Global virus cases double in a week to over 319,000
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A nurse wearing protective mask and gear comforts another as they change shifts at the Cremona hospital, in Lombardy, Italy, on March 13, 2020.
PHOTO: AFP
The number of confirmed coronavirus infections worldwide has surged to over 319,000, with the global tally doubling in a week.
The sharp rise in infections occurred even though numerous countries have gone into lockdown, in a bid to contain the highly infectious disease. Confirmed infections stood at around 150,000 on March 15, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The death toll has also reached around 13,700.
Italy - now the epicentre of the pandemic - last Saturday reported another record death toll of 793 that took its total fatalities to 4,825.
That translated into one coronavirus death every two minutes.
Italy has shut down most businesses to rein in the outbreak.
Meanwhile, in China, the authorities said passengers on all flights to Beijing would have to stop for health checks at one of 12 designated airports before being allowed into the capital, following 46 new infections - all but one of which were imported.
The World Health Organisation (WHO), however, has warned that countries cannot simply lock down their societies. "The danger right now with the lockdowns... if we don't put in place the strong public health measures now, when those movement restrictions and lockdowns are lifted, the danger is the disease will jump back up," said top WHO emergency expert Mike Ryan.
The fight against Covid-19 has been complicated by a dearth of testing kits. Recognising this, the United States Food and Drug Administration last Saturday granted emergency approval for a rapid diagnostic test, which can deliver results in about 45 minutes.
