Virus continues to spook the world
Saudi Arabia halts religious visits to Mecca, Medina; Iranian vice president infected; more cases reported in UK, Switzerland
BEIJING/RIYADH/GENEVA: Saudi Arabia halted religious visits that draw millions to cities including Mecca and Medina in an unprecedented move to curb the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak.
The kingdom, which hosts millions of pilgrims every year, also suspended visas for tourists from countries affected by the virus as fears of a pandemic deepen.
Italy has reported more than 400 cases, while Iran’s death toll rose to 26, the highest number of deaths outside China.
The epidemic is at a “decisive point” globally, the World Health Organization said on Thursday, warning it could “get out of control” if affected countries did not move swiftly to contain it.
Some 2,760 people have died around the world and more than 80,000 have been infected in the outbreak, which was first detected in China in December.
“We’re at a decisive point,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, adding the number of new cases in China had been outstripped by new cases outside the country for the second day on Thursday.
Reports in Iran said that Masoumeh Ebtekar, a vice president who was a spokeswoman during the 1979 US embassy hostage crisis, has the coronavirus. Iran news agencies also reported that Friday prayers have been cancelled in Tehran and elsewhere.
Japan has ordered shut all schools nationwide to control spread of the virus.
In China, the number of new deaths stood at 29 on Thursday, the lowest daily rate since January 28 and reported 433 new cases, against 406 on Wednesday.
The virus has now killed 2,744 people in the country, mostly in the central province of Hubei.
Taiwan raised its epidemic response level to the highest as it prepared a $2 billion package to soften the economic impact and postponed a major religious event scheduled for next month.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his country, which has 23 cases of the virus, was operating on the basis of a pandemic.
Italians or people who recently visited Italy have tested positive in Algeria, Croatia, Israel, Spain and Switzerland.
The virus has been reported in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Greece and Romania.
South Korea reported 334 additional cases on Thursday, the largest daily increase yet, as the United States issued a new travel warning for South Korea and the countries postponed a joint military drill.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday warned of the possibility of a community spread of the coronavirus after a person in California who reportedly did not have relevant travel history or exposure to another known patient was infected.
Iraq reported its sixth case on Thursday and confirmed cases in Kuwait rose to 43. Britain added two cases and Switzerland three.
Beijing on Thursday banned the entry of anyone returning from the outbreak epicentre Hubei province amid a spike in cases.
Meanwhile, top respiratory specialist Zhong Nanshan, leading China’s fight against the outbreak, has said that though the Covid-19 first appeared in China, that does not necessarily mean it originated in the country.