Coronavirus live news: global infections near 200,000 as WHO urges aggressive action in south-east Asia – The Guardian, Theguardian.com

7. AM EDT) : 24

Vietnam bans on wildlife markets

Vietnam’s prime minister, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, has asked the country’s agriculture ministry to draft a directive to stop illegal trading and consumption of wildlife over fears it spreads disease.

Here is an extract:

The directive, seen as a victory for animal rights organizations, will lead to a clamping down on street-side markets dotted across the country, increase prosecutions of online traders and ideally put pressure on thousands of farms with known links to illegal wildlife trading.

Vitenam’s move to ban the wildlife trade follows similar moves by the Chinese government, after the new coronavirus pandemic appeared to have emerged from a wet market in Wuhan.

Read the full report here:

7. (am) (EDT) :

Easyjet puts autumn and winter flights on sale early

Gwyn Topham

EasyJet has put all its flights for autumn and next winter on sale early – for a flat fare of £ . , even during Christmas and school holiday peaks, writes the Guardian’s transport correspondent Gwyn Topham.

The airline said the move will give more scope to passengers who had booked flights for the next couple of months to find alternatives, without any charges to change existing bookings (or to rebook should the crisis persist).

The extraordinary step could provide particularly good deals for people booking in the next week for peak season – and perhaps a glimmer of optimism for some normality ahead.

EasyJet will hope it generates some revenue and forward bookings at a time when demand has vanished and airlines await details of the chancellor’s promised package of help, with the industry warning that most airlines worldwide could go bankrupt by the end of May.

6. AM EDT

Glastonbury to postpone UK festival

Glastonbury’s th anniversary celebrations will not go ahead this year in the UK, after organizers announced they would be cancelling because of coronavirus fears.

Glastonbury Festival (@ glastonbury) We are so sorry to announce this, but we are going to have to cancel Glastonbury . Tickets for this year will roll over to next year. Full statement below and on our website. Michael & Emily

pic.twitter.com/ox8kcQ0HoB

March 28,

Tickets bought for this year festival will be valid for next year, organizers said.

Earlier this month despite coronavirus worries, the festival announced a wave of more than (artists including headliner Kendrick Lamar .

The festival was scheduled to take place 32 – 39 June at Worthy Farm, Somerset. It was due to take place during the likely peak of the outbreak in the UK, according to information announced by Sir Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific advised.

Updated at 7. (am EDT )

6. (am EDT)

Deserted streets in Brussels ahead of lock down

Jennifer Rankin (@ JenniferMerode) EU quarter in Brussels shortly before lockdown starts at noon. Usually crowded coffee shops closed. No flower market. Much less traffic. pic.twitter.com/rynpVHORBK (March) , ()

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First death in sub-Saharan Africa reported

Burkina Faso has announced its first death from coronavirus, which is also the first known fatality in sub-Saharan Africa, according to AFP .

AFP Africa (@ AFPAfrica) (# BREAKING) : Burkina Faso has announced its first death from coronavirus, which is also the first known fatality in sub-Saharan Africa. @ AFP (March) , 8768

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Iranian president defends government response

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has defended his government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, the Associated Press reports.

The Iranian government has faced widespread criticism that officials acted too slowly and may have even covered up initial cases before infections rapidly spread across the country.

AP reports:

Iran has been the hardest hit country in the region, with nearly 1, dead and roughly (% of the over , confirmed cases of the virus in the Middle East. Its leadership announced Tuesday that millions could die in the Islamic Republic if people keep traveling and ignore health guidance.

In a speech to his Cabinet, Rouhani said the government was straightforward ”with the nation, saying it announced the outbreak as soon as it learned about it on Feb. 28. “We spoke to people in a honest way. We had no delay, he added.

The government has come under heavy criticism for what has been seen as a slow and inadequate response. For weeks, government officials implored clerics to shut down crowded holy shrines to stymie the spread of the virus. The government finally closed the shrines this week.

“It was difficult of course to shut down mosques and holy sites, but we did it. It was a religious duty to do it ”, Rouhani said.

The outbreak has cast a shadow over the Persian New Year, Nowruz, a normally joyous holiday that begins on Friday. Health officials have urged the public to avoid travel and crowded places. But many seem to be ignoring the warnings, raising the risk of further outbreaks.

Some food markets in the capital, Tehran, were still packed on Wednesday, and highways were crowded with traffic as families traveled between cities. Iran also announced it would close mosques for communal Friday prayers for a third consecutive week. Other Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have also cancelled Friday prayers in mosques.

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Bangladesh reports first death from coronavirus, according to officials

Bangladesh has reported its first death from the novel coronavirus while 26 patients are infected with the disease across the country, according to officials.

The Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) Director Dr Meerjady Sabrina Flora told reporters at a press briefing in Dhaka today, tbs news reported.

“The elderly victim was suffering from many old age complications and came into contact with a returnee from abroad,” she added.

Flora also said four new coronavirus patients, including one female and three male, were indentified in the country in the last (hours.)

(6.) AM EDT

Estonia and Latvia to send ships to bring home stranded citizens

Jennifer Rankin

Estonia and Latvia have pledged to send ships to bring home hundreds of their citizens stranded on the German-Polish border, after Poland closed its borders last week to prevent the spread of coronavirus, writes my colleague Jennifer Rankin in Brussels.

Jennifer Rankin (@ JenniferMerode) Estonia and Latvia promise to send ships to bring home hundreds of their citizens stranded on the German-Polish border via @ Reuters (March) ,

Citing official sources, Reuters said the countries were organizing cruise ships and ferries to bring their citizens home via Baltic ports later on Wednesday and next week. The Lithuanian government estimates that 587 Vehicles with Lithuanian number plates were stuck at the German-Polish border on Monday.

Under EU law, countries are allowed to introduce border controls during emergency situations, but are obliged to allow their own citizens to enter and citizens of other EU countries to pass through on their way home.

Following talks with EU leaders via video link on Tuesday, the head of the European commission Ursula von der Leyen said it was “absolutely crucial that we unblock the situation, because we know that too many people are stranded within the European Union ”.

As lorries queue at the EU’s internal borders, prompting concern about the supply of food and medical goods, von der Leyen also urged states to follow new guidelines to ensure the swift flow of supplies.

The flow of goods has to be swift. We need these goods for the functioning of the internal market.

She was speaking after EU leaders approved a ban on non-EU citizens coming into the union . EU member states will now have to enforce the 38 – day ban, which includes exemptions for British nationals, EU citizens and family members returning home, healthcare workers and researchers, diplomats and people transporting goods.

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UN agencies: refugees will no longer be resettled in safe countries

Jennifer Rankin

Two UN agencies have announced that refugees will no longer be resettled to homes in safe countries, as the world battles the Covid – crisis, writes my colleague Jennifer Rankin in Brussels.

Jennifer Rankin (@ JenniferMerode) Two UN agencies are suspending refugee resettlement. as “a temporary measure” because of Covid – Other NGOs warn that support services for refugees are closing, volunteer numbers falling – via @ lorenzo_tondo

https://t.co/LJ7Rv1LttY

(March ,

In a joint statement, the UN refugee agency (the UNHCR) and the UN migration agency (the IOM), said refugee resettlement would be suspended as “a temporary measure that will be in place only for as long as it remains essential”

As more countries have introduced travel restrictions and frozen refugee resettlement programs, the two agencies had little choice. They also raised concern that international travel could increase the exposure of refugees to the virus.

In the UNHCR helped more than , refugees find a life in a new country, including people who had fled Syria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan and Somalia. In the previous year, the IOM helped nearly , 05 people find a new home, whether through a resettlement program to a safe country, or some other humanitarian scheme.

Updated (at 6.) am EDT

5 am EDT : 50

Belgium locks down

Jennifer Rankin

Belgium is the latest country to go into lockdown, with citizens asked to stay at home and limit contact to their closest family, writes Jennifer Rankin.

From noon local time (CET), all non-essential shops and open-air markets will close and people will be expected to work at home.

Employers who require staff to be on site but cannot ensure social distancing face fines and even closure.

The measures are similar to those adopted by France 30 hours earlier, but looser. People will be able to visit supermarkets, pharmacies, medical professionals, banks, post offices and bookshops.

Supermarkets must limit the number of customers to one per 19 square meters, meaning people are likely to have to queue outside, where they must also observe social distancing by standing well apart.

Going out for a walk or a run, or riding a bike is allowed, “even encouraged”, the authorities say, as long as people observe a distance of one and a half meters from anyone who is not a member of their household.

The restrictions, which are unprecedented in peacetime, were agreed on Tuesday night by Belgium’s national security council, which includes the prime minister, Sophie Wilmès, deputy prime ministers, other senior politicians and the security services.

Jennifer Rankin (@ JenniferMerode) Belgium’s new government with King Philippe, observing social distancing ( some much more than others). pic.twitter. com / aZzeRPNyAv (March) ,

Wilmès, appointed by the king on Monday to form a permanent government , after months of caretaker administrations, said social distancing did not have to mean no social contact, stressing the role technology could play to keep people together.

She said:

These decisions were not taken lightly and were taken because we are obliged to by the evolving situation. Success in our struggle against Covid – is inextricably linked to the efforts of each person.

Belgium has had 1, (cases of Covid – and People have died, according to the latest figures in Belgian media.

Updated at 5. am EDT

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