Coronavirus: Two dead in Italy while cases in South Korea more than double
The number of coronavirus cases outside of China continues to grow as the virus claimed its first two lives in Italy on Saturday.
In South Korea the number of confirmed cases has more than doubled in one day bringing the total to 433.
World Health Organisation chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said the spread outside of China without a clear link is “very concerning”.
A female resident in Milan’s Lombardy region, Italy’s financial and industrial hub, is reported to have died due to the virus on Saturday, according to ANSA news agency.
Her death comes just hours after a 78-year-old man also died overnight in the nearby Veneto region.
So far 27 of the 30 cases in Italy have occurred in Lombardy. Prior to Friday there had been just three confirmed cases of the disease.
Public gatherings such as Sunday mass and sporting events have been cancelled in the areas affected, with schools and offices also shut.
Meanwhile, South Korea has confirmed there were 229 new cases on Friday.
Vice-health minister Kim Gang-lip said the outbreak had entered “a serious new phase”.
A large number of the cases are linked to a hospital in Cheongdo, near the south-eastern city of Daegu, and a religious group in the same area.
Two patients have already died, Seoul confirmed.
South Korea has more cases than any other country outside of China. There were more than 600 cases on a cruise ship quarantined off the coast of Japan, however.
The Britons on that ship are being evacuated today.
Outside China, more than 1,200 cases of the virus have been confirmed in 26 countries and there have been at least 10 deaths, the WHO says.
Iran, where the spread is said to be “very concerning” by WHO head Tedros, reported its fifth death as the number of cases rose to 28.
China saw the number of new cases fall on Friday. The total is 76,288 and the death toll currently stands at 2,345.