Hundreds of new Covid-19 cases reported

AS the worst-hit areas of Asia continued to struggle with a viral epidemic, worries about infection and containment spread across the globe.

For the first time, the coronavirus has caused more new cases outside China, the epicentre of the outbreak, than inside the country.

With Brazil on Wednesday confirming Latin America’s first case, the virus has reached every continent but Antarctica.

The United States, which has 60 cases, has not been spared the fear that has swept Asia, Europe and the Mideast.

President Donald Trump declared that the US was “very, very ready” for whatever threat the coronavirus brings, and he put Vice President Mike Pence in charge of overseeing the country’s response.

As the epidemic expanded geographically, worries about the Covid-19 illness multiplied.

“The sudden increases of cases in Italy, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Korea are deeply concerning,” WHO directorgeneral Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

Major gatherings have been eyed warily, with schools closing, churches moving services online, food deliveries booming and many business conferences and sporting events cancelled.

South Korea reported 505 more cases yesterday, bringing its total to 1,766.

Most of the new cases were in the country’s fourth-biggest city, Daegu, where the outbreak has hit hardest and the national government has mobilised public health tools to help the region’s overwhelmed medical system.

Twenty South Korean soldiers and one American service member in South Korea have tested positive for the new coronavirus.