Daily life came to a grinding halt around much of the world Sunday amid new travel restrictions, border shutdowns and sweeping closures of restaurants and bars aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
The numbers of cases and deaths continued to rise, including in hard-hit Italy where 368 more deaths brought its overall toll to 1,809. With the country under a nearly week-old lockdown, Pope Francis ventured out of the Vatican to visit two churches in Rome to pray for the sick, a spokesman said.
Public worship was curtailed in many places as faith leaders gave sermons to empty pews or moved to online services. Muslim authorities announced that the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City would be closed indefinitely, and the Vatican said next month’s Holy Week services would not be open to the public.
Americans returning from abroad found historic closures in cities and faced chaos at airports as overwhelmed border agents tried to screen passengers for illness.
As Americans struggled to come to terms with how to change their daily habits, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a dramatic recommendation: Because large events can fuel the spread of the disease, it said gatherings of 50 people or more should be canceled or postponed throughout the country for the next eight weeks. It added that, at any event, proper precautions should be taken, including making sure people are washing their hands and not getting too close.
But in a sign of the difficulty of striking the right balance, the statement from the CDC also said the recommendation does not apply to “the day to day operation of organizations such as schools, institutes of higher learning, or businesses.”
In Spain, long lines for food and police patrols marked the first day of a nationwide quarantine. In the Philippines, soldiers and police sealed off the densely populated capital of Manila from most domestic travellers. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced plans to limit movement nationwide, and Lebanon’s government ordered a lockdown in the country, closing down Beirut’s famed seaside corniche.
Ireland ordered all pubs and bars to close for two weeks — including on Tuesday, St. Patrick’s Day — and urged people not even to hold house parties. Two pub industry groups had warned of the “real difficulty” in keeping people apart in the country’s famous watering holes.
With new infections dwindling in Asia, Europe has become the main front line of the fight against COVID-19. The virus has infected 162,000 people and killed over 6,000, but more than 75,000 people have recovered.
China, Italy, Iran, South Korea and Spain have the most infections. 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.
People should go out “only alone or with the people who live in their apartment,” said Austria’s Kurz, whose country has 800 infections.
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That was echoed by one of America’s top infectious disease experts.
“I think Americans should be prepared that they are going to have to hunker down significantly more than we as a country are doing,” Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health told NBC’s Meet the Press.
Governors in California, Illinois and Ohio on Sunday told all bars and restaurants to close or reduce their number of customers. New York City will shutter the nation’s largest public school system as early as Tuesday, sending over 1.1 million children home.
With fears increasing that the viral outbreak will depress economic growth across the U.S. in the coming months, the Federal Reserve took emergency action by slashing its benchmark interest rate to near zero and deciding to buy $700 billion in Treasury and mortgage bonds.
Travellers returning to the U.S. after the Trump administration imposed a wide-ranging ban on people entering from Europe faced hourslong waits for medical screenings. Images on social media showed packed arrival halls and winding lines.
“This is unacceptable, counterproductive and exactly the opposite of what we need to do to prevent #COVID19,” Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth tweeted.
Italy, the worst-hit European country, reported its biggest day-to-day increase in infections — 3,590 more cases in a 24-hour period — for a total of almost 24,747.
“It’s not a wave. It’s a tsunami,” said Dr. Roberto Rona, who’s in charge of intensive care at the Monza hospital.
The Transport Ministry banned passengers from taking ferries to the island of Sardinia and halted overnight train trips, which many in the north had used to reach homes and families in the south.
Even as authorities pleaded for people to stay home, Pope Francis visited St. Mary Major Basilica, near Rome’s central train station, to pray for the sick, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said.
The 83-year-old pontiff then walked to another church with a crucifix that in 1522 was carried in a procession during a plague afflicting Rome. In his prayer, Francis has `’invoked the end of the pandemia that has stricken Italy and the world, implored healing for the many sick, recalled the many victims of these days” and asked for consolation for their family and friends.
The Vatican said it would close all Holy Week ceremonies to the public starting with Palm Sunday on April 5. Although the statement did not specify Easter, which is celebrated on April 12, it appeared likely that restrictions on large gatherings might well continue in Italy. Holy Week services usually draw tens of thousands to Rome but, with Italy at the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak, tourism has vanished.
Spain was under lockdown amid a two-week state of emergency.
“From now, we enter into a new phase,” said Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, whose wife tested positive. “We won’t hesitate in doing what we need must to beat the virus. We are putting health first.”
In Barcelona, there were long lines to buy bread. Police patrolled parks and told people who were not walking their dogs to go home. The Las Ramblas promenade, the heart of the city and a tourist magnet, was eerily empty.
Spain’s Health Ministry said the country has recorded 288 deaths, up from 136 on Saturday. The number of infections rose to 7,753 from 5,700.
The Czech Republic will launch a nationwide lockdown Monday, and Netherlands ordered all schools, day-care centres, restaurants and bars to close until April 6. The new restrictions cover Amsterdam’s famed marijuana-selling “coffee shops” and sex clubs.
Elsewhere, Morocco suspended all international flights, and Turkey set aside quarantine beds for more than 10,000 people returning from Islam’s holy sites in Saudi Arabia.
In China, where the virus was first detected in December, those arriving on overseas flights were routed to an exhibition centre for initial checks before being shuttled to their homes or other quarantine locations.
Even as social life largely halted the German capital of Berlin has closed bars, cinemas and other facilities _ some attempts at keeping up public life persisted.
France, which has over 4,500 infections and 91 deaths, went ahead Sunday with nationwide elections to choose mayors and other local leaders despite a crackdown on gatherings. The government ordered election organizers to keep a 1-meter (3-foot) gap between people and provide soap or sanitizing gel and disinfectant wipes for voting machines.
In Germany, which had reported more than 5,400 cases and 11 deaths, the state of Bavaria also held municipal elections, with poll workers wearing protective gloves. Germany will partially close its borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg and Denmark on Monday, and Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said people will no longer be allowed to cross those borders without a valid reason, such as for work.
Britain, which has not yet restricted everyday activities, said it plans to set out emergency powers this week, including potentially requiring people over 70 to self-isolate for up to four months and banning mass gatherings.
“We will do the right thing at the right time,” Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the BBC.
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Puerto Rico ordered nearly all businesses to close for next two weeks and set a nighttime curfew following confirmation of a fifth case.
Even Montenegro, with no confirmed cases, preemptively banned foreigners and ordered the closure of cafes, restaurants, shopping malls, fitness centres and playgrounds.
With the virus having reached 25 of Africa’s 54 countries, sweeping restrictions were announced. Kenya is banning travellers from countries with infections and closing all schools for three weeks.
Senegal and Mauritania also are closing schools. Senegal also banned all public gatherings for a month, stopping cruise ships from docking and suspending Muslim and Christian pilgrimages.
Muslim authorities announced that Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third-holiest site, would be closed indefinitely, with prayers being held on the sprawling esplanade outside.
Dalia Samhouri, a regional official with the World Health Organization, said both Iran and Egypt, two of the most populous countries in the Mideast, were likely underreporting cases because infected people can still show no visible symptoms. Iran says it has nearly 14,000 virus cases and 724 deaths, while Egypt has reported 110 cases, including two fatalities.
Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain. Associated Press writers Geir Moulson in Berlin, Iain Sullivan in Madrid, Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Yanan Wang in Beijing, Andrew Taylor in Washington, and Jim Gomez in Manila contributed.
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