China: no domestic cases 

China reports no new local cases for a third consecutive day, but confirms the highest one-day tally yet in infections from abroad, with another 41 cases. China has 81,008 cases, including 3,255 fatalities and 71,740 people recovered.

More than 11,000 dead globally

At least 11,737 deaths have been recorded since the virus first emerged in December, according to an AFP tally compiled at 1230 GMT on Saturday based on official sources. There have been more than 277,106 infections reported in 164 countries and territories. Italy has recorded 4,032 deaths out of 47,021 cases, with 5,129 recoveries. The worst affected countries after Italy and China are Iran with 1,556 deaths, Spain with 1,326 deaths, and France with 450 deaths.

900m people confined to homes

An estimated 900 million people are now confined to their homes in 35 countries around the world -- including 600 million hemmed in by obligatory government lockdown orders -- according to an AFP tally. Colombia will impose obligatory confinement on Tuesday evening. The same will begin across Tunisia today. In the US, seven US states have issued orders to stay home -- California, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut and Nevada. In total, one in five people in the US are affected by stay-at-home orders.

Young people 'not invincible'

While the elderly and those with pre-existing medical conditions are the hardest hit by the virus, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that young people were also vulnerable. "Today I have a message for young people: you are not invincible. This virus could put you in hospital for weeks -- or even kill you," Tedros said. "Even if you don't get sick, the choices you make about where you go could be the difference between life and death for someone else." The average age of those who died from Covid-19 in Italy was 78.5 years.

Toughening measures

Switzerland, which has so far not followed other countries in ordering full confinement, announces it will ban all gatherings of more than five people, and that anyone standing closer than two metres to others risks a fine. Haiti, Dominican Republic, Jordan and Burkina Faso introduce curfews. Cuba, which is largely dependent on its tourism revenue, will close its borders to non-residents on Tuesday, for 30 days. The Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso close their borders as of this weekend. Brazil will close its borders as of Monday to all visitors from Europe, Australia and several Asian countries.

Homeless to be housed in hotels

Hundreds of homeless people in London are being housed in hotels to self-isolate and give them "vital protection" from the coronavirus. Three hundred rooms have been made available in two hotels for the next 12 weeks, the mayor's office said in a statement. Figures from the mayor's office for last year showed some 1,100 people were sleeping rough on London's streets at night. The rough sleepers will be housed at two hotels belonging to the Intercontinental chain and will be transported to their accommodation by drivers of the black cabs, who have volunteered for the task.

SOURCE: AFP, Reuters