Paris (France) (AFP) – Schools, transport, sports and cultural gatherings … the planet accelerated on Thursday a withdrawal into itself at the height of the psychosis created by the pandemic of the new coronavirus, which caused a historic crash world stock exchanges.
Restrictions taken in scattered order and market panic were exacerbated by the temporary ban on travelers from Europe entering the United States, decreed in Washington late Wednesday by Donald Trump, which sparked a shock which waves have spread to all continents.
With more than 130,000 people infected, nearly 5,000 deaths and infections now spreading from Scandinavia to India, from Latin America to the Far East, governments were striving to curb the spread of the disease Covid-19.
France, through the voice of its president Emmanuel Macron, joined in the evening the list of countries whose schools, nurseries and universities will close. The head of state of one of the countries most affected in Europe by the pandemic asked seniors over the age of 70 to stay at home, without however deciding to postpone the first round of municipal elections, scheduled for Sunday.
Probable border closings will probably be necessary in the days or weeks to come, “but they will have to be taken on a European scale”, announced Macron, who assured that the EU will have to react “loud and fast” to overcome the global economic crisis caused by the pandemic.
In the world, in Europe in particular, where more than 20,000 cases have already been reported, the epidemic continues its inexorable progression, disrupting the daily life of populations, from the limitation of travel to border closings.
In New York, for example, emblematic places have announced their closure, such as the Metropolitan Museum and Broadway theaters, and all gatherings of more than 500 people have been banned. The Disneyland amusement park in California is also closed as a precaution. In Austria, the ski resorts of Tyrol will close in advance while in Belgium the places of conviviality, like restaurants and cafes will be closed. In Rome, all the churches closed their doors to the faithful until April 3.
Italy recorded its thousandth death on Thursday, between 5 and 10,000 people are probably infected in the United Kingdom – where only 590 cases are recorded -, according to the government, and the number of cases has exploded in Spain.
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) warned on Thursday of a “high” risk of seeing the healthcare system in the EU and the UK overwhelmed by the epidemic.
In China, on the other hand, the starting point of the epidemic, the number of new infections fell on Thursday to 15, the lowest since mid-January.
Distraught by the epidemic and disappointed by the announcements during the day of the European Central Bank, the stock markets sank. Milan, Paris and Madrid recorded the worst dives in their history at the close, London and Frankfurt the worst for more than 30 years. On Wall Street the main indices continued to plummet.
The impact of the epidemic on the world economy remains “difficult to predict” and will depend on the magnitude of the pandemic and the responses provided by the affected countries, the IMF said on Thursday, adding that global growth in 2020 would be lower than in 2019.
The ECB notes a “considerable worsening of short-term growth prospects” in the eurozone, for its part warned its president, Christine Lagarde.
After the massive aid already announced by the world’s major financiers, the ECB on Thursday unveiled an arsenal of measures aimed at stemming financial panic and limiting the economic impact of the pandemic, mixing loans to banks – so that they help banks. companies to avoid a wave of bankruptcies – and redemption of public and especially private debts.
However, it did not touch its key rates, a status quo which accelerated the tumble of the equity markets.
– Dispersed order –
The EU will already look into the economic impact of the American decision the day before to ban entry to the United States – which lists 1,100 cases -, starting on Saturday and lasting at least thirty days, travelers from 26 European countries.
This will have a “strong impact” on the economy, conceded President Donald Trump, about his surprise measure, which has led many Americans, worried about being stranded in Europe, to rush to airports at Paris, London or Amsterdam, shortening vacations or business trips.
For the director general of the International Air Transport Association (Iata), Alexandre de Juniac, the shock caused by this crisis on his sector is “extremely brutal”.
But two European countries made similar decisions on Thursday: Slovakia announced the closure of its borders to all foreigners except Poles and the neighboring Czech Republic has banned entry from travelers from 15 countries.
For the director general of the International Air Transport Association (Iata), Alexandre de Juniac, the shock caused by this crisis on his sector is “extremely brutal”.
– Sports calendar –
Worldwide, 131,460 cases have been recorded in 116 countries and territories, causing the death of 4,923 people, according to a report established by AFP from official sources Thursday at 5:00 p.m. GMT.
The boss of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tried to reassure by saying that this pandemic was “manageable”.
In Italy, which now has more than 15,000 cases, including more than 1,000 dead, all businesses, except those deemed essential, are now closed.
Measures that left the Italians perplexed, struggling to judge which were essential. Thursday, for example, it was impossible to find an open laundromat, a business yet exempt from closure.
In Spain, the number of cases jumped to nearly 3,000 cases – including a minister – and the death toll almost doubled to 84. Schools in the Madrid region have been closed. The whole government was tested for coronavirus.
The pandemic also continues to sow chaos in the sports calendar: NBA basketball games suspended, Italian football championship suspended until April 3, Spanish championship suspended for the next two days. The Olympic flame for the Tokyo Olympics was lit on Thursday on the ancient Greek site of Olympia, during a shortened ceremony and in the absence of spectators, then the advisability of maintaining these games is disputed.
And the European football championship, scheduled in twelve countries from June 12 to July 12, is also increasingly threatened.
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