A man rides past an awareness board displaying preventive measures against Covid-19 at a bus stop in Mumbai. — AFP photo
Global deaths and infections from coronavirus have surpassed those inside China for the first time since the beginning of the outbreak.
Worldwide infections have grown to more than 87,000, according to the Johns Hopkins university tracker, while cases inside China, stood at 80,860 as of Monday, according to the Chinese National Health Commission in a Guardian Daily report.
Deaths outside China have risen to more than 3,241, according to Johns Hopkins, while deaths inside China stand at 3,208 as of Monday (excluding four in Hong Kong and one in Taiwan).
The most substantial infection centre outside China is in Italy, where there are nearly 25,000 confirmed infections and more than 1,800 deaths.
Elsewhere in Europe, which the World Health Organization described as being at the centre of the pandemic, France has 4,500 cases and 91 deaths, Germany has 11 deaths and more than 5,700 infections, the Netherlands has 20 deaths and 2,270 infections, Switzerland has 14 deaths and 2,200 infections, and the UK has 21 deaths and 1,144.
The next worst affected country is Iran, where there are just under 14,000 confirmed cases and 724 deaths.
There are fears that the country’s fragile health services and economy are struggling to cope with the outbreak, and on Friday, satellite imaging appeared to show mass graves dug in the city of Qom to bury coronavirus victims.
In the US, which rapidly escalated its response to the virus over the weekend with Donald Trump declaring a national emergency, cases have jumped to 3,500, with at least 57 deaths recorded. There has been substantial criticism of the Trump administration, and the president himself, who only two weeks ago when the country had 15 infections suggested the number would be down to zero before long.
The Centres for Disease Control in the US advised against gatherings of more than 50 people for the next eight weeks and the Federal Reserve cut interest rates to 0.25 per cent.
Measures to step up containment around the world include:
• Australia’s Reserve Bank said it was prepared to start quantitive easing to boost the economy, which could involve buying government bonds and other financial assets from banks and pensions funds. The country on Sunday announced mandatory 14-day self-isolation for all arrivals.
• New Zealand imposed a 500-person limit on gatherings, while the PM, Jacinda Ardern, said the virus impact could be greater than that of the global financial crisis.
• British over-70s will be asked to self-isolate for up to four months, in order to protect them from the virus.
• Turkey suspended collective mosque prayers, including the important Friday prayer, until further notice.
• The Swiss region of Geneva declared a “state of necessity” on Monday, shutting bars and restaurants. Geneva city, home to United Nations’ headquarters in Europe and the World Health Organization, also banned non-work gatherings of more than five people both indoors or outdoors.
• Luxembourg on Sunday followed its neighbours France and Belgium in closing bars and restaurants.
• Louis Vuitton owner LVMH has said its cosmetics unit would manufacture large quantities of hand disinfectant gel to help stave off a nationwide shortage across France.
• South Africa declared a national disaster and introduced a series of drastic measures to fight the outbreak.
While many countries have been late to respond to the threat, South Korea, which has a more than 8,000 confirmed infections has quickly controlled the spread of the virus, through rapid testing and quarantine measures in the worst affected areas. It has recorded three days where recoveries have outstripped new infections.
Despite the country’s progress, it has identified a new cluster of cases, near Seoul. At least 40 members of a protestant church tested positive, including the pastor, after services on 1 March and 8 March, despite government calls to cancel mass gatherings.
The vice health minister, Kim Gang-lip, said that continuing new infections are a reminder that the country should not forget ‘the lessons we’ve learned’ and that new outbreaks implied that the virus was still ‘spreading across the country’ .
As in other countries, the elderly have been the most vulnerable.
The country’s centre for disease control said 70.6 per cent of deaths were in their 70s and above. Another 18.7 per cent of fatalities were in their 60s.
The centre said no death in Korea had been reported in a patient under 29.