Ireland will close all schools and universities for coronavirus

All schools, universities and cultural centers will close their doors in the Republic of Ireland from this Friday, 13, and until March 29, to try to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic - announced Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, in this Thursday, 12.

The Irish government has thus resumed the ban on all meetings with more than 100 people indoors and more than 500 people abroad, added Varadkar, from Washington, where he is visiting. The interview was broadcast by the Irish broadcaster RTE.

On Wednesday night, Ireland had 43 confirmed cases of Covid-19, with one death. Worldwide, the coronavirus has infected 118,322 people and caused 4,292 deaths, according to the latest figures released by the World Health Organization

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will lead an emergency meeting on Thursday at which he is expected to approve the response to the coronavirus to move into the "postponement phase", which includes more stringent measures to contain the virus.

US President Donald Trump imposed broad restrictions on travel from Europe to the United States on Wednesday 11, after the United Kingdom and Italy announced billions of dollars in stimulus in an attempt to avoid a recession.

Johnson will chair a meeting of the UK emergency committee - known as COBR - this Thursday, around 1:15 pm (GMT), and it is expected that the protocols from the “containment phase” to the so-called “phase” postponement, ”said a spokesman.

The British plan to deal with the outbreak has three main phases: containment, postponement and mitigation. In the postponement phase, so-called social distance measures, such as closing schools, more work at home and reducing large-scale events will be considered, although they are not necessarily approved immediately.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases across the UK rose to 456 on Wednesday, from 373 the day before. Eight people with the virus died.