Spain reports 2,000 new virus cases and more than 100 deaths

22:13, March 15, 2020

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  Spain virus toll passes 2,000, with 47 deaths

  Coronavirus infections in Spain have passed the 2,000 mark with 47 deaths, the health ministry announced on Wednesday, making it Europes second most severe outbreak after Italy.People walk outside the Hospital Clinic in Barcelona on February 25, 2020. (Photo: AFP)"By this morning, we had 2,002 cases," said health ministry emergencies coordinator Fernando Simon, up from 1,639 on Tuesday and almost quadruple Sundays total.Madrid is the worst-hit region with half of the confirmed cases and 31 of the deaths.Officials quickly unveiled a battery of measures to contain the outbreak, closing schools in Madrid for two weeks, disinfecting public transport daily in the capital and banning all incoming flights from Italy.But Simon said the impact of such measures would only be known "after nine or 10 days".He said it would take "between one and two months" to end the epidemic, which in the worst-case scenario could be up to "four months".The government has also promised to help the tourism sector in the worlds number two tourist destination.

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  LatAm countries take measures to prevent COVID-19 spread as first death reported

  Latin American authorities have taken measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, as the first death from the virus was reported and more cases confirmed. A 64-year-old man died of the virus in Argentina on Saturday, the first death in Latin America, said the Argentine health ministry. Argentina has

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  S.Korea designates hard-hit regions as disaster zones

  A South Korean solider sprays disinfectant at a cram school for civil service exams, following the rise in confirmed cases of coronavirus disease in Daegu, South Korea, March 15, 2020.SEOUL - South Korea on Sunday reported 76 new coronavirus cases and three more deaths, a fall in new cases to doubl