PHILIPPINES President Rodrigo Duterte placed the northern third of the country under an “enhanced community quarantine” that requires millions of people to stay mostly at home in an attempt to contain the coronavirus, which has killed a dozen people in the Southeast Asian nation. Under the monthlong containment, most office work and mass public transportation on Luzon Island, which includes the capital, Manila, will be suspended.
MALAYSIA’s leader announced yesterday a drastic two-week lockdown in the country following a sharp spike in the number of virus cases. Prime Minister Muhyiddini Yassin said religious institutions, schools, businesses and government offices will be shut until March 31. He said travel in and out of the country will be banned. Only essential services including supermarkets, banks, gas stations and pharmacies will be allowed to stay open.
GREENLAND The government in Greenland has reported the first confirmed coronavirus case on the world’s largest island. The government said yesterday that the infected individual was in isolation at home in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital. Prime Minister Kim Kielsen said during a news conference: “Now, we need to assess how to react.” He urged residents of the Arctic island to limit their travel.
SOUTH AFRICA The coronavirus has now been confirmed in at least 30 of Africa’s 54 countries, officials said, and regional power South Africa warned of a new crisis once the virus begins to spread at home and into crowded low-income communities. The most alarming confirmation of a first case came from Somalia, the Horn of Africa nation with one of the continent’s weakest health systems after nearly three decades of conflict. Tanzania, Liberia and Benin also announced their first cases.
IRAN reported another 129 fatalities from the new coronavirus yesterday, the largest one-day rise in deaths since it began battling the Middle East’s worst outbreak, which has claimed more than 850 lives and infected a number of senior officials in the country. Businesses in Tehran remained open, however, even as other countries in the region moved toward full lockdowns.
EUROPE Major airlines are scaling back flights dramatically in response to the coronavirus crisis that has seen Europe and the wider world go into lockdown. Budget airline EasyJet said it is making big cancellations that will continue on a rolling basis. It said that could result in the grounding of the majority of its fleet.
LAS VEGAS The owners of iconic Las Vegas casinos such as Bellagio and Wynn Las Vegas are shutting down as the coronavirus pandemic prompts authorities to lock down public gathering places. MGM Resorts’ operations in Las Vegas include the MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay. The company said it will suspend operations at casinos and hotels indefinitely by today. It will not be taking reservations for arrivals prior to May 1.
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