Coronavirus update: Infections in Europe continue to surge

Coronavirus update: Infections in Europe continue to surge

Welcome to my blogger page you are reading to sam blogger never stop learning The city of Bergamo has run out of space to bury its dead these military trucks are taking the coffins to nearby cities for burial the coronavirus has hit the Lombardy region like no other place in Italy names and faces of lost loved ones fill the local papers as the death toll keeps climbing physicians and officials are appealing for help we are in a full emergency with this coronavirus Pinilla our Elf personnel nurses and physicians are working round the clock countless hour to fight this incredible situation we do not know how long this Pandi Mia will last we are in desperate need of both nurses and physicians together with ventilators and dis positives for protection efforts to build a temporary hospital in the epicenter are underway it's hoped that 200 intensive care units will be ready by the month's end Italy has also turned to the country

Where the virus originated for support medical teams from China have flown in to lend their expertise there's a home the people of our two countries will stay together and support each other to jointly overcome the hardship I believe the top class teams of experts will learn from each other and make joint efforts and surely will be able to subdue the outbreak very soon cheer up Italy amid speculation that the lockdown could be extended for several more weeks Italians are finding simple ways to lift their spirits [Music] let's bring in journalist Seema Gupta in Rome Seema Italy announcing its highest death toll in a single day after struggling for weeks with this outbreak does the country have a strategy for this well the main strategy is this tag line this mantra that they are telling everyone stay at home that is really the only way they can limit the spread of kovat 19 the situation though particularly in bed the mores we saw in that report earlier but in general in the region of Lombardy it really is on the brink I burn camo, in particular, the president of the order of doctors they're describing the scenario as apocalyptic.

Prime Minister Giuseppe contains an interview to a local daily essentially says that they are not looking at even more stringent measures in terms of the lockdown a complete block altogether they are looking at banning all outdoor activities and stressing to people stay indoors that's the only way they can limit the spread of the disease now the interior ministry has a review data that in the last eight days they have had to conduct millions of controls and they've taken to task 53,000 people for violations of the lockdown measure so they feel the melt this their seriousness isn't really quite hitting home that even

If you have no symptoms you can spread the disease and that's why the net message is being shouted out from the mountaintops here and doctors have been pleading for help as we saw in that report are they starting to get the support they need well the doctors are really calling up for help but the situation as I mentioned is dire if you look at Lombardi in particular from what I understand the latest figures show that they've already lost 10 doctors to the coronavirus epidemic a pandemic and some more than 2600 doctors have been infected with the virus and that means it becomes difficult for them to actually carry out their work so yes they are turning to military doctors they are fast-tracking the graduation of medical students they're turning to the private sector and as we saw a 300 intensive care doctors have arrived from China as well bringing their expertise from their experience there to the locals here and what they're asking for as well is more bids and more equipment it takes a while to get everything there

But the authorities the government is large is looking at producing the mass producing the respirators here in Italy in order to meet this need now we're speaking largely about the north of the country what about further south where you are how is the crisis unfolding there well there is concern now here about access to essentials there's talk that perhaps the supermarket hours might be staggered in order to limit the amount of movement when people go out to get groceries so this concern about that you definitely see more police presence on the street as they control the movements of people but on top of that we've seen infection rates here in the south of the country increase but fairly contained particularly here in Rome and we just have to see what's going to happen in the next coming days and weeks because of course we did see that great movement of thousands of people from the north who came down south just before the lockdown measure was put in place so is that going to cause another wave of infection that is why they're insisting so much on social distancing and the big message to stay at home that way you can limit the spread even if you feel well you could be a carrier and they'd say Magreb - reporting for us in Rome thank you I hear in Germany the disease a Disease Control Center says the number of confirmed cases has climbed by almost 3,000 when the in space of 24 hours that brings the overall number of infections to 11,000 this as the German Foreign Office launches a major airlift operation to bring home German tourists stranded abroad due to the pandemic it's estimated around a hundred thousand Germans are waiting to be repatriated many of them were left with little option but to stay put when Airlines started grounding flights arriving home on this plane landing in Berlin tourists returning from Egypt this was one of the last scheduled flights bringing passengers back to Germany for many it was a short vacation then came corona and borders everywhere were closed holidaymakers feared they might be stranded there was chaos at the airport

Some people were not on the list we too but with some luck, we managed to get a ticket we are relieved we could get a seat of course about 100,000 Germans are being brought home from around the world they're returning to a country in suspended animation the empty airport is just the first sign that everyday life has changed the taxi drivers here know all about it Corona destroys everything that is happening we never saw anything like this the drivers are fighting amongst each other fighting about getting a fare that is not right yeah monsuno some wait four or five hours without getting any business if we taxi drivers don't work we don't turn anything we didn't mix in Egypt alone

Thirty thousand Germans are waiting for their chance to fly home the Berlin government is mobilizing 50 million euros to make these flights possible but passengers will have to pay a fare equivalent to an economy class ticket Germany says it may call in the military to deal with the impact of the coronavirus defense minister and a grape cram Karen Bauer outlined plans for the potential role of Bundeswehr their troops they could include repatriating German nationals from crisis regions and supporting medical efforts to treat patients with the virus Australia and New Zealand have announced they're closing their borders to all visitors to try to stem the spread of the coronavirus the two nations are only allowing citizens residents and close family members to enter the travel ban came into force in New Zealand on Thursday night Australia's ban will start on Friday Australia has so far recorded around 600 coronavirus infections while New Zealand has confirmed almost 30 total cases well

Let's have a look now at some of the other Korona related developments around the world the --use chief Brexit negotiator Michele Barnea says he's tested positive for covert 19 but he tweeted that he's doing well and is in good spirits Spain reports a big jump in new infections and more than 200 deaths since the day before Spain's total death toll is now almost 717 in more positive news China reported no new local cases of the infection on Wednesday for the first time since it began recording them in January and in India Prime Minister Narendra Modi is addressing the nation after chairing a high-level meeting on efforts to control the outbreak for the latest from India we're joined by our Delhi correspondent nimisha Joyce

While Nimisha what were the main takeaways from Prime Minister Modi's address for their enterprises well Rebecca the prime minister has a reputation for making dramatic announcements when he comes to these national addresses but this one was not one of them the Prime Minister mainly focused on encouraging social distancing asking citizens to stay indoors after people above sixty sixty-five to not go out specifically and only those who are participating in essential services to step out but this is entirely voluntary this is just something he is encouraging people to do there is no knockdown there's no shutdown this only the measures that were already in place would squall just remain shut but no announcements about markets being shot for example the one thing the Prime Minister called for is again a warrant she would complete lockdown on Sunday

He asked people to not come out of their homes this Sunday for 14 hours but again this is entirely voluntary so nothing specifically shocking from this announcement he also said that Nanak group will be constituted to ensure that people are not too badly impacted by the coronavirus but that's about all the Prime Minister have to say to them the number of infections in India is still comparatively low given the high population are their fears of a surge of speculations that the reason the Indian government has moved so quickly in its actions, for example, canceling all foreign visas stopping flights coming in from affected areas and restricting flights coming in from other countries even further over the next week could be because while the numbers are low India does not have the capacity perhaps to handle a massive surge in cases India has amongst the lowest GDP percentage spending on health care and there is concern about surgeon cases that could happen

If the patterns of other countries ought to be learned from now of course there's also criticism of the Indian government while strict measures have been taken some health experts are saying India is not testing enough and if there was more testing it could be found out that India is not at stage 2 which is local transmission other claims but could well be at stage 3 which is community transmission public spaces in India are different than they are in Europe or China for instance what are some of the particular challenges facing India and dealing with this pandemic 50 people per square kilometer and this is over thrice as much as China's now with markets not being shut we have seen the streets continue to bear a pretty business, as usual, look even though there is a widespread concern there is vice pair awareness but many people especially those from poor socioeconomic backgrounds feel that they must continue stepping up to own the level two on a daily wage and this also makes social distancing very difficult in urban spaces like New Delhi and Mumbai slums and poor areas are actually densely packed so once again can be very difficult this could again explain

Why India is moving so fast right now to create these separations because once the virus gets into these spaces it would become extremely difficult to contain I mean should I swallow in Delhi thank you Taiwan has managed to keep its infection rate far lower than neighboring countries despite its proximity to China where the virus originated weeks ago the island was expected to become the second worst-hit region after China but that didn't happen so what did Taiwan do right and how is it coping with the ongoing pandemic DW Phoebe Kong sent us this report from Taiwan surgical masks and goggles have become part of dr. Ho's uniform since the coronavirus outbreak began he was among the first group of doctors in Taiwan to treat suspected patients that were back in January when the virus first spread from China across the strait Mattawan song Zika and don't watch ours Taiwan is experienced in understanding China we know what is reliable and when we should be skeptical and because Taiwan has long been isolated from the international community we must take more steps ahead of the crisis and use her own judgment thoughts this appreciate cities in China

This is where he ended up sleeping a dormitory next to the hospital set aside for medical staff like him for Taiwan vigilance as the treatment for a disease with no cure Sanya it was hard to identify misinformation at first I was scared of spreading the virus to my family I think this has to be a collective effort if each of us takes very strict precautions ourselves it eases the burden on the health care system other than medics and military students and teachers at high school level and below are now banned from overseas travel foreigners are denied entry but containing the virus is not only about border control communities have found themselves on the front line district officer of the local government Gary Quan monitors individuals under 14 day home quarantine one of his duties is to take care of the daily needs such as delivering fresh food we hope to make it easier for quarantine people to stay at home to reduce the risk of contagion if anyone leaves the apartment will be alerted by text message and call the police he or she may be found quarantine and Taiwan may feel service-based but it's also stringent individuals are under surveillance telecom providers are cooperating to enable the government to track people via their mobile phones health officials believe technology helps contain concern and prevent panic one example is the face mask rationing system

Where people can place their order and check availability online new technology helps us to systemize containment policies in a transparent way it helps the public build up a sense of trust in the government because they're well informed about the situation America taiwan's next step is to broaden its testing regimen NEADS out your quiet eels anyone with overseas travel history fever or respiratory symptoms is eligible for testing according to research this spread of the virus can be largely contained if 60% of infection chains are broken we're trying our best to achieve that the island remains concerned about a potential massive outbreak while waiting for a vaccine community and government led containment is the only way anyone knows how to fight the virus 25 million people worldwide will lose their jobs because of the corona virus outbreak that's the warning from the International Labour Organization people working in the tourism and service sector will be among the work most affected the number of working poor holding one or more jobs will also increase significantly the United Nations agency said it's called for urgent large-scale measures to protect workers including paid leave short term short time allowances and other subsidies the CEO of German airline Lufthansa has warned that the corona virus is a jeopardizing the future of aviation Carsten Spohr said governments may need to fork out a lot of money to save the entire industry from the fallout of the pandemic only 5% of Lufthansa scheduled flights are taking off right now nearly all planes are grounded due to entry restrictions and the collapse in demand

If the current situation doesn't improve in the coming weeks which nobody expects we'll talk to the government to determine the basic flight services they think should be maintained from the business point of view flying doesn't make any sense right now Lufthansa CEO says Europe's largest airline is in good financial shape for now but he did not provide an outlook for 2020 he said nobody can predict the entire fallout of the pandemic according to the consultancy firm Kappa Center for aviation Airlines in the world will be bankrupt by the end of May unless governments intervene international industry group a yachtie says up to 200 billion dollars are needed to help cushion the blow of the outbreak the European Central Bank has announced a 750 billion euro bond buying program to help stabilize markets reeling from the fallout of the outbreak it's just one of many stimulus plans announced by policymakers across the developed world european stocks have shed their gains from earlier in the day the ECB stimulus measures not yet enough to bring calm back to volatile markets the white house - trying to tame the chaos with enormous stimulus packages to war and so you know basically you know what many of the industries are what we want to do is we want to make sure they all stay together

So that after the war is won we can immediately go right back up to where we were and even beyond that meanwhile economists say the United States is headed for a recession as is Europe much like the world's second largest economy China China is accounted for a large share of global economic growth so the outlook is negative across the world on top of the self-isolation and social distancing measures that people around the world are practicing there are also some simple hygiene guidelines to follow that can help stop the corona virus from spreading here's a reminder wash your hands with soap and water and do it often keep going for at least 20 seconds especially after you've been in a public place alcohol-based hand sanitizers are a good alternative if you cough or sneeze cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or use the inside of your elbow throw away used tissues and don't use them twice after blowing your nose coughing or sneezing wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces every day this includes tables door handles light switches countertops desks phones keyboards toilets taps and sinks our science correspondent Derek Williams is following the latest medical developments

Derek anything to add to these measures yes when it comes to social distancing there there is a number missing the World Health Organization is recommended that you remain at least a meter away from anyone who's coughing or sneezing um the thing about social distancing measures is that actually they're one of the few things that we know will slow infection rates down there's some pretty good evidence from from earlier epidemics and pandemics like the Spanish flu pandemic and of 1918 that social distancing really can have an impact on how fast an infection moves through a population the measures are difficult to enforce of course and they also aren't for free they have huge economic costs but social distancing measures really can help limit exposure and what no medications are vaccines out there at the moment they're going to be key to flattening infection curves in Europe and and around the world now there's been a question about the safety of using ibuprofen what's the latest on that yeah this is one of those stories that's very quickly grown very difficult to follow you know that the problem is is that different authorities have ended up issuing different recommendations and they're often really contradictory and in the end you feel like there's no really clear answers I mean I started to follow the story when I when I received this two minute long what's that voice message from a colleague last weekend you might have gotten it too it was it circulated very quickly on on German speaking social media platforms and in it there was this woman claiming to be a young mother who said that doctors at Vienna University clinic had discovered that Coppa 19 cases got worse for patients taking the anti-inflammatory ibuprofen

Now the clinic responded very fast to that in just a few hours and announced that post as fake news but then the French Health Minister got involved and basically said the rumor was true that ibuprofen could indeed be dangerous for coronavirus patients now a w-h-o official also then said it might cause problems but then the European Medicines Agency the EMA yesterday said the opposite and there's no clinical death there's no clinical evidence whatsoever that ibuprofen actually affects the course of copán 19 now the w-h-o has backtracked and is saying that it's okay after all and that it's not recommended recommending against the use of idol program so it's just lots of chaos a lot of confusion about whether it's safe or not yeah quite a lot of conjecture but what is it about ibuprofen that poses that that might pose a threat well this is really kind of at the heart of the problem all of these cases we're coping 19 patients reportedly had a poor outcome due to ibuprofen are anecdotal

So there aren't any clinical trials that are backing up these allegations the fears appear to have been sparked by a letter last week to the medical journal the lancet Dennett some researchers noted that compounds like ibuprofen affect certain receptors found on the surfaces of cells which happen to be the same receptors that coronavirus is used to invade the cell so these researchers hypothesized a connection but we don't have enough information to either prove or disprove that hypothesis at this particular juncture still just this morning I talked with the doctor about this and he left no doubt that this was definitely going to have an effect on what people are prescribed whether that decision is based on science or not most physicians from now on are probably going to prefer to err on the side of caution and prescribe other medicines for fever like paracetamol which is also called acetaminophen in u.s. or often known by its brand name tylenol one caution though is that at the end an important point that the pain came up time and time again as we were doing our as I was looking into this is that doctors say that if you take ibuprofen for a chronic condition you really shouldn't stop taking it one day to the next okay if you're talking to your doctor first science correspondent Derek Williams follow thanks very much for the update