COVID-19 outbreak hotspots: Iran, Italy and South Korea

By NewsDesk @infectiousdiseasenews

Iran

The Head of the Public Relations and Information Center of the Ministry of Health, Kianoosh Jahanpour said Friday the number of coronavirus disease infections (COVID-19) have increased by 143, bringing the total to 388.

Jahanpour said the breakdown of new cases are as follows: Tehran (64 cases), Gilan province 25 cases, Qom province 16 cases, Esfahan province 10 cases, Mazandaran six new cases, Ardebil one case, Alborz 3 cases, Semnan 3 cases and 2 cases including Qazvin 2, East Azerbaijan 2 cases.

In addition, eight additional fatalities were reported, bringing the total to 34 (8.7% CFR).

The outbreak has prompted the cancellation of Friday prayers in Tehran and 22 other cities. Restrictions has also been called for access to the Hazrat Masumeh shrine in Qom and the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad.

Iran has also been the source of dozens of cases in neighboring countries, including Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman and Pakistan.

Italy

The Italy Ministry of Health is reporting 650 infected individuals with the new Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus, including 17 deaths. The bulk of the cases have been reported in Lombardy (403), Veneto (111) and Emilia Romagna (97).

Tourism is taking a beating in Italy due to the outbreak and it is reported stadiums, museums and other popular destinations are deserted. This prompted Italy’s government to urge foreign media to reassure people around the world that it’s safe to visit Italy.

Warning against the dangers of spreading fake news about the public health crisis, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio told a gathering of foreign press that the economic damage from an “epidemic” of bad information will do more harm than the virus.

Poggioli adds, “Italian officials also stress that Italy has done much more extensive screening for the virus than any other European country – which may explain why its caseload numbers are so high.”

Outbreak News Merchandise

South Korea

South Korea’s total has increased by nearly 600 cases in the past 24 hours. With the additional 571 cases, the country’s total now stands at 2,337, the largest outbreak outside China. The death toll remains at 13.

More than half of South Korea’s cases are linked to a branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in the southeastern city of Daegu and a hospital in Cheongdo county.

Reuters reports the government circulated a list of about 310,000 Shincheonji members to local governments instructing that they all be checked for the virus, vice health minister Kim Gang-lip told a briefing.

As of Thursday, health authorities had contacted 110,000 of them, 1,638 of whom have shown symptoms and would be tested for the coronavirus, Kim said.

Country to keep an eye on

Spain: The case count has risen to 32 with most in Italians or people who travelled from northern Italy. However, three people currently diagnosed with the virus have not travelled abroad in recent weeks or knowingly had contact with someone who had been in an outbreak zone.