The global march of the new virus triggered a vigorous appeal from the World Health Organisation for governments to pull out all the stops to slow the epidemic, AP reported.

The UN health agency urged all countries to push this virus back, a call to action reinforced by dramatic surges in new cases. The virus has infected 98,000 people and killed over 3,300.

"This is not a drill. This is not the time for giving up. This is not a time for excuses. This is a time for pulling out all the stops," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Geneva. "Countries have been planning for scenarios like this for decades. Now is the time to act on those plans."

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