Window narrowing to contain Coronavirus

The Coronavirus outbreak is getting close to a tipping point at which it becomes a global pandemic, according to the World Health Organization. Its director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has said the window of opportunity to contain the outbreak is narrowing and “we need to act quickly before it closes completely.” The Washington Post, Vox, New York Magazine and Telegraph have more, while TechCrunch examines what will happen if a pandemic hits. Latest figures from the Chinese national health commission show 150 deaths (all but one in Hubei province) and 409 news cases (348 in Wuhan) in the last 24 hours. The Guardian and CNBC continue to provide comprehensive live coverage.

Italy imposes curfews

Italy has imposed what the BBC calls a lockdown, and The Guardian refers to as “draconian measures”, as it suffers the worst outbreak of the Coronavirus in Europe. Over 150 people have been infected and three people have died in the country. Reuters reports that the outbreak in Italy is centred on small towns in Lombardy and Veneto. Some 50,000 people have been effectively placed under quarantine for two weeks, with police patrolling the streets of affected towns to ensure curfews are kept. A de-facto quarantine has been imposed on almost a dozen towns some 60 km southwest of Milan, although its airports remained open. But authorities have closed schools and universities and culture venues, and postponed Serie A football matches across the north of the country.

Democratic nomination: Sanders leads in national polls

A new poll among those likely to vote in the Democratic primary shows Bernie Sanders well ahead of the field to land the party’s nomination for the 2020 presidential elections, CNN and Newsweek report. The CBS-YouGov poll comes as Sanders won a significant victory in the Nevada primary and just 10 days ahead of Super Tuesday on 3 March when 14 states vote and the Democrat Abroad vote also begins. Sanders polls at 28%, ahead of Elizabeth Warren in second on 19%, Joe Biden on 17% and Michael Bloomberg on 13%.

Trump enjoys surge

However, the CBS poll also reveals that 65% of registered voters across the country think Donald Trump will definitely or probably be re-elected. Indeed, as The Guardian and CNN report, the president is enjoying a 49% approval rating according to a Gallup poll.

Bloomberg’s billboards

Meanwhile, Bloomberg’s spending spree seems to know no bounds as he has paid for a series of billboards that ridicule president Trump for cheating at golf, bankruptcy, and liking his steak “burnt”. Business Insider has a picture report.

Greens surge, CDU plummets, AfD scrapes by in Hamburg

Hamburg’s Green party was the emphatic winner in the city state’s election on Sunday. Although final results will not be published until Monday evening, Deutsche Welle reports that the Greens surged to 24.2% of the vote, up 11.9% on the last elections. They will likely form a coalition with the social democrat SPD, which polled at 39%, a fall of 6%. As The Guardian reports, Angela Merkel’s CDU slumped to its worst performance in Hamburg in 70 years, while voters also rejected the far right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which only just scraped above the 5% threshold required to have seats in the state parliament.

Amazon under fire for fictional Holocaust series

Amazon’s new “Hunters” series, depicting a team of Nazi hunters in 1970s America, has been accused of accused of bad taste and “Jewsploitation”, the BBC reports. In particular, the invention of a fake game of human chess was deemed an act of “dangerous foolishness” that lent a tone of “flippant entertainment” to the programme, the Auschwitz Memorial Museum and the Holocaust Educational Trust said. International Business Times says Amazon has not announced if the series, starring Al Pacino, will be cancelled or renewed.

Flat earther dies in homemade rocket crash

Daredevil and flat earther “Mad Mike” Hughes was killed over the weekend when his homemade rocket crashed in the California desert, Reuters and NPR report. The Times has an obituary.

Zamboni driver saves the day for Carolina

A 42-year-old Zamboni driver became the oldest goaltender to win an NHL game on his debut, the BBC reports. David Ayres helped the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3.

Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Duncan Roberts