According to the World Health Organization (WHO) the Coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic has resulted in the UN Humanitarian Chief Mark Lowcock, on March 1, releasing US$15 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to help fund global efforts to contain the COVID-19 virus.
The WHO explains:
Common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death.
Standard recommendations to prevent infection spread include regular hand washing, covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, thoroughly cooking meat and eggs. Avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing.
The number of deaths due to the new coronavirus epidemic has now passed the threshold of 3,000 deaths worldwide. Of these, 2915 are in China; 2803 only in Hubei, the epicenter of the infection.
But while there is an increase in infections and deaths in the rest of the world, in China the number of deaths per day is decreasing and for a week there have been less than 100 deaths a day.
Yesterday, Chinese health authorities registered 202 new cases of infection, the lowest since January, when the alarm was raised. Most of the new cases have been registered in Hubei. Yesterday there were also 42 deaths, all of which occurred in Hubei. The total number of infected in China has risen to 80174. Over half, 44518, have recovered.
In the rest of the world, the confirmed cases are 8848 and the deaths are 129, spread across 63 countries. Among the hardest hit are Iran (54 dead), Italy (34); South Korea (22); Japan (12).
The United States confirmed today that it registered a second death. A death occurred in Australia over the weekend. Yesterday, the Czech Republic and the Dominican Republic recorded the first cases of coronavirus.
The Washington Post released the following:
Here are the latest developments:
- South Korea announced 599 new cases, bringing its total to 4,335 with 22 deaths. In China, the number of new cases was 202, bringing its total to 80,026, including 2,912 deaths.
- The United States announced two deaths from covid-19 over the weekend, both in Washington state, and a new case was found in New York. The U.S. government has confirmed 87 coronavirus cases. Kirkland, Wash., has become a hub for the coronavirus response, as evidence suggests the virus may have spread undetected in the state for weeks.
- Following heavy losses on global markets last week, global stocks recovered Monday as comments by the Bank of Japan chief stoked speculation of a coordinated global response from central banks. The turnaround comes amid fears that prolonged economic disruption due to the virus could trigger a worldwide recession.
- With cases soaring in South Korea, Italy and Iran, officials are expecting more cases in other countries. “It is no longer possible to absolutely prevent new cases coming in,” Brendan Murphy, Australia’s chief medical officer, told reporters Monday. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the day before that he expected the outbreak to “spread a bit more” in Britain, where there are 39 confirmed cases.
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