The death toll from the COVID-19 epidemic yesterday surpassed 3,000, as more people died in China, Iran and the US, and Europe raised its state of alert.
The virus has infected more than 89,000 people, spread to more than 60 countries and threatens to cause a global economic slowdown after first emerging in China late last year.
With fears of a pandemic on the rise, the WHO urged all countries to stock up on critical care ventilators to treat patients with severe symptoms.
Photo: AFP
In Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) had increased its risk assessment for Europeans after Italy’s outbreak doubled in 48 hours.
The virus has raised fears for the world economy, with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development lowering its global growth forecast by half a point to 2.4 percent, the worst performance since the 2008 crisis.
The Chinese economy has ground to a halt, with large swathes of the nation under quarantine or measures to restrict travel. Takings at Macau casinos fell a record 88 percent last month.
Other countries have started to enact their own draconian containment measures, including banning arrivals from virus-hit nations, locking down towns, urging citizens to stay home and suspending major events, such as soccer matches and trade fairs.
Health officials monitoring the virus at the ECDC announced that it had increased its risk assessment to “moderate to high.”
The Louvre — the world’s most visited museum — closed on Sunday and yesterday, after staff refused to work because of fears about the virus.
China yesterday reported 42 more deaths — all in Hubei Province, where the pathogen is believed to have originated in a market that sold wild animals in its capital, Wuhan.
The death toll in China alone rose to 2,912, but it is also surging abroad.
The WHO says the virus appears to particularly hit those over the age of 60 and people already weakened by other illness.
It has a mortality rate of between 2 and 5 percent.
Infections are now rising faster abroad than in China, where drastic measures, including quarantining about 56 million people in Hubei since late January, appear to be paying off.
Iran yesterday reported 12 more deaths, raising the nation’s toll to 66, the second biggest after China.
It also reported more than 500 new cases, raising its total number of infections to 1,501.
South Korea, the biggest nest of infections outside China, yesterday reported nearly 500 new cases, raising its total past 4,000.
It also reported that four more people died, taking its toll to 22.
Half of South Korea’s cases are linked to a sect whose leader yesterday apologized for the spread of the disease.
The US has more than 75 confirmed cases, including two reported deaths, both in Washington state, where a cluster of cases is centered on a nursing home near Seattle.
New York and Florida, among other US states, also have confirmed cases.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo told CNN he “fully” expects community spread after the state identified its first coronavirus patient.
European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides said: “As of this morning, we have 2,100 confirmed cases in 18 EU member states and we have 38 citizens who have lost their lives.”
In Italy, Europe’s hardest-hit country, infections nearly doubled to about 1,700 cases over the weekend.
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