In a “tragic milestone,” Europe has surpassed China to become the epicenter of the novel coronavirus pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than 5,000 people around the world. CLICK HERE FOR FULL CORONAVIRUS COVERAGEOvernight Friday, the number of cases surged past 145,000 with the most confirmed cases coming from China, Italy, and Iran. “Europe has now become the epicenter of the pandemic with more reported cases and deaths than the rest of (the) world combined apart from China,” Tedros said via a virtual news conference in Geneva. CHINA REFRAMES CORONAVIRUS NARRATIVE, TOUTS XI'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS DESPITE BODIES PILING UPIn just 24 hours, the number of confirmed cases also spiked in some places. SPAIN SET TO ANNOUNCE LOCKDOWN AS CORONAVIRUS CASES SPIKE; PLANES TURNED AROUND MIDAIRIn the Czech Republic, the government ordered retail businesses including shopping malls to close as of Saturday morning.

Source: Fox News March 14, 2020 12:04 UTC