Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • the Corona virus outbreak in Europe is rapidly intensifying and the number of infections across the continent is also rising fast.

  • It's elite.

  • The worst affected country is beginning.

  • A second day of lockdowns death rose by 1/3 on Tuesday.

  • We're now looking at 631 people.

  • They have now been more than 10,000 people infected with the virus in Italy.

  • Here in the U.

  • K, a health minister has tested positive for the virus as the government prepares to announce its annual budget Britain Central Bank in the last few hours, stashing interest rates by half a percent.

  • In China, the picture does seem to be improving, with the number of reported new infections actually continuing to fall globally.

  • Though the number off confirmed cases of covert 19 now stands at almost 120,000 80,000 of those in China, more than 4200 people have died well.

  • European leaders have been updating their countries on the Corona virus outbreak in the last hour.

  • We've been hearing from Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, who said experts had told her that between 60 and 70% of people were likely to be affected.

  • It's now all about slowing the spread off the virus.

  • And Italy's prime minister's epic on today has also been giving an update, responding from a request from the worst hit region of Lombardy to implement even more stringent measures to stop the spread of the illness.

  • I've already declared on behalf of the government that we are not closed to the idea of adopting Maur restrictive measures.

  • Although let's bear in mind that the day before yesterday we did introduce some restrictive measures for the whole country.

  • But we are happy to follow the requests based on the curve of the virus contagions.

  • The only thing I would say and this isn't so much directed to the governors who know their areas and put in requests that are based on fact.

  • But to those who are participating in public debate, I invite you to proceed with caution and a sense of responsibility, our primary objective and everyone shares.

  • This is the health of our citizens because compared to other interests, even on a constitutional level, it's our priority.

  • But let's remember that there are also other interests at play like civil liberties, social rights and freedom of Enterprise, Italy's prime minister there with that update in the last hour.

  • Well, let's take you to Rome and join the BBC's Bethany Bell.

  • Who is there?

  • Bethany?

  • Can you tell us what restrictions are in place at the moment across Italy and whether people are obeying the rules well, Under this decree, people can't move from one town to another unless they have essential work reasons, unless they have health problems or they need two.

  • There's a family emergency that they need to go and rejoin their family, or they need to be able to get home.

  • And if you do wish to travel from city to city, you have to fill out a special form justifying your reasons for doing so.

  • And if you lie about that, you could face criminal sanctions for that.

  • Elsewhere shops are allowed to be open, but people have to maintain a meters distance from one another.

  • Cafes and restaurants are open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. But you know things are shutting down.

  • A lot of people are canceling it events, you know, big public events have been canceled just close to where I am now, since Peter's Square in the Vatican has been closed to groups and tourists and really a sense here of life very, very strange about whether people are obeying these things very hard to tell at the moment and quite an individual thing.

  • And, you know, we haven't seen that much evidence of how the authorities air enforcing this at the moment.

  • Bethany, we've just been hearing from Italy's prime minister, who said there could be even stricter rules brought in for Lombardy, which is the worst affected region in Italy.

  • How is the health system and long buddy coping?

  • Given the amount of new infections and new patients they're having to deal with every day, it's under immense strain.

  • It's Italy has a very well developed health system, particularly in northern regions like lumber T.

  • But the pressure's on that system at the moment because of so many people needing treatment in intensive care is making things extremely hard for doctors.

  • One of them described it as a kind of war situation that they were facing, and we've seen pictures of beds, intensive care beds, actually in hospital corridors and the fear Woz and what we understand is that one of the reasons why the decision was taken to put the whole of Italy under this kind of lock down was because they didn't want to see the virus spreading more in the south of the country, where the medical systems are not in such good shape as those in the north.

  • But this time, when medical staff, under an enormous pressure, all leave has been cancelled, their fears that they're getting tired.

  • And what will happen if the numbers just continue to grow.

  • Bethany, thanks for joining us from Rome and will be returning to Italy shortly to hear from a resident who is under lock down with her Children about what life is like.

  • But while Italy is taking these emergency measures across the entire country, the UK has taken an extraordinary financial step.

  • At 7 a.m. Local time, the Bank of England said it was cutting interest rates from 3/4 of a percent to just 1/4 of a percent.

  • It's intended to ease the economic effects off the outbreak.

  • He is the Bank of England governor Mark Carney.

  • The Bank of England's role is to help UK businesses and households managed through an economic shock that could prove large and sharp but should be temporary.

  • It's why the bank is announcing today a comprehensive and timely package of measures to help UK households and businesses bridge across the economic disruption caused by Kobe 19.

  • These measures will help keep firms in business and people in jobs, and they will prevent a temporary disruption from causing longer lasting economic harm.

  • Not Connie.

  • They're also here in Britain, a health minister has tested positive for Corona virus.

  • Officials are trying to trace everyone who had contact with her.

  • The minister, Nadine Dorries, first showed symptoms on Thursday, and that's the same day she attended a Downing Street reception hosted by the Prime minister, Boris Johnson.

  • She says she is remaining at home as advised as she's also said she's most concerned about her elderly mother.

  • The UK doesn't yet have any restrictions on public gatherings, but a Premier League football fixture has fallen victim to the virus.

  • Manchester City's game against Arsenal, due to be played on Wednesday evening, has been postponed and that's because it's emerged that several Arsenal players were in contact with the owner off the Greek Seidel NPR course after their Europa League match.

  • I even Julhas Mannan ickiness tested positive for the virus.

  • Although this stage, the English Premier League says the postponement is simply a precautionary measure.

  • Well, The governor of New York state, Andrew Cuomo, says he was in troops to enforce the containment zone to the north off New York City, the National Guard will deliver food to quarantine individuals and New Rochelle, where a one mile that is 1.6 kilometers containment zone is being put into place after the virus was discovered there.

  • It comes as passengers left the Grand Princess Cruise ship, which was finally allowed to dock in Oakland after a covert 19 outbreak.

  • On board Vice president Mike Pence has said new measures have been put into place to deal with the infection's onboard cruise ships coming to America.

  • I'm also pleased to report that we did receive this afternoon a comprehensive proposal from the cruise line industry proposal includes advanced screening.

  • Improving medical service is on ships providing for airlift, evacuation and land based care at the expense of the cruise lines.

  • For anyone that might be not only infected with the Corona virus, but with any serious illness.

  • Well, just to give you an idea of some of the preventative measures being taken across the US Let's show you San Francisco right now, where city officials have assembled a fleet of 30 mobile homes, which we used to help people who don't have their own accommodation to self isolate if necessary.

  • Currently, there are 14 cases in San Francisco, this initiative costing around $440,000.

the Corona virus outbreak in Europe is rapidly intensifying and the number of infections across the continent is also rising fast.

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it