Global emergency efforts ramp up as pandemic deaths soar

A global push to slow the spread of the coronavirus ramped up Monday with more governments imposing emergency lockdowns that have put more than 1.7 billion people confined to their homes. In the face of the relentless march of the virus, the United Nations appealed for an immediate ceasefire in the world’s conflict zones, and France and China called for urgent talks of the G20 major economies to coordinate an international response to the escalating crisis. World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the pandemic was clearly “accelerating” as the number of deaths surged close to 16,000, with over 350,000 declared infections, according to an AFP tally based on official sources.