14 March
J APAN enacted a time-limited law revision on Friday, enabling Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, if he deems it necessary, to declare a state of emergency to cope with the spread of the new coronavirus.
After only three days of deliberations, parliament gave such authority to Abe, who has come under fire for being slow to act to contain COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. The Tokyo Olympics are scheduled to start in just over four months.
The swift reworking of the legal framework is intended to prepare for a worst-case scenario but has still raised concerns that bolder preventive steps, once a state of emergency is declared, could infringe upon people's rights.
Latest global developments Olympic torch relay in Greece suspended
The Greek Olympic committee said Friday it will suspend the rest of the torch relay in that country for this summer's Tokyo games, due to concerns over the spread of the new coronavirus.
The decision was made a day after the Greek leg of the relay started following a lighting ceremony in ancient Olympia.
Borders close
The Czech Republic has joined the list of countries closing its borders. The measure applies equally to foreigners wanting to enter and well as Czechs who want to leave, from Monday.
Slovakia also closed its borders to all foreigners, except for Poles.
Schools closed, gatherings banned
France, Belgium and Portugal joined the list of countries closing their schools.
All schools, creches and universities closed from Friday in Ireland.
Disney will close its giant theme parks in Florida, California and Paris this weekend until the end of March.
New York has banned gatherings of more than 500 people, including in Broadway theatres.
Latin America cuts of
Venezuela and Bolivia suspend flights to and from Europe for a month. Paraguay ends them until further notice, as does Peru. Argentina suspends for a month flights from the most hard hit countries.
Latin America's biggest Airline Latam, slashes its international flights by 30 percent for two months.
Spain virus toll jumps
Coronavirus infections in Spain soared to more than 4,200 on Friday, as the number of deaths rose by some 50 percent to 120, the health ministry said.
As of 1200 GMT, there were 4,209 cases in Spain, up from 3,004 on Thursday evening, when the number of deaths had stood at 84.
Ukraine reports first death
Ukraine said Friday it is closing its borders to foreign nationals for at least two weeks to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.
"Ukraine's borders will be closed to foreign citizens for two weeks," Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the country's Security and Defence Council, told reporters, adding that the measure will take effect in 48 hours.
The country also reported its first coronavirus-related death.
Roche's new and faster COVID-19 test
Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche announced Friday it had received emergency approval from US regulators for a new and much faster test for diagnosing the deadly new coronavirus.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given the green light to commercialise the SARS-CoV-2 Test to detect the virus that has sparked the global COVID-19 pandemic, Roche said in a statement.
White House infections possible
A senior Australian politician tested positive for the new coronavirus and entered hospital quarantine Friday, days after returning from Washington where he met Ivanka Trump and US Attorney General William Barr.
State of emergency declared
Bulgaria has become the latest European country to declare a state of emergency in response to the coronavirus crisis.
REFERENCES Kyodo; AFP Updated News
