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Sobering figures of the death toll due to the coronavirus have been disclosed by a health spokesman in Iran, where almost 150 people are now dying each day — at a rate of six every hour.
This story is regularly updated. You can also stay informed with the latest episode of the Coronacast podcast.
Iranians dying at shocking rate
The coronavirus is killing one person every 10 minutes in Iran, the health ministry spokesman tweeted on Thursday, as the death toll in the Middle East's worst-affected country climbed to 1,284.
"Based on our information, every 10 minutes one person dies from the coronavirus and some 50 people become infected with the virus every hour in Iran," tweeted Kianush Jahanpur, the head of public relations and information in the ministry of Health and Medical Education.
Iran's deputy Health Minister Alireza Raisi said the total number of infections had reached 18,407 in the Islamic Republic.
The government has ordered the closure of schools and universities and banned sports, cultural and religious gatherings. Iran has also closed four holy Shi'ite shrines.
The virus has also dampened Iran's celebrations for the Nowruz New Year that begin on Friday.
Authorities have urged people to stay home and avoid travelling during the holiday period to help contain the spread.
"With 149 new deaths in the past 24 hours, the death toll from the virus has reached 1,284. Unfortunately we had 1,046 new cases of infection since yesterday," Mr Raisi said on state television.
Royal tests positive to virus
Prince Albert of Monaco has tested positive for COVID-19, becoming the first monarch to be diagnosed with the coronavirus.
A statement from the palace said the 62-year-old was tested for the virus earlier this week, and that his health "does not inspire any concern".
The prince will continue to work from his private apartments and will closely monitored by his personal doctor and specialist from Monaco's Princess Grace Hospital Centre.
Prince Albert urged Monaco's 39,000 inhabitants to adhere to quarantine rules to halt the spread of the virus, the statement read.
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Airline staff to become health workers
Over a thousand laid-off SAS airline workers in Sweden are being offered fast-track healthcare training to help Sweden's beleaguered healthcare system to fight the coronavirus.
SAS has laid off 10,000 staff, or 90 per cent of its workforce, temporarily as demand for flights has "more or less disappeared" after many European countries shut their borders or advised against travel.
Sophiahemmet University will run a three-day pilot for 30 people at the end of March with the hope of extending the course to hundreds more shortly.
"There are incredibly competent people who will be able to offer relief to our healthcare immediately after completing the training so that doctors and nurses can to an even greater extent devote themselves to caring for patients," Johanna Adami, principal at the University said.
The course will be free of charge and the companies involved with the training are not seeking to make a profit. Funding is provided by the Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg foundation.
The students will be trained in providing information to patients and their families, sterilising beds and equipment and basic administrative duties.
In Australia, Qantas and Jetstar will temporarily stand down two-thirds of their 30,000 employees from late March until at least the end of May. Virgin Australia is grounding its international fleet.
African nations are new frontier
More African countries closed their borders on Thursday as the coronavirus' local spread threatened to turn the continent of 1.3 billion people into an alarming new front for the pandemic.
"About 10 days ago we had about five countries [with the virus]," WHO's Africa chief Dr Matshidiso Moeti said.
Now 34 of Africa's 54 countries have cases, with the total close to 650.
It's an "extremely rapid evolution," Dr Moeti said. The first sub-Saharan Africa case was announced February 28.
Dr Moeti said she did not believe that large numbers of infected people were going undetected in Africa.
However, she did acknowledge a challenge in the shortage of testing kits. Forty-three countries have testing capability, up from two when the outbreak began.
Some African nations began cracking down on alcohol sales to help prevent the coronavirus' spread.
South Africa — where the number of cases jumped to 150 from 116 — said all places that sell alcohol for drinking on site must close from 6:00pm to 9:00am, never serving more than 50 people at a time.
In Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni has barred attendance at bars and clubs, calling limiting "merry-making" a new front in virus prevention.
"Drunkards sit close to one another. They speak with saliva coming out of their mouth. They are a danger to themselves," he said.
Meanwhile, a day after the US Embassy in Ethiopia issued a security alert about reports of attacks on foreigners accused of having the virus, that country's health minister appealed for calm.
"COVID-19 is not related to any country or nationality," Lia Tadesse said. "It is a test against all humanity."
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Europe closes external borders
European leaders have closed the Union's external borders for 30 days, with an option to extend.
EU countries have also introduced national lockdowns, closing bars, restaurants and cinemas, and calling off events that bring together large numbers of people.
The European Central Bank launched a 750 billion euro ($1,357 billion) emergency bond purchase scheme, taking its total bond buying to a massive 1.1 trillion euros, arguably the biggest such program globally.
It also provided banks with extra liquidity and eased capital requirements so that they can handle bigger problems with repayments of loans from borrowers.
The EU is also paying 75 per cent of the costs of flying back EU nationals from around the globe.
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Topics: infectious-diseases-other, respiratory-diseases
First posted