Haste urged for EU support strategy

An ill British PM highlights virus' reach after national finance chiefs told to act

European Union leaders have told the bloc's finance ministers to draw up new measures to tackle the economic impact of COVID-19, with the urgency underscored by the revelation on Friday that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has taken ill with the virus.

"I have developed mild symptoms of the coronavirus, that's to say a temperature and a persistent cough, and, on the advice of the chief medical officer, I have taken a test," Johnson said in a video message released on Twitter. "That has come out positive, so I am working from home, I'm self-isolating..."

Also on Friday, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that he, too, has tested positive for COVID-19.

Before the pair's announcements highlighted the penetration of the virus into all stratas of society, the EU leaders on Thursday urged the finance ministers to press on with the drafting of the fresh measures after they had failed to bridge major differences over how best to share the debt burden of the response to the pandemic.

The leaders also called on the European Commission to draft a strategy for resuscitating their choked economies once lockdowns and other health measures are lifted. The appeals were made during a six-hour video conference.

"This crisis is exceptional and unique and requires a very strong answer," EU Council President Charles Michel told reporters after the summit, adding that the bloc's finance ministers will get two more weeks to work out the details in a dispute between the ailing south and the fiscally conservative north.

He added that the EU is prioritizing maintaining open borders for goods to flow and the hunt for a vaccine against the coronavirus.

The novel coronavirus outbreak continues to spread across the epicenter Europe, which, by Thursday, had reported 232,470 infections and 13,692 deaths, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

Italy is one of the two nations bearing the brunt of the outbreak in Europe. It has seen the number of infections rise to 80,539, according to a count released by the Civil Protection Department on Thursday. The death toll has increased to 8,165.

Italy's privacy regulator on Thursday approved a temporary decree that will allow the government to use "digital contact tracing" to track the movements of people infected by the coronavirus or who may have come into contact with infected individuals.

In Spain, Madrid's regional government said on Thursday it would put in place emergency measures to help nursing homes struggling with the coronavirus outbreak as deaths among the elderly mounted.

Spain has suffered the second-highest known death toll of any country during the crisis and nursing homes have been hit particularly hard. Spain had reported 64,059 confirmed cases and 4,858 deaths by Thursday.

Across the United Kingdom, people took to their windows and front porches to applaud everyone in the National Health Service for their work in fighting the pandemic during the Clap For Carers initiative.

The Chinese owner of British Steel has sent a private plane with medical and protective gear to its workers in the UK and has donated further supplies to help the community through the COVID-19 crisis, according to a report in the British newspaper The Guardian.

Jingye Group, which completed its buyout of British Steel earlier this month, sent the plane on Tuesday evening, the report said. The protective equipment includes face masks and goggles, forehead temperature check guns, thermometers, and medical gloves.

The equipment will be used to protect workers and keep British Steel's Scunthorpe steelworks operational during the crisis, which has forced the UK into lockdown.

Angus McNeice in London, Xinhua and agencies contributed to this story.