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Coronavirus news: Japan closes schools as Saudi Arabia halts pilgrimages - live updates
Coronavirus news: Japan closes schools as Saudi Arabia halts pilgrimages - live updates
(32 minutes later)
UK reports two new cases as outbreak spreads and losses on stock markets mount
UK reports two new cases as outbreak spreads and losses on stock markets mount
The consumer healthcare giant, Reckitt Benckiser (RB), said the coronavirus outbreak has helped to drive greater demand for its Dettol and Lysol hygiene products.
The World Health Organisation has urged people to keep calm, saying that ministers across the world need to be able to answer questions on how they are preparing to halt the spread of the virus.
The company said it is also working alongside public health authorities across the world in a bid to provide people in areas affected by the virus with more information about the necessary hygiene measures.
WHO’s message continues to be that the virus “has pandemic potential” and it is helping every country to prepare.
It added that the outbreak has resulted in “increased online activity” for its consumers in China, but that the firm is “seeing some disruption to offline retailers, distribution channels and the supply chain connected to China”.
The director-General of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom, said countries need to be ready to detect cases early and isolate patients. They need the right measures at airports and border crossings.
He said countries need to be ready to fight rumours and misinformation. “This is not a time for fear but a time for taking action now to prevent infection and save lives now,” Adhanom said.
“Fear and panic does not help,” he added.
The New York Times has some alarming detail about the first person-to-person transmission of Covid-19 within the United States (see earlier).
The consumer healthcare giant Reckitt Benckiser (RB) says the coronavirus outbreak has helped to drive greater demand for its Dettol and Lysol hygiene products.
The company said it was working alongside public health authorities across the world in an attempt to provide people in areas affected by the virus with more information about the necessary hygiene measures.
It added that the outbreak had resulted in “increased online activity” for its consumers in China, but that the firm was “seeing some disruption to offline retailers, distribution channels and the supply chain connected to China”.
A man from Derbyshire who travelled to the H10 hotel in Tenerife for four nights has confirmed that British guests are desperate to return to the UK to avoid contracting the disease.
A man from Derbyshire who travelled to the H10 hotel in Tenerife for four nights has confirmed that British guests are desperate to return to the UK to avoid contracting the disease.
“None of the Brits staying here feel safe”, he told PA.
“None of the Brits staying here feel safe”, he told PA.
The 60-year-old said:
The 60-year-old said:
Streets and shops in Codogno in northern Italy have been left eerily empty after the town was placed under lockdown due to the new coronavirus outbreak. The virus has so far killed 14 people in Italy, and cases across the country had reached 528.
Streets and shops in Codogno in northern Italy have been left eerily empty after the town was placed under lockdown due to the new coronavirus outbreak. The virus has so far killed 14 people in Italy, and cases across the country had reached 528.
Italian churches are stepping up measures to contain the spread of coronavirus, calling on priests not to distribute holy communion wafers directly on to worshippers’ tongues and urging congregations to avoid exchanging handshakes during mass.
Italian churches are stepping up measures to contain the spread of coronavirus, calling on priests not to distribute holy communion wafers directly on to worshippers’ tongues and urging congregations to avoid exchanging handshakes during mass.
The Catholic archdiocese of Messina in Sicily made the recommendations in response to the rapid rise in infections in Italy.
The Catholic archdiocese of Messina in Sicily made the recommendations in response to the rapid rise in infections in Italy.
In an official statement, the religious authorities of the Sicilian province wrote: “In the face of the spread of the coronavirus, it is considered appropriate to comply with some provisions and hygiene measures. As a precaution we are advising to distribute the Eucharist preferably into the hands of the faithful, and to avoid the physical contact from a peaceful handshake.”
In an official statement, the religious authorities of the Sicilian province wrote: “In the face of the spread of the coronavirus, it is considered appropriate to comply with some provisions and hygiene measures. As a precaution we are advising to distribute the Eucharist preferably into the hands of the faithful, and to avoid the physical contact from a peaceful handshake.”
The number of patients infected with coronavirus in Iran has risen to 245, with 26 deaths, according to Kianoush Jahanpour, a spokesman of the Iranian Health Ministry.
The number of patients infected with coronavirus in Iran has risen to 245, with 26 deaths, according to Kianoush Jahanpour, a spokesman of the Iranian Health Ministry.
He added that 106 new cases of coronavirus-positive patients had been diagnosed since Wednesday noon, voicing regret that seven of them had passed away.
He added that 106 new cases of coronavirus-positive patients had been diagnosed since Wednesday noon, voicing regret that seven of them had passed away.
Insurers and travel companies should not be asking people for GP letters to get holiday refunds for trips they cannot go on due to the coronavirus.The Royal College of GPs said it had heard reports of businesses asking for GP letters in order for people to cancel holidays due to Covid-19.Prof Martin Marshall, the chair of the Royal College of GPs, said:
Insurers and travel companies should not be asking people for GP letters to get holiday refunds for trips they cannot go on due to the coronavirus.The Royal College of GPs said it had heard reports of businesses asking for GP letters in order for people to cancel holidays due to Covid-19.Prof Martin Marshall, the chair of the Royal College of GPs, said:
Hammersmith Surgery in west London was closed this morning after a suspected coronavirus case, but those who work there said that they would be reopening at 1pm. Patients received a message saying that the surgery had to close “immediately” due to an “incident” and that any appointments booked would have to be frozen.
Hammersmith Surgery in west London was closed this morning after a suspected coronavirus case, but those who work there said that they would be reopening at 1pm. Patients received a message saying that the surgery had to close “immediately” due to an “incident” and that any appointments booked would have to be frozen.
I am covering the live blog while my colleague takes a break. If you have any news tips, images, or information to share then please email me on sarah.marsh@theguardian.com, tweet @sloumarsh or send a direct message on Instagram (sarah_marsh_journalist). Thanks
I am covering the live blog while my colleague takes a break. If you have any news tips, images, or information to share then please email me on sarah.marsh@theguardian.com, tweet @sloumarsh or send a direct message on Instagram (sarah_marsh_journalist). Thanks
Jacob Rees-Mogg expressed concern about the plight of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who is being held in Evin jail in Tehran.He added that UK officials were trying to find out more information and said that, while the Iranian authorities had denied any outbreak of coronavirus at the prison, he would “not always take as authoritative” such remarks.Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini airport while travelling to show her young daughter, Gabriella, to her parents in April 2016.She was sentenced to five years in prison over allegations, which she denies, of plotting to overthrow the Tehran government. Responding to concerns raised by Labour, Rees-Mogg told the Commons: “It is a particular concern that the coronavirus has been rumoured – but I emphasise rumoured and not confirmed – to be in the prison in Evin where Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe is.
“The UK ambassador to Iran has raised this with the Iranian ministry of foreign affairs and we’re in contact with our international partners on this issue.“The Iranian authorities have denied this at the moment, but I must confess I for one would not always take as authoritative denials issued by the Iranian government.”He added: “The government is trying to do what it can in this very serious issue.”
Two more people have died in Italy from coronavirus, bringing the death toll to 14.
In a statement the Civil Protection agency said the number of confirmed cases had risen from 420 to 528.
The agency’s chief, Angelo Borrelli, had earlier told reporters that officials were still seeking confirmation that coronavirus was responsible for the latest two deaths.
The health secretary, Matt Hancock, told the Commons on Wednesday that the Foreign Office had been in touch with the estimated 160 British guests quarantined in Tenerife.
At the time guests in the hotel said they had had no contact with the Foreign Office. But overnight letters from the British consulate in Tenerife, were posted to every UK guest at the Costa Adeje Palace in La Caleta.
British guests at the hotel have demanded help getting home and fear that staying in hotel will increase their chances of catching the virus. The letter stopped well short of offering guests any help in getting home.
It said: “We aware of your situation at the hotel and would like to reassure you that we are in direct contact with the local authorities and hotel management daily.”
NHS staff have been asked to shave their beards to allow masks to fit more securely in an attempt to limit the spread of coronavirus, according to the Sun.
Bosses at Southampton University NHS Trust sent a mass email to tackle a “known problem” with ill-fitting masks on hairy faces.
The medical director, Derek Sandeman, attached an image with 36 different kinds of facial hair showing whether they were acceptable or not based on whether they fitted inside a mask.
Small, pencil-type moustaches such as the “Zorro” and “Painter’s Brush” are allowed, but fuller growths including “mutton chops” and the “chin curtain” are out, according to the image.
However, staff with beards for religious or cultural reasons are exempt.
The memo states:
Prof Christl Donnelly, a leading statistical epidemiologist, has warned that based on death tolls, the outbreaks in Italy and Iran are likely to be far greater than confirmed cases in both countries suggest.
Iran has reported 22 deaths but just 141 cases, and Italy has reported 12 deaths and 470 case.
Donnelly, who works at the University of Oxford and WHO Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Modelling, at Imperial College London, said her research suggested the number of cases in both countries was likely to be over 1,000.
In a comment distributed by the Science Media Centre, she said:
One of the two new cases in the UK is likely to be a parent from Burbage primary school in Buxton, Derbyshire, which says it has had a confirmed case.
Parents were told the 350-pupil school would be closed on Thursday due to a “confirmed case of coronavirus amongst our parent population”.
The message said the closure was a “precautionary measure and to enable a deep clean to be completed”.
Buxton Medical Practice also shut its doors, saying it had a confirmed case.
Here’s a summary of today’s events
Two further patients in England have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of UK cases to 15. The virus was passed on in Italy and Tenerife, and the patients have been transferred to specialists at the Royal Liverpool hospital and the Royal Free hospital, London.
Saudi Arabia has taken the unprecedented step of banning foreign pilgrims from entering the country in an effort to halt the spread of coronavirus. The country has yet to report a case of the virus.
A woman working as a tour bus guide in Japan has tested positive for coronavirus for a second time. The Japanese government has ordered the closure of all schools and museum for a month.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has warned an epidemic that is on the way”. There are now 18 confirmed cases of coronavirus in France and two people have died.
The official death toll from covid-19 cases in Iran has increased to 22 people. Officials also said that 141 people have tested positive for the virus, but experts fear Iran is under reporting the true scale of the outbreak.
More cases have been reported all over the world including in Switzerland, Kuwait, Spain, South Korea and Austria. Estonia, Denmark, Pakistan, Georgia, Norway, North Macedonia, Greece and Romania are among countries to report their first case of coronavirus in the last day.
China’s health authority has reported another drop in the number of new infections, with 433 new confirmed cases and 29 deaths in mainland China on Wednesday.
Donald Trump has sought to play down the threat from coronavirus despite mounting concerns about unchecked worldwide contagion. In a press conference in Washington, the US president said the danger to Americans “remains very low” and predicted that the number of cases diagnosed in the country, currently on 15, could fall to zero in a “few days”.
But Anne Schuchat, deputy director of the US CDC, said “the trajectory of what we are looking at over the weeks and months ahead is very uncertain”, and authorities should “dust off” their pandemic preparedness plans.
Australia has extended its travel ban on China and enacted its emergency response plan, because “there is every indication the world will soon enter the pandemic phase of the virus”, said the prime minister, Scott Morrison.
More on the latest UK cases:
Two further patients in England have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of UK cases to 15, the Department of Health said on Thursday.
The virus was passed on in Italy and Tenerife, and the patients have been transferred to specialists at the Royal Liverpool hospital and the Royal Free hospital, London, the DHSC said.
Of the 13 people in the UK who had previously tested positive for Covid-19, eight have been discharged from hospital. Four of those who remain in hospital are Britons who caught the virus on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan and were flown back to the UK on Saturday. Another 168 Britons have been told to isolate themselves at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace in Tenerife.
An Israeli man who returned from Italy four days ago has tested positive for Covid-19, according to Israel’s health ministry. The unidentified man is the third Israeli with the virus, but the first who was not already in quarantine when tested. There are concerns he may have infected others.
The country’s interior minister, Aryeh Deri, said he planned to bar non-Israelis from travelling to Israel from Italy as a preventive measure. “What can I do, the virus has spread in Italy,” Deri told the local Ynet news site.
Israel has already barred entry to foreign nationals who were in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Thailand, Japan and South Korea in the past 14 days.
Paul Hunter, professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia cautions against reading too much into the case of a Japanese woman who has tested positive for coronavirus for a second time.
In remarks distributed by the Science Media Centre he said:
