Beijing (AFP)

The coronavirus epidemic has passed the 100,000 mark in the spreading world, with 21 new cases detected on board a cruise ship off the coast of California.

China announced on Saturday 28 new deaths, bringing the total death toll to 3,070 dead in the country, and a further increase in the number of cases outside of central Hubei province, where the virus was first detected.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has rated the spread of the virus as "of great concern". In total, 92 countries are now concerned by the Covid-19 which left nearly 3,500 dead and contaminated more than 100,000 people.

In the United States, the virus was detected on 21 people aboard the Grand Princess, a cruise ship maintained off the coast of California, after the discovery of symptoms in some of its 3,533 passengers and crew members, according to the vice -American President, Mike Pence.

After hosting its large annual conference in Washington, the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC announced Friday that two of the participants had tested positive for the new coronavirus.

- School closings -

The inevitable spread has been partly contained in China's Hubei province, the epicenter of the epidemic, thanks to the quarantine of some 56 million people since the end of January.

New contaminations of people have been going down for several weeks. With 74 new cases, it is the lowest number since the quarantine measures put in place in late January in the province, according to Chinese authorities.

However, 24 cases of imported coronavirus have been identified in Hubei, raising fears of a further increase in contamination in China.

The region may soon be reopened, the government said on Friday, as the Communist regime is the subject of an unusual challenge, the confined residents lacking in food.

For their part, 13 countries have closed their schools: 300 million students worldwide are out of school for several weeks.

Besides China, the most affected countries are South Korea, Iran, Italy and France.

Friday, Togo, the Palestinian Territories, Serbia, the Vatican, Slovakia, Peru or Bhutan announced the first cases.

In Egypt, 12 cases have been detected among the personnel of a cruise ship on the Nile. In Greece, it is a group of at least 34 infected characters who have traveled in the same bus for a pilgrimage to Israel that concentrates all the attention.

As the anxiety on the stock markets grows, the American president Donald Trump wanted to be reassuring, convinced that the markets were going to "rebound". He called on the Fed to cut rates to stimulate the economy.

- Prohibitions -

Many countries are taking inadmissibility or quarantine measures for travelers from affected countries. At least 36 countries have already imposed a total entry ban on people arriving from South Korea, according to Seoul, and 22 others have taken quarantine measures.

Russia has also closed its borders to travelers from Iran.

In Bethlehem, the main tourist town in the Palestinian Territories, authorities prevented the entry and exit of tourists after the discovery of 16 cases of coronavirus in the West Bank, where a state of health emergency was declared.

For the World Tourism Organization, the number of tourists in the world should drop by 1 to 3% in 2020, representing a loss "of 30 to 50 billion dollars".

Around the world, people flock to masks, disinfectants, gloves or coveralls, the only known ramparts against the virus. To ensure an adequate supply, many states prohibit the export of medical equipment.

The European Union has called for "solidarity", but the countries which have made such arrangements have defended their choice.

Italy, which does not produce masks, will receive 800,000 from South Africa in two days, but it needs ten million more to cope with the situation.

© 2020 AFP