Coronavirus: Latest global developments

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:

– Hong Kong closes courts –

Hong Kong suspends court services for a month as the city records more than 50,000 new cases for the third consecutive day, its zero-Covid strategy shattered.

– Belgium scraps most curbs –

Belgium will scrap a requirement for health passes and masks in indoor public places from Monday, because of decreasing cases and a high vaccination rate.

– Irish president positive –

Ireland’s poet president Michael D. Higgins, 80, and his wife Sabina test positive.

– US jobs recover –

The US economy sees a hiring surge in February, pushing the jobless rate closer to its pre-pandemic level as hard-hit sectors recover from the impact of Covid-19.

– Bundesliga match postponed –

An outbreak of Covid-19 within the Mainz squad causes Sunday’s Bundesliga game against Borussia Dortmund to be rescheduled for March 16.

– Nearly six million dead –

Coronavirus has killed at least 5,980,373 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to an AFP tally based on official sources on Friday.

The United States has recorded the most Covid deaths with 956,262, followed by Brazil on 650,578 and India with 514,589.

Taking into account excess mortality linked to Covid, the WHO estimates the true death toll could be two to three times higher.

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