Reuters :
More than 198,300 people have been infected by the coronavirus across the world and 8,419 have died, with cases and deaths outside China overtaking those in the country where the outbreak began, according to a Reuters tally.
Infections outside China have been reported by 164 countries.
Outside China, two-thirds of all cases and three-quarters of all deaths are in Europe. The number of cases in Europe, over 77,000, is now approaching China’s total of 81,054 cases. Europe has recorded more than 3,800 deaths, around 600 more than China.
In Italy, there was a dramatic rise in the number of deaths, with a further 783 recorded in the past 24 hours. That brings the official mortality rate there close to 10%. In the absence of a compelling explanation, some experts put it down to the denominator – that is, it looks high as a ratio because the number of overall infections is being under-estimated.
The death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in Italy has risen in the last 24 hours by 345 to 2,503, an increase of 16%, the Civil Protection Agency said on Tuesday.
The total number of cases in Italy, the European country hardest hit by the virus, rose to 31,506 from a previous 27,980, up 12.6%, the slowest rate of increase since the contagion came to light on Feb. 21.
Of those originally infected, 2,941 had fully recovered compared to 2,749 the day before. Some 2,060 people were in intensive care against a previous 1,851.
Iran’s death toll from the coronavirus climbed to 1,135 with 147 new deaths in the past 24 hours, a health ministry official told state TV on Wednesday, adding that the total number of infected people across the country had reached 17,361.
“Unfortunately there were 1,192 cases of infected people in the past 24 hours … please follow the guidelines and stay at home,” Iran’s Deputy Health Minister Alireza Raisi told TV.
Spain’s tally of coronavirus cases rose to 13,716 on Wednesday and the number of fatalities rose to 558, said Fernando Simon, the head of the country’s health emergency center.
He said the number of cases rose from a previous tally of 11,178 cases and 491 fatalities on Tuesday.
A 64-year-old man died in Mumbai on Tuesday, taking the number of coronavirus-linked deaths in the country to three. As the total number of infected people reached 142, including the first positive case in West Bengal, the government has stopped incoming travel from a number of nations, including the European Union, Malaysia, Philippines and Afghanistan. As the questions over the lack of mass testing grows louder, the Indian Council of Medical Research said they are working on the inclusion of private laboratories in the testing process and considering the possibility of testing people who have no travel history.
A man who arrived from England on Sunday has tested positive for coronavirus in Kolkata and has been admitted to the Infectious Diseases Hospital, making him Bengal’s first case.
Among the patients who are currently positive, are 22 foreigners in Haryana. Maharashtra is still the state which has the highest number of patients – the figure is still 39.
The man who died in Mumbai on Tuesday came back from Dubai on March 5. He did not disclose his travel history and went to a private hospital, where he was tested for respiratory problems, the authorities said, adding that the cause of his death is still being ascertained. The man’s wife has also been found COVID-19 positive but is stable.
Two more people, residents of Noida near Delhi, tested positive for the disease. In Ladakh, three more people have tested positive for COVID-19, taking the total number of cases to six, Ladakh Commissioner Secretary Rigzin Sampheal was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Dr Balram Bhargava, Director General of ICMR told NDTV that they are working on the inclusion of private laboratories in the testing process and considering the possibility of testing cases of people who do not have a travel history.
Currently, possible patients who do not have a travel history but are showing symptoms of the disease are not being tested, in view of the limited facilities. But such testing is essential to figure out the level of the contagion and the next step to control it. Aggressive mass testing is how South Korea had controlled the spread of the disease.
“We are not averse to private labs. Discussions are on regarding the safeguards. Once it is done, we will get into action,” ICMR Director, Dr Raman R Gangakhedkar, has told reporters.
