Coronavirus cases in Latin America surpassed 10,000 on Friday, according to an AFP count based on official government and World Health Organisation figures.
The first case in Latin America was reported on February 26 in Brazil, which has become the regional epicenter of the pandemic with almost 3,000 cases and 77 deaths.
Overall, there have been 181 deaths from COVID-19 in Latin America.

Latin America coronavirus cases pass 10,000

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Sweden, which has stayed open for business with a softer approach to curbing the COVID-19 spread than most of Europe, on Friday limited gatherings to 50 people, down from 500.
"An extraordinary cabinet meeting decided today to limit gatherings to 50 people, acting upon a recommendation this morning from the Public Health Agency," Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven told reporters.
The ban goes into effect on Sunday. Those who organise events violating the ban will face fines or a prison sentence of up to six months.  Lofven also urged Swedes not to travel to other parts of the country for the upcoming Easter holiday, as the country sees its number of COVID-19 cases rise.
"If you don't need to travel, stay home. This is serious now," he said.  On Friday, Sweden reported 3,046 declared cases of the new coronavirus and 92 deaths.
In stark contrast to most of Europe, the Scandinavian country has kept primary schools, cafes and restaurants open, and has encouraged children to continue ...

Sweden cuts gatherings from 500 to 50

Sri Lanka's most sacred Buddhist temple deployed helicopters Friday to sprinkle holy water across the Indian Ocean island in a spiritual offensive against the coronavirus pandemic.
The two helicopters sprinkled water that had been blessed during a week-long chanting of special stanzas at the central pilgrim city of Kandy.
"We hope the virus situation will be under control after this blessing," the chief lay custodian of the Temple of the Tooth," Pradeep Nilanga Dela told AFP.
He said the first two sorties were carried out Friday covering the southern and western parts of the island, with further deployments planned in the coming days.
One of the helicopters flew over the main international airport just north of the capital, the gateway for the virus to enter the island.
Almost the entire fleet of the national carrier, Sri Lankan Airlines, could be seen parked as flights have been drastically slashed.
Sri Lanka has also banned any incoming airline passengers, but has allowed foreign ...

Sri Lanka fights virus with Buddhist holy water

Manchester United will refund supporters if they have to play their remaining home games of the season behind closed doors or if they are scrapped due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The deadline for season ticket renewals for next season has also been suspended, with no indication as to when the current campaign can re-start.  English football has been suspended until April 30, but a meeting of Premier League clubs next week is expected to push that date further back.
United would be one of the clubs worst affected should the 2019/20 season fail to be completed as they sit fifth in the Premier League, outside the Champions League places, and are still involved in the latter stages of the Europa League and FA Cup.
However, Manchester City's two-season ban from European competition could allow their city rivals to qualify for the Champions League if it is upheld for next season.
"The club fully supports the collective intent to complete the Premier League, FA Cup and the UEFA club ...

Man Utd to offer refunds, season ticket delay to fans

The Bank of Canada on Friday lowered a key interest rate to 0.25 percent as part of a drive to cushion the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
"This unscheduled rate decision brings the policy rate to its effective lower bound and is intended to provide support to the Canadian financial system and the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic," the bank said of the change in the so-called overnight lending rate.

Bank of Canada lowers rate to 0.25% amid coronavirus crisis

Foreign governments on Friday stepped up operations to evacuate tens of thousands of tourists stranded by the coronavirus pandemic in remote locations across South Asia from Everest base camp to beach hotels in Sri Lanka.
A plane chartered by Berlin took 304 people out of Kathmandu in the first of a series of flights aiming to ferry more than 10,000 people from Nepal.
Almost 17,000 tourists are stuck in Sri Lanka while tens of thousands of travellers and expatriates are in India, according to authorities in the two countries.
All have cut or virtually halted international flights over the past week in a bid to halt the coronavirus spread.
The plane that left Kathmandu Friday was carrying Germans and other European nationals, Rajan Pokhrel, director general of Nepal's Civil Aviation Authority, told AFP.  "Other countries are consulting us about evacuating their citizens," he added.
A second German flight was to leave Saturday and the Australian embassy said it was trying to negotiate a 

Emergency flights for tens of thousands stranded by virus in South Asia

Tennis world number one Novak Djokovic said Friday he was donating one million euros ($1.1 million) to help his native Serbia buy respirators and other gear to combat the coronavirus.
The player was speaking in a video conference from the southern Spanish city of Marbella, where he and his family are currently hunkering down under nationwide lockdown orders.
"Our donation is for the purchase of life-saving respirators and other sanitary equipment," said the tennis star.
Normally based in Monaco, the family's stay in Spain is "a pure coincidence", according to his spokesperson.
The 32-year-old said he was working on keeping a "positive spirit" and enjoying the family time with the tennis season thrown into chaos by the pandemic.
The men's ATP and women's WTA Tours have been suspended until June 7, with the French Open postponed and Wimbledon facing possible postponement or even cancellation.
"I don't remember spending so much time with my family since I became a father," added ...

Djokovic donates 1 million euros to help Serbia combat coronavirus

Espanyol have asked labour authorities in Catalonia to allow them to cut player and staff salaries by 70 percent while football is suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, the La Liga club said Friday.
The Barcelona-based outfit, who are bottom of La Liga, are among a raft of clubs set to take a huge financial hit due to the suspension of football in Spain, one of the countries worst hit by COVID-19.
"Due to the temporary suspension of the season and the current extraordinary situation, Espanyol have presented a plan of partial unemployment," the club said in a statement.
"The requested measure consists of a 70 percent reduction in working hours." Espanyol said that the proposed reduction regards players and coaching staff from the men's and women's first teams, Espanyol B and youth teams, and was made "unilaterally for reasons of urgency".
City rivals Barcelona said on Thursday that they were cutting salaries -- although they did not specify who would be affected -- in order to ...

Espanyol request 70% pay cut for players, staff

The number of deaths around the world from the novel coronavirus stood at 24,663, according to a tally compiled by AFP at 1100 GMT Friday from official sources.
More than 539,360 declared cases have been registered in 183 countries and territories since the epidemic first emerged in China in December. Of these cases, at least 112,200 are now considered recovered.
The tallies, using data collected by AFP offices from national authorities and information from the World Health Organization (WHO), likely reflect only a fraction of the actual number of infections.
Many countries are now only testing cases that require hospitalisation.  Italy, which recorded its first coronavirus death in February, has to date declared 8,165 fatalities, with 80,539 infections and 9,362 people recovered.
Like Italy, Spain also has more fatalities than China with 4,858, as well as having 64,059 infections.
China -- excluding Hong Kong and Macau -- has to date declared 3,292 deaths and 81,340 cases, with ...

Coronavirus toll across the world at 1100 GMT Friday

Russia's biggest telecoms provider on Friday pleaded with clients to stop sending coronavirus memes and viral videos, as networks began to overload as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Memes and keeping in good spirits are important, but it is important to be responsible about using content online," MTS president Alexei Kornya said in a statement on the company's website.
"I'm not saying you should stop watching films online or participate in video conferences for work," he said.
But he called on Russians to "refrain from sending around funny but 'heavy' videos via messengers to dozens of contacts," straining the telecoms infrastructure.
MTS has 80 million clients in Russia and has seen a "considerable increase in the load on the network," mostly in large cities, particularly Moscow, Kornya said.
Russia has not ordered a mandatory lockdown, but many companies switched to telecommuting earlier this month to lower the risk of coronavirus infection.
The internet has exploded with ...

Stop sending memes, Russian telecoms firm pleads

Britain's Health Secretary Matt Hancock on Friday said he had tested positive for COVID-19, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was self-isolating with "mild symptoms" of the virus.
"Following medical advice, I was advised to test for #Coronavirus. I've tested positive. Thankfully my symptoms are mild and I'm working from home & self-isolating," Hancock announced on Twitter.

UK health secretary positive for COVID-19 after PM

Every few seconds, a batch of white plastic cases shoots along a conveyor belt in a South Korean factory -- coronavirus test kits destined for export around the world as the global pandemic sends demand soaring.
SD Biosensor is one of five South Korean companies whose COVID-19 diagnostic tests are being used in the country, where a huge "trace, test and treat" effort appears to have brought the epidemic under control.
The factory on a nondescript industrial estate in Cheongju, south of Seoul, is ramping up production of kits that could be crucial to the world's anti-virus efforts.
It is now making 350,000 tests a day -- almost as many as the South has used in the entire outbreak so far -- up from 20,000 in January.
And managers plan to start 24-hour operations next month, taking daily output to more than a million.
"Treatment for the virus begins with accurate diagnosis," company vice president Park June told AFP.
"I have been in the diagnostic industry for 35 years and never I have ..

Coronavirus test kits pour off South Korean production line

German researchers plan to regularly test over 100,000 people to see if they have overcome infection with COVID-19 to track its spread, an institute behind the plan confirmed Friday.
A spokeswoman for Brunswick's Helmholtz Institute for Infectious Disease Research confirmed a report in news weekly Der Spiegel that large-scale testing for coronavirus antibodies could start in April if researchers are given the green light.
"You could give immune people something similar to a vaccination certificate that could allow them exceptions from limits on their activities," Helmholtz Institute epidemiologist Gerard Krause, who is tipped to lead the study, told Der Spiegel.
German schools, non-essential shops and restaurants are now closed and public gatherings of more than two people banned.
Krause would work institutions on the front line of Germany's response to the virus, including disease control authority the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) and Berlin's Charite hospital.
By Friday, the RKI ...

Germany plans mass immunity study to track virus

A South African couple are to run a marathon on their Dubai balcony to be streamed online as an example of how to beat the coronavirus blues under lockdown.
Collin Allin, 41, and wife Hilda aim to cover the 42.2-kilometre (26-mile) distance on their 19-metre (yard) long balcony from 6:00 am on Saturday, a challenge they expect to take between seven and eight hours.
"This is about giving people something else to think about," he told AFP. "It's about getting people to connect, as everyone is worried about the impact of coronavirus." Their 10-year-old daughter Geena will be in charge of providing her parents with water and snacks as well as music to drive the runners.
The United Arab Emirates, of which Dubai is a member, has imposed a Thursday to Sunday nightime lockdown to allow for outdoors and public transport sanitation operations.
With more than 150 declared cases of the novel coronavirus and two deaths, it has also been promoting a "stay home" campaign, a message lit up on top of .

Couple to run Dubai balcony marathon to beat coronavirus blues

The number of coronavirus cases on the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean has spiked to at least 23, with authorities moving to isolate the entire crew in port, US media reported.
Earlier this week three sailors were evacuated after testing positive for the virus, the first cases reported on a US Navy ship on deployment.
"Additional positive cases of COVID-19 have been discovered", Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Mike Gilday said in a statement Thursday, without specifying how many.
Gilday added he expected further positive tests among the more than 5,000 personnel on board the warship, which is in Guam on a "pre-scheduled port visit." None was seriously ill and none had been hospitalized, the admiral said.
The Wall Street Journal said there were now "at least 23" cases and quoted Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly as saying authorities were "in the process now of testing 100 per cent of the crew." "During the port visit, base access will be limited to the .

Virus cases spike on US aircraft carrier: media

Russia has ordered restaurants, cafes and resorts closed from Saturday to fight the coronavirus outbreak, but stopped short of insisting on a full-blown lockdown.
Russian regions are to "halt the activities of public food service organisations," except for delivery services, a government decree said on Friday.
The decree also ordered regional authorities to halt the work of hotels and resorts and other similar venues until June, and to recommend that Russians limit travel.
Speaking at a meeting of the country's anti-coronavirus task force, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said "harsh, even prohibitive measures are needed" to prevent the novel coronavirus from spreading at crowded places.
They are dictated by "the necessity to cut down on any movements" and to postpone any non-essential travel and avoid public, he said.
"Staying home right now is the most important thing for everyone."
President Vladimir Putin Wednesday declared a non-working week from March 28 to April 5 to stem the ..

Russia unveils more 'stay at home' measures

British police faced criticism on Friday for using "over-the-top" methods to maintain a coronavirus lockdown, after officers armed with sweeping new powers deployed drones to detect walkers far from home.
Civil liberties group Big Brother Watch said the police must behave within the rule of law after it also emerged that road checkpoints had been set up to quiz drivers about their journeys.
"It's understandable why police are dispersing parties and barbecues but demanding drivers give journey details at road checkpoints is over-the-top," said director Silkie Carlo.
"It's critical we protect public health and critical we protect basic democratic norms too. Arbitrary policing will not help the country to fight this pandemic." The drone incident happened in the Peak District National Park in Derbyshire, central England, while roadblocks were used in other parts of the country.
Social media users compared their actions to "the Stasi", East Germany's notorious state police.
Another civil ..

UK police use drones to stop dog walkers during crisis

European stock markets retreated Friday as investors banked profits from the week's strong rally in global equities as governments and central banks step up action to bolster an economy battered by the coronavirus pandemic.
There were more gains however for most Asian indices, while the dollar extended losses.
Approaching the half-way stage, Europe's main stock markets were down on average by more than three percent -- but like indices around the world were set to finish the week strongly higher overall.
"European markets have pulled back... with caution being the order of the day after such a good rally," said Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at trading group Markets.com.
"Stimulus efforts have calmed markets" this week, Wilson said, noting however that investors were looking to bank profits ahead of the weekend pause.
While the number of people contracting COVID-19 continues to escalate, the support measures which the G20 said amounted to $5 trillion, have given traders hope that ..

European stocks retreat at end of strong week for global equities

The Afghan government has finalised a 21-member team -- including five women -- who will negotiate with the Taliban in upcoming talks aimed at ending Afghanistan's 18-year-old conflict, officials said Friday.
The move is a crucial step in bringing the warring parties to the table and getting a floundering, US-led peace process back on track.
Under a deal signed by the US and the Taliban last month, the insurgents agreed to commit to starting talks with the Afghan government and discuss a possible ceasefire.
Up until now, the Taliban has refused to meet with the administration of President Ashraf Ghani, calling him an American stooge.
In return for starting talks and other commitments, the US and foreign partner forces will withdraw from Afghanistan over the next 14 months.
The negotiating team was supposed to be unveiled weeks ago, with the "intra-Afghan" talks with the Taliban meant to get underway March 10 in Oslo.
But Kabul has been gripped by a fresh political crisis, with Ghani's 

Afghan govt unveils negotiating team for Taliban talks

Indonesia's coronavirus crisis is far worse than being officially reported and the government's response is "in tatters", the country's doctors association warned Friday as the death toll climbed to 87.
The world's fourth-most populous country only reported its first confirmed infection this month but by Thursday, that had ballooned to over 1,000.
Indonesia's 87 confirmed coronavirus deaths are the highest toll in Southeast Asia, with public health and diplomatic officials warning that its weak health system is being rapidly overwhelmed.
"The government's plans are in tatters and they appear to be avoiding a lockdown," said Indonesian Doctors' Association spokesman Halik Malik.
"Our health system is not as strong as other countries."
A London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine study warned this week that cases in Indonesia -- with a population of more than 260 million people -- could be vastly underreported.
The government's virus task force has estimated as many as 700,000 ...

Indonesia virus plans 'in tatters' as infections surge

Ugandan police said on Friday that two men were in hospital after being shot for violating restrictions on transport in a bid to curb the spread of coronavirus.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has urged people to stay home but has stopped short of ordering a lockdown.
Schools, places of entertainment and worship and some agricultural markets have been shut for a month and people have been banned from using public transport, and being more than three to a car, or one on a private motorbike.
"Police officers on duty to enforce a presidential directive stopped two men on a motorbike in Mukono (near Kampala) on Thursday," Uganda metropolitan police spokesman, Patrick Onyango told AFP.
"They attacked one of the officers, he fired the warning shot in the air but they charged at him and he shot one of them in the leg and another in the stomach."
Onyango said the men, who were in hospital, had said they were not aware of the directive banning public transport and private motorbikes carrying 

AFP

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