March 22 coronavirus news

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele announced late Saturday that a 30-day nationwide curfew will take effect immediately.

Bukele said that one person from each family would be allowed to go out so they can supply their household with food and medicine.

The Central American country has three confirmed cases of coronavirus.

Who is exempt?  

People who work in restaurants, public transport, gas stations, security companies, private clinics, finance, hospitals, vets and the media can continue working. Those who work at the Supreme Court and public employees directly linked to emergency care will also be able to continue.

The livestock and agriculture sectors will also be able to continue operating, because "we need to guarantee food security," Bukele said.

Economic help

To alleviate the economic situation, the government will invest $450 million per month to help households that consume less than 250 kilowatts of electricity per month.

"We are talking about 75 percent of the population that will benefit," Bukele explained. 

Japan has raised its travel alert for the United States, urging citizens to not go there unless it is essential.

The alert was raised to level two, the Japanese Foreign Ministry announced on Sunday. Four is the highest alert level.

Meanwhile, the United States is warning its citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Japan.

The United States has more than 25,000 coronavirus cases, while Japan has just over 1,000 cases.

Australia has more than 1,000 coronavirus cases, and the country is introducing a number of measures to deal with the outbreak.

Here's what has been happening in Australia:

Sydney's home state shuts non-essential services: New South Wales -- the state where Sydney is located -- will close most services and businesses to try to slow the spread of the virus. Essential services, such as petrol stations, convenience stores and pharmacies, will stay open. New South Wales has 469 confirmed cases, the highest of any Australian state. 

A new economic support package: Australia has announced a second support package, this time worth $38 billion, to help households and businesses.

Another state gets tough: South Australia's Premier Steven Marshall said Sunday that a spike in confirmed cases from travelers entering the state had "forced our decision to close our borders in South Australia." But while Marshall called it a border closure, in fact the state is still open -- arrivals will just need to self-isolate for 14 days. The new measures will be "progressively enforced between now and 4pm on Tuesday."

Meanwhile, elsewhere: Northern Territory and the island state of Tasmania require all travelers to self-isolate for 14-days upon entry. Tasmania is offering one-off payments of $250 for individuals, or up to $1,000 for families, required to self-isolate.

More countries in Africa have started to report their first novel coronavirus cases.

Here's what has been happening in Africa.

Eritrea, Uganda and Angola report first coronavirus cases:

New restrictions:

Read more about attempts in Africa to stop the spread here.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted on Sunday that citizens should "stay indoors and stay healthy." His comments came as the country's janata curfew -- or citizens' curfew -- began at 7 a.m. local time.

Everyone except those in working in essential services has been asked to self-isolate for the day.

Earlier this week, Modi asked all Indians to stand on their balconies, or at their windows and doors, at 5 p.m. local time Sunday for five minutes to express their gratitude towards emergency service workers for working tirelessly during the outbreak.

Singapore announced on Sunday that it will close its borders to short-term visitors and travelers transiting though the the major aviation hub starting Monday.

"There has been a further sharp increase in cases globally and widening spread," the Ministry of Health announced in a statement, adding that the majority of the new cases were "imported cases."

Singapore residents and work-permit holders have to self-isolate for 14 days after entering the city state.

Singapore has 432 confirmed cases of the virus, and recorded 2 deaths.

This year's Ice Hockey World Championship has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) announced Saturday.

The tournament had been due to take place in Switzerland in May.

IIHF President René Fasel said it was a "harsh reality to face" for international ice hockey, but one that "we must accept.”

The refund policy for ticket holders will be clarified as soon as possible, the IIHF said.

The Australian state of New South Wales will shut down all "non-essential services" in an attempt to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Essential services and stores, such as petrol stations, convenience stores and pharmacies, will remain open. The shutdown will take place over the next 48 hours.

Sydney -- Australia's biggest city -- is the capital of New South Wales.

New South Wales has 469 confirmed novel coronavirus cases, the highest of all Australian states. Australia has more than 1,000 cases of coronavirus.

South Korea has confirmed 98 new cases of coronavirus, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said on Sunday.

This brings the number of cases in the country to 8,897, with 104 deaths due to the virus.