MOSCOW, March 2. /TASS/. President of Indonesia Joko Widodo has announced two first cases of novel coronavirus in the country on Monday. Thus, the number of countries with reported cases of coronavirus has risen to 65.
Earlier, first cases of infection were reported in the Czech Republic and in the Dominican Republic.
In late December 2019, Chinese authorities notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about an outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, central China. According to Chinese authorities, over 80,000 people have been infected with the virus in the country. The death toll has reached 2,912, while over 44,400 patients have recovered. WHO declared the outbreak of the novel coronavirus a global health emergency and named the virus COVID-19.
The second largest outbreak of COVID-19 is currently taking place in South Korea, where the number of those infected with the virus rose by 476 in the past day, reaching 4,212, while 22 people have succumbed to the disease, South Korean officials inform.
The majority of Japanese schools have been closed on Monday to combat the spread of COVID-19 in the country. Only one out of 47 Japanese prefectures, where no cases of the virus have been reported, chose not to cancel classes at local schools. Currently, there are 961 coronavirus cases in Japan with 12 recorded deaths. The majority of those infected with the virus (705 people) are passengers of the Diamond Princess cruise ship. The condition of seven Russians transported from the ship to Russia’s Primorsky Region is satisfactory; they do not exhibit any symptoms of the virus, the local government informed on Monday.
Italian officials have prolonged the measures taken to fight the spread of the infection in the country, where the largest outbreak of coronavirus in Europe (over 1,500 people infected, 34 reported deaths) has been documented. The government has ruled to prolong the full lockdown of 10 cities in the northern region of Lombardy and 1 city in the neighboring region of Veneto until March 15. Schools have been closed on the entire territory of Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna. Regional authorities have cancelled all public events, including sports activities, in the aforementioned provinces.
The first two deaths from COVID-19 have been reported in the USA, in the state of Washington. According to the New York Times, there are currently 80 people in the USA who have contracted or are suspected of having contracted the novel coronavirus. This number includes those who have recovered or are recovering from the disease.
A man has been hospitalized in Moscow on suspicion of coronavirus, however, no final diagnosis has been confirmed yet, the city’s health department informed on Sunday.