Geneva (AFP)

The viral pneumonia epidemic has reached a "plateau" in China but the world remains threatened with a pandemic, warned the WHO, fueling another day of panic on the financial markets on Tuesday.

With five new countries affected and a sharp rise in balance sheets in Iran, South Korea and Italy, Monday was a tough day for the world stock markets, Wall Street suffering its biggest fall in more than two years.

While more than 2,000 cases of contamination, including more than 30 fatalities, have now been recorded outside of China, the day on Tuesday looks no better, Tokyo having already lost 3.3% on the session.

The daily number of new contaminations, however, went up again to 508 against 409 the previous day, even if it remains much lower than the figures recorded a week ago.

- Return of cars -

For the World Health Organization (WHO), the situation in China is generally improving.

According to the specialized agency of the UN, the epidemic knew a "peak" then a "plateau" between January 23 and February 2, just after the quarantine of Wuhan and its 11 million inhabitants.

Its director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, nonetheless warned that the world remained threatened by a pandemic, namely an epidemic of international magnitude.

"We must focus on containment (of the epidemic), while doing everything we can to prepare for a possible pandemic," he said in Geneva on Monday.

Outside the Wuhan region, still in quarantine, life seemed to resume a little more normal in China, especially in Beijing where the traffic increased.

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.

- Reflux in Korea -

Elsewhere in the world, the WHO considers "very worrying" the sudden increase in new cases in Italy, South Korea and Iran.

After a peak of 231 new infections announced on Monday, South Korea has experienced a decline, with 60 new cases listed on Tuesday. The world's second largest outbreak behind China, South Korea now has 893 infected patients, eight of whom are fatal.

The United States has announced that it could "reduce" a planned military exercise in the spring with the South Korean military. Some 37,000 American soldiers are stationed in this country.

Japan, which announced the death of a fourth passenger from the contaminated liner Diamond Princess, has decided to postpone seven football matches scheduled to be played on Wednesday.

- "Mission impossible" suspended -

In Europe, Italy, which now has seven dead, has become the first country on the continent to set up a health cordon around a dozen municipalities in the North.

The planned shooting in Venice of the next installment of "Mission Impossible", with Tom Cruise in the spotlight, has been suspended.

Rome organizes Tuesday afternoon a meeting of health ministers from neighboring countries (France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Germany and the EU) to determine "common lines of action" in the face of the epidemic .

The European Commission has indicated that it does not want to restore border controls within the EU for the time being.

- WHO in Iran -

In Iran, a team of WHO experts is expected the day after the announcement of a death toll of 12, the heaviest outside of China.

Worried about the contagion, Armenia, Turkey, Jordan, Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan have closed their border or restricted trade with Iran.

Five countries in the region announced Monday the first cases of contamination: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq and Oman.

In the United States, the Trump administration plans to spend $ 2.5 billion (2.3 billion euros) on fighting the disease. So far, 53 cases of coronavirus have been identified in this country, including 39 people repatriated from China and the Diamond Princess.

burs bar / lch

© 2020 AFP