Paris, Wednesday

More than 850 million young people, or nearly half the world’s student population, are barred from their school and university grounds because of the coronavirus pandemic, Unesco announced Wednesday.

Calling it an “unprecedented challenge” for education, Unesco said schools had been closed in 102 countries, with partial closures in 11 more—and there would be more closures.

The number of coronavirus cases worldwide has now passed 200,000, according to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University.

The total is now 201,530 confirmed cases, and 8,007 deaths. China still has the highest number of confirmed cases (81,102), while Italy has the second highest with 31,506.

The deadly coronavirus has now hit all 50 states in the US as West Virginia reported its first case of the infection on Tuesday.

Announcing West Virginia’s first Covid-19 patient, Governor Jim Justice said: “We knew this was coming.”

There have so far been 108 deaths in the US from coronavirus and more than 6,300 confirmed cases nationwide.

Ferocious spread

Meanwhile in Spain, the number of people infected soared past 13,700 on Wednesday with the number of deaths rising to almost 600, government data showed. 

“We have 13,716 cases in Spain, which is 2,538 more than yesterday,” said Fernando Simon, the health ministry’s emergencies coordinator.  

Over the same 24-hour period, the number of deaths rose to 598, an increase of 107. 

Madrid remains the worst-hit area, accounting for 5,637 cases, or 41 percent of the infections in Spain.

And given that Spain, like other countries, is currently struggling with a shortage of coronavirus test kits, the number of cases could be higher.

The European Union sealed off its borders Wednesday to try to put the brakes on the ferocious spread of the pandemic, as the number of deaths on the continent soared past the toll in Asia.

Millions of people are on strict lockdown in Europe, now the epicentre of COVID-19 with more than 3,400 deaths now recorded.

Governments across the world have imposed Draconian measures to try to slow the pace of infections, confining people to their homes, closing shops, restaurants and schools, dramatically changing life as we know it.

The coronavirus outbreak, which first emerged in China late last year, has quickly marched across the globe, infecting nearly 200,000 people and killing almost 7,900.

As the spectre of a deep global recession looms large, London and Washington Tuesday announced massive economic stimulus packages after coming under fire over their response to the crisis.

US President Donald Trump said the White House was discussing a “substantial” spending bill with Congress that would include immediate cash payments to Americans.

Similar measures have been introduced by France and Germany, the two leading members of the 27-member European Union.

In apress briefing last evening, Trump said the US would close Canada border to ‘non-essential’ traffic, but not trade.

More than 100 people have died of the virus in the US which has nearly 6,500 confirmed cases of the disease, according to a running tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.

EU leaders decided Tuesday to impose an entry ban on travellers from outside the bloc for 30 days, the most significant emergency measure from Brussels, which has struggled to develop a unified response.

Underestimated threat

EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen told Germany’s Bild newspaper that politicians had initially underestimated the virus threat.

“But now it is clear that this is a virus that will keep us busy for a long time yet,” she said.

“We understand that measures that seemed drastic two or three weeks ago, need to be taken now.”

Drugmakers are scrambling for a breakthrough, and it could still take more than a year before a safe vaccine is ready to market. US officials have said the first human trial for a possible vaccine has begun.

Australia’s government urged citizens to not travel abroad and banned gatherings of more than 100 people as cases topped 500.

Africa, with its fragile healthcare systems, has also recorded more than 500 cases, and Burkina Faso reported the first confirmed death in sub-Saharan Africa.

Latin America has more than 1,100 recorded infections, with the continent’s most populated country Brazil announcing its first fatality. -AFP and BBC