Virus spreads to new countries

NEW coronavirus cases surged outside of China on Tuesday, leaving an Iranian deputy minister among the stricken and triggering mass disruption as a top health official warned the world is not prepared for containing the epidemic.

Even as the number of fresh cases declines at the epicenter of the disease in China, there has been a sudden increase in parts of Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

Towns and cities in different parts of the world have been sealed off in an attempt to stop the contagion, while hotels in the Canary Island 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.

At the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva, Bruce Aylward, who headed an international expert mission to China, hailed measures taken there but told reporters that other nations were “simply not ready” for reining in the outbreak.

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

- Travel and trade routes The virus has killed more than 2,600 people and infected over 77,000 others in China. In the rest of the world, there have been more than 40 deaths and 2,700 cases.

The disease has now reached dozens of countries, with Austria, Croatia, and Switzerland the latest additions on Tuesday.

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