While China is still reeling from the corona virus, the rapid spread in other countries worrying the epidemic is entering a new phase.

Most of the cases in the Covid-19 epidemic are still concentrated in mainland China, with more than 75,000 people infected and more than 2,200 deaths. The disease that started in Wuhan in December 2019 has not yet become a pandemic, because the definition of a pandemic is defined as a virus spreading across multiple continents.

The number of people dying from nCoV outside mainland China is still small, with at least 11 deaths. However, in other Asian countries, the infection is becoming more serious as the number of cases increases rapidly, raising concerns about the next stage of the Covid-19 epidemic.

The number of nCoV infections in South Korea on February 21 increased to 204, doubling in 24 hours with a focus on Daegu, the fourth largest city in the country with a population of 2.5 million. Most cases in Daegu involve people who used to attend church services in the Shincheonji church. A 61-year-old female Christian is believed to have infected at least 43 people.

South Korean Health Minister Park Neung-hoo said officials were aware of the infection channels, adding that the current situation was "manageable". Daegu officials have ordered the closure of public facilities and encouraged residents to stay indoors. All kindergartens are also closed, while schools considering deferring the second semester are expected to begin in early March.

The situation in Japan is even more alarming, as the country became the second largest "outbreak" after China with more than 700 nCoV infections, including more than 600 people aboard the Diamond Princess. The yacht was quarantined from February 4 to February 19 in Yokohama port by a Hong Kong tourist last month positive for nCoV.

Kentaro Iwata, an infectious disease expert at Kobe University, criticized the Japanese government on February 18 for quarantining Diamond Princess. He explained that "yachts are a completely unsuitable place to control infectious diseases". In addition, the government did not distinguish between the green and the red areas, showing where it was uninfected and potentially infected.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also rate Diamond Princess isolation as ineffective in preventing interpersonal transmission. Two passengers on the yacht, including a man and a woman over the age of 80, died of nCoV.

The Japanese government was also criticized for being too late to stop the flow of tourists from China. In addition to the Diamond Princess cases, the number of nCoV infections in Japan tripled in the past week, to more than 90. An 80-year-old woman in Kanagawa Prefecture who was positive for nCoV died last week.

Japanese Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said on February 16 that they had lost track of some patients. Cases in the country come from many unrelated areas, making it difficult for officials to determine the route of infection.

The situation of spreading nCoV in Japan is assessed to be potentially more serious, stemming from many high risk factors, such as large numbers of elderly people and a relentless working culture. CDC yesterday put Japan on the "first level review" list, which advises citizens when traveling to this country to "take common preventive measures".

Concerns about the new phase of the Covid-19 epidemic crept into the global financial markets, as investors are weighing the impact on economic growth and revenue if nCoV spreads further in the region.

"The surge in the number of nCoV infections in other parts of Asia, especially Japan and South Korea, has sparked new concerns. This shows a new phase of the epidemic, where the disruption. will continue and affect the economy more than previously thought, "said Khoon Goh, an expert in Singapore of ANZ Financial Group.

However, in other parts of Asia, the Covid-19 epidemic prevention situation seems to be better thanks to strict preventive measures. Macau Special Zone, the world's largest gambling center, has not reported any new infections for more than two weeks. Casinos are closed and travel to mainland China is restricted.

In Singapore, where more than 80 cases were recorded, the number of patients did not increase much and 37 people recovered. Hong Kong Special Zone also did not have any mutations, although the case of a 48-year-old policeman infected with nCoV is causing concern, because this person had a meal with 59 other police.

Despite some positive signs, many people still worry that Diamond Princess yacht is at risk of becoming a "disaster germ" in the next phase of the Covid-19 epidemic. With more than 1,000 quarantined passengers from over 50 countries leaving the ship and on their way home, their trips could cause a new wave of infection worldwide. Two people who recently returned to Australia received positive results for nCoV.

"It is quite possible for a negative case to appear before boarding, but it is positive after landing. That's how the disease spread," said Keiji Fukuda, former World Health Organization (WHO) official. ), now an expert at the University of Hong Kong, said.

The WHO says the current situation is still manageable, but warns that if countries do not seriously respond to the disease, the spread will become a wider global threat.

"This virus is very dangerous and is the number one enemy of the community," WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland on February 20.