THE World Health Organisation declared yesterday that the new coronavirus epidemic was at a “decisive point” as countries across the globe battled to contain the deadly outbreak.

Saudi Arabia banned pilgrims from visiting Islam’s holiest sites as the number of deaths jumped in neighbouring Iran, while Japan and Iraq ordered the closure of schools.

Alarm is growing as China is no longer the only breeding ground for Covid-19, with other countries including South Korea and Italy becoming hotbeds of infection, raising fears of a pandemic.

“We’re at a decisive point,” director-general of WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference in Geneva.

“If you act aggressively now, you can contain this virus, you can prevent people getting sick, you can save lives.”

The virus has already killed more than 2,760 people, mostly in China – where it first emerged in December – and infected more than 81,000 in more than 45 countries.

But there are now more daily cases being recorded outside China, raising fears that poor countries with weak health infrastructures will not be able to cope.

“It’s what’s happening in the rest of the world that’s now our greatest concern,” Tedros said.

World financial markets have plunged on fears that widespread lockdowns could hamper business activity and dent global growth, while sports matches and festivals have been cancelled to try to stem infections.

The International Monetary Fund and World Bank are ready to provide countries in need with immediate emergency funding to fight the coronavirus outbreak.

The EU said it was bracing for an economic hit, with tourism already feeling the pinch and supply chains reliant on China being affected.

As confirmed cases in France, the world’s most visited country, more than doubled in a day from 18 to 38, President Emmanuel Macron warned: “We are facing a crisis, an epidemic that is coming”.

With Covid-19 spreading in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia suspended visas for visits to Islam’s holiest sites for the umrah pilgrimage, an unprecedented move, raising questions over the haj which starts in July.

Neighbouring Iran reported seven new deaths over 24 hours, taking the overall toll to 26, the highest outside China.

The first cases in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Estonia involved people who had been in Iran.

In Japan, schools were ordered to close for several weeks.  Japan has seen at least 186 cases of infection among the general population, with four deaths. Worryingly, one woman was found to be positive again after initially contracting the virus, then being released from hospital after treatment and a negative test. – AFP, February 28, 2020.