Italian Cases Soar Past 300 As EU Stubbornly Refuses To Close Borders; 10 Dead: Live Updates
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Tue, 02/25/2020
Summary:
WHO warns the rest of the world “is not ready for the virus to spread…”
CDC warns Americans “should prepare for possible community spread” of virus.
Italy cases spike to 322; deaths hit 10
HHS Sec. Azar warns US lacks stockpiles of masks
Italy Hotel in Lockdown After First Coronavirus Case in Liguria
First case in Switzerland
First case in Austria
First case in Spain
Iran Deputy Health Minister infected with Covid-19
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Update (1245ET): More updates out of Europe. Earlier, we reported the first coronavirus cases had been confirmed in Austria and Croatia, showing that the virus has now spread to both central and southeastern Europe.
Over in Italy, the number of confirmed cases has surpassed 300 to 322, while the number of dead climbed to 10, according to Italian emergency chief Angelo Borrelli, who said the newly deceased were over the age of 80. That’s up from just 20 confirmed cases on Friday.
Newly deceased were over 80 years old, says at press conference in Rome Tuesday. The new infections include three cases in southern Sicily region, Italian Civil Protection official Borrelli said.
Earlier, we noted the WHO saying that while the pace of new infections has slackened in China thanks in part to the administration’s heavy handed crackdown to fight the virus, if officials and the public aren’t careful, we could see a resurgence. The WHO also warned that the world is wildly unprepared for the coronavirus, a fact that the CDC and HHS Secretary have now echoed about America’s ability to respond to the crisis.
German officials gave the first hint at what is coming earlier today when they said that closing borders with Italy wouldn’t solve the problem (note: this is the same logic they used during the migrant crisis and we all remember how that turned out). Now, European health officials have collectively decided that closing borders would be “ineffective,” concluding days of mounting speculation about whether Italy, or its neighbors, would suspend Schengen rules governing the free movement of people across the EU.
According to Bloomberg, health ministers from Austria, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Switzerland and a representative from San Marino agreed on Tuesday to keep European borders open, arguing that closing them would be a “disproportionate and ineffective measure” at this time.
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