Coronavirus cases rise to 183 in Latin America

By Ali Cura, Dmitri Chirciu and Sinan Dogan

YEREVAN/MOSCOW/MINSK/KISHINEV/ANKARA (AA) - The number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus has risen to 183 in Latin America, according to data from from U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University and media outlets.

In Argentina, where the first death from the virus occurred in the region, 19 people have been diagnosed. Chile has 23 confirmed cases, Ecuador has 17, Brazil 52, Mexico eight, Peru 13, Costa Rica 22, Colombia nine, Panama eight, Paraguay five, the Dominican Republic five and Honduras two.

Meanwhile, the number of cases in the Eastern European country of Armenia rose to four.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said all cases there can be traced to those who came from Italy.

Twenty-eight people, including a child, have tested positive for the virus in Russia, according to the country's Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Health Ministry in Belarus announced that 11 people were diagnosed.

The number in Moldovia rose to four, according to the Health, Labor and Social Protection Ministry as Moldovan airlines suspended flights to Italy between March 12 -31.

The global death toll from the virus is more than 4,000, with nearly 114,000 confirmed cases.

The virus originated in Wuhan, China but has reached more than 100 countries.

The World Health Organization has officially termed the spread of COVID-19 a global pandemic.

As part of efforts to contain the outbreak, some governments have closed borders and suspended land and air travel with the worst-hit countries.

*Writing by Burak Dag