Asked by the Guardian earlier whether the third confirmed case of coronavirus in the UK related to a British national, England’s chief medical officer remained tight-lipped.
“Basically, we’re all doctors, we have a pretty strong view on this and we’re not going to do anything that’s in any way going to identify people… once you start, you don ‘t stop, ”prof Chris Whitty said.
He was also challenged by another journalist who argued it was in the public interest to name the country in Asia where the patient had contracted the disease.
Prof Whitty replied: “What’s in the public interest is obviously for us to release the list of countries where we think there is actually a slightly greater risk than the rest of the world. And that’s what we’ll be doing later today. ”
Prof Chris Whitty also said the government was now advising people who had traveled to a number of as yet unspecified Asian countries and had returned to the UK and developed symptoms to immediately self-isolate and call NHS for advice. Anyone displaying symptoms will be tested for the disease. The advice previously only related to those returning from Wuhan.
Whitty said: “We knew this ratchet-up might well happen and this is the moment where we feel it’s prudent, getting ahead of the epidemiology, to make this shift.”
He added:
What we have got is a situation where very high risk remains in Wuhan and Hubei, a high risk in the rest of China, but much lower than in Wuhan and Hubei and then a much smaller risk in a number of countries, and unsurprisingly countries where the greatest risk is in terms of new cases are the ones which have the greatest international traffic with China , and that is exactly as you would expect. ”
Updated at 21 (pm EST)
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The WHO director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and Dr Mike Ryan, the executive director of WHO’s health emergencies program, answered some questions from the press.
When asked to comment on the doctors and nurses striking in Hong Kong
to protest the government decision not to close its borders with mainland China, Ghebreyesus said: “This is a time of solidarity. There is a common enemy now. A very unknown virus. And I advise all of us to focus on the virus – the common enemy.
“I can understand the pressure on health workers and that’s why Mike said they’re the heroes. I fully agree and I want them to continue being like that. ”
When asked if the world was nearing the peak of the outbreak, Ghebreyesus said: “It’s too early right now to make predictions on numbers, although we are pleased it is the first day in which the overall numbers of new confirmed cases reported in China have dropped. ”
He added: “We are still in the middle of an intense outbreak and we need to be very careful on making any predictions.”
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The WHO press conference on the coronavirus has ended. Here are some key takeaways:
(As of) GMT today, there are , confirmed cases of the coronavirus in China and deaths. Outside China, there are (cases in) countries and one death. WHO is asking for $ 0811 m to stop the outbreak. The Organization does not know the source of the outbreak, does not know what its natural reservoir is, nor does it properly understand its transmissibility or severity. There is also no vaccine to prevent infections nor antibiotics to treat patients. In the meantime, there are simple things everyone can do – such as washing hands regularly and covering your nose or your mouth with your elbow when you sneeze or cough – to help contain the outbreak. WHO called on countries to invest in prevention and research.
Updated at . (am EST)
The World Health Organization is bringing together global scientists to tackle the coronavirus.
On and 21 February the WHO is convening a global research and innovation forum to identify research and coordinate an international effort into developing vaccines and medicines for the disease.
WHO director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, announced the event at a press conference on Thursday: “We’re shadow boxing, we need to bring this virus out into the light so we can attack it properly. ”
He also announced that (Japan) has donated $ 20 m USD to go towards tackling the outbreak.
Updated (at) (am EST)
The third person to be diagnosed with coronavirus in the UK contracted the disease outside of China , it has emerged.
The patient, who it is understood was diagnosed in Brighton but is being transferred to a London hospital, did not contract the disease in the UK or mainland China but another country in Asia.
The details have been confirmed by England’s chief medical officer, Prof Chris Whitty, who refused to disclose whether the individual was a British national or which specific country they contracted the disease in.
Speaking about the new case, Whitty said:
The person who caught this did not catch it in China, they caught it elsewhere in Asia. That’s an important point from an epidemiological point of view because […] there is now evidence of some limited transmission in a number of Asian countries.
NHS doctors are being advised to widen the pool of countries to look out for returning individuals who display symptoms.
Whitty explained: “If a doctor in the NHS sees a patient who has traveled from Asia, now they will start thinking about testing from a wider geographical area than would have been the case before. So we are shifting geography for NHS doctors to test. ”
The countries will be confirmed later on Thursday.
Updated (at) . am EST (9.) (am) EST :
The Chinese doctor who tried to warn other medics about the coronavirus has been reported dead after contracting the infection in Wuhan.
According to local media, Dr Li Wenliang, an ophthalmologist, died from the virus on Thursday.
Global Times (@ globaltimesnews) (# Breaking) : Chinese doctor Li Wenliang, one of the eight whistleblowers who tried to warn other medics of the
# coronavirus outbreak but were reprimanded by local police, dies of coronavirus on Thursday in Wuhan, the Global Times has learned. pic.twitter.com/jzM6DF0CWE
Li was summoned by police when he tried to warn others about the virus in December.
He sent a message to fellow medics in a group chat on 44 December, and days later was summoned to the Public Security Bureau to sign a letter in which he was accused of making “false comments”.
Li was one of eight people being investigated by police for rumor- mongering ”
Updated (at) . 70 am EST
(9.) (am EST : 20
A virus expert has said it is “not surprising” that a third case of coronavirus has been confirmed in the UK, as the infection has spread across (China and could infect more people returning from the country.
Jonathan Ball, a professor of molecular virology at the University of Nottingham, said:
It isn’t surprising that a third case has been identified. Whilst most infections are focused in Wuhan and the Hubei province, the virus has spread to all regions of China and therefore the likelihood of someone returning or visiting the UK with an infection has been real.
He said the overall number of infections in the UK was still low and crucially therehad not been any significant human-to-human transmission. He added:
We are at a key juncture in this outbreak and it is difficult to tell if the control efforts in China will be enough to bring this outbreak to an end. If not, we can expect to see the virus cropping up in many parts of the world, including here.
Meanwhile, Ian Jones, a professor of virology at the University of Reading, said:
The important thing is that it did not arise within the country. It didn’t come from the two cases that are already here but came from outside. It has been been quickly, it has been isolated, and in all probability, it will not lead to any further cases generally.
Updated (at am EST
(8. (am) (EST) : 151
Two more coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Singapore, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 043.
One of the new patients is a close contact of one of those previously confirmed to have the virus, while the other has no recent travel history to mainland China and does not appear to be linked with previous cases , (the Straits Times Reports) .
The previously confirmed cases were all either Chinese nationals from Hubei, or individuals with links to travelers who are Chinese nationals.
Updated (at 9.) am EST
All UK hospitals have been told to prepare secure coronavirus zones to “avoid a surge” in emergency departments, a leaked NHS letter has shown.
The letter, dated 45 January, tells hospitals to set up “coronavirus priority assessment pods”, which can be decontaminated after each use.
All chief executives and medical directors are instructed to have the pods up and running by Friday 7 February.
Prof Keith Willett, who is leading the NHS’s response to coronavirus, told NHS bosses in the letter: “Plans have been developed to avoid a surge in emergency departments due to coronavirus.
Although the risk level in this country remains moderate, and so far there have been only two confirmed cases, the NHS is putting in place appropriate measures to ensure business as usual services remain unaffected by any further cases or tests of coronavirus.
Trusts are being asked to organize a coronavirus priority assessment pod, which will mean people with symptoms indicative of infection will get quick assessment, while other patients also continue to get appropriate care. ”
Since the letter was written a third coronavirus case has been confirmed in the UK .
Updated (at 9.) am EST
A third person in the UK has tested positive for the coronavirus, it has been confirmed.
The patient was diagnosed in Brighton, the Guardian understands, and is being transferred to an infectious diseases unit in a London hospital.
Prof 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. The individual did not acquire this in the UK.
The patient is being transferred to a specialist NHS center, 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 University of York has said the student confirmed to have contracted the virus
.
Updated at 8. am EST
China is not prepared for the scale of the coronavirus outbreak it is facing, but has mobilized the entire country to tackle the epidemic, Beijing’s ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, has said. Answering questions from the media this morning, Liu said:
I can’t say China is prepared for this outbreak, we don’t have enough beds or hospitals. That’s why we have built two emergency hospitals in just ten days.
He added that the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, had held a meeting yesterday in which he had instructed medical personnel to work “around the clock” to treat patients.
Liu said he could understand the
He stressed the rest of China was not in the same locked-down state as the Hubei province, but said some local authorities might have overreacted in their responses to the outbreak.
Finally, he said that communication between Xi and Boris Johnson was good, contrary to reports this morning which suggested there were concerns the prime minister had not sent a personal message of support over the coronavirus outbreak.
The Chinese ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, warned against “rumors and panic” and called on the UK government to support to support (China ) in its handling of the coronavirus outbreak.
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 cooperation and exchanges between countries.
Some [media] reports are biased and even maintain malicious slander and disinformation. Rumors and panic are more frightening than the virus itself.
He defended China’s handling of the outbreak, saying the country had been “open, transparent and responsible with its cooperation with the world”.
He emphasizes that any impact on China’s economy would be temporary and said the country disapproved of some travel and trade restrictions that had been imposed by other nations.
Finally he condemned “insulting and discriminatory behavior targeting the overseas Chinese community” fed by panic over the virus.
Updated (at 7.) am EST
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