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Leaders of nine EU countries including France, Italy and Spain called on the bloc to agree on a "common debt instrument" to raise funds to support the health industry in combating the coronavirus, as well as the broader economies, according to a letter seen by Reuters.
EU leaders will hold a third video conference on coronavirus on Thursday. The letter, dated March 25, comes after euro zone ministers did not agree on eurobond joint debt issuance on Tuesday but said the euro zone's ESM bailout fund would extend precautionary credit lines as a safety cushion.
"We need to work on a common debt instrument issued by a European institution to raise funds on the market," said the letter.
"This common debt instrument should have sufficient size and long maturity to be fully efficient and avoid roll-over risks now as in the future," said the letter to the chairman of EU leaders, European Council President Charles Michel.
The letter - also signed by the leaders of Portugal, Ireland, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Belgium, and Greece - also called the bloc to "explore other tools like a specific funding for corona-related spending in the EU budget" for 2020 and 2021.
Reuters
Saudi Arabia locked down its capital Riyadh and Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
People in the three cities will be prohibited entry or exit, while curfew hours there will be extended by four hours, state-run Saudi Press Agency reported.
The country also imposed further travel restrictions on 13 regions.
Saudi Arabia has reported 767 confirmed cases of the virus, with one death.
Spain has now the world's second-highest tally of coronavirus deaths after a 738 spike was recorded Wednesday, the highest so far in one day. With 3434, Spain surpassed China's 3285 and has more than half of Italy's 6820.
Infections also rose on Wednesday by 20% from a day earlier to 47,610, Spain's Ministry of Health announced. More than 5,000 people have recovered, the ministry said.
The outbreak has hit Spain and put a tragic strain on its healthcare system, especially in the central region around Madrid, with one-third of the positive cases and roughly half of the casualties.
AP
The state's peak body for real estate agents says any bid to freeze rent payments to ease the strain on cash-strapped tenants' during the COVID-19 crisis is "effectively asking the landlord to provide social housing."
In a statement released on Sunday night, the industry body said that any government measure to temporarily remove tenants' obligations to pay rent could be exploited by occupants, amid a spike in renters fearing they could lose their homes as thousands join the welfare queue.
"Once the opportunity to avoid paying rent is made available, some tenants who do not require assistance may see the opportunity to avoid their contractual obligations.
It is difficult to see how a process to expeditiously assess and assist the needy whilst avoiding the opportunist," the statement reads.
The NSW Tenants Union and other community organisations have called for a temporary ban on evictions during a spike in renters seeking to negotiate hardship clauses or simply break their leases to avoid mounting rental arrears during a time of growing financial uncertainty.
NSW Parliament has passed an amendment giving the state government the power to ban evictions for six months, while the federal government is set to consider rent freezes later in the week.
But Real Estate Institute of NSW CEO Tim McKibbin said the industry body feared the government would remove tenants' obligations to pay their rent.
"This is concept fundamentally flawed," Mr McKibbin said.
“By removing the obligation of a tenant to pay rent, merely transfers the difficult financial circumstances of the tenant to the landlord."
REINSW said in the statement: "If landlords are required to absorb these expenses, then effectively the Government is asking the landlord to provide social housing."
The body said a better solution was for the federal government to provide tenants with assistance to pay the rent and allow the money to move, keeping the economy active.
The Prince of Wales has tested positive for coronavirus, the Royals have confirmed.
Prince Charles has tested positive for Coronavirus.Credit: Getty
"He has been displaying mild symptoms but otherwise remains in good health and has been working from home through the last few days as usual," a statement from the family said.
His wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, has been tested but does not have the virus.
The pair are now self-isolating in Scotland.
"It is not possible to ascertain from whom the Prince caught the virus owing to the high number of engagements he carried out in his public role during recent weeks," the statement said.
A Queensland man has become the ninth Australian to die from coronavirus after he was infected with COVID-19 on a cruise ship docked in Sydney.
Garry Kirstenfeldt, 68, had been aboard the Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas cruise ship.
Garry Kirstenfeldt has become the ninth Australia to die from coronavirus.
“He had a serious underlying medical condition before contracting the virus,” a Queensland Health statement read.
“Queensland Health offers its sincere condolences to his family. The man’s family remain in isolation as close contacts."
Health Minister Steven Miles extended his condolences to the Kirstenfeldt family.
“This is Queensland’s second death from the coronavirus,” he said.
“This will never get any easier, together we must do absolutely everything we can to stop the outbreak.
“Please, please keep your distance from others right now, stay home as much as possible and wash your hands Queenslander's lives are at stake.”
It’s the second death from COVID-19 in Queensland after a 77-year-old Sunshine Coast woman died in Sydney earlier this month.
The fate of thousands of crew stuck aboard eight cruise ships off the coast between Sydney and Wollongong is shrouded in uncertainty as companies struggle to devise a plan for them.
The Ruby Princess circles off the coast from Sydney.Credit: Peter Rae
The coronavirus infected Ruby Princess and two other passenger ships owned by cruise company Carnival – the Sea Princess and Carnival Spirit – have been circling off the coast from Sydney for days after passengers disembarked, along with the Royal Caribbean-owned Celebrity Solstice.
The uncertainty facing the crews comes as the Australian Border Force blamed NSW Health for allowing passengers who had contracted coronavirus to walk off the Ruby Princess when it docked at Circular Quay last Thursday.
Indonesia is imploring its citizens not to panic and to practise social distancing and self-isolation, as the country's health system strains under the weight of rapidly rising infections.
The country reported 105 new cases of coronavirus on Wednesday, taking the national tally to 790, and three new deaths, taking the death toll to 58 people.
Ascobat Gani, a public health economist, warned that "maybe we will follow Wuhan or Italy. I think we are in the range of that" according to Reuters.
A study by the London-based Centre for Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases suggested the true number of infections in the country may already be 34,300 people.
Eight doctors have died already in Indonesia and some physicians have taken to wearing rain coats because of a shortage of protective gear.
Thailand's government declared a state of emergency on Wednesday that will run until April 30. The country is already in partial lockdown, with shops that don't provide essential services closed and tough restrictions on travel.
The country reported 934 cases including 107 new infections and the death toll remained at four.
Malaysia has now reported 1796 positive cases, with the number of cases rising by 172 people on Wednesday and the death toll rising by one person to 16.
A movement control order on Malaysians has been extended through until April 14. The order restricts people from leaving their homes and from leaving the country, while foreigners are banned from entering Malaysia. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin asked people to remain calm.
The Philippines has reported 636 confirmed cases and 38 deaths, the second-highest in south-east Asia, while Vietnam has reported 134 infections, including 31 foreign citizens.
Myanmar has finally reported its first three cases of coronavirus, confirming its first cases on Tuesday - weeks after most other south-east Asia nations.
The number of cases in Singapore his risen to 558 infections, up from 509 on Tuesday.
Billionaire retailer Gerry Harvey now calls it his "60 Minutes bungle" but admits he is mortified that Australians "now think I'm a heartless, greedy old bastard".
Gerry Harvey on 60 Minutes.Credit: Channel Nine
"That was never my intention," the 80-year-old said on Wednesday afternoon, 48 hours after being engulfed in a stinging public backlash following an ill-fated attempt on Sunday night "to offer some hope ... provide a positive view" of the COVID-19 crisis.
Mr Harvey, the executive chairman of Harvey Norman, shocked viewers when he ridiculed public fear of COVID-19, only to then claim the coronavirus pandemic had been good for his business, offering massive sales figures for freezers and air purifiers as proof.
Original URL: https://www.smh.com.au/link/follow-20170101-p54dk8