German health minister says coronavirus “a global pandemic,” and worst to come
The coronavirus outbreak has turned into “a global pandemic,” German Health Minister Jens Spahn said Wednesday, warning that worse was still to come.
“The coronavirus outbreak in China has become a global pandemic,” Sphan told German lawmakers.
“The situation is changing very quickly,” he said. “What’s clear is that we have not yet reached the peak of the outbreak.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) has so far stopped short of declaring a pandemic – defined as an epidemic that spreads throughout the world through local transmission.
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Iran rejects U.S. virus aid offer amid “vicious” sanctions
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday dismissed a U.S. offer to help the Islamic republic fight its coronavirus outbreak, charging that “vicious” American sanctions are depriving the country of medicine.
Iran has scrambled to halt the rapid spread of the virus that has claimed
lives out of 2, 2020 confirmed infections in the past two weeks.
It has shut schools and universities, suspended major cultural and sporting events, and cut back on work hours.
“Those who have deprived the people of even medicine and food through agreements, who have done the most vicious things … they appear with a mask of sympathy and say that we want to help the nation of Iran, “Rouhani said, in a clear reference to the United States.
President Donald Trump said Saturday he was ready to aid Iran with the virus outbreak if the Islamic republic asked for assistance.
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Iran cancels Friday prayers again as virus outbreak snowballs
Friday prayers in Iran have been canceled across all provincial capitals amid the country’s growing coronavirus outbreak, state television said.
Friday is the main congregational day of prayer in Islam, and traditionally an important event for Iran’s clerical rulers.
The report Wednesday comes as Tehran and other areas canceled Friday prayers last week over the outbreak.
An Iranian woman wearing a mask walks past a mural displaying her national flag in Tehran on March 4, . ATTA KENARE / AFP / Getty
Iran earlier announced that the new coronavirus has killed people amid 2, confirmed cases across the Islamic Republic, the highest death toll in the world outside of China.
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Associated Press
Russia bans commercial export of face masks, other medical gear
Russia’s government has restricted the export of face masks and other medical protective gear until June amid hoarding prompted by the new coronavirus. The World Health Organization on Tuesday said hoarding and misuse of such items had left front-line health workers around the world short of the key equipment.
The ban did not include products “to provide international humanitarian assistance to foreign states based on decisions by the Russian government,” TASS said, citing an official government declaration.
– Svetlana Berdnikova and Tucker Reals
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CDC working to publishinate more virus test kits
There’s a growing concern that thousands of Americans may have been exposed to the coronavirus but have not been tested due to a shortage of test kits.
The CDC is racing to produce and distribute more test kits, but as CBS News’ Dr. Jon LaPook reports, the delay may already have impacted the U.S. health system’s ability to detect community spread of the virus.
CDC officials said Wednesday they hoped to have
, more test kits available to local authorities by the end of the week, and they were working with a private company that has said it can make 1 million more available soon.
Weeks after the first cases were detected in the US, only about people had been tested in the country earlier this week. One health company manager in New York told LaPook that, in her view, the “CDC was under-testing. They did not have the kits available and they had pretty strict criteria for who they were going to send testing on.” A researcher works in a lab that is developing testing for the COVID – coronavirus at Hackensack Meridian Health Center for Discovery and Innovation on February , in Nutley, New Jersey . Kena Betancur / Getty
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South Korea reports more than new coronavirus cases
South Korea reported new cases of coronavirus on Wednesday, bringing the country total number of cases to at least 5, 500, Reuters reports. At least people have died of the disease in the country, which is currently facing the worst outbreak outside of China.
U.S. to screen all travelers from Italy and South Korea
Vice President Mike Pence announced Tuesday that the U.S. was to begin screening all travelers coming on direct flights from South Korea and Italy. Those two countries have the most confirmed coronavirus cases outside of China, according to the World Health Organization.
New Hampshire announces second presumptive coronavirus case
The New Hampshire Department of Health announced the state’s second presumptive coronavirus case Tuesday. In a press release, officials said the patient is an adult male from Grafton county who came in “close contact” with the state’s first patient.
The Department said it’s still waiting for confirmation from the CDC on both tests.
It also offered more information about the first presumptive case. The department said that although that patient was instructed to self-isolate, they attended a private event on Friday, February .
The Department added that Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center said the first presumptive case is one of their employees.
California announces three new coronavirus cases
Officials in California announced three new coronavirus cases on Tuesday. Two of the cases came from Santa Clara, according to the county’s public health department, bringing the county’s total number of cases to The third case was announced in Berkeley, according to a press release from the city. The release said the patient returned to the city from “one of the growing number of countries with a COVID – outbreak “on February , and that the resident had “largely” stayed at home under a self-imposed quarantine. This is Berkeley’s first known coronavirus case.
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