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The coronavirus epidemic continues to progress with 48 deaths and more than 2,000 confirmed cases in France. In Occitania, the balance sheet increases with 118 cases. Donald Trump has decided to ban entry to the United States for Europeans. European stock markets are falling this Thursday morning. Follow the situation live all day on ladepeche.fr.
124 confirmed cases in Occitania
124 cases of coronavirus contamination have been identified in Occitania. They are distributed in 59 cases in Hérault, 22 in Aude, 9 in Aveyron, 13 in Haute-Garonne, 7 in Gard, 5 in Tarn-et-Garonne, 3 in Tarn, Lot and Gers and 1 in the Hautes-Pyrénées. Only Ariège, Lozère and Pyrénées-Orientales are spared. Eight people are placed in intensive care in our region.
A new epidemic outbreak has been detected in the agglomeration of Montpellier. This is why the nurseries, schools and high schools are closed as of this Thursday for 14 days in sixteen municipalities around Montpellier: Le Crès, Teyran, Castries, Saint-Brès, Baillargues, Vendargues, Saint-Aunès, Mauguio, Jacou, Castelnau-le-Lez, Clapiers, Prades-le-Lez, Montferrier-sur-Lez, Mudaison, Candillargues and Lansargues.
The Le Mas blanc agricultural college in Bourg-Madame (Pyrénées-Orientales) is closed due to the confirmed case of a teacher from Quillan in Aude.
The leaders of political parties in Matignon
Edouard Philippe brought together the presidents of the Assemblies, parliamentary groups, party leaders and the presidents of associations of elected officials in Matignon for two hours early in the morning. He was surrounded by five ministers including those of Health and the Interior. Oppositions have called for better economic and social measures such as “an anti-crisis shield” or the suspension of unemployment insurance reform.
“The pandemic is manageable” according to the WHO
The pandemic of the new coronavirus is “manageable”, said Thursday the head of the WorldHealth Organization (WHO), during a meeting with member states at the headquarters of the specialized agency of the UN in Geneva . “This is a manageable pandemic”, but “you can’t fight a virus if you don’t know where it is. This means you need robust surveillance to find, isolate, test and treat each case , in order to break the chains of transmission, “Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told diplomats.
“Major shock” for the economy in the euro zone, says Christine Lagarde
New rowdy day in European financial centers. The Paris, Madrid and Frankfurt stock exchanges plunged more than 10%.
The New York Stock Exchange collapsed at the opening in panic around the coronavirus pandemic and after the decision of Donald Trump to temporarily ban European travelers from entering the United States: the Dow Jones lost 7.29 % and the Nasdaq 6.66%.
The coronavirus epidemic, “major shock” for the economy in the euro zone, requires an “ambitious and coordinated budget response”, also said Thursday the President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde. Lagarde thus returns the ball in the camp of the States, which will have to both “assume the health challenge” and “limit the economic impact”, after the series of monetary support measures announced by the ECB.
Europeans banned from the USA, EU disapproves
The European Union announces that it disapproves of Donald Trump’s “decision” to have “unilaterally and without consultation” have suspended the entry of Europeans into American soil. “The coronavirus is a global crisis, which is not limited to one continent and which requires cooperation rather than unilateral action,” said Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel in a statement.
Donald Trump has suspended the entry of Europeans to the United States for thirty days. The measure will take effect at midnight Friday evening. It concerns anyone who has stayed on European soil except the United Kingdom. “I have decided to take strong but necessary actions to protect the health and well-being of all Americans,” said Donald Trump in a confused speech at times.
The suspension of travel from Europe to the United States only affects people, not goods and goods exported from Europe. The White House said in the evening that Donald Trump “continues to make a commitment to facilitate trade between our Nations”.
A professor who teaches at Jacques-Philippe-Delmas-de-Grammont college in Port-Sainte-Marie (Lot-et-Garonne) tested positive for the new coronavirus. The establishment was closed until Friday evening in agreement between the ARS, the prefecture and the Rectorate. Thirty people have already been tested on Wednesday evening. A total of 100 people will be tested. Lot-et-Garonne is already affected by 23 cases of coronavirus.
The epidemic is accelerating in France with 15 new deaths in 24 hours, ie 48 deaths in total. 2281 people were infected. A hundred people are placed in intensive care. A new outbreak has been detected in the agglomeration of Montpellier. In Corsica, all the schools on the island are closed until March 29. “The virus tonight is circulating more and more actively in more and more territories,” warned Wednesday evening the Director General of Health, Jérôme Salomon. “The Italian scenario, we must prepare for it”. Professor Jean-François Delfraissy, president of the National Ethics Committee, says that “the hardest part is before us”.
Visits prohibited in nursing homes
The measure is a heavy blow for the residents of Ehpad accustomed to visits and their families. Any visit to an Ehpad or a long-term care unit is prohibited. The Ministry of Health says it is “aware of the isolation that this represents for the elderly” but “in times of an epidemic, protection takes precedence”.
Read also : Coronavirus: battle over in the Gers area nursing homes
Emmanuel Macron will speak to the French
The Head of State will address the French at 8 p.m. at the Elysée Palace. It is the first time that he will officially speak. He “will probably work to reassure the French,” said government spokeswoman Sibeth Ndiaye. Emmanuel Macron has already made several trips related to the coronavirus in an Ehpad, Samu or the crisis center of the Ministry of Health.
Read also : Coronavirus: what will Macron say tonight?
Emmanuel Macron and the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran visit the Operational Center for Regulation and Response to Health Emergencies, Tuesday March 3, 2020, in Paris.
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Italy closes almost all its shops
Italy has decided to immediately close all shops, bars and restaurants in an attempt to stem the coronavirus pandemic. Only supermarkets and pharmacies can remain open. Home delivery remains authorized. “The effects of this great effort will be visible in a fortnight,” promises the head of government Giuseppe Conte. Public transport continues to operate. However, Rome Ciampino airport, which mainly hosts low-cost flights, will close as of this Friday while the main Fiumicino airport will close one of its three airports. The latest death toll in Italy on Wednesday evening was 827 dead and 12,462 cases.
The new assessment of the coronavirus in Spain is 84 dead and 2968 cases of contamination. The number of victims doubled in 24 hours from 48 to 84 dead. Half of the cases are in the Madrid region where schools are closed for 15 days.
Denmark has banned gatherings of more than 100 people and asked its officials to stay at home. South Korea reports a total of 66 deaths and more than 7,800 cases of contamination. In China, the number of new infections dropped to fifteen on Thursday, the lowest figure since mid-January. The coronavirus killed 4,566 people in 113 countries and affected more than 124,000 people according to a new report this Thursday.
Still cancellations in sports and entertainment
In Spain, Real Madrid football and basketball teams are quarantined and the football championship is suspended for at least two days due to the coronavirus. In the United States, the NBA announced the suspension of its season after a player from the Utah Jazz club, French Rudy Gobert, has tested positive for coronavirus. The alpine ski races (giant and slalom) of Kranjska Gora in Slovenia scheduled for next weekend are canceled which results in the end of the Men’s World Cup for this season. Can the Tokyo Summer Olympics planned for this summer be postponed in turn? “It is unthinkable,” replies Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike.
Actor Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson, who are currently in Australia, tested positive for coronavirus. “We felt a little tired as if we had a cold and aches,” said the actor.
Read also : Coronavirus: American actor Tom Hanks announces he has contracted Covid-19
