European Union raises coronavirus risk level from 'moderate to high'

The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has raised the risk level of the novel coronavirus from “moderate to high” for Europeans, as the outbreak continues to spread to most European Union states.

The EU’s disease prevention agency warned on Monday that a significant increase in Covid-19 cases in the coming weeks would have a high impact on public health and healthcare systems.

Earlier in the day, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also said the ECDC had raised its assessment of coronavirus risks in the bloc from moderate to high for people in the European Union.

“In other words, the virus continues to spread,” she said.

The ECDC is providing daily updates on the progress of the outbreak.

Updated figures show 89,068 confirmed cases of the illness globally, 2,199 of them in Europe, and just over 3,000 deaths, the bulk of them in China.

Coronavirus outbreak: Global death toll passes 3,000 mark

China says it has recorded 42 new deaths from the new coronavirus afflicting the country and the world, bringing the total global death toll to over 3,000.

Europe has not been as hard hit as China, but several member countries have had outbreaks and the EU is scrambling to coordinate the health response.

Italy has suffered the gravest outbreak, including 34 deaths, with 1,694 people tested positive.

"As of this morning, we have 2,100 confirmed cases in 18 EU member states and we have 38 citizens who have lost their lives," EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said.

"Different member states face different challenges in relation to the COVID-19 outbreak. Italy is facing a situation which is not the same as other member states."

UK's Johnson: Prepare for coronavirus to spread

Separately on Monday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the country needed to be prepared for the new coronavirus to spread further.

"I think it's very important to stress that this is a problem that is likely to become more significant for this country in the course of the next days and weeks," Johnson said, adding, "We'll be making every possible preparation for that and this country is very, very well prepared."

Johnson noted, "I think it's very important to stress that this is a problem that I think is likely to become more significant for this country in the course of the next days and weeks and therefore that we'd be making every possible preparation for that.

British health authorities have also said there had been four more confirmed cases of coronavirus, bringing the total to 40.

England's chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, said the four new patients had recently traveled from Italy.

Three patients die of coronavirus in northern France

Three patients have died of coronavirus in northern France, raising the death toll in the country to five.

"As of Monday, according to the latest information I have, there were another two deaths in the hospital of Compiegne," Philippe Marini, the mayor of Compiegne, was reported as saying by Le Parisien newspaper on Monday.

A third person also died of the new coronavirus, sources in northern France said Monday, confirming the death of an elderly woman in a town that already lost a schoolteacher to the disease.

The woman, who was in her eighties, lived in Crepy-en-Valois, 70 kilometers northeast of Paris, where a 60-year-old teacher who died last week had been working.

Paris Louvre Museum closes over coronavirus fears

The Louvre Museum in Paris closes doors to visitors after workers staged a walkout amid fears of coronavirus outbreak.

As of Sunday, France had 130 confirmed cases of the flu-like disease. The French Health Ministry did not return calls for comment.

Sweden ups risk of wide coronavirus outbreak

Sweden's Public Health Agency has raised its assessment of the risk of a widespread outbreak of coronavirus in the country to "moderate" from "low."

The agency also said it now sees the risk of imported cases and of Swedish citizens being infected abroad as "very high," up from the previous assessment of "high."

"In particular the situation in Italy means that we now expect that Swedish citizens will be infected, and also come to Sweden with the infection," the head of the agency Johan Carlson said.

Sweden has 14 confirmed cases of coronavirus but no fatalities.

Portugal confirms first coronavirus

Portugal has confirmed its first case of the new coronavirus, a 60-year-old man who had traveled back from northern Italy, which is the European hotspot for the virus.

A second person hospitalized in Portugal with coronavirus symptoms, a 33-year-old man, was awaiting final test results after initial exams suggested he might be ill with the virus as well.

The second suspected case was a person who had returned from eastern Spain, where several COVID-19 cases have been confirmed.

Portugal's government said it would extend screening measures to people arriving from Italy, in line with similar precautions already imposed on travelers from China.

Deaths from the coronavirus surpassed a grim milestone Monday, with more than 3,000 people killed globally.

Over 89,000 people have been infected across 68 countries and territories, the lion's share in China where the virus emerged in late December.

South Korean sect leader apologizes over coronavirus spread

The leader of a South Korean sect linked to more than half of the country

Coronavirus to have ‘substantial’ impact on trade: WTO

World Trade Organization (WTO) Director General Roberto Azevedo says he expects the coronavirus epidemic to have a "substantial" impact on the global economy, but stressed that plans for a June ministerial meeting were going ahead.

"The effects on the global economy are also likely to be substantial and will start to show up in the trade data in the weeks to come," Azevedo told heads of delegations in a closed-door meeting in Geneva on Monday.

"For MC-12, we are proceeding as planned. Should the situation so demand, we will take any necessary action," he added, referring to the June ministerial meeting in Kazakhstan.

The meeting, where member states will seek to clinch deals on agriculture, e-commerce and fisheries subsidies among other topics, is expected to have several thousand participants.

Nike closes European HQ in Netherlands due to coronavirus case

US sportswear giant Nike says its European headquarters in the Netherlands would be closed until Wednesday after an employee was infected with the new coronavirus.

"We are aware of an employee coronavirus (COVID-19) case. Out of an abundance of caution, we are conducting a deep cleaning of the (European headquarters) campus," the company said in a statement on Monday. 

Dutch health authorities have reported 18 coronavirus infections since February 27.

All facilities in Hilversum, where roughly 2,000 employees from 80 countries work, will be disinfected.

Nike's global headquarters in the US state of Oregon were closed over the weekend for cleaning due to a suspected coronavirus case.

"We are aware of the presumptive case of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Lake Oswego," the Nike statement said.

"While we have no information indicating any exposure to Nike employees, out of an abundance of caution, we are conducting a deep cleaning of campus."

Jordan confirms first case of coronavirus

Jordan says a man who had flown in from Italy had tested positive for the new coronavirus, the first case confirmed in the country.

The Jordanian citizen had flown back nearly two weeks ago on a plane with around 100 passengers, Jordan's Minister of Health Saad Fayez Jaber told a news conference on Monday. 

The man was quarantined at his home with strict controls on his movement and was in "stable" condition, Jaber said.

Another Jordanian was under close observation, the minister added.

Italy, the European country worst affected by the outbreak so far, has recorded 34 deaths and 1,694 cases.

Last week, Jordan's state carrier Royal Jordanian suspended flights between Amman and Rome until further notice and reduced flights to major Asian destinations.

'2nd US coronavirus death signals undetected spread'

A second person has died of the coronavirus in the United States, signaling the undetected spread of the virus there for some time, US media say.

India reports 3 more cases of coronavirus, including Italian national

An Italian national has tested positive for coronavirus in the western Indian state of Rajasthan, a major tourist destination, taking the number of people who have tested positive in the country to six.

The patient had initially tested negative for the virus but a second test came out positive, a hospital official in Rajasthan's capital city of Jaipur said on Monday, declining to be named since he is not authorized to speak to the media.

"The patient has been moved to an isolation ward," the official said, adding that a third test would be conducted.

Separately on Monday, the Indian government said two other people had tested positive for the coronavirus.

The news hammered already rocky stock markets.

One of the new cases was detected in the capital, New Delhi, while the other was in the southern state of Telangana, the government said in a statement.

The New Delhi patient had been in Italy and the one in Telangana had been in the United Arab Emirates, the government said; both were stable and being closely monitored.

"The government is monitoring the situation at the highest-level," Health Minister Harsh Vardhan told a briefing in New Delhi.

Authorities were screening travelers arriving from 12 countries, Vardhan said, adding that more than 1 million people had been screened on the border with Nepal.

In Jaipur, the hospital official said that at least 15 doctors, staff and patients who may have come into contact with the Italian patient would be tested.

Indian shares sank sharply on the news, ending lower for the seventh straight session.

The NSE Nifty 50 index erased gains of up to 2% to close 0.62% lower. The rupee was 0.07% weaker at 72.4300 against the dollar.

The coronavirus, which was identified in China late last year, has quickly spread to dozens of countries, killing nearly 3,000 people and disrupting global business supply chains.

India is the world's second most heavily populated country after China.

The government has advised Indians to refrain from non-essential travel to the worst affected countries, including China, South Korea, Iran and Italy.

Meanwhile, the three other patients who had tested positive for coronavirus in India have all been discharged from hospital, and were in quarantine in their homes, the government in Kerala state said last week.

All three had returned from Wuhan, the Chinese city at the epicenter of the outbreak.

Egypt detects second coronavirus case

Egypt has reported its second case of novel coronavirus, more than two weeks after announcing the first confirmed infection in Africa.

The foreigner is showing "minor symptoms" and has been quarantined, the ministry and the World Health Organization said in a joint statement on Monday. 

Other people who had contact with the patient are undergoing medical tests, it added.

Egypt announced its first confirmed case of novel coronavirus on February 14.

The patient, a Chinese national, was released last week after recovering, the statement said.

Cairo has been cooperating with French and Canadian authorities after they both announced seven confirmed cases of the virus from travelers coming from Egypt.

With the number of cases rising in the Persian Gulf, Qatar imposed a temporary ban on visitors coming from Egypt via transit points on Sunday citing the spread of COVID-19.

Kuwait stopped short of a flight restriction but added extra screening measures for travelers boarding their flights from Egypt.

Egyptian Health Minister Hala Zayed traveled to China on Sunday amid mounting criticisms and satirical posts on social media of her ministry's handling of the outbreak.

At a news conference at Cairo airport, she praised Beijing's efforts to contain the spread of the virus.

That same evening, Egypt projected the Chinese flag in solidarity with Beijing on some of its most historical monuments.

The Salah al-Din Citadel in Cairo and ancient temples of Karnak and Philae in the south were are lit up in the color red along with the golden stars of China's national flag.

The global death toll from the epidemic surpassed 3,000 on Monday after dozens more were killed in China and cases soared around the world with a second fatality on US soil.

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