(Reuters) – The rapid spread of the new coronavirus has increased fears of a pandemic, sending global markets into a dive and prompting governments to step up control measures.
A woman wearing protective mask walks at a sidewalk in Jakarta, Indonesia March 2, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
– As of Monday, there have been over 89,000 cases of the virus globally, the majority in China, according to a Reuters tally. Outside of China, it has spread to 66 countries, with more than 8,800 cases and 130 deaths. Globally, the illness has killed over 3,000 people.
– Chinese city of Wuhan closed the first of 16 specially built hospitals after it discharged its last recovered patients, as Hubei province reported 196 new cases on Sunday, sharply down from 570 cases a day earlier.
– In total, mainland China had 202 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections on Sunday, the National Health Commission said on Monday.
– The death toll from the outbreak in mainland China reached 2,912 as of the end of Sunday, up by 42 from the previous day.
– Andorra, Armenia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Iceland and Indonesia confirmed their first cases.
– South Korea postponed the start of all schools by two weeks as 599 new cases were repor