The pandemic … did not subside – Saudi News

There is no sign that the Covid-19 epidemic will slow its spread around the world. Just about 24 hours after the number of infected people worldwide reached 38 million, the number jumped to 38.76 million! Despite the deterioration of the numbers in the countries that top the list of countries most affected by the new Corona virus; The developments of the health crisis in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia came yesterday with really good news, as Saudi Arabia made additional progress by declining (Wednesday) to the 20th place in the world, as Indonesia advanced it to rank 19, and the Philippines (18). Given the number of new cases daily, it is expected that Saudi Arabia will decline within the next two days to the 21st place in the world, to give up its current rank to Turkey. Despite the enormity of the numbers, India considered itself in a health improvement, after Wednesday it recorded 63,509 new cases during the 24 hours ending Wednesday morning. It is a significant decline, given more than 72,000 cases per day throughout the past week, and 92,000 cases per day early last September. Yesterday, China completed the examination of 4.2 million residents of the city of Qingdao (north of the country), following the discovery of 12 new infections. Beijing said that the results of tests conducted on two million citizens there were negative. Yesterday, however, Beijing announced the discovery of 27 new cases, 13 of them domestic, and 14 of those arriving from outside the country. However, the war between the virus and humans was at its most intense yesterday on the European continent. The World Health Organization said yesterday that more than 700,000 new infections were confirmed in Europe during the past week alone, a jump of 34% from the previous week. More than half of those cases occurred in Britain, Spain, France and Russia. And swept the old continent yesterday, a fever of return to closures, and strict application of precautionary measures. While the organization attributed the increase in infections to the expansion of examinations, it said that Covid-19 deaths in Europe rose last week by 16%. Doctors in countries on the continent have warned that the current outbreak is mainly targeting young people. But they said they did not rule out that the virus attack would target the elderly, which could lead to more deaths. France and Italy decided yesterday to ban concerts. They imposed restrictions on the number of people who could visit restaurants. And the Netherlands announced yesterday the closure of all restaurants and bars; And banned the sale of alcoholic beverages after eight in the evening. The Czech Republic decided yesterday to close all schools until 2 November. Latvia has ordered students to take refuge in distance learning for at least a week. It seemed that all European governments were keen to avoid a complete lockdown, fearing further damage to the economy, which was already creaking under the weight of the previous shutdown last spring. The World Health Organization said the lockdown should be a last resort.And France closed bars, cafes and restaurants in Paris, Marseille and 7 other cities. Public parties are banned. Polish Prime Minister Matthews Murawiecki advised his people yesterday to maintain physical distancing and wear a face mask. He said that he decided to isolate himself for 14 days after coming into contact with an infected person. The German Chancellor is scheduled to hold consultations with French President Emmanuel Macron on how best to contain the worsening health crisis. Yesterday, Merkel hosted the heads of government of German states to discuss how to avoid the closure as much as possible. On Tuesday, Germany recorded 6,541 new cases of Covid-19, while France announced 17,387 new cases on Tuesday. Officials in the Spanish province of Catalonia said they are considering closing cafes and bars, according to Barcelona newspaper Vanguardia. And Greece decided yesterday to consider the muzzle obligatory in offices and public places. Most of the countries of Eastern Europe have witnessed a similar tightening of preventive measures, as a result of the viral outbreak, which has been insanely accelerated.

21 trillion Covid cost … globally

The chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, Gita Gopinath, said yesterday that the final cost of the Covid-19 epidemic could reach $ 21 trillion. And she warned that the epidemic will cause permanent damage to living standards across the globe. The recovery will take “long,” Gopinath said, uneven and uncertain. German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed the night before last that she was very concerned about the acceleration of the current epidemic. She did not rule out the possibility that her country would resort to closure again. Italian Prime Minister Guiseppe Conte said yesterday that he had decided to prevent meeting more than 6 people, and banning any parties inside homes. He added that the goal is to prevent the country from returning to lockdown. Yesterday, Italy announced 5,900 new infections and 41 deaths. Italy joined Spain, Turkey and India in imposing mandatory wearing of masks in public places and roads.