The Coronavirus epidemic caused more deaths and disruption on Tuesday after spreading to new countries.
As a result, top health official warned that the world was “simply not ready” to contain it.
As number of fresh cases declines at the epicentre of the disease in China, there has been sudden increase in parts of Asia, Europe and the Middle East, AFP reported.
Entire towns and cities in different parts of the world have been sealed off in an attempt to stop the contagion, while hotels in the Canary Island and Austria were placed under lockdown on Tuesday because of suspected cases.
Iran, which has reported 15 deaths from the disease out of nearly 100 infections, had the country’s deputy health minister, Iraj Harirchi, infested by the virus.
At the World Health Organisation headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Bruce Aylward, who headed up an international expertto China, told reporters that other countries were “simply not ready” to rein in the outbreak.
“You have to be ready to manage this at a larger scale and it has to be done fast,” Aylward said, insisting all countries had to “be ready as if this hits us tomorrow”.
The virus has killed more than 2,600 people and infected over 77,000 others in China.
In the rest of the world, there have been more than 40 deaths and 2,700 cases.
