Update
On 04 March, the Italian government announced that all schools and universities nationwide would be closed for two weeks in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19.
On 04 March, the Italian government announced that all schools and universities nationwide would be closed for two weeks in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Over the weekend, total cases surged in South Korea (4,335), Italy (2,036), and Iran (1,501) as authorities scrambled to contain the outbreak.
In the last 48 hours, new cases have been reported in Mexico, Estonia, Romania, New Zealand, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Denmark, Netherlands, San Marino, Norway, North Ireland, and Georgia.
In the last 48 hours, new cases have been reported in Spain, Brazil, Algeria, Switzerland, Croatia, Lebanon, Pakistan, Greece, and North Macedonia.
Over the weekend, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Level 2 alert for both Japan and South Korea amid a surge in cases of the novel coronavirus.
South Korea witnessed a spike in confirmed cases over the last 48 hours, from 50 to over 200. The latest outbreak is tied to a secretive church whose members account for a majority of the new infections in the country.
As the total worldwide case count broke 75,000 on 19 February, Russia announced it was temporarily banning entry of all Chinese citizens into the country due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
On 16 February, the cruise ship Westerdam, which had been shunned at ports across Asia amid fears of coronavirus infections, was welcomed in Cambodia amid assurances that the ship was disease free. More than a thousand passengers were allowed to disembark and fly home. An American tested positive for COVID-19 after triggering thermal scanners at Kuala Lumpur airport in Malaysia. Tracing possible secondary infections will test health authorities in all destination countries.
On 13 Feb, Chinese health authorities announced a jump in COVID-19 cases from nearly 45,000 to almost 60,000 total cases in mainland China. This spike is primarily the result of a change in diagnosis classification. Previously, only laboratory-tested positive cases were counted. Now, clinically diagnosed cases are being counted among the total, accounting for the large jump. While this number is likely more accurate, the spike in cases is not indicative of rapid new spread of the virus. Shortages of lab testing materials contributed to the decision to move to this new diagnosis classification.
Total cases in mainland China continue to rise, but at a steadily declining rate. There are now 44,685 confirmed cases in mainland China, but the number of new cases reported each day has steadily declined over the last week. This is a positive development and indicates that quarantine measures are working. The next two-three weeks will be critical to assessing if the situation is truly trending positive.
