CHANGES HEADLINE, LEDE; ADDS DETAILS FROM EUROPE
By Busra Nur Bilgic Cakmak
ANKARA (AA) – The death toll in Italy over coronavirus outbreak rose to 107, with the total of 2,706 people infected, local media reported Wednesday.
Italy suspended all schools and universities until the middle of March amid the COVID-19 outbreak, the Italian news agency ANSA reported earlier.
The government has been taking measures to curb the negative effects of the outbreak on the economy.
To prevent further spread, it urges people to not shake hands, stop all sports activities and congresses, and those over 65 to stay at home.
- Coronavirus spreads across Europe
The number of cases in Germany jumped to 262, the country’s disease control agency announced Wednesday.
In neighboring Poland, authorities announced the first confirmed case of the virus.
Poland’s Health Minister Lukasz Szumowski told reporters the patient was hospitalized Monday and placed in isolation after testing positive.
He recently traveled to Poland from Germany, and authorities were trying to identify passengers who traveled on the bus together, local media reported.
The number of cases in France of the virus, rose to 257, with 45 new cases confirmed Wednesday.
France reported 190 cases, in Spain the number reached 190 and some companies urged employees to work from home to curve the spread of the virus.
The number of cases in the U.K. reached 85.
First detected in Wuhan, China in December, the virus has spread to at least 73 countries.
The global death toll from the virus is over 3,000, with more than 89,000 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.