The COVID-19 virus has now been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization.
The W.H.O. says in the past two weeks, the number of cases of the coronavirus outside China has increased 13-fold, and the number of affected countries has tripled.
It says there are now more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries, and 4,291 people have lost their lives and thousands more are fighting for their lives in hospitals.
In the days and weeks ahead, the W.H.O. says it expects to see the number of cases, the number of deaths, and the number of affected countries climb even higher.
Authorities say they have been assessing this outbreak around the clock and are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity and by the alarming levels of inaction.
Here in Canada, there are at least 93 cases of the coronavirus reported by the federal government. That includes 39 in British Columbia and 36 in Ontario. There has been one reported death.
