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Coronavirus latest updates: California declares state of emergency as Italy closes schools and universities Coronavirus latest updates: Australia warns its 'worst-case' scenario is millions infected over several weeks
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Germany labels outbreak a pandemic as cases spread across Europe as UK sees highest daily increase. Follow live newsGermany labels outbreak a pandemic as cases spread across Europe as UK sees highest daily increase. Follow live news
Hong Kong residents who had been stuck in Hubei province, the source of the outbreak, have returned on flights chartered by the Hong Kong government. There were 244 passengers. Another 200 are expected to be brought back today. Anyone showing symptoms or a high temperature has not been allowed to board, and all will undergo quarantine for two weeks, the Hong Kong government said.
Among the group are 14 pregnant women and 22 people in need of medical care, including cancer patients.
South Korea’s total number of novel coronavirus cases – the largest outside China – approached 6,000 on Thursday as authorities reported 145 new infections.
The total stood at 5,766, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, with 35 deaths.
So far 36 countries and regions have imposed a blanket entry ban on people who have recently been in the South, according to the foreign ministry in Seoul.
Nearly 90 percent of the national total occurred in the southern city of Daegu and the neighbouring North Gyeongsang province.
Australia’s Scott Morrison says there is “no suggestions that there should be no mass gatherings” in the country, as he said the outbreak in Australia was significantly less challenging than those in other countries – in response to what the significance might be for Australia’s economy.
He urged any Australians experiencing symptoms to “do the right thing by their fellow Australians” and “prevent the spread of the virus”.
Still in Australia for now, the Guardian’s Katharine Murphy has asked Scott Morrison to elaborate on the travel travel ban regarding South Korea.
Part of the reason, Morrison responded, was the number of travellers arriving in Australia from South Korea. “The volume of travellers coming out of the Republic of Korea was more than five times what it is out of Italy,” he said.
It “may well be possible within a matter of days or weeks to be able to ensure that we can deal with that,” he said, but for now the travel ban was “the way to go”.
The Guardian’s Sarah Martin has asked Morrison to and chief medical officer Brendan Murphy about what they know about the likely spread of transmission in Australia.
Murphy said the government is “looking at scenarios from the most benign through to some millions of people being infected over a period of several weeks.”
Scott Morrison then jumped in to say the government had “been careful not to be speculative about this in the public domain. What we have done all the way through this global health crisis, I think, to be very candid and up front and we will continue to do that but what of won’t do is be speculative, because we’re not in the position of creating unnecessary anxiety.”
Australia’s chief medical officer Brendan Murphy has addressed Australia’s toilet paper hoarding behaviour as he urged the public to behave as they usually would.Australia’s chief medical officer Brendan Murphy has addressed Australia’s toilet paper hoarding behaviour as he urged the public to behave as they usually would.
“At the moment, there is no reason to put a mask on when you are walking around the shops, there is no reason to stop going to football matches or community activities, there is no reason to dilute the shelves of lavatory paper in the supermarkets. We should continue a normal activity, we should watch the development of this and, we will focus on any outbreaks and control.”“At the moment, there is no reason to put a mask on when you are walking around the shops, there is no reason to stop going to football matches or community activities, there is no reason to dilute the shelves of lavatory paper in the supermarkets. We should continue a normal activity, we should watch the development of this and, we will focus on any outbreaks and control.”
Australia’s federal chief medical officer Brendan Murphy has said the government is “very worried about Iran.”Australia’s federal chief medical officer Brendan Murphy has said the government is “very worried about Iran.”
Australia’s National Security Committee is reviewing the progress of its preparations for a potential pandemic, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said.Australia’s National Security Committee is reviewing the progress of its preparations for a potential pandemic, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said.
“That has gone from everything from availability of surgical masks and in particular, to working with the health sector,” he said.“That has gone from everything from availability of surgical masks and in particular, to working with the health sector,” he said.
He added that work was ongoing in particular with regard to Indigenous communities and aged care.He added that work was ongoing in particular with regard to Indigenous communities and aged care.
“We have always gone about business with common sense and that is what we are known for so let’s do that,” he added.“We have always gone about business with common sense and that is what we are known for so let’s do that,” he added.
More on Australia’s travel measures regarding South Korea from Prime Minister Scott Morrison:More on Australia’s travel measures regarding South Korea from Prime Minister Scott Morrison:
“In relation to the Republic of Korea, we will also be upgrading the travel advice to level three, which is to reconsider the need to travel to the Republic of Korea, and it will be at level four which is do not travel to the province of Daegu.”“In relation to the Republic of Korea, we will also be upgrading the travel advice to level three, which is to reconsider the need to travel to the Republic of Korea, and it will be at level four which is do not travel to the province of Daegu.”
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is speaking now, and has announced that the current travel bans regarding mainland China and Iran will continue. A new travel ban has been put in place for the Republic of Korea, and enhanced screening measures are being introduced at airports for travellers arriving from Italy.Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is speaking now, and has announced that the current travel bans regarding mainland China and Iran will continue. A new travel ban has been put in place for the Republic of Korea, and enhanced screening measures are being introduced at airports for travellers arriving from Italy.
Hong Kong authorities have confirmed the 105th case of Covid-19, in a 69-year-old Happy Valley woman who recently returned from India.Hong Kong authorities have confirmed the 105th case of Covid-19, in a 69-year-old Happy Valley woman who recently returned from India.
The woman had an underlying illness, and fell sick in India on 23 February, the day before she returned home to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific flight CX694 from New Delhi.The woman had an underlying illness, and fell sick in India on 23 February, the day before she returned home to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific flight CX694 from New Delhi.
Four days later she developed a fever and consulted a Chinese medical practitioner twice, before visiting an out-patient clinic on 3 March. After testing positive for Covid-19 the woman was admitted to Ruttonjee hospital on Wednesday, and is in a stable condition.Four days later she developed a fever and consulted a Chinese medical practitioner twice, before visiting an out-patient clinic on 3 March. After testing positive for Covid-19 the woman was admitted to Ruttonjee hospital on Wednesday, and is in a stable condition.
The woman’s husband and the domestic helper who lives with them are asymptomatic and will be quarantined, the government said. Passengers onboard the 24 February flight are urged to contact 2125 1122 if they are concerned.The woman’s husband and the domestic helper who lives with them are asymptomatic and will be quarantined, the government said. Passengers onboard the 24 February flight are urged to contact 2125 1122 if they are concerned.
Authorities in New South Wales, Australia are assessing a group of children from a childcare centre who visited a Sydney aged care home last month, before four people at the centre were diagnosed with Covid-19.
Four people at the Dorothy Henderson Lodge aged care home in Macquarie Park, including a 95-year-old woman who has since died and an aged care worker, have been diagnosed with the virus. The centre has been placed into isolation.
NSW health minister Brad Hazzard said young children were “often super spreaders” of respiratory illnesses and that he was recommending visits by childcare centres to aged care homes be discontinued.
Meanwhile, authorities are also trying to contact 77 doctors and primary care officials who were at a radiology conference on 18 February that the 53-year-old doctor from Ryde Hospital, who tested positive to the virus, and another registrar from Liverpool hospital, who also has the virus, both attended.
In New Zealand, the third person infected with coronavirus is a man 40s lives in Auckland. Close family members of his have recently returned from Iran.
“This third case of COVID-19 is classified as what we suspect is a case of family transmission. There is what appears to be a clear link with travel to Iran by a close family member,” the Ministry of Health said.
The man is now at home in self-isolation as he doesn’t require hospital care, nor does anyone else in the family home, who are self-isolating with him.A medical centre where the man sought advice has been notified, and two schools where the man’s family members attended have sent children home for self-isolation. No other children are showing symptoms at this stage.
In Australia, New South Wales health minister Brad Hazzard has said there is an “evolution” happening in the spread of coronavirus around the world.
While there had been “no substantial change” overnight in New South Wales, seven of the state’s infections appeared to have been “on-soil,” he said. There are currently 22 infections in the state.
“New South Wales health is doing everything they can to try to still contain it, but we do know that containment is likely to be an unlikely outcome,” he said.
Japan’s infections pass 1,000
Japan’s confirmed coronavirus infections rose above 1,000 on Wednesday, most of them from a quarantined cruise liner, as Olympics organisers dismissed speculation that the Tokyo Summer Games could be cancelled.
Twelve people have died in Japan, six from the cruise chip, the health ministry said.
The president of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics said the option of cancelling the Games was not on the table, responding to deepening speculation of a delay or cancellation.
“I am totally not considering this,” Yoshiro Mori told reporters at a briefing when asked about a possible cancellation.
Asked when the organisers could decide on changes to the Olympics, Mori, a former prime minister, said: “I’m not God, so I don’t know.”
Mainland China had 139 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections on Wednesday, the country’s National Health Commission said on Thursday, up from 119 cases a day earlier, and 125 cases on March 2.
That brings the total accumulated number of confirmed cases in mainland China to 80,409.
The death toll from the outbreak in mainland China had reached 3,012 as of the end of Wednesday, up by 31 from the previous day.
The central province of Hubei, the epicentre of the outbreak, accounted for all of the new deaths. In the provincial capital of Wuhan, 23 people died.
California governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday declared a state of emergency over the coronavirus in the state, which now has has 53 confirmed cases.
Earlier on Wednesday, health officials announced the first California death from the virus, an elderly person with underlying health conditions. It was the first coronavirus fatality in the United States outside of Washington state, where 10 have died.
A Māori tribe in New Zealand’s capital city has banned the traditional hongi at gatherings this week as more cases of coronavirus emerge.
A hongi is a traditional form of greeting in which two people press their noses to each other and inhale one another’s breath. In Wellington, local iwi (tribe) said a temporary ban would be placed on hongi between members at gatherings this week.
On Wednesday night a third case was confirmed and the ministry of health asked for calm after sufferers and their families were criticised on social media.
In Australia, health officials in the Northern Territory are yet to determine if any residents of small and remote Indigenous communities have been exposed to Covid-19 after the first diagnosis.
A 52-year-old tourist tested positive to the disease and is now in isolation at Royal Darwin Hospital. The man flew to Darwin from Sydney on flight QF840 on Tuesday.
NT Chief medical officer Dianne Stephens said it is unclear if any remote community-based Aboriginal people were on the plane, and it is impossible to determine how many people may have come into contact with the man.
Stephens also said it was unclear how long it would take for a test undertaken in a remote community to reach the state’s only available Covid-19 testing laboratory in Darwin, meaning diagnosis could be delayed if a case were to occur in remote NT.
She said a Remote Health Pandemic Plan will be released by Monday.
The government’s current advice says that anyone who may have come into contact with the virus should seek accommodation within three hours of major municipalities in the state, and not visit or return to a remote community, even if they live there.
Germany’s health minister, Jens Spahn, said Wednesday the coronavirus outbreak has become a pandemic – defined as an epidemic that spreads throughout the world through local transmission, AFP reports.
“The coronavirus outbreak in China has become a global pandemic,” Jens Spahn told German lawmakers.
The World Health Organization has so far stopped short of declaring a pandemic, though has said the world must prepare for the possibility.
“What’s clear is that we have not yet reached the peak of the outbreak,” Jens Spahn told German lawmakers.
The virus has reached 81 countries and territories around the world, with South Korea, Iran and Italy emerging as hotspots outside China.
Welcome to our live coverage of the coronavirus. More than 100 people have now died in Italy. As the virus spreads further across Europe, schools and universities are closing, large events are being cancelled, and the economic outlook continues to be grim.
The Italian government has ordered the closure of all schools and universities until 15 March, as 28 more people die in 24 hours.
The UK has seen the biggest daily increase recorded to date, with the number of coronavirus cases jumping by more than 60% to 87 case.
India is restricting the export of several drugs, including paracetamol and antibiotics, leading to fears of a global shortage of essential medicines.
The IMF has torn up its growth forecasts. The fund has warned this year’s growth will be lower than last year’s.
Concerts, conferences and sporting events are being cancelled in countries around the world. MGM Universal has also announced the postponement of the release of the new James Bond film, No Time to Die.
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