WHO raises global coronavirus alert as US faceplants

Enlarge / A pedestrian wearing a protective mask stands on Mission Street in San Francisco, California, on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020. California is monitoring 8,400 people for signs of the virus after they traveled to Asia. (credit: Getty | Bloomberg)

With the dizzying international spread of the novel coronavirus, the World Health Organization Friday announced that the global threat of COVID-19 has increased. The risk of spread and risk of impact has now risen from "high" to "very high" on a global scale, according to the organization's latest assessments.

Between Thursday and Friday, five additional countries identified their first cases-Belarus, Lithuania, Netherlands, New Zealand, and Nigeria-and large outbreaks in Italy (888 cases) and Iran (388 cases) continue to export cases. So far, at least 24 cases in 14 countries link back to Italy, and at least 97 cases in 11 countries link back to Iran, WHO reported Friday.

Worldwide, there are more than 85,400 cases and 2,924 deaths, with 53 countries reporting cases in addition to China, as of Saturday morning. While China still has over 90 percent of those cases, the daily case counts outside of China are now exceeding those within.

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