Latest on the coronavirus: WHO urges world to ‘test,’ deaths pass 7,000

The World Health Organization called on all countries on March 16 to ramp up their testing programs as the best way to slow the advance of the coronavirus pandemic, and also urged companies to boost production of vital equipment to overcome acute shortages.

"We have a simple message to all countries - test, test, test," WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference in Geneva, calling the pandemic "the defining global health crisis of our time".

"All countries should be able to test all suspected cases, they cannot fight this pandemic blindfolded."

Without testing, cases cannot be isolated and the chain of infection will not be broken, he said.

The COVID-19 illness causes mild or moderate symptoms but most people, but severe symptoms are more likely in the elderly or people with existing health problems. More than 79,000 people have recovered from it so far, mostly in China.

Deaths and infections

  • There have now been more cases and more deaths outside mainland China than inside, with 180,000 cases worldwide and over 7,000 deaths.

Asia

  • Mainland China had 21 new confirmed cases on March 16, the National Health Commission said, up from 16 a day earlier. Of the new cases, 20 involved infected travelers from abroad.  Beijing Capital International Airport has cordoned off a special zone for all international flights, with all disembarking passengers required to submit to health checks.
  • South Korea reported 84 new coronavirus cases on March 17, marking a third day in a row that the county has reported fewer than 100 new infections. The country said on March 17 it plans to tighten border checks for all arrivals from overseas to prevent...
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