South Korea reported more than 500 new coronavirus cases Wednesday, as health officials said more than 2,000 people in the city hardest hit by the outbreak were waiting for open spaces in hospitals.
South Korea has seen the most cases outside of China, and is planning to spend about $10 billion on medical resources and measures to counteract the economic impact of the outbreak.
China reported a continued slowdown of new cases of the coronavirus Wednesday with 119 new people infected, far reduced from when it reported several thousand at a time.
The focus of containing the outbreak has shifted to places such as Italy and Iran, which have not only seen their own cases steadily increase but have also had their citizens and others who travelled from those areas test positive while in other countries.
Italy reported a sharp increase in deaths on Tuesday, up to 79, the most outside of China. India, which has linked cases to Italian tourists, said Wednesday the number of cases there jumped from five to 28.
In the US, tensions over how to contain the fast-spreading coronavirus escalated Tuesday as the death toll climbed to nine and lawmakers expressed doubts about the government’s ability to ramp up testing fast enough to deal with the crisis.
All of the deaths have occurred in Washington state, and most were residents of a nursing home in suburban Seattle. The number of cases in the US overall climbed past 100 scattered across at least 14 states, with 27 in Washington.
“What is happening now in the United States may be the beginning of what is happening abroad,” said Dr Nancy Messonnier of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, noting that in China older and sicker people are about twice as likely to become seriously ill as those who are younger and healthier.
In the nation’s capital, officials moved on a number of fronts. The Federal Reserve announced the biggest interest-rate cut in over a decade to try to fend off damage to the US economy from the factory shutdowns, travel restrictions and other disruptions caused around the globe by the outbreak. On Wall Street, stocks briefly rallied on the news, then slumped badly.
“We have seen a broader spread of the virus. So, we saw a risk to the economy and we chose to act,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said.
Also, the Food and Drug and Administration moved to ease a shortage of face masks by giving health care workers the OK to use an industrial type of respirator mask designed to protect construction workers from dust and debris.
Wednesday also brought news of the first death in Iraq, where so far all of its cases are connected to Iran. Worldwide, the coronavirus has infected more than 93,000 people and killed more than 3,100, with the vast majority in both categories in China.
The expansion of the outbreak has reached several new countries, including Jordan, Morocco, Senegal, Portugal and Saudi Arabia. World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged people around the world Tuesday to stop hoarding masks and other protective gear, saying health care workers need them.
Experts say surgical masks are no guaranteed protection against the virus, but say they are essential equipment for doctors and nurses. Tedros said he is concerned about the "severe and increasing disruption to the global supply of personal protective equipment caused by rising demand."
Worldwide, more than 92,000 people have been sickened and 3,100 have died, the vast majority of them in China.