S Korea on highest alert as Italy and Iran struggle to contain virus

South Korea went on high alert yesterday following a sharp jump in coronavirus cases, while Italy and Iran took their own drastic containment steps against the coronavirus epidemic.

The World Health Organization also warned that Africa's poor health systems left it vulnerable to Covid-19.

South Korea is raising the nation's alert to its "highest" level, President Moon Jae-in said after the number of infections nearly tripled over the weekend to 556. Led by an outbreak cluster in a religious sect in the southern city of Daegu, South Korea now has the most infections outside of China apart from the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Japan, which has seen more than 600. "The next few days will be crucial," Moon said following a government meeting on the virus.

"The government will raise the alert level to the highest level according to experts' recommendations."

Moon did not specify what those measures may include. South Korea reported 123 new cases and two deaths yesterday, taking the countrywide toll of fatalities to four.

Elsewhere, Italy and Iran began introducing the sort of containment measures previously seen only in China. More than 50,000 people in about a dozen northern Italian towns near the business hub of Milan were urged by authorities to stay home, while shops and schools were shuttered.

With dozens of cases, Italy on Friday became the first European country to report one of its nationals had died from the virus, followed by a second death on Saturday.

Both were elderly. The government was weighing "extraordinary measures" to halt further infections, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said.

Japan yesterday confirmed that a woman who tested negative and disembarked from the Diamond Princess later tested positive.

Iran ordered the closure of schools, universities and cultural centres across 14 provinces from yesterday following five deaths in the Islamic Republic - the most outside East Asia and the first in the Middle East.

Iran's outbreak surfaced on Wednesday and quickly grew to 28 confirmed infections. "The concern is that we have seen a very rapid increase [in Iran] in a matter of a few days," said Sylvie Briand, director of the WHO's global infectious hazard preparedness department.

Iraq on Thursday clamped down on travel to and from Iran, and flag carrier Kuwait Airways has suspended flights to the country.

Although Egypt is the only African country with a confirmed case, the WHO warned that the continent was vulnerable, urging more African Union cooperation.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said necessary treatment tools such as respiratory support machines were "in short supply in many African countries and that's a cause for concern."

Meanwhile, the US State Department said anxiety was being stoked by a coordinated effort by thousands of Russia-linked social media accounts spreading conspiracy theories that the outbreak was a US-orchestrated ploy to damage China, officials said.

Russia's foreign ministry dismissed the allegation as "deliberately false."

Editorial: Conspiracies a viral sickness