Coronavirus: latest global developments

Paris, France | AFP | Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:

– British PM in intensive care –

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is fighting the virus in intensive care after being diagnosed late last month.

The 55-year-old is being given oxygen support but was not put on a ventilator after being admitted on Monday evening. His “condition is stable,” his official spokesman says around 1800GMT.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is deputising.

– Japan: state of emergency –

Japan declares a month-long state of emergency but stops short of strict lockdown.

The move allows governors in seven affected regions including Tokyo to ask people to stay indoors and request that businesses close.

– More than 80,000 dead –

At least 80,142 people have died around the world in 192 countries, since the virus emerged in China in December, according to an AFP tally around 1900 GMT Tuesday based on official sources.

The pandemic has killed more 57,351 people in Europe, including 17,127 in Italy and 13,798 in Spain. There are 12,021 deaths in the United States, 10,328 in France and 6,159 in Britain.

The United States have at least 383,256 confirmed infections, the highest caseload in the world.

More than 1.39 million cases have been officially recorded around the world, a toll that represents only a fraction of the actual number of infections.

– Trump lashes WHO –

US President Donald Trump attacks the World Health Organization, saying it is “China centric” and issued bad advice at the outset of the pandemic.

– More than four billion confined –

More than four billion people in nearly 100 countries and territories are forced or called on by their authorities to stay at home to fight the coronavirus outbreak, according to an AFP database on Tuesday.

– Wuhan lockdown lifted –

At midnight (1600 GMT Tuesday) authorities lifted a more than two-month ban on outbound travel from the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the pandemic first emerged.

China reports no new coronavirus deaths for the first time since it started publishing figures in January.

– Confinement not over –

Portugal extends its confinement for at least another two weeks

The French government warns confinement rules that came into force March 17 will remain in place as long as necessary as the country has not reached the peak of the epidemic.

– Jobs: worst crisis since WWII –

The International Labour Organization warns that some 1.25 billion workers are seeing their livelihoods threatened by the pandemic, saying it is the “worst global crisis” since World War II.

– WHO: shortage of health workers –

The WHO warns of a shortage of health workers in the Middle East and North Africa region and calls for the mobilisation of more medical staff to fight the coronavirus.

– Lufthansa to slash fleet –

Lufthansa says it is shutting down its low-cost Germanwings unit and getting rid of dozens of planes to survive the impact of the coronavirus on its business.

Ethiopian Airlines is bracing for income loss of half a billion dollars and has axed most of its scheduled passenger flights,

– EU aid for poor countries –

The European Union is to put up 15 billion euros ($16.4 billion) to help poor countries fight the epidemic.