A TOTAL Of more than 83,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 had been reported outside China as of yesterday morning, exceeding the cumulative number of infections in China, World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic told Xinhua.

The overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 80,860 by the end of Sunday, including 9,898 patients who were still being treated, 67,749 patients who had been discharged after recovery, and 3,213 people who died of the disease.

The global number of COVID-19 cases had climbed to 164,837 as of yesterday morning, with 6,470 deaths, as the novel coronavirus has now spread to 146 countries and regions, he said.

As the outbreak of COVID-19 continues to escalate outside China, many countries have to toughen their measures against the pandemic.

Spanish ministers said yesterday that a state of emergency over the coronavirus which has shut down much of the country will have to be extended beyond an initial 15-day period, and the government was also considering closing borders.

Hungary will close its borders for international passengers, close cultural and sports events and establishments, and limit the opening hours of restaurants, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told Parliament yesterday.

Iran’s death toll from the new coronavirus has reached 853 with 129 new deaths in the past 24 hours, a health ministry official tweeted yesterday, adding that 14,991 people have been infected across Iran.

To contain the outbreak in Iran, one of the deadliest outside of China, officials have called on people to stay at home.

The Armenian Government yesterday declared a state of emergency from yesterday until April 16 to slow the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.

Also, Armenia and Russia will restrict the transit of people between the countries for two weeks in an effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the press office of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said yesterday.

The transport of goods will continue and citizens of the two countries will be allowed to return to their respective homelands.

Ukrainian cities announced shutdowns yesterday to contain the spread of the coronavirus, and the government said it had cracked down on attempts to smuggle face masks abroad after 50,000 of them alone were seized from a car on the Polish border.

French tour operators have delayed all planned departures scheduled until March 31, a business federation said yesterday, as French authorities imposed stringent restrictions on public life to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The tour operators federation said in a statement that departures were delayed as it was impossible to guarantee services at destination and because of uncertainty about return.

(SD-Agencies)