COVID-19: Enemy against humanity; Africa warned to “wake up” and prepare for the worst

The World Health Organization head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has urged countries to “come together as one against a common enemy: an enemy against humanity.”

He also warned Africa to “wake up” and prepare for the worst.

Highlighting how the battle is only just beginning in the rest of the world, Russia reported its first death and sub-Saharan Africa also saw its first fatalities, while even the Pacific nation of Fiji said it had its first case.

The disease continued to hit high-profile people with EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier and two US members of Congress among those testing positive.

Countries are taking increasingly drastic steps to stem infections, with Australia and New Zealand banning non-residents from arriving.

Britain, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson had initially chosen a different path, closed dozens of London Underground stations ahead of a feared lockdown of the capital.

Johnson on Wednesday finally followed the lead of his European counterparts and said schools would shut nationwide from Friday as the death toll topped 104, while putting 20,000 military personnel on alert.

Canada and the United States said Wednesday they were closing their border — the world’s longest — to all but essential travellers for 30 days.

While China offered hope it saw its biggest daily rise in infections from abroad for two weeks, with 34.

It has begun to ease its lockdown of central Hubei province and its capital Wuhan but Beijing and other regions now require most international arrivals to quarantine in designated hotels for 14 days.