Coronavirus latest: new urgency in global ‘war’ against pandemic
- Markets plunge and nations lock down borders as Spain becomes fourth-most infected country
- China reports just one new domestic coronavirus case in new low
The growing sense of crisis rocked global financial markets, particularly on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 12.9 per cent. Leaders of the G7 industrial powerhouses pledged to join forces to halt economic free fall in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, which they called “a human tragedy”.
Investors’ fears that the outbreak will throw the global economy into a recession sent the market to its worst one-day loss since 1987.
The shifting fronts in the battle were made clear by figures showing that cases outside China – where the virus originated – surpassed those inside its borders for the first time. Spain officially became the fourth-most infected country in the world, surpassing South Korea.
With the number of cases worldwide more than 170,000, a surge of patients in Madrid’s hospitals fuelled worries across Europe of what lies ahead.
School closings in 56 countries kept more than 516 million students home, the United Nations said.
In France, officials imposed nationwide restrictions on where people could go.
‘We are at war,” French President Emmanuel Macron declared.