As the spread of the Chinese respiratory coronavirus (2019-nCoV) continues to accelerate, a global pandemic and ensuing massive humanitarian tragedy are threatening the country and surrounding territories.

The virus has spread to almost every province in mainland China, while Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand are the worst affected outside the mainland, whose Spring Festival holiday has been extended by three days to March 2 to delay travel by up to 500 million people.

China’s President Xi Jinping held a politburo meeting on Jan. 25 to discuss steps to contain the epidemic, saying on state television that the outbreak is accelerating and that the country is facing a “grave situation,” Voice of America reported.

At the time of writing, 81 deaths had been confirmed with 2,827 more infected and over 30,000 people in China alone under watch; the number has jumped each day over the past 10 days and is expected to continue the same trajectory. At least 44 cases have been confirmed offshore including in Thailand, Singapore, the United States and Australia as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang travelled to Wuhan to visit hospitals.