Coronavirus spreads fast across Europe

ANKARA

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases and death toll jumped in Europe over the weekend.

In Europe’s worst-hit country, Italy, 366 people have lost their lives so far, according to the country’s civil protection agency.

The number of confirmed cases climbed to 7,375, making Italy one of the most affected countries across the world.

Death toll in France from the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 jumped to 19 while 1,126 cases were confirmed in the country, said the Health Ministry on Sunday.

In the U.K., officials confirmed 277 cases and three people lost their lives due to the deadly virus. A man in his 60s -- recently returned from Italy -- has become the third person to lose his life to the coronavirus in the U.K., BBC reported Sunday night.

Spain now has more than 600 confirmed cases of coronavirus. And the country reported 17 deaths so far, according to local media.

Germany confirmed 902 cases while the worst affected region is North Rhine-Westphalia with 398 cases, according to country’s Health Ministry. No death has been reported in Germany so far.

Belgium Sunday night confirmed 200 coronavirus cases, including 25 in Brussels, 120 in Flanders, and 53 in Wallonia. While one person has recovered, the country has not reported any death from the virus.

Many countries in Europe are cancelling events that host over 1,000 people to tackle the spread of the virus.

The global death toll is around 3,800, with more than 110,000 confirmed cases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

As part of efforts to contain the outbreak, governments have closed borders and suspended land and air travel with the worst-hit countries including China, Iran and Italy.

After declaring the outbreak an international health emergency in January, the WHO last month updated the global risk level to “very high.”