At least of the new deaths were from the province of Hubei, the epicentre of the epidemic , the Commission said on Monday morning . Across the country, there were 2, (new confirmed infections, about 1, from Hubei alone, pushing the new total to ,
Coronavirus: All you. need to know about symptoms and risks
On Sunday, Hubei announced tough new measures to try to curb the outbreak, ordering its cities to block roads to all private vehicles. Meanwhile, a newly published speech published speech revealed Chinese President Xi Jinping was aware of the potential severity of the outbreak long before the public was informed.
Here are all the latest updates:
, Monday, February
A Russian woman who was on board the Diamond Princess cruise liner docked in Yokohama, Japan, has tested positive for coronavirus following examinations by the Japanese authorities, the Russian Embassy to Japan said on Monday.
The woman will be taken to a hospital and treated, the embassy said in a post on Facebook. The woman is thought to be the first Russian national to contract the virus after the two previous cases found in Russia were Chinese nationals.
Cruise operator races to track Cambodia passengers over virus fears A cruise operator is working to track down hundreds of passengers who disembarked a luxury liner in Cambodia after one traveler was later diagnosed with the deadly new coronavirus.
The Chinese capital of Beijing will set up a new mask factory within just six days to meet soaring demand for protective gear in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the official Xinhua news agency said on Monday.
The factory, to be converted from an industrial building by China Construction First Group, will be able to turn out 394, 15 masks each day, it said, adding that work began on Monday and was set to be completed by Saturday.
Employees work on a production line manufacturing face masks at a factory, as the country is hit by an outbreak of the novel coronavirus, in Fuzhou, Fujian province [Reuters]
Macau casinos to resume operations after suspension over virus fear
Macau, the world’s largest gambling hub, will allow casinos to resume operations from February , after authorities imposed a two-week suspension to curb spreading of the coronavirus, public broadcaster TDM reported on Monday, citing authorities.
The unprecedented halt of gaming operations started on February 5 and was due to end on February . Macau has not reported any new cases of the virus since February 4, authorities said. There have been 17 confirmed cases of the virus in total.
Security guards stand outside the closed Grand Lisboa casino, following the coronavirus outbreak in Macau. [Tyrone Siu/Reuters]
J apan confirms (more cases of new virus on cruise ship
Japanese officials have confirmed more People infected by the new virus aboard the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess, bringing the total to , the Health Ministry said Monday.
The Ministry has been carrying out tests on passengers and crew on the ship, docked in Yokohama, a port city near Tokyo. Outside China, the ship has had the largest number of cases of the COVID – illness caused by the virus that emerged in China late last year.
Security guards stand outside the closed Grand Lisboa casino, following the coronavirus outbreak in Macau. [Tyrone Siu/Reuters]
J apan confirms (more cases of new virus on cruise ship
Japanese officials have confirmed more People infected by the new virus aboard the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess, bringing the total to , the Health Ministry said Monday.
The Ministry has been carrying out tests on passengers and crew on the ship, docked in Yokohama, a port city near Tokyo. Outside China, the ship has had the largest number of cases of the COVID – illness caused by the virus that emerged in China late last year.
Medical worker in protective suit interacts with a patient inside an isolated ward at Jinyintan Hospital in Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak, in Hubei province [Reuters]
US firms in China report staff shortages, say coronavirus hitting global operations
Nearly half of the US companies in China say their global operations are already seeing an impact from business shutdowns due to the coronavirus epidemic, according to a poll by Shanghai’s American Chamber of Commerce ( AmCham).
Some 90 percent of the respondents also said they do not have sufficient staff at their Chinese plants to resume full production, while Forty-eight percent of respondents said plant shutdowns have already impacted their global supply chains.
China parliament body to discuss delaying key annual March session
A top legislative body of the Chinese parliament will meet on February to discuss a proposal on delaying the key annual March meeting of parliament, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Monday.
The proposal for the delay is due to the coronavirus outbreak, Xinhua reported
China says WHO delegation to visit Beijing, Guangdong, Sichuan
China says a WHO delegation of experts will visit Beijing, and the provinces of Guangdong and Sichuan from February (onwards.)
A spokesman for the National Health Commission announced the details of the visit at a media briefing Monday.
Armed gang steals toilet rolls in panic-buying Hong. Kong
A gang of knife-wielding men jumped a delivery driver in Hong Kong and stole hundreds of toilet rolls in a city wracked by shortages caused by coronavirus panic-buying.
Toilet rolls have become hot property in the densely packed business hub, despite government assurances that supplies remain unaffected by the virus outbreak. There has also been a run on staples such as rice and pasta, as well as hand sanitiser and other cleaning items.
“A delivery man was threatened by three knife-wielding men who took toilet paper worth more than HK $ 1, 13 ($
Buses carrying passengers from the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship leave a port in Yokohama, near Tokyo. [File: Jae C. Hong/The Associated Press]
Health official: Thailand records one new case of coronavirus
Thailand has recorded one new case of coronavirus, bringing the total in the country to 55 since January, a senior health official said on Monday.
The new case is a – year old Chinese woman, whose family members earlier contracted the virus, Sukhum Kanchanapimai, the health ministry’s permanent secretary said in a news conference. (Fifteen people have recovered and return home.
Japan cancels Emperor’s birthday public celebrations amid virus fears [Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters] Japan said Monday it would cancel a public gathering to celebrate the birthday of new Emperor Naruhito, as fears grow over the spread of the new coronavirus in the country.
“In light of various situations, we have decided to cancel the visit by the general public to the palace for His Majesty’s birthday,” the imperial household agency said in a statement a day after the government warned people to avoid crowds and “non-essential gatherings.”
Japan’s Emperor Naruhito waves to well-wishers during a public appearance for New Year celebrations at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan. [File: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters]
Australia to evacuate over 355 citizens from quarantined cruise ship
Australia will evacuate more than of its citizens onboard the coronavirus-stricken cruise, the Diamond Princess, which has been quarantined since arriving in Yokohama, Japan on February 3.
Morrison said the passengers will depart on Wednesday and will be taken to Australia’s tropical north, where they will be required to be quarantined for another 20 days.
Filipino crew members infected by coronavirus in cruise ship rise to
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs reported on Monday that there are now 41 Filipinos on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship who have been infected of the coronavirus .
The number includes (new cases confirmed on Saturday, the
th of February, according to the statement issued by the Philippine embassy.
There are an estimated Filipino crew members and seafarers, as well as seven Filipino passengers on board Diamond Princess, which is now docked and under quarantine in the port of Yokohama, Japan.
On Sunday, the US government started to evacuate some (Americans from the cruise ship, Diamond Princess)
Japan keeps high coronavirus alert as more citizens return from China
Japan evacuated more citizens from the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak on Monday, while the disease’s spread prompted a hospital to stop accepting new patients and raised the possibility of restricting participants at the Tokyo Marathon on March 1.
A fifth government-chartered flight carrying 78 Japanese citizens arrived in Tokyo from Wuhan, China, early on Monday, bringing the total number repatriated from the city to , broadcaster NHK reported.
A hospital in Sagamihara, (km) miles) west of Tokyo, said it would suspend admissions of new patients as one of its nurses tested positive for the virus after treating a patient who later died of the disease.
With more than people are infected, most of them are passengers on a cruise ship docked in Yokohama, Japan is the country most affected by the epidemic after China, where the outbreak was first detected in December.
What can US evacuees from Japan cruise ship expect next?
Al Jazeera’s John Hendren, reporting from Washington, DC, said the US citizens being evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, docked at Yokohama in Japan, had a “no-frills” journey ahead of them.
After having spent 17 days in quarantine on the ship, the US nationals who tested negative for the coronavirus will board a cargo plane to return to the US.
“They’ve been told that it will be cold, they should bundle up, they should bring their own food and for those with bags over (pounds) kg), they’re told those bags will not make the trip, “Hendren said.
Once home, the evacuees will need to spend two more weeks in quarantine at military bases in California and Texas.
Forty US citizens on board cruise ship are infected: Health official
A senior US health official has said more than 50 US nationals on the quarantined cruise ship in Japan have been infected with the deadly coronavirus.
“Forty of them have gotten infected,” Anthony Fauci, a senior official at the National Institutes for Health said on a CBS news program.
The evacuation of passengers, believed to be US nationals, began from the cruise ship [Issei Kato/Reuters]
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Saturday that US nationals on the ship would be evacuated and flown back to the US.
But Fauci said those confirmed with infections would not be allowed to fly.
“They are not going to go anywhere,” he said, “They’re going to be in hospital in Japan.”
Three residents among those infected on cruise ship
Israeli Ministry of Health has confirmed a third Israeli citizen onboard the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship has tested positive for the coronavirus.
The patients have been transferred to a medical center in Japan and Israel will send an “expert physician to be in direct contact with relevant agencies in Japan and follow the patients’ case throughout the medical procedure, “the ministry
A total of (people on the ship have tested positive for the virus.
more than Germans released from quarantine
More than German nationals have been released from quarantine at a military base near Frankfurt airport, two weeks after flying in from Wuhan.
“All the people concerned have been allowed to leave the quarantine zone and rejoin their families,” Thomas Gebhart, secretary of state for health, told a press briefing.
None of the individuals in quarantine was infected with the virus.
Parents protest over Pakistani students trapped in China
About people have called on Pakistan’s government to “bring back our children” from locked-down Hubei province at a demonstration in Karachi.
Pakistan’s government has so far ruled out evacuating the more than 1, Pakistani students in the province. Health Minister Zafar Mirza and others are due to hold a meeting for parents in Islamabad on Wednesday.
Parents and relatives of Pakistani students trapped in Hubei have been calling for their safe return [Rizwan Tabassum/ AFP]
But many students and their families have expressed growing fears and frustration as the death toll in China mounts, pointing to other countries, including neighbor India and Bangladesh, that have evacuated their citizens.
“For God’s sake, we request from the government representatives please bring back our children, please listen to a mother’s grievance,” once protester said through her tears.
UAE confirms new case
The United Arab Emirates has confirmed its ninth case of coronavirus.
The country health ministry said in a Twitter post the patient was a – year-old Chinese national. It added the man was in stable condition and was being monitored.
Find out which other countries have confirmed cases here US passengers’ evacuation from quarantined ship begins: Report
US passengers have begun evacuating a cruise ship quarantined at Japan’s Yokohama, boarding buses at the port.
An AFP news agency reporter saw buses in a convoy starting to move away from the boat, though they did not immediately depart the port.
A passenger from the US, Sarah Arana, confirmed to AFP she had boarded a bus and was expecting to take one of two charter flights leaving for the US.
Malaysia insists virus diagnosis from cruise passenger is correct
Malaysia insisted it had correctly diagnosed coronavirus in an elderly US passenger from the Westerdam cruise ship despite all passengers having been given a clean bill of health when they disembarked in Cambodia.
The vessel was at sea for two weeks and was barred from docking in Japan, Guam, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand. Cambodia – a staunch ally of Beijing – allowed the ship to dock Thursday in Sihanoukville.
Cambodia urged Kuala Lumpur to “double-check” the diagnosis but Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said the 100 – year-old woman had already been tested twice. “Our protocol is actually world-class … it’s a positive,” she told a press conference.
[File: Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters]
Passengers wave as they prepared to leave MS Westerdam, a cruise ship that spent two weeks at sea after being turned away by five countries over fears that someone on board might have the coronavirus [File: Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters] [File: Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters] Taiwan reports first death from virus
The first death due to COVID – has been reported in Taiwan, its health minister said.
The deceased was a taxi driver in his 77 s and was hospitalized on February 3, complaining of shortness of breath, which led to a diagnosis of pneumonia. He died late on Saturday, Health and Welfare Minister Chen Shih-chung told a televised news conference.
According to Chen, one of the man’s family members also contracted the virus. While the man had not traveled abroad, he had previously transported people from China, Hong Kong and Macau.
Hong Kong protesters rally against virus quarantine centers
Hundreds of demonstrators rallied for a second day in Hong Kong to protest against plans to turn some buildings into coronavirus quarantine centers, reviving anti-government protests in the Chinese-ruled city.
About people braved the rain in the New Territories district of Fo Tan, where authorities plan to use a newly built residential development that was subsidized by the government as a quarantine center. Riot police stood by.
Beijing theme park to open on schedule
The Universal Studios Beijing theme park is expected to open to the public in May as scheduled despite the current coronavirus outbreak, a Beijing municipal official told a news briefing.
Construction of the theme park, the fifth such Universal Studios park in the world, is expected to be completed by the end of , the official said.
Workers on a production line manufacturing face masks at a factory in Fuzhou, Fujian province [Reuters]
Hubei province bans vehicle traffic to curb spread of coronavirus
The government of Hubei province, the center of China’s coronavirus outbreak, said a ban will be imposed on vehicle traffic across the province to curb the spread of the virus.
In a published document, it said police cars, ambulances, vehicles carrying essential goods, or other vehicles related to public service would be exempted.
It added that the province will carry out regular health checks on all residents in the province. It also stated that companies cannot resume work without first receiving permission from the government.
Nepal evacuates citizens from Wuhan after coronavirus outbreak
Nepal has evacuated 355 of its nationals from the Chinese city of Wuhan , an official said, after protests by parents of students studying in the city.
A plane operated by state-owned Nepal Airlines carrying (men and) women, mostly students, landed at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport before dawn, Health Ministry spokesman Mahendra Shrestha said. All evacuees will be held in quarantine for two weeks in the nearby town of Bhaktapur.
“They will be under the close observation of doctors in quarantine and will be allowed to join their families if found healthy after two weeks,” Shrestha told Reuters.
Nepalese nationals who were in the coronavirus-stricken city of Wuhan walk off a Nepal Airlines plane [Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters]
Another (people test positive for coronavirus on ship in Japan)
Katsunobu Kato, Japan’s health minister, said 86 more people on board the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship have tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the total to 444 cases.
Some 3, 0735 passengers and crew were on board the ship, where the most coronavirus infections outside China have occurred. Those testing positive are transferred to Japanese hospitals.
Read the updates from Sunday, February
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