China reports another fall in coronavirus infections outside epicenter

China has reported another decrease in the number of new coronavirus infections outside its epicenter in Hubei Province, but world health officials have cautioned that it is still too early to make predictions about the outbreak as the flue-like disease continues to afflict other countries and regions.

China’s health commission confirmed 648 new infections on Sunday, with only 18 of them being outside Hubei, the lowest number since Chinese authorities started publishing data on the deadly virus last month.

China has so for reported a total of 76,936 confirmed cases and 2,442 deaths due to the coronavirus, known as COVID-19. More than 1,150 people have also been infected outside China.

The virus has been fatal in two percent of reported cases, with a risk of death higher for older patients and relatively few cases among children, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Italy, South Korea report new fatalities

The contagion is reported to have reached some 26 countries and territories outside China, with new deaths in Italy and South Korea.

Seoul confirmed 123 more cases, bringing the total number of those infected in South Korea to 556, with four fatalities.

The new infections in South Korea center in two places, Daegu, a city of about 2.5 million in North Gyeongsang Province, and a hospital in Cheongdo, a county in the same province with about 43,000 people.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Sunday that Seoul was raising its alert level for the new coronavirus to the “highest” as a result of a sudden spike in the number of infections.

“The COVID-19 incident faces a grave turning point,” Moon said following a government meeting on the matter. “The government will raise the alert level to the highest level.”

Cases in Italy — Europe’s worst hit country — more than quadrupled to 79 on Saturday, with two deaths, prompting Italian officials to impose travel restrictions as well as school and university closures in about a dozen towns.

‘A looming threat’ to Africa

Meanwhile, the WHO says it is channeling efforts into helping prepare vulnerable countries, including 13 in Africa.

The Geneva-based organization warned that African health systems were ill-equipped to respond to the deadly coronavirus outbreak should cases start to proliferate in the continent.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the WHO, called on African Union (AU) member states “to come together to be more aggressive in attacking” the virus.

“Our biggest concern continues to be the potential for COVID-19 to spread in countries with weaker health systems,” Tedros said during a meeting of 36 African health ministers at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa. “We are facing a looming threat, a serious threat for the continent.”

Japanese ministry apologizes over mishandling outbreak

The Health Ministry in Japan issued an apology on Saturday after a 64-year-old woman, who had been granted permission to leave a coronavirus-stricken cruise ship docked near Tokyo tested positive for the deadly virus.

Following a two-week quarantine on board, the woman disembarked the Diamond Princess on Wednesday but tested positive after she underwent another test in Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo.

“We deeply apologize for the situation caused by our oversight,” Japan’s Health Minister Katsunobu Kato told a news conference. “We will take all necessary measures, like double checks, to prevent a recurrence.”

Kato added that the Health Ministry would retest 23 passengers released from the ship.

The coronavirus can cause various symptoms, ranging from those of the common cold to more severe diseases such as pneumonia. Common signs include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and other respiratory complications.