With over 6,500 deaths and close to 1.70 lakh confirmed positive cases so far, the Coronavirus pandemic continues to create havoc and panic across the globe.
The virus that is believed to have started from an animal market in Wuhan in China’s Hubei province has now spread to about 148 nations.
While the virus was initially thought to be limited to China and Southeast Asian countries, what has now set the alarm bells ringing louder than ever before is the eruption of positive cases and deaths in Italy and Iran.
Italy has already witnessed over 1,800 deaths (second only to China’s 3,100-plus deaths) and has reported over 24,000 Covid-19 positive cases (second only to China’s 81,000). Outside China which has reported about 81,000 cases, it is Italy that is grappling with the virus.
Also Read: COVID-19: Africa quarantines itself from the world; borders shut and flights cancelled
Iran, too, has seen massive fallout because of coronavirus. The Islamic Republic has already witnessed 724 deaths and recorded close to 14,000 positive cases so far.
In all, Europe has registered over 50,000 of the total cases, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare it as the “epicentre” of the pandemic.
This has prompted many nations in Europe such as Spain, United Kingdom, Italy and France to impose certain restrictions on trade and commerce, movement of people and more.
Cafes, restaurants, cinemas and most shops have been shut. UK has placed restrictions on travel to Spain and Italy. Italy has announced a nationwide lockdown from Monday and has shutdown the nation.
Large parts of the northern part of the country have been locked down and people have been prohibited from moving around except for purchasing of groceries.