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| Coronavirus: UK schools could shut for two months in event of pandemic - live updates | |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Britain’s chief medical officer says mass gatherings could be cancelled. Meanwhile, experts say virus could trigger 2008-level economic damage | |
| Health and human services secretary Alex Azar on Thursday said that at least 40 public health labs can currently test specimens for coronavirus and that could more than double as soon as tomorrow.Azar, speaking before the House Ways and Means Committee, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had tested 3,625 specimens for the fast-moving virus as of this morning. | |
| He said at least 40 labs currently have test kits that were previously manufactured by the CDC that were modified to test for coronavirus.He added that a newly manufactured CDC test can be sent to 93 public health labs as soon as Monday, and a privately manufactured test based on the new CDC test could be sent to those same labs as early as tomorrow, pending FDA clearance. | |
| Downing Street defended the response to the situation at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife.The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: | |
| Pressed on whether there would be an evacuation flight for Britons, the spokesman said: “We base all our decisions on medical and scientific advice and everything is kept under review.” | |
| Regarding the potential cancelling of mass events in the event of an intensified virus spread, health secretary Matt Hancock told the Nuffield Trust Summit: “We do want to minimise social and economic disruption subject to keeping people safe.He added: “Of course that is always going to be a balance. We’re going to be led by the scientific advice into what works.” | |
| The minister of health in Tenerife has said 130 of the estimated 700-plus tourists at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel can leave. They spent three days in isolation after the coronavirus was detected there in four Italian tourists. | |
| The minister said there are 11 nationalities among the group. None of the remaining guests at a hotel have shown any symptoms of the virus, a spokesman for the regional government said. | |
| It appears that the 130 will be made up of those who arrived at the hotel after the four Italians who tested positive had already left. Most of these weren’t holidaying at the hotel, but arrived when their flights home were cancelled due to a sandstorm. One of these is Harley Mitford, who is in the hotel with his sister and stepfather. They arrived when their BA flight home was cancelled, after a holiday in a nearby villa. Despite the announcement, Mitford said that his family haven’t received any information about the departure, but had seen the announcement on the news. | |
| “We haven’t been told anything, I just asked at reception and they gave us the usual runaround,” he said. | |
| Chris Whitty has been speaking about measures to reduce risk in the event that coronavirus outbreak reaches pandemic proportions. While noting that such an outcome was just one possibility, he said that there could be a “social cost” if the virus intensifies seeing mass gatherings reduced and schools closed for more than two months. | |
| He said: | |
| Whitty also said that the UK would inevitably be affected in the event of a global epidemic. | |
| Greece has announced that it will reinforce border patrols, citing the threat posed to the country of coronavirus being brought in by refugees and migrants desperate to reach Europe. | |
| Outlining the emergency measure at the end of a cabinet meeting, prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said he had ordered frontier security to be put “on the highest alert” because there was a risk that asylum-seekers from Iran and Afghanistan could import the virus when they arrived on outlying islands in rickety boats from Turkey. The death toll from the Covid-19 in Iran rose to 26 today. | |
| “I have already given the order to the maritime minister and the head of the coast guard to substantially increase the number of boats and patrols around the islands of the eastern Aegean,” the centre right leader told his cabinet adding that patrols would be stepped up on both land and sea. “Our islands are already overburdened with public health issues and they must be doubly protected.” | |
| Athens had informed the European Commission that it was taking the step. Under EU law a member state can elevate border security to the highest level if public health is threatened. | |
| Three cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Greece. The first person to have contracted the virus – a 38-year-old female designer – was hospitalized in Thessaloniki, the country’s northern capital on Wednesday, three days after returning from the Milan fashion show. Greek authorities announced that her nine-year- old son had also been infected, forcing the school he attends in Thessaloniki to shut down for the next two weeks. The boy had attended class Monday and Tuesday before beginning to display symptoms yesterday. | |
| A third victim, described as a 40-year-old woman who had also travelled to Italy, was also confirmed to have contracted the potentially killer flu after being admitted to a specialist unit in a hospital in Athens earlier today. | |
| Media reports of supermarket in Thessaloniki running out of essential goods as a result of panic buying have been rife. Mitsotakis kicked off the cabinet meeting calling for calm. “The biggest enemy in such situations is panic,” he said emphasising the importance of personal hygiene and urging Greeks who may develop symptoms of the disease to follow health ministry guidelines. | |
| Earlier the country’s health minister announced that carnival parades would be cancelled to prevent the disease spreading. Festivities were due to peak this weekend in the Orthodox nation. | |
| Greece has seen a renewed surge in refugee arrivals on its shores with some 42,000 asylum seekers now stranded on Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Kos and Leros facing Turkey. The Aegean isles have become the main gateway for illegal migration into the EU. The seven-month old centre right government has taken a much tougher stance on the issue of migration than its leftist predecessor. | |
| Some 130 people quarantined at a hotel in Tenerife are being allowed to leave, Sky news has reported. They are a number of 700 people – many of whom remain – who were in lockdown after an outbreak. | |
| Hello everyone. I am running the Guardian’s live blog, updating you on the latest information surrounding the coronavirus outbreak. If you have any news tips, images or updates from your area then please do share them with me. | Hello everyone. I am running the Guardian’s live blog, updating you on the latest information surrounding the coronavirus outbreak. If you have any news tips, images or updates from your area then please do share them with me. |
| Email: sarah.marsh@theguardian.comTwitter: @sloumarshInstagram: sarah_marsh_journalist | Email: sarah.marsh@theguardian.comTwitter: @sloumarshInstagram: sarah_marsh_journalist |
| England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, has said while the coronavirus presents “some challenges”, he does not think the world is facing anything on the level of the deadly Spanish flu in 1918. | England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, has said while the coronavirus presents “some challenges”, he does not think the world is facing anything on the level of the deadly Spanish flu in 1918. |
| Speaking to health professionals at the Nuffield Trust Summit in Windsor, Prof Whitty said: “Occasionally things come along which, no matter how good your strategic aim is, will knock you off course for a while.“We are not heading into a H1N1 1918 flu pandemic situation, but the coronavirus does present some challenges for us. It definitely will for a period. How big remains to be seen.”The H1N1 influenza pandemic in 1918 is estimated to have killed at least 50 million people worldwide. | Speaking to health professionals at the Nuffield Trust Summit in Windsor, Prof Whitty said: “Occasionally things come along which, no matter how good your strategic aim is, will knock you off course for a while.“We are not heading into a H1N1 1918 flu pandemic situation, but the coronavirus does present some challenges for us. It definitely will for a period. How big remains to be seen.”The H1N1 influenza pandemic in 1918 is estimated to have killed at least 50 million people worldwide. |
| The outlook in Europe. Here is an overview of countries affected, including where people have died and what precautions are being taken. | The outlook in Europe. Here is an overview of countries affected, including where people have died and what precautions are being taken. |
| ItalyItaly is by far the European country worst affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, with 14 deaths and 528 infections. The area most hit has been northern Italy. | ItalyItaly is by far the European country worst affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, with 14 deaths and 528 infections. The area most hit has been northern Italy. |
| GermanyIn Germany, 26 people have been infected, including 10 diagnosed since Tuesday. Fourteen of the 26 work for an equipment manufacturer in Bavaria, and were infected by a colleague returning from China. Several hundred people are quarantined in their homes. | GermanyIn Germany, 26 people have been infected, including 10 diagnosed since Tuesday. Fourteen of the 26 work for an equipment manufacturer in Bavaria, and were infected by a colleague returning from China. Several hundred people are quarantined in their homes. |
| FranceFrance has so far registered 18 infections and two deaths, and has urged its nationals to delay travel to virus hotspots in northern Italy. Students returning from China, Singapore, South Korea and the Italian regions of Lombardy and Veneto are asked to remain at home for two weeks after their return. | FranceFrance has so far registered 18 infections and two deaths, and has urged its nationals to delay travel to virus hotspots in northern Italy. Students returning from China, Singapore, South Korea and the Italian regions of Lombardy and Veneto are asked to remain at home for two weeks after their return. |
| SpainThe country has registered 17 cases – 15 of them since Monday. Twelve are linked to Italy. They include four Italians who were visiting Tenerife in the Canary Islands. The hotel where they were staying has been quarantined. | SpainThe country has registered 17 cases – 15 of them since Monday. Twelve are linked to Italy. They include four Italians who were visiting Tenerife in the Canary Islands. The hotel where they were staying has been quarantined. |
| Three cases have been registered on the Spanish mainland, including one man in serious condition in the Madrid region. | Three cases have been registered on the Spanish mainland, including one man in serious condition in the Madrid region. |
| BritainSo far there have been 15 recorded cases, including two announced on Thursday. One patient had been in Italy and the other in Tenerife. The government has requested travellers returning from affected areas in northern Italy, China, South Korea and Iran to isolate themselves and inform authorities. | BritainSo far there have been 15 recorded cases, including two announced on Thursday. One patient had been in Italy and the other in Tenerife. The government has requested travellers returning from affected areas in northern Italy, China, South Korea and Iran to isolate themselves and inform authorities. |
| SwitzerlandThe country has registered four cases since Tuesday, including a man in his 70s who was infected near Milan. | SwitzerlandThe country has registered four cases since Tuesday, including a man in his 70s who was infected near Milan. |
| RussiaTwo infected Chinese citizens have been treated in Russia, which has also repatriated and quarantined eight passengers from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, of whom three have tested positive. | RussiaTwo infected Chinese citizens have been treated in Russia, which has also repatriated and quarantined eight passengers from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, of whom three have tested positive. |
| AustriaA 72-year-old man in Vienna tested positive on Thursday, making him Austria’s third case after an Italian couple, both 24, tested positive on Tuesday. | AustriaA 72-year-old man in Vienna tested positive on Thursday, making him Austria’s third case after an Italian couple, both 24, tested positive on Tuesday. |
| CroatiaThree people have tested positive for the virus, including a young man who recently stayed in Italy and his brother. | CroatiaThree people have tested positive for the virus, including a young man who recently stayed in Italy and his brother. |
| GreeceIt has announced three cases, all Greeks who had recently returned from northern Italy. Athens announced its first infection Wednesday, a woman aged 38. Two more were announced on Thursday, including a 10-year-old. All three affected are Greek nationals. | GreeceIt has announced three cases, all Greeks who had recently returned from northern Italy. Athens announced its first infection Wednesday, a woman aged 38. Two more were announced on Thursday, including a 10-year-old. All three affected are Greek nationals. |
| FinlandTwo virus infections were confirmed Wednesday, a Chinese tourist in Lapland and a second case involving a Finnish national who had recently visited northern Italy. | FinlandTwo virus infections were confirmed Wednesday, a Chinese tourist in Lapland and a second case involving a Finnish national who had recently visited northern Italy. |
| SwedenThere have been two cases so far. One was registered at the end of January: a woman who had visited Wuhan, the Chinese city where the virus emerged in December. On Wednesday, a second infection was discovered in a man returning from northern Italy. | SwedenThere have been two cases so far. One was registered at the end of January: a woman who had visited Wuhan, the Chinese city where the virus emerged in December. On Wednesday, a second infection was discovered in a man returning from northern Italy. |
| Belgium has had one case detective and Denmark announced its first case on Thursday. Georgia on Wednesday announced the first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus in the South Caucasus region. In North Macedonia there has been one case, a woman who recently returned from Italy. Norwegian health authorities announced Wednesday the first case of the new coronavirus in the Nordic nation in someone who returned from China last week. They said the patient was not in danger. | Belgium has had one case detective and Denmark announced its first case on Thursday. Georgia on Wednesday announced the first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus in the South Caucasus region. In North Macedonia there has been one case, a woman who recently returned from Italy. Norwegian health authorities announced Wednesday the first case of the new coronavirus in the Nordic nation in someone who returned from China last week. They said the patient was not in danger. |
| Lastly, Romania reported its first case on Wednesday – a man who was in contact with an Italian who visited the country last week. | Lastly, Romania reported its first case on Wednesday – a man who was in contact with an Italian who visited the country last week. |
| In Estonia, the first case of confirmed new coronavirus was found on Wednesday evening, social affairs minister Tanel Kiik said Thursday. | |
| The European Union is bracing for the economic hit from the new coronavirus epidemic but it is still too early to estimate the magnitude, the bloc’s commissioner for the internal market said. | The European Union is bracing for the economic hit from the new coronavirus epidemic but it is still too early to estimate the magnitude, the bloc’s commissioner for the internal market said. |
| Tourism is already feeling the pinch because “our Chinese friends haven’t been coming to Europe for two months,” Thierry Breton told a news conference. | Tourism is already feeling the pinch because “our Chinese friends haven’t been coming to Europe for two months,” Thierry Breton told a news conference. |
| He said supply chains reliant on China, including for the auto, medical, electronic, wood and toy industries, were also being affected. | He said supply chains reliant on China, including for the auto, medical, electronic, wood and toy industries, were also being affected. |
| The commissioner spoke after a Brussels meeting of EU economy ministers. | The commissioner spoke after a Brussels meeting of EU economy ministers. |
| If the disruptions continue, the EU stands ready to deploy economic support measures for virus-hit sectors after another ministerial meeting next month, Breton said. | If the disruptions continue, the EU stands ready to deploy economic support measures for virus-hit sectors after another ministerial meeting next month, Breton said. |
| Right now, however, “it’s too early to say” what those measures would entail. We are currently analysing the situation.” | Right now, however, “it’s too early to say” what those measures would entail. We are currently analysing the situation.” |
| He added: “It’s too early to measure the precise impact” from the coronavirus on Europe’s economy. | He added: “It’s too early to measure the precise impact” from the coronavirus on Europe’s economy. |
| Italy is the hardest-hit member state, with an outbreak in its economically important north responsible for a dozen COVID-19 deaths. | Italy is the hardest-hit member state, with an outbreak in its economically important north responsible for a dozen COVID-19 deaths. |
| At a briefing for journalists, EU officials said the bloc was currently in a “containment phase” of identifying infection cases and coordinating on preparedness plans. | At a briefing for journalists, EU officials said the bloc was currently in a “containment phase” of identifying infection cases and coordinating on preparedness plans. |
| One official said the EU was well-prepared and that, while other clusters such as that in Italy may well occur, overall the risk to the bloc was no more than “moderate” because of member states’ capacities to respond. | One official said the EU was well-prepared and that, while other clusters such as that in Italy may well occur, overall the risk to the bloc was no more than “moderate” because of member states’ capacities to respond. |
| Closing Europe’s borders – either its external borders or its internal, passport-free Schengen borders – was not seen as advisable or effective, the officials said. | Closing Europe’s borders – either its external borders or its internal, passport-free Schengen borders – was not seen as advisable or effective, the officials said. |
| However, there was a possibility that authorities might soon look at cancelling “mass gathering events” such as sporting fixtures. | However, there was a possibility that authorities might soon look at cancelling “mass gathering events” such as sporting fixtures. |
| Moscow’s mayor has asked China to respect the measures the city is taking to prevent the spread of the coronavirus after China’s embassy complained about disproportionate action against Chinese nationals.The embassy this week deplored what it described as the “ubiquitous monitoring” of Chinese nationals on Moscow’s public transport network in a formal complaint sent to local authorities and leaked to Russian media.But Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin defended the measures on Thursday and urged the Chinese embassy to encourage its citizens in Moscow to comply with the quarantine measures.“I ask that you relate with understanding to these necessary measures, which are aimed at preventing coronavirus infections from spreading,” Sobyanin wrote in a response to the embassy, the Interfax news agency reported.Hundreds of people have been quarantined across Russia, which has barred many categories of Chinese nationals from entering the country. Authorities in Moscow have carried out raids on potential carriers of the virus and used facial recognition technology to enforce quarantine measures.Russia has also barred many categories of Chinese nationals from entering the country. Three Russian nationals are receiving treatment in Russia after they contracted the virus on a cruise ship in Japan, the authorities have said.Two Chinese nationals were also hospitalised in Russia with the virus, but they have since recovered and been discharged. | Moscow’s mayor has asked China to respect the measures the city is taking to prevent the spread of the coronavirus after China’s embassy complained about disproportionate action against Chinese nationals.The embassy this week deplored what it described as the “ubiquitous monitoring” of Chinese nationals on Moscow’s public transport network in a formal complaint sent to local authorities and leaked to Russian media.But Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin defended the measures on Thursday and urged the Chinese embassy to encourage its citizens in Moscow to comply with the quarantine measures.“I ask that you relate with understanding to these necessary measures, which are aimed at preventing coronavirus infections from spreading,” Sobyanin wrote in a response to the embassy, the Interfax news agency reported.Hundreds of people have been quarantined across Russia, which has barred many categories of Chinese nationals from entering the country. Authorities in Moscow have carried out raids on potential carriers of the virus and used facial recognition technology to enforce quarantine measures.Russia has also barred many categories of Chinese nationals from entering the country. Three Russian nationals are receiving treatment in Russia after they contracted the virus on a cruise ship in Japan, the authorities have said.Two Chinese nationals were also hospitalised in Russia with the virus, but they have since recovered and been discharged. |
| A growing number of countries are reporting cases of the new coronavirus, with governments looking for solutions as everyday life around the globe is disrupted. Here are some of the latest developments: | |
| Hunting for patient zero | Hunting for patient zero |
| From California to Italy and beyond, more cases are popping up with no clear origin. These are people who did not travel abroad, or were not linked to another known case. Health authorities are looking for the original source in these places – dubbed patient zero. They are using what’s called contact tracing, or finding all the people the patients were in contact with them. | From California to Italy and beyond, more cases are popping up with no clear origin. These are people who did not travel abroad, or were not linked to another known case. Health authorities are looking for the original source in these places – dubbed patient zero. They are using what’s called contact tracing, or finding all the people the patients were in contact with them. |
| Foreign pilgrims banned from visiting Islam’s holiest shrines | Foreign pilgrims banned from visiting Islam’s holiest shrines |
| Saudi Arabia has made this move, changing the face of this years annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina. It will disrupt plans for millions of faithful from around the world who come to the kingdom to pray together. The decision illustrates how tense the situation is across the Gulf region and the wider Middle East as a whole largely as a result of the rise in the number of deaths and infections in Iran. | |
| Schools shut in Japan | Schools shut in Japan |
| The prime minister, Shinzo Abe, says he wants all elementary, middle and high schools nationwide to remain closed until spring holidays in late March. Japan now has more than 900 cases, including hundreds from a quarantined cruise ship. In other countries people are being told to keep their kids home from school if they’ve been anywhere near the growing number of zones worldwide hit by virus outbreaks. | |
| Border controls | Border controls |
| Germany is introducing new landing cards for people arriving from countries most hit by the virus. Pakistan halted flights to and from neighbouring Iran. Prague suspended flights from South Korea. Cyprus is adding more police and health workers at crossing points between the internationally recognised state in the south and a self-declared Turkish Cypriot state in the north. But EU officials insisted that the virus does not stop at borders, saying that if a case is identified at the border, it’s probably too late and the spread is likely anyway. | |
| Now that there are more cases being reported outside China than inside, Chinese authorities are eager to shed the virus stigma and questions about its early handling of the epidemic. President Xi Jinping said on Thursday: “We have the confidence, the ability and the certainty to win this war against the epidemic.” And the Chinese respiratory disease specialist Zhong Nanshan predicted China’s outbreak should be “basically under control” by the end of April. He credited strong measures taken by the government and the work of medical workers for helping curb the spread. | |