Two new countries reported their first case of coronavirus on Jan. 30, while all regions in China now have patients testing positive for the virus after Tibet reported its first case.
India reported its first case when a student studying at China’s Wuhan University contracted the virus in Kerala, a state in southwestern India, according to an announcement by India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Meanwhile, a 38-year-old Chinese woman from Wuhan tested positive for the coronavirus in the Philippines, local outlet ABS-CBN reported, citing the country’s health minister Francisco Duque III.
The Chinese woman arrived in Manila via Hong Kong on Jan. 21, and went to a local hospital four days later due to a mild cough.
In China, Tibet reported its first case involving a patient surnamed Zhang, according to state-run media Xinhua. Zhang arrived at Lhasa, Tibet’s capital, by train from Wuhan on Jan. 24, and was hospitalized the following day.
In other parts of the world, Malaysia and Taiwan both reported a new case on Jan. 30, bringing the total to 8 and 9, respectively. Meanwhile, Australia reported two new cases, bringing its total to nine.
U.S. companies are also cutting their operations in China and nearby areas. Ikea announced that it has closed all 30 stores in China, while Google closed down its offices in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
Currently, Hong Kong has 10 confirmed cases of coronavirus.
In the Korean Penisula, the two Koreas have suspended their joint inter-Korean liaison office in Gaeseong, a border town in North Korea, due to to the coronavirus outbreak, South Korea’s Unification Ministry announced in a Jan. 30 press release.
Additionally, the ministry said the two sides had agreed to maintain contact through telecommunication lines.
While Chinese authorities say they are trying to contain the outbreak, China’s anti-corruption watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), issued a warning on its website on Jan. 30.
The warning said that those who fail to carry out Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s instructions in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak are to be “resolutely investigated and punished.”
The CCDI also stated that it would “resolutely investigate in accordance with the law and party discipline” acts such as dereliction of duty and misappropriating rescue funds.
In recent years, the CCDI has been responsible for removing many corrupt Chinese officials.
