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Coronavirus: death toll rises to 26 in China, with 830 infected – live news Coronavirus: death toll rises to 26 in China, with 830 infected – live news
(32 minutes later)
Possible cases being tested in Scotland and Belfast; World Health Organisation committee says ‘too early’ to declare emergencyPossible cases being tested in Scotland and Belfast; World Health Organisation committee says ‘too early’ to declare emergency
The official death toll stands at 26 people, most of them in Hubei province in central China, but two people have died outside of that zone – one man just outside of Beijing, and the other in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, which borders Russia.
At least 830 people in China have been confirmed to have contracted the novel coronavirus so far.
The Chinese government has locked down 11 million people in the city of Wuhan, where the virus originated, and nine other cities in the Hubei province, causing chaos on the eve of the Lunar New Year.
A new 1000-bed hospital is being built in Wuhan specifically to deal with the coronavirus outbreak, and authorities there expect to have it completed and running by Monday.
South Korea has confirmed a second case of the virus, a man in his 50s who had been working in Wuhan earlier this month.
Japan has also confirmed a second case of the virus: a Wuhan resident in his 40s who arrived in Japan on 19 January.
The US has confirmed one case of the virus in Seattle, while authorities in Texas are investigating a second suspected case
14 people in the UK have been tested for the virus; so far, five have been cleared.
Scottish authorities have tested at least six people with coronavirus symptoms.
In Australia, at least six people are being monitored for signs of the virus, while public health authorities warn the world is likely to see more cases confirmed in countries outside of China in the coming days.
The World Health Organisation’s emergency committee has concluded it’s “too early” to declare an international public health emergency, but says the situation is still to be considered an emergency in China. “It has not yet become a global health emergency. It may yet become one,” said WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Reuters is reporting that Shanghai Disney will be closed to help prevent the spread of the virus.
Cinemas will suspend their operations in Guangdong Province until the end of the holiday season due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Health officials in Hong Kong gave their daily press briefing about the coronavirus outbreak fully masked.Health officials in Hong Kong gave their daily press briefing about the coronavirus outbreak fully masked.
In Australia, researchers at the University of Queensland are racing to develop a vaccine for coronavirus.In Australia, researchers at the University of Queensland are racing to develop a vaccine for coronavirus.
According to AAP:According to AAP:
The team is one of three handpicked by Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations to fast-track the vaccine.The team is one of three handpicked by Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations to fast-track the vaccine.
Reuters reports:Reuters reports:
“It has been splashed all over the front pages of newspapers around the world for days,” writes Guardian contributor Michael Standaert in Sichuan. “But the outbreak of coronavirus, which has left at least 25 dead and infected more than 800, has been largely missing from China’s major state-run media.”“It has been splashed all over the front pages of newspapers around the world for days,” writes Guardian contributor Michael Standaert in Sichuan. “But the outbreak of coronavirus, which has left at least 25 dead and infected more than 800, has been largely missing from China’s major state-run media.”
Read his full story here:Read his full story here:
Chinese officials have confirmed another person has died from novel coronavirus, the second person to do so outside the province of Hubei, the epicentre of the virus, bringing the official death toll to 26.Chinese officials have confirmed another person has died from novel coronavirus, the second person to do so outside the province of Hubei, the epicentre of the virus, bringing the official death toll to 26.
The death was in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, which borders Russia and is some 2,000 km (1,200 miles) from Wuhan, the local government said. 24 deaths have occurred in Hubei.The death was in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, which borders Russia and is some 2,000 km (1,200 miles) from Wuhan, the local government said. 24 deaths have occurred in Hubei.
Footage has emerged online of the quarantine measures being taken in China to halt the spread of the virus, including overcrowded hospitals, sick people collapsing, and barricades going up across Wuhan.
State media is now reporting 26 deaths from the coronavirus in China, not 25.
The People’s Daily, the Chinese Communist party’s main newspaper, has called upon people who have recently been to Wuhan to isolate themselves at home, even if they don’t have symptoms.
The statement was made on Weibo, where people have shared panicked calls for those from Wuhan to take greater precautions to avoid infecting others.
More information has been released regarding the second person to be confirmed with novel coronavirus in South Korea.
Seoul’s health ministry said on Friday that a South Korean man in his 50s started experiencing symptoms on 10 January while working in Wuhan, AFP reports.
The man was tested upon returning to South Korea earlier this week, and was confirmed to be South Korea’s second case of the virus on Thursday, the ministry said.
According to a statement from the ministry, “the patient was adequately aware of the situation in Wuhan ... and cooperated well with the health authorities’ requests during the monitoring period after returning home.”
A new 1000-bed hospital is being built in Wuhan specifically to deal with the coronavirus outbreak and authorities plan to have it running by Monday, state media outlet Changjiang Daily reports.
Construction began on Thursday night with machinery, including 35 diggers and 10 bulldozers, arriving at the site.
The impromptu medical facility will be created using prefabricated buildings, and is being modelled on the experience of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2003. That disease killed 774 people around the world. At the time, Beijing built a hospital in its northern suburbs in just a week, the Daily said.
The Australian government’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Brendan Murphy, has confirmed that there are still no verified cases of coronavirus in Australia.
In a press conference this afternoon, Murphy attempted to downplay the threat of the virus in Australia, saying that while there are several people who are being regularly tested for the disease, none of them have tested positive yet. Australia is prepared and has the capacity to isolate those people if necessary, he said.
“Approximately 25% of people who contract this infection … seem to get a more severe illness, but we do suspect there are a number of additional cases that are so mild they haven’t come to our attention,” Murphy said.
“It is of concern that there are some cases outside of China, but they are small numbers and have been well-managed in their locations.”
He said it was likely there would be more cases confirmed outside of China in the coming days. “That’s the pattern we’ve observed,” he said. “These things are very hard to predict and predictions are often proven to be wrong, so we’re just keeping a watching brief.”
Murphy said he had briefed Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the minister for health, Greg Hunt, on the situation.
He referenced the World Health Organisation’s decision not to declare the virus an official public health emergency of international concern, but said the committee was divided on this front.
“That doesn’t mean in any way that they’re not taking this seriously. They do see this as a serious issue and they are upping some of their responses,” he said.
That response includes sending in a “specialist team” to properly identify the “animal vector” that caused the disease to be transmitted to humans.
Some stark pictures of the lockdown experience in Wuhan have been circulating on Twitter over the last 24 hours thanks to the New York Times’ Chris Buckley.