The 2019 Novel Coronavirus, or the Wuhan coronavirus, has spread from China to over 20 countries, including the United States, France, and Japan.
Australia’s Qantas Airlines Suspends Flights to China as Country Confirms 10th Case
Australia’s flag carrier Qantas announced Saturday local time that it will suspend its two direct services to mainland China (Sydney-Beijing and Sydney-Shanghai) Feb. 9 to March 29.“This follows entry restrictions imposed by countries including Singapore and the United States, which impact the movement of crew who work across the Qantas International network.
“These entry restrictions pose significant logistical challenges for rostering crew to operate mainland China services, leading to the need to temporarily suspend these flights.
“There is no change to Qantas services to Hong Kong as it’s exempt from current travel restrictions.”
Earlier on Saturday, the total cases of new coronavirus in Australia rose to 10 after a woman in her 20s was confirmed to be infected, according to local reports.
The woman, who lives in Melbourne, Victoria, is now the fourth case of coronavirus in the state. She had traveled to Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, and returned to Australia on Jan. 25. She became ill two days later.
She was seen by doctors in a hospital in Melbourne on Jan. 30 and was deemed well enough to stay at home, where she currently remains since being tested.
US Sees 7th Confirmed Case, Man Traveled From Wuhan
The seventh case of the new coronavirus has been confirmed in the United States.This marks the third case of coronavirus in California, but it is the first in Santa Clara County and the Bay area.
Dr. Sara Cody, the health officer for Santa Clara County, told reporters at a news conference that the man affected “had traveled to Wuhan, China, and became ill upon returning home.”
She added, “Since he has been home to the county, he has been self-isolating at home and did not leave home at all except to seek medical care. He was seen in a local clinic and hospital but was never sick enough to be hospitalized.”
“Our preliminary investigation indicates that he came into contact with very few individuals after returning home. We are making sure that anyone that he did come into contact with is being monitored for symptoms and staying at home away from others,” she also said.
‘No Doubt’ Coronavirus Can Spread Without Symptoms: Top US Infectious Disease Doctor
The United States’ top infectious disease doctor said a new study published Thursday shows people can spread the Wuhan coronavirus before symptoms are exhibited, after people who showed no signs of sickness were diagnosed with the virus in five instances.US Declares Public Health Emergency Over Coronavirus
The United States will bar entry to foreign nationals who have been in mainland China in the past 14 days, in a ramp-up of efforts to stem the spread of the coronavirus.The temporary ban will not apply to the immediate family of U.S. citizens or permanent residents and will take effect at 5 p.m. EST on Sunday, U.S. Secretary of Health Alex Azar announced at a press conference on Jan. 31.
Azar added that U.S. authorities have officially declared the coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency in the United States.
Spain Confirms First Case of Coronavirus
Spain’s Health Ministry confirmed the country’s first case of coronavirus late Friday, Reuters reported.According to the ministry, a man was diagnosed with the new virus on La Gomera, a remote island in the Canaries.
The man is part of a group of five people who were taken into observation on the island, and isolated on Thursday, after it was found that some in the group had come into contact with a German man diagnosed with the virus, the ministry said.
Evacuees Under Mandatory Quarantine at US Air Base
All 195 American passengers evacuated from Wuhan, China, on a charter flight will be quarantined in California, to evaluate whether they have contracted the deadly new strain of coronavirus, federal health authorities said on Jan. 31.The mandatory order, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), was the first of its kind since the 1960s.
“While we recognize this is an unprecedented action, we are facing an unprecedented public health threat,” the CDC’s Nancy Messonnier said in a conference call on Friday.
“We are preparing as if this is the next pandemic,” she said.
NY Health Commissioner Disputes Report of Confirmed Case
New York City Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot challenged a report that said the first case in the city had been confirmed.“THIS IS NOT ACCURATE. There are still ZERO confirmed cases of novel #coronavirus in NYC,” she said in a statement on Twitter.
The message, sent at 1:56 a.m., said the neighborhood of Elmhurst had “1 confirmed case” of the illness.
The New York City Fire Department and NYPD joined the Health Department in challenging the report.
There are no confirmed cases on the U.S. eastern seaboard as of yet. There are two cases in Illinois, with the rest in the western part of the country.
Delta, American to Suspend All China Flights
Delta Airlines will suspend all flights from the United States to China for at least two months, the Atlanta-based carrier said in a statement on Jan. 31.All flights will be suspended beginning Feb. 6 through April 30 “due to ongoing concerns related to the coronavirus,” the airline said.
“Between now and Feb. 5, Delta will continue to operate flights to ensure customers looking to exit China have options to do so,” it added.
The last China-bound flight departing the United States will leave on Feb. 3. The last return flight to the United States from China will leave on Feb. 5.
Customers who have trips that will be affected can visit the Delta website and go to the “My Trips” section. When there, they can request a refund or switch to flights that leave after April 30. They can also contact Delta to explore additional options.
American Airlines also said on Friday that it was suspending flights to and from the Chinese mainland beginning today through March 27.
“Our teams are contacting affected customers directly to accommodate their needs. We will continue to evaluate the schedule for March 28 and beyond and make any adjustments as necessary,” the Fort Worth-based airline said in a statement.
UK, Italy, Russia, Sweden Confirm First Cases
Authorities in four European countries confirmed cases of the new coronavirus late Thursday or Friday.Two patients in the United Kingdom were isolated at a specialist infection unit in Newcastle. Two Chinese tourists in Rome, who tested positive for the virus, were isolated at the Spallanzani infectious diseases institute.
In Russia, two Chinese citizens were confirmed to have the virus. They were isolated and placed under surveillance.
Sweden’s first case, authorities said, was a woman in her 20s who landed on Jan. 24 after visiting Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus. She was isolated and placed under observation.
Evacuated American Says Chinese City Like a Ghost Town
Wuhan felt joyful as residents prepared for the Lunar New Year but “turned into chaos” as news broke of the rapidly expanding coronavirus outbreak, American Jarred Evans said. People suddenly swarmed pharmacies and stores to get masks and disinfectant spray, Evans said.“I stocked up on rice, noodles, water, anything that could help me survive for a week or two,” Evans said.
The Chinese government shut down the city. Buses, trains, taxis, and personal cars were banned. The military patrolled some streets.
“That’s when people, honestly, stayed locked in their homes,” Evans said.
He compared the deserted city to an Old West ghost town.
Human-to-Human Transmission Occurred in Early Stages of Outbreak
Human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus was occurring from mid-December 2019 in Wuhan, China, according to the largest study to-date analyzing patients infected with the deadly virus.A new paper, published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Jan. 29, examined data from the first 425 confirmed cases in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, and found that “there is evidence that human-to-human transmission has occurred among close contacts since the middle of December 2019.”
Chinese authorities did not confirm human-to-human transmission until Jan. 20, almost three weeks after the disease was first officially reported on Dec. 31, 2019. The first patient exhibited symptoms on Dec. 1.
Official figures report thousands being infected in China and more than a hundred killed—though experts say the actual number infected is much higher.
Photos Show Man Lying Dead on Wuhan Street
Pictures from the international news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) showed an elderly Chinese man lying dead in a Wuhan street just hours after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency over China’s coronavirus outbreak.Hector Retamal’s series of photos showed the grim reality facing Wuhan’s 11 million residents at the epicenter of the disease.
According to AFP, the man, carrying a plastic shopping bag in one hand, had collapsed on the street outside a closed furniture store not far from a hospital.
Singapore Bars Visitors From Mainland China
Singapore on Jan. 31 announced it will bar entry to all new visitors from mainland China, including foreigners who have been in the country within the past 14 days, in a bid to stem the spread of the virus.The travel restriction will take effect on midnight Saturday, while visa suspensions will come into effect immediately.
The move is an escalation of a previous ban on new travelers who had been to Hubei Province, the central Chinese region housing the disease epicenter of Wuhan.
Beijing Reports First Death
Beijing reported its first death from Wuhan coronavirus on Jan. 28.Yang Jun, 50, attended a conference in Wuhan on Jan. 8. After returning to Beijing, he developed a fever on Jan. 15.
Yang did not seek treatment until Jan. 21, and was confirmed to have been infected with Wuhan pneumonia at Haidian District Center for Disease Control the next day. His situation deteriorated and he died on Jan. 27 due to respiratory failure.
Chinese state media expressed concerns that Yang had been exposed to or in contact with a large number of people before he was diagnosed.
Hong Kong Leader Postpones Opening Schools, Won’t Close Border
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam postponed the opening date for all local kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, and special schools until March 2.Most civil servants can continue to work from home until Feb. 9, she said at a press conference.
Lam added that after Hong Kong authorities identified 48 travelers from Hubei after searching 355 of the city’s hotels and guesthouses, 15 have since voluntarily left. She said that the remaining 33 will be put under quarantine and will be free to leave Hong Kong after they show no symptoms of the virus.
As of 9 a.m. local time on Jan. 31, the city had 12 known cases of the virus, with five being Hong Kong citizens and seven from mainland China.
Lam also rejected calls from a medical union to close the border with mainland China to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.
Cruise Ship Passengers Allowed to Disembark
The 6,000 passengers who were held on a cruise ship off the Italian coast can now disembark after health authorities worked to diagnose an apparently sick Chinese woman before health ministry officials declared her coronavirus-free.Cruise officials “have confirmed that Italian health officials diagnosed a passenger on board a ship docked in Civitavecchia, north of Rome, Italy with the common flu,” according to a Thursday night statement from Carnival Cruises and its Italy-based subsidiary Costa Cruises.
It said that passengers can now “either disembark or remain on board overnight, at their discretion,” adding that the guests scheduled to disembark “will be accommodated in hotels near the port and embark on Friday.”
The Costa Smeralda landed in the port town of Civitavecchia when two Chinese nationals were placed in medical isolation, confirmed Giuseppe Ippolito, the scientific director of the Spallanzani Hospital.
Philippines Issues Travel Ban
Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte has announced a travel ban for Chinese nationals from virus-affected areas, following recommendations by the country’s health secretary Francisco Duque III and Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, according to local English-language newspaper Manila Bulletin.“The president has issued a travel ban to Chinese nationals coming from the Hubei Province of China where the nCoV originated, as well in other places in China where there is a spread of the disease,” said Salvador Panelo, the president’s spokesperson.
Currently, the coronavirus has spread to every region and province in China.
Panelo added: “It will last until the threat is over given that that the safety of our countrymen is foremost in the president’s mind.”
The Philippines reported its first confirmed case of coronavirus on Jan. 30. According to another article by Manila Bulletin, 31 people are under observation for the virus.
US Senator Urges Americans to Leave China
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) called on all Americans in China to flee the country after a mysterious virus continues to spread across the country, triggering lockdowns and quarantines in hard-hit areas.“MESSAGE TO ALL AMERICANS IN CHINA: Get out—now. Contact our embassy or consulates if you need help,” Cotton wrote on Twitter on Thursday.
His statement comes as the U.S. State Department confirmed that another chartered flight back to the United States would be commissioned to evacuate American citizens living around Wuhan. The World Health Organization on Thursday, meanwhile, declared the virus outbreak a global health emergency.
Later, Cotton said that all commercial flights between the United States and China should be “shut down” as “a defensive measure.”
Malaysia Will Donate Medical Gloves to China
Teresa Kok, Malaysia’s Minister for Primary Industries, has announced that the country is sending a shipment of medical gloves to China, according to local newspaper The Star.“The medical gloves, both natural rubber and nitrile, will be sent to China in batches with the first shipment already on its way to Wuhan,” Kok said.
Malaysia is the world’s biggest manufacturer of medical gloves.
Kok added: “Two companies, Top Glove and Supermax, have already donated 2.3 million pieces of gloves through their local offices and distributors to Wuhan.”
South Korea Reports Four New Cases of Coronavirus
The South Korean Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) has reported another four new cases, bringing the country’s total number of known cases to 11, according to local media Yonhap News Agency.The latest announcement came just hours after the KCDC confirmed a seventh known case.
One of the four cases involved a 62-year-old South Korean woman who returned to the country on Jan. 23 after visiting Wuhan.
South Korea reported its first known case on Jan. 20.
China Sends Planes to Thailand, Malaysia to Fly Back Hubei Citizens
China’s Civil Aviation Administration said in an announcement on Jan. 31 that two planes with Xiamen Air had departed at 1:17 p.m. and 1:34 p.m. local time from Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport in southern China’s Fujian Province, headed to Bangkok in Thailand and Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia.There, the planes will pick up 117 and 110 Hubei citizens respectively.
The two planes will fly back to Wuhan in the evening today.
Kenya Airways Suspends Flights to Guangzhou
Kenya’s flag carrier airline, Kenya Airways, announced that it is suspending flights to the Chinese city of Guangzhou in a tweet on Jan. 31.Guangzhou is 600 miles to the south of Wuhan, which is considered the epicenter of the virus.
“We have temporarily suspended all flights to and from Guangzhou starting Friday, 31st January 2020, until further notice,” the announcement read.
It added: “Our consultation with the Ministries of Health and Foreign Affairs will continue and we will provide updates as the situation develops.
Pakistan Suspends Flights to China
Abdul Sattar Khokhar, Pakistan’s additional secretary of aviation, told Reuters, “We are suspending flights to China until Feb.2.”Japan Upgrades Travel Warning to China
Japan has raised its travel advisory for China to level 2 on its four-level system, warning citizens to “avoid non-essential travel,” according to local newspaper Mainichi Shimbun.The advisory for Hubei province at the epicenter of the outbreak has remained at level 3, meaning that advice for Japanese nationals is to “avoid all travel” to the region.
China’s Foreign Ministry Announces Plan to Repatriate Citizens From Hubei
Hua Chunying, the spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, announced that Beijing will soon charter civilian airplanes to “bring back” overseas Chinese nationals who are from Hubei province—particularly those from Wuhan city.According to the announcement on the ministry’s website, Hua said that Chinese overseas have been facing “practical challenges,” without elaborating on what those challenges are.
He added that the planes will fly these overseas Chinese to Wuhan.
Japan Reports Three More Cases of Coronavirus
Japan’s Health Ministry reported three additional cases of coronavirus on Jan. 30, local outlet NHK reported. The total number in the country is now 14.One patient was a Chinese student in her 20s living in the western prefecture of Kyoto. The student arrived in Japan from Wuhan on Jan. 22.
The second patient was a male foreigner in his 50s living in Mie Prefecture. The foreigner was in Wuhan in December and returned to Japan on Jan. 13.
Singapore Reports 3 More Cases of Coronavirus, Bringing Total to 13
Singapore’s Ministry of Health reported three additional cases of coronavirus on Jan. 30, bringing the country’s total to 13.
One of the new patients was a 31-year-old Chinese woman from Wuhan who arrived in Singapore on Jan. 22. She had traveled to Singapore with another person who had recently tested positive for the virus after arrival.
A 37-year-old Chinese woman from Wuhan also tested positive for the virus. She arrived in Singapore with her family on Jan. 22 and only showed respiratory symptoms on Jan. 26. She tested positive for the virus on Jan. 29.
South Korea Reports 7th Case of Coronavirus
On Jan. 31, the South Korean Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported on its website that another patient has been confirmed to have the virus, bringing the total in the country to seven.367 South Koreans Evacuated from China
A chartered plane with South Korean carrier Korean Air flew home with 367 South Korean nationals onboard from Wuhan on the morning of Jan. 31, according to local media Yonhap News Agency.The plane took off from Wuhan’s Tianhe International Airport at about 6 a.m. and arrived at Gimpo Airport, located in the South Korean capital of Seoul, at around 8 a.m. local time.
According to Yonhap, those aboard the plane will be put in isolation at two state-run facilities for 14 days.
French Military Aircraft Evacuates Citizens from China
A military aircraft with about 200 French citizens aboard flew out from Wuhan, China, on Jan. 31 according to AFP.The plane is bound for southern France, where those onboard will be subjected to a 14-day quarantine.
Japan, Singapore, and the United States have successfully evacuated some of their citizens from Wuhan.
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