The pandemic is now spreading in 124 countries and territories, with more than 140,000 people infected and at least 5,300 deaths, according to a report drawn up on Friday March 13 by Agence France-Presse (AFP) from official sources.
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State of emergency and “likely” test for Trump
Donald Trump, accused of having downplayed the severity of the coronavirus pandemic, declared a state of emergency on Friday March 13 “To unleash the full power of federal government resources”. The president said the move would provide nearly $ 50 billion in funding to fight the virus.
“I call each state [du pays] to immediately set up emergency centers “ and hospitals to activate their emergency preparedness plans “To meet the needs of Americans”added the president. He said he would “probably” test himself after being in contact with members of a Brazilian delegation who tested positive this weekend.
Europe is now“Epicenter” of the new coronavirus pandemic, warned Friday, March 13, the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, explaining that, excluding China, the European continent had reported more than cases and deaths than anywhere else in the world.
In China, the starting point of the epidemic, the number of new infections dropped to 8 on Friday, the lowest figure since the statistics were released in mid-January. Conversely, Italy, the most affected country after China, saw the number of infected people jump on its territory, from 15,113 to 17,660. The country recorded 250 new deaths in twenty-four hours, increasing the death toll to 1,266.
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Borders close one after the other
Denmark announced the closing of its borders to foreigners from Saturday noon. Poland has taken a similar measure, as well as Cyprus, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, which will close its borders from Monday both for foreigners wanting to enter the country and for Czechs wanting to leave it.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday that “General travel bans are not considered to be very effective by the World Health Organization.”
For his part, President Emmanuel Macron has proposed to the EU to put in place in the coming days reinforced border control measures around the Schengen area and even to close them for risk areas, in order to“Avoid uncoordinated measures”, said the Elysee.
Outside the EU, Ukraine has announced that it will suspend all scheduled flights, and Russia will cut its number of flights to the EU starting Monday. Singapore will ban entry and transit for travelers who have passed through Italy, France, Spain and Germany in the past 14 days. Australia and Canada have called on their nationals to reconsider their overseas travel plans. Flights to and from Europe have been suspended in many Latin American countries.
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Aid plans are increasing
The European Union (EU) will set up a € 37 billion fund as part of measures to limit the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economies of member countries, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday. She added that the EU authorities would be flexible in applying EU rules on budget deficits and state aid.
In Germany, the government announced loans on Friday ” limitless “ worth at least 550 billion euros to help businesses in the country facing cash flow problems as a result of the epidemic. This assistance plan is even more important than that which was put in place during the 2008 financial crisis.
The Norway Unveiled emergency measures, estimated at nearly 600 million euros, on Friday to support the country’s economy. Among the government’s proposals is a facilitation of the use of technical unemployment: the initial period during which the payment of wages falls on the employer will be reduced from fifteen to two days, after which the State will take over.
The Dutch airline KLM (Air France-KLM group) announced Friday March 13 that it would cut up to 2,000 jobs to deal with the impact of the new coronavirus pandemic, among other measures to reduce costs.
KLM managing director Pieter Elbers said the company, which employs around 33,000 people, would also reduce the working time of its employees and immobilize its Boeing 747s from 1er April.
“In the coming months, we will reduce 1,500 to 2,000 jobs, which means that not only in the coming weeks, but also in the coming months, we will have fewer colleagues”said KLM managing director Pieter Elbers in a video message posted on the company’s website.
He specified that these measures would primarily concern part-time employees, those close to retirement and natural departures. “We think this is the right thing to do to avoid further binding measures”, he added.
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Commemoration canceled in New Zealand
New Zealand has canceled the national tribute to the victims of the Christchurch mosque attack a year ago due to concerns over the coronavirus, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Saturday March 14. “It is a pragmatic decision. We are very sad to have to cancel, but by remembering such a terrible tragedy, we cannot create the risk of further harm. ”, she explained.
“The advice we received for this event is that, knowing that people were coming from different parts of the country and from abroad, if there was a case, it could be difficult to trace those who came into contact with that person, so we take a cautious approach. “, added the head of government.
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