Published 17:59 IST, March 4th 2020
Coronavirus outbreak: European Union in Brussels reports its first case
Amid the unprecedented coronavirus outbreak, the European Union office in Brussels reported its first confirmed case, more than 91,000 affected worldwide.
- World News
- 2 min read
Amid the unprecedented coronavirus outbreak, the European Union office in Brussels reported its first confirmed case. A spokesperson reportedly confirmed that an employee at the European Defence Agency was tested positive on February 29. According to an international media outlet, the agency has further cancelled all meetings, and staff who were in close contact have also been sent home and told to self-isolate.
More than 3,300 cases have reportedly been detected across Europe and more than two-thirds of them have been in Italy. The death toll in Italy has also jumped to 79. According to reports, Ireland also has two confirmed cases so far.
First detected in the city of Wuhan, in Hubei Province of China, the virus outbreak has now spread across more than 60 countries since December 2019. As per reports, the total number of confirmed cases within China has reportedly hit 80,270 and more than 91,000 worldwide. According to reports, the death toll in China has also surpassed 2,900 and the National Health Commission also confirmed more than 119 new cases. The death toll due to the deadly virus across the world also mounted to 3,123.
'Oxygen therapy'
Though there is no vaccine as of yet, in the latest report released, the WHO stressed that “oxygen therapy is a major treatment intervention for people with severe COVID-19”. The report added that all countries should work to optimize the availability of “pulse oximeters” and “medical oxygen systems”.
The report further revealed that the majority of patients are adults adding that only 2.1 per cent of the total patients in China were below the age of 20 years. It stated that clinical care of patients included early recognition, immediate isolation and implementation of appropriate infection prevention and control measures. As per WHO's report, people with mild infection should be provided with “symptomatic care” and “optimised supportive care” with those with severe disease.
Updated 17:59 IST, March 4th 2020