Governments worldwide yesterday were scrambling to prevent the spread of COVID-19 after fresh infections emerged linked to European hotspot Italy amid dire warnings that countries are not ready to contain the outbreak.
Giving most concern on that score in the Middle East, Iran has emerged as a major hotspot. Nineteen people have died and 44 further infections were reported across the country in the past 24 hours, including Iranian Deputy Minister of Health Iraj Harirchi.
In another crucial hotspot, South Korea, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 284 new infections — its largest daily increase to date — taking the overall national tally to 1,261, with the death toll rising to 12.
The vast majority — 90 percent — of the new infections were in Daegu, the country’s fourth-largest city, and the neighboring province of North Gyeongsang.
The streets of Daegu — which has a population of 2.5 million — have been largely deserted for days.
Italy has become the latest major cause for concern after France, Austria, Croatia and Switzerland all reported infections in people who had recently been to its worst-hit Lombardy region.
France reported a second death — this time of one of its nationals after a Chinese tourist died earlier this month.
Greece reported its first case — a woman who had recently travelled to northern Italy — as did Algeria — an Italian national who had arrived in the country last week.
The first case in Latin America was also confirmed yesterday, after a Sao Paulo hospital had flagged the possible infection of a 61-year-old who had visited Italy.
Several governments are now advising people against travel to Italy, in particular to the regions worst affected in the north, as well as introducing checks for passengers arriving from the country.
The Italian outbreak has seen 12 deaths and 374 cases within the country.
Eleven towns have been put in isolation and tens of millions people have been affected by school closures, and the cancelation of cultural and sporting events.
At the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, WHO Assistant Director-General Bruce Aylward, who headed an international expert mission to China, hailed the drastic quarantine and containment measures taken by Beijing.
However, he told reporters on Tuesday that other nations were “simply not ready” to contain the outbreak.
“You have to be ready to manage this at a larger scale ... and it has to be done fast,” Aylward said.
The virus has killed 2,715 people and infected more than 78,000 in China.
There were 52 more deaths reported in China yesterday — the lowest in three weeks — with no fatalities outside the epicenter in Hubei Province.
The Chinese National Health Commission also reported a drop in new infections to 406, with only five outside Hubei — a figure that would boost confidence that the rest of the country is containing the epidemic.
Additional reporting by Reuters
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
SECURITY: The New Zealand and Australian navies also sailed military vessels through the Strait yesterday to assert the right of freedom of navigation The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force on Wednesday made its first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait in response to the intrusion by a Chinese reconnaissance aircraft into Japan’s sovereign airspace last month, Yomiuri Shimbun reported yesterday. The Japanese news platform reported that the destroyer JS Sazanamisailed down through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, citing sources in the Japanese government with knowledge of the matter. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi declined to comment on the reports at a regular briefing because they concern military operations. Military vessels from New Zealand and Australia also sailed through the Strait on the same day, Wellington’s defense ministry
RSS