Virus hits more countries as health official warns world ‘not ready’

The new coronavirus epidemic swelled on Wednesday with cases in South Korea surging past 1,000 after deaths soared in Iran and infections appeared in previously untouched countries, prompting dire warnings that the world was not ready to contain it.

The virus has rapidly spread in parts of Asia, Europe and the Middle East, even as the number of fresh cases and deaths decline at the disease epicenter in China.

Towns and cities have been sealed off in an attempt to stop the contagion, while hotels in the Canary Islands and Austria were locked down on Tuesday because of suspected cases.

In Iran, which has reported 15 deaths out of nearly 100 infections, even the country’s deputy health minister Iraj Harirchi said he had contracted the virus.

Screen capture from video if Iran’s Deputy Health Minister, Iraj Harirchi, during a press conference about the spread of the coronavirus, February 24, 2020. (Twitter)

At the World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva, Bruce Aylward, who headed an international expert mission to China, hailed the drastic quarantine and containment measures taken by the country.

But he told reporters that other nations were “simply not ready” to contain the outbreak.

“You have to be ready to manage this at a larger scale… and it has to be done fast,” Aylward said.

Team leader of the joint mission between World Health Organization (WHO) and China on COVID-19, Bruce Aylward shows graphics during a press conference at the WHO headquarters in Geneva on February 25, 2020. (Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

The virus has killed 2,715 people and infected over 78,000 in China. There were 52 more deaths reported on Wednesday — the lowest in three weeks — with no fatalities outside the epicenter in central Hubei province.

The National Health Commission also reported a drop in new infections to 406, with only five outside Hubei — a figure that will boost confidence that the rest of the country is containing the epidemic.

In the rest of the world, there have been more than 40 deaths and 2,700 cases.

In this picture taken on February 25, 2020, people wearing protective facemasks, as a preventative measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus, walk through a deserted shopping mall in Beijing (NICOLAS ASFOURI / AFP)

The disease has now reached dozens of countries, with Austria, Croatia and Switzerland the latest to declare cases.

The epidemic’s disruption has also grown, with stock markets tumbling around the world, restrictions imposed on travelers and sporting events cancelled.

The WHO has called for countries to “prepare for a potential pandemic” — a term used to describe an epidemic that spreads throughout the world.

Poor countries are particularly at risk, the WHO has warned.

South Korea surge

South Korea reported 169 new infections on Wednesday, raising its total tally to 1,146 — by far the largest outside China — while an 11th person died.

A US soldier checks a vehicle at the main gate of US Army Camp Carroll in Chilgok, about 30 kilometers north of Daegu, on February 26, 2020 (Jung Yeon-je / AFP)

A 23-year-old US soldier stationed at Camp Carroll in Daegu was also infected. Some 28,500 American troops are deployed in South Korea.

The vast majority — 90 percent — of the new infections were in Daegu, the country’s fourth-largest city and the epicenter of the outbreak, and the neighboring province of North Gyeongsang.

The streets of Daegu — which has a population of 2.5 million — have been largely deserted for days, apart from long queues at the few shops with masks for sale.

Authorities urged the public to exercise extra caution, advising citizens to stay home if they have a fever or respiratory symptoms.

China quarantined 94 air passengers arriving in Nanjing from Seoul after three people, all Chinese, on the flight were discovered to have fevers on Tuesday.

South Korea’s virus patients also include a 25-year-old cabin crew member of Korean Air, the country’s biggest airline, who worked on a flight that departed from Israel and arrived in South Korea on Feb. 16, according to Jung Eun-kyeong, director of the KCDC. The flight also carried a group of tourists, of which 30 have tested positive.

Iran, Italy hotspots

In the Middle East, Iran has emerged as a major hotspot, with three more people dying from the COVID-19 disease on Tuesday.

The country has been scrambling to contain the epidemic since last week when it announced its first two deaths in Qom, a center for Islamic studies and pilgrims that attracts scholars from abroad.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, whose country came to the brink of war with Iran earlier this year, said Washington is deeply concerned Tehran “may have suppressed vital details” about the outbreak there.

Gulf countries announced new measures to cut links with Iran in an attempt to stop the spread.

Italian Army soldiers check transit to and from the cordoned areas near Turano Lodigiano, Northern Italy, Feb. 25, 2020 (Claudio Furlan/Lapresse via AP)

Meanwhile Italy — which has reported 11 deaths and more than 300 cases — has locked down 11 towns and ordered Serie A football games to be played to empty stadiums.

A young man who returned to Croatia from Italy became the first case in the Balkans region.

In the United States, which has a few dozen cases, health authorities urged local governments, businesses and schools to develop plans such as cancelling mass gatherings or switching to teleworking as the country braces for the virus to spread further.

Olympics in doubt?

Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga on Wednesday downplayed the assertion by International Olympic Committee veteran member Richard Pound the fast-spreading virus could cancel the Tokyo Olympics set to open in July. Pound said organizers face a three-month window to decide the fate of the games.

Suga said Pound’s opinion does not reflect the official view of the IOC. Suga said the IOC and local organizers are going as planned with the Tokyo Olympics.