IBT: Coronavirus Update: Hong Kong Reports Second Death, Global Death Toll Hits 2,009
“…China reported the death toll from Covid-19 at 2,009, as of 11:00 a.m., Hong Kong time. The deaths exceeded the 2,000 mark about six hours earlier. The degree of the disease’s infectiousness can be gleaned from casualty reports only hours apart. As of 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, Hong Kong time, China reported 75,196 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 2,009 deaths worldwide. In addition, the National Health Commission (NHC) claims 14,449 persons have recovered from the pneumonia-like illness. Some 11,200 people remain in severe or critical condition…” (Villasanta, 2/18).

U.N. News: ‘Working night and day,’ U.N. health agency seeks to prevent global coronavirus crisis
“As COVID-19, also known as coronavirus, continues to spread, the head of the United Nations health agency said that there is still a chance to prevent a broader global crisis. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the U.N. World Health Organization (WHO), updated journalists on Tuesday … For more than a month, WHO has been supporting national authorities in other countries with cases, to track the virus and understand how people became infected…” (2/18).

Additional coverage of the global spread of COVID-19 is available from AP, Bloomberg, CNN, and New York Times.