Key Points:
- Confirmed cases 102 472
- Deaths 3491
- South Africa reports its second case
- Pope cancels major public appearances as cases surge in Europe
- Bank HSBC says an employee at its Canary Wharf offices in London has been diagnosed and it is “deep-cleaning the floor where our colleague worked and shared areas of the building”
- UK airline Flybe has gone into administration and says coronavirus is partly to blame
- The competition watchdog has warned retailers and traders they could be prosecuted for trying to “exploit” the coronavirus outbreak by selling protective products at inflated prices
- England’s Six Nations games against Italy in Rome on 14 and 15 March are expected to be postponed – rather than taking place behind closed doors – as a response to the outbreak
- Iran will close schools and universities until 20 March in an attempt to curb the spread
- Switzerland has reported its first death from the virus – a 74-year-old woman who died in hospital in Lausanne
- California has declared a state of emergency after announcing its first coronavirus death, bringing the US death toll from the disease to 11
- And the world’s biggest dog show, Crufts, has begun in Birmingham, despite two major sponsors pulling out of the event amid fears over the virus
Pope cancels main public appearances and will stream them online
Pope Francis will not address crowds from his usual position in the window overlooking St Peter’s Square, the Vatican said Saturday, with his regular appearances being streamed online instead.
The move is an effort to prevent crowds from gathering as the coronavirus continues to grip Italy, with at least one confirmed case in Vatican City.
These choices are necessary to avoid risks of spreading COVID-19 due to gathering,” the statement said.
The pontiff will also not hold his general audience from St Peter’s Square on Wednesday. Both addresses usually see thousands of people gather to hear the voice of the Pope.
Second case of coronavirus confirmed in South Africa
Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize has confirmed South Africa’s second case of coronavirus in a statement. The patient is a 39-year-old woman from Gauteng who came into contact with the first confirmed case from KwaZulu-Natal.
Statement below:
In the video below, Minister Mkhize gives more details regarding the second case of coronavirus in SA
On Thursday, Mkhize confirmed the first case of the virus in the country. A 38-year-old man from KwaZulu-Natal consulted a doctor on Tuesday with flu-like symptoms after returning from Italy over the weekend. The patient is in quarantine in Grey’s Hospital in Pietermaritzburg.
According to the statement, the second patient will be immediately admitted to a public health facility in Gauteng. She was part of a group of people who had traveled to Italy.
In this video, SA’s first confirmed coronavirus patient is in a stable condition
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