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Coronavirus

The red zone of Italy

Italy’s lockdown measures to try to beat the coronavirus are reducing its economic output by around 10-15%, Lorenzo Codogno, a former Italian Treasury chief economist said.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte unexpectedly expanded the so-called red zone to the entire country on Monday night, introducing the most severe controls on a Western nation since World War Two and raising fears for the future, especially among small businesses.

The death toll in Italy jumped by 168 to 631 on Tuesday. The increase of 36% is the largest rise in absolute numbers since the contagion came to light on Feb. 21.

EU stands shoulder-to-shoulder to weather storm

“We will use all the tools at our disposal to make sure that the European economy weathers this storm,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reassured the EU after an extraordinary summit of leaders, all of whom have now confirmed cases of coronavirus in their countries.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, will set up a joint investment fund with firepower of $28 billion from existing resources to cushion the blow to vulnerable sectors of the bloc’s economies, she said.

However, the fund will have no fresh money, an EU official said, raising doubts about its effectiveness to provide a sufficient fiscal boost to counter a serious downturn.

The spread

There are over 119,000 cases of coronavirus globally and 4,296 deaths linked to the virus as of Wednesday 0200 GMT, according to a Reuters tally.

Over 55% of cases have been reportedly cured, including roughly 61,400 of China’s total 80,909 cases.

New countries reporting cases in the past 12 hours were Bolivia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Jamaica and Turkey.

Fatalities were up over 26% globally from a day earlier, with Italy and Iran reporting 168 and 54 deaths respectively. Other countries reporting fatalities include Monaco, France, Japan, Lebanon, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Panama also recorded its first fatality among seven new confirmed cases, only a day after reporting its first case.

For an interactive graphic of the spread, click here

In Tokyo, there's a growing sense of angst over virus-hit Games. For weeks, Olympic organizers have relentlessly pushed a consistent message: The Summer Games in Tokyo will not be canceled or postponed. But behind the scenes, sponsors who have pumped billions of dollars into the Games have grown increasingly nervous about how the coronavirus outbreak will impact the tournament.

As pressure for coronavirus vaccine mounts, scientists debate risks of accelerated testing. Drugmakers are working as quickly as possible to develop a vaccine to combat the rapidly spreading coronavirus that has infected more than 100,000 people worldwide. Behind the scenes, scientists and medical experts are concerned that rushing a vaccine could end up worsening the infection in some patients rather than preventing it.

U.S. may see blood shortages as coronavirus cancels office blood drives. Blood banks are concerned about potential shortages as Americans concerned about catching the new coronavirus avoid donation sites and companies with employees working from home cancel blood drives.

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