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According to health authorities worldwide, the coronavirus has killed 2,704 people and infected more than 80,000 people. If most of the contamination and death attributed to the new coronavirus, which appeared in December in Wuhan, remains concentrated in China, the epidemic is gaining momentum across the world, especially in Italy. The WHO evokes a risk of "pandemic", against a backdrop of tumbling financial markets worried about the world economy. Europe 1 takes stock of the situation in the world on Tuesday.
2,704 deaths worldwide
China has registered 71 new deaths in the past 24 hours, the lowest number in nearly three weeks, bringing the national death toll to 2,663. The daily number of new contaminations, however, went up again to 508, against 409 on Monday, even if it remains much lower than the figures recorded a week ago. In total, more than 77,000 people have been infected in mainland China.
While the situation in China is generally improving, the World Health Organization (WHO) fears the spread of the virus on a global level. Outside China, more than 2,000 cases of contamination have been identified since the start of the epidemic, including 41 fatalities.
2 new Italian regions affected by the epidemic
Two new Italian regions, Tuscany and Sicily, on Tuesday identified cases of contamination with the new coronavirus. The new assessment thus rises to 283 people infected in the country, and to seven dead, making the European country the most affected. Tuscany (central Italy) has two cases in Florence and Pistoia, and Sicily (south), a case of a tourist from Bergamo (Lombardy, north-west) who was in a hotel in Palermo and who was hospitalized. In total, seven Italian regions are affected by the epidemic.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte acknowledged a malfunction in a hospital in the Milan region that had favored the spread of the virus. The establishment had admitted a patient considered as "patient 1", from which resulted a large number of cases recorded in Lombardy.
Forty passengers of the Alitalia flight from affected regions of Italy had to leave for Rome after being prohibited from entering Mauritius. For their part, several hundred tourists are confined to a hotel on the Spanish island of Tenerife where an Italian who has been carrying the coronavirus has stayed.
Precautionary measures in France
In France, following the spread of the virus in Italy, schoolchildren, college and high school students returning from the regions of northern Italy are requested by the authorities to remain confined to their homes for 14 days, the time of incubation of the virus. For adults, however, there is no formal contraindication. It is always possible to go, with a mask, to the office or to the university ... even if the authorities ask to privilege telework when possible. Canteen meetings, elevators and lunches are also not recommended.
It is also requested not to use public transport, not to go to the restaurant or to the cinema and therefore not to make any non-essential outings. In addition to respecting the classic "barrier gestures", it is also recommended to take your temperature twice a day. If symptoms start to appear, you should not go to the emergency room or the police station, but call 15 directly.
So far, twelve cases of infection with the new coronavirus have been identified in France since the end of January. This resulted in eleven healings and one death, that of an 80-year-old Chinese tourist who died on February 14.
Croatia announces first case of contamination in the Balkans
Croatia announced the first case of coronavirus in the Balkans on Tuesday. "It is confirmed that a first patient was infected with the coronavirus. He is in Zagreb at the hospital for infectious diseases Fran Mihaljevic, he is a young man who shows mild symptoms, he was isolated and his health is at the moment good, "said Andrej Plenkovic, Prime Minister of Croatia.
Health Minister Vili Beros said the infected patient had stayed in Milan in Italy from February 19 to 21. At the same time, nine workers who stayed in northern Italy were hospitalized as a precaution in Rijeka, in western Croatia, added the Minister of Health. Other Balkan countries such as Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Albania have also taken action.
Spread in Iran and South Korea
Outside China, South Korea remains the most important center of the epidemic: 144 new cases of contamination have been identified, bringing to 977 the number of people infected in the country, including 10 deaths. The Table Tennis Team Worlds scheduled for next month in Busan have been postponed until June.
In Iran, three new deaths have been announced, bringing the death toll of the disease to 15 dead, out of the 95 people infected. The Deputy Minister of Health was infected with the coronavirus. The United Arab Emirates has suspended all flights to and from the country for "a renewable week".
The consequences of the coronavirus on sport
Due to the spread of the new coronavirus, many sports events have been postponed, threatened or even canceled.
Juventus Turin announced on Tuesday that there were no restrictions on the movement of its supporters before the Champions League round of 16 first leg match between Juve and Olympique Lyonnais scheduled for Wednesday in Lyon. For their part, the mayors of Meyzieu and Décines, where the Groupama Stadium is located, asked the authorities to ban the arrival of Italian supporters due to the epidemic of coronavirus.
Still on the subject of football, the matches of the Italian championship next weekend will be played behind closed doors in six regions of the north of the country. The Chinese football championship, scheduled to start on February 22, has been postponed. The kick-off for the South Korean national championship, which was scheduled to take place on Saturday, has also been postponed and no resumption date has been set. In Japan, seven national cup matches have been postponed.