The number of new coronavirus cases being officially reported outside China has exceeded those reported by Beijing for the first time since the outbreak began.
Yesterday the World Health Organisation (WHO) said 459 new cases had been reported by 37 countries over the past 24 hours, compared with 412 by China.
About 81,000 people around the globe have now been sickened by the coronavirus. More than 2,700 people have died since the outbreak began in December. With Brazil confirming the arrival of Latin America's first case — a 61-year-old Brazilian who returned from Italy this month — the virus now has a toehold on every continent but Antarctica.
In Europe, where Germany, France and Spain are among the places with a growing caseload, an expanding cluster of 400 cases in northern Italy is being eyed as a source for transmissions.
In the Middle East, where cases have increased in Bahrain, Kuwait and Iraq, blame is being directed towards Iran.
In Asia, where the crisis originated late last year in China, threats are continuing to emerge around the region, with South Korea battling a mass outbreak centred in the 2.5 million-person city of Daegu.
[Source: ABC.net.au]
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