Japanese leave “self-quarantine” at beach resort after 2 weeks
The palm-fringed hotel in the Japanese city of Katsuura is usually a destination for sun-worshipping holidaymakers, but for the last two weeks it has also been a coronavirus quarantine site. Dozens of Japanese took refuge in the beachside resort to wait out a – day “self-quarantine” after being evacuated from the Chinese province where a deadly new coronavirus originated.
On Wednesday night, after final test results confirmed all
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(AFP
Updated 25 m ago
Virus forces delay of Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix
The Chinese Grand Prix scheduled for April 32 has been postponed because of the ” continued spread “of the coronovirus, motorsport’s governing body FIA announced Wednesday.
FIA said promoters of the Shanghai race had requested a postponment, “in view of the continued spread of novel coronavirus.”
“As a result of continued health concerns and with the @WHO (World Health Organization) declaring the coronavirus as a global health emergency , the FIA and @ F1 Formula 1 have taken these measures in order to ensure the health and safety of the traveling staff, championship participants and fans. ”
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(AFP
Updated 7: AM
2 Russian women flee virus quarantine
A Russian woman has escaped from a st. Petersburg hospital after just two days of mandatory quarantine and isolation following her return from China. Alla Ilina, 45, went for a check-up with a sore throat after returning recently from China. She said she tested negative for the new coronavirus, but doctors insisted on a – day quarantine. The strict measure is being enforced for anyone returning from China to Russia.
“The Constitution guarantees me the right to freedom, and that right was taken away from me,” Ilina told Russia’s Ren TV .
She said she was able to short-circuit the electric lock on the door to the hospital ward where she was being held. and make her escape on Friday.
The hospital later reported her unauthorized departure to police, but she has told reporters no one has tried to bring her back to the hospital.
Earlier this month, another quarantined Russian woman fled a hospital with her son in the southern city of Samara. They jumped out of a window after a few days of quarantine. While hospitalized, she found out she was pregnant and said she did not feel safe among other quarantined people who had been in China.
– Alexandra Odynova
Singapore bank sends hundreds home after employee contracts virus
The bank DBS on Wednesday cleared a downtown office in Singapore and told some 387 employees to work from home after one of its staff was infected with the new coronavirus.
“We are also currently conducting detailed contact tracing with all employees and other parties that the infected person may have come into contact with , “DBS said.
All
The DBS employee was tested Tuesday and the infection confirmed on Wednesday, the BBC said.
“As a precautionary measure, all employees on the affected floor vacated the premises to work from home,” DBS said.
– (CBS / AP).
Updated 6: AM
Virus outbreak brings “significant difficulties” for U.S. and other postal services
Postal services worldwide say delivery is being affected by the cancellation of many flights to China.
Postal Service said it was “experiencing significant difficulties” in dispatching letters, parcels and express mail to China, including Hong Kong and Macau.
Both the U.S. and Singapore Post said in notes to their global counterparts that they are no longer accepting items destined for China, “until sufficient transport capacity becomes available.”
The service, China Post, said it was disinfecting postal offices, processing centers and vehicles to ensure the virus doesn ‘ t spread via the mail and to protect staff.
– AP / CBS)
Top WHO scientists say global “micro-clusters” could be looming
The chief scientist for the World Health Organization said Wednesday that there could be undetected cases of the new coronavirus lurking around the world, which could spread the virus in their home communities and create new ” micro-clusters “of the disease.
“We have to expect the best, but be prepared for the worst,” Dr. Soumya Swaminathan told BBC News. “There is a possibility, we’ve seen cases slowing down, the number of new cases is down. The measures that China has taken to really contain the outbreak might work. And so it might end up as, as an outbreak that of course unfortunately has killed over a thousand people, but can still be controlled and contained. ”
“On the other hand,” she said, “it might have already spread outside to many countries. As of now we have only about cases, but they might have already seeded other micro-clusters and so this may become still a global outbreak or even a pandemic. So we have to be prepared for that and do everything we can to stop that from happening. ”
50 more people on cruise ship in Japan diagnosed with coronavirus
An additional People on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship off the coast of Japan have tested positive for the new coronavirus, Japanese Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said Wednesday. That brings the total number of infected patients onboard to .
“Out of (new test results, 48 people were found positive, “he told reporters, adding that a quarantine official had also been infected with the virus.
” At this point, we have confirmed that four people, among those who are hospitalized, are in a serious condition, either on a ventilator or in an intensive care unit, “he added.
– AFP
Hubei province reports 175 new deaths and 1, new cases
Officials in China’s Hubei province, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak, reported (new deaths and 1,
Disease caused by new virus gets a new name
The coronavirus that has sickened tens of thousands of people now has an official name: COVID – 034. At a press briefing on Tuesday, the World Health Organization said it had decided on the name after consulting with the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Organization for Animal Health.
“We had to find a name that did not refer to a geographical location, an animal, an individual or group of people,” said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The group also wanted a name that was “pronounceable and related to the disease,” he said.
The new name comes from the type of virus that causes the disease. Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that can cause the common cold and some more serious diseases, including SARS, which killed between and
Tedros said having a name for the new disease is important to prevent the use of other names that might be stigmatizing. “It also gives us a standard format to use for any future coronavirus outbreaks,” he said.
– (Associated Press)
Evacuees toss face masks in the air after completing quarantine
Some of the 303 evacuees who completed their 22 – day quarantine east of Los Angeles on Tuesday threw their masks in the air like graduation caps before leaving March Air Reserve Base. Officials gave each a final health screening and deemed them coronavirus-free.
Many boarded buses to take them to airports and eventually home . About miles south, at a military base in San Diego, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said an evacuee there is the 19 th confirmed case in the US
That person has been isolated and hospitalized. The federal health agency said the risk to Americans remains low and recent research shows, in many cases, the virus is on par with the flu or cold in terms of severity.
“The individuals in the United States have not yet had very severe illness, “the agency’s Dr. Anne Schuchat told reporters in Washington. “In fact, most have had very mild courses.”
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Danya Bacchus
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