China’s National Health Commission (NHC) reported another 406 new infections on Wednesday, down from 508 a day earlier and bringing the total number of confirmed cases in mainland China to 78,190. Its death toll rose by 52 to 2,715.
As over 2,800 confirmed cases and 45 deaths are reported outside of China, fears of a coronavirus pandemic is growing. Recently there were sharp rises in new cases in Iran, Italy and South Korea. The United States warned of an inevitable pandemic in meanwhile.
Outbreaks worsen in Europe, Crippling Italy In Europe, Italy is the front line with 323 confirmed cases and 11 dead, as the outbreak is spreading from its origins in the northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto. All the people who have died in Italy were elderly patients or already had serious preconditions.
Italy's tourist industry, which accounts for about 13 percent of its economy, fears a plunge amid travel warnings and restrictions on soccer matches, cinemas and theaters. Airlines began restricting flights to Italy, prices of protective gear skyrocketed, a planned shoot in the country for Tom Cruise's seventh "Mission: Impossible" movie was postponed, Milan cathedral was closed and the Venice carnival cancelled.
France reported its first local death from coronavirus on Wednesday. The country now has 17 confirmed cases and two deaths. A Tenerife hotel with around 1,000 guests is on lockdown after an Italian tourist tested positive for the virus.
COVID-19 confirmed cases in Europe
As of 1pm BJT on Feb. 26, 2020
At the beginning of the week, many countries confirmed their first corona virus cases. The list includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Algeria, Switzerland, Croatia, Romania and Austria.
South Korea: 1200+ Cases, 11 Deaths
The country’s public health authorities have for the past several days reported drastic increases in the number of cases here, with 169 new cases on Wednesday, bringing the total number to 1,261. Eleven people in South Korea have died of the disease, according to the country's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The country of 51 million people now has the highest number of coronavirus cases outside mainland China.
Iran: 139 Cases, 19 Deaths
As of Wednesday noon, Iran has reported 44 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number to 139, said a spokesperson for the Iran's health ministry. The country's deputy health minister is conformed one of those infected.
The country's death toll from the COVID-19 has now stands at 19 after four new deceased were reported.
US: CDC Expects COVID-19 to Spread
U.S. health officials of the CDC announced at a media briefing on Tuesday it expects coronavirus to spread in the United States and asked Americans to prepare.
"As more and more countries experience community spread, successful containment at our borders becomes harder and harder. Ultimately, we expect we will see community spread in this country," Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters.
"It's not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but rather more of a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illness," she said.
China: 7 Provinces Lower Emergency Level
Indicating positive results from the prevention and control work, Guangdong, Shanxi and Anhui adjusted their provincial emergency response level from level one to level two, while the provinces of Liaoning, Guizhou, Yunnan and Gansu lowered their response level to level three.
2020 Olympics Might be Cancelled
A senior member of the International Olympic Committee said Tuesday that if it proves too dangerous to hold the Olympics in Tokyo this summer because of the coronavirus outbreak, organizers are more likely to cancel it altogether than to postpone or move it.
Dick Pound, a former Canadian swimming champion who has been on the IOC since 1978, making him its longest-serving member, estimated there is a three-month window — perhaps a two-month one — to decide the fate of the Tokyo Olympics, meaning a decision could be put off until late May. Global Stock Markets Plunge
As the Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Nikkei and other stock markets recently slid 3% finance ministers from the Group of 20 major economies warned during a meeting in Saudi Arabia over the weekend that the coronavirus outbreak could pose a greater threat to the global economy than earlier expected.