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 The impact of the coronavirus on everyday life deepened around the
world. It was detected for the first time in several countries, with
the World Health Organization (WHO) calling Europe the pandemic's
current epicenter. More schools and businesses closed, the global
sporting calendar was left in tatters, and people faced greater
restrictions on where they could go.
"To unleash the full power of the federal government to this effort
today, I am officially declaring a national emergency - two very big
words," Trump said in remarks at the White House Rose Garden, adding
that the U.S. situation could worsen and "the next eight weeks are
critical."
Trump, whose action makes available $50 billion in federal aid to
states and localities, had faced criticism from some experts for
being slow and ineffective in his response to the crisis and playing
down the threat.
The latest steps came two days after Trump announced travel
restrictions blocking U.S. entry for most people from continental
Europe. While Britain was among the countries exempted, Trump said
on Friday that might change because infections there had risen
"precipitously."
The president, who was photographed last Saturday at his private
Florida club with a Brazilian official who has tested positive for
the coronavirus, said he himself likely would be tested "fairly
soon," a reversal of his previous stance. But Trump, 73, said he did
not plan to isolate himself, noting he was suffering no symptoms.
Travel bans have hammered airlines and travel companies worldwide,
while financial markets have been hit by panic selling this week.
The three major U.S. stock indexes rallied more than 9% on Friday,
rebounding from Wall Street's biggest daily drop since 1987. But the
indexes were still about 20% below record highs hit in mid-February.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Europe now had
more reported cases and deaths than the rest of world combined,
apart from China, where the coronavirus originated but where new
cases have slowed to a trickle. The WHO called the death toll
reaching 5,000 globally "a tragic milestone."
The WHO's top emergency expert, Mike Ryan, said social distancing
was a "tried and tested method" to slow the spread of a virus but
"not a panacea" that would stop transmission.
"Blanket travel measures in their own right will do nothing to
protect an individual state," Ryan said.
CULTURAL LANDMARKS
More cultural landmarks were shuttered to try to stop the spread of
the virus. In Paris, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre museum and the
Moulin Rouge cabaret closed their doors. The Smithsonian museums in
Washington were preparing to do so on Saturday and Broadway theaters
in New York went dark.
The kissing of the Blarney Stone, one of Ireland's oldest tourist
traditions, was suspended.
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Central banks worldwide acted to shore up money markets after
cratering share prices drove a rush for cash, hitting many regional
currencies and threatening a surge in short-term borrowing costs.
In China, which bore the brunt of the economic fallout from the
coronavirus in the first few months of 2020, authorities late on
Friday cut banks' reserve requirements for the second time this
year.
The U.S. Federal Reserve followed suit with $37 billion of Treasury
bond purchases, accelerating the enhanced market liquidity measures
announced on Thursday.
Japan's central bank pledged to buy 200 billion yen ($1.90 billion)
of five- to 10-year Japanese government bonds and also inject an
additional 1.5 trillion yen in two-week loans.
The European Union proposed a 37 billion euro ($41
billion)investment initiative as part of a package to cushion the
bloc's economies from the coronavirus impact.
In Italy, which after China has been hardest hit by the respiratory
illness, the death toll jumped by 250 to 1,266 in the last 24 hours,
authorities said. The total number of cases also rose to 17,660 from
a previous 15,113, despite draconian measures to restrict the
movement of people.
In the northern region of Lombardy, at the heart of Italy's
coronavirus epidemic, authorities asked for even stricter steps.
In hard-hit Iran, security forces will empty the streets in cities
across the country, state television reported.
NEW COUNTRIES RECORD CASES
The virus continued its persistent march across the globe. Kenya,
Ethiopia, Sudan and Guinea all confirmed their first cases, giving
the disease a foothold in 18 countries on the African continent.
Kosovo, Venezuela and Kazakhstan also confirmed their first cases,
and Spain declared a state of emergency.
World leaders, sports stars and actors were among the tens of
thousands of people hit by the virus. Golf's crown jewel, The
Masters, England's top-flight soccer Premier League, and the Boston
and London marathons joined the long list of elite sporting events
to be canceled or postponed.
But sport's biggest showpiece, the Olympics, will proceed as
planned, according to Tokyo organizers.
(For interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus:
https://graphics.reuters.com/CHINA-HEALTH-MAP/0100B59S39E/index.html)
(Reporting by Jeff Mason in Washington and Stephanie Nebehay in
Geneva; Additional reporting by Steve Holland in Washington, Mily
Chow and Wang Jing in Beijing, Daniel Leussink and Kaori Kaneko in
Tokyo, Tom Westbrook in Singapore, Duncan Miriri and Omar Mohammed
in Nairobi, Elizabeth Howcroft in London; Fatos Bytyci in Pristina,
and Francesco Guarascio and Philip Blenkinsop in Brussels.; Writing
by Will Dunham, Lincoln Feast and Mike Collett-White; Editing by
Bill Berkrot and Rosalba O'Brien)
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