Brazil bans entry of Europeans, Asians to contain coronavirus outbreak

The coronavirus outbreak which has created a situation of panic all across the globe continues to witness spike in cases. Seeing the fatal consequences, Brazil is set to constrain entry of travellers from Europe and several Asia Pacific countries starting on Monday to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, the government officials reportedly said.

The restriction is set to last 30 days and includes people coming from the European Union, Britain, Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland, as well as China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and Malaysia who are not Brazilian residents or do not have valid work or family reasons to travel, according to the order.

Coronavirus update in Brazil

Coronavirus cases in Brazil have spiked rapidly in the last 36 hours with a top minister in the government testing positive for the disease. Senate President Davi Alcolumbre on March 19 confirmed that he has tested positive for coronavirus. Davi Alcolumbre through a tweet informed that after testing negative in his first examination he tested again on March 18 and the results came out to be positive. Davi has placed himself under self-isolation at his home as advised by the Ministry of Health in Brazil.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on March 17 also underwent a second test for coronavirus after he tested negative for the first one on March 13. The second test came after it was discovered that Jair Bolsonaro had come in contact with people who have contracted the virus. Brazil on March 17 recorded its first coronavirus fatality after health authorities in Sao Paulo announced that a 62-year-old man with underlying medical conditions had succumbed to his death at a city hospital. 

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The city of Sao Paulo and the state of Rio de Janeiro announced a state of emergency and shut down all public places. Two of Rio's main tourist attractions, Christ the Redeemer statue and the cable car to Sugarloaf Mountain also shut down to prevent the spread of the virus, mayor Bruno Covas told reporters. 

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