The new coronavirus epidemic has now killed more than 3.000 people worldwide and continues to have serious consequences around the world, especially in Italy and South Korea, where the number of new cases continues to grow exponentially. in France, where it was decided yesterday to close the doors of the Louvre museum.
In China, where the virus struck in late 2019, authorities today announced 42 new deaths by midnight on Sunday, raising the SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia epidemic to 2.912 in the mainland and over 3.000 internationally. The 202 new confirmed cases reported in mainland China, however, are the lowest since late January.
But while the disease epidemic COVID-19 In China, where draconian quarantine measures affect more than 50 million people, the situation continues to worsen in many other countries.
In Italy, about 500 new cases were recorded yesterday Sunday, a dramatic increase in the number of cases to about 1.700 in this southern European country. Italian authorities also spoke of five new deaths, with the peninsula now reaching 34 dead in three northern regions (Lombardy, Emilia Romagna, Veneto).
In South Korea, the second largest outbreak of the epidemic in the world after China, it was announced today that in the past 24 hours almost 500 additional cases and four new deaths were confirmed, with a total of more than 4.000 cases, 22 of which were fatal.
The city of Seoul has filed a lawsuit against leaders of a religious sect that has been at the center of the crisis, in which it accuses that it did not take measures to prevent the spread of the new corona virus. Sixty percent of cases in South Korea are linked to this powerful, secretive ecclesiastical organization, which critics consider to be a sect.
In France, another outbreak of the coronavirus where the situation is exacerbated, 130 cases of SARS-CoV-2 have been reported and two deaths. The Louvre Museum, a magnet for tourists in France, which attracted 9,6 million visitors in 2019, remained closed yesterday Sunday.
In Germany, 129 cases have been reported, with more than half being found in Rhineland-West Westphalia (west), where an infected couple went to a carnival event in late February.
Iran announced 11 new deaths yesterday, raising the official death toll to 54. The BBC's Farsi Public Radio and Television Service broadcasts a much heavier report in Farsi, with at least 210 dead, a number denied by Iranian authorities.
The outbreak raises fears of a global economic crisis. Markets fell the most last week since the 2008 economic crisis. However, Chinese stock markets were recovering today.
Some companies and groups are already feeling the effects of the epidemic on their turnover. Israeli airline El Al announced yesterday that it intends to lay off 1.000 of its 6.000 employees due to damage caused by the cancellation of several flights amid the spread of the coronavirus. Many countries, including Germany and Italy, have already announced measures, including strengthening affected sectors.
The second death was reported in the US state of Washington, where 21 cases have been recorded, to which 47 patients who have been repatriated are added. Several cases diagnosed in recent days have had nothing to do with any of the outbreaks abroad, suggesting that the virus is now spreading across the United States, a country that has so far been relatively unharmed.
Late last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) raised the threat level to "very high", to the maximum, and warned that any country would think it was safe from the disease. COVID-19 it would be a "fatal mistake". The SARS-CoV-2 virus mortality rate appears to be between 2% and 5%, the UN service added.
The epidemic is considered particularly dangerous for the poorest countries, whose health systems do not have the capacity to detect or fight the virus.
The Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Espanyol with Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, has become the fourth most affected country in Latin America: the first case, announced Sunday, is a traveler from Italy.
Ecuador announced yesterday that five new cases had been reported, a day after the first was identified. Cases have also been reported in Mexico (5) and Brazil (4).
In Indonesia, President Joko Widodo announced the first two cases of the coronavirus in the most populous state in the Muslim world.
Thailand also announced a new case today, bringing the total to 43.
Two new cases have been reported in Algeria, which has recorded three, while a new case has been reported in Egypt.
Source: sigmalive