The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Friday that Europe was now the “epicentre” for the global coronavirus pandemic and reporting more daily cases than China did at the height of its outbreak.
“Europe has now become the epicentre of the pandemic,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a virtual Press conference, describing the more than 5,000 deaths worldwide as “a tragic milestone”.
The death toll from COVID-19 jumped over 5,000 on Friday as the number of cases around the world topped 134,000, according to an AFP tally.
Europe is bearing the brunt of increasing infections, but Iran clocked more deaths on Friday and cases were reported in Kenya and Ethiopia, the first in east Africa.
Across the globe, Governments are imposing draconian measures never before seen in peacetime — sealing off borders, closing schools and cancelling public gatherings.
The virus has also torn up the sporting and cultural calendar, with top-flight events from Broadway to English Premier League football scrapped. The virus, which first emerged in China in December, has spread relentlessly around the world even as cases in Asia have levelled out in recent days. South Korea — once grappling with the largest coronavirus outbreak outside China — saw newly recovered patients exceed fresh infections for the first time, as it reported the lowest number of new cases for three weeks.
China earlier this week claimed “the peak” of the pandemic had passed its shores, but infections and deaths have jumped dramatically in Italy, Spain and Iran.
COVID-19 is sparing no-one. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he was in self-imposed quarantine after his wife tested positive, the day after Hollywood star Tom Hanks said he and his wife were infected. Australia’s Home Minister Peter Dutton announced he had tested positive, while as leaders in Brazil and the Philippines await test results.
France — the world’s most visited country — has ordered schools and universities closed until further notice and announced it was banning gatherings of more 100 people, following similar moves in many other countries.
President Emmanuel Macron said it was “the worst health crisis in France in a century”. The measures came after Italy — second worst hit in the world — imposed the continent’s toughest response to the outbreak, shutting all shops except for pharmacies and groceries in the hope of stemming contagion and easing the burden on overstretched hospitals.
With nations imposing travel bans and closing borders, global tourism has ground to a halt, throwing the aviation industry into chaos and leaving travellers stranded.
In European airports, confused passengers scrambled to redraw their plans after US President Donald Trump this week banned all travellers from mainland Europe for 30 days.
“We just got off our plane and we’re going to go straight back — we can’t believe it,” said 29-year-old Tiara Streng, queueing with three friends at London’s Heathrow Airport for a return flight to Colorado.
The Czech Republic became the latest European country to order the closure of its borders, sealing it off from a number of countries, including virus hotspots.
Such measures were criticised by EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, who said travel bans were not seen by the WHO as being effective.
Fellow EU state Hungary has also imposed border restrictions — with outspoken nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban blaming foreigners for the spread of COVID-19. “Our experience is that primarily foreigners brought in the disease, and that it is spreading among foreigners,” he said in a radio interview.