Many people around the world have built up their immune system against the common flu. This, however, is not the case when it comes to COVID-19 even if symptoms of the two virus strains are similar.
Given that COVID-19 comes from a different pathogen that remains to mystify global health experts, more people remain vulnerable to infection with some at high risk of severe disease. Director-General for the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, noted on in a speech Tuesday that about 3.4% of reported COVID-19 cases have died. On another hand, even if the flu virus infected more people, the ratio of infection to deaths only stands at 1%.
To date, there are now 90,870 confirmed COVID-19 infections worldwide. Of that, 1922 are new and were just reported by March 3.
The rest of the world, excluding China, has 10,566 confirmed cases. Of that 1,792 are new cases. Deaths are now at 166, with 38 newly reported fatalities. Of these fatalities, only three countries outside China accounted for 80% - South Korea, Iran, and Italy.
There are now 72 countries with reported infections. Of that, 12 new countries have just reported their first cases while there are 21 countries with only one case. If there's any silver lining in all this, it is that there are still 122 countries around the world that have not reported any cases.
The countries/regions to report new cases most recently are Andorra, Jordan, Latvia, Morocco, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, and Tunisia.
Of most concern right now is the spike in cases in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Here's the rundown of confirmed and new cases as of March 3.
Iran 1501 (new cases) 523
Kuwait 56
Bahrain 49 (2)
Iraq 26 (7)
United Arab Emirates 21
Lebanon 13 (3)
Qatar 7 (4)
Oman 6
Pakistan 5 (1)
Egypt 2
Afghanistan 1
Jordan 1 (1)
Morocco 1 (1)
Saudi Arabia 1 (1)
Tunisia 1 (1)
Iran has temporarily released more than 54,000 prisoners to ensure that COVID-19 will not thrive in crowded jails.
At the same time, due to a growing number of countries banning flights to and from Iran, Emirates has asked its staff and crew to take unpaid leaves for at least a month.
In Canada, health officials required travelers from Iran to subject themselves to self-quarantine at their homes for 14 days. The government encourages even those without symptoms to self-isolate. Canadians are also advised against non-essential travel to Iran since many cases of infections in the country were traced back to Iran.
The United States Centers for Disease Control And Prevention has also warned Americans against non-essential travel to Iran. The travel warning is currently at level 3.
CDC's announcement came as the US confirmed 9 deaths in Washington State. As of Tuesday morning, the country has 122 cases in 15 states. New Hampshire and Georgia are the latest to confirm new cases.
Here is the rundown of confirmed and new cases in the region of the Americas:
Canada 27 (new cases 8)
Ecuador 6 (5)
Mexico 5
Brazil 2
The Dominican Republic 1
Italy now has a death toll of 79, becoming the hardest-hit country in Europe. This has been the largest number of deaths in Italy since the the outbreak was detected in the country about 12 days ago.
Here 's the rundown of confirmed cases and new cases in the whole of the European region.
Italy 2036 (new cases 347)
France 191 (91)
Germany 157 (28)
Spain 114 (69)
United Kingdom 39 (3)
Switzerland 30 (6)
Norway 25 (6)
Austria 18 (8)
Netherlands 18 (5)
Sweden 15 (1)
Israel 10 (3)
Croatia 9 (2)
Iceland 9 (7)
San Marino 8 (7)
Belgium 8 (7)
Finland 7 (1)
Greece 7
Denmark 5 (1)
Azerbaijan 3
Czechia 3
Georgia 3
Romania 3
Russian Federation 3 (1)
Portugal 2 (2)
Andorra 1 (1)
Armenia 1
Belarus 1
Estonia 1
Ireland 1
Latvia 1 1
Lithuania 1
Luxembourg 1
Monaco 1
North Macedonia 1
