ASEAN: No countries in the region reported new cases of COVID-19.
ASIA: Japan reported 35 new cases of the virus, bringing the countrywide total to 207, while the confirmed cases connected to the cruise ship the Diamond Princess totalled 705. The country announced one new fatality, increasing the country’s death count to four (plus four from the Diamond Princess). A woman working as a tour bus guide in Japan has gotten re-infected with the coronavirus after testing positive again. Iran reported 106 new cases overnight, bringing the country tally to a total of 245 cases of infection. Iran’s Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, Masoumeh Ebtekar, is the latest high-profile government official to test positive for novel coronavirus. Two members of parliament and the Deputy Health Minister are infected with the virus. The country reported seven new deaths from the virus, raising the country’s death numbers to 26. Saudi Arabia, which has no cases of COVID-19, has suspended pilgrimages to Mecca and Medina for people outside the country. South Korea announced 505 new cases of the virus, increasing the country tally to 1,766 cases, the largest concentration of confirmed cases outside of mainland China. The country reported one death, bringing the death count in the country to 13. Kuwait announced 17 additional cases of the virus. It now has 43 confirmed cases. The United Arab Emirates revealed six new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the total number of persons infected in the country to 19. Iraq reported two cases of the virus; its total is now at seven cases. Oman logged two additional cases of the virus, bringing the country tally up to six cases. Lebanon reported its third case of infection. Israel announced an additional case of the virus, increasing the country’s total to three cases. No other countries in the region reported new cases of COVID-19.
EUROPE: The World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the rest of the world, not China anymore, is now “our greatest concern” amidst the COVID-19 outbreak.For the second day in a row, the number of new coronavirus cases reported outside of China today was larger than those reported in China. An infectious disease specialist in France has warned that the country could face an outbreak similar to what Italy is currently facing. The country announced 20 new cases of the virus, and the total is now at 38 confirmed cases and two fatalities. There are now 655 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Italy. The country reported an additional 185 cases overnight. Officials have sent 35,000 masks to affected areas. The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Denmark is linked to the outbreak in Italy. A Danish man caught the virus after travelling to Italy’s Lombardy region, where cases of the virus are heavily concentrated. The Netherlands’ first case of the virus is also linked to recent travel to Italy. Spain reported 12 new cases of infection, and 25 cases in the country have been confirmed. Five Spanish citizens were repatriated from Wuhan, China, the epicentre of the virus. Northern Ireland, San Marino and Estonia confirmed their first cases of coronavirus. Norway declared three new cases and has a total of four cases. Austria announced three new cases and has a total of five cases. Switzerland now has six cases of the virus, with five being announced overnight. Sweden reported five additional cases, bringing the country tally to seven cases. The United Kingdom confirmed three new cases of the virus. The region now has 16 cases of infection. Germany reported 14 new cases of infection, raising the countrywide tally to 41. Greece announced two new cases of the virus; the country has three in total. No other countries in the region reported new cases of COVID-19.
AMERICA: The United States currently has 60 confirmed cases of the coronavirus. The Trump administration is considering enforcing the Defense Production Act of 1950, to expand the production of masks and protective gear, as a matter of national security. Facebook is canceling F8, its biggest annual event, because of the COVID-19 outbreak. The social media giant will instead have “locally hosted events, videos and live-streamed content”. Canada has confirmed a new case of the coronavirus, bringing the country’s total to 13 cases. The person newly infected is the husband of a woman who has the virus.
