Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Thursday, March 28th, 2024

Europe Is Coronavirus Pandemic Epicenter as Cases Surge: WHO

Europe Is Coronavirus Pandemic  Epicenter as Cases Surge: WHO

In a “tragic milestone,” Europe has surpassed China to become the epicenter of the novel coronavirus pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than 5,000 people around the world.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), said Friday night they have seen more than 132,000 cases of COVID-19 in 123 countries since it first emerged in late December in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
Overnight Friday, the number of cases surged past 145,000 with the most confirmed cases coming from China, Italy, and Iran.
“Europe has now become the epicenter of the pandemic with more reported cases and deaths than the rest of (the) world combined apart from China,” Tedros said via a virtual news conference in Geneva.
“More cases are now being reported every day than were reported in China at the height of its epidemic.”
Italy, the epicenter of the outbreak in Europe, recorded its highest daily toll yet.
Over the past 24 hours, it has recorded more than 250 deaths, taking the total to well past 1,000 with more than 17,600 infections overall. In the three weeks since the country identified its first virus cluster, Italy initiated an unprecedented lockdown, ordering businesses to close and restricting people’s movement.
Among the parks whose gates were locked Saturday was Rome’s sprawling Villa Pamphilj, a hilly expansive of umbrella pines and palm trees on the former grounds of a noble family.
Meanwhile, Spain, the worst-affected European nation after Italy, has seen more than 132 deaths. Health officials said Saturday coronavirus infections have reached 5,753 people, of which almost 3,000 are in the capital, Madrid.
That represents a national increase of more than 1,500 in 24 hours.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is set to declare a state of alert on Saturday for two weeks, while some 60,000 people in four towns were placed on mandatory lockdown Friday that echoed Italy’s.
Residents in Madrid and northeast Catalonia woke up Saturday to shuttered bars and restaurants while other nonessential commercial outlets were closed by regional authorities. (Fox News)