Spain and France have announced sweeping new restrictions on daily life in a bid to contain the coronavirus outbreaks in their countries, as the Philippines seals off Manila in the most aggressive response to the pandemic yet seen in Southeast Asia, and Australia orders all arrivals from overseas to go into quarantine for 14 days.
In other developments, US President Donald Trump was tested for the virus, with the result coming back negative. Meanwhile, Begona Gomez – the wife of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez – has been diagnosed with the virus.
The worldwide death toll from COVID-19 now exceeds 5,300 people.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has described Europe as the new “epicentre” of the outbreak, which began late last year in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
The US has announced that it is extending the travel restrictions imposed on most European nations to the United Kingdom and Ireland with effect from Monday.
