Five new countries/territories/areas have reported cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The UN body lists them to include Bosnia and Herzegovina, Gibraltar, Hungary, Slovenia, and occupied Palestinian territory.
The WHO disclosed on Thursday, March 5, 2020 that, in anticipation for an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, the SouthEast Asia Region is preparing to roll out rapid response activities by engaging with communities, procuring personal protective equipment (PPE), and ensuring laboratories have the capacity to test for COVID-19 or ship samples to global referral laboratories.
WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, emphasised the importance of implementing a comprehensive approach to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. Educating the population, expanding surveillance, caring for patients, and strengthening preparedness systems are key to interrupting transmission, he stated.
WHO’s initiative called the WHO Network for Information in Epidemics (EPIWIN) leverages all communications platforms to amplify evidence-based information. EPI-WIN has identified trusted sources and engaged with these “trust chains”.
According to the WHO, 95,333 cases have so far been confirmed globally, while 2,241 are new cases.
In China, where the disease originated, 80,565 cases are confirmed, with 143 being new cases, while 3,015 persons have died. However, 31 of the deaths are new.
Outside of China, 14,768 cases are confirmed (2098 new) in 85 countries/territories/ areas (5 new), with 267 deaths recorded there (53 new).
