all its retail stores worldwide, outside Greater China, until March 27. Apple reopened all 42 of its branded stores in China on Friday as the spread of the virus on mainland China slowed dramatically.

The global sporting calendar has also been left in tatters with major tournaments cancelled, postponed or forced to continue without spectators.

But sport’s biggest showpiece, the Olympics, will still proceed as planned, according to Tokyo organisers.

The United Arab Emirates said it is shutting major tourism and cultural venues, including the Louvre Abu Dhabi museum and the Ferrari World theme park, from March 15-31. The UAE civil aviation authority has also announced a suspension of all flights from and to Lebanon, Turkey, Syria and Iraq, starting March 17 until further notice.

US President Donald Trump has announced a national state of emergency, freeing up $50 billion in federal funds for the battle against the coronavirus pandemic as he vowed to vastly ramp up testing capacity. “The next eight weeks are critical,” he said. “We can learn and we will turn a corner on this virus.”

Trump called on all US states to set up emergency operation centers and said the government was partnering with the private sector to ‘vastly increase and accelerate our capacity to test’ for the virus, amid criticism about a lack of test kits nationwide.