Coronavirus further spreads across Europe

By Busra Nur Bilgic Cakmak

ANKARA (AA) - The novel coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, continues to spread across Europe as new cases were confirmed Thursday.

The death toll in France rose to six, when two people died Thursday.

The number of diagnosed cases there jumped to 377, according to the health authorities.

Switzerland recorded its first death when the Federal Office of Public Health said a 74-year-old woman died overnight at a hospital in Vaud Canton.

Officials said nearly 100 people tested positive for the virus with 58 confirmed and more pending.

According to Dutch National Institute for Public Health (RIVM), the Netherlands now has 82 infected patients.

The number of diagnosed cases jumped to 329 in Germany, the Robert Koch-Institut said Thursday.

The figure was 262 Wednesday and the most affected area was in North Rhine-Westphalia, with 175 confirmed cases.

The Greek Ministry of Health said 21 new cases were found, taking to 31 the total number of cases.

Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia reported their first cases in those countries.

The U.K. has 115 cases, however, no deaths have been reported by health officials.

The HSBC research center in London’s business hub Canary Wharf was evacuated Thursday after an employee was diagnosed with the virus. 25 of the 35 new cases are in London.

Italy, the worst-hit country in Europe, reported 3,089 cases Wednesday with the death toll rising to 107. It has not yet updated new figures as of Thursday.

The country suspended all schools and universities until the middle of March amid the outbreak.

The government has been taking measures to curb any affect the outbreak will have on the economy.

To prevent further spread, it urged everyone in the county not to shake hands, all sports activities and congresses have been stopped and those older than 65 have been advised to stay at home.

The virus was first detected in Wuhan, China, in December and has spread to at least 80 countries.

The global death toll from the virus is more than 3,000, with and excess of 95,000 infected.

After declaring the outbreak an international health emergency, last week the World Health Organization raised the global risk level to "very high."

As part of efforts to contain the outbreak, governments have closed borders and suspended land and air travel with the worst-affected countries such as China, Iran and Italy.