BEIJING, April 7 (Xinhua) -- The world is now in a battle against COVID-19, a disease caused by a previously unknown coronavirus that has spread to over 200 countries and regions.
The following are the updates on the contagious disease.
DAKAR -- Senegalese Ministry of Health and Social Action said on Tuesday that 13 more patients have been cured of COVID-19, bringing the country's total number of patients cured to 105.
Senegalese health minister Aboudulaye Diouf Sarr also said that the country's total confirmed cases stood at 237. Among the 237 confirmed cases, 85 are imported ones.
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BEIJING -- China has successfully reduced the mortality rate of COVID-19 as the disease developed, said Gauden Galea, representative of the World Health Organization in China, at a press conference Tuesday.
Galea said Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak in China, has managed to reduce the mortality rate to around four percent, and the figure in other regions of China has fallen below one percent.
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BRUSSELS -- The number of COVID-19 deaths in Belgium reached 2,035 deaths on Tuesday, according to latest figures released by the Belgian health authorities.
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TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday declared a month-long state of emergency for Tokyo, Osaka and five other prefectures in an effort to curb the COVID-19 outbreak.
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TRIPOLI -- A United Nations official condemned a recent attack on a hospital in the Libyan capital Tripoli, noting it is "unacceptable" amid the global public health crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I am appalled to have learned that heavy shelling hit Tripoli's Al Khadra General Hospital today, injuring at least one health worker and damaging the fully-functioning medical facility," Yacoub El Hillo, UN resident coordinator and humanitarian coordinator in Libya, said in a statement.
"The repeated calls by the United Nations and the international community for a cessation of hostilities have only been met with complete disregard and intensified fighting. This is unacceptable at a time when healthcare and health workers are vital in our fight against a global pandemic," the statement said.
