'Shortage of medical supplies impeding fight against virus'

Empty shelves inside a Boots store in London. Boots on Tuesday said it would limit the purchase of sanitiser gels and antibacterial hand washes, after a spike in sales, to ensure that as many customers as possible can purchase them. Pic/AFP

Even as the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread to new countries, the World Health Organisation warned of a global shortage of medical equipment to combat the deadly virus. According to Reuters, the WHO has asked governments and companies to boost production of medical supplies 40 per cent. CNN reported that the shortage is impeding the fight against the COVID-19 that has so far claimed nearly 3,200 lives and infected over 94,000 others.

"Shortages are leaving doctors, nurses and other front line health care workers dangerously ill-equipped... The WHO has shipped nearly half a million sets of personal protective equipment to 27 countries, but supplies are rapidly depleting," CNN quoted WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as saying.

World Bank offers aid
The World Bank unveiled a $12 billion aid package on Tuesday that will provide fast-track funds to help countries combat the Coronavirus outbreak. "The goal is to provide fast, effective action that responds to country needs," World Bank President David Malpass told reporters. He said it is critical to "recognise the extra burden on poor countries" least equipped in the struggle to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

The funds, some of which are targeted to the world's poorest nations, can be used for medical equipment or health services and will include expertise and policy advice, the bank said in a statement. The virus that erupted in central China in December has killed more than 3,000 worldwide and infected over 90,000 people.

Malpass said the money - $8 billion of which is new - will go to countries that request help. The bank has been in contact with many member nations, but he did not specify which are likely to be the first to receive aid. "The point is to move fast. Speed is needed to save lives," he said in a conference call. "We want to make the best use of the World Bank's extensive resources and global expertise and the historical knowledge of crises," he said, citing similar crisis funding to combat the Ebola and Zika outbreaks in recent years.

More inbound cases in China
Meanwhile, Coronavirus infections showed signs of receding in China with 38 new fatalities, taking total number of deaths to 2,981, said Chinese officials. Though, it witnessed a spike in number of infections among inbound passengers in China. Seventy-five tested positive out of the 6,700 travellers screened, Chinese custom officials said on Wednesday as the new cases added more pressure on the country's overstretched health sector.

By the end of Tuesday, 2,981 people died of the virus and a total of 80,270 confirmed cases of the virus were reported in China, National Health Commission (NHC) reported on Wednesday. As of Tuesday, the country's customs have found 6,728 symptomatic passengers arriving from other countries, with 779 suspected cases and 75 confirmed cases, China's General Administration of Customs (CGAC) said.

All the cases have been handed over to the health departments, the CGAC was quoted as saying by the state-run China Daily. As the number of new confirmed cases continue to rise internationally, the risk of infections from abroad is also rising, making curbing the spread of the epidemic through ports a top priority, CGAC said.

Iran underreporting cases?
In Iran, officials said on Wednesday that the virus has killed 92 people amid 2,922 confirmed cases across the Islamic Republic, the highest death toll in the world outside of China. There are now over 3,140 cases of the new virus across the Mideast. Of those outside Iran in the region, most link back to the Islamic Republic. The virus has sickened top leaders inside Iran's civilian government and Shiite theocracy. Experts worry Iran may be underreporting the number of cases it has.

Saudi suspends 'umrah'
Saudi Arabia on Wednesday suspended the year-round "umrah" pilgrimage over fears of the new coronavirus spreading to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, the interior ministry said. The Gulf state has decided "to suspend umrah temporarily for citizens and residents in the kingdom", the ministry said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.

94,000
Approx no. of infection cases globally, as of Tuesday

COVID-19 spreads to EU, Poland

A first EU official working in the bloc's Brussels administration has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, European officials said on Wednesday. A spokesperson for the European Defence Agency confirmed that the official had returned from Italy on February 23 and subsequently tested positive. In Poland, a person who had returned from Germany tested positive for the virus. The patient has been quarantined at a hospital in the Polish city of Zielona Gora and is in stable condition, Health Minister Lukasz Szumowski said in a press conference.

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