What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

Here’s what you need to know about the coronavirus right now:

Wait and see in Italy

Despite a global spike in new reported cases, Italy remained stable at around 4,050 as of Tuesday, roughly in line with the day before, making it five days without a significant increase.

The country, which has seen the most deaths from the coronavirus, has extended its nationwide lockdown at least until the Easter season in April. On Tuesday, health officials there warned it was too soon to consider lifting the lockdown, saying a deceleration in new cases should not raise hopes that the crisis was near an end.

MPAC, 30 other Muslim organisations mobilise to fight covid-19

G20 plan to focus on poorer countries’ debt

G20 major economies said on Tuesday they would present a coronavirus action plan in two weeks to address the debt vulnerabilities of the poorest countries and deliver financial aid to emerging economies.

G20 finance ministers and central bank governors discussed in a videoconference how the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank could ease a lack of liquidity in emerging markets, which have seen an outflow of $83 billion in capital.

Italy’s Chinese community goes from scapegoat to model

In the storm of infection and death sweeping Italy, one big community stands out to health officials as remarkably unscathed – the 50,000 ethnic Chinese who live in the town of Prato.

Once scapegoats, they are now held up by authorities as a model for early, strict adoption of infection-control measures.

“They did much better than us,” said Renzo Berti, top state health official for the area, which includes Florence.

Berti credits the community for bringing down the entire town’s infection rate to almost half the Italian average – 62 cases per 100,000 inhabitants versus 115 for the country.