David Abel, a British passenger, has been sharing videos on social media of life in quarantine on a cruise ship off Japan.
Japan on Thursday confirmed another 10 infections among 3,700 passengers and crew stuck onboard the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship moored off the port of Yokohama, near Tokyo. Ten people tested positive for the illness on Wednesday
Failure to report mild symptoms combined with highly contagious nature of disease raises fears existing figures are ‘tip of the iceberg’
Global health experts have warned that “hidden” infections make containment of the coronavirus unlikely and raised fears that the rapidly rising caseload of 25,000 people could be the “tip of the iceberg”.
“Hidden” cases – where people with mild symptoms do not seek medical help and so remain untested and unrecorded – combined with the highly contagious nature of the disease mean there could be “vastly more cases” than previously thought, according to Tom Frieden, a former director at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Continue reading...Wuhan authorities warn of lack of ‘equipment and materials’ and consider converting hotels and schools into treatment centres. Follow live news and updates
Here’s a summary of what we know so far today about the spread of the coronavirus.
Here’s the latest tracker image from Johns Hopkins University on the spread of the coronavirus. If you want to check in on the tracker, you can find it here.
Continue reading...WHO experts prepare to meet in Geneva amid further significant rises in confirmed cases in China
The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in China has reached 563, as health experts prepared to meet in Geneva next week in an attempt to develop a vaccine and Japan reported 10 more infections among passengers aboard a luxury cruise liner quarantined outside Yokohama.
Chinese authorities said on Thursday the death toll had risen by 73 in the previous 24 hours – the third record daily rise in a row – with 70 of the deaths recorded in Hubei province, the centre of the outbreak.
Continue reading...Reports of panic buying emerge as airlines drop city as a destination and lucrative tourism from China falls away
Hong Kong’s economy risks being plunged deeper into recession as the coronavirus outbreak wreaks havoc in the crisis-hit territory, with consumers panic buying staple goods and airlines stopping flights.
Hours after the city’s flagship carrier Cathay Pacific placed 27,000 staff on three weeks unpaid leave, Virgin Australia said on Thursday that it would no longer fly to Hong Kong because it was not “commercially viable”.
Continue reading...Thirty-five Australian citizens and permanent residents, including 13 children and infants, have arrived on Christmas Island from Wuhan for a 14-day quarantine. They join 241 other Australians evacuated from Wuhan, China, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak
Continue reading...Impact of Chinese outbreak has already rippled out well beyond world’s No 2 economy
The impact of coronavirus on the global economy is growing and spreading daily. What started as a medical emergency in the Chinese city of Wuhan has led to planes being grounded, cruise ships being quarantined, theme parks being shut and car plants being mothballed.
TV footage of deserted streets and empty shops tell their own story: China’s economy, which was already slowing, is going to suffer a major hit as the authorities seek to stop the virus from spreading.
Continue reading...The Guardian's health editor, Sarah Boseley, gives the lowdown on the effectiveness of wearing face masks to protect against the coronavirus, explains how viruses are spread, and offers tips on staying healthy and safe as the outbreak that originated in Wuhan, China, continues to spread
Thousands on board Diamond Princess cruise ship in offshore quarantine in Japan after 10 people test positive, as China death toll passes 490
A hotel worker in the northern Italian city of Verona has tested negative for coronavirus.
The woman, who was isolated after coming down with a fever, is a member of staff at the same hotel where a Chinese couple being treated for the virus in Rome stayed for one night.
Here’s a report from Josh Taylor, a Guardian reporter based in Melbourne, that the Australian government is considering sending its citizens evacuated from Wuhan to isolated mining camps if Christmas Island reaches capacity for people being quarantined.
The home affairs minister, Peter Dutton, admitted there is the possibility that Christmas Island could reach capacity if the outbreak continues to spread. He said one option would be for people to share rooms, or potentially even open up other locations away from the rest of the Australian population.
Related: Coronavirus: 14th Australian case confirmed as Dutton says people could be sent to mining camps
Continue reading...Thousands of passengers and crew on two cruise ships in Asian waters have been placed in quarantine after cases of coronavirus were confirmed onboard. About 3,700 people are facing at least two weeks locked away on the Diamond Princess cruise liner anchored off Japan, while 1,800 passengers and crew are being kept onboard the World Dream, docked in Hong Kong
Continue reading...Australian Daniel Ou Yang, 21, was on the Air New Zealand flight out of virus-struck Wuhan to Auckland. Here he writes about the stress of his evacuation
At 2.52pm, we arrived at Wuhan Tianjin airport.
The drive here was smooth, all the big wide roads with no cars on them. We made it through the checkpoints and arrived within an hour.
Continue reading...The global body is accused of failing to act fast to halt epidemic but the true cost of doing politics with Beijing is still unknown
On social media this week the insults were flying thick and fast, some tinged with racism, but all with a common theme: how the World Health Organization, and its head, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, was effectively doing the bidding of the Chinese government in the midst of the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak.
It is a charge that has also been expressed in less offensive terms elsewhere in columns and articles, some of which have focused on whether, in praising China’s response to the deadly Wuhan coronavirus outbreak during a visit to Beijing, Tedros allowed himself to become complicit in China’s flawed handling of the outbreak in its early days?
Continue reading...UK citizens should leave ‘if they can’ to reduce risk of exposure to virus, says foreign secretary
All 30,000 British nationals in China have been urged to leave the country “if they can” because of the coronavirus outbreak, in a surprise move that prompted criticism that the UK government has left its citizens to fend for themselves.
In a further sign of mounting international concern about the spread of the coronavirus, the Foreign Office also recommended a ban on Britons travelling to China.
Continue reading...Decision leaves tens of thousands weighing up huge choice without knowing why they should leave
The British government’s surprise announcement telling Britons to leave China “if they can” comes amid mounting international concern about the spread of coronavirus.
But the advice came with no detailed guidance about why the UK’s position had changed – making it unclear whether this was a political stance, or a position based on new medical guidance that British authorities have not shared publicly.
Continue reading...Thirty-nine-year-old man in Hong Kong believed to have had underlying condition. Death is only second outside mainland China
From gassy passengers to viral anthems: how Beijing is seeking to lighten the mood amid the coronavirus crisis. This includes state media striking an upbeat or humorous tone, in line with President Xi Jinping’s call for “public opinion guidance”. Read the full story below:
Related: From gassy passengers to viral anthems: Beijing seeks to lighten mood amid crisis
Reports that a South Korean person has tested positive for coronavirus following a visit to Thailand are likely to cause great concern to Thai officials. The outbreak has already dealt a massive blow to Thailand’s tourism industry, which relies upon Chinese visitors.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand said it expects 2 million fewer Chinese tourists this year than last year, when 11 million visited.
Continue reading...Carrie Lam says measures would be taken ‘to reduce people movement across the border’ as death toll grows
Hong Kong has reported its first death from the coronavirus as the number of fatalities from the outbreak in China passed 420.
A 39-year-old man with an underlying health condition died on Tuesday morning, according to public broadcaster RTHK.
Continue reading...The Chinese city of 11 million resembles a ghost town, with empty streets and biosecurity checkpoints – though a new hospital was built in days. The number of people who have died from the Wuhan coronavirus, known as 2019-nCoV, in China has climbed to 425, while more than 20,000 people there have been infected. Cases have been reported in other countries, including the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, India, the UK, Germany and France
• Coronavirus live updates: China admits ‘shortcomings’ as death toll passes 420 – latest news
Continue reading...Follow the latest developments as dozens more die in the province at the centre of the outbreak
Sixty Italians evacuated from Wuhan arrived at a military base near Rome on Monday.
A passenger who was expected to be on board the flight remained in Wuhan after coming down with a fever, Italian media reported. The group will be quarantined for up to two weeks.
As researchers are racing to develop a vaccine for the Wuhan coronavirus, the British drugmaker GSK has teamed up with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to aid efforts to produce a vaccine.
GSK, one of the world’s biggest vaccine makers, says it will make its “adjuvant platform technology” available. An adjuvant is added to some vaccines to improve the immune response and means the amount of antigen required per dose can be reduced – allowing more vaccine doses to be produced and made available to more people, which is crucial in a pandemic.
Gaining access to GSK’s world-leading adjuvant technology is a huge step forward in developing a vaccine against the novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV. Coupling GSK’s adjuvant systems with the pioneering platform technology we are funding has the potential to make more vaccine available more rapidly – by decreasing the dose of vaccine antigen required to protect each individual.”
Related: Researchers make strides in race to create coronavirus vaccine
Continue reading...Citizens post video appealing for evacuation from city at centre of coronavirus outbreak
Brazilian citizens trapped in Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak, have issued an urgent plea to their president, Jair Bolsonaro, for them to be evacuated.
In a six-minute YouTube video the Brazilians noted how other countries – including the US, the UK, France, Japan and Italy – had already taken steps to rescue their citizens from the city.
Continue reading...Man from Wuhan has died in a Philippines hospital, says WHO, as Xi Jinping orders 1,400 more medical workers into Wuhan
The Philippines has reported the first death from the coronavirus outside China, adding to fears about the spread of the virus as more countries imposed travel restrictions.
The outbreak of the respiratory illness has killed 304 people in China since it was first detected in the central city of Wuhan late last year. Across China, there were 2,590 new confirmed infections on Saturday, bringing the total to 14,380, China’s National Health Commission said on Sunday. A study published on Saturday by scientists from the University of Hong Kong found that the virus may have infected as many as 75,815 people in Wuhan.
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