Spain locks down its citizens, while France shuts nightlife
A man wearing a mask walks pasts the Eiffel tower closed after the French government banned all gatherings of over 100 people to limit the spread of the virus COVID-19, in Paris, Saturday, March 14, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms. For some it can cause more severe illness, especially in older adults and people with existing health problems. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Pharmacists fix banners reading in Catalan, Spanish and English: "no masks, no alcohol, no clear hand gel" in a pharmacy in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, March 14, 2020. Spain's prime minister has announced a two-week state of emergency from Saturday in a bid to contain the new coronavirus outbreak. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms. For some, it can cause more severe illness, especially in older adults and people with existing health problems. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
A woman plays with her daughter as they wait at Barcelona airport, Spain, Saturday, March 14, 2020. Spain's prime minister has announced a two-week state of emergency from Saturday in a bid to contain the new coronavirus outbreak. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms. For some, it can cause more severe illness, especially in older adults and people with existing health problems. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Workers wearing protective gears uses disinfectant to clean a voting booth as a precautionary measure against COVID-19 on the eve of the municipal elections in a Neuilly-sur-Seine polling station, outside Paris, Saturday, March 14, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms. For some it can cause more severe illness, especially in older adults and people with existing health problems. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Passengers wearing masks line up as they wait to check in at Barcelona airport, Spain, Saturday, March 14, 2020. Spain's prime minister has announced a two-week state of emergency from Saturday in a bid to contain the new coronavirus outbreak. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms. For some, it can cause more severe illness, especially in older adults and people with existing health problems. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
A vendor wearing a protective mask walks past a church in suburban Quezon city, in Manila, Philipines on Saturday March 14, 2020. Masses at churches in metropolitan Manila have been suspended as a precautionary measure against the spread of the new Coronavirus. Philippine officials on Saturday declared a night curfew in the capital and said millions of people in the densely populated region could only go out of their homes for work, buy necessities and medical emergencies at daytime under a monthlong quarantine to be imposed to fight the new coronavirus. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
People visit an international terminal at John F. Kennedy airport, Friday, March 13, 2020, in New York. A ban on travelers from most European countries begins at midnight Friday, and travelers returning from there will be screened. The ban is the latest calamity for a global travel industry already reeling from falling bookings and canceled reservations as people try to avoid contracting and spreading the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Medical staff members check the temperature of a passenger at the border crossing with Germany in Rozvadov, Czech Republic, Friday, March 13, 2020. The Czech Republic is renewing checks on the borders with Austria and Germany at midnight Friday, and is barring entry to citizens from 15 "risk countries" due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus COVID-19. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
An employee in protective gears sprays disinfectant at the main exhibition tank at the Sea World at Jaya Ancol Dream Park as it is closed for public in the wake of coronavirus outbreak in Jakarta, Indonesia, Saturday, March 14, 2020. Indonesia's capital city announced a lockdown of all tourist destinations and entertainment spots as well as the closing all of its public schools for the next 14 days amid the global outbreak. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms. For some it can cause more severe illness. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
A worker wearing protective clothing disinfects historical Fatih Mosque, in Istanbul, Saturday, March 14, 2020, as a precaution against the coronavirus. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms. For some it can cause more severe illness.(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
A cleaning person works in the pro shop selling merchandise for both the Boston Celtics and the Bruins at TD Garden in Boston, Saturday, March, 14, 2020. The NBA and the NHL, along with most major sports and sporting events in the United States have suspended play due to concern about the new coronavirus. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. (AP …
Boxes of rum are stacked as a duty free employee wears a mask while working at Toussaint Louverture International Airport, Saturday, March 14, 2020, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. As of Saturday, Haiti has no reported cases of COVID-19 coronavirus. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms. For some it can cause more severe illness. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Passengers wearing a masks arrive at the bus station, in Vitoria, northern Spain, Saturday March 14, 2020. Spain's prime minister has announced a two-week state of emergency from Saturday in a bid to contain the new coronavirus outbreak. For most people, the new COVID-19 coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)
People enjoy the sun at the Retiro Park in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, March 14, 2020. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said his government will declare a two-week state of emergency from Saturday, giving itself extraordinary powers including the mobilization of the armed forces, to confront the COVID-19 outbreak. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
A Filipino army trooper helps his comrade wear a protective masks as they arrive to augment police at Valenzuela, metropolitan Manila, Philippines early Sunday March 15, 2020. Thousands of Philippine police, backed by the army and coast guard, have started sealing the densely populated capital from most domestic travelers in one of Southeast Asia's most drastic containment moves against the coronavirus. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms. For some, it can cause more severe illness, especially in older adults and people with existing health problems. (AP…
Filipino army troopers, some wearing protective masks, arrive to augment police in Valenzuela, metropolitan Manila, Philippines early Sunday March 15, 2020. Thousands of Philippine police, backed by the army and coast guard, have started sealing the densely populated capital from most domestic travelers in one of Southeast Asia's most drastic containment moves against the coronavirus. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms. For some, it can cause more severe illness, especially in older adults and people with existing health problems. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Filipino troopers wear protective masks as they arrive to augment police at Valenzuela, metropolitan Manila, Philippines early Sunday March 15, 2020. Thousands of Philippine police, backed by the army and coast guard, have started sealing the densely populated capital from most domestic travelers in one of Southeast Asia's most drastic containment moves against the coronavirus. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms. For some, it can cause more severe illness, especially in older adults and people with existing health problems. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spain locked down its 46 million citizens and France ordered the closing of just about everything the rest of the world loves about it — the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the cafes and restaurants — as governments took increasingly desperate measures to put more space between people and contain the coronavirus.
More borders snapped shut around the globe on Saturday and Sunday: President Donald Trump announced that the U.S., which days ago barred travelers from most of Europe, will extend the ban to Britain and Ireland. In the Philippines, thousands of police and soldiers started sealing the densely populated capital from most domestic travelers in one of Southeast Asia’s most drastic containment moves.
Meanwhile, China, where the virus first appeared late last year, continued to relax its drastic restrictions, illustrating the way the center of gravity in the crisis has shifted westward toward Europe. The virus has infected more than 150,000 people worldwide and killed over 5,600.
In a nationally televised address Saturday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez detailed the battery of exceptional measures put in place as part of a two-week state of emergency to fight the sharp rise in infections.
Later Saturday, Spain’s government said Sánchez's wife has tested positive for coronavirus. Begoña Gómez and the prime minister are in good health, the goverrnment said.
Two ministers of Sánchez’s Cabinet, the minister of equality and the minister of regional affairs, had already tested positive earlier this week. The others member of the Cabinet have tested negative.
In a lockdown similar to the one already imposed in Italy, people will be allowed to leave their homes only to buy food and medicine, commute to work, go to hospitals and banks, or take trips related to the care of the young and the elderly. All schools and universities were closed, along with restaurants, bars, hotels and other non-essential retail businesses.
“From now we enter into a new phase,” Sánchez said after a Cabinet meeting that lasted over seven hours. “We won’t hesitate in doing what we must to beat the virus. We are putting health first.”
Spanish authorities said the number of infections climbed past 5,700, half of them in the capital, Madrid. That represents a national increase of over 1,500 in 24 hours. The country had 136 deaths, up from 120. Spain has the fifth-highest number of cases, behind China, Italy, Iran and South Korea.
For most people, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover in a matter of weeks.
Despite please for calm from authorities, shoppers packed supermarkets in Spain in the morning. But overall, the normally bustling streets of the country's two biggest cities were noticeably quieter as the message sank in that social distancing is the only way to stop the pandemic.
“We had to close and remain shut for 15 days,” restaurant owner Rachel Paparardo said in Barcelona, which was already under regional restrictions. “But this is nothing. It is just so more people don’t get infected and we can recover from this."
Some flights bound for Spain turned around as word spread of the lockdown.
In the Philippines, new restrictions for metropolitan Manila — home to more than 12 million people — that went into effect Sunday mean the suspension of domestic travel by land, air and sea to and from the capital region.
Large gatherings like concerts, movies and cockfighting are prohibited and most government work in executive department offices will be suspended in the metropolis for a month. School closures at all levels were extended and curfew was in the works.
“If you’ll go to work, go. If you need to go out for medical treatment, go. If you’ll buy food, go, but other than that, stay home,” Philippine Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano told a news conference.
Countries around the world have been moving to prevent their health systems from collapsing under the load of all the virus cases.
Paris followed other cities in shuttering major tourist attractions, and France announced the closing of all restaurants, cafes, theaters and nonessential shops starting Sunday. France has recorded at least 3,600 infections. It has banned all gatherings of more than 100 people, ordered all schools closed and asked companies to allow workers to stay home.
France pressed ahead with plans for nationwide municipal elections on Sunday but ordered special measures to keep people at a safe distance and to sanitize surfaces.
In Italy, the worst-hit European country, the number of deaths climbed past 1,400 and infections surged roughly 20 percent overnight to more than 21,000 because of what authorities characterized as irresponsible behavior by people still socializing despite the nationwide lockdown. Many Italian cities, including Rome and Milan, decided to close playgrounds and parks, too.
Premier Giuseppe Conte has said production — particularly of food and health supplies — must not stop. On Saturday, union and industrial leaders reached an agreement to keep factories running.
At noon, people around Italy came out on their balconies, terraces or gardens or leaned out their windows to clap for several minutes in a gesture of thanks to medical workers.
In Britain, the death toll nearly doubled from the day before to 21, and the number of people infected rose to over 1,100. Ireland had 90 confirmed cases and one death as of Friday. Greece's infection total approached 230 with three deaths, and police there arrested 45 shopkeepers Saturday for violating a ban on operations.
The U.S. has seen 59 deaths — including the first in New York, Louisiana and Virginia — and more than 2,100 cases. In hard-hit Washington state, where 40 have died and and more than 550 have been infected, officials said the disease is straining the supply of protective gear available to medical providers despite shipments from the federal government.
Trump has tested negative for the new coronavirus, the president’s personal physician said Saturday.
European countries took steps to isolate themselves from their neighbors.
Denmark closed its borders and halted passenger traffic to and from the country. Travelers will be turned away at the border if they are unable to show that they have "a legitimate reason" to enter — for example, if they are Danish citizens or residents.
Poland planned to close is borders at midnight and deny all foreigners entry unless they lived in Poland or had personal ties there. The Czech Republic and Slovakia took similar action. Lithuania said it was introducing border checks at the frontiers with Poland and Latvia.
Russia said its borders with Norway and Poland will be closed to most foreigners beginning Sunday.
In the Middle East, Iran's death toll reached 611, with nearly 13,000 infections, including senior government officials.
In the Pacific, New Zealand announced that incoming passengers, including citizens, will be required to isolate themselves for 14 days, with few exceptions.
The measures increasingly mirror those taken by China, which in January quarantined more than 60 million people, starting with the epicenter, Wuhan, in the province of Hubei.
The spread of COVID-19 in China has slowed dramatically, according to the National Health Commission. After reporting thousands of new cases per day only a month ago, the commission said Saturday that there were 13 new deaths and just 11 new cases, including people who recently arrived in China from other affected countries like Italy.
Wuhan is now the only city in Hubei still designated “high-risk.” Several Hubei municipalities are gradually resuming public transportation and reopening businesses. Parks, museums and art galleries have reopened in Shanghai.
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Moulson reported from Berlin. Associated Press writers Aritz Parra in Madrid, Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Yanan Wang in Beijing, Frances D'Emilio in Rome, Joseph Wilson in Barcelona, Spain, Andrew Taylor in Washington, Karel Janicek in Prague, Nick Perry in Christchurch, New Zealand, and Jim Gomez in Manila contributed to this report.
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The Associated Press receives support for health and science coverage from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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