Europe acts to counter coronavirus outbreak

European leaders announced coordinated measures to handle the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, as Italy's prime minister said the nation's lockdown could tighten, while Germany's leader Angela Merkel said experts believe 60-70 percent of its population will eventually be infected.

Merkel made the prediction at a news conference, adding that since there was no known cure, the focus must be on slowing the spread of the virus. "It's about winning time," she said.

"This is a test for our solidarity, our common sense and care for each other. And I hope we pass the test," she said. Merkel also said she was open to scrapping Germany's "black zero" rule to allow new government borrowing. She said it was "an extraordinary situation" and that ending the outbreak came first.

Germany has so far reported 1,296 cases of the virus with three deaths, and Lothar Wieler, the president of the Robert Koch Institute for disease control, said the organization did not believe there was a significant number of undetected cases in the country.

In Berlin, city authorities put crowd measures in place until Easter. Performances in large halls at state theaters, opera houses and concert halls in the German capital would not take place from Wednesday until April 19 in an attempt to halt the spread of the virus.

"The coronavirus continues to spread. In such a phase, public life must be restricted," said Berlin's local health minister, Dilek Kalayci.

Merkel's remarks came as Italy entered its second day of a national lockdown. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced the closure of schools, gyms, museums, nightclubs and other venues across the country, which on Wednesday passed 12,000 confirmed infections.

In a teleconference meeting, leaders of the European Union's 27 member states agreed to ease spending rules and mobilize at least 25 billion euros ($28.4 billion) of EU funds to address the economic fallout from the coronavirus.

"We will use all the tools at our disposal to make sure that the European economy weathers this storm," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told a news conference.

She said the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, will set up the joint investment fund from existing resources to cushion the blow to vulnerable sectors of the bloc's economies.

Funds will be allocated to support national healthcare systems, small and medium-size businesses, workers and other vulnerable parts of the economy.

By Wednesday morning, more than 15,000 cases had been reported in the EU, the United Kingdom, and the European Economic Area (known as EEA), two-thirds of them in Italy where 827 people have died after being diagnosed with the coronavirus.

The UK's Bank of England announced an emergency cut in interest rates to shore up the economy in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. Policymakers reduced rates from 0.75 percent to 0.25 percent, taking borrowing costs back down to the lowest level in history.

A UK health minister, Nadine Dorries, tested positive for coronavirus, triggering concerns that some of her staff and other members of Parliament may have contracted the coronavirus. She reportedly developed symptoms last week, but came into contact with hundreds of people before getting tested on Monday. Among the public meetings she attended was an event at Downing Street, which was hosted by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Michael Gove, the Cabinet office minister, has said that the next round of Brexit trade talks between the UK and the EU, which were due to start next week, might have to be cancelled because of the coronavirus. For the first round of negotiations, 100 British officials travelled to Brussels. The general advice for EU officials now is that only essential meetings should be held and that video-conferencing and working from home should be considered.

The British government admitted that the National Health Service 111 phone and online service has been giving out the wrong advice on coronavirus to travelers returning from Italy, as the number of confirmed cases in the UK rose to 456. There have been no more deaths within the UK, but two more Britons have died overseas. Travelers returning from Italy were still being told on Tuesday that there was no need to self-isolate if they had no symptoms.

Belgium has reported three coronavirus-related deaths, prompting the government to urge people to stay at home if they feel sick. Turkey has announced its first confirmed case, a Turkish national who had recently returned from Europe, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Wednesday. Hospitals in Istanbul and the capital Ankara have been set up to test and quarantine patients suspected of having the virus. Turkish citizens should avoid travelling abroad if possible, Koca added.

Spain's Health Ministry says roughly half of its 2,000 plus cases are in the Madrid region, where two-thirds of its 47 virus deaths have occurred.

Iran's Health Ministry reported 63 new deaths from COVID-19－the highest number in a single day in the country. It said there had now been 354 deaths since the outbreak began last month. The total number of infections in the country is now more than 9,000.