More than 95,000 people infected with Covid-19, the world is focusing on fighting the epidemic

As of March 4, the Covid-19 pandemic has attacked 84 countries and territories around the world, infecting 95,180 people and claiming the lives of at least 3,254 people worldwide. However, the world has also witnessed nearly 51,500 cases of recovery from the dangerous pathogen after a period of intensive treatment.

China reports no new deaths from Covid-19

The majority of the world’s cases and deaths from the novel coronavirus are in China. As of this writing, the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in mainland China has reached nearly 80,300, with 2,981 deaths. However, local authorities have said that thanks to drastic and effective measures to combat the epidemic, the number of new infections and deaths each day in mainland China is showing a sharp downward trend.

Since March 3, 28/31 provinces and cities in China have not recorded any new cases of Covid-19. In the past 24 hours as of early this morning, on March 5, the mainland had only 12 new cases of coronavirus infection and no deaths from the disease.

Local authorities are raising the alarm about the risk of "importing" cases from abroad to the mainland. CNN cited statistics from the General Administration of Customs of China as saying that as of March 3, more than 6,700 foreigners entering China had symptoms of the disease, with 779 of them classified as suspected Covid-19 cases and 75 cases found to be positive for the coronavirus.

Chinese provinces and cities have now implemented many measures to tighten management of Chinese citizens returning from other epidemic areas in the world as well as all foreigners residing or passing through serious epidemic areas such as Japan, South Korea, Iran or Italy entering the mainland.

Workers in protective gear disinfect subway trains in Tehran, Iran. Photo: AP

Italy is currently the European country most affected by the Covid-19 epidemic. The country has recorded more than 3,000 positive cases of coronavirus and 107 deaths from the epidemic. 19/20 regions of Italy have had Covid-19 infections, but most of the cases are concentrated in the north of the country.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte warned that Italy's health system was at risk of being overwhelmed by the surge in new infections. Local authorities announced that all schools would be closed for 10 days from March 4 to control the spread of the deadly virus.

South Korea uses location-based app to monitor people in home quarantine

In South Korea, the country with the second-highest number of Covid-19 cases in the world after China, local authorities have come up with a new way to ensure that people who are self-isolating at home because they are suspected of having Covid-19 strictly follow the request: using an application based on the global positioning system (GPS).

The app will track people in quarantine and sound an alarm if they leave their registered location. It is expected to be rolled out this weekend in Daegu and neighboring North Gyeongsang Province, where more than 90% of South Korea's 5,621 Covid-19 cases are concentrated. The country's death toll from the epidemic as of the morning of March 5 was 35.

To ease the burden on the medical system, the South Korean government has been triaging confirmed coronavirus cases so that severe cases are hospitalized while those with milder symptoms can be monitored at home or at government-designated facilities.

In Daegu and North Gyeongsang, there are currently more than 3,000 Covid-19 patients in self-quarantine waiting to be hospitalized because medical facilities are out of beds.

Iran activates 300,000 medical workers to fight the epidemic

In Iran, another Covid-19 hotspot in the world, the country's Health Ministry announced that it had just activated a team of 300,000 experts and medical staff to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The number of new infections and deaths from the epidemic in the Islamic country has increased sharply since the weekend.

In the past 24 hours alone, Iran has recorded 586 new cases of Covid-19 and 15 more deaths from the disease, bringing the total number of infections nationwide to 2,922 and the total number of deaths to 92. However, Iranian doctors and nurses have also helped cure 552 patients.

US adds 2 deaths from Covid-19

US health authorities said that on March 4 alone, the country had 2 more deaths due to Covid-19. As of this morning, the US has a total of 154 positive cases of the new coronavirus with 11 people having died from the disease.

However, at a press conference on the afternoon of March 4, Vice President Mike Pence affirmed that the risk of Covid-19 infection in the American community "remains relatively low". He emphasized that Americans do not need to buy masks at this time. However, he noted that the elderly are the most vulnerable to the coronavirus, especially those with serious health problems.

Covid-19 continues to spread strongly in Europe

In Europe, Poland and Slovenia recorded their first cases of Covid-19, while Spain had its first death from the dangerous pathogen.

France has recorded 285 cases of infection, including four deaths. Fifteen of Germany's 16 states have confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, but there have been no deaths among the 262 cases.

New Zealand has confirmed its second case of Covid-19, a patient who had travelled to northern Italy. The person is now in home isolation.

Australia announced a sudden increase in the number of infections in the country to 50 people, most of whom returned from Iran.

World Bank supports 12 billion USD to fight the epidemic

The World Bank (WB) announced a financial support package worth 12 billion USD to help countries fight the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the announcement of WB and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to avoid the risk of spreading the virus, the meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors of the world will be held online in April.