A man wearing a mask as a preventive measure against the coronavirus gestures as he speaks with a Palestinian policeman outside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on March 5. The Church is to temporarily close after a suspected outbreak of coronavirus, the Palestinian health ministry announced.
Thai officials prepare sets of face masks and hand sanitizers for sale at the Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO) pharmacy in Bangkok, Thailand on March 5.
In the aftermath of the state's first death from the coronavirus, California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a statewide emergency to deal with the virus at a news conference in Sacramento on March 4.
President Donald Trump, with Vice President Mike Pence, speaks during a coronavirus briefing with Airline CEOs in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on March 4 in Washington D.C.
Juventus stadium closed to fans for 30 days, due to the Italian government's decision to play matches in the Italian Serie A championship without fans, to contain the spread of the coronavirus in Torino, Italy on March 4.
Indian security guards wearing protective masks stand inside a private school that was closed over fear of a coronavirus outbreak, in Noida, India on March 4. The school was closed after some students and teachers attended the birthday party of a boy whose father tested positive for COVID-19 after traveling back from Italy.
President Donald Trump is flanked by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar and National Institutes of Health Doctor Kizzmekia Corbett, research fellow at the NIH Vaccine Research Center, as he listens to Director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci following a briefing at the Vaccine Research Center in Bethesda, Maryland on March 3.
A passenger originating from China has his body temperature taken upon arrival on an international flight as he waits to be screened for signs of the coronavirus at Entebbe Airport in Entenbbe, Uganda on March 3.
In the Central Medical Laboratory of the St. Georg Hospital in Leipzig, Germany, a medical-technical assistant prepares patient samples for coronavirus testing on March 3.
A medical staff member checks information of a patient as patients infected by the COVID-19 coronavirus leave from Wuhan No. 5 Hospital to Leishenshan Hospital, the newly-built hospital for the COVID-19 coronavirus patients on March 3.
Paramedics in protective suits and Israelis wearing masks and gloves stand near a dedicated polling station where people under quarantine from the coronavirus can vote in Israel's national election, in Tel Aviv, on Mar. 2.
Harborview Medical Center's home assessment team, including (L to R) Michelle Steik, Lucy Greenfield, and Krista Reitberg prepare to visit the home of a person potentially exposed to novel coronavirus, at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Washington on Feb. 29.
Health workers wearing protective gear check Nepali citizens evacuated from China as they are under quarantine following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, in Nepal, on Feb. 29.
French government officials, including French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian (1st-L), French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire (2nd-L), French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe (3rd-L), French Health and Solidarity Minister Olivier Veran (4th-L) and French President Emmanuel Macron (3rd-R) attend a defense council concerning the coronavirus outbreak, in Paris, France, on Feb. 29.
A tourist affected by coronavirus is transferred to a hospital from the hotel H10 Costa Adeje Palace, which is on lockdown after novel coronavirus has been confirmed in Adeje, on island of Tenerife, Spain, on Feb. 29.
Employees work on the production line of an antimalarial drug that Chinese officials said has curative effect on the novel coronavirus disease, at a pharmaceutical company in Nantong, Jiangsu province, China, on Feb. 27.
Doctors at West China Hospital of Sichuan University use 5G technology to diagnose COVID-19 patients on Feb. 27, in Chengdu, Sichuan Province of China.
Hugo Lopez-Gatell Ramirez, Mexico's Undersecretary of Health Prevention and Promotion, holds a news conference on information about the new coronavirus, in Mexico City, on Feb. 27.
Passengers remain onboard the MSC Meraviglia cruise ship in Cozumel, Mexico, on Feb. 27. A cruise carrying 6,000 people which was turned away by Jamaica and the Cayman Islands after a crew member tested positive for flu, has docked in Mexico.
Policemen guard the entrance of a school, after authorities put the school under isolation because of suspicions of a coronavirus case, after a teacher returned from a travel in Northern Italy, in Vienna, Austria on Feb. 26
Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan is seen on a screen as he delivers the annual budget at the legislative council in Hong Kong on Feb. 26. Hong Kong's government said it will give a 10,000 HKD (1,280 USD) handout to seven million permanent residents in a bid to jump-start a recession-hit economy after the coronavirus outbreak.
A man collects bags of his food order as a worker places it in a basket to prevent human contact following the coronavirus outbreak, in Beijing, on Feb. 23.
Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers pose during an emergency meeting with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the coronavirus outbreak in Vientiane, Laos, on Feb. 20.
A man holds a Ukrainian state flag during a protest against the arrival of a plane carrying evacuees from China's Hubei province hit by an outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the village of Novi Sanzhary in Poltava region, Ukraine, on Feb. 20.
A Chinese tourist (front right), who was tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus and was isolated for treatment, receives a kiss from Sri Lankan Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi and medical staff after she was discharged from the hospital near Colombo on Feb. 19. The 43-year-old woman, the first and only COVID-19 patient in Sri Lanka, was admitted to the hospital on January 25 and tested positive for COVID-19 two days later.
Workers go about their duties at a section of the Leishenshan Hospital, the newly-built makeshift hospital for novel coronavirus patients, in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province on Feb. 18. The first group of patients infected with the COVID-19 coronavirus was discharged from Leishenshan Hospital on Feb. 18, according to local media.
Jay Butler, Deputy Director for Infectious Diseases addresses the media about response to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19 ) as Senior Adviser Ed Rouse looks on, at the Emergency Operations Center inside The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on Feb. 13 in Atlanta.
The ultrastructural morphology exhibited by the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV), which was identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China, is seen in an illustration released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, on Jan. 29.
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The U.S. State Department extended an olive branch to Iran Friday amid a report that more than 200 people in the country have reportedly been killed by the coronavirus, a figure six times higher than the officially released number.
"The United States stands with the people of Iran during the public health crisis caused by the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). The U.S. Government is prepared to assist the Iranian people in their response efforts," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement. "This offer of support to the Iranian people, which has been formally conveyed to Iran through the Government of Switzerland, underscores our ongoing commitment to address health crises and prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Supporting the Iranian people is and will remain among our top priorities."
Pompeo is also calling on Tehran to "cooperate fully and transparently with international aid and health organizations," amid growing international concern that Tehran's leadership is purporting to coverup the extent of the problem and lacks the resources necessary to contain the spread of the illness.
Iranian government officials have said that the death toll in the country is 34. But a report by BBC Persia, citing sources in the country's health system, claims that number is at least 210, with the vast portion of the victims residing in the capital Tehran and the holy city of Qom, which is where the first case was recorded last week.
Among those known to have contracted Covid-19 – according to state media – include Masoumeh Ebtekar, the highest-ranking woman in the Iranian government and the vice president for women and family affairs who also served as the spokesperson for the Iranian students who seized U.S. hostages in 1979, and two members of parliament, including the deputy health minister.
Modest measures have been taken to squash further spread – Friday prayers were called off in the capital and 22 other cities, and schools and universities have been shuttered.
While Tehran has vowed that they are being transparent in the handling of the virus, skepticism pervades.
"(Coronavirus) came unseen and undetected into Iran, so the extent of infection may be broader than what we may be seeing," Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization's emergencies program, stated Thursday.