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EXPERTS say the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus has passed the 100,000 mark with 3,398 people dead.
John Hopkins University, which is tracking the global spread of the disease, updated its figures yesterday.
The bulk of the cases are in China – 80,556 – but while the spread there appears to have slowed down, it is increasing in other parts of the world.
The Vatican, Togo and Cameroun reported one confirmed case each while Egypt returned 12 new cases.
The number of people in the UK confirmed to have the disease was 115 yesterday.
The head of the UN’s food agency, the World Food Programme, warned of the potential of ‘absolute devastation’ as the outbreak’s effects ripple through Africa and the Middle East. Across the West, there was a sense of deja vu as the virus’ spread prompted scenes that already played out in Asia, with workers leaving offices, vigorous sanitizing in public places and runs on household basics.
The global scare is currently threatening livelihoods and prompting quarantines in its spread.
Halted travel and a broader economic downturn linked to the outbreak threatened to hit already-struggling communities for months to come.
China reported 143 new cases yesterday, the same as Thursday and about one-third what the country saw a week ago.
Just a month ago, China was reporting several thousand new cases a day, outnumbering infections elsewhere in the world about 120 to one.
The second hardest-hit country, South Korea, was also registering a notable decline in new infections, and the World Health Organisation’s leader said he was seeing ‘encouraging signs’ there. South Korea reported 505 additional cases yesterday, down from a high of 851 on Tuesday.
Egypt records 12 new cases
Egypt detected 12 new cases yesterday of the novel coronavirus among workers aboard a Nile cruise boat heading from Aswan to Luxor, a healthy ministry statement said.
“Twelve new cases tested positive for the coronavirus among Egyptian staff on the cruise boat without showing any symptoms,” the joint statement with the World Health Organization said.
Authorities were alerted after it was found that a Taiwanese tourist who travelled on the ship had caused the virus to spread, they said.
Togo, Cameroun confirm first coronavirus cases
Togo and Cameroun on Friday confirmed their first cases of the novel coronavirus.
The authorities in Lome said a 42-year-old woman tested positive following her return from a trip to Benin, Germany, France, and Turkey.
The patient, who lives in the capital Lome with her family, is currently isolated in a treatment centre for infectious diseases after testing positive on Thursday, the Presidency said in a statement.
“From February 22 to March 2, 2020, she visited Benin, Germany, France and Turkey before returning to Togo via the land border with Benin,” it said, adding that all people who had contact with the patient in the country “have been identified and put in quarantine.”
The health ministry in Cameroun identified the first case of coronavirus in the country as a 58-year-old French citizen who arrived in the capital Yaounde on February 24.
It said the man has been quarantined in the city’s Central Hospital while “all measures have been taken by the government to contain potential risks of the virus spreading.”
In other parts of sub-Saharan Africa, Senegal has already registered four cases, all foreign nationals, while South Africa and Nigeria have one case each since the outbreak emerged in December in China.
The Director-General of the West African Health Organisation (WAHO), Professor Stanley Okolo, said yesterday that all the 15 member countries have acquired the capacity to test for the Coronavirus (COVID-19).
“All the 15 countries in the West Africa region, now have the capability to test for coronavirus. They have just completed training of the laboratory experts and we have testing kits in all the countries,” Okolo said in Abuja.
Nigeria, according to him, is better prepared for the coronavirus than it was for Ebola.
He was confident that that the disease threat would be adequately tackled.
First coronavirus case confirmed at Vatican
The Vatican said a patient in its health services tested positive for the viral illness.
Spokesman Matteo Bruni said that the person tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, and that non-emergency medical services at the walled city-state have now been closed for sanitizing.
Bruni did not disclose any further information regarding the identity or occupation of the infected person, whether they may be an employee, or among the “relatively few” clergy or guards who live at the home of the pope.
Pope Francis has been recovering from a cold in recent days and tested negative for the coronavirus after falling ill last week.
The leader of the Catholic Church does not have another pathology, the Vatican said.
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