France closes Louvre as coronavirus cases mount in Europe

AFP / Thomas SAMSON
The Louvre museum in Paris, the world's most visited, was closed over virus fears

France's famed Louvre museum closed Sunday as coronavirus cases mounted across Europe and beyond, with the global death toll nearing 3,000 and Italy reporting a near doubling of cases in 48 hours.

The virus has now infected more than 88,000 people and spread to more than 60 countries around the world, well beyond the epicentre in China where it first emerged late last year.

It has rattled global markets and prompted unprecedented measures from governments scrambling to contain the outbreak, which the World Health Organization has warned could become a pandemic.

The United States and Australia marked grim milestones over the weekend with their first coronavirus fatalities, while China reported 573 new infections Sunday, the highest figure in a week after a dip.

Infections nearly doubled in the last 48 hours in Italy, Europe's hardest hit country, the head of the country's civil protection body said Sunday.

Since the start of the epidemic, 1,694 people have tested postive for COVID-19, Angelo Borrelli told a press briefing. As of Friday, the figure was 888.

While the numbers in China are still far lower than the huge daily increases reported during the first two weeks of February, COVID-19 has spread rapidly across borders, with South Korea, Italy and Iran emerging as hotspots.

AFp