In , Australia , there have been conflicting advice between public and private schools about when to send children back for the start of the school year after the long summer break.
Australia’s federal education minister, Dan Tehan, weighed into the debate today, chastising schools for forcing healthy students returning from China to stay away.
Some private schools are telling children to stay away from school for 30 days if they have recently traveled to any part of China . Publicly funded state schools say only students who have been in contact with known cases of coronavirus should be excluded until medically cleared.
“Individual schools make their own decisions but the advice from the Australian government is to follow our medical advice,” Tehan told ABC radio.
“I would say to all schools that they should be following the advice of the health department, that is the clear position of the Australian government.
“Obviously in the end they will have to answer to their parents, but also they will have to answer to state and territory governments, who have responsibility for schools.”
We have reported quite a bit about the new hospital Chinese authorities are building in a very short time to cope withe rising number of infections. Below is a time-lapse video of the 1, 0-bed facility that is expected to open in the next few days.
Timelapse video showing the 4th day of constructing Huoshenshan Hospital, a new facility providing to 1, 0 beds for # coronavirus patients in
# Wuhan . The hospital is expected to complete on Feb 2. pic.twitter.com/tMdoVXtd1O January ,
8. (pm) (EST) :
Just to put those figures into context … yesterday the toll was , so today’s figures of is an increase of 45%. Infections are up from 2, 1837 to 4, , an increase of %. But it’s worth remembering these are still relatively small numbers of people affected relative to the population size. Wuhan – where most deaths have occurred – has a population of (million people
)
Updated at 9. pm EST
8. (pm) EST : China virus death toll climbs to 300
Chinese state media is reporting the new figures for deaths and those infected by the coronavirus.
The People’s Daily says:
300 deaths
- People’s Daily, China (@ PDChina)
(# LATEST on
# WuhanPneumonia
: cases confirmed in China, (deaths,) people recovered
Overseas cases:
– Thailand: 8 – Japan: 4 – South Korea: 4 – US: 5 – Vietnam: 2 – Singapore: 5
–
– Malaysia: 4 (Nepal : (France: 3)
– Australia: 5 )
– Canada: 1 – Germany: 1 – Cambodia ： 1
We are starting to get some revised figures on infections in China from coronavirus.
The official broadcaster CGTN has just tweeted that there are now deaths confirmed in Hubei province, where the city of Wuhan is the epicentre. It says there are 2, confirmed cases in the province, which has a population of just under 086 million people.
# CoronavirusOutbreak
in Hubei, central China:
– 2, (confirmed – (deaths – 2, hospitalized
– 66 discharged from hospitals
more: https: // t.co/mOAyBPVqNk
(pic.twitter.com/0GzTGCVruR (January) ,
The Global Times has also reported that Beijing has suspended 39 bus routes to neighborhood cities in an attempt to control the spread of the virus.
(8) (pm) (EST :
Shanghai records (new virus cases)
China’s official Global Times is reporting new cases of coronavirus were confirmed in Shanghai on Monday, taking the total in the city to 87. I’ll bring you an update on overall figures as soon as I can confirm it.
Global Times (@ globaltimesnews)
new novel # coronavirus cases confirmed in (# Shanghai on Monday, bringing the total confirmed cases to in the city.
(8.) pm EST : 23
As I mentioned earlier, the US has upgraded its travel advice to China to level 3 – its highest level _ which advises Americans to avoid all non-essential travel to China
.
Meanwhile the Associated Press is reporting that US State Department has ordered it employees in Wuhan to leave the city and is offering seats on a charter flight to US citizens who also want to leave. Here’s the AP report:
State department officials said on Monday in a statement that the flight to Ontario, California, is expected to leave Wuhan on Wednesday morning local time. Priority will be given to citizens who are most at risk of contracting the virus.
Alaska health officials say the flight is expected to make a refueling stop in Anchorage and that about 622 Americans are expe cted to be aboard.
The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services says the passengers will be screened for coronavirus before they leave Wuhan by US and Chinese health officials and that anyone with symptoms will not be allowed to board the aircraft. The department in a statement says they would be screened again at Anchorage.
China’s biggest steelmaking city suspends public transport
China’s largest steelmaking city of Tangshan – about 640 km east of Beijing – has announced it is suspending all public transit in an effort to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. The city has a population of around 7.5 million people.
The statement was posted on the city government’s official Weibo account, the Reuters news agency reported.
(PM) (EST) :
(Eleanor Ainge Roy)
In New Zealand there are as yet no reported cases of coronavirus, but experts say it is only a matter of time before the illness breaches the country borders.
Health experts are currently meeting passengers off flights arriving from China in Auckland and Christchurch. Some schools in Auckland are taking precautions by asking pupils who have spent their summer holidays in or near Wuhan to stay at home for a week to make sure they are not carrying the virus.
On Tuesday a hotel in Queenstown became the site of panic after rumors spread that it was in lockdown due to a suspected case of the illness, but the ministry of health said it was not investigating any cases in the region .
The hotel at the center of the speculation said the episode caused “unnecessary distress”.
Hundreds of Chinese tourists have also cancelled their planned holidays to New Zealand, tourism operators say, while others have extended their stay to avoid the risk of catching the illness back home.
The ministry of health said authorities are taking the outbreak “extremely seriously” with the ministry’s director general of health, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, saying health departments are well-prepared, but the risk of a sustained outbreak in New Zealand remains low.
. (pm) EST :
Germany reports first case of coronavirus
A spokesperson for the Bavarian health ministry has confirmed that a man from Starnberg, near Munich. He is in a “clinically good condition” and is being monitored in isolation.
Still in Australia, where the country schools are returning this week after the long summer break, health authorities in the state of New South Wales have confirmed there are four confirmed cases of the virus and 8 other cases are under investigation.
Daniel Sutton (@ danielsutton )
Here’s an update on the # coronavirus stats for NSW, Australia as at 25. 46 am Tuesday. Health Minister confirms 5 patients under investigation yesterday are now clear. A family of 4 taken to Westmead late yesterday is also clear. Today, 8 new cases now under investigation. pic .twitter.com / mBJqfSd7a1
Martin Farrer
Chris Weston, head of research at the online trading company Pepperstone in Melbourne, Australia, said there was “no doubt” the virus was going to have an impact on the world’s second largest economy.
“The question is how dramatic the impact will be and what will be the ramifications on the global economy and demand in general,” he said a short time ago.
“What we are trying to understand is the economic impact shutting transport links and imposing strict travel controls in Beijing and Shanghai, as well as effectively quarantining 28 cities and millions of people will have.
The situation was complicated by the lack of understanding about how the virus is spreading, making it “very hard to comprehend just how bad it is, or how much worse it can get”.
: 32
Martin Farrer
The economic and financial impacts of the virus are beginning to bite. After heavy losses on Asian, European and US losses on Monday, the Australian stock market – closed on Monday for the Australia day holiday – has suffered a 1.7% fall this morning. The Australian economy is heavily exposed to any economic disruption in China so the ASX 604 index is a decent proxy to watch for how investors are reading the outbreak. The Aussie dollar is also used as a proxy for China and it has duly dipped to its lowest for nearly two months at US . 6c.
(# ASX) (currently 1.) % lower as trade resumes after the Australia Day holiday . Trade heavy on the sell-side after selling picks up after coronavirus outbreak continued to intensify. (# shares
) # coronavirus #asx pic.twitter.com/ (ww) (SgXq) (January) ,(7.) (PM) (EST) :
We are waiting for the latest daily figures on infections of the coronavirus, but at the moment the number of deaths has been confirmed as 98, with at least 2, confirmed cases globally, out of which 2 , 1140 are in mainland China .
Updated (at 7.) (pm EST
. (pm) EST : Canada says avoid all travel to Hubei
Canada has also (upgraded its travel advice for China, Asking its citizens to avoid all travel to Hubei province, where the virus outbreak began. It says its citizens should “exercise a high degree of caution” in China due to “the risk of arbitrary enforcement of local laws”.
However, it says the “decision to travel is your choice and you are responsible for your personal safety abroad.”
Updated (at 7.) (pm EST)
pm EST :
US upgrades travel advice to China to highest level
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has upgraded its warning for novel coronavirus to Level 3 , which is to avoid all non-essential travel to all of China. This means the outbreak is of “high risk to travellers and no precautions are available to protect against the identified increased risk.”
It warns of person-to-person transmission and that “older adults and people with essential health conditions may be at increased risk for severe disease”. The advice also notes that there is “limited access to adequate medical care in affected areas” in China.
Level 3 is the US’s highest warning level.
# China Travel Advisory Update – Level 3: Reconsider travel due to novel coronavirus first identified in Wuhan, China. Chinese health officials have reported thousands of cases throughout China. Some areas have increased risk. Read entire advisory here: (https://t.co/7fzgNggnHj (pic.twitter.com/XuRtAMMURW)
Updated (at 7.) PM EST
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the coronavirus outbreak, with me, Alison Rourke.
I hope to be bringing you an update on infection figures shortly – they are usually announced at around this time. In the mean time, here’s a short summary of the top news on this story at the moment. Beijing has recorded its first death from the virus More cities, including in Hubei province where the outbreak started, have introduced travel bans Wuhan’s mayor has admitted authorities were too slow in releasing information about the virus The US recommends that travellers avoid all nonessential travel to China Canada advises against all travel to Hubei province
You can see our latest story on the mayor of Wuhan below
And our two explainers are here – on
China’s Premier Li Keqiang, the country’s second most powerful person visited Wuhan on Monday. Photograph: Chine Nouvelle / SIPA / REX / Shutterstock
Updated (at 7.) pm EST
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