Editor Brian Harrod Provides Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, with aggregated news from sources all over the world from the Roundup Newswires Network
China’s leader Xi Jinping has visited Wuhan for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak began, a signal that the nation’s leadership believes its fight against the epidemic has been largely won.
According to the official state news agency Xinhua, Xi landed in Wuhan on Tuesday where he planned to “visit and express his regards” for frontline medical workers, military, community staff, local party officials, as well as patients and residents.
As coronavirus infections around the world rise, the number of new cases in China has plummeted dramatically, prompting some observers to look to Beijing for lessons.
In recent days, the number of daily new cases in China has gone from almost 2,000 less than three weeks ago to under 100. On Monday, China’s national health commission reported 40 new cases, its lowest daily since authorities began tracking the outbreak in January. According to the official figures, new infections in the rest of China, outside of Hubei province which has been hardest hit, have almost completely stopped.
US authorities are planning a flight tomorrow to repatriate Britons on the coronavirus-hit Grand Princess cruise ship.
The UK Foreign Office issued the following statement:
We continue to work closely with the US authorities to repatriate British nationals on board the Grand Princess. The US are currently planning for a flight to leave tomorrow evening, returning to the UK on Wednesday afternoon. We remain in contact with all British nationals on board and will continue to offer support.
Chinese authorities reportedly scrambled to move people out of quarantine hotels which need full safety inspections after the deaths of at least 10 people in a collapsed hotel.
Joanna Davison, an English teacher, and her partner were suddenly placed in enforced isolation in Shenzhen after a ferry trip about 10 days ago. On Thursday, she told the Guardian she endured a “terrifying” experience as five people in hazmat suits came to test them at her home before they were whisked to quarantine.
It is caused by a member of the coronavirus family that has never been encountered before. Like other coronaviruses, it has come from animals. Many of those initially infected either worked or frequently shopped in the Huanan seafood wholesale market in the centre of the Chinese city.
A hotel in south-eastern China that was being used as a quarantine centre for people arriving from coronavirus-hit regions has collapsed, trapping dozens, according to the local government
Two victims were in their 70s and had travelled overseas, say state authorities, as cruise ship off San Francisco reports 21 cases and Hong Kong advises against non-urgent travel
An Iranian MP has died from coronavirus, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Saturday, in an another sign the disease is spreading within state institutions. Iran is one of the countries outside China most affected by the epidemic. As of Friday, the country had reported 4,747 infections. The MP who died on Friday is Fatemeh Rahbar, a conservative lawmaker from Tehran, according to Tasnim. It did not say if she was included in the country’s official toll of 124 deaths from the virus, given on Friday. On 2 March, Tasnim reported the death of Mohammad Mirmohammadi, a member of the Expediency Council, intended to resolve disputes between parliament and the Guardian Council, a governmental body that vets electoral candidates, among other duties. Iran’s deputy health minister, Iraj Harirchi, and another member of parliament, Mahmoud Sadeghi, have also said they have contracted the virus.
Government ministers are expected to advise elderly people in the UK next week to visit relatives now before “social distancing” policies are introduced. British pensioners could be warned to stay at home and will likely be told to avoid crowded areas, the Daily Telegraph reported.
A top Chinese official has been heckled by residents as she inspected the work of a neighbourhood committee tasked with taking care of quarantined residents. Vice-premier Sun Chunlan toured a residential community in the Qingshan district of Wuhan on Thursday while residents appeared to shout 'fake, fake' as well as 'it's all fake' and 'we protest' from their apartment windows. Since 12 February, all residential compounds in Wuhan have been put under lockdown, barring most residents from leaving their homes.
Empty public squares, a highway with no cars on it and deserted holy sites – a series of striking satellite images have revealed the impact of the coronavirus epidemic on some of the world’s busiest spaces.
The aerial photographs, released by Colorado-based space technology firm Maxar, show normally bustling spots from Mecca to Beijing thinned of people.
A 15th person has died in the USA, according to a hospital in Washington state – the worst-hit in the union. EvergreenHealth Medical Center in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland has reported the state’s 12 death.
Kirkland is the site of an outbreak at a nursing facility, where at least six people have died.
Teacher was given 20 minutes to pack and must remain in hotel room for two weeks
Jo Davison and her partner were relaxing in their flat in Shenzhen, China, when the phone rang. She was told by the Chinese authorities that they had been exposed to the coronavirus at close proximity and that officials were on their way.
“It was terrifying. Five people in hazmats turned up at our apartment, they looked like ghostbusters,” she said. “They took swabs from our nose and throat and said they’d return in the morning so we should start packing.”
It is caused by a member of the coronavirus family that has never been encountered before. Like other coronaviruses, it has come from animals. Many of those initially infected either worked or frequently shopped in the Huanan seafood wholesale market in the centre of the Chinese city.
Covid-19, first seen in Wuhan, China, last year, has infected tens of thousands of people and, as of Wednesday 4 March, killed more than 3,000 people globally.
As the world faces rising numbers of infections, the Guardian's health editor, Sarah Boseley, discusses what we can do to prevent it spreading
Thanks for following the blog, which we’re closing now. Don’t worry though, we’ve started a new one helmed by my colleague Helen Sullivan so you can keep up with all the developments.
The drop in the Australian share market despite the US Fed rate cut raises questions over the ability of central banks to halt the fall in share prices, according to Michael McCarthy of CMC Markets in Sydney. The moves in Australia follow late falls on Wall Street as the main indices failed to rally on the emergency Fed stimulus.
The market reaction to the Fed’s decisive action is worrying for investors. Major US indices dropped 2.5% to 3%. There is now a question over the ability of monetary policy to halt plummeting asset prices. The dangers of negative wealth effects from stock market falls adds to concern about the global outlook. The seeming ineffectiveness of further monetary easing will almost certainly lead to further calls on governments to push the fiscal stimulus button.
Bonds rallied again, pushing yields to fresh all-time lows. Gold found a firmer footing to rally by 3% as the US dollar slipped. In an illustration of the unusual conditions cryptocurrencies were among the least volatile markets.
“It’s been a long holiday,” laughs Hong Kong insurance worker and mother, Sarah Wong.
Wong and her two daughters, Chloe and Greeta, are at a co-working space in Jordan, Kowloon. Chloe has set her desk up like home, with an iPad, her own lamp, and an aromatherapy diffuser. The girls, aged 12 and eight, are listening to online lessons from their school which has been closed because of the coronavirus.
Big businesses and wealthy people are chartering private jets for “evacuation flights” out of countries hit by the coronavirus outbreak, reports the Guardian’s wealth correspondent Rupert Neate.
Adam Twidell, the chief executive of the private jet booking service PrivateFly, said the company had been inundated with requests from multinational firms arranging the mass evacuation of staff from China and south-east Asia.
British Labour MP Tulip Siddiq has had confirmation from the family of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian woman detained in Iran, that she has not been tested for coronavirus. Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband told broadcasters this morning that his wife suspected she might have the virus and was displaying all the symptoms.
Just spoken to Nazanin’s family about what was said in the chamber in my Urgent Question - she told them this morning categorically that she has NOT been tested for coronavirus and remains petrified about her health #FreeNazanin
Controls on the ‘online information content ecosystem’ bring heightened concern about freedom of speech
Sweeping new internet censorship rules have gone into effect in China, prompting concerns that authorities will further control information and online debate as the country reels from the coronavirus outbreak.
China’s cybersecurity administration has since Saturday implemented a set of new regulations on the governance of the “online information content ecosystem” that encourage “positive” content while barring material deemed “negative” or illegal.
USA, Australia and Thailand report first deaths from coronavirus as two frontline doctors in China die and bans are put in place on large gatherings. Follow live news
A parent and child who attended the minor injuries unit at Sevenoaks Hospital in Kent on Saturday afternoon have been advised to self-isolate at home and call NHS 111 in case they require testing for the coronavirus.
The parent grew concerned when the child, who had been at school with pupils who recently returned from Italy, developed a mild temperature.
Our Sevenoaks Minor Injury Unit (MIU) has now closed for the evening and will be reopening as normal tomorrow morning.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
A “surveillance network” of GP practices in Scotland will test patients with coughs and fevers and submit samples, even if patients have not travelled to an area affected by coronavirus, as part of the Scottish government plans.
The measure described as an “early warning” system to alert health professionals to possible spread of the virus.
“Hospitals and GP surgeries will now conduct tests on some patients with coughs, fevers or shortness of breath - regardless of whether they have travelled to a place where the virus is known to be spreading.”
“Not everyone with flu will be tested, but this is a sensible step to take as a precautionary measure to give us an early warning of community transmission.”
Reuters reports that the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Italy has climbed above 1,000, according to an official who said the number of deaths had surged to 29.
So coronavirus has finally arrived in sub-saharan Africa, with an Italian man who arrived in Nigeria three days ago becoming the country’s first case of the disease.
The case is in Lagos, a massive overcrowded city, which will raise fears that the virus might already have spread in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, and possibly further afield.
Nigeria is a major hub for air transport, commerce and culture. It has deep links with China, with continual and substantial traffic of people and goods. However this first confirmed case appears to have originated in Italy.
The WHO’s regional director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, has warned that the “window of opportunity the continent has had to prepare for coronavirus disease is closing”.
Egypt had the first case of Covid-19 in Africa, announced on 14 February. Algeria declared it had a case on Tuesday – another Italian adult who arrived in the country on 17 February.
Earlier this month, officials at the WHO warned that porous borders, a continuing flow of travellers and poorly resourced healthcare systems meant the risk of an outbreak across Africa was “very, very high” and raised significant concerns about the ability of “fragile health systems” to cope with the epidemic.
But recent weeks have been used to reinforce testing regimes, isolation facilities and for public messaging too.
“Nigeria has dramatically improved its ability to manage the outbreak of a major pandemic since the Ebola scare in West Africa in 2014. Many of the lessons from keeping the country free of Ebola have informed the steps taken since the news of the coronavirus epidemic first broke,” wrote Folasade Ogunsola, professor of Clinical Microbiology, University of Lagos, on The Conversation website.
A further two coronavirus cases have been confirmed in England, bringing the total to 19.
Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England, said:
Two further patients in England have tested positive for Covid-19. The virus was passed on in Iran and the patients have been transferred to specialist NHS infection centres at the Royal Free Hospital. The total number of cases in England is now 17. Following confirmed cases in Northern Ireland and Wales, the total number of UK cases is 19.
Lai, who was arrested with two other activists and later released on bail, has been a major financial patron of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement
Hong Kong police arrested three veteran pro-democracy figures for taking part in an unauthorised anti-government march last year amid the city’s most serious political crisis for decades.
Jimmy Lai, the 71-year-old founder of Next Media, which publishes the popular, anti-government Apple Daily newspaper, was picked up by police on Friday morning for taking part in a march banned by police on 31 August.