Bedugul Coffee: Tuesday Morning Briefing: Streets deserted as Italy imposes unprecedented coronavirus lockdown

Coronavirus

Europe’s Wuhan

The deserted streets and shopping centers that once marked out the city of Wuhan as the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak have now come to an entire European nation. Rome’s decision overnight to extend a lockdown across all Italy is unprecedented in peacetime and perhaps wartime too.

“The whole of Italy is closed now,” was the headline in the Corriere della Sera newspaper, bluntly summing up rules that forbid movement for reasons other than work, health needs or emergencies. Adding to the curfew feel is a stipulation that bars and restaurants will have to close from 6 p.m.

Is what largely worked for Wuhan transferable to a Western European nation? Epidemiologists have their doubts. John Edmunds, a professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said the measures were “almost certainly unsustainable”. But even if they delay the spread for a short while, that may help health services cope.

Back to normal - of sorts

The decision by Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit Wuhan, meanwhile, was clearly intended to convey one very simple message: things are getting back to normal.

As new cases tumble — China confirmed just 19 new coronavirus infections on Monday — Beijing is setting the stage for efforts to crank the world’s second-largest economy back into gear. Hubei province said it would implement a “health code” system to allow people in areas at medium or low risk to start traveling.

On the spread

There are over 114,300 cases of coronavirus and 4,026 deaths across 112 countries and regions as of Tuesday morning, according to a Reuters tally, including almost 4,300 cases and 199 deaths reported in the past day. Over 99% of cases and 90% of the new deaths were reported outside China.

Markets come up for air

U.S. stock index futures rose more than 4% earlier, rebounding from a 7% slump a day earlier, as speculation about coordinated stimulus from global central banks and governments calmed panic-selling.

Japan will boost its special financing for small and mid-size firms hit by the coronavirus to 1.6 trillion yen ($15.3 billion), up from the roughly 500 billion yen previously announced, according to a government document seen by Reuters, while Australia said it would soon announce stimulus measures.

European leaders have a teleconference call at 5:00 p.m. CET to assess what can be done to prevent the outbreak becoming a fully fledged crisis with implications for the bloc’s economy and financial stability.

‘Washing hands is super’, Lego disinfectant dispenser says. Elementary school students in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung have got creative over the coronavirus, building their own robot that dispenses alcohol disinfectant from Lego bricks.

The robot is equipped with a sensor that can tell when a pair of hands is in front of it, and even has a recorded voice that says “Washing hands is super”, after it dispenses the disinfectant.

Italy wakes up to deserted streets in unprecedented coronavirus lockdown, after the government extended quarantine measures across the entire country, in a bid to slow Europe’s worst outbreak of the virus. The measures, announced late on Monday by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, widen steps already taken in the rich northern region of Lombardy, clamping down on movement and closing public spaces.

China's President Xi Jinping visits Wuhan as number of new coronavirus cases tumble on Tuesday, the first time he has done so since the epidemic began and a sign that Beijing believes its efforts to control the virus are working.

Trump vows 'major' steps to aid U.S. economy amid coronavirus rise, in a bid to gird the economy against the impact of the spreading outbreak and will discuss a payroll tax cut with congressional Republicans. “We’ll be discussing a possible payroll tax cut or relief, substantial relief, very substantial relief, that’s a big number,” Trump told reporters.

See a selection of curated coronavirus coverage and an interactive graphic

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