Leaders from the European Union are promising to do “whatever it takes” to tackle the coronavirus outbreak, as Italy reported its biggest single-day death toll since the disease was first detected there last month.
The 27 leaders of the EU met in a video conference after facing criticism they had been too slow to deal with the outbreak, which first emerged in China at the end of last year.
“We will use all the tools at our disposal to make sure that the European economy weathers this storm,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told a news conference after the summit.
Elsewhere, the virus continued to spread in the United States, and appeared in new countries including Bolivia and Turkey, which reported its first case on Tuesday.
Globally, more than 4,000 people have died from the coronavirus and in excess of 113,000 cases have been confirmed, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). About 64,000 people have recovered from the illness around the world.
Meanwhile, Turkey reported its first case of coronavirus. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said the case was a male patient who had returned from Europe, but did not provide more details, citing the patient’s right to privacy.
Koca said the patient was quarantined and his family members and other people who had come into contact with him had been isolated.
“An early diagnosis was made. If there is an infection in the country, it is very limited,” Anadolu Agency quoted him as saying.
Source: Al Jazeera
