WHO: Coronavirus pandemic spreading faster?

In the Church of Naples, sanitary treatment is carried out. The pandemic of the new coronavirus that causes Covid-19 is spreading across the planet at an accelerating rate, said the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “It took 67 days from the detection of the first case to the moment when the number of infected reached 100,000. It took 11 days to go from 100,000 to 200,000, and the third 100,000 cases appeared in just four days,” Gebreyesus said at the briefing in Geneva. The disease is currently diagnosed in nearly 350,000 patients worldwide. As of Monday morning, approximately 15,000 people worldwide have died from Covid-19, and over 100,000 people have recovered. The highest number of deaths is in Italy (about 5,500 people) and China (3,153 people).

Spain has recorded the highest mortality rate among those infected with the coronavirus since the beginning of the epidemic. In the last 24 hours, 462 people have died from Covid-19 in this country, which is 26% more than in the previous 24 hours. The number of people infected has also increased by 4500. Hospitals in Spanish cities are struggling to cope with the influx of patients requiring hospitalization.

In Britain, Parliament will debate on Monday whether to introduce new emergency measures that could close airports and give police powers to isolate people showing symptoms of the virus. British authorities are unhappy with the behavior of the country’s residents who, despite advice not to gather in groups, went for mass walks in parks last weekend. On Monday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock described such behaviour as “extremely selfish”. “It could be costing lives, and for everyone else it means that isolation measures will be extended for longer,” the minister said in an interview with the lead presenter of the BBC’s morning show on Monday.

Over the weekend, Britons took to the streets in parks, much to the displeasure of the authorities. Earlier, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that if the isolation rules continue to be violated, the government will take stricter measures. Last weekend, all pubs, bars, restaurants and nightclubs in Britain were closed (except for delivery and takeaway services). The McDonald’s company announced the decision to temporarily close all cafes in the kingdom. The government urged citizens not to use public transportation. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Sunday that if the recommendations for quarantine are not followed, measures such as those in Italy, which include complete shop closures and mandatory stay-at-home orders, could be implemented in Britain within days. In Italy itself, the restrictive measures have become even stricter – Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Monday ordered the closure of all companies not on the list of critical importance. About a hundred categories of businesses, including food producers, paper manufacturers, auto parts and funeral homes, will continue to operate. The movement of people between municipalities has also been restricted.

Italians encourage each other during quarantine with the slogan “Andrà tutto bene,” which means “Everything will be fine. Canada, meanwhile, has decided not to send athletes to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The International Olympic Committee is being urged to postpone or cancel the games. “We understand that there are many difficulties associated with the postponement of the Games, but there is nothing more important than the health and safety of our athletes and the global community,” – says the statement from the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Committees. Australia has already made the same decision: its athletes are preparing to postpone the Olympics until 2021. The Brazilian Olympic Committee is also calling for the Olympics to be moved to next year. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe admitted for the first time on Monday that the Olympics could be postponed.

The Olympic Games can be postponed or canceled, but if the IOC decides not to change the schedule, teams from several countries will not participate. “It is difficult to hold the games under such conditions, so we are forced to make a decision to postpone them. [The final decision rests with the IOC,” said the Japanese Prime Minister. On Sunday, the IOC committee said it would announce its decision within four weeks – the games could be postponed or canceled. On Monday, South Korea once again announced a record low number of new cases. However, the country is taking measures to prevent a new, third outbreak of the disease due to “imported” cases. The country recorded only 64 cases of virus transmission in one day, the lowest figure for the entire month of March. In total, there are 8,961 people infected in South Korea, with 111 deaths from the virus. Approximately 20,000 tests for Covid-19 are performed daily in Korea. On Sunday, a new virus testing procedure went into effect at Incheon International Airport in Seoul. People arriving from Europe or other infected regions will be tested immediately. Within one day, 152 people with symptoms entered the country and are currently awaiting test results. U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of the National Guard to the three states most affected by the spread of the coronavirus – New York, California and Washington. Guardsmen will deliver medicines and set up temporary medical centers for the infected. A total of 35,244 cases of infection have been registered in the country, and 471 people have died.

The streets of American cities are empty. Authorities are concerned that New York will soon face a shortage of essential medicines. The new economic stimulus bill failed to garner the necessary 60 votes in the U.S. Senate on Sunday night due to a lack of support from Democrats. It provided for the allocation of 1.4 trillion dollars. Democrats are insisting that additional guarantees for working Americans be included in the bill. The new vote will take place in the Senate on Monday.

We explain quickly, simply, and clearly what happened, why it matters, and what happens next. The number of offers should remain: episodes. The end of the story: Advertising for Podcasts Many ports around the world have closed, leaving crews of yachts at sea in a state of complete uncertainty. The crew of the Russian yacht “Varvara”, which was on its way to a regatta in Croatia when the epidemic began, reports that their vessel was no longer allowed into ports. The crew of the yacht flew from Athens to Russia because the regatta was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Only the captain and the caretaker remained on board. After the yacht ran out of fuel and supplies, Captain Nikolay Shkurin recorded a video appeal to the Russian Consulate General in Istanbul for help. “We were not allowed to drop anchor on any island in Greece, so we are sailing day and night,” Shkurin said in a video message. According to cat owner Nikolay Novak, there should be enough supplies for the sailors. “We have just sailed through the Dardanelles and are heading for Çanakkale,” Novak told the BBC. The yacht is sailing against a strong wind and it is difficult to save fuel. In a few hours “Varvara” will reach Chanakkale, but Novak doubts that she will be allowed to enter the port. According to Novak, the sailors were told at the Russian consulate that, in theory, they should be allowed to refuel and buy supplies in any Turkish port if they inform that they want to do so without contacting people. However, Novak says that such agreements with the authorities have not been honored so far. “Both Greeks and Turks chased us out of the port of Ayvalik. We don’t know how likely it is that we will be allowed in,” says Novak. “High level of uncertainty. We prepare for the worst and hope for the best,” he added.