Coronavirus: summary of Covid-19 news on 25 March
Coronavirus live: latest Covid-19 updates - Wednesday 25 March
Coronavirus live updates: data, infections, deaths USA, India, UK...
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That's all for our live coverage of the latest coronavirus news for the day. Thanks for following. We'll leave you with our front page for Thursday: Pogba, now or never. His contract with Manchester United is up in 2021 and his agent is suggesting a change of scene. United want a new deal. Zidane knows it’s his last chance.
Stay safe and we'll be back with a new live blog early on so you can stay up to date with all the latest news.
Spanish FA determined to finish the season
Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales has said that his organisation's priority is to complete the 2019/20 season. "We can't just relegate teams now. Teams have to be promoted by right."
LaLiga is currently indefinitely suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, with Spain in a state of emergency expected to last until 11 April at the very earliest.
It appears as though Wimbledon will be the latest major sporting event to be cancelled due to Covid-19. The AELTC has confirmed an emergency meeting will be held next week.
Valencia are one of the clubs to have been hit hardest by the Covid-19 pandemic and AS spoke about the situation with team captain Dani Parejo, who feels that the Champions League tie against Atalanta last month should never have been played. "Valencia witnessed the covid-19 pandemic at first hand; Please, help all of the medical staff who are putting their lives at risk by staying at home," the Valencia skipper said.
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Coronavirus: 10 tips for working from home
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Coronavirus: Tokyo 2021 Olympics to be staged "in summer at latest"
IOC chief Thomas Bach has said he "doesn't envy" the committee set up to try and reschedule the Olympic Games. Taking into account the number of athletes, staff, fans, team members, auxiliary security etc, it is quite the task.
Spanish Health Minister Salvador Illa admitted today that the final week in February was the key moment when mass coronavirus infections started to gain a foothold in specific regions of the country. Spain requested help from NATO on 9 March - one day after a huge march attended by approximately 120,000 people in central Madrid on International Women's Day. Today, Spain also closed a deal with China for 432 million euros for medical supplies including ventilators, testing kits and protective masks and gloves.
RFEF president Luis Rubiales gave an update on how this season's LaLiga could be completed, the men's and women's Cup finals, loan packages for struggling clubs and also Iker Casillas' bid for presidency... "Footballers," he said, "are only human, you cannot expect them to play matches every two days..." Read more on this afternoon's video press conference here:
Coronavirus: football faces an uncertain future
The crisis currently being seen across the world due to Covid-19 has brought sporting competitions crashing down, and the rebuild may look quite different.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson addresses nation
- a huge thanks to the 405,000 Brits who have volunteered to support the NHS
- confirmation that the chancellor will announce measure tomorrow to help self-employed
- medical advisors give detailed view on testing, including the statement that 'no test is better than a bad test'. There is a shortage of antigen tests (check if someone has disease) and the other test ('antibody' to see if someone has had) is not far away
- advisor also states that it is too early to evaluate the Oxford University study saying up to half the population may have already had Covid-19
- asked about the UK being 'woefully' unprepared for testing compared with other countries, Johnson replies with some repeated numbers before handing to advisor. Main answer is that testing is being done (more than most European countries) but this needs to be scaled up
- There is an understanding that testing must first give us the knowledge on how many people are contracting the virus without showing symptoms. NHS staff are first in line to be tested.
- Johnson says the government is looking at legislation to prevent profiteering, says that no other UK govt has put their arm around workers that his, and then repeats his mantra that 'we will get through this, and get through it together'.
Ronaldo, Messi, Ramos, Mourinho, Guardiola and many others have joined the battle against coronavirus. We compile some of the work done and donations made to date...
For anyone believing that Covid-19 is only a risk to the older generation or those with underlying health conditions
Bayern Munich and Germany captain Manuel Neuer has recognised that he and his team mates form part of a privileged group within society which is why they have agreed to take a pay cut to help other club employees. Speaking to the press today, Neuer added that even when there isn't a crisis, the privileged few should help those less fortunate. Well said! Read more on that here:
Coronavirus USA in real time, 25 March: total cases and deaths
An update on the situation in the US where the governor of New York has said the peak is still weeks away...
A graph shows the evolution of coronavirus cases in each country outside of China, where Italy, the U.S. and Spain have the highest number of cases as of March 25.
Saudi Arabia has reported 133 new positive cases and one death in the last 24 hours. The victim was a 46-year-old man, said the kingdom's health ministry, which also reported that the majority of infected patients were receiving medical, while three people are currently in a critical condition in intensive care.
Federer pledge
Tennis great Roger Federer said his generous pledge to support vulnerable families in Switzerland is "just a start".
Nothing else should be played
Polemic in Serie A with Lazio president Lotito pushing for the league to resume activity with others (including Juve president Agnelli) opting to void the campaign.
The Atalanta-Valencia game was a 'biological bomb"
Mayor of Bergamo Giorgio Gori points to the Champions League game at San Siro with over 40.000 fans present as a key moment when the virus would have had an opportunity to spread. with over 4.000 Valencia fans in Milan for the tie.
Spain overtakes China with more Covid-19 related fatalities
With the latest figures released this morning by the Spanish Ministry of Heath, Spain has now registered more coronavirus related deaths than that of China. (3.434 against that of 3.287 registered by the Asian nation).
Good initiative from Watford urging fans to help out during the crisis.
Latest Spanish figures just released:
The Spanish Ministry of Health has just updates the latest Covid-19 situation in the country:
Confirmed cases: 47.610
Fatalities: 3.434
Recoveries: 5.367
With his mother in a coma, Minnesota Timberwolves player Karl-Anthony Towns urges people to take Covid-19 seriously
Italy announces strict new punishments for lockdown violation
The new orders, published late Tuesday night, include:
Those who have tested positive and do not stay home could face one to five years in prison.
Fines for violating quarantine rise from 400 euro to 3,000 euro.
Businesses that break rules designed to keep the virus from spreading could be closed from five to 30 days.
The regulations will be reviewed each month until July 31, and could be made stricter, the government decree says.
LaLiga club Leganes have been offering members of the public to join head fitness coach Pol Llorente on a daily basis and stay in shape each day with the session being broadcast via Twitch.
Join in and train like a LaLiga pro!
Russia increase
The number of coronavirus cases in Russia has risen to 658, with new daily cases at a record 163, the government’s official coronavirus website showed on Wednesday.
Potential six week French lockdown
French government scientific advisors have recommended a total of six weeks lockdown with French President Emmanuel Macron at present reluctant to make this recommendation official.
Global media headlines (March 25)
The Covid-19 pandemic dominating the front covers from a selection of global media (New Zealand, South Africa, USA, UK...)
US Congress, negotiators reach deal on $2 trillion coronavirus aid package
US senators and the Trump administration officials have reached an agreement on a massive economic stimulus bill to alleviate the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
Olympics moved to 2021
On a sporting front, yesterday's main development was the confirmation from the IOC that the Tokyo Olympics would be now staged in 2021.
This news makes the front cover of AS today.
India goes into lockdown for 21 days
India’s prime minister Narendra Modi yesterday announced a lockdown of the country of 1.3 billion people for 21 days to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
There are now 424,050 Covid-19 cases worldwide
As of 08:00 CET this morning, the latest coronavirus figures as published by Worldometers.info
Spain: 42,058 cases; 2,991 deaths
UK: 8,077 cases; 422 deaths
US: 54,916 cases; 784 deaths
Italy: 64,175 cases; 6,820 deaths
China: 81,218 cases; 3,281 deaths
World: 378,815 cases; 18,929 deaths
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the coronavirus crisis - we'll endeavour to bring you the latest developments, both in Spain and across the world, as they happen throughout the day.