Rates of infection plummet in China

CASES DEATHS

CORONAVIRUS infection rates have fallen dramatically in the country where the outbreak started, figures show.

Mainland China reported 327 new cases and 44 deaths in the 24 hours to yesterday morning, bringing its total number of cases to 78,824, with 2,788 fatalities.

More than 3,600 infections have been reported outside China, with around 84,000 infected worldwide.

More parts of Europe and the Middle East saw infections and a first case was found in South America and sub-Saharan Africa, causing cancelled flights and tighter border restrictions.

A BBC Persian report said at least 210 people had died in Iran, but angry authorities insisted that it was just 34.

Nigeria declared the first Covid-19 case in sub-Saharan Africa – an Italian who arrived there on a Turkish Airlines flight from Milan via Istanbul is believed to have the virus.

He is in a clinically stable condition and has no serious symptoms, authorities say. It is only the third case confirmed in Africa, despite the country’s close links to China.

Folasade Ogunsola, professor of clinical microbiology at the University of Lagos, said: “Nigeria has dramatically improved its ability to manage the outbreak of a major pandemic since the Ebola scare in west Africa in 2014.”

Kenya temporarily has suspended flights from China and some countries are banning people from travelling or heading to crowded places.

Switzerland has cancelled all events with more than 1,000 people, including next week’s Geneva International Motor Show, until March 15.

Two coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Mexico, one in Mexico City and the other in the northern state of Sinaloa.

But President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador appeared to downplay the seriousness of the virus, saying, “it isn’t even equivalent to flu”.

And South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for the repatriation of around 200 citizens from the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak.