Saudi Arabia suspends pilgrimages to Islam's holiest sites for people outside the country over novel coronavirus fears
Workers wearing protective gear spray disinfectant as a precaution against the new coronavirus at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, February 25. Jin Yeon-soo/Yonhap via AP
At least seven European countries have reported their first cases of novel coronavirus in the past two days, as the outbreak spreads across the world. Elsewhere in Europe, Italy is struggling to contain its outbreak -- the largest outside Asia. Meanwhile, authorities in the Middle East are also racing to contain the virus spread.
In Asia, the epidemic is far from over -- South Korea has reported its largest number of new infections yet on Thursday.The East Asian country reported more than 500 new cases and one death in 24 hours, bringing the national total to 1,766 cases and 13 deaths. Many of the cases are linked to a religious group in the country's south. The total new case count is more than China’s announcement today of 433 new cases.
"We suspected some of the cruise staff may have already been infected, but ... they had to operate the cruise ship itself, they had to see the passengers, they had to deliver the meals," Dr. Norio Ohmagari saidDenmark, Estonia, Norway, Georgia, Greece, Romania and North Macedonia have all announced their first virus infections since Wednesday morning. The number of countries around the world that have reported cases is now nearly 50.
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