The World Health Organization is urging countries affected by the coronavirus to enact containment measures as the best way to slow down the spread of this deadly disease.While most of the nearly 89,000 cases of coronavirus are reported from China, WHO said Monday the virus appears to be declining there while it is accelerating elsewhere.Outside China, South Korea is the most seriously affected country. The World Health Organization reports more than half of the more than 8,700 cases of coronavirus reported in countries outside China are in South Korea. WHO cites Italy, Iran and Japan as other countries of greatest concern.COVID-19 a unique virusWHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said COVID-19 is a unique virus with unique features. He said the virus is not influenza. He said it is a respiratory pathogen that is capable of community transmission. At the same time, he notes  it can be contained with the right measures.“If this was an influenza epidemic, …

Covering the coronavirus story requires careful navigation and constant attention.      News organizations trying to responsibly report  on the growing health crisis are confronted with the task of conveying its seriousness without provoking panic, keeping up with a torrent of information while much remains a mystery and continually advising readers and viewers how to stay safe.      “It’s a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week, around-the-world story,” said Michael Slackman, international editor at The New York Times.     The Times maintains a live news blog about the coronavirus that is refreshed 24 hours a day, with editors in New York, London and Hong Kong dividing responsibility. The Slack channel set up by Associated Press journalists to discuss coverage among themselves and contribute to the story has more than 400 members. Starting Monday, NBC News is turning its morning newsletter solely into a vehicle for talking about the disease.      The coronavirus …

 The White House is expected to meet Wednesday with top executives from U.S. airlines and the cruise industry amid the growing coronavirus outbreak, two people briefed on the matter said. Vice President Mike Pence, who is overseeing the administration’s efforts, is expected to attend, as are airline and cruise officials. U.S. airlines report travel demand has fallen sharply. Airlines have cut flights to Asia and Italy amid the crisis and canceled all flights to China until late April.    …

The U.S. surgeon general has a message for Americans inclined to wear a mask to ward off the deadly coronavirus — don’t.”Their risk as American citizens remains low,” Surgeon General Jerome Adams told the “Fox & Friends” show on Monday. “There are things that people can do to stay safe. There are things they shouldn’t be doing. And of the things they shouldn’t be doing, the general public, is going out and buying masks.”He said, “It actually does not help. It’s not been proven to be effective in preventing spread of coronavirus amongst the general public. And actually people who tend to buy masks don’t know how to wear them properly.”Adams said that “as a health care provider, I have to get fit tested. Folks who don’t know how to wear them properly tend to touch their faces a lot and actually can increase the spread of coronavirus.”The surgeon general, …

A member of a council that advises Iran’s supreme leader died Monday after falling sick from the new coronavirus, state radio reported, becoming the first top official to succumb to the illness that is affecting members of the Islamic Republic’s leadership.     The death of Expediency Council member Mohammad Mirmohammadi came as Iran announced the virus had killed 66 people among 1,501 confirmed cases in the country.     Iran has the highest death toll in the world after China, the epicenter of the outbreak.     Mirmohammadi died at a north Tehran hospital of the virus, state radio said. He was 71.     The council advises Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as settles disputes between the top cleric and parliament.     His death comes as other top officials have contracted the virus in Iran.     Those sick include Vice President Masoumeh Ebtekar, better …

The coronavirus claimed its first victim in the U.S. Saturday as the number of cases shot up in Iran, Italy and South Korea and the spreading outbreak continued to shake the global economy. The virus altered daily life around the world as governments moved to combat the contagion. Islam’s holiest sites were closed to foreign pilgrims, while professional baseball teams played in deserted stadiums in Japan and officials in France advised residents to forgo customary greeting kisses. The list of countries touched by the virus climbed to nearly 60, with new cases reported Saturday in Lebanon, Mexico, France and Ecuador. More than 85,000 people worldwide have contracted the virus, with deaths topping 2,900. A man in his 50s with underlying health conditions became the first coronavirus death on U.S. soil. President Donald Trump initially said the victim was a woman, but the person’s gender was later confirmed by state and …