Category Archives: Infectious Diseases

Coronavirus: officials seek people with contact to UK cases as some airlines stop China flights – live news

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Death toll rises, with almost 12,000 confirmed cases of infection in China. Follow the latest developments

Public Health England said the University of York student did not come in contact with anyone on campus whilst having the coronavirus symptoms, Sky News is reporting.

Vietnam has declared a public health emergency over the coronavirus epidemic and said it would stop all flights to and from China.

The government said it would also stop issuing visas for foreign visitors who had been in China in the past two weeks.

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Coronavirus live updates: returning Britons arrive at Wirral for quarantine

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Cases also reported in Russia, as US advises against travel to China. Follow live updates and latest news

There is a press briefing going on at White House with members of the US taskforce. You can watch it here:

Six buses were led by a police escort to the rear of the hospital and on to a side road leading to the accommodation block, PA media reports.

A medic wearing a white specialist suit was sat next to the coach driver of each vehicle.

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Coronavirus: first human transmission in Thailand as Russia and UK confirm cases

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Suspected infection of taxi driver by traveller raises fears virus could reach tourist areas

Thailand has recorded its first human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus after a taxi driver was apparently infected by a traveller, heightening concern over the virus’s potential to spread across the globe.

The taxi driver was among five new patients confirmed on Friday in the worst-hit country outside China, bringing the total number of cases in Thailand to 19.

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Help or hindrance? How Chinese politics affected coronavirus response

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Authoritarian bureaucracy has allowed dramatic response but also let virus fester

When Wuhan’s mayor took to live national television to discuss the rapidly escalating outbreak of coronavirus in his city, he came primed for a rare – and very prolonged – display of self criticism.

Over nearly an hour Zhou Xianwang said his work “wasn’t performed well enough”, that the city government had failed to provide timely information or act on what it knew, and offered his own resignation, although it is yet to be accepted.

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Coronavirus outbreak: Britons fly out of Wuhan as death toll passes 200

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Flight carrying 83 British people and 27 foreign nationals will land in the UK on Friday as US tells citizens ‘don’t go to China’

A plane carrying more than 100 British and other EU nationals trapped in Wuhan, the city at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak, has left for the UK after Chinese spouses and partners were given permission to travel.

The chartered flight left Wuhan at 9:45am local time on Friday, the Foreign Office said in a statement. The plane was carrying 83 British people and 27 foreign nationals, and was scheduled to land at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire at 1 pm UK time.

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Hongkongers take no chances with deadly coronavirus – in pictures

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For Hong Kong people, the memories of the Sars outbreak are still fresh. In 2003 there were 1,755 Sars cases and 299 deaths (according to the World Health Organisation). With the threat of the coronavirus outbreak declared a global emergency, Hongkongers are taking all precautions. Most people are wearing masks, others goggles or double masks. Airports and the subways are screening passengers for high temperatures. People are buying masks, hand sanitiser and even food in bulk

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Poorer countries suffer most from global health crises, we need help to handle coronavirus | Dr Claude Posala

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Pacific nations, still reeling from a devastating measles outbreak, have watched news out of Wuhan in panic

As Pacific Islanders watched updates about the coronavirus outbreak over the past few weeks, unease soon gave way to panic.

Still reeling in shock from a measles outbreak in Samoa, Pacific Islanders’ fears were stoked as it became apparent that even large, well-developed countries were struggling to contain the outbreak. Low-resourced settings always suffer the greatest losses in global medical crises and people living in these island nations are not blind to that detail.

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WHO declares coronavirus a global health emergency – video

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The World Health Organization director general on Thursday declared the novel coronavirus a global health emergency but stressed that it was 'not a vote of no confidence in China'. Tedros Adhanom said that the declaration comes amid concern for countries with weaker health systems 

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Coronavirus: China death toll reaches 213 after WHO declares global emergency – live news

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More than 9,320 people infected globally, as WHO director says decision comes amid concern for countries with weaker health systems

Press Association is reporting that Virgin Atlantic has suspended its flights between Britain and China due to fears about the spread of the coronavirus.

The airline said in a statement it would suspend its daily operations between the UK and Shanghai for two weeks from Saturday, PA said.

We are now hearing from the premier of the state of Queensland, Annastacia Palaszczuk, who is calling for national co-ordination of the response to the virus. Australia is a federal system made up of states and territories and so far each state seems to have had a slightly different response to the virus.

“There is no reason why the Federal government can’t be on a phone hook-up today or over this weekend, talking to all of the (state) Premiers giving them the most up to date information. This is a serious national issue,” Palaszczuk said.

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Whole world must be ready to deal with coronavirus, says WHO

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Countries urged to be on alert as number of confirmed cases passes 6,000

The whole world must be on alert to deal with the spread of coronavirus, the World Health Organization has said as it urged countries to prepare so that they are ready to detect any cases that occur and isolate and treat the sick.

WHO will reconvene its expert committee on Thursday to decide whether to declare the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. There are now 6,065 confirmed cases of viral pneumonia caused by the virus and 132 deaths, all of them in China.

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China coronavirus: evacuation begins of US and Japanese citizens in Wuhan – live updates

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Hundreds of Japanese and Americans airlifted out of city at heart of outbreak in China. Follow the latest news, live

The death toll in China has now risen to 131 people, according to the updated coronavirus tracker from Tencent News.

There are now also 5515 confirmed cases and 6973 suspected cases.

And, as the US airlift out of Wuhan continues, Japan today has confirmed it too will evacuate 200 of its citizens.

According to the Kyodo news agency, a chartered plane has departed the city early this morning, and is scheduled to arrive at Tokyo’s Haneda airport.

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The disease always gets a head start: how to handle an epidemic

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Outbreaks such as coronavirus, Sars and Ebola have taught us communication is key, and that the world is only as strong as its weakest health system

A patient presents at an emergency department somewhere in the world. They are feverish and vomiting. Doctors suspect it is influenza, but they are wrong.

When the outbreak of a virulent new disease such as the coronavirus is identified, the starting gun is fired on a vast, multimillion-dollar international effort to try to contain it.

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Coronavirus outbreak: China promises tougher crackdown to stop spread – as it happened

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Officials announce new measures to contain disease, including wildlife trade ban and bus suspensions, as confirmed death toll reaches 56

Jonathan Ashworth, the UK’s shadow health secretary, urged the government to reassure the public it is sufficiently prepared as the NHS is already struggling in the flu season.

He told the Guardian:

The NHS is currently under immense strain this winter with staff already working flat out and hospitals overcrowded. We need urgent reassurance from ministers they have a plan to ensure we have capacity in place to deal with Coronavirus should we need to,

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French cases show coronavirus has reached Europe

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Three cases have been discovered, two of them from the same family

France has identified three cases of the deadly new coronavirus from China, the first cases in Europe.

Two of the cases were announced by the health minister, Agnès Buzyn, on Friday evening. She said that both of those affected had travelled to China.

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Coronavirus: death toll reaches 41 in China with first cases in Europe

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Public transport suspended in at least 13 cities in China as death toll rises and France identifies Europe’s first cases

China has expanded an unprecedented lockdown during the country’s most important holiday to 13 cities and at least 36 million people, as efforts to contain the deadly new coronavirus were stepped up around the world and the first cases were reported in Europe.

Restrictions on movement were widened on Friday in China in an effort to stop the spread of the disease. Late on Friday, authorities confirmed a further 15 deaths and 180 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of fatalities to 41 people and more than 1,000 affected.

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China steps up coronavirus clampdown as chaos hits hospitals – video

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After preventing travel from Wuhan, China has locked down several more cities as it attempts to contain the deadly coronavirus. Footage online reveals the quarantine measures the country is taking to prevent the spread

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Wuhan in lockdown as residents barred from leaving Chinese city stricken by coronavirus – video

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Authorities have shut down public transport and airports to prevent Wuhan's 11 million residents from leaving the city as they look to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Police have been seen patrolling railway stations and setting up roadblocks

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Coronavirus: China bars 11m residents from leaving city at centre of outbreak

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Government unveils new countermeasures as country prepares for lunar new year and death toll doubles to 17

Chinese authorities have suspended all outbound transport from Wuhan, the city at the centre of an outbreak of the mysterious Sars-like coronavirus, which has so far killed 17 people.

Bus, subway, ferry and long-distance passenger transportation networks from the city were suspended from 10am local time on Thursday, state media reported. The city’s airport and train stations were also closed to outgoing passengers.

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The Guardian view on the new coronavirus: be alert, not afraid | Editorial

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An outbreak of a pneumonia-causing virus in China is creating alarm. It is sensible to be concerned, but an overreaction would be a mistake

Every so often, our vague awareness of our vulnerability as a species crystallises around a specific threat. At first, we note with unconcern a handful of cases of a new illness, somewhere far away. Soon it begins to spread. The deaths mount. We start to wonder whether we are being complacent rather than sensible, and whether we are living through the early montage in a disaster movie, in which families bicker over breakfast as news reports on the killer virus play unnoticed in the background. Could this be a new pandemic which will sweep the globe killing tens of millions, as Spanish flu once did?

The story of the new coronavirus, first reported in Wuhan, China, last month, now seems to be reaching the point where public indifference tips into worry and even fear. It causes pneumonia; Beijing says six people have died and 300 have been infected as it has spread. On Monday, officials confirmed that there was human-to-human transmission. Sales of face masks have soared. Cases have been reported in Thailand, Japan, the Philippines and elsewhere, though all confirmed incidents involve patients who had been in China. On Wednesday, the World Health Organization will hold an emergency meeting.

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