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Coronavirus: Europe now epicentre of the pandemic, says WHO – BBC News

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Europe is now the “epicentre” of the global coronavirus pandemic, the head of the World Health Organization says.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged countries to use aggressive measures, community mobilisation and social distancing to save lives.

“Do not just let this fire burn,” he said.

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His comments came as several European countries reported steep rises in infections and deaths. Italy has recorded its highest daily toll yet.

There were 250 deaths recorded over the past 24 hours, taking the total to 1,266, with 17,660 infections overall.

Spain, the worst-affected European country after Italy, reported a 50% jump in fatalities to 120 on Friday. Infections increased to 4,231.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez says a state of alert will come into effect there on Saturday for two weeks.

Controls are also being introduced at an increasing number of borders in Europe, in response to rapid spread of the virus.

Why is Europe the ‘epicentre’?

More than 132,500 people have been diagnosed with Covid-19 in 123 countries around the world, according to the WHO.

The total number of deaths has reached about 5,000 – a figure Dr Tedros described as “a tragic milestone”.

“Europe has now become the epicentre of the pandemic, with more reported cases and deaths than the rest of the world combined, apart from China,” he said.

“More cases are now being reported every day than were reported in China at the height of its epidemic.”

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As well as the increases in Spain and Italy, France has now confirmed 2,876 cases and 79 deaths, up from a total of 61 deaths on Thursday.

Germany has seen 3,062 cases and five deaths. There have been 798 confirmed infections in the UK and 11 deaths.

What are European countries doing about it?

Announcing the state of alert in Spain, Mr Sanchez said the government would “mobilise all the resources of state to better protect the health of all of its citizens”.

It will be able to limit movement, order evacuations, prohibit access to certain places and intervene in industry for up to 15 days.

“Victory depends on every single one of us,” Mr Sanchez said. “Heroism is also about washing your hands and staying at home.”

All but “essential travel” to parts of Spain should be avoided, says the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Italy has imposed a nationwide lockdown.

Meanwhile, at least 10 other countries in Europe are enforcing border closures, including:

  • Denmark: Closes borders to foreign visitors from Saturday
  • Czech Republic: Bans all foreigners from entering the country, except those with residence permits. Bans most of its own nationals from leaving
  • Slovakia: Closes borders to all foreigners except those with a residence permit.
  • Austria: Closes three land border crossings with Italy to all foreigners, except those with a medical certificate issued within four days. No restriction on Austrian nationals
  • Ukraine: Closes border crossings to foreigners (except diplomats) for two weeks
  • Hungary: Closes land borders with Austria and Slovenia
  • Poland: From Sunday will close borders to foreign visitors

Belgium, France, Switzerland and parts of Germany are among the latest countries to close schools.

There are also widespread curbs on large gatherings and measures to close theatres, restaurants and bars.

Germany’s Bundesliga, the only one of the big five European football leagues still being played, is to suspend games in the top two divisions from Tuesday.

Paris’s Louvre – the largest art museum in the world – announced it would close from Friday, as will the Eiffel Tower.

Why Europe could be worse off than China

The number of cases of coronavirus reported every day in Europe has surpassed China at its peak.

But Europe is in a worse position.

The overwhelming majority of China’s cases were in one place, Hubei province and those were largely concentrated in one city, Wuhan.

It was dealt with by an authoritarian government that imposed the biggest quarantine in human history.

While there are hotspots in Europe, this is an outbreak across a continent and different countries are adopting very different strategies for dealing with coronavirus.

All these figures are based on cases that have been detected, but scientists fear there could be large outbreaks going on unnoticed in countries that don’t have the tools to spot them.

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What are the developments elsewhere?

US President Donald Trump has declared a national emergency, which allows the federal government to access up to $50bn (£40bn) in funds.

As the president spoke, the three main US indexes jumped more than 9%.

Later on Friday, President Trump said he did not need to self-isolate, despite meeting at least one person who had the coronavirus.

His travel ban on 26 European countries, which was met with anger and confusion this week, will go into effect at midnight EDT (0400 GMT).

Pakistan is shutting all of its land borders and limiting international flights for 15 days, its foreign minister says.

In Canada, MPs have voted to suspend parliament and health officials have advised against non-essential foreign travel.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau began a 14-day self-isolation period on Friday after his wife tested positive.

Also on Friday, Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton was admitted to hospital after testing positive. He recently travelled to Washington and met President Trump’s daughter, Ivanka

Meanwhile, Iran announced another 85 deaths, the country’s highest toll in a 24-hour period, bringing the number of dead there to 514. The true figure is feared to be much higher.

The first cases were recorded in East Africa, in Kenya, Ethiopia and Sudan, which has had the region’s first death.

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RCMP warn about benzodiazepine-laced fentanyl tied to overdose in Alberta – Edmonton Journal

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Grande Prairie RCMP issued a warning Friday after it was revealed fentanyl linked to a deadly overdose was mixed with a chemical that doesn’t respond to naloxone treatment.

The drugs were initially seized on Feb. 28 after a fatal overdose, and this week, Health Canada reported back to Mounties that the fentanyl had been mixed with Bromazolam, which is a benzodiazepine.

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Mounties say this is the first recorded instance of Bromazolam in Alberta. The drug has previously been linked to nine fatal overdoses in New Brunswick in 2022.

The pills seized in Alberta were oval-shaped and stamped with “20” and “SS,” though Mounties say it can come in other forms.

Naloxone treatment, given in many cases of opioid toxicity, is not effective in reversing the effects of Bromazalam, Mounties said, and therefore, any fentanyl mixed with the benzodiazepine “would see a reduced effectiveness of naloxone, requiring the use of additional doses and may still result in a fatality.”

Photo of benzodiazepine-laced fentanyl seized earlier this year by Grande Prairie RCMP after a fatal overdose. edm

From January to November of last year, there were 1,706 opioid-related deaths in Alberta, and 57 linked to benzodiazepine, up from 1,375 and 43, respectively, in 2022.

Mounties say officers responded to about 1,100 opioid-related calls for service, last year with a third of those proving fatal. RCMP officers also used naloxone 67 times while in the field, a jump of nearly a third over the previous year.

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CFIA continues surveillance for HPAI in cattle, while sticking with original name for disease – RealAgriculture

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The Canada Food Inspection Agency will continue to refer to highly pathogenic avian influenza in cattle as HPAI in cattle, and not refer to it as bovine influenza A virus (BIAV), as suggested by the American Association of Bovine Practitioners earlier this month.

Dr. Martin Appelt, senior director for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, in the interview below, says at this time Canada will stick with “HPAI in cattle” when referencing the disease that’s been confirmed in dairy cattle in multiple states in the U.S.

The CFIA’s naming policy is consistent with the agency’s U.S. counterparts’, as the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has also said it will continue referring to it as HPAI or H5N1.

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Appelt explains how the CFIA is learning from the U.S. experience to-date, and how it is working with veterinarians across Canada to stay vigilant for signs of the disease in dairy and beef cattle.

As of April 19, there has not been a confirmed case of HPAI in cattle in Canada. Appelt says it’s too soon to say if an eventual positive case will significantly restrict animal movement, as is the case with positive poultry cases.

This is a major concern for the cattle industry, as beef cattle especially move north and south across the U.S. border by the thousands. Appelt says that CFIA will address an infection in each species differently in conjunction with how the disease is spread and the threat to neighbouring farms or livestock.

Currently, provincial dairy organizations have advised producers to postpone any non-essential tours of dairy barns, as a precaution, in addition to other biosecurity measures to reduce the risk of cattle contracting HPAI.

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Toronto reports 2 more measles cases. Use our tool to check the spread in Canada – Toronto Star

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Canada has seen a concerning rise in measles cases in the first months of 2024.

By the third week of March, the country had already recorded more than three times the number of cases as all of last year. Canada had just 12 cases of measles in 2023, up from three in 2022.

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