Virus scare: Saudi halts pilgrimages to Mecca, Iran cancels Friday prayers

Italy Toll 107, All Schools Shut

Bangkok:05.03.2020

Saudi Arabia banned citizens from performing the Muslim pilgrimage in Mecca, Italy ordered schools to close nationwide and Iran cancelled Friday prayers for a second week as nations scrambled on Wednesday to control the coronavirus outbreak.

From religion to sports, countries were taking drastic and increasingly visible measures to curb the new coronavirus that first emerged in China and was spreading quickly through Europe, the Mideast and the Americas. In the US, frustration mounted over US officials’ delays and missteps in testing people for the virus.

Deaths spiked in Iran and Italy, which along with South Korea account for 80% of the new virus cases outside China, according to the World Health Organization. In all, more than 94,000 people have contracted the virus worldwide, with more than 3,200 deaths.

“People are afraid and uncertain. Fear is a natural human response to any threat,'' said WHO leader Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “But as we get more data, we are understanding this virus and the disease it causes more and more.” WHO said about 3.4% of people infected with the Covid-19 virus globally have died, making it deadlier than the common flu.

In Daegu, the South Korean city at the center of that country’s outbreak, a shortage of hospital space meant about 2,300 patients were being cared for in other facilities while they awaited a hospital bed. South Korea reported 435 new infections on Wednesday, far smaller than its high of 851 a day earlier. A total of 5,621 people in S Korea have contracted the virus and 32 have died.

Italy’s virus deaths rose to 107, the most of any country outside of China. Its outbreak has been concentrated in the northern region of Lombardy, but fears over how the virus is spreading inside and outside the country prompted the government to order all schools to close nationwide till March15.

Iran reported 92 deaths among its 2,922 confirmed cases. The country on Wednesday cancelled Friday prayers for the second week in a row.

The UN health chief has warned sharply against hoarding medical supplies, saying they are needed to protect health care workers. Accordingly, the Czech Republic, Russia and Germany announced bans on exporting protective gear like masks. That followed a similar move by France, where major hospitals have seen their masks stolen by the boxful.

In the US, more than 120 cases have been reported. Nine people have died, all in and around Seattle, Washington.

China reported 119 new cases on Wednesday, all but five in the outbreak’s epicenter of Wuhan. Beijing’s health commissioner said two new cases in the Chinese capital were apparently infected abroad, in Iran and Italy. AP

LOUVRE BANS CASH OVER VIRUS FEARS: The Louvre Museum in Paris reopened on Wednesday after staff ended coronavirus walkout. The museum has shifted to card-only payments as part of new measures that helped persuade employees worried about getting sick to return to work. WHO has urged people to avoid using banknotes, fearing they could be vectors of disease