Total confirmed COVID-19 cases exceed 105,000 globally: WHO

101 countries and regions are affected by the coronavirus outside of China.

(Reuters) - A total of 105,586 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported worldwide, an increase of 3,656 infections from the previous day, including 3,610 new cases outside China, according to the daily situation report on COVID-19 released by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Among 24,727 confirmed cases outside of China, 484 people have died, an increase of 71 deaths compared to the previous day.

Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Faroe Islands, French Guiana, Maldives, Malta, Martinique and Republic of Moldova have reported cases of COVID-19 for the first time in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of countries and regions affected by the coronavirus outside of China to 101.

The Chinese government has agreed to donate 20 million U.S. dollars to the WHO in support of its international cooperation in fighting the outbreak of the COVID-19 and for helping developing countries improve their response capacities, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said on Monday.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed his gratitude and appreciation to the Chinese government, saying the body will continue to strengthen coordination and cooperation with China to push for substantial progress in international cooperation on epidemic prevention and control.

In Asia, South Korea, one of the worst-hit countries, saw the lowest new virus infections in 11 days with 96 new coronavirus cases reported, taking the country’s total infections to 7,478 with 51 deaths, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Japan has recorded 485 cases on Monday in addition to the 696 cases from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, and 14 cases have been confirmed among people who returned from Hubei Province on chartered flights. Out of the confirmed cases, 14 have died, with seven from the cruise ship.

Singapore said it has allowed the Costa Fortuna cruise, an Italian cruise ship which was barred from docking in Phuket, Thailand, and Penang of Malaysia, to dock in the country on Tuesday. The passengers will undergo health check when disembarking. The latest infection number in the country stands at 150.

Several embassies in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) closed on Monday as many diplomats were flown out following weeks of tight quarantine restrictions imposed by Pyongyang over the spread of the COVID-19.

The DPRK so far has not confirmed a single infection but it has imposed strict rules, including closing its borders and putting thousands of its nationals into quarantine.

In Europe, over 40 countries and regions have reported more than 7,000 confirmed cases, with Italy experiencing the biggest outbreak.

In total, Italy reported 7,375 accumulated COVID-19 cases, including deaths and recoveries, since the epidemic first broke out on Feb. 21 in the country.

Italian media reported that the Chief of Staff of the Italian Army Salvatore Farina has become the latest official to be tested positive for the coronavirus. Earlier in the day, Piedmont Governor Alberto Cirio announced that he has been infected, while Lazio Governor Nicola Zingaretti, leader of the center-left Democratic Party currently ruling Italy in a coalition government, confirmed he had contracted the virus on Saturday.

In France, the first European country to detect the COVID-19, 177 new infections were reported in the last 24 hours, bringing the country’s total confirmed cases to 1,126. Nineteen people had died of COVID-19 as of 15:00 local time Sunday.

In Germany, the number of confirmed cases reached 902, a rise of 107 cases in 24 hours, according to latest figures published by the Robert Koch Institute, the country’s disease control agency.

In Spain, authorities said there were 589 confirmed coronavirus cases in the country, an increase of 159 cases since Saturday. So far, 10 people had died of COVID-19 in the country.