Alitalia suspends all operations from Malpensa, Albania confirms first coronavirus cases
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The number of people to have died from the coronavirus in Italy has shot up by 133 in a day to 366, officials say. The total number of infections leapt 25% to 7,375 from 5,883, according to the Civil Protection agency.
Albania reported its first coronavirus infections on Monday, in a father and son who had returned from Italy.
The two were in stable condition and they did not have complications, the health ministry said.
Before the confirmation of the first two cases, health officials had tested some 60 cases with no sign of the virus. More than 400,000 Albanians live in neighboring Italy across the Adriatic Sea.
French passengers from Seoul Inchon, South Korea, by Jeju Air 7C 1162, enter quarantine at Narita International Airport in Narita, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, 09 March 2020. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced on 05 March 2020 that Japan will impose a 14-day quarantine on people coming from China and South Korea to prevent the outbreak of coronavirus and COVID-19, starting 09 March 2020. This decision was announced just a couple of hours after the Japanese government announced the postponement of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s official visit to Japan, originally scheduled this April. EPA-EFE/KIMIMASA MAYAMA
Italy’s national carrier Alitalia said it would suspend all operations from Malpensa from Monday and Linate would only serve domestic routes. International flights would continue to and from Rome.
Up to 16 million people in Lombardy and 14 provinces need special permission to travel under new quarantine rules.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte also announced the closure of schools, gyms, museums, nightclubs and other venues across the whole country.
The restrictions will last until 3 April.
Inmates protest on a wall of the Poggioreale prison in Naples, Italy, 08 March 2020. The protest has flared up because of the announced suspension of talks on the fight against coronavirus infection. In front of the building there were dozens of police officers, carabinieri, firemen and relatives of the detainees who clashed with each other. EPA-EFE/CESARE ABBATE
The World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus praised Italy for making “genuine sacrifices” with the restrictions. Until Sunday only about 50,000 people in northern Italy had been affected by quarantines.
The government & the people of 🇮🇹 are taking bold, courageous steps aimed at slowing the spread of the #coronavirus & protecting their country & 🌍. They are making genuine sacrifices. @WHO stands in solidarity with 🇮🇹 & is here to continue supporting you.https://t.co/Y2rkgUihtA
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) March 8, 2020
Last week the government announced the closure of all schools and universities across the country for 10 days.
Health officials in Egypt wearing protective suits sit in front of the River Anuket cruise ship where 45 people on board were diagnosed with coronavirus, in Luxor, Egypt. According to reports, people tested positive with coronavirus were transferred to isolation in a hospital on Egypt’s north coast city of Marsa Matrouh. EPA-EFE/STR
Most of the fatalities have been in China. But the country on Sunday reported its lowest number of new infections in a single day since January – an indication that the virus’s spread there is slowing.
Iran, one of the worst hotspots outside China, has now confirmed 6,566 infections and 194 deaths.
However, the real figure is feared to be much higher. One report on Sunday, quoting a government envoy, said there had been 200 deaths in the northern Gilan province alone – but the figures were later removed.
In France, the virus is spreading among MPs. Two more members of the National Assembly have tested positive, officials said late on Sunday.
In total four deputies have been infected. Also on Sunday France reported 1,126 cases, a 19% increase in a day and the second largest number of infections in Europe after Italy.
