The new virus is entering new territories around the world, from megacities to seaside villages
March 2, 2020, 7:00 PM
4 min read
PARIS -- The new virus is entering new territories, from megacities to seaside villages, and casting a fast-growing shadow over the world economy.
Here’s a look at some of the latest developments:
ANOTHER STATE HIT, AND ANOTHER
New Hampshire reported its first case. So did New York. Another person died in Washington state. Bit by bit the virus is coming to the U.S., disrupting lives, schools and businesses — and inserting itself into the presidential campaign. Officials planning this August’s Republican National Convention in Charlotte say they’re preparing to protect attendees. President Donald Trump is meeting with pharmaceutical executives as he tries to show he's taking action against the virus.
WHAT TO DO WITH THE KIDS
Japanese parents are struggling to find child care for a month after the government took the extreme measure of recommending the closure of schools across the country. One mother says she’s worried about the “undesirable temptations” facing her son while he’s kept at home, like screen distractions. The burden is falling especially on mothers, who are expected to be responsible for child-rearing in Japan. And it’s even harder for parents of children with special needs. In France, where some children are being kept at home after trips to virus-hit regions, some schools are including quarantined schoolchildren in class via Facetime or other apps.
HIGH-TECH MASKS
Japanese electronics maker Sharp is now turning its expertise to mask making. Amid worldwide shortages of surgical and other masks because of the virus, Sharp Corp. will start making 150,000 masks a day at a plant that usually makes electronics displays. Other companies are changing their practices to adapt, too. Nike temporarily shut down its European headquarters in the Netherlands after an employee tested positive for the new coronavirus, It is carrying out a deep clean of the campus, “out of an abundance of caution.”
VOTING AMID THE VIRUS
Democracy, too, is being disrupted by the virus. As Israelis voted Monday to decide the fate of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, authorities had to set up 15 special balloting stations for hundreds of Israelis who have been ordered to remain in home-quarantine after possible exposure to the virus. Fears of virus spreading may hinder turnout, already threatened by voter fatigue as they face their third election in less than a year. And in France, two mayors have come down with the virus as campaigning heats up for nationwide municipal elections this month.
PANIC IN THE BALTICS
A Lithuanian man locked his wife in a bathroom out of fear she had the coronavirus, after she met with a Chinese woman who had arrived from Italy. The man's wife called police, who rushed to the apartment in the capital, Vilnius. The man said he had locked her up after "consulting on the phone with doctors" on how to avoid infection, according to local police. He wasn't arrested, though, and the woman didn't press charges. She did get tested, just in case, and came out negative. So far Lithuania has only reported one case.
ROYAL DISRUPTION
Even royal families are having their lives disrupted by the virus. Sweden’s royal household has decided to postpone an official dinner scheduled for Wednesday because of the coronavirus, after 14 cases were reported in Sweden in recent days. King Carl XVI Gustaf and his wife Silvia will have to make more modest plans for dinner instead.
———
Angela Charlton in Paris, Jan Olsen in Copenhagen, Frank Jordans in Berlin and Dake Kang in Beijing contributed to this report.
———
Follow AP coverage of the virus outbreak at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak
