95,265 reported cases of COVID-19, 3,281 deaths: WHO briefing

New Delhi, Mar 06: There are now a total of 95,265 reported cases of coronavirus globally and 3,281 deaths. In the past 24 hours, China reported 143 cases and most of them have been reported from the Hubei province, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said at its daily briefing.

Outside China, 2,055 cases were reported in 33 countries. Around 80% of those cases continue to come from just three countries. We see encouraging signs from the Republic of Korea. The number of newly-reported cases appears to be declining, and the cases that are being reported are being identified primarily from known clusters, director General of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

Although a few countries are reporting large numbers of cases, 115 countries have not reported any cases. 21 countries have reported only one case.

And 5 countries that had reported cases have not reported new cases in the past 14 days.
The experience of these countries and of China continues to demonstrate that this is not a one-way street, the DG WHO also said.

WHO made it clear that the fight against rumours and misinformation is a vital part of the battle against this virus. We rely on you to make sure people have accurate information about the threat they face, and how to protect themselves and others.

Watch the briefing here:

The role of countries:

• Activate your emergency plans through that whole-government approach.
• Educate your public, so that people know what the symptoms are and know how to protect themselves and others.
• Increase your testing capacity.
• Get your hospitals ready.
• Ensure essential supplies are available.
• Train your health workers to identify cases, provide careful and compassionate treatment, and protect themselves from infection.
• If countries act aggressively to find, isolate and treat cases, and to trace every contact, they can change the trajectory of this epidemic.
• This is a serious disease. It is not deadly to most people, but it can kill.