Rabat – Iran confirmed 595 new cases of COVID-19, known as the new coronavirus, and 43 more deaths on Monday. Iran’s new case count is 7,161, putting it just behind Italy and South Korea.
A total of 109 countries and territories have reported cases of COVID-19, as of mid-day Monday, March 9.
Although the virus originated in China, the country is now reporting far more cured patients daily than new cases.
On Sunday, March 8, Chinese health facilities discharged 1,525 patients who had tested positive for the virus, while recording only 40 new cases, according to the National Health Commission.
China currently has fewer than 19,000 active cases of the virus, with nearly 60,000 patients having recovered.
Globally, tests have confirmed 111,468 cases and 3,883 deaths. A total of 62,671 have recovered from the virus.
Where is the virus spreading now?
Spain, South Korea, and Germany all recorded over 100 new cases of the new coronavirus on Monday.
The biggest hotspots for the virus remain in China and three countries with over 7,000 cases each: South Korea, Italy, and Iran.
Read also: Morocco Investigates Leak of Flight List Including Patient with COVID-19 Symptoms
France and Germany have each recently reached their 1,000th case. Spain is also fast approaching that number, with 305 new cases of the coronavirus on Monday for a total of 979.
An additional seven countries in Europe have more than 100 cases each: Switzerland, the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, and Austria.
In Africa, COVID-19 has only reached nine countries.
Egypt has confirmed the highest number of cases on the continent, with 55 in total. Health officials detected 33 cases of the virus among passengers on a cruise ship on the Nile on Saturday, March 7, and confirmed seven new cases on Sunday.
Egypt is also the only African country that has recorded a death from the novel coronavirus.
Algeria recorded its 20th case on Sunday, but the health ministry noted that 17 of the cases belong to the same family.
Morocco has only reported two confirmed cases, and both were Moroccans who contracted the virus in Italy.
Senegal, South Africa, Nigeria, Tunisia, Cameroon, and Togo have also recorded between one and four cases.
While the virus has spread quickly around the globe since doctors first detected it in December 2019, there are now more cases of people who have recovered from the virus than active cases.
The outbreak has caused the cancellation of numerous international events. Morocco has banned events gathering 1,000 or more people through the end of the month as a preventive measure.
The epidemic also calls into question the 2020 Summer Olympics, set to begin in Tokyo in late July. Japan, which has 419 active cases, has declared a state of emergency in its northern region of Hokkaido.
