March 10 coronavirus news

Every country in the European Union now has cases of coronavirus, with Cyprus having detected two cases as of Tuesday, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said.

The Florida Department of Health has announced a new positive case of coronavirus this morning.

The patient is a 69-year-old woman in South Florida's Broward County. She is in isolation and will remain so "until cleared by public health officials,” according to a news release from the state's health department. 

The state of Florida has now identified 15 coronavirus patients, two of whom have died.

The city of Qianjiang in Hubei province says it will “restore normal production and living order soon” in a notice published following a meeting by government officials Tuesday.

The city is home to about a million people, according to government figures.

The latest government assessment, published on March 7, classified Qianjiang as a “high risk” area -- meaning new cluster cases have been reported in the area in the past 14 days.

Hubei and its capital, Wuhan, are ground zero for the global pandemic. As of the end of the day Monday, Chinese authorities had reported 67,760 cases and 3,024 deaths in the province. 

The situation there appears to have markedly improved in recent days. The number of infections identified each day in Hubei were in the thousands just weeks ago. Today it was 17.

Chinese President Xi Jinping today visited Wuhan for the first time since the outbreak, a major show of confidence that China has turned a corner..

Provincial authorities also announced today that Hubei will issue health codes for residents who want to travel within the province, in the first stage of a gradual lifting of travel restrictions.

The coronavirus has spread across the globe, reaching every continent except Antarctica. Here's a look at the situation in each region of the world:

Asia-Pacific: The situation has calmed in China, where the pandemic began. The slowdown in cases has seen travel restrictions begin to lift, and even a visit to Wuhan -- ground zero for the outbreak -- by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Meanwhile in South Korea, cases also appear to be slowing down this week, but the country is not out of the woods just yet -- authorities just reported 50 cases tied to a single call center in Seoul.

Australia is having a harder time, with cases reaching 100 today, after reporting no new cases for almost a month. Some 22 patients have recovered, and three have died.

Mongolia also reported its first case today -- after months of no confirmed infections, despite being surrounded by virus-hit countries.

United States: Cases continue to rise in the US, with several states declaring states of emergency. Schools and universities are beginning to suspend classes or move them online, while big events like the annual South by Southwest conference have been canceled.

Several congressmen are also under self-quarantine after coming into contact with an infected patient, as tensions rise between state authorities and the Trump administration over its handling of the outbreak.

Europe: The European outbreak appears to be worsening, with Italy at the heart of the crisis. The entire country is now under lockdown, with movement restricted, events canceled, schools shut, and public services suspended.

A total of 97 people have died in Italy since Sunday, bringing the country's death toll to 463.

Nearby countries are also feeling the impact; Germany has reported significant spikes in daily new cases this week, as well as its first coronavirus death. France reported 286 cases on Monday -- including the minister of culture.

Middle East: Iran remains the hardest-hit of the Middle Eastern countries, with more than 7,000 cases -- including the head of the country's Crisis Management Organization. Other Middle Eastern countries continue to report new cases, including Lebanon today.

These countries are continuing emergency measures that were introduced in late February, such as closed borders and mandatory quarantines.

The Virginia Department of Health has reported the US state's fourth and fifth presumptive positive coronavirus cases.

Both patients are in their 50s. One is a resident of the city of Fairfax and the other lives in Spotsylvania County.

At least 731 people have now been diagnosed with the coronavirus in the United States, according to a CNN tally.

North Korea says it is putting stricter measures in place to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, according to a report carried in the country's state-run news outlet KCNA.

Disinfection and ventilation measures have been instituted at places of quarantine which have also been “tightly closed.”

The report also mentions several increased restrictions on collection and containment of human waste, including preventing vessels under quarantine from throwing sewage into North Korean territorial waters.

So far, North Korea has not publicly reported any cases of the virus, though many experts doubt North Korea has been completely spared. Experts worry that an epidemic in the country would be incredibly dangerous, due to its crumbling health care infrastructure and limited medical supplies.

Foreign diplomats in the country were evacuated yesterday after undergoing mandatory quarantine in the capital, Pyongyang, a source on the flight told CNN.  

The source agreed to speak to CNN on condition of anonymity, due to the sensitivity of the situation.  

Nine new novel coronavirus cases have been confirmed in southwest India today, health authorities there said, bringing the total number of patients in the country to 56.

Three cases were detected in Karnataka, according to the state’s commissioner of Health and Family Welfare, Pankaj Pandey, while another six were reported in Kerala and are under quarantine.

In response, the Kerala government is suspending all schools and canceling nearly all year-end exams, according to Dr. Amar Fettle, a senior government official in the state.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also said the state government will suspend all public programs until March 31 and launch what he called "awareness programs."

Lebanese authorities have confirmed at least 41 coronavirus cases within the country, according to a statement from Rafiq Hariri government hospital.

Thirty patients are in hospital and the rest are being transferred there by a team from the Ministry of Public Health, the statement said.

Four patients are in critical condition.

Health authorities in Hong Kong said Tuesday that another three people have contracted the novel coronavirus, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the city to 118.

At a news conference, Dr. Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Hong Kong Department of Health identified the three new cases as:

Dr. Lau Ka-hin of the Hong Kong Hospital Authority said five patients were discharged today. He said 51 confirmed patients are still in the hospital: one in critical condition, two in serious condition, and 48 in stable condition.