Cases detected in Greece among people returning from Middle East, as Iran limits travel within country

This article is more than 6 months old

This article is more than 6 months old

Greece has become the latest country to try to halt the spread of the coronavirus by closing schools and universities and cancelling large public gatherings, as the World Health Organization insisted the virus could still be “pushed back” if governments around the world took the necessary action.

Greece followed the lead of Iran and Italy, where deaths on Thursday rose to 148, by shuttering educational institutions and cancelling sports events and other public gatherings in three western regions.

The national public health organisation said the two-day shutdown included “a suspension of all mass gatherings” at theatres, cinemas, museums and sports events in the Peloponnese regions of Achaia and Ileia and the island of Zakynthos.

As the number of infections jumped from 10 to 31 in a single day, a health ministry official said it expected a significant rise in cases in the coming weeks.

All 21 of the new cases were detected among travellers who had recently returned from Israel and Egypt, and are believed to be connected with a 65-year-old man battling pneumonia in a hospital isolation unit in the western port city of Patras. At least nine people were said to be in serious condition.

Announcing the measures, health authorities said efforts were moving into the second phase of a multi-pronged strategy to contain the outbreak, focussing on stopping the virus spreading from western Greece’s Amaliada region to other parts of the country.

Ancient Olympia, where the flame for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics is scheduled to be lit on 12 March, is situated in Ileia. The Greek Olympic committee said it was drastically scaling back accreditations “to those absolutely necessary”, limiting festivities and cancelling all event dinners and galas.

Play Video 4:31 How to stop the spread of coronavirus – video explainer

Greece’s precautionary measures came as Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the WHO, said countries should be preparing for sustained community transmission and called for governments to play their part in stopping the spread of the coronavirus within their own borders.

Tedros said: “Our message to all countries is: this is not a one-way street. We can push this virus back. Your actions now will determine the course of the outbreak in your country.”

Iran said it would begin erecting checkpoints to limit travel between major cities and urged people to reduce their use of paper banknotes, as authorities scramble to contain the coronavirus, which has caused at least 107 deaths and infected more than 3,500 people across the country.

The Iranian health minister, Saeed Namaki, announced that schools and universities would remain closed until Nowruz, the Persian new year, on 20 March.

Namaki told people to stay in their vehicles at petrol stations and allow attendants to fill their tanks to avoid the spread of the virus. Iran has also cancelled Friday prayers in major cities.

The coronavirus outbreak has had a dramatic effect on Islamic worship elsewhere in the Middle East.

On Thursday, Saudi Arabia – which has already banned citizens and other residents of the kingdom from performing the pilgrimage in Mecca – took the unprecedented step of emptying out Islam’s holiest site so that it could be sterilised.

State television broadcast images of an empty white-tiled area surrounding the Kaaba - a large black cube structure inside Mecca’s Grand Mosque – which is usually packed with tens of thousands of pilgrims.

The move was a “temporary preventive measure” but the upper floors of the Grand Mosque were still open for prayers, a Saudi official told Agence France-Presse.

Iran and Italy have the world’s highest death tolls outside China, where the outbreak began at the end of last year. So far, the virus has infected 95,000 people worldwide and killed more than 3,200.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Iranians queue as the Revolutionary Guards give out disinfection liquid in Tehran. Photograph: Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA

The Italian government on Wednesday ordered the closure of all schools and universities after the virus spread to all 20 regions, infecting 3,296 people – 590 more than Wednesday.

It also confirmed that all major sporting events, including Serie A football, would be played behind closed doors due to the outbreak, until 3 April.

South Africa on Thursday became the latest country to confirm its first case of the coronavirus, which was linked to Italy: a 38-year-old man who had travelled to the country with his wife in a group of 10 people.

South Korea’s infection toll neared 6,000 on Thursday, while there were a further 31 virus deaths in Hubei province in China, where the outbreak began, and authorities confirmed 139 new cases – a rise on the previous day’s total.

Q&A How can I protect myself and others from the coronavirus outbreak? Show Hide The World Health Organization is recommending that people take simple precautions to reduce exposure to and transmission of the coronavirus, for which there is no specific cure or vaccine. The UN agency advises people to: Frequently wash their hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or warm water and soap

Cover their mouth and nose with a flexed elbow or tissue when sneezing or coughing

Avoid close contact with anyone who has a fever or cough

Seek early medical help if they have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, and share their travel history with healthcare providers

Advice about face masks varies. Wearing them while out and about may offer some protection against both spreading and catching the virus via coughs and sneezes, but it is not a cast-iron guarantee of protection Many countries are now enforcing or recommending curfews or lockdowns. Check with your local authorities for up-to-date information about the situation in your area. In the UK, NHS advice is that anyone with symptoms should stay at home for at least 7 days. If you live with other people, they should stay at home for at least 14 days, to avoid spreading the infection outside the home.

As more than 3,740 cases were confirmed across the Middle East, the Palestinian health ministry declared a state of medical emergency in the West Bank city of Bethlehem and closed all mosques and churches in the area, including the Nativity church in Bethlehem, built over the spot where Christians believe Jesus was born.

Authorities in the Palestinian territories also cancelled all sports events in the city and shut schools.

Four Palestinians are reported to have tested positive for the coronavirus but the cases have yet to be confirmed.

On Thursday, the German airline group Lufthansa cancelled all flights to Israel until 28 March after Israeli authorities barred entry to almost all non-resident arrivals from five European nations, including Germany, over coronavirus fears.

Israel also ordered citizens and Israeli residents from the same countries – France, Germany, Spain, Austria and Switzerland – into quarantine.

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates warned its citizens and foreign residents not to travel, and sent the 215 foreigners it evacuated from Hubei in China to a quarantine centre set up in a humanitarian hub in the capital, Abu Dhabi.

The UAE is home to Emirates, the government-owned airline based at Dubai international airport, the world’s busiest for international travel.

In the US, California declared a state of emergency over its 53 confirmed cases, and a cruise ship linked to the state’s first virus death was being held off the coast of San Francisco.

Associated Press and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report

