Health

KINSHASA, March 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have confirmed the first case of coronavirus in the country in the capital, Kinsasha.

The patient is a Belgian citizen who has been in the country for several days, Health Minister Eteni Longondo said.

“We are tracking people who came into contact with him so that they too can be placed in quarantine, and tested,” Longondo said.

DR Congo has been screening passengers arriving at the main airport in Kinshasa.

BRUSSELS, March 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The EU decided on mobilizing €25 billion to counter the spread of the new coronavirus, the European Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen announced.

All the 27 European heads of states and governments joined a video conference with von der Leyen and the European Council’s President Charles Michel on Tuesday afternoon.

The European leaders decided on focusing on four priorities, Michel told a joint press conference with von der Leyen after the leaders’ virtual meeting.

NICOSIA, March 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Cyprus said it was closing schools in the capital, banning mass gatherings and locking down two major hospitals to combat novel coronavirus, after three people on the Mediterranean island tested positive for the illness.

The Republic of Cyprus had on Monday reported its first two cases of the disease, including the chief heart surgeon at its biggest hospital.

And on Tuesday, the Turkish-controlled north of the island announced the first case there, a 65-year-old German woman.

WASHINGTON, March 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US President Donald Trump said he did not see “any reason” to be tested for coronavirus as global concerns grow about an outbreak.

“I don’t think it is a big deal. I would do it. I don’t feel any reason. I feel extremely good. I feel very good, but I guess it’s not a big deal to get tested,” Trump said after meeting Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill.

The president said he spoke to the White House physician and the doctor “sees no reason to do it. There’s no symptoms, no anything.”

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders vowed Tuesday to stand united in combating the spread of the coronavirus ravaging member country Italy, and agreed to draft a plan to address any medical shortages and set up a fund to help overburdened health care systems.

The pledges came at a rare video conference among national heads of state and government as COVID-19, which is now present in all 27 EU member countries, took its toll on European politics, forcing meetings to be canceled, a parliamentary session to be cut short, and even sending some senior officials home to work.

10 Mar 2020; MEMO: Iran has “temporarily” released approximately 70,000 prisoners because of the coronavirus outbreak in the country, Iran has issued about 70,000 prisoners due to the coronavirus outbreak across the country, Iranian judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi announced yesterday.

“The release of the prisoners, to the point where it doesn’t create insecurity in society, will continue,” Iran’s Mizan quoted Raisi as saying.

New York, Mar 10 (AFP/PTI) US aviation giant Boeing has said that one of its factory workers had tested positive for COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus -- the company's first known case.

The employee in question works at the company's Everett factory near Seattle in the northwestern state of Washington, one of the areas most affected by the virus's outbreak in the US.

United Nations, Mar 10 (PTI) The coronavirus outbreak could cost the global economy up to USD 2 trillion this year, the UN's trade and development agency said, warning that shock from the epidemic will cause a recession in some countries and depress global annual growth to below 2.5 per cent.

Islamabad, Mar 10 (PTI) Pakistan witnessed a sudden increase in coronavirus cases as the number of patients rose to 16, officials said on Tuesday.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza confirmed that nine new cases were identified in Karachi, capital of Sindh province.

Wuhan, Mar 10 (AFP/PTI) Hard-hit Hubei, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in China, will relax travel restrictions to allow healthy people to move within the province, officials said on Tuesday.

Hubei has been under lockdown since January with some 56 million people under quarantine, but the number of cases has declined in recent weeks.