Coronavirus outbreak: Health scare spreads as US, Australia, Thailand confirm 1st deaths

The coronavirus scare continues to grip the world, as the United States, Australia and Thailand have recorded their first deaths from the infection, which has already claimed nearly 3,000 lives globally, mostly in China, the country where the epidemic first emerged.

Health officials announced three new presumptive positive cases of the infection in Washington State on Saturday.

Among those three cases, a man in his 50s died, health officials said, adding that he had had no close contact with an infected person or a relevant travel history that would have exposed him to the virus, known as COVID-19.

The new cases have prompted Washington Governor Jay Inslee to declare a state of emergency in the state.

California also confirmed a second case on Saturday.

"Now, we have a case who did not recently travel or come in contact with anyone known to be ill," said Sara Cody, the director of public health for Santa Clara County, near San Francisco.

President Donald Trump has acknowledged that more cases are expected across the country, but he sought to quell fears over the widespread outbreak.

Vice President Mike Pence said the administration was issuing its highest-level warning of “do not travel” to areas of Italy and South Korea most affected by the virus.

He said that the administration was also barring all travel to Iran, and banning entry to any foreign citizen who has visited Iran in the last 14 days.

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Iran has reported the highest death toll from the viral epidemic outside China. Officials confirmed 43 deaths and 593 cases across the county on Saturday.

Italy, the first European state to report the disease, has had more than 1,000 cases, with the death toll rising by eight to 29 on Saturday.

France also reported a total number of 100 cases on Saturday. Two patients have so far died.

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In Asia, South Korea became the second hotspot of the outbreak, with over 3,700 positive cases and 20 deaths, as of Sunday, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

Authorities have closed all churches and called on the people to stay home this weekend.

President Moon Jae-in has called for unity and vowed greater efforts, including an extra budget, to fight the outbreak that “can threaten our lives temporarily, but it cannot break our unity and hope.”

Thailand confirms first fatality 

Thailand reported on Sunday that a 35-year-old man, infected with COVID-19, had died. The Department of Disease Control said the patient had also suffered from dengue fever. The country has reported 42 cases since January, 30 of whom have recovered and 11 are still being treated in hospitals.

Australia reports first death

Australia’s health officials reported the death of a coronavirus patient, as the first fatality, in a hospital in the western city of Perth early on Sunday.

The patient, a 78-year-old man, had been in quarantine after being evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan, according to authorities who said his wife also caught the virus, but is currently in stable condition,

China reports fresh spike in cases

China on Sunday reported another 573 new infections. All, but three of the cases, were in Hubei province, of which Wuhan is the capital.

Though the numbers in China are now far lower than the huge daily increases reported during the first two weeks of February, the virus has so far spread to more than 60 countries.

Nearly 3,000 people have been killed worldwide and about 87,000 infected.

The World Health Organization (WHO) raised its risk assessment to its highest level on Friday, warning that the spread of COVID-19 is "getting bigger.”

Coronavirus reaches Africa

In Africa, Nigeria reported its first case of the disease. The patient is an Italian citizen who works in Nigeria and flew into the commercial city of Lagos from Milan earlier this week.

The patient, according to authorities, is stable and being treated at a hospital.

This has sparked fears that the contagion could spread across the country, which is the continent’s most populous nation, and biggest economy.

South Africa has also announced that two nationals aboard a cruise ship docked in Japan have tested positive for the virus.

"We confirm that these citizens are currently being treated in Japan and are in good care," said a statement by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases.

WHO has previously warned that Africa's "fragile health systems" meant the threat posed by the virus was "considerable.”

The health organization has identified 13 African countries as priorities because of their direct links to China.

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