While the novel virus COVID-19 looks to have loosened its grip from the epicenter for the moment, the whole of Europe seems to have caught the backlash. Italy emerged as the latest victim as the death toll rose to 400 amid international efforts to keep the virus at bay. On Wednesday, the WHO even made an announcement quoting that the virus has begun spreading across the world faster than expected.
In general, 80,000 people have been infected in a cluster of 40 countries. The vast majority of the virus still remains to be contained in China. The death toll globally has risen drastically to 2,700.
Several events, schools and cinema halls have been closed due to the outbreak. EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides told reporters after she met with the Italian Health Minister, “This is a situation of concern, but we must not give in to panic. “There are still many unknowns about this virus and in particular its origin and how it spreads.”
Over the past two days, Austria, Croatia, Greece, Norway, Switzerland, Georgia, and North Macedonia reported their first cases over the outbreak. Many of the infected subjects migrated from Italy over the last month. More cases were announced in Spain, France, and Germany. Ireland has to put on hold six Rugby matches with Italy in Dublin that were to be held on 7th and 8th March.
Outside of Europe, Algeria, Brazil, and Pakistan reported their first case with India being the only country in the cluster defending off the virus to date. South Korea has been the second hotspot besides China with 1,200 infections and 12 deaths so far. The only upside is that China seems to be getting on top of it with the number of cases dropping increasing every day.
