China prepared to close temporary hospitals while South Korea struggled to find enough beds for its sick Wednesday as the virus epidemic that began in Asia increasingly troubled the West.
"We have entered a phase that will last weeks and, undoubtedly, months," said President Emmanuel Macron of France, where more than 200 people were infected.
As new cases were dropping in worst-hit China, worrisome clusters were growing sharply in South Korea, Italy and Iran, which each exceed 2,000 cases.
Italy newly surpassed Iran with the most deaths outside China, with 79 as of Tuesday.
World Health Organization leader Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said though the virus caused more serious illness and death than the flu, data suggests it's not as easy to catch.
"People are afraid and uncertain. Fear is a natural human response to any threat," Tedros said.
"But as we get more data, we are understanding this virus and the disease it causes more and more."
"Everyone is at a loss."
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