Nyakallo Tefu
Governments around the world have announced a raft of urgent and drastic measures to respond to the rapidly escalating spread of coronavirus.
Several high profile sporting, political and cultural events have also been cancelled to minimise risks of transmission.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has described the coronavirus pandemic as the “defining global health crisis of our time”, and urged countries to test all suspected cases of COVID-19.
Malaysia recorded its first death from the coronavirus while the United States and countries across Europe, Asia and the Middle East have closed schools, entertainment venues and all but essential services.
SOUTH AFRICA
All South African schools will be closed as from Wednesday following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement on Sunday.
Government has also banned large gatherings of more than 100 people.
In a media statement, Presidency announced on Tuesday that President Cyril Ramaphosa has, in his capacity as Chair of the African Union, requested a postponement of a meeting – scheduled for Thursday 19 March – with Commissioners of the African Union Commission.
Ramaphosa’s request arises from the priority he is giving to South Africa’s national response to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
The President is leading the National Command Council which meets three times a week to coordinate the multi-sectoral response to COVID-19. The AU meeting was scheduled to take place on 19 March 2020 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
African National Congress
With all gatherings of more than 100 people being cancelled, the ANC has postponed all its conferences at regional and provincial level for the next three months due to COVID-19.
ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa made the announcement on Monday
The party’s much anticipated mid-term policy review conference, the National General Council, will not take place until further notice.
Economic Freedom Fighters
The EFF has called off all its major gatherings and events.
This includes the EFF’s Sharpeville Massacre Commemoration Rally which was set to take place on March 21 2020.
UNITED STATES
At least 7 million people in the San Francisco Bay Area have this week been ordered to shelter at their homes and only leave for “essential” reasons, the strictest measures in America so far.
MALAYSIA
Malaysia has banned foreign travel and is allowing only essential services to stay open. The country has also recorded its first death.
FRANCE
France has allowed people to leave home only to buy food, go to work, or do other essential tasks, restrictions President Emmanuel Macron said were heightened because people hadn’t complied with earlier guidelines and “we are at war.”
INDIA
India shut down the Taj Mahal to visitors. Most schools and entertainment facilities were already closed across India, the world’s second-most populous country with 1.3 billion people.
AUSTRALIA
Researchers in Australia say they have mapped the body’s immune response to the novel #coronavirus, in a potential breakthrough in the fight against the global killer.
Australia’s newly minted national cabinet will consider banning groups of more than 100 people in enclosed areas when it meets on Tuesday, as it responds to the rapidly escalating spread of the coronavirus. Government modelling shows that with quarantine and isolation measures in place, Australia could see between 40,000 and 80,000 cases a day by August, with estimates as high as 300,000 cases a day by July if the disease is allowed to spread “unmitigated”.
ITALY
Italy has been hit particularly hard, with some 2,000 deaths thus far. The reason why Italy is suffering so badly, write University of Oxford researchers in a new paper in the journal Demographic Science, may be twofold: The country has the second-oldest population on Earth, and its young tend to mingle more often with the elderly, like their grandparents.
SOURCE: AP and other news agencies
