An official sprays disinfectant in a kindergarten to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus in Miercurea Ciuc, or Csikszereda in Hungarian, central Romania, Wednesday, March 11, 2020. The Romanian National Emergency Committee has ordered the nationwide closure of every pre-school and educational institution between 11 and 22 March to allow ample time for the thorough disinfection of such facilities during this period. (Nandor Veres/MTI via AP)
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New clusters of the novel coronavirus are expanding in the United States and Europe as Italy replaces China as the new epicenter of a worldwide outbreak.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.
These are some of the latest developments on Wednesday:
BEIJING ORDERS QUARANTINE FOR ALL FOREIGN ARRIVALS
Beijing's city government ordered all passengers arriving in the city from overseas, regardless of their points of departure, to undergo a 14-day quarantine. The move was part of stepped-up measures to prevent the new virus first detected in China from re-entering the country following its spread across the world. The number of cases in China has been falling, with just 24 new confirmed cases reported Wednesday but five of those had arrived from Italy and one from the United States.
AN EXPANSION OF SCHOOL CLOSURES
Poland and Ukraine have joined the countries deciding to close all schools, preschools and universities because of the coronavirus, even though the two eastern European nations have small numbers of confirmed cases. The nation of Georgia has 23 confirmed cases and similarly extended spring break for students until April 1. It comes as a growing number of U.S. colleges and universities, including Harvard and Yale, are extending spring breaks and moving classes online, as the U.S. registered more than 1,000 cases.
NEW CLUSTER EMERGES IN SOUTH KOREA
While cases have been waning in South Korea, a new cluster in Seoul raised alarms. The cluster was connected to a call center in one of the busiest areas of the capital. So far, 93 people have tested positive among the call center's employees and their families, but the number could grow as hundreds more undergo testing. South Korea's caseload of 7,755 infections and 54 deaths is the fourth highest in the world after China, Italy and Iran.
A STRONG WARNING FROM GERMANY'S LEADER
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is citing expert estimates that up to 60% to 70% of the population could be infected by the new coronavirus as she insists on the necessity of measures to slow its spread. She said the reason is because people do not yet have immunity to the virus and there are so far neither vaccines nor therapies to fight it. With some 1,300 infections and two deaths, Germany's government has recommended the cancellation of all events with more than 1,000 people, among other measures. Merkel said such measures "are giving us time'Å¥ and are invaluable.
SHAKING HANDS AND HUGGING OFF THE TABLE
A minister in Croatia, which holds the 27-member European Union's rotating presidency, greeted many other EU ministers with a warm handshake or hugs at a meeting. The greetings by Oleg Butkovic, who is the minister of the sea, transport and infrastructure, ran counter to the basic health prevention measures being urged in light of the coronavirus outbreak. From Europe to Iran and beyond, a rising number of government and military officials have tested positive for the virus or forced to self-isolate due to suspected contacts with infected people. One government official with the virus is Nadine Dorries, a minister in Britain's health department who attended an International Women's Day reception with the U.K. prime minister.
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In this Sunday, March 8, 2020, photo released by Xinhua News Agency, workers in protective suits clean up a makeshift hospital which converted from a sports venue after it officially closed in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province. The province at the center of China's virus outbreak is allowing factories and some other businesses to reopen in a new sign Beijing believes the disease that devastated its economy is being brought under control. (Xiao Yijiu/Xinhua via AP)
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In this Tuesday, March 10, 2020, photo released by Xinhua News Agency, people recovered from coronavirus prepare to leave the rehabilitation center after a 14-day quarantine for medical observation in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province. The province at the center of China's virus outbreak is allowing factories and some other businesses to reopen in a new sign Beijing believes the disease that devastated its economy is being brought under control. (Xiong Qi/Xinhua via AP)
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A man wears a face mask as he talks on his mobile phone near a banner promoting awareness of the coronavirus outbreak in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Wednesday, March 11, 2020. The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover. In mainland China, where the virus first exploded, more than 80,000 people have been diagnosed and more than 58,000 have so far recovered. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)
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Staff and shoppers wear face masks inside a supermarket in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, March 11, 2020. Spain's health minister on Monday announced a sharp spike in coronavirus cases in and around the national capital, Madrid, and said all schools in the region, including kindergartens and universities, will close for two weeks from Wednesday. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
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A closed school in Rivas Vaciamadrid, Spain, Wednesday, March 11, 2020. Spain's health minister on Monday announced a sharp spike in coronavirus cases in and around the national capital, Madrid, and said all schools in the region, including kindergartens and universities, will close for two weeks from Wednesday. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
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A closed school in Rivas Vaciamadrid, Spain, Wednesday, March 11, 2020. Spain's health minister on Monday announced a sharp spike in coronavirus cases in and around the national capital, Madrid, and said all schools in the region, including kindergartens and universities, will close for two weeks from Wednesday. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
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A Fiaker coach passes in front of a poster is written " closed today" the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria, Wednesday, March 11, 2020. The culture activities in Austria will be closed at least until the end of March. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)
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People wear face masks as a precaution against the COVID-19 illness as they walk inside a subway station during rush hour in Hong Kong, Wednesday, March 11, 2020. For most, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. But for a few, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illnesses, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
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In this Tuesday, March, 10, 2020 photo, paramedics test samples taken from patients suspected of being infected with the new coronavirus, at a laboratory in the southwestern city of Ahvaz, Iran. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (Amin Nazari/ISNA via AP)
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A teacher walks along a hallway of an empty public school in small Spanish Basque village of Labastida, around 45 kms (24,85 miles) from Vitoria, northern Spain, Wednesday, March 11, 2020. Spain's health minister on Monday announced a sharp spike in coronavirus cases in and around the national capital, and said all schools in the region, including kindergartens and universities, and the same in the Spanish Basque city of Vitoria, will close for two weeks.For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)
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