Rome, Italy | AFP | Italy on Wednesday shut all stores except for pharmacies and food shops in a desperate bid to halt the spread of a coronavirus that has killed 827 in the the country in just over two weeks. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced the latest wave of restrictions …
Read More »Uganda restricts travel to US and UK
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda has restricted travelling to nine more countries that have been hit by COVID 19. The affected countries are San Marino, Belgium, USA, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Austria and Malaysia. According to the health ministry, these countries have reported large cumulative numbers of infected …
Read More »PANDEMIC: Trump suspends travel from Europe to US
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump on Wednesday suspended travel from Europe to the United States for 30 days in a “tough” new effort to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic that has sparked a run on the stock market and is rapidly multiplying. The …
Read More »Virus deaths soar in Italy, US deploys national guard
Rome, Italy | AFP | Italians braced for a second day of national lockdown Wednesday after a sharp spike in coronavirus-related deaths, as New York deployed the National Guard to contain a disease that has sown worldwide panic. Europe’s hardest-hit country said the death toll from the COVID-19 virus had risen …
Read More »Britain’s post-Brexit budget to combat virus fallout
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Britain unveils its first post-Brexit budget on Wednesday, with all eyes on emergency government measures to ease the economic pain from the coronavirus outbreak. It comes the day after a minister in the health department, Nadine Dorries, tested positive for COVID-19, raising concern about whether …
Read More »Coronavirus: Health Ministry issues new guidelines for mass gatherings
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Health has listed seven items that must be in place for any mass gathering to be allowed to take place in the wake of the increasing threat of COVID-19. The Ministry says all venues should have first aid kits, toilets or …
Read More »Italy locks down as China signals major progress in own virus fight
Rome, Italy | AFP | Italy imposed unprecedented national restrictions on its 60 million people Tuesday to control the deadly coronavirus, as China signalled major progress in its own battle against the global epidemic. The outbreak, combined with a crash in oil prices, has caused carnage on financial markets, erasing billions …
Read More »Hotels, tour operators register surge in booking cancellations
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The tourism and hospitality industry in Uganda is dealing with the worst surge in cancellation of bookings as the global coronavirus outbreak takes a toll on businesses. Jean Byamugisha, the Uganda Hotel Owners Association chairperson, said many people who were scheduled to travel to Uganda …
Read More »Egypt’s fragile tourism sector braces for virus impact
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Just when Egypt’s crucial tourism sector was recovering from years of political tumult and jihadist attacks, the industry finds itself bracing for a potential buffeting by the new coronavirus. The guesthouse where Bassam Hamimi works in archaeologically rich southern Egypt usually hosts numerous tourists from China, …
Read More »COVID-19 likely to cost global economy USD 1 trillion in 2020 – UNCTAD
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The economic uncertainty of the COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic will likely cost the global economy USD 1 trillion in 2020, the UN’s trade and development agency, UNCTAD, has said. The warning was sounded by Richard Kozul-Wright, the Director, Division on Globalization and Development Strategies at UNCTAD …
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