Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said Saturday her government is raising its response level to the highest level – emergency – and closing schools for two weeks, as authorities rush to contain the deadly coronavirus outbreak.
The outbreak, which started in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, has left 41 people dead in China. The country's National Health Commission says 1,287 people are infected.
Wuhan has been locked down for days, with public transportation halted and flights and trains out of the city suspended. Lockdowns now embrace more than a dozen cities across China, affecting more than 50 million people, The Associated Press reports.
Despite efforts to prevent the outbreak from spreading, cases have cropped up overseas. The U.S. confirmed a second case of coronavirus on Friday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said more than 60 people in 22 states are being monitored for possible infection.
Authorities believe the virus, which causes flu-like symptoms, moved into the human population from an infected animal at a market in Wuhan. Chinese health officials and the World Health Organization confirmed this week that the virus has been transmitted person-to-person, but it remains unclear how easy it is to contract from another infected individual.
People wear masks after visiting Wong Tai Sin temple on the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Rat in Hong Kong on January 25, 2020, as a preventative measure.
DALE DE LA REY/AFP via Getty Images
China has stepped up its response to a new coronavirus outbreak that has killed 41 people and infected at least 1,287 in the mainland, ordering nationwide measures to detect the virus at transport terminals.
Beijing has also expanded travel restrictions, affecting the movement of 56 million people in more than a dozen cities, amid fears that the transmission rate will accelerate as hundreds of millions of Chinese travel for the Lunar New Year.
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Health authorities around the world are taking action to prevent a global pandemic as the virus continues to spread, with cases reported in Australia, France, the United States and seven Asia countries besides China.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has acknowledged that the respiratory illness, which has been traced to the city of Wuhan, is an emergency in China but WHO said it is too early to declare it a global health emergency.
Here are the latest updates:
Saturday, January 25
French citizens to be bused of out Wuhan: Report
French officials are planning to evacuate French citizens from Wuhan to travel by bus to Changsha, a city in neighbouring Hunan province, according to the South China Morning Post.
"The consulate general, in collaboration with local authorities, plans to set up a bus service to allow French nationals ... and their Chinese and foreign spouses and children to travel from Wuhan to Changsha," said an email seen by the newspaper.
The email, sent by the French consulate, also asked anyone who received it to pass the notice on to other French nationals. It was not clear who received the email or when the planned evacuation would take place.
Beijing to halt all inter-province shuttle buses from January 26
China's capital city, Beijing, will stop all inter-province shuttle buses from January 26 in an attempt to curb the coronavirus outbreak, local media reported.
The reports did not say when bus services will be resumed.
Analysis: HK declares 'emergency' but what does it mean?
Al Jazeera's Adrian Brown, reporting from Hong Kong, breaks down the significance of Chief Executive Carrie Lam's announcement that the outbreak of the new coronavirus is now an "emergency" for Hong Kong.
Some KFC, Pizza Hut stores in Wuhan close
Yum China Holdings Inc has said it has temporarily closed some of its KFC and Pizza Hut branches in Wuhan in response to the outbreak.
"We will continue to evaluate the need for additional actions and preventive health measures," Yum China said in an emailed statement.
US to evacuate all citizens from Wuhan: WSJ
The United States is arranging a charter flight on Sunday to bring its citizens and diplomats back from Wuhan, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The plane, with about 230 people, will carry diplomats from the US consulate as well as US citizens and their families, the newspaper reported, citing a person familiar with the operation.
Washington was given approval for the operation from China's Foreign Ministry and other government agencies following negotiations in recent days, the paper said, adding that the US also plans to temporarily close its Wuhan consulate.
Chinese president holds Politburo meeting
China's President Xi Jinping has held a politburo meeting on measures to fight the outbreak of coronavirus, state television reported.
The Central Politburo of the Communist Party of China is a group of 25 people who oversee the party.
Xi reportedly described the outbreak as a 'grave situation' [File: Jason Lee/Reuters]
The TV report said Xi told the meeting that China was facing a "grave situation" where the coronavirus is "accelerating its spread".
The report said resources and experts will be concentrated at designated hospitals for treatment of severe cases, with no treatment delayed due to cost, and supplies of materials to Hubei and Wuhan to be guaranteed.
Daily life in Wuhan at a standstill: Resident
Matt McCoy, a US citizen resident in Wuhan has told Al Jazeera that daily life in the city has come to a halt.
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"Everybody only goes outside to go to the market to get their food then they go back inside. Everybody wears a mask, everybody stays clean and everybody's watching everything. The streets are empty," he said.
"There's not a sense of panic, there's just a sense of unease and everybody wants to see this through," McCoy said.
Window of opportunity for containment closing: Expert
One of Hong Kong's leading microbiologists has said the window of opportunity for containing the new coronavirus is closing.
The scientist - who was at the forefront of efforts to contain the 2003 SARS outbreak - told Al Jazeera's Adrian Brown in Hong Kong that the virus has an attack rate of 83 percent and urged everyone going out in public in the semi-autonomous territory to wear a face mask.
"He says the next few days are going to be absolutely crucial. He says the window of opportunity to try and contain this is getting smaller and smaller," Brown relayed.
Doubts over effectiveness of Hong Kong measures
Hong Kong has introduced a raft of measures to combat the spread of the new coronavirus but doubts are being raised over their efficacy.
Under the measures, announced by Chief Executive Carrie Lam earlier on Saturday, all visitors coming from mainland China will be required to complete public health declarations.
"People providing false information will be fined up to $650," Al Jazeera's Adrian Brown, reporting from Hong Kong said.
"Of course, for this to work, it's going to have to rely on the honesty of people filling in those forms to really state where they've been in China, especially if they've been in Wuhan".
Muted mood in Beijing over Lunar New Year
Metro carriages are being disinfected every hour in the Chinese capital in an attempt to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.
The Forbidden City is one of many tourist attractions now closed to prevent the spread of the disease [Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters]
Cinemas and tourist attractions including the Forbidden City and a section of the Great Wall have been closed.
Al Jazeera's Scott Heidler, reporting from Beijing, said that parks - usually packed with people celebrating the Lunar New Year - were nearly empty amid concerns over transmission.
Hubei province to ensure medium-to-long term materials reserves: Local paper
Hubei province will ensure supplies of emergency materials and medium-to-long terms reserves, a government-backed newspaper reported, citing a provincial party leader.
Wuhan to build second designated hospital: State media
Wuhan city will build a second dedicated hospital to treat patients of the new coronavirus, the People's Daily reported.
Construction of the hospital, designed to have 1,300 beds, is scheduled to be completed in half a month.
Work has begun on the first dedicated hospital and is due to be finished by February 3.
Hong Kong declares outbreak an 'emergency'
Hong Kong's leader has declared the outbreak as an "emergency" - the city's highest warning tier - as authorities ramped up measures aimed at reducing the risk of further infections spreading.
Carrie Lam made the announcement at a press conference, adding that all official celebrations of the Lunar New Year would be cancelled.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam raised the warning to its highest tier [Tyrone Siu/Reuters]
Al Jazeera's Adrian Brown, reporting from Hong Kong, said four task forces were being set up in the semi-autonomous territory to work to contain the crisis and that all visitors from mainland China would have to sign health declaration forms.
"A lot of people are saying this is what she [Lam] should have done several weeks ago when the scale of this crisis started to become apparent," Brown said, adding that the New Year holidays would be extended until February 17.
China's Sanya city closes all tourist sites
China's Sanya city in the southern island province of Hainan has closed all tourist sites in the city to help prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, the city government said.
Sanya is one of the favourite tourist destinations during the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, which lasts until January 30.
Earlier on Saturday, Hainan capital Haikou city said it would start a 14-day centralised medical observation for tourists from Hubei province.
Australia confirms three more cases
Australia has confirmed three more cases of the new coronavirus, bringing the total in the country to four.
New South Wales State Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant told a press conference that three men who had recently returned to Sydney from China has tested positive for the virus and were in isolation in local hospitals.
Earlier on Saturday, a man in Melbourne was confirmed as Australia's first case. He is also being treated in isolation.
Find the full list of countries with confirmed cases here.
Wuhan city to ban non-essential vehicles in centre
The government of Wuhan city said it would ban non-essential vehicles in the centre from January 26 to contain the new coronavirus outbreak, China's largest newspaper, the People's Daily, said.
Medical supplies dwindling in Wuhan: Provincial official
The new coronavirus outbreak remains severe and medical supplies are very tight in Wuhan city, an official from Hubei province said.
The official appealed for more medical supplies, such as masks and protective suits, from both domestic and overseas providers.
As of January 24, Hubei has received public donations of more than 1.2 million masks and 30 million yuan ($4.35m), the official said.
On Friday, a video purportedly filmed in Wuhan's Red Cross Hospital appeared to show dead bodies covered with sheets lying in a corridor as health professionals attempted to treat large numbers of people lining the corridor.
Japan confirms third case
Japan has confirmed a third case of infection by the new coronavirus, the health ministry said.
The latest case was confirmed in a woman in her 30s who lives in Wuhan. She arrived in Japan on January 18, the ministry said.
Find the full list of countries with confirmed cases here.
Qatar begins screening passengers at major airport
All travellers coming from China will be screened for the new coronavirus at Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar, a statement from the country's health ministry said.
Thermal scanning and a makeshift clinic have been set up at the major transport hub, which almost three million people pass through each month, along with information boards.
More than three million passengers pass through Doha's Hamad International Airport each month
A message posted on the airport's website assured passengers that Qatari health authorities are "in close contact" with the WHO and following guidelines.
China orders nationwide detection measures on flights, trains, buses
China has ordered nationwide measures to identify and immediately isolate suspected cases of the new coronavirus on trains, aeroplanes and buses.
Inspection stations will be set up and passengers with suspected pneumonia must be "immediately transported" to a medical centre, the National Health Commission said in a statement.
The isolation of suspected cases must be followed by disinfection of the train, plane or bus.
The measures apply across all transportation routes as well as customs and border inspections, said the order, which applies across all provinces and regions.
What we know so far about the new coronavirus
China locks down more cities, restricting movement of 56 million people
Five more Chinese cities have announced travel restrictions to help contain the spread of the new coronavirus, limiting the movement of 56 million people.
The rules include closing public transport links and access to highways in cities, authorities said.
More than a dozen cities have introduced restrictions, including cancelling Lunar New Year events and closing public spaces.
Doctor at hospital in China's Hubei province dies from coronavirus - state media
A doctor at a hospital in China's Hubei province has died from the virus, China Global Television Network reported in a social media post.
Liang Wudong, a doctor at Hubei Xinhua Hospital who had been at the front line of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan city, died from the virus aged 62, it said.
It is unclear if his death is counted as among the 41 confirmed fatalities as of Saturday.
Malaysia confirms three cases of coronavirus infection
Malaysia's health ministry has announced that three people have been infected with the new coronavirus.
Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said the three individuals infected were Chinese nationals and related to a 66-year-old man that was confirmed by Singapore health authorities to have tested positive for the virus.
Malaysian health officers were deployed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang on Tuesday, as authorities increased measure against coronavirus [Mohd Rasfan/AFP]
The infected individuals were a 65-year-old woman, who is the wife of the man detected with the virus in Singapore, and their two grandsons, aged 11 and two, Dzulkefly said.
The three have been admitted to Sungai Buloh hospital in Kuala Lumpur for treatment and were considered to be in stable conditions.
Find the full list of countries with confirmed cases here.
China deploys 450 military medical staff to Wuhan
China has deployed 450 military medical staff to Wuhan, according to state media.
The medics who arrived on military aircraft late on Friday, include doctors with experience combating SARS or Ebola and will be dispatched to hospitals that are reportedly short on beds due to a crush of infected patients and worried locals.
Starbucks shuts shops, suspends delivery in China's Hubei
Starbucks has closed all shops and suspended delivery services in China's Hubei province for the week-long Lunar New Year holiday.
Starbucks said on Saturday that the move was prompted by "health concerns" for its customers and employees, according to a post on China's social media site Weibo.
Shanghai shuts down all cinemas during Lunar New Year: report
Shanghai has shut down all cinemas during the Lunar New Year holidays, which last until January 30, the Liberation Daily said on its online channel.
The viral outbreak has already prompted seven Chinese films that were set to premiere during the country's Lunar New Year holiday to postpone screenings, forgoing what is usually the best week of the year at the Chinese box office.
Australia's first coronavirus case confirmed in Victoria
Australian authorities on have confirmed the country's first case of a new virus as thousands of people worldwide are treated for the deadly infection.
In a news conference in Melbourne, Victoria's state Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said a Chinese man aged in his 50s who last week returned from Chin had contracted the newly identified coronavirus.
Find the full list of countries with confirmed cases here.
China's city of Haikou to start centralised observation for all tourists from Hubei
The Chinese government announced on Saturday that the southern city of Haikou will begin a 14-day centralised medical observation for all tourists from Hubei province, the centre of the deadly coronavirus outbreak.
The government said that the order will start at noon, local time, on Saturday, January 25.
Earlier on Saturday, Beijing has announced that the death toll from the outbreak has reached 41, with confirmed cases increasing to 1,287.
It comes as the Chinese central government announced on Saturday it would send more than 1,200 health workers — as well as 135 People's Liberation Army medical personnel -- to the cityin an unprecedented effort to contain the spread of the virus.
Forty-one people have now been killed by the Wuhan coronavirus, with 1,288 confirmed cases. China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported that 237 patients are in critical condition.
The outbreak in China has cast a pall over Lunar New Year celebrations -- the country's most important holiday -- with festivities canceled in Beijing, Hong Kong and other major cities.
There are also concerns about the global spread of thevirus as more countries, including Australia, Nepal and Malaysia, reported their first cases. They are among 13 places outside mainland China where the virus has been confirmed.
In Wuhan, ground zero for the virus, four healthcare workers -- including doctors -- have told CNN of the difficulties facing medical crews on the ground. They have asked to remain anonymous to avoid repercussions.
Through telephone conversations with CNN and posts on Chinese social media, they told of low hospital resources. In private groups online, those identified as hospital staff are coordinating with members of the public to import protective equipment as they treat an increasing number of infected patients.
"In terms of resources, the whole of Wuhan is lacking," one Wuhan-based healthcare worker told CNN by phone. This person said they were looking for more protective clothing, protective goggles and masks.
"It's really like we're going into battle stripped to the waist," one healthcare worker added, using a Chinese idiom that equates to "going into battle without armor".
One hospital staff member claims healthcare workers have resorted to wearing diapers to work so as to avoid having to remove their HAZMAT suits, which they say are in short supply. A doctor on her Chinese social media Weibo page described similar accounts at another Wuhan hospital.
"My family members are definitely worried about me, but I still have to work," another doctor told. But she said that she is hopeful they will ultimately get the gear they need. "Our bosses, our hospital suppliers will definitely find a way to get these stocks to us," she added.
It's not clear if these accounts are anecdotal or whether there are widespread shortages across Wuhan.
Chinese state media has also shared posts from multiple Wuhan hospitals in which they ask for public donations of medical supplies. They report that one hospital staff member said the current supplies "are only able to sustain three or four days".
The Wuhan Health Commission has requisitioned over 10,000 beds from 24 hospitals to be used in the treatment of confirmed and suspected cases.
On Friday, Wuhan officials acknowledged that local hospitals were struggling to accommodate people seeking medical attention and said measures were being put into place to alleviate the situation.
State media also reported that the city aims to build a 25,000 square meter (269,100 square foot) new facility within a week, increasing hospital capacity by 1,000 beds, and that several medical centers in Hubei province are asking for medical gear donations.
Locking down the virus over Lunar New Year
More than 57 million people across 15 Chinese cities are under partial lockdown, with authorities imposing indefinite restrictions on public transport and travel.
All motor vehicles will be banned in Wuhan's city center starting Sunday to control the flow of people, according to the Wuhan Command Center, the taskforce set up to combat the virus. Only vehicles with special permits, free shuttles and government vehicles will be allowed to circulate.
The virus, which was first discovered in Wuhan in December, has spread to every province in China, except the remote autonomous region of Tibet.
Among those infected is a 2-year-old girl in the southern region of Guangxi, the local health authority said. She is believed to be the youngest patient infected.
The week-long Lunar New Year holiday, which began Saturday, has led to concerns that the outbreak could quickly accelerate, as hundreds of millions of people travel across the country to visit friends and relatives.
Lunar New Year is to China what the Christmas-New Year holiday period is to the United States -- except China's 1.4 billion population is more than four times that of the US.
In many cities, festivities have been called off. Authorities in Beijing have canceled all large-scale Lunar New Year celebrations, including traditional fairs and celebrations around temples.
Shanghai Disneyland has temporarily closed its doors. Seven blockbuster movies that were set to hit theaters this weekend have been canceled or postponed.
Major New Year's celebrations have also been canceled in the special administrative regions of Macao, which has reported two coronavirus cases, and Hong Kong, which has five.
Businesses are also taking measures to protect staff and the public.
On Saturday, coffee giant Starbucks said it has closed all 90 of its Hubei stores indefinitely. The closures will continue throughout the Spring Festival, which runs until the end of January.
"All Starbucks stores and special star delivery in Hubei will be temporarily closed. Hubei employees are asked to rest at home, minimize going out, take care to protect themselves and their families. All store employees who were scheduled to work during the closing period will be paid as usual," a statement from the company said.
A global concern
On Thursday, the World Health Organization (WHO) moved to declare the coronavirus an emergency within China -- but refrained from classifying the outbreak as an epidemic of international concern.
Mounting evidence suggests the virus is spreading outside mainland China, however, with 13 countries and territories reporting confirmed cases, including the United States and France.
On Saturday, Australia confirmed that three men who traveled from China to Sydney had tested positive, health authorities in the city said. The country has now confirmed a total of four cases.
Nepal also confirmed its first case, a spokesman for the country's Health Ministry told CNN. The patient is a 31-year-old Nepali man studying for his PhD in Wuhan, spokesman Mahendra Kumar Shrestha said. The student flew to Nepal earlier this month and was admitted to a hospital in Kathmandu on January 13 with fever and respiratory problems.
"The patient is being monitored. The people in close contact with him since he came to Nepal are also being identified and tested," Shrestha said.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced on Saturday that the Hong Kong Disease contingency plan has been upgraded from "serious" to "emergency" level. Schools in the Chinese territory will be suspended until February 17.
On Thursday, David Heymann, the chairman of a WHO committee gathering data on the outbreak, said the virus spreads more easily from person to person than previously thought. "We are now seeing second and third generation spread," Heymann said.
Coronaviruses are transmitted by animals and people, and the Wuhan strain has been linked to a market in the city that was selling seafood and live animals, including wild species.
Third generation means that someone who became infected after handling animals at the market spreads the virus to someone else, who then spreads it to a third person. The announcement marks a development in the progress of the spread of the virus.
Heymann said there is no evidence at this point that the virus is airborne and could be spread across a room, as happens with the flu or measles.
CNN's Pauline Lockwood, Angus Watson, Chermaine Lee, Junko Ogura, Steven Jiang, Sugam Pokharel, Julia Hollingsworth and Joshua Berlinger contributed reporting.
The outbreak of a dangerous respiratory virus in China is putting a strain on hospital staff and medical resources.CreditCredit...The Central Hospital of Wuhan, via Reuters
Fifteen more deaths are reported at the outbreak’s epicenter.
As China marked a somber Lunar New Year on Saturday, 15 more deaths from the new coronavirus were reported in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak. Other countries, including Australia, said the virus had reached their shores.
The latest deaths, announced early Saturday by the health authorities in Hubei Province, whose capital is Wuhan, brought the toll in China to 41. Just three of those deaths have been outside Wuhan: one in another city in Hubei, one in Hebei Province, and one in Heilongjiang, near the Russian border.
The latest victims ranged in age from 55 to 87, the authorities said. Eleven were male, and four female.
Nationwide, more than 400 new cases of the virus were diagnosed, officials said early Saturday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in China to nearly 1,300.Travel restrictions in Wuhan and 12 other cities have essentially penned in 35 million people on the country’s biggest holiday, normally a time for traveling to visit family.
All of the reported deaths from the outbreak have been in mainland China, but travelers have spread the virus to numerous other places. Cases have been confirmed in Australia, Malaysia, Nepal, Vietnam, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, France and the United States.
Wuhan says it will ensure donated supplies aren’t held up at customs.
The authorities in Wuhan said they would speed up the customs process for donated supplies, as hospitals in the city raise the alarm about a shortage of hospital gowns, surgical masks and other necessities.
A notice posted Saturday on the website of the city’s customs agency said that new channels were being put in place to ensure that donations were put to immediate use. Overseas donations will be exempted from tax duties, the notice said.
During past crises, the authorities in China have been criticized for their reluctance to accept overseas assistance, apparently preferring to project a sense of control. As China has grown more affluent, it has become a provider of aid rather than a recipient, particularly to regions like Africa.
China has made exceptions during some past disasters, including a devastating earthquake centered on Sichuan Province in 2008.
People without symptoms could be spreading the virus, researchers say.
The medical journal The Lancet published a study on Friday suggesting that people infected with the coronavirus might be able to spread it even if they do not have flu symptoms.
Researchers studied a family of seven in the Chinese city of Shenzhen, five of whom had traveled to Wuhan, the center of the outbreak. Two of them came into contact with an infected relative in a hospital there. Testing conducted days later, after they flew home, found that six members of the family had the coronavirus, including one who had not gone to Wuhan.
One infected family member, a child, had no symptoms, suggesting that people with the virus might be spreading it without knowing that they have it, the study found.
“It shows this new coronavirus is able to transfer between person to person, in a hospital setting, a family home setting, and also in an intercity setting,” Yuen Kwok-yung, an author of the study, said in an interview. “This is exactly what makes this new disease difficult to control.” Dr. Yuen characterized the disease as “asymptomatic walking pneumonia.”
The researchers cautioned that the study was limited to early cases of the virus, and that it was difficult to assess risk factors at this stage. But they stressed the importance of quarantining patients as early as possible, given the early signs of asymptomatic transmission.
Another study in The Lancet found that symptoms of early coronavirus cases showed similarities to SARS, the respiratory disease that killed nearly 800 people worldwide in an outbreak that began in China in 2002. Those symptoms included fever, dry cough and shortness of breath.
China is building a hospital to fight the outbreak. Projected completion time: 10 days.
A construction site for a field hospital being built to treat patients with the new coronavirus in Wuhan, China, on Friday.Credit...Chinatopix, via Associated Press
A fleet of earth movers tore into the soil. Workers and trucks swarmed around the site.
Under pressure to show an emphatic response to the coronavirus outbreak, the Chinese authorities have begun building a hospital in Wuhan, the center of the outbreak. They hope to complete it in 10 days.
The Wuhan government on Friday said it was building the temporary Huoshenshan Hospital to treat patients with the previously unknown virus that has sickened hundreds in the city. The hospital will have space for 1,000 beds and is expected to be completed by Feb. 3, according to a local media report posted to the Wuhan government’s website.
The authorities met on Thursday evening to come up with a plan and a design for the makeshift hospital, which is modeled after a facility built by the government of Beijing in 2003 during the SARS outbreak.
The authorities dispatched 35 backhoes, 10 bulldozers and eight road rollers to a 270,000- square-foot plot in Wuhan’s Caidian district, the report said. The land sits on the northwestern bank of the Yangtze River, it said.
The Communist Party long ago realized that its authoritarian rule over China came with trade-offs. In times of disaster, for example, the government could quickly be blamed for causing the problem or responding slowly.
As some people online question the government’s response to the deadly outbreak, building a hospital in less than two weeks could serve as a symbol of Beijing’s commitment to address the outbreak head-on.
A 2-year-old girl is infected, Chinese officials say.
Officials in a southern Chinese city said on Saturday that a 2-year-old girl suffering from the coronavirus had been admitted to a hospital and was in stable condition. That would make her the youngest person confirmed to have been infected, according to a social media account run by the People’s Daily newspaper, the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party.
Health officials in the city of Hechi, in the southern region of Guangxi, said that the girl was surnamed Zhong and lived in Wuhan. She had flown from Wuhan to the city of Nanning, which is also in Guangxi, on Tuesday. From there, she was driven to Hechi.
The next day, she developed a fever and began sneezing. She was admitted to Hechi People’s Hospital and put in isolation, officials said. Officials did not disclose who she was traveling with or what condition they might be in.
Medical experts are watching closely to see who the coronavirus infects and who might be most vulnerable to it. Most of those killed by the coronavirus so far have been older men, many with chronic health issues. The youngest fatality disclosed so far was 36 years old.
Chinese-Americans are scrambling to help.
For people in the United States with close ties to China, the outbreak has brought unexpected worry, disappointment and scrutiny. Some in the Chinese-American community have had their Lunar New Year holiday plans waylaid, as travel schedules for the coming week and beyond get interrupted.
Some are gearing up for the outbreak to get worse. Hardware stores and pharmacies around the United States are selling out of masks that could help prevent the spread of the disease. In the New York City neighborhood of Flushing, masks have been sold out for much of the week.
Chinese-Americans networking with their friends and family in China have scrambled to send aid. One woman in Los Angeles has amassed 20,000 masks to ship overseas.
Sean Shi, of Issaquah, Wash., said he shipped several boxes of masks to China in a friend’s luggage, with hopes that the masks could reach friends in the Wuhan area as soon as possible. Later in the day, Mr. Shi was back at a local hardware store, buying another 46 masks for some of his former peers at Wuhan University.
“We understand it’s a tough situation over there — the panic, the shortage of equipment,” Mr. Shi said. “We just realized the situation is very serious — more serious than we thought.”
Reporting was contributed by Tiffany May, Vivian Wang, Chris Buckley, Carlos Tejada, Rick Gladstone, Mike Baker and Jeffrey E. Singer. Research was contributed by Yiwei Wang.
The new strain of coronavirus came from wild animals sold at a market in Wuhan, China. Scientists have identified certain parts of the world as hot spots for emerging diseases.
BEIJING — A young, healthy man from Wuhan and a person living 1,500 miles from the epicenter of the coronavirus are among the latest victims of the outbreak, which has incited fear and anger across China as its important Spring Festival gets underway.
Authorities around the country, including in the capital, Beijing, have canceled the temple fairs and festivals that accompany the holiday to avoid having large public gatherings where the airborne virus could spread.
“The public should not gather during the Spring Festival and try stay at home as much as possible to protect themselves,” Gao Fu, a member of the expert group of the National Health Commission and director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said Friday.
He encouraged everyone to wear masks, and photos from train stations and airports across the country showed people with their mouths and noses covered.
● There are more than 830 confirmed cases of infection, and at least 26 people have died. A total of 8,420 people are reported to be under observation. The vast majority of the victims had been older than 60, and almost all of them had existing health conditions.
● Authorities are enforcing a lockdown across large parts of the province of Hubei, population 59 million.
● Officials in South Korea and Japan have confirmed two cases of the virus in each country.
● Infections have also been reported in Nepal, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and the United States. In addition to a case confirmed in Washington state, Texas has reported a potential case in Brazos County, 100 miles northwest of Houston.
● The Chinese medical system has clearly struggled to cope with the outbreak, with reports of crowded hospitals, stressed doctors and dwindling supplies.
9:00 AM: China expands lockdown, banning travel in 14 cities
BEIJING — Chinese authorities broadened a lockdown of Wuhan and two surrounding cities on Friday in their efforts to contain the coronavirus.
The lockdowns now extend to a total of 14 cities in Hubei province with a population of more than 48 million — approximately the population of Spain — as part of extraordinary measures amid growing fears of greater contagion.
By: Lyric Li
8:50 AM: Nepal confirms first coronavirus case in South Asia
NEW DELHI — Nepal became the first country in South Asia to report a confirmed case of coronavirus in a sign of the widening reach of the illness.
Anup Bastola, an infectious disease specialist at Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital in Kathmandu, told The Washington Post that a 32-year-old student had arrived in Nepal from Wuhan on Jan. 9. He came to the hospital four days later complaining of a fever, cough and shortness of breath.
Because of his travel history, the hospital isolated him, Bastola said. It also sent a sample of his blood to Hong Kong for testing by the World Health Organization, which confirmed the presence of the coronavirus. Bastola said the patient was discharged from the hospital on Jan. 17. As of now, none of the patient’s close contacts or any hospital workers are showing symptoms of the virus, Bastola said. “We are monitoring closely,” he added.
India, Nepal’s much larger neighbor, has yet to report any confirmed cases. But according to local news reports, authorities have quarantined two people in a Mumbai hospital who traveled from China and developed potential symptoms of the virus. Tests have yet to confirm whether they are infected with the coronavirus.
By: Joanna Slater and Ankit Adhikari
7:15 AM: After first U.S. case, number of contacts being monitored for virus nearly triples
Medical staff described treating the first United States citizen diagnosed with coronavirus at Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, Wash., on Jan. 23.
SEATTLE — There is only one confirmed case of a coronavirus patient in the United States, in Snohomish County, Washington. But the patient’s contacts who are being monitored for signs of the illness jumped from 16 to 43.
Authorities provided no information about the types of individuals being monitored, but the fact that the list expanded is not unexpected.
“This is an evolving investigation, similar to peeling back an onion,” said Heather Thomas, Snohomish Health District spokeswoman. “Our disease investigators, in coordination with other public health partners, are doing daily symptom monitoring and contact investigations.”
Washington state Secretary of Health John Wiesman described the patient’s contacts as being under “active monitoring.” Public health officials call them daily to see if they have a fever, cough or other respiratory issues. If they are experiencing symptoms, they are instructed to call public health officials, who will facilitate medical evaluations.
The contacts are people in both Snohomish and King counties and represent individuals who have had “prolonged contact” with the patient — eating meals or holding meetings together, for example.
The patient, in his 30s, remains in isolation at Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, Wash. At a Wednesday news conference, Jay Cook, Providence’s chief medical officer, said the man is not confined to his hospital bed and is walking around his room.
The staff in the isolation unit are nurses who volunteer to work with patients who are barred from contact with other patients or staff.
Cook said he expects the man to be able to be discharged soon, assuming he continues to improve. “We hope he will continue on his excellent clinical course and hopefully will be able to return to his home in the very near future,” he said.
By: Bonnie Rochman
6:30 AM: Chinese President Xi Jinping appears without mask on state TV at festival banquet
BEIJING — Amid calls for people to avoid public gatherings during the Spring Festival, the state broadcaster, CCTV, led its midday news program with a report about a huge banquet in Beijing attended by President Xi Jinping and other Communist Party leaders. None of them were wearing masks, and the report made no mention of the virus outbreak.
By: Anna Fifield
5:30 AM: Healthy young man dies of coronavirus in China
Chung Sung-Jun
AFP/Getty Images
Disinfection workers in Seoul spray antiseptic solution in a train terminal on Jan. 24 amid rising public concerns over the spread of China's Wuhan coronavirus.
BEIJING — Until now, the vast majority of coronavirus victims have been older than 60 with preexisting health conditions. But a 36-year-old man from Wuhan, identified only by his family name, Li, died on Thursday. He had no chronic diseases or other existing health conditions, and had been treated with anti-virus medication and antibiotics since being admitted to a hospital on Jan. 9.
Another death occurred in Suihua in Heilongjiang province, near the border with Russia and some 1,500 miles from Wuhan.
By: Anna Fifield
5:00 AM: New travel restrictions imposed as efforts grow to curb transmission of virus
On Jan. 23, China enacted travel bans for the central Chinese city of Wuhan in an effort to contain a coronavirus outbreak.
BEIJING — Wuhan shut down tunnels under the Yangtze River to stop the flow of traffic. That comes in addition to travel bans imposed on Wuhan and seven other areas in Hubei province Thursday, with trains and buses canceled and highways closed.
All ride-hailing services in Wuhan were cut off from midday Friday in attempt to stop transmission of the virus, and only half of taxis are allowed on the road every day, alternating between tags ending in odd and even numbers.
China Southern, the country’s biggest airline, had already canceled all flights in and out of Wuhan airport on Thursday. The other two main carriers, Air China and China Eastern, said they would cancel all Wuhan flights from Friday to at least Feb. 8.
New year festivals and temple fairs around the country have been canceled, and the Forbidden City in Beijing, which can admit 80,000 people a day and was already entirely sold out for the holiday, has been closed until further notice.
Production companies have postponed the release of seven blockbuster films that were to be released over the holiday, prompting Chinese cinema companies to close the country’s 70,000 movie theaters.
Schools in Hubei province, due to begin the spring semester after the holiday, will not open their doors as planned but will wait for further guidance from health authorities. And the Education Ministry instructed universities around China to delay their opening dates if necessary.
Disinfection workers in Seoul wearing protective gear spray antiseptic solution in a train terminal amid rising public concerns over the spread of China's Wuhan Coronavirus, Jan. 24, 2020.
BEIJING — A young, healthy man from Wuhan and a person living 1,500 miles from the epicenter of the coronavirus are among the latest victims of the outbreak, which has incited fear and anger across China as its important Spring Festival gets underway.
Authorities around the country, including in the capital, Beijing, have canceled the temple fairs and festivals that accompany the holiday to avoid having large public gatherings where the airborne virus could spread.
“The public should not gather during the Spring Festival and try stay at home as much as possible to protect themselves,” Gao Fu, a member of the expert group of the National Health and Health Commission and director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said Friday.
He encouraged everyone to wear masks, and photos from train stations and airports across the country showed people with their mouths and noses covered.
● There are more than 830 confirmed cases of infection, and at least 26 people have died. A total of 8,420 people are reported to be under observation. The vast majority of the victims had been older than 60, and almost all of them had existing health conditions.
● Authorities are enforcing a lockdown across large parts of the province of Hubei, population 59 million.
● Officials in South Korea and Japan have confirmed two cases of the virus in each country.
● Infections have also been reported in Nepal, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and the United States. In addition to a case confirmed in Washington state, Texas has reported a potential case in Brazos County, 100 miles northwest of Houston.
● The Chinese medical system has clearly struggled to cope with the outbreak, with reports of crowded hospitals, stressed doctors and dwindling supplies.
8:50 AM: Nepal confirms first coronavirus case in South Asia
NEW DELHI — Nepal became the first country in South Asia to report a confirmed case of coronavirus in a sign of the widening reach of the illness.
Anup Bastola, an infectious disease specialist at Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital in Kathmandu, told The Washington Post that a 32-year-old student had arrived in Nepal from Wuhan on Jan. 9. He came to the hospital four days later complaining of a fever, cough and shortness of breath.
Because of his travel history, the hospital isolated him, Bastola said. It also sent a sample of his blood to Hong Kong for testing by the World Health Organization, which confirmed the presence of the coronavirus. Bastola said the patient was discharged from the hospital on Jan. 17. As of now, none of the patient’s close contacts or any hospital workers are showing symptoms of the virus, Bastola said. “We are monitoring closely,” he added.
India, Nepal’s much larger neighbor, has yet to report any confirmed cases. But according to local news reports, authorities have quarantined two people in a Mumbai hospital who traveled from China and developed potential symptoms of the virus. Tests have yet to confirm whether they are infected with the coronavirus.
By: Joanna Slater and Ankit Adhikari
7:15 AM: After first U.S. case, number of contacts being monitored for virus nearly triples
SEATTLE — There is only one confirmed case of a coronavirus patient in the United States, in Snohomish County, Washington. But the patient’s contacts who are being monitored for signs of the illness jumped from 16 to 43.
Authorities provided no information about the types of individuals being monitored, but the fact that the list expanded is not unexpected.
“This is an evolving investigation, similar to peeling back an onion,” said Heather Thomas, Snohomish Health District spokeswoman. “Our disease investigators, in coordination with other public health partners, are doing daily symptom monitoring and contact investigations.”
Washington State Secretary of Health John Wiesman described the patient’s contacts as being under “active monitoring.” Public health officials call them daily to see if they have a fever, cough or other respiratory issues. If they are experiencing symptoms, they are instructed to call public health officials, who will facilitate medical evaluations.
The contacts are people in both Snohomish and King Counties and represent individuals who have had “prolonged contact” with the patient — eating meals or holding meetings together, for example.
The patient, in his 30s, remains in isolation at Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, Wash. At a Wednesday news conference, Jay Cook, Providence’s chief medical officer, said the man is not confined to his hospital bed and is walking around his room.
The staff in the isolation unit are nurses who volunteer to work with patients who are barred from contact with other patients or staff.
Cook said he expects the man to be able to be discharged soon, assuming he continues to improve. “We hope he will continue on his excellent clinical course and hopefully will be able to return to his home in the very near future,” he said.
By: Bonnie Rochman
6:30 AM: Chinese President Xi Jinping appears without mask on state TV at festival banquet
BEIJING — Amid calls for people to avoid public gatherings during the Spring Festival, the state broadcaster, CCTV, led its midday news program with a report about a huge banquet in Beijing attended by President Xi Jinping and other Communist Party leaders. None of them were wearing masks, and the report made no mention of the virus outbreak.
By: Anna Fifield
5:30 AM: Healthy young man dies of coronavirus in China
BEIJING — Until now, the vast majority of coronavirus victims have been older than 60 with preexisting health conditions. But a 36-year-old man from Wuhan, identified only by his family name, Li, died on Thursday. He had no chronic diseases or other existing health conditions, and had been treated with anti-virus medication and antibiotics since being admitted to a hospital on Jan. 9.
Another death occurred in Suihua in Heilongjiang province, near the border with Russia and some 1,500 miles from Wuhan.
By: Anna Fifield
5:00 AM: New travel restrictions imposed as efforts grow to curb transmission of virus
BEIJING — Wuhan shut down tunnels under the Yangtze River to stop the flow of traffic. That comes in addition to travel bans imposed on Wuhan and seven other areas in Hubei province Thursday, with trains and buses canceled and highways closed.
All ride-hailing services in Wuhan were cut off from midday Friday in attempt to stop transmission of the virus, and only half of taxis are allowed on the road every day, alternating between tags ending in odd and even numbers.
China Southern, the country’s biggest airline, had already canceled all flights in and out of Wuhan airport on Thursday. The other two main carriers, Air China and China Eastern, said they would cancel all Wuhan flights from Friday to at least Feb. 8.
New year festivals and temple fairs around the country have been canceled, and the Forbidden City in Beijing, which can admit 80,000 people a day and was already entirely sold out for the holiday, has been closed until further notice.
Production companies have postponed the release of seven blockbuster films that were to be released over the holiday, prompting Chinese cinema companies to close the country’s 70,000 movie theaters.
Schools in Hubei province, due to begin the spring semester after the holiday, will not open their doors as planned but will wait for further guidance from health authorities. And the Education Ministry instructed universities around China to delay their opening dates if necessary.
