The World Health Organization speaks of a “very delicate situation”: the coronavirus continues to spread unchecked, meanwhile there are cases on all continents. The WHO calls on all countries to take action.
“This virus has the potential for a pandemic,” said World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. In Geneva he spoke of a “very delicate situation” and a “crucial point”: According to Tedros, the spread of the virus could develop in any direction. It depends on what you are doing now. No country should assume that there are no cases, Tedros said: “This would literally be a fatal mistake.”
To date, national health authorities worldwide have reported more than 82,500 cases of infection, including around 78,500 in the People’s Republic of China (excluding Hong Kong and Macau). The disease originated in China at the end of 2019, probably from a market in the city of Wuhan. Since this week, the number of cases outside of China has increased more sharply than in the People’s Republic itself: South Korea (around 1,750 infected) is most affected, followed by Italy (around 530) and Iran (around 250). To date, a good 2,800 of all these patients have died, and more than 33,200 have recovered.
Spread in Iran
The WHO is currently particularly concerned about the outbreak in Iran, which focuses on the city of Qom. A delegation from the World Health Organization is due to travel to the Islamic Republic on Saturday to gather information. In Iran, the number of cases almost doubled within a day, official sources speak of 245 infected and 26 dead. There, a government member has now also tested positive for the Sars-Cov-2 coronavirus: Masoumeh Ebtekar, the vice president for women’s and family affairs, was diagnosed with a mild infection with the respiratory disease.
Masoumeh Ebtekar is the first Iranian cabinet member to develop COVID-19
