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Coronavirus pandemic - World News

The Chinese government has accused the US of causing "panic" in its response to the deadly coronavirus outbreak.

It follows the US decision to declare a public health emergency and deny entry to foreign nationals who had visited China in the past two weeks.

There are more than 17,000 confirmed cases of the virus in China. Some 361 people have died in the mainland alone.

Outside China, there are more than 150 confirmed cases of the virus - and one death, in the Philippines.

The virus causes severe acute respiratory infection and symptoms seem to start with a fever, followed by a dry cough.

On Monday, a study by a Chinese virologist said a pneumonia outbreak associated with the coronavirus had likely started in bats.

What measures has the US taken?
On 23 January, the US ordered the departure of all non-emergency US personnel and their family members from the city of Wuhan in Hubei province, where the virus originated.

Less than a week later, the US allowed for the voluntary departure of non-emergency personnel and relatives of US government employees from China.

On 30th January, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency over the new virus.

Following this, the US ordered the departure of all US personnel family members under the age of 21 in China.

Any US citizen who has been in Hubei province will be subject to 14 days' quarantine upon returning to the US.

What are other countries doing to stem the outbreak?
On Monday, Hong Kong said it was suspending from midnight local time (16:00 GMT) 10 out of 13 border crossings with mainland China.

Various countries have imposed varying travel restrictions and other preventative measures, including:

Denying entry to all foreign visitors who have recently been to China: US, Australia, Singapore
Denying entry to foreigners travelling from mainland China: New Zealand, Israel
Denying entry to foreigners who have visited Hubei province: Japan, South Korea
Temporarily suspending all flights to mainland China: Egypt, Finland, Indonesia, the UK, Italy
Closing the border with China: Mongolia, Russia (partially)
How did China react to the US measures?
In a news briefing on Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said the US actions "could only create and spread fear" instead of offering assistance.

She said the US was the first country to impose a travel ban on Chinese travellers and the first to suggest a partial withdrawal of its embassy staff.

"It is precisely developed countries like the US with strong epidemic prevention capabilities... that have taken the lead in imposing excessive restrictions contrary to WHO recommendations," Ms Hua said, according to a Reuters report.

Do the travel bans work?
Global health officials have advised against the bans.

The WHO has actually warned that closing borders could accelerate the spread of the virus, if travellers enter countries unofficially.

"Travel restrictions can cause more harm than good by hindering info-sharing, medical supply chains and harming economies," the head of the WHO, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said last week.

The WHO instead recommends introducing screening at border crossings.

On Monday, Dr Tedros again praised China for its commitment to fighting the coronavirus, stressing that the only way to defeat it was for all countries to work together "in a spirit of co-operation".

How deadly is the virus?
More than 75,000 people may have been infected in the city of Wuhan, experts say.

But estimates by the University of Hong Kong suggest the total number of cases could be far higher than the official figures.

A report on the early stages of the outbreak by the Lancet medical journal said most patients who died from the virus had pre-existing conditions.

The report found that, of the first 99 patients treated at the Jinyintan Hospital in Wuhan, 40 had a weak heart or damaged blood vessels. A further 12 had diabetes.

Most people infected are likely to fully recover - just as they would from a normal flu.

An expert at China's National Health Commission (NHC) said that one week was sufficient for a recovery from mild coronavirus symptoms.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51353279
 
MenInG said:
The Chinese government has accused the US of causing "panic" in its response to the deadly coronavirus outbreak.

It follows the US decision to declare a public health emergency and deny entry to foreign nationals who had visited China in the past two weeks.

There are more than 17,000 confirmed cases of the virus in China. Some 361 people have died in the mainland alone.

Outside China, there are more than 150 confirmed cases of the virus - and one death, in the Philippines.

The virus causes severe acute respiratory infection and symptoms seem to start with a fever, followed by a dry cough.

On Monday, a study by a Chinese virologist said a pneumonia outbreak associated with the coronavirus had likely started in bats.

What measures has the US taken?
On 23 January, the US ordered the departure of all non-emergency US personnel and their family members from the city of Wuhan in Hubei province, where the virus originated.

Less than a week later, the US allowed for the voluntary departure of non-emergency personnel and relatives of US government employees from China.

On 30th January, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency over the new virus.

Following this, the US ordered the departure of all US personnel family members under the age of 21 in China.

Any US citizen who has been in Hubei province will be subject to 14 days' quarantine upon returning to the US.

What are other countries doing to stem the outbreak?
On Monday, Hong Kong said it was suspending from midnight local time (16:00 GMT) 10 out of 13 border crossings with mainland China.

Various countries have imposed varying travel restrictions and other preventative measures, including:

Denying entry to all foreign visitors who have recently been to China: US, Australia, Singapore
Denying entry to foreigners travelling from mainland China: New Zealand, Israel
Denying entry to foreigners who have visited Hubei province: Japan, South Korea
Temporarily suspending all flights to mainland China: Egypt, Finland, Indonesia, the UK, Italy
Closing the border with China: Mongolia, Russia (partially)
How did China react to the US measures?
In a news briefing on Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said the US actions "could only create and spread fear" instead of offering assistance.

She said the US was the first country to impose a travel ban on Chinese travellers and the first to suggest a partial withdrawal of its embassy staff.

"It is precisely developed countries like the US with strong epidemic prevention capabilities... that have taken the lead in imposing excessive restrictions contrary to WHO recommendations," Ms Hua said, according to a Reuters report.

Do the travel bans work?
Global health officials have advised against the bans.

The WHO has actually warned that closing borders could accelerate the spread of the virus, if travellers enter countries unofficially.

"Travel restrictions can cause more harm than good by hindering info-sharing, medical supply chains and harming economies," the head of the WHO, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said last week.

The WHO instead recommends introducing screening at border crossings.

On Monday, Dr Tedros again praised China for its commitment to fighting the coronavirus, stressing that the only way to defeat it was for all countries to work together "in a spirit of co-operation".

How deadly is the virus?
More than 75,000 people may have been infected in the city of Wuhan, experts say.

But estimates by the University of Hong Kong suggest the total number of cases could be far higher than the official figures.

A report on the early stages of the outbreak by the Lancet medical journal said most patients who died from the virus had pre-existing conditions.

The report found that, of the first 99 patients treated at the Jinyintan Hospital in Wuhan, 40 had a weak heart or damaged blood vessels. A further 12 had diabetes.

Most people infected are likely to fully recover - just as they would from a normal flu.

An expert at China's National Health Commission (NHC) said that one week was sufficient for a recovery from mild coronavirus symptoms.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51353279
Click to expand...

Definitely some truth to it. If this is influenza type disease, then be advised that flu and common cold kills way more every year than coronavirus has. Way to protect yourself from common cold and flu is very similar to what they are doing for coronavirus.
 
Chinese shouldnt accuse anyone, their own citizens are criticizing them, they have even banned criticism of this, if it wasn’t for Hong Kong reporting it , it would probably be worse.
 
Coronavirus: Scores of Arab students evacuated from China's Wuhan
Jordanian student among 71 Arabs evacuated from Wuhan says he escaped from 'jaws of death'.

Seventy-one Arab students have been evacuated from China's Wuhan, a city at the epicentre of a fast-spreading coronavirus that has killed 300 people and infected more than 14,000 people.

The Arab students evacuated from the capital of Hubei province flew into Jordan's capital, Amman, on a Royal Jordanian airlines flight on Saturday. They included 54 Jordanians and seven Palestinians, as well as students from Tunisia, Oman, Syria and Bahrain.

"It's been really difficult in Wuhan, since the coronavirus started spreading. We escaped from the jaws of death. Life returned to us once we arrived in Jordan," a student from Jordan, who wished to remain anonymous, told Al Jazeera.

"We spent several days under extreme mental stress. If someone was coughing or sneezing, they would be shunned by others who suspected that they may be infected. Food started to run out in the student dorms because the supermarkets were closed and students were banned from leaving their residences, except in very urgent cases."

Authorities in China had placed the city of 11 million under lockdown in January in a bid to contain the virus. The quarantine has since been extended to the entire Hubei province.

The lockdown turned Wuhan into a "ghost town", another student said, adding that he and his fellow students had lived in a state of panic and fear as the number of infected people in Wuhan increased, pharmacies ran out of medical masks and gloves, and bans were imposed on entering and exiting the city.

He said he hoped Chinese authorities contained the outbreak soon so he could return to continue his studies.

Another student told Al Jazeera: "All thanks to God and Jordan's efforts to bring us back here. Without them, we might be among the infected or dead. Unfortunately, the virus is spreading, hospitals can no longer accommodate the number of infected patients. We were banned from leaving our dorms, and our studies were suspended until the end of this month."

Life in Wuhan had come to a stop, the student said, describing empty streets and restaurants and shops that remained shuttered as people hid in their homes.

Jordanian student among 71 Arabs evacuated from Wuhan says he escaped from 'jaws of death'.

Seventy-one Arab students have been evacuated from China's Wuhan, a city at the epicentre of a fast-spreading coronavirus that has killed 300 people and infected more than 14,000 people.

The Arab students evacuated from the capital of Hubei province flew into Jordan's capital, Amman, on a Royal Jordanian airlines flight on Saturday. They included 54 Jordanians and seven Palestinians, as well as students from Tunisia, Oman, Syria and Bahrain.

"It's been really difficult in Wuhan, since the coronavirus started spreading. We escaped from the jaws of death. Life returned to us once we arrived in Jordan," a student from Jordan, who wished to remain anonymous, told Al Jazeera.

"We spent several days under extreme mental stress. If someone was coughing or sneezing, they would be shunned by others who suspected that they may be infected. Food started to run out in the student dorms because the supermarkets were closed and students were banned from leaving their residences, except in very urgent cases."

Authorities in China had placed the city of 11 million under lockdown in January in a bid to contain the virus. The quarantine has since been extended to the entire Hubei province.


The lockdown turned Wuhan into a "ghost town", another student said, adding that he and his fellow students had lived in a state of panic and fear as the number of infected people in Wuhan increased, pharmacies ran out of medical masks and gloves, and bans were imposed on entering and exiting the city.

He said he hoped Chinese authorities contained the outbreak soon so he could return to continue his studies.

Another student told Al Jazeera: "All thanks to God and Jordan's efforts to bring us back here. Without them, we might be among the infected or dead.

Unfortunately, the virus is spreading, hospitals can no longer accommodate the number of infected patients. We were banned from leaving our dorms, and our studies were suspended until the end of this month."

Life in Wuhan had come to a stop, the student said, describing empty streets and restaurants and shops that remained shuttered as people hid in their homes.

The Arab students were transferred to Al Bashir Hospital upon their arrival in Amman for "precautionary examination", according to the Jordan Times.

The health ministry later said the coronavirus has not been detected among the students or anyone else in the kingdom so far

Hikmat Abul Foul, secretary-general of Jordan's Ministry of Health, was quoted as saying: "Two Jordanian doctors were dispatched to China and all the students received medical examinations prior to boarding the plane to Amman, with tests confirming that there were no infections or even symptoms of the disease."

Several countries, including the United States, Japan, and South Korea, have evacuated their nationals from the virus-hit city.

Some governments have imposed drastic measures, including border closures with China and visa bans for Chinese nationals, in a bid to limit the spread of the virus.

Meanwhile, China's ambassador to Qatar told reporters in Doha the current state of panic over the coronavirus was "greater" than its impact. Zhou Jian said authorities in China will "exert every effort to ensure the health of foreigners in China".

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...ts-evacuated-china-wuhan-200202113227971.html
 
MenInG said:
The Chinese government has accused the US of causing "panic" in its response to the deadly coronavirus outbreak.

It follows the US decision to declare a public health emergency and deny entry to foreign nationals who had visited China in the past two weeks.

There are more than 17,000 confirmed cases of the virus in China. Some 361 people have died in the mainland alone.

Outside China, there are more than 150 confirmed cases of the virus - and one death, in the Philippines.

The virus causes severe acute respiratory infection and symptoms seem to start with a fever, followed by a dry cough.

On Monday, a study by a Chinese virologist said a pneumonia outbreak associated with the coronavirus had likely started in bats.

What measures has the US taken?
On 23 January, the US ordered the departure of all non-emergency US personnel and their family members from the city of Wuhan in Hubei province, where the virus originated.

Less than a week later, the US allowed for the voluntary departure of non-emergency personnel and relatives of US government employees from China.

On 30th January, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency over the new virus.

Following this, the US ordered the departure of all US personnel family members under the age of 21 in China.

Any US citizen who has been in Hubei province will be subject to 14 days' quarantine upon returning to the US.

What are other countries doing to stem the outbreak?
On Monday, Hong Kong said it was suspending from midnight local time (16:00 GMT) 10 out of 13 border crossings with mainland China.

Various countries have imposed varying travel restrictions and other preventative measures, including:

Denying entry to all foreign visitors who have recently been to China: US, Australia, Singapore
Denying entry to foreigners travelling from mainland China: New Zealand, Israel
Denying entry to foreigners who have visited Hubei province: Japan, South Korea
Temporarily suspending all flights to mainland China: Egypt, Finland, Indonesia, the UK, Italy
Closing the border with China: Mongolia, Russia (partially)
How did China react to the US measures?
In a news briefing on Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said the US actions "could only create and spread fear" instead of offering assistance.

She said the US was the first country to impose a travel ban on Chinese travellers and the first to suggest a partial withdrawal of its embassy staff.

"It is precisely developed countries like the US with strong epidemic prevention capabilities... that have taken the lead in imposing excessive restrictions contrary to WHO recommendations," Ms Hua said, according to a Reuters report.

Do the travel bans work?
Global health officials have advised against the bans.

The WHO has actually warned that closing borders could accelerate the spread of the virus, if travellers enter countries unofficially.

"Travel restrictions can cause more harm than good by hindering info-sharing, medical supply chains and harming economies," the head of the WHO, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said last week.

The WHO instead recommends introducing screening at border crossings.

On Monday, Dr Tedros again praised China for its commitment to fighting the coronavirus, stressing that the only way to defeat it was for all countries to work together "in a spirit of co-operation".

How deadly is the virus?
More than 75,000 people may have been infected in the city of Wuhan, experts say.

But estimates by the University of Hong Kong suggest the total number of cases could be far higher than the official figures.

A report on the early stages of the outbreak by the Lancet medical journal said most patients who died from the virus had pre-existing conditions.

The report found that, of the first 99 patients treated at the Jinyintan Hospital in Wuhan, 40 had a weak heart or damaged blood vessels. A further 12 had diabetes.

Most people infected are likely to fully recover - just as they would from a normal flu.

An expert at China's National Health Commission (NHC) said that one week was sufficient for a recovery from mild coronavirus symptoms.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51353279
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Seriously China should be the last country criticizing any government to do what it likes. Irony died a thousand deaths here. And the Chinese should stop eating wild animals - have created this huge menace because of their stinky habits.
 
ahmedzee said:
Definitely some truth to it. If this is influenza type disease, then be advised that flu and common cold kills way more every year than coronavirus has. Way to protect yourself from common cold and flu is very similar to what they are doing for coronavirus.
Click to expand...

Every country has a right to protect their citizens against a rising danger.
Why is China locking down their citizens for days now is right here? It’s due to their negligence this has spread far and wide. In initial days they were trying to block news of a virus spreading and now talking morals..
and every country is now closing borders and why is China only concerned about usa?
 
BreadPakoda said:
Seriously China should be the last country criticizing any government to do what it likes. Irony died a thousand deaths here. And the Chinese should stop eating wild animals - have created this huge menace because of their stinky habits.
Click to expand...

It’s still debatable how their eating habits led to this or not.. but I totally agree China has no credentials to talk about another country when problem originated there
 
globalcitizen said:
It’s still debatable how their eating habits led to this or not.. but I totally agree China has no credentials to talk about another country when problem originated there
Click to expand...

Its more or less confirmed that the virus originated from one of their Wet Markets where animals are pretty much sold for consumption. Now the question is which animal exactly, theories range from bats, snakes or pangolins from what I have read.
 
GenericBrand said:
Its more or less confirmed that the virus originated from one of their Wet Markets where animals are pretty much sold for consumption. Now the question is which animal exactly, theories range from bats, snakes or pangolins from what I have read.
Click to expand...

It’s mostly bats because they had already found a similar virus in a bat cave in 2015
 
globalcitizen said:
It’s mostly bats because they had already found a similar virus in a bat cave in 2015
Click to expand...

But the weird part is apparently no Bats were sold at the Wet Market where the virus originated so there is an intermediary species involved
 
The most likely intermediate species between bats and humans is... Batman.
 
GenericBrand said:
But the weird part is apparently no Bats were sold at the Wet Market where the virus originated so there is an intermediary species involved
Click to expand...

Don’t know where u read this.. wet market is place where wild animals , seafood and meat is sold .. bats are sold in road side stalls here.. but as i said earlier it’s still not proven whether bats itself caused this.
 
globalcitizen said:
Don’t know where u read this.. wet market is place where wild animals , seafood and meat is sold .. bats are sold in road side stalls here.. but as i said earlier it’s still not proven whether bats itself caused this.
Click to expand...

I've read it in two articles so far, here is one of the links to one article

https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/29/health/bats-viruses-coronavirus-scn/index.html

Wu at the Chinese Center for Disease Control said the data was pointing toward the virus going from bats to another, unknown wild animal, and then to humans. She said no bats were sold or found at the seafood market and the outbreak was first reported in late December when most bat species in Wuhan are hibernating.
Click to expand...

Adding to this it would make since because a virus like Ebola originated from bats before spreading to Primates from which Humans were first exposed to it.
 
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One person told me that China crossed all limits and invited wrath of Allah. There is a lot of truth in this. In history also whenever a quam has gone astray beyond repair, God has destroyed them.Reeducation camps,rewriting Quran all this is the result of it.
 
China's top leadership has admitted "shortcomings and deficiencies" in the country's response to the deadly coronavirus outbreak.

The rare admission came from the Politburo Standing Committee, which called for an improvement in China's emergency management system.

It also ordered a "severe" crackdown on illegal wildlife markets - where the virus is thought to have emerged.

The death toll rose to 425, with more than 20,000 confirmed cases.

The government's initial handling of the outbreak has been widely criticised.

Officials have been accused of downplaying the severity of the virus at the start of the outbreak and in some cases, attempting to keep news of it under wraps.

One doctor in Wuhan who tried to warn his fellow colleagues about the outbreak in early January was accused of "making false comments" and told by police to stop the "illegal activity".

It was only later in January that the government ramped up harsh emergency measures - ordering the virtual lockdown of Hubei province, where the virus is believed to have originated.

On Monday alone, there were 64 new deaths, China's National Health Commission said - all in Hubei.

There are more than 150 cases in other countries, with one death in the Philippines.

On Tuesday, Hong Kong confirmed its first death from the coronavirus. Broadcaster RTHK said the 39-year-old man, who suffered from an underlying illness, had visited Wuhan on 21 January.

The new coronavirus causes severe acute respiratory infection and symptoms usually start with a fever, followed by a dry cough.

The number of deaths in China, excluding Hong Kong, now exceeds the 349 killed on the mainland in the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) outbreak of 2002-03. But the mortality rate of the new virus is about 2.1% - much lower than that of Sars at around 9.6% - suggesting it is not as deadly.

What has the Politburo said?
Reports of the standing committee meeting, chaired by President Xi Jinping, were carried by the official Xinhua news agency.

It said lessons had to be learned from what had been a "big test" of China's governance system.

"In response to the shortcomings and deficiencies that were exposed responding to this epidemic, we must improve our national emergency management system and improve our abilities in handling urgent and dangerous tasks," the report said.

"It is necessary to strengthen market supervision, resolutely ban and severely crack down on illegal wildlife markets and trade," it added.

On Monday, a study by a Chinese virologist said bats were the likely source. of the virus.

Wuhan remains the "top priority" and additional medical staff will be sent there, the committee said.

It said officials should assume full responsibility for their duties in epidemic prevention, and that those who failed to perform them would be punished.

It has been revealed that two officials in the town of Huajiahe were removed from their posts after a teenager with cerebral palsy died when his father - and sole carer - was quarantined for suspected coronavirus.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51362336
 
Gullycricket said:
One person told me that China crossed all limits and invited wrath of Allah. There is a lot of truth in this. In history also whenever a quam has gone astray beyond repair, God has destroyed them.Reeducation camps,rewriting Quran all this is the result of it.
Click to expand...

Now you sound like an evangelical Christian like Israel Folau. Each to their own however this imo has more to do with mother nature punishing humanity for all its evil deeds, not just a selected Muslim issue.
 
Gullycricket said:
One person told me that China crossed all limits and invited wrath of Allah. There is a lot of truth in this. In history also whenever a quam has gone astray beyond repair, God has destroyed them.Reeducation camps,rewriting Quran all this is the result of it.
Click to expand...

Keep religion out of this.
 
Coronavirus: Window of opportunity to act, World Health Organization says
The World Health Organization (WHO) says there is a "window of opportunity" to stop the deadly new coronavirus becoming a broader global crisis.

Director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the steps taken by China to fight the virus at its epicentre were the best way of stopping its spread.

Meanwhile, China's envoy to the UN in Geneva told nations not to over-react.

At least 427 people have died with more than 20,000 confirmed cases worldwide.

The WHO has declared a global health emergency over the outbreak but said the virus did not yet constitute a "pandemic" - the worldwide spread of a new disease. Officials say 425 people have died in China, one in Hong Kong and one in the Philippines.

About 80% of those who died were over the age of 60 and 75% of them had pre-existing health conditions such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, according to China's National Health Commission (NHC).

The new coronavirus causes severe acute respiratory infection and symptoms usually start with a fever, followed by a dry cough. Most people infected are likely to fully recover - just as they would from a flu.

What did the WHO say?

Speaking at a technical briefing in Geneva, Dr Tedros praised the Chinese authorities for their response at the epicentre of the outbreak - the city of Wuhan, in the province of Hubei, where millions of people are on lockdown and severe transport restrictions have been imposed.

"There is a window of opportunity because of the high measures, the strong measures China is taking at the epicentre, at the source. So let's use this opportunity to prevent further spread and control it," he said, stressing that developed countries were failing to share data.

Dr Tedros also reiterated his call for countries not to impose travel and trade restrictions, saying 22 nations had officially reported such measures. He urged them to be "short in duration, proportionate" and reviewed regularly.

But Chen Xu, China's ambassador to the UN in Geneva, said some restrictions went against the WHO's advice.

Earlier, Sylvie Briand, head of WHO's Global Infectious Hazard Preparedness division, said the outbreak "currently" was not a pandemic.

While more than two dozen nations have reported cases there have been no confirmations across Africa or Latin America.

Twenty-seven cases of human-to-human infections have occurred in nine countries outside China, according to the WHO.

Dr Briand also stressed the importance of tackling unfounded rumours, saying they could be an "obstacle for good response and hamper effective implementation of counter-measures.".

What's the latest around the world?

The UK and French governments told their citizens in China to leave the country if they could. The advice came after China's top leadership admitted "shortcomings and deficiencies" in the country's response to the outbreak.

Among other developments:

Taiwan said that from Friday it would deny entry to all foreign nationals who had been to mainland China in the past 14 days

Macau - a special administrative region of China and one of Asia's biggest gambling hubs - announced that it would temporarily close down all its casinos

Health officials are screening about 3,700 people on board a cruise ship off Japan after a passenger tested positive for the virus

Three more Asian countries - Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand - confirmed infections among citizens who had not travelled to China

How deadly is the virus?

More than 75,000 people may have been infected in Wuhan, experts say. But estimates by the University of Hong Kong suggest the total number of cases could be far higher than official figures.

Dr David Heymann, who led the WHO's response to the outbreak of Sars, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, in 2002-03, told the Associated Press news agency that the new coronavirus appeared to still be on the increase, and that it was too early to estimate when it would peak.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-51368873
 
At least 10 people on board a cruise ship docked in the Japanese port of Yokohama have tested positive for coronavirus, health authorities said.

Almost 300 of the 3,700 people on the Diamond Princess have been tested so far. The number of infected could rise as testing continues.

The checks began after an 80-year-old Hong Kong man who had been on the ship last month fell ill with the virus.

All 10 cases are in those over the age of 50, Japanese broadcaster NHK said.

Four are in their 50s, four are in their 60s, one is in their 70s, and another one is in their 80s. Two of them are said to be Japanese, and none are in "serious condition", NHK said.

Japanese Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said the confirmed cases were among 31 results from 273 people tested so far.

"We had them [the ones who tested positive] get off the vessel and... we are sending them to medical organisations," he said at a news conference on Wednesday.

In China alone, there are now more than 24,300 cases of the virus, with the death toll at 490.

There is a much smaller number of cases in other countries around the globe - two people outside of mainland China have died of the disease.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51381594
 
Hong Kong is to impose a mandatory 14-day quarantine on all visitors from mainland China as it battles to prevent the spread of a coronavirus outbreak.

The policy comes into effect on Saturday but officials refused to close the border entirely, as demanded by medical staff who have gone on strike.

Hong Kong, which has 21 confirmed cases and one fatality, suffered 300 deaths in the Sars outbreak in 2002-03.

There are 24,300 confirmed coronavirus cases and 490 deaths on the mainland.

Those figures included an additional 4,000 cases and 65 deaths on Tuesday.

Could it become pandemic?
The virus has spread overseas, with some 25 nations confirming cases, although there have so far been only two deaths.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak a global health emergency. Its chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on Wednesday appealed for $675m (£520m) to fund a three-month response plan.

Meanwhile, at least 10 people on board a cruise ship docked in the Japanese port of Yokohama have tested positive for the virus.

The coronavirus causes severe acute respiratory infection and symptoms usually start with a fever, followed by a dry cough. Most people infected are likely to fully recover - just as they would from a flu.

What action has Hong Kong taken?
Chief Executive Carrie Lam said anyone arriving from the mainland, including foreigners, would be quarantined for 14 days from Saturday, although she did not say how this would be imposed.

It is unclear where the quarantines would take place or whether Hong Kong residents could spend the time at home.

Tens of thousands of people arrived from the mainland on Tuesday.

Ms Lam has not moved to close the border entirely, although thousands of medical staff on Wednesday entered the third day of their strike over the issue and have threatened to escalate their action.

Hong Kong will, however, close the Ocean and Kai Tak cruise terminals.

Some 3,600 passengers and crew on the World Dream, docked at Kai Tak, are being tested for the virus after three Chinese passengers who were on the ship between 19 and 24 January tested positive after disembarking.

Hong Kong remains concerned about a repeat of the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) outbreak, although the mortality rate of the new virus is much lower than that of Sars, which was around 9.6%.

There have been massive queues for masks which are in short supply and are selling at inflated prices.

Separately, the Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific is asking 27,000 staff to take three weeks unpaid leave over the coming months as it deals with the impact of the outbreak.

What are the mainland's latest measures?
Officials say they have stepped up efforts to control the outbreak, particularly in its epicentre, Hubei province and its capital, Wuhan, where two hospitals have been speedily built and 11 public venues sports transformed into makeshift wards.

Millions in Hubei and Zhejiang provinces have been told only one person per household can go outside every two days.

Chinese health authorities insist suspected cases are falling, because of better testing.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying urged other nations to be objective in their assessment of the virus and support China's efforts. "Fear is worse than any virus," she said.

State broadcaster CCTV quoted doctors in Wuhan as saying it appeared that pregnant women could pass the virus to their unborn child. A baby had tested positive after being born to an infected mother in the city.

What has the WHO said?
Announcing the appeal for $675m, Dr Tedros said: "Our message to the international community is invest today or pay more later."

The vast majority of the funds would go to nations needing help to protect against the virus. Some 500,000 masks and 40,000 respirators would be sent to 24 countries.

Dr Tedros said a "window of opportunity" existed to bring the virus under control and also welcomed a $100m donation from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced on Wednesday.

The WHO also played down reports from Chinese TV that researchers at Zhejiang University had found an effective drug, saying there were still "no known effective therapeutics"

In other developments on Wednesday:

Malaysian journalist Wan Noor Hayati faces charges of causing public fear over a Facebook post expressing alarm at the arrival of a cruise ship with 1,000 Chinese tourists in northern Penang state
Thousands of Chinese visitors to the island of Bali could be stranded there after the Indonesian government suspended flights to and from mainland China
Organisers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics say they are "seriously concerned" about the spread of the virus and its possible impact on the Games
Russian President Vladimir Putin said pharmacies that ramped up the price of masks should be stripped of their licences
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51389490
 
I live in the UK and I can tell you people are certainly overreacting here. 2 people out of 66 million have a disease. We're treating as if it's the end if the world!
 
Olympic organisers are "seriously concerned" about the spread of coronavirus and the impact it could have on the Tokyo Games this summer.

Several qualification events have already been impacted due to the virus.

Tokyo Organising Committee chief executive Toshiro Muto hopes it will be "eradicated as quickly as possible".

"We are extremely worried in the sense that the spread of the infectious virus could pour cold water on momentum for the Games," said Muto.

More than 24,300 cases of the virus have been recorded in China and 490 people have died, with 10 cases also confirmed on a quarantined Japanese cruise ship.

Two people have died of the disease outside of mainland China - one in Hong Kong and one in the Philippines.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak as a global health emergency but said it did not yet constitute a "pandemic", or the worldwide spread of a new disease.

Japanese government officials, including prime minister Shinzo Abe, say they will work hard to minimise any impact on the Games, which start on 24 July.

Saburo Kawabuchi, mayor of the Athletes' Village where an expected 11,000 athletes will stay, says he hopes for a "smooth Olympics".

"We will do our everything we can to protect the athletes to allow them to produce their best performances," he added.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) says it is in contact with the WHO and its own medical experts and has confidence the relevant authorities will take "all necessary measures to address the situation".

An IOC spokesperson said: "Countermeasures against infectious diseases constitute an important part of Tokyo 2020's plans to host a safe and secure Games.

"Tokyo 2020 will continue to collaborate with all relevant organisations which carefully monitor any incidence of infectious diseases and will review any countermeasures that may be necessary with all relevant organisations.

"Preparations for Tokyo 2020 continue as planned and we look forward to returning for the next Project Review in February."

A number of sporting events in China have been cancelled or postponed, including the World Athletics Indoor Championships, Chinese domestic football season and golf's LPGA event on Hainan Island.

Some countries have also introduced entry restrictions on Chinese athletes, however the Badminton World Federation said on Wednesday it would not be doing so for its global events.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/51383584
 
A third person in the UK has tested positive for coronavirus, the Department of Health has said.

The person did not contract it in the UK, the department said.

Professor Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England said: "A further patient has tested positive for coronavirus bringing the total number of cases in the UK to three.

Sky's Tom Cheshire explains what you need to know about the coronovirus

How dangerous is the new 'mystery' coronavirus that has killed more than a dozen people in China?
"The individual did not acquire this in the UK.

"The patient is being transferred to a specialist NHS centre, and we are using robust infection control measures to prevent any possible further spread of the virus.

"The NHS is well prepared to manage these cases and we are now working quickly to identify any contacts the patient has had."


The first two people in the UK to be infected with the virus, which originates from Wuhan, central China, were confirmed on 31 January.

They were both staying at a hotel in York when they fell ill and one of them is a student at the University of York, while the other is not but is related to them.

The death toll from mainland China jumped by 73 people on Thursday to 563 - mostly in Hubei province - with 28,018 confirmed infections inside the world's second largest economy.

Hong Kong has had 22 cases, including one death, while the Chinese autonomous region of Macau had had 10 cases.

Japan has had the most cases outside China, with 45, while Singapore, Thailand and South Korea follow behind with 28, 25 and 23 respectively.

Outside mainland China, at least 240 cases have been confirmed, with 28 in Europe, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-third-confirmed-case-in-uk-11927624
 
A Chinese newborn has been diagnosed with the new coronavirus just 30 hours after birth, the youngest case recorded so far, state media said.

The baby was born on 2 February in Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus.


The baby's mother tested positive before she gave birth. It is unclear how the disease was transmitted - in the womb, or after birth.

Only a handful of children have come down with the virus, which has killed 565 people and infected 28,018.

All but one of the deaths were in China.

State media outlet Xinhua reported news of the infection late on Wednesday.

It added that the baby, who weighed 3.25kg at birth (7lbs 2oz), was now in a stable condition and under observation.

How could the baby have been infected?
Medical experts say it could be a case where the infection was contracted in the womb.

"This reminds us to pay attention to mother-to-child being a possible route of coronavirus transmission," chief physician of Wuhan Children Hospital's neonatal medicine department, Zeng Lingkong, told Reuters.

But it is also possible that the baby was infected after birth from having close contact with the mother.

"It's quite possible that the baby picked it up very conventionally - by inhaling virus droplets that came from the mother coughing," Stephen Morse, an epidemiologist at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, told Business Insider.

Very few children have tested positive in this recent outbreak, which is consistent with other coronavirus outbreaks in recent history including Sars and Mers.

A report by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) said the median age of patients for the current outbreak is between 49 and 56 years, adding that cases in children "have been rare".

Similarly, during the Mers outbreak in 2016, the World Journal of Clinical Paediatrics said the virus was rare in children, though it added that the "reason for [this] low prevalence is not known".

A six-month old baby in Singapore is known to have tested positive for the new coronavirus, as well as an eight-year-old from Wuhan who is currently in Australia.

The virus has spread overseas, with 25 nations confirming a total of 191 cases, although there has so far been only two deaths outside mainland China.

The coronavirus causes severe acute respiratory infection and symptoms usually start with a fever, followed by a dry cough. Most people infected are likely to fully recover - just as they would from a flu.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51395655
 
Asian people in the UK say the coronavirus outbreak has led to a rise in racism - such as people appearing to avoid them on public transport.

It comes as China's UK ambassador warned against "rumours and panic" over the virus.

Three cases have been identified in Britain so far - with one more diagnosed on Thursday.

However, a Burmese food writer from London posted photos of a Tube journey which showed people choosing to stand rather than sit next to her.

"I got on to the Victoria line at Highbury and Islington and was on my way to Oxford Circus. Platform was full, carriage was full," said MiMi Aye.

"I noticed that no-one had sat down either side of me and I thought 'Huh, that's weird' ... I decided to take photos of the empty seats around me.


"People around me looked very uncomfortable and wouldn't catch my eye."

Others have posted on social media about similar experiences.

Writer Angela Hui tweeted: "Don't you just love to see it when a man sits in the empty seat next to you on the Tube and immediately gets back up muttering 'errr, not sitting next to coronavirus'."

In Sheffield, a Chinese student was reportedly pushed and abused for wearing a face mask.

South Yorkshire Police said they were "liaising with both universities and representatives from the Chinese community in the city to offer reassurance and establish further details".

Ken Chung, a British-Chinese comedian, posted: "Less than 0.001% of Chinese people have coronavirus yet more than 99.999% have already experienced coronaracism."

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has spoken out against racist attitudes over the outbreak.

"I deplore any attacks on the Chinese community. This is not about one part of the world," he said on Thursday.

"It's about making sure that we have the proper response. We have plans in place, we're working through those plans."

Liu Xiaoming, China's UK ambassador, urged Britain to support his country and warned people to stay level-headed.

"It is of hope that governments of all countries, including the UK, should understand and support China's efforts, avoid overreaction, avoid creating panic, and ensure normal co-operation and exchanges between countries," he said.

There have also been instances of racism reported around the world since the outbreak began - a little over a month ago.

Twitter users in France have been using the hashtag #JeNeSuisPasUnVirus - "I am not a virus" to fight back against prejudice.

A group of Chinese tourists were also allegedly spat at in Venice, while US beauty blogger Michelle Phan tweeted: "Why are some of you telling me to go back to eating bats? I'm American you ignorant f****."

Another tweet seeking to put the virus into context has been liked by nearly 200,000 people.

There were also reports in Australia's Daily Telegraph last week that people had avoided doing CPR on a man who collapsed and died in Sydney's Chinatown over fears he could have the virus.

A police spokesperson did not comment on the claims.

However, a video is also being shared that shows people with a more compassionate approach.

People hugged a masked Asian man who stood in the centre of Florence with a sign reading: "I'm not a virus, I'm a human, eradicate the prejudice."

Italy last week suspended all flights from China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan until the end of April.

Outside mainland China, at least 240 cases of the virus have been confirmed, with 28 cases in Europe, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

In China, 563 people have died, but the daily jump in cases is getting bigger.

Figures early on Thursday said the number of confirmed cases there had increased 3,694 to 28,018.

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavi...asian-people-after-outbreak-in-china-11927470
 
They call them Thailand's "virus hunters" - a team of specialist scientists who identify emerging diseases.

Since January, the group of 20 experts from the Thai Red Cross Emerging Infectious Disease Health Science Centre have had one main mission - to help the government detect the new coronavirus.

It's a 24/7 operation and 1,500 specimens have already been analysed at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok since last month.

They range from repeat screenings of positive cases to any of the people patients may have been in contact with.

The Thai government has said it is confident it is able to control the situation in Thailand. Pic: Montakan Tanchaisawat/USAID
So far, of the 25 people in the country who have tested positive for the virus, nine have already been discharged from hospital.

As we stand outside one of the dedicated laboratories, more samples arrive in white boxes with bright biohazard labels.

They are carefully unpacked and catalogued before being brought into another lab where the scientists are dressed in hazmat suits.

Goggles and masks protect their faces, while blue plastic sleeves cover their shoes and gloves shield their hands.

The virus they are receiving is still live and potentially deadly, so they need to kill it before they can extract the DNA and confirm whether it is the new coronavirus or a different infection.

Their expertise means they've already managed to cut the waiting time for results down from almost two days to about three hours.

"The early detection and the fast reporting of the results is not just good for patients, it's also good for the government so if it is positive they can find the other contacts and not make the disease spread," virologist Dr Supaporn Watcharaprueksadee told Sky News.

An expert in her field, she's previously examined bats, monkeys and rodents for the sources of coronaviruses, influenzas and ebola.

In January, Dr Watcharaprueksadee identified Thailand's first case of the new coronavirus.

The lab is one of only two in the country testing positive samples, while others screen potential sufferers.

The Thai government has said it is confident it is able to control the situation in Thailand.

Some of the measures taken to stop coronavirus include thermal scanners and screening at airports, a public awareness campaign and a deep clean of public transport and taxis.

But the virus doesn't recognise borders - and to stop its global spread, authorities say countries need to work together and share information and expertise.

The virus hunters' work not only detects new cases but could also help with future treatments.

"We also characterised the genome of the coronavirus and right now the genome can be used to design the medicines, the drugs and the vaccines more correctly and we also use this genome to monitor the mutation," she says.

This is important because if the virus mutates it may react differently to any vaccine which is later developed.

It may also cause the illness to become more or less severe.

The central role the team plays in combating the virus means there are no days off and little rest.

"It's very busy," says medical scientist Teerada Ponpinnit. "After the outbreak I've only had four or five hours to take a nap."

That's a gruelling schedule given there are potentially months of this crisis left to run - but she and the rest of the team say they're proud of their work.

They know the research here isn't just adding to local knowledge but can be shared with experts around the world as Thailand plays its part in the global fight against this new threat.

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavi...-7-in-the-fight-against-the-outbreak-11927618
 
Another 41 people on a cruise ship off the coast of Japan have tested positive for the new coronavirus - bringing the total to 61.

Some 3,700 people are on board the Diamond Princess, which is quarantined in Yokohama for at least two weeks.

The checks began after an 80-year-old Hong Kong man who had been on the ship last month fell ill with the virus.

He boarded the cruise ship in Yokohama on 20 January and disembarked in Hong Kong on 25 January.

A separate cruise ship - the World Dream - has been quarantined in Hong Kong after eight former passengers caught the virus.

It has around 3,600 people on board, but none have tested positive so far.

The new cases on the Diamond Princess bring Japan's number of confirmed cases to 86, the second highest figure after China.

"The results of the remaining 171 tests came out and 41 tested positive," Japan's Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said.

"Today they will be sent to hospitals in several prefectures, and we are now preparing for that."

With the quarantine due to last until 19 February, there has also been concern over supplies of normal medicine to the ship.

One passenger has been waving a Japanese flag with the message "shortage of medicine".

A Japanese TV crew on the shore responded with a banner asking: "What medicine?"

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51409800
 
The death of a Chinese doctor who tried to warn about the coronavirus outbreak has sparked an unprecedented level of public anger and grief in China.

Li Wenliang died after contracting the virus while treating patients in Wuhan.

Last December he sent a message to fellow medics warning of a virus he thought looked like Sars - another deadly coronavrius.

But he was told by police to "stop making false comments" and was investigated for "spreading rumours".

News of his death was met with an intense outpouring of grief on Chinese social media site Weibo - but this quickly turned into anger.

There had already been accusations against the government of downplaying the severity of the virus - and initially trying to keep it secret.

Dr Li's death has fuelled this further and triggered a conversation about the lack of freedom of speech in China.

The country's anti-corruption body has now said it will open an investigation into "issues involving Dr Li".

The Chinese government has previously admitted "shortcomings and deficiencies" in its response to the virus, which has now killed 636 people and infected 31,161 in mainland China.

According to Chinese site Pear Video, Dr Li's wife is due to give birth in June.

Chinese social media has been flooded with anger - it is hard to recall an event in recent years that has triggered as much grief, rage and mistrust against the government.

The top two trending hashtags on the website were "Wuhan government owes Dr Li Wenliang and apology" and "We want freedom of speech".

Both hashtags were quickly censored. When the BBC searched Weibo on Friday, hundreds of thousands of comments had been wiped. Only a handful remain.

"This is not the death of a whistleblower. This is the death of a hero," said one comment on Weibo.

Many have now taken to posting under the hashtag "Can you manage, do you understand?" - a reference to the letter Dr Li was told to sign when he was accused of disturbing "social order".

These comments do not directly name him - but are telling of the mounting anger and distrust towards the government.

"Do not forget how you feel now. Do not forget this anger. We must not let this happen again," said one comment on Weibo.

"The truth will always be treated as a rumour. How long are you going to lie? What else do you have to hide?" another said.

"If you are angry with what you see, stand up," one said. "To the young people of this generation, the power of change is with you."

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51409801
 
The global death toll from the ongoing coronavirus outbreak has reached 725, priming the illness to become more deadly than SARS.

Another 81 fatalities have been recorded in Hubei province in China, where Wuhan - the sprawling city where the infection was first reported after Christmas - is located.

The number of new infections rose on Friday from a day earlier, Chinese health officials said, reversing two days of declines and showing the difficulty of predicting the epidemic's peak.

Japan also confirmed its first national to die from the virus, a man taken to hospital with pneumonia in Wuhan, putting the global death toll just 49 behind the 774 fatalities recorded during the SARS epidemic of 2002-2003.

Lab technicians test patient samples for the novel coronavirus at the Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases of Thailand at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok on February 5, 2020. - Thailand so far has detected 25 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus believed to have originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, which is under lockdown.

Chinese health authorities have also confirmed 2,841 new cases of the new coronavirus in Hubei, taking the total number there up to 24,953, and the province has hosted at least 699 of the 725 total fatalities so far.

Among them is Dr Li Wenliang, a 34-year-old opthalmologist who died in Wuhan having tried to warn others about the outbreak back in December.

Since then China has rushed to build two new hospitals in Wuhan to cope with the crisis, with the second becoming operational from Saturday.

But demand continues to outstrip supply for beds and medical attention, forcing the city's special anti-virus command to renovate a school facility and four colleges into temporary hospitals.

China is also pursuing technological solutions to the outbreak, with 5G-powered robots being tested in Guangzhou, a port city northwest of Hong Kong, with a view to using them to take people's body temperature.

Hong Kong itself is also ramping up measures to combat the virus, with a mandatory two-week quarantine for anyone arriving from mainland China to be enforced from Saturday.

British citizen David Abel is currently quarantined aboard a cruise ship off the coast of Japan

Need a catch-up? Here's the latest on the coronavirus:

The death toll is 725: 723 in China, including the Japanese man, and one in the Philippines and Hong Kong
More than 34,000 people have been infected around the world, almost all in China
British citizens being flown back from Wuhan will be quarantined at a facility in Milton Keynes
Public Health England is increasing the number of laboratories that can test for coronavirus from one to 12

More than 34,000 people are now infected around the world, including three in the UK.

They are a man believed to have caught the virus in Singapore who is being treated at St Thomas' Hospital in London, and two people who were diagnosed in York and are now at a specialist hospital unit in Newcastle.

Other British cases have been reported abroad, including a a passenger on the stranded Diamond Princess cruise ship which has been quarantined off the coast of Japan.

About 3,700 passengers and crew are being kept at the port city of Yokohama, about 25 miles from Tokyo, with the operator Princess Cruises hoping the quarantine will end on 19 February barring "unforeseen developments".

What happens now with the coronavirus quarantine?

Patients are starting their fortnight long quarantine in the hopes of preventing any further infections in the UK.
The British man who has been taken off the ship and escorted to hospital after contracting the coronavirus has been named as Alan Steele, 58, who wrote about his diagnosis on Facebook.

He said: "Just to let you all know I have been diagnosed as having the virus and am being shipped to hospital. would also like to say that at the moment I am not showing any symptoms so just possible (sic) a carrier.

"Will let you know how I am going on when possible."

Mr Steele is one of 61 people on the cruise liner to have tested positive for coronavirus, with at least 20 of them having since been taken off the luxury ship for treatment.

The Diamond Princess cruise ship, with over 3,700 people quarantined on board
Meanwhile, Sky News understands British citizens still waiting to be evacuated from Wuhan will be quarantined at a facility in Milton Keynes when they are finally flown back to the UK on Sunday.

The flight due to arrive in the UK from Wuhan on Sunday will be the third one to make the trip in recent days.

The first plane, carrying 83 UK evacuees, arrived at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on 31 January before they were taken into quarantine at Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral for a fortnight.

Another 11 British nationals were on a second plane that flew back to the military base on 2 February.

Ten of them were then taken to the same NHS site to be quarantined, while the 11th went to a different hospital as they were unwell on the flight.

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavi...719-after-81-new-fatalities-in-hubei-11928799
 
Hong Kong has begun a mandatory two-week quarantine for anyone arriving from mainland China, in a fresh effort to contain the deadly new coronavirus.

Visitors must isolate themselves in hotel rooms or government-run centres. Residents must stay inside their homes.

Anyone caught flouting the new rules faces a fine and a prison sentence.

Meanwhile, 722 deaths were recorded in mainland China, including one American. A Japanese man also died with symptoms consistent with the virus.

The 60-year-old US citizen, the first confirmed non-Chinese victim of the illness, died on Thursday at Jinyintan Hospital in Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, according to a US embassy spokesman in Beijing, who did not give details.

Separately, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said a man in his 60s died, also in Wuhan, from what was suspected to be a case of coronavirus. However, it said it could not confirm the diagnosis, and that Chinese officials said the cause of death was viral pneumonia.

The city is opening its second makeshift hospital since the outbreak began. Leishenshan hospital was built in two weeks and will be able to accommodate 1,500 patients.

The number of confirmed cases in mainland China stands at 34,546. Outside China, 270 cases have been confirmed in 25 countries, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), with two fatalities - one in Hong Kong and another in the Philippines.

In Hong Kong, there have been 26 confirmed cases. Tens of thousands of travellers queued at the Chinese border city of Shenzhen to beat the Friday midnight deadline.

But by Saturday morning only a trickle of people were arriving via the Shenzhen Bay Port crossing.

Meanwhile, three more people have tested positive for the virus on a quarantined cruise ship in Yokohama harbour, bringing the total number of cases on board to 64.

There was some positive news on Friday when the WHO said there had been fewer reported infections in China in the past two days. However, director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus cautioned against reading too much into those figures.

He also told reporters that the outbreak had caused a global shortage of protective medical equipment such as gowns, masks and gloves.

"When supply is short, and demand is high then there could be bad practices like hoarding in order to sell them at higher prices," he warned, urging suppliers to "uphold the protection of humanity" rather than looking to increase profits.

The WHO also released new data from 17,000 patients that suggested 82% had a mild form of the disease, with 15% considered severe cases and 3% critical.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51419015
 
The number of coronavirus deaths has overtaken that of the Sars epidemic in 2003.

In China's Hubei province alone, the epicentre of the latest outbreak, the death toll now is put at 780 by regional health officials.

All but two of the overall total of 803 deaths have so far been in mainland China.

In 2003, 774 people were killed by Sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome) in more than two dozen countries.

More than 34,800 people have been infected with the new coronavirus worldwide, the vast majority in China.

Last month, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency over the new outbreak.

What's the latest on the coronavirus?
In its latest bulletin, health officials in Hubei reported 81 new fatalities on Saturday, bringing the death toll in the region to 780.

There now have been 801 deaths in China, with one each in Hong Kong and the Philippines.

The new virus, 2019-nCov, was first reported in Hubei's capital of Wuhan, and the sprawling city has been in lockdown for weeks.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong has implemented a mandatory two-week quarantine period for anyone arriving from mainland China. Visitors are being told to isolate themselves in hotel rooms or government-run centres, while residents are required to stay in their homes.

Flouting the new rules will be punishable with a fine and a prison sentence. There have been 26 confirmed cases of the virus in Hong Kong.

The death of Dr Li Wenliang, who tried to warn about the virus in December, has caused widespread anger and grief across China
On Thursday, a 60-year-old US citizen - the first confirmed non-Chinese victim of the illness - died in Wuhan's Jinyintan Hospital.

On Saturday, France confirmed five new cases in its Haute-Savoie region, including a nine-year-old boy, which brings the total of infected people in the country to 11.

French Health Minister Agnès Buzyn said all of the five new cases were British nationals staying in the same chalet, which had also housed a Briton who had been in Singapore. Their condition is not said to be serious. A further six people who stayed at the chalet are under observation.

Five Britons in French ski chalet catch virus
There has also been widespread anger and grief across China over the death of Li Wenliang, a doctor who tried to warn about the new coronavirus. He contracted the virus while treating patients in Wuhan, in Hubei province.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51431087
 
The number of people killed by the new coronavirus rose by 97 on Sunday, the highest number of casualties in a day.

The total number of deaths in China is now 908 - but the number of newly-infected people per day has stabilised.

Across China, 40,171 people are infected while 187,518 are under medical observation.

Meanwhile, 60 more people have tested positive on a cruise ship quarantined in Japan - meaning 130 out of 3,700 passengers have caught the virus.

The Diamond Princess ship is on a two-week quarantine off Yokohama, after a passenger - who earlier disembarked in Hong Kong - tested positive.

The infected passengers are taken off board and treated in nearby hospitals.

The new cases mean around a third of all coronavirus patients outside of China were on the Diamond Princess.

According to Chinese data, 3,281 patients have been cured and discharged from hospital.

On Monday, millions of people returned to work after the Lunar New Year break, which was extended from 31 January to curb the spread of the virus.

But precautionary measures remain in place, including the staggering of working hours, and the selective reopening of workplaces.

Over the weekend, the number of coronavirus deaths overtook that of the Sars epidemic in 2003 which also originated in China and killed 774 people worldwide.

The WHO on Saturday said the number of new cases in China was "stabilising" - but warned it was too early to say if the virus had peaked.

On Sunday evening, the organisation sent an international mission to help coordinate a response to the outbreak.

The new virus was first reported in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province. The city of 11 million has been in lockdown for weeks.

The outbreak was declared a global emergency by the WHO on 30 January.

It has spread to at least 27 other countries and territories, but so far there have only been two deaths outside of mainland China, in the Philippines and Hong Kong.

The director-general of the WHO on Sunday warned that the virus being transmitted by people who have not been to China could be the "tip of the iceberg".

"There've been some concerning instances of onward 2019nCoV spread from people with no travel history to China," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on Twitter

"The detection of a small number of cases may indicate more widespread transmission in other countries; in short, we may only be seeing the tip of the iceberg."

Meanwhile in Hong Kong, passengers on a quarantined cruise ship have been allowed to disembark after tests showed no infection among them or its crew.

The World Dream had been held in isolation after eight passengers from a previous cruise had caught the virus.

South Korea has issued a temporary ban on cruise ships entering its ports due to fears of spreading the virus.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51439450
 
The number of people infected by the coronavirus in the UK has doubled to eight - after four more patients tested positive for the virus.

It comes as the government issued new powers in England to keep people in quarantine to stop the virus spreading.

In order to do this the Department of Health has described the coronavirus as a "serious and imminent threat" to public health.

The overall risk level to the UK remains "moderate".

There have been more than 40,000 cases of the virus globally, mostly in China. The total number of deaths in China is now 908 - but the number of newly-infected people per day has stabilised.

The new cases are all linked to a British man who caught the virus at a conference in Singapore and stopped at a ski resort in France before returning to the UK. He was diagnosed in Brighton, and is being treated at St Thomas' Hospital in London.

He is also linked to the fourth UK patient, who was exposed to the virus in France, while five British nationals tested positive in France following his trip to the ski resort.

Confirming the four new cases on Monday, chief medical officer for England Prof Chris Whitty said they were all "known contacts of a previously confirmed UK case, and the virus was passed on in France".

He added that they have been transferred to specialist NHS centres at Guy's and St Thomas' and the Royal Free hospitals in London.

On Monday, the Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he had introduced new regulations in England as "the transmission of coronavirus would constitute a serious threat".

The BBC's political correspondent Iain Watson said the measures were announced because a passenger on the first UK flight from Wuhan, who is currently being held in quarantine on the Wirral, "is threatening to abscond".

"Currently the regulations are not strong enough to stop him leaving before the 14-day period is up so they brought in these new regulations to try and compel him to stay put," he said.

The Department of Health insisted on Twitter that the latest announcement on the coronavirus threat to the public was "a legal term which we announced this morning as part of changes to make it easier for health professionals to do their job".

A government spokesman said: "We are strengthening our regulations so we can keep individuals in supported isolation for their own safety and if public health professionals consider they may be at risk of spreading the virus to other members of the public."

Why have they issued this advice?
Tackling the coronavirus threat has taken the government into uncharted territory. Quarantining hundreds of British citizens for two weeks has never been done on this scale in modern times.

Whitehall sources say the latest Department of Health announcement on the virus threat covers the tightening of some regulations to help enforce quarantine powers.

This gives legal underpinning to the quarantining of people back from Wuhan in Milton Keynes and the Wirral.

They all signed contracts committing to the 14-day isolation but it's understood that more rigorous regulations are needed to ensure people stay the course.

This is not a ramping up in official warnings to the wider public. The language used in the official release describing an "imminent threat" was over dramatic and confusing and probably there only for obscure legal reasons.

The actual threat level announced by Public Health England a couple of weeks ago remains moderate.

Under the new measures, Arrowe Park Hospital, on the Wirral, and Kents Hill Park conference centre, in Milton Keynes, have been designated as "isolation" facilities in the UK.

Evacuees from Wuhan, where the virus outbreak first emerged, who travelled to the UK on two flights chartered by the Foreign Office are currently in quarantine at the two locations.

On Sunday, around 200 British and foreign nationals arrived on the second and final flight at RAF Brize Norton.

A statement on the Department of Health website said: "The Secretary of State declares that the incidence or transmission of novel coronavirus constitutes a serious and imminent threat to public health, and the measures outlined in these regulations are considered as an effective means of delaying or preventing further transmission of the virus."

It is estimated that 1% of people infected with the new coronavirus may die, according to a report by the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Modelling.

Prof Neil Ferguson, of Imperial College London, said: "Our estimates - while subject to much uncertainty due to the limited data currently available - suggest that the impact of the unfolding epidemic may be comparable to the major influenza pandemics of the 20th century."

The five British nationals being treated in France were diagnosed after they came into contact with the British carrier, according to the French health ministry.

The four adults and a nine-year-old child, who are not in a serious condition, were staying in the Alpine resort area of Contamines-Montjoie near Mont Blanc.

EasyJet confirmed that the Briton flew from Geneva back to the UK on 28 January, and health officials are trying to trace other passengers who might be at risk.

A spokeswoman said: "Public Health England is contacting all passengers who were seated in the vicinity of the customer on flight EZS8481 from Geneva to London Gatwick on 28 January, to provide guidance in line with procedures."

Meanwhile, a British man in Majorca has also been diagnosed with coronavirus, while his wife and two daughters tested negative.

The family said they had been in contact with a person who tested positive for coronavirus in France, the government in the Balearic Islands said.

The new virus was first reported in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province. The city of 11 million has been in lockdown for weeks.

The outbreak was declared a global emergency by the WHO on 30 January.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-51442314
 
China has "removed" several senior officials over their handling of the coronavirus outbreak - as the death toll passed 1,000.

The party secretary for the Hubei Health Commission, and the head of the commission, were among those who lost their jobs.

They are the most senior officials to be demoted so far.

The deputy director of the local Red Cross was also removed for "dereliction of duty" over "handling of donations".

On Monday, some 103 died in Hubei province alone, a daily record, and the national death toll is now 1,016.

But the number of new infections nationally was down almost 20% from the day before, from 3,062 to 2,478.

Hubei's health commission confirmed 2,097 new cases in the province on Monday, down from 2,618 the previous day.

According to state media, there have been hundreds of sackings, investigations and warnings across Hubei and other provinces during the outbreak.

But removal from a certain role - while regarded as a censure - does not always mean the person will be sacked entirely, as it can also mean demotion.

And as well as being removed from their posts, officials can also be punished by the ruling Communist Party.

For example, the deputy head of the Red Cross, Zhang Qin, was given "a serious intra-Party warning as well as a serious administrative demerit", state media said.

Earlier this month, the deputy head of the Wuhan bureau of statistics was removed, also with a "serious intra-party warning a well as a serious administrative demerit for violating relevant regulations to distribute face masks".

The head of the health commission of Huanggang, the second-worst hit city in Hubei after Wuhan, has also been removed.

In recent days, Chinese authorities have increasingly been criticised for their handling of the crisis.

The death of a doctor whose early warnings were suppressed by authorities sparked widespread public anger.

What's the latest in China?
There are now more than 42,200 confirmed cases across China, in the country's gravest public health crisis since the Sars outbreak in 2002-3.

The Hubei health commission said the province had a total of 31,728 cases with 974 deaths by the end of Monday - a fatality rate of 3%.

More than three-quarters of the deaths have been in Hubei's provincial capital, Wuhan, the centre of the outbreak. The city of 11 million has been in lockdown for weeks.

A World Health Organization mission arrived in China on Monday to work with Chinese officials.

The mission is led by Bruce Aylward, who oversaw the WHO's 2014-2016 response to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa.

In a rare public appearance amid the outbreak, China's President Xi Jinping on Monday visited health staff in Beijing treating patients infected with the new coronavirus.

He wore a face mask during his meeting with health workers in Beijing but is yet to visit Wuhan.

President Xi urged "more decisive measures" to combat the virus and said "we must have confidence that we will eventually win this battle against the epidemic".

Four new UK cases were announced on Monday - taking the total number of people infected in the UK to eight. The government has warned of a "serious and imminent threat".

Meanwhile, 65 more people have tested positive on the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship moored off Japan - meaning 135 out of 3,700 passengers have caught the virus.

US President Donald Trump said on Monday he believed the outbreak would disappear in April due to warmer weather.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51453848
 
Sky News can confirm two male prisoners are being tested for suspected coronavirus at HMP Bullingdon in Oxfordshire
 
A new UK coronavirus case, believed to be a woman who flew into London from China, is confirmed to the BBC
 
Some 242 deaths from the new coronavirus were recorded in the Chinese province of Hubei on Wednesday - the deadliest day of the outbreak.

There was also a huge increase in the number of cases, with 14,840 people diagnosed with the virus.

Hubei has started using a broader definition to diagnose people - which accounts for most of the rise in cases.

Until Wednesday's increases, the number of people diagnosed in Hubei - where the outbreak emerged - was stabilising.

But the new cases and deaths in the province have pushed the national death toll above 1,350 - with almost 60,000 infections in total.

Meanwhile, the Communist Party secretary in Hubei, Jiang Chaoliang, has been replaced by the Shanghai party chief, Ying Yong, according to state media. The party chief of the capital city Wuhan has also been relieved of his duties.

It is the first major change of Hubei party officials since the outbreak began.

Earlier this week, a number of health officials were "removed" from their jobs.

The province - which accounts for more than 80% of overall Chinese infections - now includes "clinically diagnosed cases" in the number of confirmed cases.

This means it includes those showing symptoms, and having a CT scan showing an infected lung, rather than relying only on the standard nucleic acid tests.

Of the 242 new deaths in Wuhan, 135 are such "clinically diagnosed" cases.

That means, even without the new definition, the number of deaths in Hubei on Wednesday was 107 - a new high for the province.

The province's 14,840 new infections include 13,332 clinically diagnosed cases.

Overall, the province now has 48,206 confirmed infections.

A cruise ship carrying more than 2,000 people has docked in Cambodia - after it was turned away by five ports over fears that some passengers might be infected with the virus.

The MS Westerdam arrived on Thursday morning after Japan, Taiwan, Guam, the Philippines and Thailand had all refused to accept the ship - despite having no sick patients on board.

Meanwhile, another 44 cases have been confirmed on the Diamond Princess, which is in quarantine in Yokohama, Japan.

The increase means 218 people of the 3,700 people on board the ship have caught the virus. Not everyone has been tested yet.

People with the virus are taken to hospitals on land to be treated, while those on board are largely confined to their cabins.

What does the WHO say?
The WHO said it was "way too early" to predict the end of the epidemic. "This outbreak could still go in any direction," the director-general warned.

The WHO has been able to track down the source of transmission in all but eight of the 441 cases of the virus outside China, its head of emergencies Michael Ryan said.

He added: "I think it's way too early to try to predict the beginning, the middle or the end of this epidemic right now."

On Tuesday top Chinese epidemiologist Zhong Nanshan said the epidemic should peak in China this month before subsiding.

Four possible vaccines were being funded for pre-clinical development, WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan told reporters.

"I think we will find a vaccine," she said. "It will take some time. A vaccine cannot be made overnight."

In other developments:
The world's largest mobile phone showcase, Mobile World Congress (MWC), has been cancelled, organisers in the Spanish city of Barcelona have confirmed
The US Centers for Disease Control said it was preparing for the coronavirus to possibly "take a foothold in the US". Thirteen cases have been confirmed in the US
About 300 employees have been evacuated from Singapore's biggest bank, DBS, after one person fell ill with the coronavirus. All 300 had been working on the same floor and were sent home
Formula 1's Chinese Grand Prix, due to take place in Shanghai on 19 April, has been postponed
In its latest measure to try to halt the spread, China said it would stagger the return of children to school. Several provinces have closed schools until the end of February

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51482994
 
While people are busy arguing about politics and religion there seems to be a new sherif in town with a "one ring" to rule all.
 
Doctors have warned that the London Underground could be a hotbed for the coronavirus - hours after a confirmed case emerged in the capital.

A total of nine people in the UK are now being treated for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

The latest patient, who is being treated at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital, is believed to be a woman who flew into London from China.

Face masks have become a common sight on public transport in China
Image:
Face masks have become a common sight on public transport in China
There are concerns that the city's extensive transport links could exacerbate the spread of the virus, but doctors have stressed that the risk of infection remains low.

Dr Robin Thompson, from Oxford University, said: "In general, if an initial case is in a densely populated area, then the risk of sustained person-to-person transmission following is higher.

"This is exacerbated by the fact that London is a transport hub, and the Underground could provide a network to spread the virus quickly.

"As a result, given this case was in London, it might be expected that there is an increased risk posed by this case compared to the others we have seen."

Dr Michael Head, from the University of Southampton, said the risk of the virus spreading will depend on the woman's interactions before she was placed into isolation.

"If this is low, then the risk of sustained human-to-human transmission is also low," he explained.

Public Health England has admitted that more cases of COVID-19 in the UK are "highly likely" - but Dr Nathalie MacDermott, from the National Institute for Health Research, has said commuters should go about their business as normal.

Quarantine ends

More than 80 Britons who were flown back from coronavirus-hit Wuhan are going to be freed from quarantine today.

Health minister Baroness Blackwood has told Sky News that they pose absolutely no risk to the public as they have passed the incubation period and have showed no symptoms.

The group were the first to be repatriated from the Chinese city at the epicentre of the outbreak and have spent the past two weeks at Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside.

Kharn Lambert plays pool inside the coronavirus quarantine in Merseyside

What quarantine life has been like
A patient had threatened to abscond from the isolation unit earlier this week - prompting the government to unveil new powers that would allow people to be forcibly quarantined if they pose a threat to public health.

Those in quarantine are now packing their bags and preparing to head home, with one of the Britons affected saying he "cannot wait" to see his friends and family.

Kharn Lambert told Sky News: "Obviously there is still a little bit of concern - albeit very minimal - that people might show negativity towards you, and might try and avoid you if they can.

"I'm not too worried about that - I have a lot of good friends and family and have met good people over the past two weeks.

"My biggest concern is for members of the Chinese community who have been receiving abuse."

Details have been emerging about the two GPs who are among the nine people in the UK with COVID-19.

Officials know the pair worked at a nursing home, the A&E unit at Worthing Hospital in West Sussex, and two GP practices between them.

Public Health England says it has traced and advised all those who have come into close contact with the two GPs, including about 12 patients.

Meanwhile, in Brighton, pupils at several schools have been told they could stay at home after reports some teachers and families feared they had come into contact with the virus.

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavi...d-covid-19-as-london-gets-first-case-11932794
 
China officials fired as coronavirus deaths surge past 1,300

Health officials in China's hard-hit central province of Hubei reported on Thursday that 242 more people died from the coronavirus COVID-19 as of Wednesday - the highest in a single day and more than twice the previous record high - pushing the death toll across the country to 1,367.

The province's health commission also reported a huge jump in new cases, saying a further 14,840 people had been confirmed with the infection over the 24-hour period to midnight on Wednesday (16:00 GMT).

As this developed, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday that the head of the Communist Party in the province of Hubei has been relieved of his post - the latest in a line of local officials fired.

Hubei is at the centre of the outbreak, which is thought to have originated in a now-closed seafood market in the capital of Wuhan late last year.

Former Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong has been appointed as the new secretary of the Hubei Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, replacing Jiang Chaoliang, the report said, citing the party's central committee.

The firings came shortly before the World Health Organization on Thursday cautioned that the recent spike in cases was the result of new counting methods used by officials, and did not represent a change in "trajectory" of the outbreak.

Al Jazeera's Katrina Yu, reporting from Beijing, said: "It was expected that somebody's head was on the chopping block."

"There's been a lot of criticism about the information not being so forthcoming" from Hubei officials, she added.

Earlier, the Communist Party chief of the health commission of Hubei, Zhang Jin, and its director, Liu Yingzi, were also replaced.

During the SARS (or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak in China in 2003, the government also fired Zhang Wenkang as health minister and Meng Xuenong as mayor of Beijing. Zhang was replaced by Wu Yi, while Meng was replaced by his brother-in-law, Wang Qishan, who is now the vice president of China.

CT scan tests
Meanwhile, Hubei's health commission said in a statement that it had begun including infections diagnosed through new clinical methods and had revised its old data and suspected cases. The latest death toll included more than 100 clinically diagnosed cases.

State media said last week that Hubei would start recognising computerised tomography (CT) scan results as confirmation of infections, allowing hospitals to isolate patients more quickly.

Total cases in the province have now reached 48,206, the commission data showed, pushing the total number nationwide to nearly 60,000.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Bin Song, director of the radiology department at Chengdu's Huaxi Hospital, said he has received patients with "false negative" diagnosis, including one woman, who tested negative four times.

"Her clinical features are very typical of the coronavirus infection. We didn't discharge her, because we still have enough beds and can't run the risk of letting her infect someone else. And on the fifth try, the result finally came back positive," he said.

He also pointed out that several "false negative" results might have been caused by the discrepancy in diagnostic kits being used.

"It's likely there are different levels of quality, resulting in the lack of accuracy of the test result in some instances," Bin said.

Another possibility is that throat swabs for the testing may not have been properly carried out he said.

"Sometimes the viral load in patient's throats has not reached a level detectable in this test because some of them have infection mostly in the trachea."

With the new CT scan testing, experts will also be looking at "distinct features" of the coronavirus, including the "ground-glass pacities in bilateral lungs", he said. Ground-glass opacity refers to an area of increased depletion or fading in the lungs.

"If we detect that, along with fever, dry cough, and other symptoms, I think there will be a better chance of catching all the infected," Bin said.

China's national health commission is expected to provide an update on countrywide infections later on Thursday.

At least 25 countries have confirmed cases of the virus and several nations have evacuated their citizens from Hubei. Two deaths have been recorded outside mainland China - one in Hong Kong and one in the Philippines.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...hubei-reports-242-deaths-200213003453493.html
 
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1300+ deaths!

This is getting scary. Is there any vaccination yet? Time is running out.
 
Chinese officials have given figures for health workers infected with coronavirus, amid concerns about shortages of protective equipment.

Six health workers have died and 1,716 have been infected since the outbreak, they said.

The death a week ago of Doctor Li Wenliang, who tried to warn authorities early on about the virus, provoked a burst of public anger and grief.

More than 1,300 people are now known to have died from the virus.

The latest figures show 121 new deaths in China, bringing the total to 1,380.

The total infections jumped by 5,090 to 63,851 cases on 13 February, the National Health Commission said on Friday.

The World Health Organization said there was no major shift in the virus's pattern of mortality or severity, despite a spike in cases in Hubei, the epicentre of the disease, on Tuesday.

Most of this was down to Hubei using a broader definition to diagnose people, said Mike Ryan, head of WHO's health emergencies programme.

There was also no significant rise in cases outside China, the WHO said.

However, a cruise ship docked in Japan, the Diamond Princess, saw 44 new cases, bringing the total there to 218.

What is the situation with medical workers?
Zeng Yixin, vice minister of China's National Health Commission, said 1,102 medical workers had been infected in Wuhan, where the outbreak began, and another 400 in other parts of Hubei province.

He said the number of infections among staff was increasing.

"The duties of medical workers at the front are indeed extremely heavy; their working and resting circumstances are limited, the psychological pressures are great, and the risk of infection is high," Mr Zeng said, quoted by Reuters.

Local authorities have struggled to provide protective equipment such as respiratory masks, goggles and protective suits in hospitals in the area.

One doctor told AFP news agency that he and 16 colleagues were showing possible symptoms of the virus.

Another medical worker said she and more than 100 other staff at her hospital had been quarantined. A further 30 had been confirmed to have been infected there out of a staff of 500 she told CNN.

On 7 February the plight of medical workers was highlighted by the death of Li Wenliang, a doctor at Wuhan Central Hospital who had tried to issue the first warning about the virus on 30 December.

He had sent out a warning to fellow medics but police told him to stop "making false comments".

A wave of anger and grief flooded Chinese social media site Weibo when news of Dr Li's death broke.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51501005
 
One of the people diagnosed with coronavirus in the UK attended a conference near parliament last week along with about 250 other delegates - including two Labour MPs who have now cancelled all their public engagements.

The patient, who has not been named, attended the UK Bus Summit at Westminster's QEII Centre in central London on 6 February.

The event was described as the "premier bus event covering all parts of the UK".

Speakers and attendees included "key decision makers in government from around the UK" as well as bus and coach industry representatives.

Among the speakers listed were buses minister, Baroness Vere; junior transport minister, Nusrat Ghani - who lost her job in this week's government reshuffle; and various managing directors of bus firms.

Labour MP Alex Sobel revealed he was among the attendees of the summit and is now self-isolating himself after hearing about the presence of a coronavirus patient through media reports.

"Whilst I have been informed that I am at very low risk, I have called 111 to be formally assessed," he posted on Twitter.

"As a precaution, we have cancelled all engagements until next Thursday when the 14-day potential incubation period will end."

Describing what self-isolating involved, Mr Sobel later told Sky News from his Leeds constituency: "I'm not in contact with anyone new.

"I'm in the end meeting room of the office away from everybody else... and I'll be going home and I'll be isolating myself in my home office.

"I won't be intending to leave the house until next Wednesday."

He said he would keep himself busy with work-related reading and writing, as well as watching Netflix.

Fellow Labour MP Lilian Greenwood also attended the conference.

She tweeted: "I'm feeling completely well but to be extra-cautious I'm cancelling my public engagements until 20th February. Sorry for any inconvenience."

The summit was organised by Transport Times, which emailed attendees on Thursday to inform them that a person suffering from COVID-19 - the disease which is caused by the coronavirus - had been at the event.

The Financial Times reported Transport Times sent the email on the instruction of Public Health England (PHE).

It also included a letter from PHE which told conference attendees to take no action if they were well but to stay indoors, avoid contact with others and call NHS 111 if they developed symptoms such as a fever or cough.

"While the degree of contact you may have had with the case at the summit is unlikely to have been significant, we are taking a precautionary approach and informing you," the letter said, as reported by the newspaper.

Dr Yimmy Chow, consultant in health protection at PHE, said: "One of our main priorities has been to identify any people who we think have been in close contact with confirmed cases of COVID-19 to provide public health advice, as they may be at slightly increased risk of catching the virus.

"While the degree of contact conference delegates may have had with the case is unlikely to have been significant, we have taken a precautionary approach and informed them of the situation."

It is said the case is not linked to the ninth patient with coronavirus in the UK - a woman from China who took an Uber to A&E after she developed symptoms.

NHS chief executive Sir Simon Stevens said on Thursday many more people in the UK may need to self-isolate to stop the spread of the virus.

A Channel 4 employee is among those being tested in the UK for coronavirus after feeling unwell following a trip to Asia within the last month.

"As a precautionary measure they decided to seek medical advice and, in line with the latest public health advice regarding the coronavirus, they were taken to hospital for a precautionary test," a Channel 4 spokesperson said.

"We have informed our staff of this and continue to follow all the latest public health guidance."

There is now a total of 64,456 suspected and confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide.

Of these cases, 63,862 are in mainland China. There have been 1,384 deaths from COVID-19.

The figures have been collated by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

Matt Raw returns from Wuhan after two weeks in quarantine.

83 Britons were released from 14-day quarantine
More than 1,700 Chinese medical workers have been infected by the virus.

Six of the workers have died, said Zeng Yixin, vice director of China's National Health Commission.

Vietnam is monitoring more than 5,000 Chinese workers - who returned to the country after the Lunar New Year holiday - for signs of coronavirus, state media reported.

The southeast Asian country, which neighbours China, declared a public health emergency over the epidemic at the beginning of the month and has banned all flights to and from China.

Sixteen people in Vietnam have tested positive for the virus.

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavi...ed-london-conference-with-250-others-11933700
 
Coronavirus: Beijing orders 14-day quarantine for returnees

Beijing has ordered everyone returning to the city to go into quarantine for 14 days or risk punishment in the latest attempt to contain the deadly new coronavirus, state media report.

Residents were told to "self-quarantine or go to designated venues to quarantine" after returning to the Chinese capital from holidays.

The measure came as Egypt confirmed the first coronavirus case in Africa.

Over 1,300 people have died from the virus, which originated in Wuhan city.

The notice on Friday from Beijing's virus prevention working group was issued as residents returned from spending the Lunar New Year in other parts of China.

The holiday was extended this year to help contain the outbreak.

More than 20 million people live in Beijing.

In China alone, more than 63,000 people have been infected with the virus, and 1,381 have died.

Outside China, there have been 505 cases in 24 countries, and two deaths.

A World Health Organization (WHO)-led mission to China will start its outbreak investigation work this weekend, focusing on how the virus is spreading and its severity, director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

The mission, including international experts, will also look at how and when more than 1,700 health workers contracted the virus.

What is the first case in Africa?
Egypt's health ministry on Friday confirmed the first case of the coronavirus in Africa.

The ministry described the person as a foreigner, but did not disclose the nationality.

It said it had notified the WHO, and the patient had been placed in isolation in a hospital.

What is the situation with medical workers?
Chinese officials say six health workers have died, and more than 1,700 have been infected since the outbreak began.

Zeng Yixin, vice minister of China's National Health Commission, said 1,102 medical workers had been infected in Wuhan and another 400 in other parts of Hubei province.

"The duties of medical workers at the front are indeed extremely heavy; their working and resting circumstances are limited, the psychological pressures are great, and the risk of infection is high," Mr Zeng said, as quoted by Reuters news agency.

Local authorities have struggled to provide protective equipment such as respiratory masks, goggles and protective suits in hospitals in the area.

On 7 February, the plight of medical workers was highlighted by the death of Li Wenliang, a doctor at Wuhan Central Hospital who had tried to issue the first warning about the virus on 30 December.

He had sent out a warning to fellow medics but police told him to stop "making false comments".

A wave of anger and grief flooded Chinese social media site Weibo when news of Dr Li's death broke.

What are the other developments?

In the UK, health officials contacted hundreds of people who attended a conference in London, after it emerged that one of them was diagnosed with coronavirus

China said it would stagger the return of children to school - several provinces have closed schools until the end of February

In Vietnam, which borders China, thousands of people in villages near the capital, Hanoi, have been put under quarantine after several cases were discovered. Vietnam has now confirmed at least 16 cases

The Red Cross has called for sanctions relief for North Korea, which would allow the aid agency to transfer funds to buy equipment. Testing kits and protective clothing are urgently needed to prepare for a possible outbreak, it says
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-51509248
 
MenInG said:
Chinese officials have given figures for health workers infected with coronavirus, amid concerns about shortages of protective equipment.

Six health workers have died and 1,716 have been infected since the outbreak, they said.


https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51501005
Click to expand...


This is the most alarming thing.

Health Workers take all the measures to not to get infected. It include N95 masks, safety glasses, gloves etc. Look at them:

602b7d2d9219a30ef83dbe8b67108e6aa1b2a4a9-400x200.jpg



Despite all these safety measures, still they are getting infected.

Normal public has thus absolutely no chance while it could never take so much safety measures.
 
They wouldn't, of course. There's tens of thousands dead. I walked past worthing hospital yesterday I'm scared myself
 
China along with other world would be praying for hot summer to turn up pretty early this year as that would ensure death of this virus

Its really sad to hear so many deaths due to thia virus !
 
A Chinese tourist has died in France after contracting the new coronavirus - the first fatality from the disease outside Asia.

The victim was an 80-year-old woman from China's Hubei province, according to French Health Minister Agnès Buzyn.

She arrived in France on 16 January and was placed in quarantine in hospital in Paris on 25 January, she said.

Only three deaths had previously been reported outside mainland China - in Hong Kong, the Philippines and Japan.

However, more than 1,500 people have died from the virus within China, mostly in Hubei where it first emerged.

A further 2,641 people have been newly confirmed as infected, bringing the China's total to 66,492.

France has previously said it has 11 confirmed cases of coronavirus, officially called Covid-19, and six remain in hospital.

The deceased woman's daughter has also been infected, Ms Buzyn said, but she is believed to be recovering.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51514837
 
Vega said:
This is the most alarming thing.

Health Workers take all the measures to not to get infected. It include N95 masks, safety glasses, gloves etc. Look at them:

602b7d2d9219a30ef83dbe8b67108e6aa1b2a4a9-400x200.jpg



Despite all these safety measures, still they are getting infected.

Normal public has thus absolutely no chance while it could never take so much safety measures.
Click to expand...

Healthcare workers are exposed 1000 times more than normal public. And for investigations and management ,they have to deal with blood and body of a patient. Number of healthcare workers getting a communicable disease is by no way an appropriate measure to judge risk for normal public.
 
Vega said:
This is the most alarming thing.

Health Workers take all the measures to not to get infected. It include N95 masks, safety glasses, gloves etc. Look at them:

602b7d2d9219a30ef83dbe8b67108e6aa1b2a4a9-400x200.jpg



Despite all these safety measures, still they are getting infected.

Normal public has thus absolutely no chance while it could never take so much safety measures.
Click to expand...

Does wearing all protective gears makes the soldiers immune to danger and death? The situation is similar to a battlefield here when they are facing infected patients. There is no guarantee that you will come out of it alive but you still need to serve them.
 
Egypt confirms coronavirus case, the first in Africa

Egypt has confirmed its first case of a deadly coronavirus that emerged in central China at the end of last year and has since spread to more than two dozen countries around the world.

Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Mugahed said in a statement on Friday that the affected person was a "foreigner" who did not show any serious symptoms.

Officials were able to confirm the case through a follow-up programme implemented by the government for travellers arriving from countries where the virus has spread.

The ministry statement said the person was hospitalised and in isolation. It did not specify the person's nationality or their point of entry.

The development made Egypt the first country in the African continent to report a confirmed case, and the second in the Middle East region, after the United Arab Emirates late last month diagnosed its first cases.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/02/egypt-confirms-coronavirus-case-africa-200214190840134.html
 
Really don't want to see this virus in Africa. There are many Africans who are in poverty and I have a feeling this virus can wreck havoc there.
 
kaayal said:
Does wearing all protective gears makes the soldiers immune to danger and death? The situation is similar to a battlefield here when they are facing infected patients. There is no guarantee that you will come out of it alive but you still need to serve them.
Click to expand...

Yes brother I know we have to bring sacrifice to fight the bad.

I only want to bring this thing to attention that it is highly infectious, and despite the protective measure, still it is making it's way through.

I believe that we are still in position to defeat this virus, but for this all countries have to sit together and try to find the measures to confront it.
 
last_knight said:
Healthcare workers are exposed 1000 times more than normal public. And for investigations and management ,they have to deal with blood and body of a patient. Number of healthcare workers getting a communicable disease is by no way an appropriate measure to judge risk for normal public.
Click to expand...

Agree.

Nevertheless, I wish we could have the Data of previous deadly viruses too, so that we could compare how many medical workers got infected by them. This will help us to study and know this virus more, so that we could make better estimations.

More importantly, someone should also investigate the medical workers and ask them how they got infected. Collecting all such data could be useful.

Perhaps then we could know better if Face Masks or overalls are and gloves etc are helpful or not.
 
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China coronavirus outbreak: All the latest updates
China's Foreign Ministry criticises countries that have introduced trade and travel restrictions on China.

The death toll from a new coronavirus epidemic in mainland China surged past 1,500 on Saturday, as France reported the first death outside of the Asia-Pacific region.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi acknowledged that the virus, known as COVID-19, was a significant challenge but defended Beijing's management of the epidemic and lashed out at the "overreaction" of some countries.

His comments came a day after those returning to the Chinese capital from extended Lunar New Year holidays were ordered to quarantine themselves for 14 days.

More than two dozen countries have confirmed cases and several have suspended trade and travel links with China in a bid to contain the spread of the virus.

Four deaths have been recorded outside mainland China - in Hong Kong, Philippines, Japan and the most recent in France.

Here are the latest updates:
Saturday, February 15
Toyota to resume Chine output at three plants next week
Toyota Motor Corp said it plans to resume output at three of its four main car plants in China next week.

The resumption of production had initially been slated for February 3 following the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays, but was delayed because of the new coronavirus outbreak in China.

Operations at Toyota's plant in Changchun, Jilin province, and another plant in Guangdong province, will restart on Monday, while a factory in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin will resume operations on Tuesday, Toyota said.

Business, but not as usual, at Singapore Airshow
Normally, suppliers and customers attending the Singapore Airshow would be discussing cutting-edge technologies and networking in the hope of making multi-million-dollar deals.

But this year the event opened under the shadow of the deadly coronavirus outbreak.

China tells officials to help feed, poultry firms
China's government told local authorities to allow companies involved in feed production and poultry slaughtering to resume work as soon as possible and overcome disruptions caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Local authorities should ensure transport runs smoothly between cities and the countryside and should provide tax rebates, low interest rates and other financial support to help the companies, Chinese state planner, agriculture and transport ministries said in a joint statement.

The ministries said the support was needed to ensure the industry's basic production capacity would not be undermined and to guarantee the effective supply of meat, eggs, milk and other products to consumers.

8/9 UK cases leave hospital
Eight of the nine people diagnosed with coronavirus in the US have left hospital having now tested negatively twice for the virus, NHS England said.

"I want to stress that any individuals who are discharged from hospital are now well and do not pose any public health risk," said Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

The final person is still being treated at Guy's and St Thomas's Hospital in central London.

All 94 people who were quarantined at Arrow Park hospital in north west England after being evacuated from Wuhan have now left the site but more than 100 people are still in quarantine in a hotel north of London after arriving from China last week.

Malaysia says US citizen from cruise ship tests positive
Malaysia has said that an 83-year-old US passenger on a cruise ship that docked in Cambodia has tested positive for the new coronavirus.

The woman took a flight to Malaysia on Friday from Cambodia, the Malaysian health ministry said in a statement, adding that her husband had tested negative.

The Westerdam, operated by Carnival Corp unit Holland America Inc, docked in the port of Sihanoukville, Cambodia, on Thursday after being shunned by several countries over fears that passengers could be carrying the virus.

WHO chief says coronavirus still an emergency for China
The coronavirus outbreak is still an emergency for China and it is impossible to tell where the epidemic will spread, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, said.

Tedros told the Munich Security Conference in Germany he was encouraged by actions China had taken to slow the spread of the virus but was still concerned about the increasing number of cases.

France reports first coronavirus death in Europe
An elderly Chinese tourist hospitalised in France has died from the new coronavirus, the first fatality confirmed in Europe and outside of Asia, French health minister said.

Agnes Buzyn said she was informed on Friday that the 80-year-old man - in hospital in northern Paris since January 25 - had died of a lung infection due to the coronavirus. His condition "had deteriorated rapidly" after several critical days, she said.

Protests in Hong Kong against planned quarantine clinics
Hundreds of protesters marched in multiple Hong Kong neighbourhoods against the government's plan to potentially turn some buildings into coronavirus quarantine centres, demanding full closure of the border with mainland China.

Al Jazeera's Sarah Clarke, reporting from Hong Kong, said: "These people have rallied against what they say is the government's lack of public consultation with these communities to identify and set up these coronavirus treatment clinics."

Five protests across Hong Kong took place, with more demonstrations planned for Sunday, Clarke reported.

WHO: China running 82 trials for virus trea
China is currently running more than 80 trials for treatment of the novel coronavirus, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Michael Ryan, director of the WHO's Emergencies Programmes called on nations around the world to work with Beijing to fight the virus.

"There are 82 different trials under way in China right now - everything from traditional medicine all the way through to anti-HIV drugs and that's in collaboration with the the external scientists and investigators," Ryan said.

"Some of these trials will have results in two to three weeks," he added.
Another 67 people tested positive on cruise ship in Japan

Sixty-seven more people on board a cruise ship quarantined off Japan's coast have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the country's health minister said.

The new cases, from 217 tests, bring the number of people diagnosed on the Diamond Princess, docked in the Japanese port city of Yokohama, to 286, including a quarantine officer who contracted the illness.

China confident epidemic will be over soon: Minister
China is confident the coronavirus epidemic will be over soon and that the subsequent economic impact will only be temporary, Qin Gang, China's vice minister of foreign affairs said.

"When the epidemic is over, the subdued consumer demand will be released rapidly and the economy will rebound strongly," Qin added.
US to evacuate citizens from cruise ship in Japan

The United States government is preparing to evacuate American citizens aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which has been quarantined at Japan's Yokohama port since early February, the US embassy said.

Washington plans to send a chartered plane to Japan for the evacuation on Sunday, it said in a letter to US citizens on board.

The evacuees will be required to undergo a further quarantine of two weeks following their arrival in the US, the letter said.

"We understand this is frustrating and an adjustment, but these measures are consistent with the careful policies we have instituted to limit the potential spread of the disease," it added.

Thailand reports new case of coronavirus
Thailand has recorded one new case of coronavirus, bringing the total in the country to 34 since January, a health ministry official said.

The new case is a 35-year-old Thai female medical worker, who was infected through contact with a patient, Suwanchai Wattanayingcharoenchia, director-general of the Department of Disease Control, told a news conference.

Fourteen patients in Thailand have recovered from the infection and returned to their homes.
Coronavirus epidemic at 'most critical moment'

Liang Wannian, a senior official at China's National Health Commission, said the COVID-19 epidemic in the country was "at the most critical moment or in a state of stalemate confrontation".

Speaking in Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, Liang said it was a good sign that the number of confirmed cases in all provinces except Hubei have been on the decline for the past 10 days. Hubei, of which Wuhan is the capital, has been the most hard-hit by the virus.

Wang Hesheng, the new top health official of Hubei province, said Wuhan will build more field hospitals to take on all the confirmed and suspected cases. So far, Wuhan has built nine field hospitals with over 6,900 beds, he said.

Chinese gymnasts pull out of World Cup in Australia
The Chinese gymnastics team has pulled out of next week's World Cup in Melbourne due to Australian government travel restrictions put in place to limit the coronavirus outbreak.

Canberra extended restrictions on foreign nationals travelling from China for another week on Thursday, effectively ruling out China's participation at the February 20-23 World Cup, which offers qualifying points for this year's Tokyo Olympics.

"It has been a very challenging few weeks for us all, but none more so than for the Chinese gymnasts and officials who have been training and preparing to come to Melbourne," Gymnastics Australia CEO Kitty Chiller said in a statement.

Citing the Chinese Gymnastics Association, Chiller said the delegation from China "are well and have shown no sign of infection" but "despite this, we all have to respect the Australian Government's travel restrictions".

No 'Plan B' for Tokyo Olympics
Tokyo Olympics organisers and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said there is no "Plan B" for the 2020 Games, which open in just over five months and have been jolted by the coronavirus outbreak in neighbouring China.

John Coates, head of an IOC inspection team, told reporters on Friday that "Tokyo 2020 remains on track".

"Certainly the advice we're received externally from the WHO [World Health Organization] is that there's no case for any contingency plans or cancelling the games or moving the games," he added.

China reports 143 new deaths from coronavirus on mainland
China's National Health Commission said the death toll from COVID-19 had reached 1,523 in the mainland as of the end of Friday, up by 143 from the previous day.

All but four of the deaths were in Hubei, where some 56 million people remain under quarantine.

Across mainland China, there were 2,641 new confirmed infections on Friday. The total accumulated number so far has reached 66,492.
Japanese man who visited Hawaii confirmed with coronavirus

A man who visited Hawaii was confirmed to have coronavirus when he returned home to Japan, according to officials in Hawaii.

Health officials were tracking down details about his travel in the US island chain, including his flight information and people with whom he had close contact.

The man was in Hawaii January 28 to February 7 and had cold-like symptoms during his last few days there, said Hawaii Health Director Bruce Anderson. He only developed more serious symptoms when he returned to Japan, where he tested positive for the illness, Anderson said.

Because of when his symptoms began, officials believe he became infected in Japan or while in transit to Hawaii, said state epidemiologist Dr Sarah Park.

"Our focus at this point is to try and understand who potentially this person may have had close, prolonged contact," Park said, adding that they're concentrating on his whereabouts while on the island of Oahu because that is where he developed symptoms.

Death toll in China surges past 1,500
The death toll from China's new coronavirus epidemic surged past 1,500 after 139 more people died in Hubei province.

The province's health commission also reported 2,420 new cases of the COVID-19 strain, about half the number from the previous day.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...hot-fighting-intensifies-200214145226637.html
 
China has announced a drop in new cases from the coronavirus outbreak for a third consecutive day.

On Sunday, authorities reported 2,009 new cases and 142 more deaths nationwide.

New cases spiked earlier in the week after a change in the way they were counted but have been falling ever since.

In total more than 68,000 people have been infected in China, with the death toll standing at 1,665.

Outside of China there have been more than 500 cases in nearly 30 countries. Four people have died - in France, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Japan.

Speaking before the latest figures were released Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the drop in new cases showed "that overall the epidemic is controllable".

"We've taken such complete prevention and control efforts, efforts that are so comprehensive, that I can't see any other country that can do this," he said.

In other developments:

The number of people who have tested positive on a cruise ship being held in quarantine in a Japanese port has risen to 355. The Diamond Princess has seen the highest number of cases outside of China. The US and Canada are sending planes to evacuate their citizens from the ship
China's central bank is to disinfect and store used banknotes before recirculating them in a bid stop the virus spreading
French officials said on Saturday that a Chinese tourist died in France after contracting the new coronavirus - the first fatality from the disease outside Asia
An 83-year-old American woman has tested positive for the virus after disembarking another cruise ship that docked in Cambodia, and then flying to Malaysia
In the UK, all but one of nine people being treated have been discharged from hospital
Five new cases have been confirmed in Singapore, bringing the total there to 72. Eighteen have fully recovered and have left hospital.
On Saturday, World Health Organization (WHO) head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus praised Beijing' response to the outbreak.

"China has bought the world time. We don't know how much time," he said. "We're encouraged that outside China, we have not yet seen widespread community transmission."

How is China coping?
Tens of millions of Chinese still face heavy restrictions on their day-to-day life as part of the government's efforts to halt the spread of the virus, which has been officially named Covid-19.

Much of the response has focused on the hard-hit province of Hubei and its capital Wuhan, where the outbreak began. The city is all but sealed off from the rest of the country.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that along with a drop in infections within Hubei there had also been a rapid increase in the number of people who had recovered.

As part of measures to contain coronavirus, Beijing has ordered everyone returning to the city to go into quarantine for 14 days or risk punishment.


Media captionMedics in Wuhan resort to shaving their heads in a bid to prevent cross-infection of the coronavirus
But local authorities have struggled to provide protective equipment such as respiratory masks, goggles and protective suits to hospitals in Hubei. Six health workers have died since the outbreak began.

In another development Chinese state media published a speech from earlier this month in which Chinese President Xi Jinping said he said he had given instructions on 7 January on containing the outbreak.

The Valentine messages to coronavirus medics
'I'm not a virus': French Asians angered by racism
At the time, local officials in the city of Wuhan were downplaying the severity of the epidemic.

This would suggest senior leaders were aware of the potential dangers of the virus before the information was made public.

With the government facing criticism for its handling of the outbreak analysts suggest the disclosure is an attempt to show the party leadership acted decisively from the start.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51519055
 
Two planes carrying Americans from the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess have left Japan.

The aircraft chartered by the US government departed Tokyo's Haneda Airport in the early hours of Monday.

There were some 400 Americans on board the ship, which has been held since 3 February due to infections from the new coronavirus which has hit China.

The Diamond Princess has been quarantined in Japan's port of Yokohama with some 3,700 people on board.

The ship was held after a man who disembarked in Hong Kong was found to have the virus.

It has the largest cluster of coronavirus cases outside China. The Japanese authorities on Sunday said the number of new cases on board the ship had risen by 70 to 355.

At least 40 US citizens are infected and will be treated in Japan, Dr Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases told Face the Nation on CBS.

It is not clear exactly how many are on board the evacuation flights which are expected to take them to Air Force bases.

"If people on the plane start to develop symptoms, they'll be segregated within the plane," Dr Fauci said.

Those entering the US will undergo a 14-day quarantine, on top of the time they have already spent confined on the ship.

"And the reason for that," Dr Fauci added, "is that the degree of transmissibility, on that cruise ship, is essentially akin to being in a hotspot."

Some of the Americans have declined to be evacuated, preferring to wait until the ship quarantine comes to an end on 19 February.

Passenger Matt Smith, a lawyer, said he would not want to travel on a bus to the plane with possibly infected people.

Other evacuation flights have been arranged to repatriate residents of Israel, Hong Kong and Canada. On Monday, Australia announced that it would evacuate 200 of its citizens too.

In the meantime, to assist with relief efforts, Japan's government has given away 2,000 iPhones to passengers on the ship - one for each cabin.

The smartphones were distributed so people could use an app, created by Japan's health ministry, which links users with doctors, pharmacists and mental health counsellors. Phones registered outside of Japan are unable to access the app.

What is happening in China?
According to official figures for 16 February, 100 people died from the virus in Hubei, the province at the centre of the epidemic. This was down from 139 on Saturday.

A total of 2048 new cases were reported across the country on Monday - 1,933 of which were from Hubei.

More than 70,500 people nationwide have already been infected by the virus. In Hubei alone, the official number of cases currently stands at 58,182, with 1,692 deaths.

Most new cases and deaths have been reported in Wuhan, Hubei's largest city.

Authorities are tightening curbs on movement to combat the outbreak. People in the province of 60 million have been ordered to stay at home, though they will be allowed to leave in an emergency. In addition, a single person from each household will be allowed to leave the building every three days to buy food and essential items.

On housing estates, one entrance will be kept open. It will be guarded to ensure that only residents can enter or leave.

All businesses will stay closed, except chemists, hotels, food shops and medical services.

What are the symptoms?
'No change' in virus outbreak despite China spike
There will be a ban on the use of private cars, but vehicles used for the delivery of essential goods are exempt.

Meanwhile, authorities in the capital, Beijing, have ordered everyone returning to the city to go into quarantine for 14 days or risk punishment.

China's central bank will also disinfect and store used banknotes before recirculating them in a bid to stop the virus spreading.

New cases spiked earlier in the week after a change in the way they were counted but have been falling since. In total, more than 68,500 people have so far been infected in China.

National Health Commission spokesman Mi Feng said the figures showed China was managing to curb the outbreak.

"The effects of epidemic prevention and control in various parts of the country can already be seen."

The proportion of infected patients considered to be in a "serious condition" has dropped nationwide from more than 15% to just over 7%, according to China's State Council.

Taiwan has reported a death from the illness - a taxi driver, 61, who had not travelled abroad recently but had diabetes and hepatitis B, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said.

The minister said many of his passengers had come from China.

Outside China, there have been more than 500 cases in nearly 30 countries. Four others have died outside China - in France, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Japan.

Meanwhile, a plane carrying 175 evacuated Nepalis, mostly students, has arrived in Kathmandu from Wuhan. It is the latest country to fly its citizens out of Hubei province.

The virus is a new strain of coronavirus and causes an acute respiratory disease which has been named Covid-19.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51524460
 
The deadly outbreak of a new coronavirus in China has triggered a "hysterical" and "shameful wave of Sinophobia" in Italy, according to members of the Chinese Italian community and a rights group, with Italians and tourists of Chinese and Asian origin reporting acts of violence, discrimination and harassment.

The incidents include assaults, calls for sexual violence, insults and boycott of businesses.

"What are you doing in Italy? Go away! You're bringing us disease," a 15-year-old Chinese Italian boy was told before he was punched and kicked in the face in the northern city of Bologna on February 2, the Bologna Today newspaper reported.

Days later, in the southern city of Cagliari, a hospitalised 31-year-old Filipino man told La Nuova Sardegna, a local newspaper, that he had been attacked by a group of young men who thought he was Chinese and accused him of "bringing the virus" to Italy.

In Milan, Hongqin Zhou, whose family migrated to Italy's financial capital more than three decades ago, said a taxi driver refused to drive her, telling her he feared she may have the coronavirus.

"The virus has become a justification to express prejudice and hate. It wasn't as bad during the SARS epidemic 17 years ago," she told Al Jazeera, referring to the 2002-2003 outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome, which also originated in China.

"Of course, you would get awkward looks, but nothing as hysterical as this time."

The new coronavirus, first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late December, has killed more than 1,800 people and infected more than 70,000 globally. It has spread to more than two dozen countries - including Italy, which has three confirmed cases - but nearly 99 percent of the deaths and infections have been reported in mainland China.

Italy's government reacted with alarm, suspending flights to China and declaring a six-month state of emergency to combat the virus. It is one of the two countries outside China to label the epidemic a local emergency. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, mainly because of fears the virus could spread to countries with weaker health systems.

'Atmosphere of hate'
Chinese Italians and activists say misinformation perpetuated by politicians and false claims on mainstream and social media has resulted in an "atmosphere of hate". A spokesman for the Italian interior ministry declined to comment.

In the central city of Florence, 22-year-old Monica Wang said she received a message on Instagram from an account she did not recognise wishing sexual violence upon Chinese people. "You Chinese are destroying the world, I hope your daughters are raped and raped again so you can learn to stay wherever you came from," said the screenshot of the message Wang received on January 30.

Meanwhile, some public officials have asked students of Chinese and Asian origin to stay home

In one incident, the director of Conservatorio di musica Santa Cecilia, a famous music school in the Italian capital, Rome, said lessons for all "Oriental students" including those from China, Korea and Japan would be suspended because of the "Chinese epidemic". They would only be allowed to return after a health check, he said.

The viral outbreak has also added fodder to a long-running anti-migrant campaign by Italian far-right groups.

Matteo Salvini, former deputy prime minister and leader of the far-right Lega Nord, called for the closure of all Italian borders on January 31, saying: "We need to stop all travel connections with China, it should have been done long ago."

In the northern towns of Como, Brescia and Varese, posters proclaiming: "Coronavirus? Buy Italian. It's a moral duty" were plastered to the storefronts of dozens of Chinese Italian owned businesses in late January. The posters carried the logo of the far-right Forza Nuova group.

Paolo, a 29-year-old member of a union representing the affected shop owners, told Al Jazeera fears over the virus has resulted in a sharp drop in trade.

"Business is considerably down," said the young father, who preferred to give only one name out of fear of reprisals. "We are breathing an air of hostility at the moment. Of course, not everyone is prejudiced, but I'm very worried … about the business and my family. This is my home, I love this place. My entire livelihood is here."

The police in the Lombardy region told Al Jazeera they were aware of the posters but declined to comment further.

Zejian Peng, who owns a stationery store in the southern town of Salerno, where he has lived for 29 years, said he avoided being seen in his shop because he does not want to lose clients.

"We've had clients asking whether our business is Chinese, people fear they might somehow get infected. One client even reassured her husband that there were no Chinese people in the shop so it would be safe," he told Al Jazeera. "My wife, who is Italian, continues taking care of the shop. It's frustrating, it makes me feel angry and helpless."

For Peng, who has lived in Salerno since he was four years old, the source of the anti-Chinese sentiment is clear.

"All this extremism is happening because of what is being said and shared online," he said. "People with no subject knowledge, but with thousands of followers on social media, say and claim facts without evidence in their posts which inevitably incite hate. Just look at what politicians say online."

Amnesty International echoed that sentiment in a statement earlier this month.

"Scientifically incorrect information, irresponsible affirmations by politicians and incomprehensible local measures [taken against the virus' spread] have led to a shameful wave of Sinophobia," said Gianni Ruffin, director general of Amnesty International Italy.

On February 5, the Corriere Bergamo reported that Maurizio Esti, mayor of the northern town of Solto Collina, blamed the virus on what Chinese people eat. "These f****** Chinese, they eat everything. Bats, snakes, dogs and insects, they should be the only people to die in this epidemic," she wrote on Facebook.

Some observers say news outlets are to blame too.

TG24, a news channel operated by Sky Italy, reported on January 25 that the coronavirus could have been leaked from a military lab in Wuhan. Despite the claim being widely debunked, TG24's director Paolo Liguori continued to stand by the report.

"It has been eight days since I told you about the secret laboratory and we have not received evidence that proves it false," he said on February 2, in a long monologue on the origins of the coronavirus.

That claim was first made popular in an audio message on WhatsApp, in which a man claiming to be an Italian journalist in Wuhan said the virus had been leaked by accident from a Wuhan lab. It later turned out the author of the message, an Italian businessman in China, had intended it as a joke for his close friends, according to Il Resto del Carlino newspaper.

Separately, influencers on social media have also spread false claims about the coronavirus, taking advantage of the panic to promote products.

Giulia Calcaterra, a television star who has 750,000 followers, posted an Instagram video on January 29, blaming Chinese eating habits for the alleged epidemic. She ended the video with a promo code for an online shop that sells fitness products. "Go check it out people, it's important to stay healthy and fit," she said.

The increase in anti-Chinese sentiment in Italy has prompted an intervention by Italian President Sergio Mattaralla.

On February 6, he paid a surprise visit to Scuola Daniele Manin, a school in Rome attended by many Italian Chinese and where 45 percent of students are not ethnically Italian.

"Schools are for everyone, we must all learn to be together," he said.

But Emanuele Russo, president of Amnesty's Italy chapter, said the Italian government needed to do a lot more.

"Our politicians openly use racist and hate rhetoric. Anti-racist speeches and initiatives by individual politicians are not sufficient to change the racism embedded in our public institutions. Fear of the virus' spread has simply shed light on the Sinophobia that was already present. We need the government to take a formal anti-xenophobia stance and criminalise acts that violate human rights" he told Al Jazeera.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...hameful-sinophobia-italy-200218071444233.html
 
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Hundreds of passengers who tested negative for the new coronavirus have begun leaving a quarantined cruise ship in Japan amid heavy criticism over the country's handling of the outbreak.

One Japanese health expert who visited the Diamond Princess at the port in Yokohama said the situation on board was "completely chaotic".

US officials said moves to contain the virus "may not have been sufficient".

Passengers have described the difficult quarantine situation on the vessel.

At least 621 passengers and crew on the Diamond Princess have so far been infected by the Covid-19 virus - the biggest cluster outside mainland China.

The ship was carrying 3,700 people in total.

Several nations are evacuating their citizens from the ship as the number of confirmed cases continues to rise.

Hundreds of American passengers were removed and placed in quarantine on Sunday. Britons on the vessel have been told by the UK Foreign Office to stay onboard but register for an evacuation flight expected later this week.

A British couple on the ship - who had been giving regular updates to journalists via social media - confirmed on Wednesday they had tested positive for the virus.

The US, Canada, Australia and the UK will place all those released from the ship in another 14 days' quarantine when they return home.

What are the fears over the passengers?
Several experts have questioned the effectiveness of the quarantine measures on the Diamond Princess.

Kentaro Iwata, professor at the infectious diseases division of Japan's Kobe University, described the situation on board as "completely inadequate in terms of infection control".

After visiting the ship, Prof Iwata posted a video to YouTube stating that the quarantine measures he witnessed failed to separate the infected from the healthy.

He reported:

Passengers and crew members moving freely between the green zone, which is supposedly infection-free, and the virus-hit red zone
People eating together and sharing living quarters
A failure to wear protective clothing, including among medical staff
No professional infection control specialist on board

The expert said he was more afraid of catching the virus on board than he had been working in the field in Africa during the Ebola epidemic and in China during the Sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak.

US health officials also criticised the steps taken by Japanese officials.

"[The quarantine measures] may not have been sufficient to prevent transmission among individuals on the ship," the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned.

"The rate of new infections on board, especially among those without symptoms, represents an ongoing risk," it said in a statement, adding that travel restrictions had been imposed on "all passengers and crew" preventing them from entering the US.

Japanese officials have defended their approach, saying that the majority of infections likely occurred before the quarantine period.

What is happening to those disembarking?
About 500 people who tested negative and who are not showing any symptoms were expected to disembark the Diamond Princess on Wednesday, with more leaving in coming days.

The released passengers made their way onto waiting coaches or into taxis, reports the BBC's Laura Bicker, who is at the port in Yokohama.

They will be allowed to return to life as normal, but will be contacted over a period of several days to check on their health, Japan's health ministry said.

Those who tested negative but had shared cabins with infected people will have to remain on board for additional quarantine.

The passengers come from more than 50 countries, raising concerns the ship could become the source of a fresh wave of global infections, our correspondent says.

South Korea, which reported 15 new cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday, said it would ban entry to any foreign passengers of the Diamond Princess.

How did the ship end up in quarantine?
The cruise ship was put in quarantine in Yokohama in early February after a man who disembarked in Hong Kong was found to have the virus.

Passengers were initially isolated in their cabins and later allowed to sporadically go out on deck.

Despite the quarantine measures, day by day the number of people to test positive for the Covid-19 virus grew rapidly.

Covid-19 has now claimed 2,004 lives in China, according to the latest Chinese data released on Wednesday.

There have been 74,185 confirmed infections recorded in mainland China and about 700 cases in other countries.

Iran says two people infected with the virus have died in the city of Qom - the first reported deaths in the Middle East.

Earlier on Wednesday, Hong Kong said a 70-year-old man with underlying illnesses became the territory's second fatality. France, Japan, the Philippines and Taiwan have each had one death attributed to the virus.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51555420
 
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South Korea has stepped up measures to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, as confirmed infections rose sharply for a second day.

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun described the development as an "emergency" situation.

The two southern cities of Daegu and Cheongdo have been declared "special care zones".

The country has also locked down its military after several soldiers tested positive.

On Friday, South Korea reported 52 new confirmations after a rise of 53 on Thursday.

The country now has a total of 156 cases making it the largest cluster outside mainland China and the cruise ship docked off Japan.

From the 52 new cases reported on Friday, 41 are in Daegu, a city 300km southeast of the capital Seoul, and 39 of those are from a cluster involving a religious sect.

Authorities confirmed the country's first death from the virus on Thursday, in the neighbouring city Cheongdo.

The man was was a long term patient at a mental health facility, where alongside him another 14 patients have also tested positive.

Officially named Sars-CoV-2, the new virus is thought to have originated in Hubei province in China. It causes pneumonia-like symptoms.

What measures are being taken?
Both Daegu and Cheongdo cities have been designated "special care zones" and the government promised swift measures to prevent further spread of the virus.

"It is urgent to find people who have contacted infected people and cure patients," Prime Minister Chung said according to news agency Yonhap.

He said the government was readying resources like sickbeds, medical equipment and health workers and warned the virus was now spreading locally.

"The government has so far focused on curbing infections coming from outside the country. From now on, the government will further prioritise preventing the virus from spreading locally."

Health Minister Park Neung-hoo said authorities would allow hospitals to isolate respiratory patients from others in an effort to prevent any spread within medical institutions.

He also said that all pneumonia patients in Daegu hospitals would be checked for the virus.

South Korea's defence ministry has ordered a lock down for all personnel and cancelled all leave after several soldiers tested positive for the new virus.

What happened in Daegu?
The city's biggest cluster appears to be at a branch of a religious sect which calls itself the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony.

South Korean health officials believe these infections are linked to a 61-year-old woman who tested positive for the virus earlier this week.

The Shincheonji, which has been accused of being a cult, said it had now shut down its Daegu branch and that services in other regions would be held online or individually at home.

Daegu is the country's fourth-largest city and its streets are now largely abandoned as the 2.5 million residents are asked to remain at home after authorities have described the church cluster as "super-spreading event".

As of Friday, more than 400 members of the church are showing symptoms of the disease, though tests were still ongoing, the city mayor said.

What about China and elsewhere?
The latest figures from China put the death toll from the disease at 2,236 people and total infections at more than 75,000.

The virus has also spread around the globe with more than 1,000 cases and several deaths in the rest of Asia, in Europe, the US and Africa.

South Korea is now the worst affected country after mainland China and the more than 600 infections on a cruise ship docked in Japan.

Passengers of the Diamond Princess who have tested negative continue to disembark the ship in Yokohama after more than 14 days quarantined onboard.

More than 150 Australian passengers have been evacuated from the ship and have already arrived in Darwin, where they will begin two more weeks of quarantine.

Australian officials said on Friday that six people had reported feeling unwell on arrival in Darwin and were immediately tested.

Two of those people tested positive despite having received negative tests before leaving Japan.

The first batch of people from Hong Kong have also flown back to the city, where they will similarly be quarantined.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51582186
 
Very concerning the way it has been spreading in Japan, Korea and especially Italy
 
South Korea on frontline as coronavirus spreads; Kuwait and Bahrain confirm first cases

The deadly coronavirus epidemic spread further outside China on Monday as a surge of infections in South Korea made it the biggest hotspot abroad, while authorities in Europe and the Middle East battled to curb outbreaks.

Kuwait said three people, including a Saudi national, who returned from Iran were infected by the new coronavirus, state news agency KUNA reported.

The three cases, the first in the Gulf state, were among the 700 people evacuated from the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad last week, KUNA said.

The first case of the new coronavirus was also detected in Bahrain, the state news agency said on Monday, citing the health ministry.

The Ministry of Health added that it was a Bahraini citizen arriving from Iran.

The number of fatalities in China also continued to soar, with 150 more confirmed deaths taking the official death toll to over 2,600.

Chinese authorities insist they are making progress in containing the virus, citing slowing infection rates thanks to unprecedented travel lockdowns and quarantines in or near the outbreak's epicentre.

But a rising number of new cases and deaths in other parts of the world have deepened fears about a potential pandemic, with South Korea, Italy and Iran emerging over the past week on the frontlines.

South Korea has seen a rapid surge in infections since a cluster emerged from a religious sect in the southern city of Daegu last week.

Another 161 infections and two more deaths were reported in South Korea on Monday, bringing the total cases to more than 700 people — the most outside China.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Sunday raised the country's virus alert to the highest “red” level, to strengthen the government response to the spiralling outbreak.

The government has extended kindergarten and school holidays by one week nationwide and plans to enforce tighter two-week monitoring of arrivals from China.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1536388/s...preads-kuwait-and-bahrain-confirm-first-cases
 
I wonder how has it spread to Iran, Most of the cases in countries are now originating from Iran.
 
Fears are growing that the coronavirus outbreak could reach pandemic scale as more cases emerge around the world.

Most infections are in China but other nations like South Korea, Italy and Iran are battling the virus, which causes respiratory disease Covid-19.

A pandemic is when an infectious disease spreads easily from person to person in many parts of the world.

About 77,000 people in China, where the virus emerged last year, have been infected and nearly 2,600 have died.

More than 1,200 cases have been confirmed in about 30 other countries and there have been more than 20 deaths. Italy reported two more deaths on Monday, raising the total there to five.

The proportion of infected patients dying from Covid-19 appears to be between 1% and 2%, although the World Health Organization (WHO) cautions that the mortality rate is not known yet.

On Monday Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait and Bahrain reported their first cases, all involving people who had come from Iran.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had warned that the window of opportunity to contain the virus was "narrowing".

Paul Hunter, professor of health protection at the University of East Anglia in the UK, echoed his fears, saying the spike in cases outside China was "extremely concerning".

"The tipping point after which our ability to prevent a global pandemic seems a lot closer after the past 24 hours," he said on Monday.

WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told the BBC that the situation was not being seen as a pandemic at the moment because countries were managing to prevent the virus spreading too far.

"If countries took no measures at all we would have seen way, way, way more cases," she said. "That's what we mean by containment."

The main signs of infection are fever (high temperature) and a cough as well as shortness of breath and breathing difficulties.

What should I do?
Frequent handwashing with soap or gel, avoiding close contact with people who are ill and not touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands can help cut the risk of infection.

Catching coughs and sneezes in a tissue, binning it and washing your hands can minimise the risk of spreading disease.

World edges closer to coronavirus pandemic
Analysis by Fergus Walsh, medical correspondent

The combined situation in South Korea, Iran and Italy points to the early stages of pandemic.

In each of these countries we are seeing spread of the virus with no connection to China. The lockdown efforts in Italy mirror those that have happened in China.

The situation in Iran is especially worrying, because the health authorities have reportedly said the virus has spread to multiple cities, and it appears the first case in Lebanon is linked to a traveller from Iran.

If we have a pandemic, it will still be important to limit the speed of spread of the virus.

If countries could hold it somewhat at bay until the end of winter, there is a hope that warmer temperatures will reduce the time the virus can survive in the air, as we see with seasonal flu. But this may not be certain.

What are the worst-affected countries?
South Korea - which has the largest number of confirmed cases outside China - reported another 231 infections on Monday taking the total there to more than 830. Eight people have died.

Around 7,700 troops have been quarantined after 11 military members were infected.

But the biggest virus clusters have been linked to a hospital and a religious group near the south-eastern city of Daegu.

Italy has the largest number of cases in Europe, 165, and announced a series of drastic measures over the weekend to try to contain the outbreak.

In the regions of Lombardy and Veneto, a lock-down is in place in several small towns. For the next two weeks, 50,000 residents will not be able to leave without special permission.

Even outside the zone, many businesses and schools have suspended activities, and sporting events have been cancelled.

The two latest deaths announced on Monday were both in Lombardy, Italian media reported.

It is not yet clear how the virus entered the country, officials said.

In China, officials in the city of Wuhan, where the outbreak began, announced on Monday that some non-residents would be allowed to leave if they showed no symptoms.

However, authorities later said that order was made without authorisation and had been revoked.

China reported 409 new infections on Monday, the bulk of which were in Wuhan.

Iran said on Sunday it had 43 confirmed cases of the virus, most of them in the holy city of Qom. Twelve of those infected have died, the highest number of deaths outside China.

On Monday on MP in Qom accused the government of covering up the extent of the outbreak, saying there were 50 deaths in the city alone. However, the country's deputy health minister quickly denied the claim.

Meanwhile, North Korea has quarantined 380 foreigners in a bid to stop the coronavirus from breaking out.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51611422
 
minamino said:
I wonder how has it spread to Iran, Most of the cases in countries are now originating from Iran.
Click to expand...

I hear the situation in Iran is pretty bad.
Schools closed, people staying at home and more deaths in Iran then even China...
 
IMMY69 said:
I hear the situation in Iran is pretty bad.
Schools closed, people staying at home and more deaths in Iran then even China...
Click to expand...

That's not possible. There are almost 2000 official deaths in China and we all know how fabricated governments figures are but I have no trust in the medical system of Iran so it could get really worse and that country has spread it to a lot of other countries as well.
 
minamino said:
That's not possible. There are almost 2000 official deaths in China and we all know how fabricated governments figures are but I have no trust in the medical system of Iran so it could get really worse and that country has spread it to a lot of other countries as well.
Click to expand...

You’re right
 
Seems like only a matter of time before it reaches Norway also. Allah khair karey.
 
Bahrain has announced without warning that it is blocking all incoming flights from Dubai International Airport for 48 hours, in a sign of the dramatic measures being taken by Gulf governments to try and halt the spread of Covid-19, the coronavirus which originated in China last year.

In Kuwait, the government has also abruptly cancelled all festivities to mark the country’s National Day, due to be marked on February 25, and banned all sports fixtures for two weeks, as governments look for ways to deal with the threat.

The Bahrain flight ban, reported by the official Bahrain News Agency in the early hours of February 25 local time, took effect immediately. It also covers flights arriving from another UAE airport, Sharjah International.

There are at least 15 flights a day to Bahrain from Dubai International, one of the world’s busiest airports and the most important aviation hub in the Middle East. Those flights are operated by Bahrain’s national carrier Gulf Air as well as the UAE’s Fly Dubai and Emirates Airline. Air Arabia operates three flights a day from Sharjah to Bahrain.

The first case in Bahrain was announced on February 24, with a Bahraini citizen arriving from Iran reported to be infected; a second case was announced later the same day, this time of a Bahraini woman who had travelled from Iran via Dubai.

Iran is by far the worst affected country in the region so far, with many hundreds of cases being reported, although there have also been allegations of an official cover-up of the true extent of the situation. The first deaths in the region from the virus were also in Iran.

At first, Gulf countries reacted to the health crisis by discouraging travel to China, but as the disease has spread, so have their restrictions, encompassing more countries and stricter measures. On February 20, Iraq suspended all flights to Iran until further notice, with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia taking similar steps the next day. On February 24, Kuwait also suspended all flights and ships going to and from Iraq. Oman suspended all flights to Iran on the same day. Iranian media outlets have reported that Afghanistan, Armenia, Iraq, Pakistan and Turkey have all closed their borders with Iran.

Economic costs

It is too early to know what the economic impact of all these restrictions might be, but it could be substantial. Travel bans and flight suspensions will have a direct impact on the tourism and logistics markets, but almost all sectors of the local economies could be affected to some extent.

In a research note issued on February 17, Oxford Economics noted that “the coronavirus epidemic now clouds the outlook for global travel and tourism, which contributes over 10% to the UAE’s GDP.” It noted that arrivals from China and North East Asia account for just under 8% of total arrivals to the UAE, and 5% in Qatar. “Concerns over the coronavirus impact may take a toll on sentiment and threaten the recovery in GCC non-oil activity,” the report said.

Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has pointed out that China buys between 4% and 45% of GCC countries' goods exports, with Oman being the most exposed, while Dubai received almost 1 million visitors from China last year.

“If the virus continues to spread, there is a risk that the economic impact could increase unpredictably,” S&P said in a research note issued on February 16. “For the GCC, this could result in a drop in oil prices, economic growth, and real estate prices.”

Speaking in the Saudi capital Riyadh on February 22, IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said her organisation’s baseline scenario sees China’s economy returning to normal in the second quarter of the year and the impact on global growth would be just 0.1%. “But we are also looking at more dire scenarios where the spread of the virus continues for longer and more globally, and the growth consequences are more protracted,” she added.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/domini...-flights-dubai-over-coronavirus/#177f1d542b94
 
Last edited:
Spanish Media

Spanish media reports hundreds of tourists at a hotel in Costa Adeje in Tenerife are being tested for coronavirus after a confirmed case of COVID-19 was identified
 
One school has closed and another has shut its sixth form after students returned from half-term ski trips in Italy.

The two schools, both in Cheshire, made the decision on Tuesday, which comes as Italian authorities continue to struggle to control an outbreak of COVID-19.

A message to parents from Richard Pollock, the headteacher of Cransley School in Northwich, said the closure would remain in place for the rest of the week in order to "completely minimise" the risk of infection.

It comes after a number of students and staff at the school had visited Bormio, northern Italy, last week, and had since been advised to self-isolate.

"Regardless of the current Public Health England advice (that the school should remain open to all other pupils) I have decided... to completely minimise possible spread of infection and close the school for the remainder of the week," he wrote.

"During this time, the school will be able to conduct a deep clean, and monitor the results of tests amongst those pupils who are currently showing flu-like symptoms."

Meanwhile, Brine Leas Academy in Nantwich said on Twitter that it had decided to close its sixth form "due to staff shortages."

The message followed an earlier tweet which said the facility would be "following government advice regarding travel to Italy".

A third school in Cheshire, Sanbach High School, has also been affected after a half-term ski trip to the Lombardy region.

In a statement on its website, the school said: "The latest advice from Public Health England and NHS 111 is that the students and staff who went on the school ski trip during half term to Aprica are to stay indoors, self-isolate, ring 111 to get further information."

In Italy, seven people have died and more than 200 suspected and confirmed cases of the coronavirus have been recorded in what has become Europe's biggest outbreak of the illness.

A dozen towns in northern Italy have been placed on lockdown to control the spread of infection, and neighbouring Austria has assembled a special taskforce to consider border controls.

France, which covers part of Italy's northwestern border, has said there no current plans for controls but that the situation was "worrying".

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavi...students-return-from-italy-ski-trips-11942897
 
Coronavirus: Iran's deputy health minister tests positive as outbreak worsens

Iran's deputy health minister and an MP have both tested positive for the new coronavirus, as it struggles to contain an outbreak that has killed 15.

The country is one of three hot-spots outside China causing concern that the virus could be becoming a pandemic.

The deputy minister, Iraj Harirchi, had on Monday denied covering up the scale of the outbreak. He appeared to be in discomfort as he spoke to reporters.

Iran has reported 95 cases, but the actual number is thought to be higher.

The director general of the World Health Organization (WHO) has said the sudden increase in cases in the country is "deeply concerning".

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday that Washington was concerned that Iran may have concealed "vital details" about its outbreak and urged all nations to "tell the truth about the coronavirus".

More people have died in Iran from the virus than anywhere else outside China.

The other countries currently in the spotlight are South Korea and Italy, where cases have surged in recent days.

More than 80,000 cases of the Covid-19 respiratory disease have been reported worldwide since it emerged last year. About 2,700 patients have died - the vast majority in China.

But the situation in Iran - home to holy sites that attract millions every year and in a region where several countries have weak health systems - has caused great concern about a mass outbreak in the Middle East.

On Tuesday an MP from the Iranian capital Tehran, Mahmoud Sadeghi, also said he had tested positive for the virus.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-51628484
 
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