WHO says coronavirus at 'decisive point' as world battles spread

AFP/File / ATTA KENARE
The coronavirus epidemic in Iran has cost 26 lives

The World Health Organization declared Thursday that the new coronavirus epidemic was at a "decisive point" as countries across the globe battled to contain the deadly outbreak.

Saudi Arabia banned pilgrims from visiting Islam's holiest sites as the number of deaths jumped in neighbouring Iran, while Japan and Iraq ordered the closure of schools.

Alarm is growing as China is no longer the only breeding ground for COVID-19, with other countries including South Korea and Italy becoming hotbeds of infection, raising fears of a pandemic.
AFP/File / John SAEKI
The global spread of the coronavirus


"We're at a decisive point," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference in Geneva. "If you act aggressively now, you can contain this virus, you can prevent people getting sick, you can save lives."

The virus has already killed more than 2,760 people, mostly in China -- where it first emerged in December -- and infected more than 81,000 in over 45 countries.

But there are now more daily cases being recorded outside China, raising fears that poor countries with weak health infrastructures will not be able to cope.

"It's what's happening in the rest of the world that's now our greatest concern," Tedros said.

- Bracing for economic hit -

World financial markets have plunged on fears that widespread lockdowns could hamper business activity and dent global growth, while sports matches and festivals have been cancelled to try to stem infections.

The International Monetary Fund and World Bank are ready to provide countries in need with immediate emergency funding to fight the coronavirus outbreak.

The EU said it was bracing for an economic hit, with tourism already feeling the pinch and supply chains reliant on China being affected.

AFP