The new coronavirus outbreak can now be characterised as a pandemic, the head of the World Health Organization said Wednesday.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was alarmed by the spread and severity of the outbreak, along with a lack of action taken to combat it.

The coronavirus, which emerged in China in December, has spread around the world, halting industry, bringing flights to a standstill, closing schools and forcing the postponement of sporting events and concerts.

* As of Wednesday, there are more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries and 4,291 people have died, Tedros said, with the numbers expected to climb.

* Total confirmed infections in Europe have risen to 22,307 with 930 deaths, according to the tally which is compiled from official sources

* Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Wednesday, as the death toll jumped 31% in 24 hours to 827. Confirmed cases rose 23% to 12,462, confirming Italy as the second worst-affected country in the world after China.

* China on Wednesday reported 24 new virus cases, including five had arrived from Italy and one from the United States. China has had over 81,000 virus infections and over 3,000 deaths.

* Iran's senior vice president and two other Cabinet members have contracted the new coronavirus, a semiofficial news agency reported Wednesday as the death toll in the Islamic Republic from the outbreak rose by 62 to 354. Authorities announced that there were some 9,000 confirmed cases of the virus across Iran.

* Belgium's health ministry has announced the country's first three deaths related to the novel coronavirus and Albania and Bulgaria each had their first deaths.

* Guatemala, the Central American country which has yet to confirm any cases of the virus will ban the entry of European citizens in an attempt to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Health Minister Hugo Monroy said on Wednesday

* The US military says some passengers from a cruise ship that carried at least 21 people infected by the coronavirus have arrived at an air base in Georgia and will now begin a 14-day quarantine.

* Germany had some 1,300 infections as of Wednesday but, so far, only three deaths _ a low rate that experts have put down to rapid testing as the outbreak unfolded and German Chancellor Angela Merkel has made clear that Germany doesn't intend to close its borders in the light of Europe's coronavirus epidemic.

* Spain's coronavirus cases have surpassed 2,000, with roughly half of them in the Madrid region, where two-thirds of the country's virus deaths have occurred. The Health Ministry on Wednesday reported 2,002 cases nationally, up by 363 from the previous day. Deaths reached 48, up by 11 from Tuesday.

* Slovenia closed some border crossings with Italy on Wednesday afternoon and started making health checks at those remaining open in order to combat the spread of the coronavirus. Number of confirmed cases of the virus in Slovenia rose to 57, the health minister said.

* Honduras has confirmed its first two cases of the new coronavirus, authorities reported Wednesday.

* India said on Wednesday it will suspend all tourist visas to the country in a wide-reaching attempt to prevent the spread of coronavirus, as cases across the region continued to rise.

* Egypt has detected a new coronavirus case, bringing the total number of confirmed cases of the flu-like virus in the country to 60, Egypt's health ministry and the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Wednesday.

* France health minister reported on Wednesday 48 coronavirus deaths, an increase of 15 in 24 hours.

* Israel, which has 58 coronavirus cases, has imposed a mandatory two-week quarantine on anyone entering the country and banned public gatherings of more than 5,000 people, among other measures.

* Austria is suspending direct flights to Milan and Bologna in neighboring Italy, as well as South Korea and Iran. It has confirmed 63 cases.

* Costa Rica's government says gas confirmed first case of coronavirus.

* Ireland, Sweden reported on Wednesday their 1st virus-related deaths.

* Canada had 93 confirmed cases and one death as of Wednesday morning.

* Indonesia says a foreigner has become its first fatality from COVID-19.

* Qatar reported 238 more coronavirus infections among individuals under quarantine in a residential compound on Wednesday,

*Bahrain earlier announced 77 new infections among citizens evacuated by plane from Iran.

*Kuwait, which has 72 confirmed coronavirus cases, announced it would halt all commercial passenger flights starting on Friday and declared a public holiday from March 12 to March 26 except for entities providing essential services.

* Saudi Arabia, which reported 21 cases of the disease and locked down the oil-producing region of Qatif, said on Wednesday it was closing cinemas until further notice, state news agency SPA reported.Riyadh's preventive measures include locking down its eastern Qatif region, suspending the Umrah pilgrimage and travel bans on 14 countries.

*Labanese health ministry confirmed several new infections, bringing the total number of diagnosed cases to 61, Prime Minister Hassan Diab said Lebanon would suspend all trips to and from Italy, South Korea, Iran and China, and It would also stop arrivals from France, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom.

* Thailand will temporarily suspend issuing visas on arrival to visitors from 19 countries and territories, including China, to contain the spread of the coronavirus, its interior minister said on Wednesday, The Southeast Asian country, has reported 59 cases of the virus and one death so far.

* The number of people in the UK who have died after testing positive for coronavirus has risen to seven after the death of a patient in their 70s, health officials said.The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus across the United Kingdom rose to 456 on Wednesday, up from 373 a day earlier

https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/365188.aspx