Italy's Lombardy region, the center of the European virus outbreak, is getting around its limited number of intensive care units by using strap-on masks that provide continuous breathing assistance
March 3, 2020, 12:21 PM
5 min read
BEIJING -- The Latest on the virus outbreak (all times local):
8 p.m.
Italy's Lombardy region, the center of the European virus outbreak, is getting around its limited capacity to put patients in isolated intensive care units by using strap-on masks that provide continuous breathing assistance.
Lombardy's top health official, Giulio Gallera, says the masks, called CPAPs, which stand for continuous positive airway pressure, can be used in any hospital ward outfitted for respiratory assistance, freeing up ICU units for critical patients who really need them.
Lombardy has been hardest hit in Italy, with 1,254 of Italy's 2,036 positive cases. Some 127 people are in intensive care in a region that currently can only provide 140 isolated ICUs for virus patients.
The strain on Lombardy's health system has forced authorities to seek to bring doctors out of retirement, accelerate graduation dates for nursing students, and incorporate doctors and hospital beds from the private sector to ease the strain on public hospitals.
Schools in the region have been closed for more than a week, and school outings have been canceled nationwide.
———
6:30 p.m.
France’s education minister says the country has closed about 120 schools and may shut more. For now, around 35,000 students are affected, primarily in Brittany and a region north of Paris with clusters of the new virus.
Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer told LCI television on Tuesday it was probable that more schools will close and confirmed that he had ordered a freeze on all school trips.
France has reported 191 cases of the virus, including three on French Caribbean islands, and three deaths.
———
6 p.m.
Outgoing Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has warned that the economic impact of the new virus “could prove large but will ultimately be temporary.”
Addressing lawmakers in Parliament, Carney said the central bank will take “all necessary steps" to help businesses and households manage the economic shock from the outbreak. A number of forecasters have slashed their projections for global growth this year as a result of the virus.
Carney said the bank is “monitoring the situation closely” and that he is close contact with Andrew Bailey, who will succeed him as governor on March 16.
Carney is to join central bankers and finance ministers from the Group of Seven industrial nations in a conference call Tuesday. Expectations that the G-7 will announce a coordinated package of stimulus measures have helped stock markets rebound strongly this week.
European stock markets surged Tuesday following a bumper session on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 5.1%.
———
5 p.m.
The Middle East’s largest airline, Emirates, says it has reduced or grounded flights due to the new virus and as a result has asked employees to take paid and even unpaid leave for up to a month at a time. Emirates operates out of Dubai, the world’s busiest airport for international transit.
Chief Operating Officer Adel Al-Redha said Emirates has adjusted its schedules and capacity to meet the change in passenger demand. The airline has canceled flights to all cities in China except Beijing. The virus began in China and has infected tens of thousands there. Emirates also has suspended all flights to Iran, where the virus has infected 1,500 people and killed dozens.
“While we have seen some slowdown in certain markets there has been high demand in other areas,” Al-Redha said. “We have been tested before and Emirates will come out stronger.”
The world’s largest airline trade association, IATA, says Mideast carriers have already lost around $100 million in revenue due to a drop in ticket sales because of the virus.
———
4:20 p.m.
South Korea is reporting 851 new cases, its largest daily increase in new infections, largely in and around the southeastern city of Daegu, where many cases are clustered around a local church. The country's death toll rose to 28. In all, 5,186 in South Korea have tested positive for the virus.
Drive-through virus testing centers have began operating in Seoul, with workers dressed head-to-toe in white protective suits leaning into cars with mouth swabs, a move meant to limit contact with possible carriers of the illness. Troops were also dispatched across the city to spray streets with disinfectants.
President Moon Jae-in called the outbreak “a grave situation” and said his government will push to inject more than 30 trillion won ($25 billion) to fund clinics, aid for small businesses and other measures related to the virus. It requires parliamentary approval.
“The entire country has entered a war against an infectious disease,” he said.
