Over 100,000 infected as coronavirus hits 98 countries

TEHRAN/MAKKAH/BEIJING: The World Health Organisation called the spread of the virus "deeply concerning" as a wave of countries reported their first cases of the disease -- which has now killed more than 3,500 people and infected more than 100,000 across 98 nations and territories.

An Iranian lawmaker died from the novel coronavirus on Saturday, state news agency IRNA reported, one of several officials to succumb to the illness in the epidemic-hit country.

Fatemeh Rahbar, 55, was a conservative MP and had recently been elected to the parliament from the capital Tehran, the agency said.

She is the second lawmaker killed by the virus in Iran and one of seven politicians and government officials who have died in the outbreak since the country reported its first cases in mid-February.

Iran has been scrambling to contain the rapid spread of the virus, which so far has infected 4,747 people and killed at least 124.

Rahbar was among the top candidates in Tehran for the conservatives, who overwhelmingly won February´s general election marked by the lowest turnout in the Islamic republic´s history.

Iran has closed schools and universities, suspended major cultural and sporting events and reduced working hours across the country to slow the contagion, which has spread to all of its 31 provinces.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia reopened Saturday the area around the sacred Kaaba in Makkah´s Grand Mosque, Islam´s holiest site, reversing one of a series of measures introduced to combat the coronavirus outbreak.

Saudi authorities this week suspended the year-round Umrah pilgrimage, during which worshippers circle the Kaaba seven times, and also announced the temporary closure of the area around the cube structure.

But King Salman has “allowed for the opening of the Mataf (where people circle the Kaaba) for non-Umrah performers” starting on Saturday at dawn, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

Hundreds of Muslims were seen rotating around the Kaaba, but the area between two hills that pilgrims must go between seven times to complete Umrah remained closed. Barricades blocked access to the Kaaba, draped in a gold-embroidered black cloth, while men in green uniforms cleaned the white-tiled floor. Authorities had emptied the Grand Mosque for sterilisation on Thursday.

On Saturday, SPA said entry into Saudi Arabia from the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain would be “temporarily” restricted to three airports in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam. Only commercial trucks will be allowed to cross by land, it added. The newly established ministry of sports said it would “suspend public attendance” at all sports events starting Saturday, reflecting calls across the Gulf to cancel mass gatherings.

Some 2.5 million faithful travelled to Saudi Arabia from across the world in 2019 to take part in the Haj, which all Muslims must perform at least once in their lives if able. With the number of coronavirus cases in the Gulf region now more than 200, neighbouring Kuwait also announced additional precautionary measures.

It said it would suspend all flights to and from Bangladesh, the Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt for a week.

Meanwhile, the number of cases from the new coronavirus topped 100,000 worldwide as official data Saturday showed a significant hit to Chinese exports after the deadly outbreak brought much of the country to a halt.

The US was battling to contain an outbreak on a cruise ship where 21 people have tested positive for the virus. The Grand Princess has been stranded off San Francisco since Wednesday — when it was supposed to dock — after it emerged that two people who had been on the ship during its previous voyage had contracted the virus. One later died. US Vice President Mike Pence said the ship will be brought to a non-commercial dock this weekend and all 3,533 passengers and crew will be tested.

In China, where the outbreak began in December, the virus has wreaked havoc on the world´s second-largest economy, shutting down businesses and disrupting global supply chains. The negative impact was shown in official data Saturday, with China´s exports plunging 17.2 percent in the first two months of the year.

Colombia, Costa Rica and Malta have announced their first cases. Florida confirmed Friday two deaths from the virus — the first US fatalities outside the west coast states of Washington and California — taking the country´s death toll to 16. The number of infections in South Korea breached 7,000 on Saturday — the highest in the world outside China.

The number of cases recorded in France rose to 716 with 11 deaths.

Italy, meanwhile, began recruiting retired doctors on Saturday as part of urgent efforts to bolster the healthcare system with 20,000 additional staff.

The Chinese government has hinted it may soon lift the quarantine imposed on Hubei province — the locked-down epicentre where some 56 million people have been effectively housebound since late January. The epidemic has wreaked havoc on international business, tourism, and sports events, with almost 300 million students sent home worldwide as schools and universities close.

In India, the world´s biggest film industry called off its equivalent of the Oscars that had been set for the end of the month. And Hong Kong health officials advised residents to consider delaying all non-essential travel outside the financial hub. In the Vatican, which reported its first case on Friday, it was announced that Pope Francis will deliver his Sunday prayer by livestream due to the virus. The holy city of Bethlehem was in lockdown after the first Palestinian cases of the deadly coronavirus were discovered there Friday, leaving tourists scrambling to find a way out.

With the elderly among the most at-risk groups, French President Emmanuel Macron urged people to limit visits to the old and infirm as much as possible to avoid further spread.