That’s the headline on my newest story, out yesterday (Sunday). It begins:
HONG KONG—New cases of coronavirus flared outside China, adding to global health officials’ worries about the spread of the disease in dangerous new pockets of infection.
Iran’s health ministry on Sunday confirmed the eighth coronavirus-related death in the country, out of a total of 43 confirmed cases. The ministry said at least 785 people with coronavirus-like symptoms were being examined.
Pakistani officials said Sunday that the country had sealed its land border with Iran as a result of the outbreak there, though Islamabad made no official announcement.
Pakistan is estimated to have the world’s second biggest Shiite population and about 500 people per day cross the border to Shiite-majority Iran. Travelers are being turned back by Pakistani authorities on the road as they approach the border, officials said.
“This really is a new virus and we’re learning as we go along,” said Margaret Harris, a spokeswoman for the World Health Organization. “We’re seeing some cases that don’t have a clear epidemiological link,” she said.