Coronavirus Turning Life Upside Down for Billions

There are 134,000 coronavirus cases in 114 countries – a tiny number with a global population of 7 billion.But the pandemic is turning life upside down and inside out for nearly every man, woman, and child.Few in the United States has avoided being affected by the coronavirus outbreak in some way, including the president.Brazilian communication secretary Fabio Wajngarten tested positive for the virus, days after he met with U.S. President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate. The White House said the president has not been tested, and Trump said Thursday he is “not concerned” even though he sat next to Wajngarten for a some time.Brazilian officials say doctors there have tested and are keeping a close watch on President Jair Bolsonaro.Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in isolation after his wife showed mild symptoms of the virus late Wednesday after returning from a speaking engagement in London.Commuters walk through the lobby of Grand Central Station in New York, March 12, 2020.The largest city in the United States declared a state of emergency Thursday over what its mayor calls “striking and troubling” developments in the coronavirus pandemic.New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said there were 95 confirmed cases in the city Thursday, but said there could be up to 1,000 next week.”Going to this level is not done lightly, but it has reached the point where it is necessary,” de Blasio said. He warned New Yorkers to be prepared for major job losses, evictions, business closings, and food shortages.The mayor said the state of emergency gives city authorities the power to close subways and buses, tell people to get off the streets, set curfews, and ration supplies.But de Blasio was annoyed by rumors flying across social media that he was planning to shut down New York City and order a quarantine.”If it’s not coming from my mouth, don’t believe it,” he stressed.Maryland and Ohio are the first states to close down all public schools, forcing parents to scramble to find day care or a way to work from home.California’s Disneyland calls itself “The Happiest Place on Earth.” It will soon look like the loneliest place on Earth. The theme park will be closed for the rest of the month starting Saturday.A smaller number of tourists visit the Capitol Visitors Center on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 12, 2020. Congress is shutting the Capitol to the public until April in reaction to the spread of the coronavirus, officials announced Thursday.Congress is closing the Capitol and all House and Senate offices to the public, at least until April.Every major league sport is canceling the rest of the season, frustrating millions of fans with tickets to the big games. Baseball is postponing its March 26 opening day for two weeks. The remainder of the spring training schedule has been called off.College basketball’s highly-anticipated annual tournament has also been cancelled with many campuses shutting down and students taking classes remotely.Belgium, France, Honduras, Ireland, Portugal, and Canada’s Ontario province are the latest federal governments to shut down all schools.India has ordered some of the toughest travel restrictions so far, suspending visas for all tourists and foreigners for one month starting Friday.El Salvador has banned entry to all foreigners, while neighboring Guatemala issued its own ban on those traveling from Europe, Iran, China, and the Koreas.U.S. ‪Vice President Mike Pence‬ takes questions during a news briefing on the administration response to the Coronavirus, at the White House in Washington, March 9, 2020.U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday that Americans returning from Europe must self-quarantine for 14 days to help prevent more cases.Iran is asking for a $5 billion emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund. Officials report more than 10,000 confirmed cases with 429 deaths Thursday.Iranian global health scholar Kamair Alaei tells VOA Persian he believes the actual number is 40,000.Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has appealed to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres to demand international support for an end to U.S. sanctions, saying they are hurting Iranian efforts to fight the disease.Zarif calls the sanctions “economic terrorism.””We are stymied in our efforts to identify and treat our [patients in combating the spread of the virus and ultimately in defeating it,” Zarif wrote in a letter to Guterres. He called, Iranian doctors and nurses “among the very finest in the world.”As of late Thursday, there were 134,520 confirmed coronavirus cases in 114 countries. The death toll is close to 5,000.Margaret Bsheer in New York and VOA Persian’s Farhad Pouladi and Arian Risbaf contributed to this report. 
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