BRUSSELS, March 31. /TASS/. The number of coronavirus cases in Belgium grew by 876 in the past 24 hours, another 192 people have died, including a 12-year-old child, the country’s Health Ministry said on Tuesday.
The total number of infected in the country has reached 12,775, the death toll currently stands at 705.
On March 14, Belgium imposed a nationwide lockdown until April 5. However, the country’s authorities later extended the lockdown until April 19, adding that it could be extended further until May 3.
All educational, cultural and public facilities have been closed in the country, schools and universities have switched to remote learning. All public events have been banned, private businesses have been recommended to shift their employees to telecommuting. In addition, the Belgian authorities issued a nationwide travel ban, allowing people to move only within their region of residence. It is also mandatory to observe social distancing.
Coronavirus pandemic
In late December 2019, Chinese authorities notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus — named COVID-19 by the WHO — have been reported in more than 160 countries, including Russia.
On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. To date, more than 786,600 people have been infected worldwide and over 37,800 have died.
Russia has identified 2,337 coronavirus cases so far, 121 patients have recovered and 17 have died. Moscow accounts for the majority of cases (1,613). The Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the country’s people informed about the coronavirus situation.