Hyderabad: A viral outbreak that began in China has infected more than 80,000 people globally. The World Health Organization has named the illness COVID-19, referring to its origin late last year and the coronavirus that causes it.
The new virus aimed a broadening swath of the globe, with officials in Europe and the Middle East scrambling to limit the spread of an outbreak that showed signs of stabilizing at its Chinese epicentre but posed new threats far beyond.
In mainland China, 2,715 deaths among 78,064 cases have been listed, mostly in the central province of Hubei.
In Italy, authorities set up roadblocks, called off soccer matches and shuttered sites including the famed La Scala opera house. In the Middle East, a health crisis that flared in Iran was reported to have spread for the first time to Kuwait, Bahrain and Afghanistan. Across the world, stock markets and futures dipped.
China still has the vast majority of cases, but as it records lower levels of new infections, attention has shifted to new fronts in the outbreak. Chief among them is South Korea where President Moon Jae-in placed the country under a red alert, the highest level, allowing for unprecedented, powerful steps to stem the crisis.
Meanwhile, Iran registered 95 cases. Its deputy health minister Iraj Harirchi, who was on the front lines combating the coronavirus, was also tested positive.
(With inputs from AFP)
