02/28/2020

Coronavirus Spreads to More Than 50 Countries

WHO tells world to 'wake up'

Today, the World Health Organization announced it raised its risk assessment of COVID-19 to “very high” — the highest level of alert for the United Nations agency as a surge in deadly coronavirus cases outside China has raised global concern.

“This is a reality check for every government on the plant,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference. “Wake up, get ready. This virus may be on its way and you need to be ready. You have a duty to your citizens, you have a duty to the world to be ready.”

On Friday, Mexico, Belarus, Lithuania, New Zealand, Nigeria and other countries confirmed their first cases of the virus, raising the total number of countries with infections to 60. New Zealand said a citizen who recently traveled from Iran via Bali was confirmed, while Nigeria announced the first case in sub-Saharan Africa. In Mexico, one man has been confirmed with the virus, while a second man is undergoing additional testing, according to the Associated Press. Both men, who were traveling in northern Italy, are being counted by the Mexican government as officially confirmed cases.

Please select this link to read the complete article from TIME.