Religious pilgrimages and ceremonies in the Middle East have emerged as a dangerous new risk in the spread of coronavirus in the region, as Iran fights to contain the deadly epidemic and Saudi Arabia restricted access to two of Islam’s holiest sites.
Governments boosted measures on Thursday to battle the fast-spreading coronavirus as the number of infections outside China, the source of the outbreak, for the first time surpassed those appearing inside the country.
"We should plan as if a big storm was coming," said CBS News medical contributor Dr. David Agus.
Thailand’s military-backed government said pro-democracy protests risk spreading the coronavirus and asked people to avoid rallies.
The global death toll from the novel coronavirus surpassed 3,000 Monday, as new cases jumped in Italy and South Korea and three more nations reported their first confirmed patients.
Coronavirus, or COVID-19, is a fast spreading virus that originated in China but has since become a worldwide pandemic.