Starting from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the new Covid 19 has infected over 100,000 people in over 91 countries so far. The total death toll has now risen to 3400 with new cases reported in other countries.
Countries hit hard outside China include Iran, South Korea, Italy, and France. On Friday, Iran announced the death toll in the country to be at 124. The country’s health ministry reported 2400 new cases in the last 24 hours alone.
Total infections in South Korea have jumped to 6284. With 19 new deaths, the death toll in the country now stands at 196. The death toll in Italy has reached 197 while France reported 9 deaths and 200 new cases.
Major Disruptions to Daily Life
Authorities in Iraq have decided to suspend work in government institutions until March 15 and put a ban on religious gatherings. Baghdad has also put in place travel restrictions on people coming from several countries, as well as suspend trade exchanges with Iran and Kuwait.
The Apparel retail company GAP has closed it’s New York office after one of the staff members tested positive for the virus. The company said the infected employee is recovering at home without giving out further details.
Internet giants and tech companies including Google, Facebook, and Amazon have asked their employees in Seattle to work from home. Both Facebook and Amazon have, in fact, closed their offices in the area after some of their workers contracted the infection.
Microsoft employees in San Francisco, Bungee employees in Washington, and Nintendo employees in Washington and California are given similar guidelines.
The social media platform Twitter has called upon all it’s staff to work from home. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said the company is “strongly encouraging” all of its employees to work from home “if able.” He said the same guidance applies to Square, which he also leads.