WHO warns young people: ‘You’re not invincible’

GENEVA(AP) -- The head of the World Health Organization has sent a message to young people about the new coronavirus: "You're not invincible."    WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says health officials are continuing to learn about the virus that causes COVID-19 disease. He said older people are hardest hit but "younger people are not spared."    He said data from many countries shows people aged 50 and under make up a "significant pr

March 21, 2020

Italy overtakes China with most virus deaths, Trump slams Beijing

PARIS (AFP) -- Italy surpassed China on Thursday as the country with the most deaths from coronavirus as the UN chief warned "millions" could die if it spreads unchecked around the globe. President Donald Trump said meanwhile that the United States is fast-tracking antimalarial drugs for use as a treatment and lashed out at China for not informing the world earlier about the original outbreak. China for its part reported no new domestic cases for the first time since the virus appea

March 20, 2020

Wuhan offers hope on virus front; Italy nears stark toll

  BEIJING (AP) -- Thursday was a day of contrasts on the front lines of the battle against the new coronavirus. In a sign of hope, the Chinese city of Wuhan reported no new homegrown infections, but in a stark warning for the world, Italy appeared set to surpass China‘s death toll from the virus. The two milestones were a dramatic illustration of how much the global outbreak has pivoted toward Europe and the United States. They also showed how the arc of contagion can vary in d

March 19, 2020

EU's Brexit negotiator Barnier says he has COVID-19

BRUSSELS (AFP) -- The EU‘s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has the coronavirus, he announced on Thursday. 　 “I tested positive yesterday for Covid-19. I’m as well as I can be, strictly confined to my home,” Barnier, 69, said in a video posted on his Twitter account. 　 “I‘m fine, morale is good,” added the former French foreign minister, who is in France. 　 “I naturally am following all instructions, as does my team. My message to all those

March 19, 2020

EU to ban most foreign travelers for 30 days to curb virus

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders agreed Tuesday to immediately impose travel restrictions on most foreigners entering Europe for at least 30 days to limit the spread of the new coronavirus, and to set up fast-track transport lanes to keep vital medical equipment, food and goods flowing smoothly inside the bloc. As the virus case count in Europe climbed to over 60,000 and with more than 2,700 people dead, nervous national governments have introduced quick-fix measures such as parti

March 18, 2020

Coronavirus: latest global developments

PARIS (AFP) -- Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis: Border closures, checks French President Emmanuel Macron says the 27-nation European Union is to close all its external borders for 30 days. Germany implements controls at its land borders with Austria, Denmark, France, Luxembourg and Switzerland. Spain announces it is closing its land borders. Chile closes all its land, maritime and air frontiers. Egypt will close its airports from Thursday to March 31. Greece a

March 17, 2020

Tom Hanks released from hospital after virus quarantine

GOLD COAST (AFP) -- Tom Hanks has been released from the Australian hospital where he was in isolation since testing positive for the coronavirus last week, but his wife Rita Wilson remains hospitalised, health officials said Tuesday. The multiple Oscar-winning actor was on the Gold Coast near Brisbane to film an Elvis Presley biopic directed by Australian Baz Luhrmann when he and Wilson, both 63, came down with the disease. Wilson, a singer-songwriter, had given concerts in Sydney and Brisba

March 17, 2020

Markets plunge as intervention fails to staunch virus panic

NEW YORK (AFP) -- Stock markets and oil prices went into freefall Monday as interest rate cuts and fresh stimulus measures by central banks failed to dampen fears amid the global coronavirus pandemic. The US Federal Reserve on Sunday slashed borrowing costs to zero -- its second emergency cut in less than two weeks -- and took action coordinated with central banks in several European countries to counteract global "dollar funding pressures." The Fed acted again on Monday, with its

March 17, 2020

Yankees' minor league player tests positive for coronavirus

NEW YORK (AFP) -- A New York Yankees minor league player has tested positive for the coronavirus the team said Sunday, the first known case in baseball. The team did not identify the player in accordance with US medical privacy regulations, but said he was never present at the Florida spring training facility used by the Yankees' major league team and did not have known contact with any of the Yankees players. "He was never here, nor anybody who would be linked to being with him," Y

March 16, 2020

Fed takes emergency steps to slash rates and ease bank rules

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Reserve took massive emergency action Sunday to help the economy withstand the coronavirus by slashing its benchmark interest rate to near zero and saying it would buy $700 billion in Treasury and mortgage bonds. The Fed's surprise announcement signaled its worry that the viral outbreak will depress economic growth in coming months and that it is prepared to do whatever it can counter the risks. It cut its key rate by a full percentage point -- to a range be

March 16, 2020

Philippines isolates Manila to fight coronavirus outbreak

Thousands of police officers and army troops started sealing the Philippines' densely populated capital on Sunday at the start of one of Southeast Asia's most drastic containment moves against the new coronavirus.    Under monthlong restrictions imposed in the entire Manila metropolis _ home to more than 12 million people _ residents are compelled to stay at home, except when they need to leave for work or go on urgent errands, including medical emergencies.    Police and s

March 15, 2020

Tokyo 2020 torch handover to take place in empty Athens stadium

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games flame handover in Athens next week will be done in an empty stadium amid the coronavirus outbreak, Greece's Olympic Committee said on Sunday. Greece on Friday cancelled the remainder of the domestic Olympic torch relay through the country to avoid attracting crowds a day after the Tokyo Games flame was lit in ancient Olympia. The Hellenic Olympic Committee has decided that the handover ceremony for the "Tokyo 2020" Olympic Games, on Thursday, March 19, w

March 15, 2020

Turkey quarantines thousands of pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia

Thousands of Muslims returning to Turkey from a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia were being taken into quarantine on Sunday due to concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, Turkish officials said. Television pictures showed buses transporting pilgrims along the highway from Ankara's airport to the city as part of an operation to place those returning into student dormitories. Turkey, which has only diagnozed six cases of coronavirus, has ramped up measures to halt its spread in recent days, clos

March 15, 2020

Irish PM mulls coronavirus restrictions on pubs after outcry

The Irish government isconsidering imposing restrictions on pubs and nightclubs due tocoronavirus, after videos of singing in packed bars in thecapital on Saturday sparked a social media campaign to closethem down. Ireland, which has 129 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and two deaths, closed schools and universities last week and advisedpeople to cancel all indoor gatherings of 100 people or more. But it stopped short of closing cafes, bars and restaurants, as some European states have done, citin

March 15, 2020

US extends travel ban to UK and Ireland, reviews domestic curbs

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The United States said Saturday it was stepping up its fight against the coronavirus and extending a European travel ban to include the United Kingdom and Ireland, while acknowledging that some domestic travel curbs were also being considered. President Donald Trump has decided to "suspend all travel from the United Kingdom and Ireland" effective midnight Monday EST (0400 GMT Tuesday), Vice President Mike Pence told a White House news conference. "Americans

March 15, 2020

Wife of Spain's prime minister tests positive for virus

MADRID (AP) -- Spain's government said Saturday that the wife of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has tested positive for the new coronavirus. It said Begona Gomez and the prime minister are in good health and following the instructions of medical authorities at their residence in La Moncloa Palace in Madrid, the government seat. Two ministers of Sanchez's Cabinet, the minister of equality and the minister of regional affairs, had already tested positive earlier this week. The government said b

March 15, 2020

Trump tests negative for coronavirus: White House physician

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- US President Donald Trump has tested negative for the novel coronavirus, the White House physician said Saturday. Trump submitted to the test after coming in contact with several members of a Brazilian presidential delegation visiting his Florida resort who have since tested positive for the virus. "This evening I received confirmation that the test is negative," the president's physician Sean Conley said in a memo. "One week after having dinner with the B

March 15, 2020

US summons Chinese ambassador over COVID-19 conspiracy theory

The United States on Friday summoned China's ambassador after a senior official in Beijing tweeted the "ridiculous" suggestion that the US military started the COVID-19 pandemic, the State Department said. David Stilwell, the top US diplomat for Asia, issued a "stern representation" to Ambassador Cui Tiankai a day after foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian tweeted the conspiracy theory. "China is seeking to deflect criticism for its role in starting a global 

March 14, 2020

Greek organisers scrap Olympic torch relay because of crowds

ATHENS (AFP) -- Greece's Olympic Committee on Friday said it was cancelling the rest of the torch relay for the Tokyo 2020 Games on Greek soil as large crowds had turned out despite coronavirus warnings. "The rest of the torch relay on Greek soil has been cancelled," the committee said, adding that the Olympic flame would be handed over to Tokyo organisers on March 19 as scheduled, but without spectators. It noted that crowds had ignored "repeated warnings" not to gat

March 13, 2020

Canada: Trudeau's wife tests positive for new coronavirus

TORONTO (AP) – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's wife has tested positive for the new coronavirus, his office announced Thursday night. It said Sophie Grégoire Trudeau was felling well and would remain in isolation. "The Prime Minister is in good health with no symptoms. As a precautionary measure and following the advice of doctors, he will be in isolation for a planned period of 14 days," the statement added. His office said the doctor's advice to the prime mi

March 13, 2020