The epidemic of new coronavirus, whose toll exceeded 3,000 on Monday, is now spreading at a much faster rate around the world than in China where it was born, and is weighing heavily on the world economy.
Gloomy OECD forecasts for global growth, high to moderate to high risk in the European Union, significant tourism losses: these are the latest developments related to the new coronavirus around the world.
Spread around the world
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there have been nearly nine times more new cases reported in other parts of the world than in China in 24 hours.
In total, the number of cases of new coronavirus worldwide amounted to 90,160, including 3,079 deaths, in 73 countries and territories, according to a report established by the AFP from official sources Monday at 5:00 p.m. GMT.
The China (excluding the territories of Hong Kong and Macao), where the epidemic broke out in December, had 80,026 cases, including 2,912 deaths. Elsewhere in the world, 10,134 cases were recorded, including 166 deaths.
The most affected countries after China are South Korea (4,335 cases, 26 deaths), Italy (2,036 cases, 52 deaths), Iran (1,501 cases, 66 deaths) and Japan (254 cases, 12 deaths). Japan has also recorded more than 700 cases on the cruise ship Diamond Princess moored off Yokohama.
Iran, one of the hardest hit countries, on Monday rejected a US aid package, conditional on Tehran’s express request. Paris, Berlin and London, also co-signatories to the Iranian nuclear deal, have announced that they will provide the country with material and financial support.
In Germany, the number of infected people almost doubled over the weekend, now reaching 157.
Another acute source of contamination in Europe, the France reported Sunday 130 people infected with the virus since late January. A third death was revealed on Monday.
The level of risk associated with the new coronavirus for EU nationals has been rated as “moderate to high”.
Portugal, the Principality of Andorra, the Czech Republic, Indonesia and Senegal have announced their first cases.
Thailand, which has registered 43 cases of infection, reported Monday its first death, a 35-year-old Thai man who also suffered from dengue fever.
Slower growth according to the OECD
The coronavirus will brake the world economy very strongly in 2020, warned the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), which has reduced its forecast for global growth from 2.9% to 2.4%, without excluding a darker scenario if the epidemic worsens.
China will see growth cut by 0.8 percentage points to 4.9%, dragging all major economies in its wake, according to the OECD.
European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Frenchman Thierry Breton, spoke of the risk of recession in Germany and Italy earlier this year. The European tourism industry has lost about a billion euros a month since January.
In Macau, casinos recorded a plunge of almost 88% in gaming revenue in February.
Mobilization and prevention
In South Korea, to which more than 70 countries have imposed travel restrictions, dozens of events have been canceled.
The Vinexpo fair Hong Kong was postponed from May to July.
To the United States, where two deaths and twenty cases have been recorded, President Donald Trump asked the media to “not encourage panic”.
In France, gatherings of more than 5,000 people in confined spaces and certain outdoor events are prohibited. In Paris, the staff of the Louvre museum decided Monday to continue the closure of the museum. The Book Fair scheduled for March has been canceled.
All school trips abroad have been suspended and schools in several municipalities in the Oise (north), Haute-Savoie (east) and Morbihan (west) are closed until further notice.
In Israel, where legislative elections are held, special polling stations have been set up for the 5,600 Israelis in quarantine.
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