WHO: Coronavirus May Affect All Countries
2020-02-29
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1The World Health Organization (WHO) says the new coronavirus could spread worldwide.
2"The outbreak is getting bigger," WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told reporters on Friday in Switzerland.
3Coronavirus cases have been confirmed in almost 60 countries.
4At least seven countries reported their first cases in the past 24 hours.
5Those countries are Azerbaijan, Belarus, Lithuania, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Nigeria.
6The new coronavirus has infected more than 83,000 people around the world.
7Mainland China, where the virus was discovered, has the largest number of infections.
8On Friday, China reported 327 new cases, its lowest number since January 23.
9The country now has more than 78,800 cases and almost 2,800 deaths from the disease, called COVID-19.
10About three-fourths of all new infections are being reported in countries other than China.
11Most of the new cases are in South Korea, Japan, Italy and Iran.
12Mike Ryan is head of the WHO's emergency program.
13 He said Iran's outbreak may be worse than what is known.
14Iran has reported the most deaths outside of China - 34 from 388 reported cases.
15The continuing health crisis also became an economic crisis.
16The Reuters news agency reports that the world's financial markets lost $5 trillion this week.
17It is the worst week for stock shares since the 2008 financial crisis.
18On Friday, Switzerland joined other countries in banning major public events to try to limit the spread of the virus.
19Swiss officials cancelled the 2020 Geneva Motor Show, one of the automobile industry's most important gatherings.
20On Thursday, Saudi Arabia announced a temporary ban on foreigners from entering the country to visit Islam's holiest places.
21Saudi officials said the move is meant to slow the spread of the virus.
22The decision has affected thousands of Muslims already traveling to the country.
23It also could have an effect on millions more with plans during the holy month of Ramadan and the hajj.
24In Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called on schools to close until the end of March.
25The city of Tokyo is preparing to hold the 2020 Summer Olympics in July, but discussions were being held about whether to postpone the games.
26Japanese officials declared a state of emergency in the northern island of Hokkaido on Friday because of the spread of the virus there.
27Tokyo Disneyland and Universal Studios Japan closed their doors to visitors and cancelled events.
28South Korea reported 571 new cases of the virus on Friday.
29The country now has 2,337 cases of the virus, more than any other country outside of China.
30Speaking from his eatery at the Gwangjang Market in Seoul, Kim Yun-ok told one reporter, "there's almost no one coming here."
31In Italy, where the number of new cases is growing and the number of visitors shrinking, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte feared his country will face a recession.
32Simone Venturini is an official in the Italian city of Venice, where tourism has already been hurt by last year's flooding.
33With more cases of the virus reported in Italy, Venturini said, "the damage that worries us even more is the damage to the economy."
34Kanya Yontararak owns a women's clothing store in Bangkok, Thailand.
35Sales at her store have dropped sharply.
36She is not making not enough to pay her rent.
37After years of dealing with flooding and the country's political crises, Yontararak said, "Coronavirus is the worst situation [she has] ever seen."
38I'm Ashley Thompson.
1The World Health Organization (WHO) says the new coronavirus could spread worldwide. 2"The outbreak is getting bigger," WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told reporters on Friday in Switzerland. 3Coronavirus cases have been confirmed in almost 60 countries. At least seven countries reported their first cases in the past 24 hours. Those countries are Azerbaijan, Belarus, Lithuania, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Nigeria. 4The new coronavirus has infected more than 83,000 people around the world. Mainland China, where the virus was discovered, has the largest number of infections. On Friday, China reported 327 new cases, its lowest number since January 23. The country now has more than 78,800 cases and almost 2,800 deaths from the disease, called COVID-19. 5About three-fourths of all new infections are being reported in countries other than China. Most of the new cases are in South Korea, Japan, Italy and Iran. 6Mike Ryan is head of the WHO's emergency program. He said Iran's outbreak may be worse than what is known. Iran has reported the most deaths outside of China - 34 from 388 reported cases. 7More than a health crisis 8The continuing health crisis also became an economic crisis. The Reuters news agency reports that the world's financial markets lost $5 trillion this week. It is the worst week for stock shares since the 2008 financial crisis. 9On Friday, Switzerland joined other countries in banning major public events to try to limit the spread of the virus. Swiss officials cancelled the 2020 Geneva Motor Show, one of the automobile industry's most important gatherings. 10On Thursday, Saudi Arabia announced a temporary ban on foreigners from entering the country to visit Islam's holiest places. Saudi officials said the move is meant to slow the spread of the virus. The decision has affected thousands of Muslims already traveling to the country. It also could have an effect on millions more with plans during the holy month of Ramadan and the hajj. 11In Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called on schools to close until the end of March. The city of Tokyo is preparing to hold the 2020 Summer Olympics in July, but discussions were being held about whether to postpone the games. Japanese officials declared a state of emergency in the northern island of Hokkaido on Friday because of the spread of the virus there. Tokyo Disneyland and Universal Studios Japan closed their doors to visitors and cancelled events. 12South Korea reported 571 new cases of the virus on Friday. The country now has 2,337 cases of the virus, more than any other country outside of China. 13Speaking from his eatery at the Gwangjang Market in Seoul, Kim Yun-ok told one reporter, "there's almost no one coming here." 14In Italy, where the number of new cases is growing and the number of visitors shrinking, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte feared his country will face a recession. 15Simone Venturini is an official in the Italian city of Venice, where tourism has already been hurt by last year's flooding. With more cases of the virus reported in Italy, Venturini said, "the damage that worries us even more is the damage to the economy." 16Kanya Yontararak owns a women's clothing store in Bangkok, Thailand. Sales at her store have dropped sharply. She is not making not enough to pay her rent. After years of dealing with flooding and the country's political crises, Yontararak said, "Coronavirus is the worst situation [she has] ever seen." 17I'm Ashley Thompson. 18Hai Do adapted this story for Learning English based on Associated Press and Reuters news reports. George Grow was the editor. 19________________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21outbreak - n. a sudden increase of disease 22hajj - n. a journey to Mecca that is a religious duty for Muslims 23tourism - n. the activity of traveling to a place for pleasure 24rent - n. money that you pay in return for being able to use the property