Cuba, whose economy depends heavily on tourism, said Friday it will not allow any foreign tourists to enter the country, beginning Tuesday. The ban will be in effect for 30 days. The drastic measure is being initiated in an effort to prevent any more COVID-19 cases, President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on state television. Cuba has reported at least 19 cases of the coronavirus and one death. The South Korea Centers for Disease Control reported 147 new cases of the virus Saturday. The Asian nation has 8,799 infections and 102 deaths attributed to the virus. The coronavirus global death toll has surpassed 11,000 and infected more than 260,000 people worldwide, according to health officials. More than 10,200 new cases were reported Friday in Europe, which World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said earlier this week had become the epicenter of the outbreak after cases began to wane in China, where the outbreak began. There were at least 87,108 cases in Europe Friday and 4,084 deaths. Spain reported 235 new deaths Friday, becoming the second-hardest hit European country after Italy. Italy’s overall death toll passed 4,000 Friday. Spanish officials warned Friday that the situation could soon overcome the country’s health care system. They announced plans to turn a Madrid conference center into a makeshift hospital. Earlier this week, a four-star inn in Madrid was converted into a hospital. Germany, another hard-hit country, is trying to increase the number of intensive care beds, which now total 28,000, by establishing temporary hospitals in hotels, rehabilitation clinics and other facilities. There are nearly 20,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany. Officials there say coronavirus could strike as many as 10 million Germans unless proper precautions are taken, including social distancing. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said dining establishments, bars and other leisure businesses were ordered to close Friday night.In the United States, the Trump administration announced the effective closure of its border with Canada and Mexico and invoked a federal law to get emergency medical supplies to front-line health care workers and to the private sector mobilized to combat the pandemic. President Donald Trump said most travel to and from Canada and Mexico would be prohibited except for trade. The death toll in the U.S. from the virus is 190, with more than 16,000 people confirmed to have the virus. Illinois became the latest U.S. state in which residents have been ordered to stay at home except for essential activities. Governor J.B. Pritzker announced Friday the order will take effect Saturday evening for the 13 million residents of the state. The announcement follows similar measures taken in New York and California. The state of New York, with a population of more than 19 million, is confining almost all residents to their homes. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Friday that workers in nonessential businesses must remain homebound beginning Sunday and that gatherings of any size will be prohibited. On Thursday, California Governor Gavin Newsom ordered the 40 million residents of the West Coast state to stay home as part of the battle against the disease. The lockdown for the entire state followed a Los Angeles County order earlier Thursday that shut down all the county’s shopping malls, nonessential retail stores and playgrounds. Restrictive measures were also put in place in Florida Friday, when Governor Ron DeSantis issued an order to close sit-down restaurants, gyms and fitness centers. Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline. Embed” />CopyThe office of U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said Friday that a staffer who works in the office had tested positive for coronavirus. A spokeswoman for Pence said neither the vice president nor President Trump had close contact with the individual. The U.S. government announced Friday the tax filing deadline has been extended from April 15 to July 15, and that taxpayers will have the additional time to make payments without penalties or interest. For the second day in a row Friday, Wuhan, the Chinese city where the outbreak began in December, reported no new cases. Wuhan is the capital of China’s Hubei province. Thirty-four new cases, however, were reported elsewhere in mainland China Thursday. Authorities say people who came from other countries were infected.
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