WHO Chief Says South Korea, Italy, Iran, Japan Greatest Concern for COVID-19

World Health Organization (WHO) president said Monday that COVID-19 spread to South Korea, Italy, Iran, and Japan has become the biggest concern.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a daily briefing that South Korea has registered more than 4,200 cases and 22 deaths so far, indicating it has more than half of all cases outside of China.

Nevertheless, the reports in South Korea seem to come mostly from suspected cases from the five identified clusters, rather than from the population, suggesting that security efforts are effective and that the outbreak may still be localized in the region, Tedros said.

"(South) The case in Korea further underlines that this is a particular epidemic with unique characteristics, not an influenza virus," Tedros states.

"But containment of COVID-19 is feasible and must remain the top priority for all countries," he reiterated. "With early, aggressive measures, countries can stop transmission and save lives."

While in Iran, the COVID-19 death toll has risen to 66 as of Monday, with a total of 1,501 people having been affected and 291 of them recovered, according to Iran's health authority.

The WHO chief announced Monday that a WHO team had arrived in Iran on Monday afternoon to deliver supplies and support the government in the response.

In Italy, the total number of COVID-19 cases by Sunday has reached 1,577, or 1,694 including those healed or died, the authority said. That was an increase from 1,128 a day earlier. The death toll was 34.

In Japan, as of Monday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has risen to more than 960, with over 700 of them stemming from the virus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship quarantined in the port city of Yokohama.

Source: Xinhua