Coronavirus Update, News: Global Death Toll, Total Infected And Number Of Countries With Confirmed Cases

The coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, has infected over 85,000 people worldwide in 53 countries. The death toll currently stands at over 2,900.

The majority of cases are in China, but other countries have also been hard hit by the health crisis. South Korea has reported over 800 cases on Saturday, with the majority of cases tied to a controversial religious group.

Italy has almost 900 cases, with hospitals in the country overwhelmed by the ongoing emergency. The United States has urged its citizens to reconsider travel to Italy due to the outbreak there.

Iran is also facing a major crisis, with sources in the country’s health system telling BBC Persian that at least 210 people have died due to the virus. The Iranian Health Ministry on Saturday claimed that only 43 people have died due to the outbreak.

There are 64 confirmed cases of the virus in the United States, with new cases in California and Oregon. President Trump on Friday claimed that Democrats were politicizing the virus, saying it was a “new hoax.”

At the same time, the Trump administration has previously fired pandemic response officials and proposed budget cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and to the National Institutes of Health. Some lawmakers have also criticized Trump for his appointment of Vice President Mike Pence to lead the coronavirus task force.

The coronavirus originated at an animal and seafood market in the Chinese city of Wuhan, with the first cases identified in December. Since then, the Chinese government has put millions of its citizens on lockdown to prevent the spread of the virus.