Germany and France move to secure supplies of key medical protective gear

Governments across Europe are taking action to protect supplies of medical protection gear, such as masks and gloves, to ensure health workers have enough to deal with the novel coronavirus outbreak, while its international companies and organizations are reviewing how they will continue to operate and maintain their supply chains.

Germany's Interior Ministry said it had published a decree outlawing "the export abroad of medical protective gear (masks, gloves, protective suits, etc)". Germany has now reported 240 cases of the virus, though no fatalities have yet been reported.

The French government is stepping in to regulate face masks and hand gels, the Local France reports. President Emmanuel Macron announced that the government would take control of all stocks and distribute them to people who need them. It comes as hospitals in France reported thefts of 10,000 masks.

Like other countries, Germany has canceled a string of major events, such as ITB Berlin, the world's largest tourism fair, and the Leipzig Book Fair, to contain the spread of the virus.

Italy remains the worst-affected country in Europe, in terms of the number of deaths and infections from the virus.

The Italian Education Ministry announced on Wednesday that all schools and universities in the country will be closed from Thursday to March 15 because of the outbreak.

As of Wednesday, there were 3,089 cases of the virus in Italy, and the death toll in the country jumped to 107.

In the Middle East, the total number of deaths in worst-hit Iran has risen to 92, the nation's Health Ministry reports, with 15 new fatalities announced on Wednesday. The total number of cases in the country has increased by 586 to 2,922. The number of cases reported worldwide of the coronavirus reached more than 91,000, with 3,100 reported deaths.

An official in Brussels has tested positive for the coronavirus, the European Commission, told AFP.The man, a member of staff at the European Defence Agency, had recently returned from a trip to Italy, media network Euractiv reports. All meetings at the EU headquarters in the city have been canceled until March 13.

The European Central Bank said on Wednesday that it is restricting all nonessential travel by its employees through April 20 as a precautionary measure.

Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom the total number of cases has jumped by 36 to 87 as of Wednesday.

The UK government predicts that around a fifth of the country's workforce could be off at the same time when the infection reaches its peak. It revealed that police may be forced to focus on maintaining public order if the disease spreads.

The novel coronavirus is likely to be spreading undetected in the UK already, with health officials on the brink of moving into the phase of "delaying" rather than trying to "contain" transmission, the chief medical officer has said.

Chris Whitty told the BBC that it was "likely, not definite, that we will move on to onward transmission and an epidemic here in the UK".

The UK government changed its stance on insurance to cover businesses for novel coronavirus losses in England, stating that it would declare the virus as a "notifiable disease", a formal classification required by many insurance policies. Businesses had warned that expected coronavirus losses risked not being covered under the existing rules.

Hospitals in the UK have been urged to assess patients by video link as part of measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the BBC reports. The health authority NHS England has written to local managers calling on them to examine ways to increase the number of care beds, and to draw up plans to segregate infected patients in wards if there is a significant escalation in cases.

Britain's markets watchdog said it was reviewing how a wide range of companies can continue to operate during a coronavirus outbreak in the country.

"This includes assessments of operational risks, the ability of firms to continue to operate effectively and the steps firms are taking to serve and support their customers," the Financial Conduct Authority said on Wednesday.

Reuters reports that Europe's auto industry is facing a slowdown in demand for new cars, as well as disruption from the coronavirus epidemic and import tariffs between China and the United States. As a result, several companies have announced plans to cut costs and jobs.

It said British auto producers Bentley and McLaren have sought alternatives to their Chinese suppliers to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, which has halted production at some carmakers' manufacturing sites around the world. Bentley, owned by Volkswagen, said it had secured the supply of 21 components that it previously sourced from China until the end of the month, such as silicon chips.

"We've re-sourced them," Chief Executive Adrian Hallmark told Reuters, but he did not say where the alternative supplies came from. McLaren Automotive boss Mike Flewitt said his company was seeking to take similar steps.