TEL AVIV, March 11. /TASS/. The number of people in Israel who have contracted the novel coronavirus has reached 76, the Israeli Ministry of Health reported on Wednesday.

According to the Ministry of Health, 63 of those infected are receiving medical treatment in hospitals, the condition of one patient is described as serious, three others have recovered. No fatalities have been reported. A ban has been imposed on mass events and gatherings of more than 2,000 people.

A pneumonia outbreak caused by the COVID-19 virus (previously known as 2019-nCoV) was reported in China’s Wuhan, a large trade and industrial center, in late December 2019. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the new coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, describing it as an epidemic with multiple locations. Besides China, major coronavirus outbreaks have been reported in South Korea, Iran and Italy. In all, 120 countries, including Russia, have reported confirmed coronavirus cases.

Over 3,150 people have died in China, which accounts for the majority of novel coronavirus cases, whereas more than 61,500 patients have recovered, while the total number of the infected has surpassed 80,780.

According to the World Health Organization, over 119,450 have been infected worldwide, more than 4,300 patients have died.