Source: People's Daily, Xinhua, CGTN, China Daily, Global Times, CBS, iFeng, Baidu, Global News Agencies, Majdi



LATEST NEWS

Italy overtakes China's death toll

Italy has just surpassed China for the most number of deaths related to COVID-19.





The total number of cases in the country rose to 41,035 on Thursday, which includes 5,322 new cases, the Italian Civil Protection Agency said at a news conference.





The number of deaths in Italy has reached 3,405. Italy has become the deadliest center of the COVID-19 outbreak.





The current number of deaths in China stands at 3,242, according to the World Health Organization.





Health workers provide first Aid in front of Sant'Orsola Hospital on Wednesday, March 18, in Bologna, Italy. Massimo Cavallari/Getty Images





Top Infected Countries by Population Percentage









India Bars Int'l Commercial Passenger Flights for One Week





India's government said it will ban all scheduled international commercial passenger flights from landing in the country from March 22 for one week to contain the spread of coronavirus.





India has already suspended visas for the vast majority of foreigners seeking to enter the country.





A Rush of News





The European Union's chief negotiator for Brexit, Michel Barnier, said he had tested positive for COVID-19.





Lufthansa said that the airline industry may not survive without state aid if the coronavirus epidemic lasts for a long time.





Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Thursday that the stringent lockdown measures currently in place in Italy would need to be extended beyond the original deadlines set for late March and early April.





Indonesia quarantining 9,000 Muslim pilgrims to screen for coronavirus.





Israel is requiring citizens to stay home for 7 days.





Cannes Festival postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, The festival was originally planned for May 12-13.





Daniel Dae Kim, a prolific actor best known for his work in the television series "Hawaii 5-0" and "Lost," said he's tested positive for COVID-19.





American Airlines is grounding nearly half of its fleet and canceling 55,000 flights next month, according to an internal message sent to employees obtained by CNN.





Prince Albert II of Monaco tests positive for coronavirus.





Tesla suspends production at California and New York facilities.





Egypt has shut down its airports and air travel until March 31 to contain the outbreak of the coronavirus.





The G7 summit, an annual meeting of world leaders, will be held via teleconference this year, according to White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere.





Boston Celtics point guard and shooting guard Marcus Smart announced Thursday that he has been diagnosed with the coronavirus.





The executive director of the United Nations' World Food Programme says he has coronavirus. David Beasley tweeted a statement confirming the diagnosis.





Panama is suspending all incoming and outgoing international flights for the next month





Countries Confirming First Case





Russia said a 79-year-old woman with underlying health issues, who tested positive for the new coronavirus, had died from pneumonia, the country's first death.





Niger reports first coronavirus case.





Peru announces its first coronavirus death





Spain's Deaths Climbs by >200 in a Day





Spain's health ministry said the death toll from the coronavirus epidemic soared by 209 to 767 fatalities from the previous day.





A total of 17,147 people have contracted the disease in the country, a roughly 25 percent increase over the previous day, according to the health ministry, with the figure expected to rise further in the coming days as testing for COVID-19 becomes more readily available.





Latest from WHO regarding Ibuprofen









South Korea Jump in cases after 4 Days of Slowing Infections





South Korea data showed a jump in new infections with a new outbreak emerging from a nursing home in the city of Daegu. 152 new cases were reported, taking the national tally to 8,565.





The country had recorded fewer than 100 new infections for four days in a row until Wednesday.





Among the new cases, 97 are from Daegu, where the KCDC said at least 74 patients at a nursing home tested positive for the virus this week





Wuhan and Hubei Report NO New Cases for First Time





China's central city of Wuhan and its surrounding province of Hubei have reported no new cases of coronavirus for the first time.





Imported coronavirus cases accounted for 84.55% of the new confirmed cases in China in a recent week. Beijing has recorded the largest number of imported confirmed cases, accounting for 34 percent of the nationwide total. A total of 64 imported confirmed cases were reported in the capital as of Wed midnight.





Outside Wuhan, Hubei has seen no new domestic cases for 14 consecutive days.









>4,000 Fined for Violating France's Lockdown









More than four thousand fines were handed out by French police Wednesday to people who didn't follow the strict lockdown rules.





France's interior minister said police had 70,000 exchanges with people Wednesday, as some opted for a wide interpretation of the new rules. One woman in western France argued that meditating on the beach was her permitted exercise and the police had to agree, although they pointed out that if she stayed too long, it would be considered as just sunbathing.









Chinese Coronavirus Experts Warn Northern Italy's Lockdown Measures are NOT Enough









The coronavirus measures in place in the hard hit Lombardy region of northern Italy are not strict enough, according to Chinese medical experts helping the country deal with the crisis.





The situation in Lombardy right now "is similar to what we experienced two months ago in Wuhan, China, the epicenter of COVID-19," the Chinese Red Cross vice president, Sun Shuopeng, said Thursday in a press conference in Milan, Italy.





"In the city of Wuhan after one month since the adoption of the lockdown policy, we see a decreasing trend from the peak of the disease," Sun Shuopeng said. "Here in Milan, the hardest hit area by COVID-19, there isn't a very strict lockdown: public transportation is still working and people are still moving around, you're still having dinners and parties in the hotels and you're not wearing masks. We need every citizen to be involved in the fight of COVID-19 and follow this policy.

He advised Italians to stop all economic activities and cut the mobility of people.





Everyone should just stay at home, he added.





France Says No Hugging Loved Ones





A couple sit in a restaurant in Nice, France even as the country closed almost all non-indispensable locations, notably cafes, restaurants, cinemas, nightclubs and shops due to concerns over the coronavirus disease [File: Eric Gaillard/Reuters]





French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe pleaded for people to keep their distance from one another to avoid spreading the virus, even as the crisis pushed them to seek comfort.





"When you love someone, you should avoid taking them in your arms," he said in parliament. "It's counterintuitive, and it's painful; the psychological consequences, the way we are living, are very disturbing - but it's what we must do."









Two Lakers players test positive









Two players on the Lakers have tested positive for coronavirus, the team announced Thursday in a statement. The team did not identify who those players are.





The team said that the players were tested after they learned that four members of the Brooklyn Nets, who the Lakers faced on March 10, had been diagnosed with the disease. The team added that both of the players are asymptomatic and that they are isolated and under the care of the team physician.





COVID-19: Detailed Global Map (in English) is Online





To stay up-to-date with the COVID-19 cases worldwide; we recommend this New webpage.





Why it's different?





The new UI provides zoon in/out for maps; you can get tap on every country map to see the number of cases.











Separate maps for major countries like: Italy, Iran, Spain, South Korea, France, Germany, USA and Japan. The cases in each country are detailed by province/state.











SCAN THE QR TO ACCESS THE MAP













