World "not ready to face" coronavirus, WHO says

The World Health Organization is sounding the alarm. WHO is calling for great international solidarity as the new coronavirus continues to spread around the world, which, according to a WHO expert, "is simply not ready to deal with it".

The epidemic that broke out in central China in December has already peaked in the country, where it has infected some 78,000 people, more than 2,700 of whom have died, Chinese authorities said on Wednesday. The disease affects more and more countries and now concerns, apart from China, more than thirty states, where it left more than 40 dead and 2,500 infections.

The world is "just not ready" to face it, warned on Tuesday Bruce Aylward, the expert who heads the joint WHO / China mission, back from Beijing. "You have to be ready to deal with this on a larger scale, and it has to be done quickly," he added, welcoming the work done by Beijing to contain the disease.

US health officials said Tuesday they expect the epidemic to spread to the United States, encouraging schools, businesses and local governments to consider precautionary measures such as the cancellation of public events. The Trump administration plans to spend $ 2.5 billion (€ 2.3 billion) on the disease.

Italy, main home in Europe

U.S. officials are also concerned that the epidemic is threatening the U.S. drug supply chain, as many of the ingredients used to make the drugs are made in China, from where the virus originated.

In Europe, Italy is the country most affected by this virus with more than 300 people infected. Ten people died, all of them elderly and previously suffering from serious pathologies. Several media have announced an eleventh victim, a 76-year-old woman in Veneto. Three new Italian regions, Tuscany (center), Sicily (south) and Liguria (northwest) have identified contamination, announced Civil Protection on Tuesday.

All the neighboring countries of Italy "are committed to keeping their borders open because to close them would be a mistake and disproportionate", during a ministerial meeting in Rome between Italy, France, Switzerland, Austria, Croatia, which were also present Germany and the European Union. They also decided to "assess on a case-by-case basis" the possible cancellation of major events, according to a joint press release.

Hotel in quarantine

Austria has announced the first two cases of coronavirus in the Tyrol region, bordering Italy. A hotel in the tourist town of Innsbruck, the capital of this region in the heart of the Alps, has been quarantined. An Italian receptionist infected with the virus worked there. Switzerland has also announced a first case in a region close to Italy, while in Croatia, a young man recently returned from Italy was infected, the first known case in the Balkans.

Two new cases were confirmed in France, one of which returned from Italy, according to the French Ministry of Health, adding that their state of health did not cause any concern. A total of 14 cases have been detected in France, one is dead and eleven are considered to have been cured.

In the Canaries, several hundred tourists are confined to a hotel on the Spanish island of Tenerife where an Italian who has been suspected of carrying the coronavirus has stayed.

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on Monday that the world remains threatened by a "pandemic", an epidemic of international magnitude. The UN agency is particularly concerned about the risks for poor countries, ill-equipped to detect and fight the new virus.

China, the cradle of the virus, is ready to provide assistance and medical equipment to African countries facing the epidemic of coronavirus, said President Xi Jinping. On the African continent precisely, after Egypt, a second infection was officially recorded in Algeria, on an Italian who arrived in this country on February 17.

Iran hit at top of state

In Iran, the mission of a team of WHO experts has been delayed, but remains planned. Tehran announced three new deaths on Tuesday, bringing the death toll to 15, the heaviest outside of China. The Deputy Minister of Health in person, Iraj Harirchi, tested positive for the coronavirus.

Against a backdrop of intense tension between Washington and Tehran, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo demanded that Iran speak "the truth". The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday suspended all flights to and from Iran, a decision that primarily concerns Dubai Airport, the world's largest for foreign passengers.

Several countries in the region have announced cases of contamination among people returning from Iran. In South Korea, the situation is "very serious", alarmed President Moon Jae-in, while the number of contaminations jumped again to reach nearly a thousand cases. The country, which registered 11 deaths according to the report announced Wednesday morning, is thus the first world center of contamination after its Chinese neighbor. The toll of infections in South Korea stands at 1,146 people affected, after the addition of 169 new cases on Wednesday morning.

Low contamination cases

In China, however, contamination is decreasing. On Wednesday morning, the country recorded 52 new deaths in 24 hours, the lowest figure for nearly three weeks (they had been 71 the day before), in addition to 406 new infections. According to the WHO, the epidemic experienced a "peak" then a "plateau" between January 23 and February 2, just after the quarantine of the city of Wuhan (11 million inhabitants), cradle of the epidemic. Outside of this region, still in quarantine, life seemed to resume a little more normal, especially in Beijing where the traffic increased slightly.

Apple has reopened several of its stores closed for almost a month. But the universities will not reopen until the epidemic is brought under control, warned the education ministry.

Neighboring Japan has announced the death of a fourth passenger from the Diamond Princess liner where nearly 700 people have been infected.

With AFP

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