World seeing rapid jump in COVID-19 cases: WHO

GENEVA

The past week saw a rapid escalation of cases of coronavirus, and more cases and deaths have now been reported in the rest of the world than in China, the World Health Organization (WHO) chief said Monday.

As Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the announcement at a press conference, the Swiss government declared the fight against COVID-19 an "extraordinary situation," seen as a state of emergency as the number of cases soared.

The number of cases in the world is nudging towards 180,000, with more than 7,000 global deaths reported.

Yet Switzerland is particularly affected by the coronavirus epidemic.

More than 2,200 people had been infected in the country as of Monday, and 18 are reported to have died of the disease.

The federal government held a press conference in the capital Bern under President Simonetta Sommaruga, who said that new measures taken in some cantons would come into effect nationally at midnight.

"We need a strong reaction across the country, and we need it now. It is the only way to surmount this crisis," Sommaruga, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency for 2020, told reporters.

Most of the Swiss victims had previous medical conditions and were over 70, but the country has the second-highest death rate per capita after Italy. Switzerland has a population of some 8.6 million.

Switzerland said a total of 8,000 members of the Swiss army would participate in border control measures for the landlocked country, which is surrounded by France, Germany, Austria, Italy, and Liechtenstein.

The Swiss government banned all private and public events starting at midnight on March 17.

It also ordered the closure of bars, restaurants, sports facilities, and cultural spaces.

Only businesses providing essential goods to the population – such as grocery stores, bakeries, and pharmacies – are to remain open, with the new measures to stay in place until April 19.

At his virtual press conference, Tedros said the world had seen a rapid escalation in social distancing measures, like closing schools and canceling sporting events and other gatherings.

"But we have not seen an urgent enough escalation in testing, isolation and contact tracing – which is the backbone of the response," he said.

"We have a simple message to all countries: Test, test, test. Test for every suspected COVID-9 case," Tedros urged.

He emphasized that those who test positive should be quarantined immediately along with those who they had been in contact within the last two days, who should also be tested.