Croatia and Austria confirm first cases of coronavirus, and US prepares for imminent arrival

Iran’s deputy health minister is infected, and the country already counts 50 dead. Contagion raises nearly 1000 infected people in South Korea

After a warning by the World Health Organization (WHO) that the coronavirus could become a pandemic in the world, the virus shows its strength. In the last few days, it has been taking shape in Europe and other continents , leaving Asia. In Iran, the virus reached Deputy Health Minister Iraj Haririchi. His ministry advised the population to stay home due to the spread of the virus in Iran, where there are contradictions in the death toll: a deputy from the most affected city spoke on Monday of 50 deaths, while the government recognizes 15. In Italy, a woman from the north of the country who was on vacation in Palermo, on the island of Sicily, is the first case recorded in the south. The virus also reached Tuscany, where two men, in Florence and Pistoia, tested positive, and Liguria. Seven deaths and 283 infections have been reported in Italy.

The virus has not yet reached the United States, but US officials treat the identification of infections as a matter of time. “It is not so much a question of whether this will happen, but more precisely when it will happen,” said Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, at a news conference on Tuesday.

The Croatian and Austrian authorities confirmed on Tuesday the first cases of contagion in their territory. Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic confirmed the case and closely monitors the matter. Also in Austria, the governor of Tyrol, Günther Platter, confirmed the first two positive cases of coronavirus in this region. The two patients are isolated in a clinic in Innsbruck. According to the governor, the two people are from Bergamo, in the Lombardy region, the most affected by the virus in northern Italy. Both are young patients, aged 24, and their lives are not in danger.

Brazil has yet to register any cases of coronavirus, but it raises its warnings as the disease spreads. In this second (24), Iran and Italy were included in the list of countries, in addition to Germany, Australia, United Arab Emirates, Philippines, France and Malaysia in the criteria for analyzing suspected cases. Spain, where 100,000 Brazilians live, has not yet been included. Until Friday, there were Asian countries (Japan, Singapore, South Korea, North Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia, in addition to China).

With the new cases, it is expected that new countries will be included in the watch list, with special attention to passengers coming from those countries who may have a fever and another flu-like symptom, such as coughing or shortness of breath.

According to Wanderson de Oliveira, Secretary of Health Surveillance at the Ministry of Health, the country has been expanding the detection capacity of the laboratories, “making public and private health systems more sensitive”. there is no recommendation to avoid travel, as in the case of China, which is in quarantine. “It is important to make it clear that we will not have restrictions on travel. “Said the secretary. Brazil monitors four suspected cases but has already ruled out another 54.

The authorities of the different countries have tried to calm the population, despite the tension caused by the accelerated confirmation of infected people in several countries , and deaths. “Have confidence in our public health system that stands out in this type of crisis,” said the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, when he entered the Senate plenary.

The Italian prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, also sent a message along the same lines, asking for confidence in his country’s health system, even though he released controversial words on Monday, when he said that the virus had spread in Italy because hospitals “did not had fulfilled the protocol “. ” Citizens must be calm . Our protocols are efficient, effective and adequate to respond to emergencies “, he assured.

In Bahrain, nine new cases were announced on Tuesday, bringing the total to 17 in the country. In China, authorities have reported 71 more deaths (about 2,700 in total), and there are almost 78,000 people infected. South Korea confirmed 977 cases of contagion, 144 more than this Monday.

The coronavirus arrived in Barcelona, ​​the destination of many Brazilians who reside or visit the Catalan city, in northern Spain. It is a 36-year-old Italian woman, resident in the city, who had traveled to northern Italy in the last few days. With this, there are five cases of infected in Spain. “She was in the area of ​​Bergamo and Milan between the 12th and the 22nd,” explained the secretary of Public Health, Joan Guix. According to him, the patient’s contacts with other healthy people are being raised, which will force them to isolate for 14 days.to see if they have symptoms of the virus. The news is made public on the same day that about a thousand tourists staying at a hotel in Adeje (H10 Costa Adeje Palace), in southern Tenerife, are isolated on the recommendation of health authorities. There was an Italian tourist who is now admitted to a hospital on the island after tests for the coronavirus tested positive. His wife was also infected, according to reporter Pedro Murillo . All persons who may have had contact with the couple are being examined.