Hospital director dies in Wuhan, as death toll from coronavirus outbreak tops 1,800 - CNN

On Tuesday, Liu Zhiming, director of the Wuchang hospital in Wuhan, the city at the center of the outbreak, himself died of the virus, according to a statement released by local government authorities.

Liu was a neurosurgeon and is the first hospital director to die as a result of the coronavirus epidemic. His death could renew criticism that the government has not done enough to protect frontline medical workers, many of whom are overworked and overstretched. Also on Tuesday, state media reported that doctors and nurses who die while trying to contain the outbreak will officially be designated as "martyrs."

All but five deaths from the virus have occurred inside mainland China, where an additional 98 fatal cases of Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, were reported Tuesday morning. The number of confirmed cases in China increased by 1,886, bringing the global total to over 73,325.

The vast majority of those cases have been in China, but concern has been growing in the past week over much smaller but growing outbreaks in Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong.

According to China's National Health Commission, since the outbreak began in December, more than 12,500 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospital.

Outside of Hubei, the province of which Wuhan is capital, the number of new cases has dropped for 14 consecutive days. Despite this apparent good news, stringent and often draconian measures are being ramped up in much of the country. This comes as authorities make an effort to return to something like normality in many major cities and commercial hubs, with the long break forced by the outbreak taking its toll on the country's economy.

On Monday, a committee headed by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said that a "greater outbreak of the epidemic has been avoided through strengthened prevention and control measures," adding that "a positive trend has emerged nationwide in curbing the epidemic."

China on lockdown

Despite the optimism expressed by Chinese officials and in state media, there are indications the authorities are not totally convinced of their success in reining in the virus.

According to analysis by CNN of Chinese government orders, some 780 million people are still living under some form of restrictive movement, including all of Hubei, the northeastern province of Liaoning, and China's two most important cities, Beijing and Shanghai. Restrictions include everything from self-quarantines to limits on who can come and go from neighborhoods.

Some of the strictest measures can be found in four cities in Hubei province. The cities of Wuhan, Huanggang, Shiyan and Xiaogan have completely sealed off all residential complexes and communities. The use of non-essential vehicles on local roadways is also banned. Residents in each city receive daily necessities from neighborhood and community committees as they are not permitted to leave their homes.

In an almost unprecedented move, the central government announced late Monday that it was considering postponing its annual meeting of the National People's Congress (NPC), a gathering of the the country's nearly 3,000 national legislators, as it continues to deal with the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak.

The full session of the NPC, the country's rubber-stamp parliament, was due to open on March 5. Instead, the NPC Standing Committee, a smaller group of fewer than 200 people, will meet in the capital on February 24 to review a proposal to postpone the plenary session, according to Chinese state media.

While figures appear to be trending in a positive direction in China and some other countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that new data must be analyzed with some degree of caution.

"This trend must be interpreted very cautiously. Trends can change as new populations are affected. It's too early to tell if this reported decline will continue. Every scenario is still on the table," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO, said during a press conference Monday.

Tedros added that the virus is not as deadly as SARS or MERS, both of which are related to the current coronavirus, and more than 80% of patients "have mild disease and will recover."

"In about 14% of cases, the virus causes severe diseases including pneumonia and shortness of breath. And about 5% of patients have critical diseases including respiratory failure, septic shock and multiorgan failure," he said. "In 2% of reported cases, the virus is fatal, and the risk of death increases the older you are. We see relatively few cases among children. More research is needed to understand why."

Cruise ship passengers evacuated

Outside of mainland China, the worst single outbreak has been on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship, under tight quarantine in the Japanese port of Yokohama, south of Tokyo. More than 350 of the 3,600 people on board have tested positive for the virus so far. On Monday, 99 new cases were reported.

Late Sunday, 328 American passengers were evacuated late Sunday on two US government-chartered planes to California and Texas. Spaces on the flights had been restricted to people who had not tested positive for the virus, or were not showing symptoms. However, as the planes were preparing to leave, 14 Americans tested positive during final screenings.

Those passengers were boarded nevertheless and held in special compartments on the plane, where they underwent tight observation and further testing.

Speaking to reporters, William Walters, an official with the bureau of medical services at the US State Department, said that three additional people were found to have a fever on the flight to California, and moved to isolation. Two passengers on the flight to Texas were also found to have a fever and isolated.

Since landing in the US, 13 people from the Diamond Princess have been moved to Omaha to be treated at the University of Nebraska, Walters said.

Those passengers who did not test positive or show symptoms will undergo a 14-day quarantine at military bases in California and Texas, doubling the amount of time they will have had their travel restricted, after almost two weeks trapped on board the Diamond Princess.

That decision had angered some passengers when it was first announced Saturday by US authorities.

"It's like a prison sentence for something I did not do," Karey Mansicalco, who owns a real estate company in Utah, told CNN before she left. "They are holding us hostage for absolutely no reason."

For the minority of Americans who remained on the ship, choosing to wait out the 14-day period in Japan where they will be free to move around, rather than head to the US, the fact that new cases were confirmed on board the plane was a vindication.

"The decision not to be evacuated was the best decision ever," Sacramento resident Matthew Smith told CNN. He had previously criticized the plan, saying the US wanted to "take us off without testing, fly us back to the US with a bunch of other untested people, and then stick us in 2 more weeks of quarantine? How does that make any sense at all?"

Economic woes

With cases of the virus confirmed in more than two dozen countries around the world, and travel to and from China restricted and much of the country on lockdown, the toll is beginning to be felt by the global economy.

Companies in some parts of China have been attempting to get back to work, with temperature checks for staff and work-from-home policies the most common solution for avoiding further spread of the virus.

Apple warned investors on Monday that the outbreak is hurting its business more than previously expected by limiting how many devices it can make and sell in China. The closing of Chinese plants has also disrupted supply chains globally, threatening to cause a recession in Germany and smartphone shortages worldwide.

Economists say the current level of disruption is manageable. If the number of new coronavirus cases begins to slow, and China's factories reopen soon, the result will be a fleeting hit to the Chinese economy in the first quarter and a dent in global growth.

If the virus continues to spread, however, the economic damage will increase rapidly.

"This is continuing to grow in scope and magnitude," William Reinsch, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said last week. "It could end being really, really big, and really, really serious."

CNN's Jacqueline Howard and Ben Tinker in Atlanta; Shanshan Wang, Shawn Deng, Steven Jiang and Yong Xiong in Beijing; Mick Krever in Yokohama; Helen Regan, Jessie Yeung, Carly Walsh, Laura He, Isaac Yee, Sandi Sidhu and Nectar Gan in Hong Kong; and Lindsay Isaac, Zahid Mahmood, Charles Riley and Meera Senthilingam in London contributed reporting.

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2020-02-18 10:32:00Z
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Coronavirus: British couple on cruise ship 'test positive' - BBC News

A British couple who have been on a quarantined cruise ship in Japan have tested positive for coronavirus, their son has told the BBC.

Sally and David Abel, from Northamptonshire, are among 74 British nationals on the Diamond Princess, which was quarantined on 3 February.

The UK Foreign Office said it was "working to organise a flight back to the UK" for British nationals.

An evacuation is expected to take place within the next two to three days.

Mr and Mrs Abel's son Steve told BBC Breakfast that his father had emailed him on Tuesday morning to tell him they had both tested positive and were being taken to hospital.

He said he then spoke to his mother, who was doing "OK" and "at least they were going together" and would not be separated.

However, he said subsequent posts from his father on Facebook suggested they were being taken to a hostel instead, adding "no-one knows what's going on".

He said the conditions on the ship, which is at the Japanese port of Yokohoma, had made it difficult for his father to manage his diabetes and he would prefer his parents to be quarantined in the UK "where the food is more suitable for my dad".

"I'm not actually that worried about the virus - looking at the recovery stats. It is more about the stress, the diet."

He added that the UK government's treatment of his parents had been "appalling", saying they "they haven't got back to us on anything and we have been calling them every day for four or five days".

Another British passenger on board the ship, Elaine Spencer, said she had been "very disappointed" with the UK government's initial response and they should have organised a rescue flight sooner.

She told Radio 4's Today programme that British passengers who wanted to get on the rescue flight had to sign an agreement that they would go into quarantine for 14 days on their return to the UK.

She said they had received a note from the Foreign Office which told them that if they didn't get on the flight, it was unlikely they would be allowed out of Japan.

"I need to go home, I want to see my family but obviously it's going to be another 14 days (after the flight). I wish that they'd decided to do this last week."

The US has already repatriated more than 300 of its citizens from the ship.

On Tuesday, Japanese officials said there were 88 new cases of infections on board the ship, bringing the total to 542 confirmed cases. It is the largest cluster of cases outside China.

The president of Princess Cruises, Jan Swartz, said the company has sent more doctors and nurses on board the ship.

There is still uncertainty over whether passengers will be allowed to leave the ship at the end of the 14-day quarantine period on Wednesday.

According to official figures on Monday, four Britons with confirmed coronavirus are currently in hospital in Japan.

As of Monday at 14:00 GMT, in the UK a total of 4,501 people have been tested for coronavirus. The majority have been confirmed negative, only nine are positive.

In a statement in the early hours of Tuesday morning, the Foreign Office said: "Given the conditions on board, we are working to organise a flight back to the UK for British nationals on the Diamond Princess as soon as possible.

"Our staff are contacting British nationals on board to make the necessary arrangements. We urge all those who have not yet responded to get in touch immediately."

Affected British nationals should call the British Embassy in Tokyo on +81 3 5211 1100.

Earlier, Downing Street said it was "urgently considering all options to guarantee the health and safety of those on board".

---

Have you been affected by what's happening on the Diamond Princess cruise ship? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways:

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2020-02-18 10:21:38Z
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Live updates: China coronavirus cases will plateau, expert predicts, as Diamond Princess evacuation proceeds - The Washington Post

Mayuko Isobe AP The quarantined ship Diamond Princess is pictured through barbed wire at Yokohama port in Japan on Monday.

BEIJING — Japan said Tuesday that the 14-day quarantine period for all those on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship will end, as scheduled, on Wednesday. Those who test negative for the virus will be allowed to leave the ship, which is docked at the port of Yokohama, Japanese health authorities.

The Philippines said that 35 Filipino crew members have tested positive, while South Korea said it would send a plane to evacuate some of its citizens from the stricken vessel.

Meanwhile, as the number of infections in China continues to rise, although at a slower rate, a renowned Chinese pulmonologist who predicted a peak this month clarified his remarks to say that the peak may be followed by a plateau, rather than an outright fall in cases. Here is what we know so far:

● A prominent neurologist and a retired nurse who returned to work have died after becoming infected while treating coronavirus patients in Wuhan, the outbreak’s epicenter. Their deaths bring the total number of medical workers to have succumbed to the virus to eight.

● A renowned Chinese pulmonologist predicted the number of infections will plateau, rather than fall, after hitting a peak later this month.

● Japan’s health minister says the Diamond Princess quarantine will end as scheduled on Wednesday.

● A total of 35 Filipino crew members on the cruise ship have tested positive for the coronavirus.

● China reported 1,886 new coronavirus cases and 98 more deaths in its daily update on the outbreak Tuesday, bringing the death toll in mainland China to 1,868, with 72,436 confirmed cases. The overwhelming majority have been in Hubei province.

3:40 AM: Singapore sets aside multi-billion relief package to soften virus-linked economic blow

HONG KONG ­— Singapore on Tuesday earmarked $2.8 billion in relief measures to help stabilize the economy and assist workers as it prepares for an economic downturn over the coronavirus outbreak.

The measures were announced as part of the budget for 2020, among the biggest annual budgets in years. It follows moves taken by other governments in other hard-hit territories, including Hong Kong, to soften the blow of the virus which will have potentially devastating impacts on tourism and retail sectors.

The tourism, aviation and retail industries will receive additional support, Singapore’s Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said in his budget speech on Tuesday, including programs to allow workers to retrain and get new skills in different sectors. Heng, who is also deputy prime minister, said that the government is aiming primarily to help workers stay employed.

Edgar Su

Reuters

Commuters wearing masks in precaution of the coronavirus outbreak are pictured in a train during their morning commute in Singapore Feb. 18, 2020.

Several countries have warned their citizens to stay away from Singapore, which has among the highest number of coronavirus cases outside of mainland China. As of Monday, 77 cases were confirmed.

Separately, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Tuesday she would be increasing the territory’s relief fund to $3.6 billion, from US$3.2 billion. This represents a new increase, after she doubled funds set aside to tackle the economic impact of the outbreak last week and announced one-off payments to businesses.

These measures however seem to have done little to stem widespread disaffection with the Hong Kong government. A recent poll showed only 7 percent of respondents in Hong Kong were satisfied with the government’s response to the public health crisis.

By: Shibani Mahtani

3:35 AM: Stranded Filipinos can now return to work

MANILA — Around 25,000 stranded Filipino workers can now get back to work as Philippine officials eased the travel ban on China’s special administrative regions.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Brigido Dulay announced on Twitter that overseas workers in Hong Kong and Macao could now return “subject to certain procedural formalities.”

The announcement comes a day after 131 Hong Kong-based Filipino organizations appealed to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to exempt the city from the ban.

Feliza Guy Benitez, former chairperson of the Filipino Migrant Workers’ Union in Hong Kong, warned on Monday that many workers could lose their jobs if they were absent for longer than two weeks. “[We go back] to zero just to process all the application papers and the government won’t even pay for it,” she said.

The government promised overseas workers around $200 in financial assistance, but some hardly find it enough after two weeks of being unable to sustain themselves.

The Philippines sends over 2 million workers around the world, raking in $33.5 billion in remittances last year. At least 6 percent of this workforce is based in Hong Kong. The most vulnerable in this sector are those in household services. The city has around 390,000 foreign domestic helpers, a large fraction of which is comprised of Filipinos.

Overseas workers organization Migrante International said that around 1,000 other Filipino residents, students, and small business proprietors based in Hong Kong were also affected by the ban.

By: Regine Cabato

3:00 AM: Number of infected Canadians aboard Diamond Princess rises to 32

Canada has confirmed Tuesday that 32 Canadians on the Diamond Princess cruise ship have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the Toronto Star.

There are a total of 256 Canadians on the ship, which has become the second biggest source of infected after China itself with 454 cases on board out of 2,666 passengers and 1,045 crew. The ship has been quarantined for the past two weeks at Japan’s Yokohama port, with those testing positive for the virus being removed to hospitals.

Canada announced earlier it would be evacuating its citizens from the cruise ship, following similar efforts by the United States which flew back more than 328 passengers, including 14 testing positive for the virus.

The Canadian government told the Star that those testing positive would not be evacuated.

By: Paul Schemm

2:52 AM: Prominent neurologist dies of coronavirus infection in Wuhan

BEIJING — Liu Zhiming, a widely-respected neurologist who was also director of Wuchang Hospital in Wuhan, died at age 51 of coronavirus infection on Tuesday morning, becoming the eighth health worker in China to have lost their lives in the ongoing outbreak.

According to a notice put out by Wuhan’s municipal health commission, Dr. Liu got infected at work and passed away at 10:54 on Monday at Tongji Hospital despite a “full effort rescue.”

“Since the epidemic broke out, Comrade Liu Zhiming has thrown aside his personal safety and led the staff at Wuchang Hospital to fight the outbreak from the front line,” the notice read, adding that Dr. Liu had made “significant contribution” to the prevention and control of the novel coronavirus pneumonia.

After graduating from Wuhan University Medical School in 1991, Dr. Liu had emerged as a leading expert on neurosurgery, especially brain tumor, craniocerebral trauma, intraspinal canal diseases, and cerebrovascular diseases.

AP

AP

In this Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020, photo, a doctor puts on a protective suit as he prepares to check on the patients at Jinyintan Hospital designated for new coronavirus infected patients, in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province.

Under Liu, Wuchang Hospital grew into a comprehensive institution of nearly 1,000 people and was recognized as a triple-A hospital [highest standard in China] in 2014. It was also one of the designated hospitals for the quarantine and treatment of coronavirus patients

The National Health Commission said that more than 1,700 doctors and nurses had been infected as of Feb. 14, although the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention put the number much higher at more than 3,000 medical workers.

Another case that has tugged at Chinese heartstrings this week involves Liu Fan, who was a nurse at Wuchang Hospital’s Liyuan Street Community Health Center.

Liu, who was 59, stopped working four years ago at the designated retirement age of 55 in 2016, came back to work to help fight the virus.

But she died on Feb. 14 after being infected. A WeChat user nicknamed “Tiantian” posted on the messaging app that Liu Fan was still working on Jan. 26 and without proper equipment.

“At the time [she] did not have protective suit, it’s basically like she was ‘streaking.’ As a result, her whole family was infected,” read the post, which was soon deleted by China's censors.

Liu Fan’s parents and younger brother have been infected with the novel coronavirus pneumonia, the Beijing News reported this week, and her husband is being quarantined at home as a precaution.

Hospital staff said Liu Fan was an easygoing and extroverted person who was a conscientious and hard-working nurse.

“We are also deeply saddened by the loss of such a good nurse,” Wuchang Hospital said in a statement posted on the Weibo microblogging site. “In this battle, the virus was brutal, and we express our deep condolences over comrade Liu Fan’s tragic death.”

By: Lyric Li and Liu Yang

2:23 AM: Chinese hospital under fire for shaving heads of women medical volunteers as a symbol of ‘sacrifice’

BEIJING — Social media users in China have slammed a hospital as being “insensitive” and “degrading” to women for encouraging or even forcing female doctors and nurses to shave their head in a gesture of sacrifice.

On Feb. 15, the government-run Gansu Daily posted a minute-long video clip on the Weibo microblogging site, showing 15 women doctors and nurses having their heads shaved bald by their male colleagues at Gansu Provincial Maternity and Childcare Hospital. These medical workers were to be sent to Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, that afternoon after a farewell ceremony where they were meant to show off their new looks.

As the camera panned, some of the women were shown weeping during the ordeal, wiping their tears when putting on their surgical cap and obviously pained to look at their long ponytails that had just been cut off.

“With hair cut short, they are ready to go on the expedition! They are pretty for traveling against the flow [to somewhere dangerous],” the post read, trying to demonstrate how women are willing to make sacrifices and getting hair out of the way to ensure higher efficiency at work.

A number of comments questioned the necessity of the head-shaving and asked if the women were forced.

“Okay, suppose they wanted to save the trouble and get rid of long hair out of their free will, they could have cut it really short, not opted for clean-shaven,” one comment read.

“What’s rush to cut people’s hair when you haven’t even got other supplies ready for them? Please at least show some respect if you are sending them to the front line,” another posted.

It is not the first time that hospitals have required front line volunteers to cut their hair or shave the head for the sake of “efficiency.”

Earlier on the same day, the Yellow River Sanmenxia Hospital in Henan province also shaved the long hair off the head of nurses before sending them to Wuhan.

“I don’t want to emphasize the stereotype that all women care about their appearance, but the love for beauty is a common pursuit for a lot of people,” read a blog post titled “Stop using women’s bodies as your propaganda tool,” which has been shared tens of thousands of times on WeChat on Tuesday.

“We cherish our hair, whether leaving it long or cutting it short, dyeing into a different color or having a perm. We love it when we look good, and more importantly, it is completely up to our own choice.”

“Don’t try to use the body of women to make cheap tear-jerkers: it’s neither what they need or what we want to see … what we need to see is that people being given the dignity they deserve.”

By: Lyric Li

2:06 AM: Hong Kong retailers go on strike, seeking rent reductions

HONG KONG — Fifty Hong Kong retailers on Tuesday closed their outlets in an effort to pressure landlords into offering rental cuts, with the compounded impact of anti-government protests and the coronavirus outbreak taking a massive toll on the retail, food and beverage industries.

The retailers, according to the South China Morning Post, include French sportswear brand Lacoste and American outdoor brand Timberland. All in all, about 200 shops operated by those 50 retailers have declared a “no business” day across 14 shopping centers in Hong Kong, the paper reported. Some will be closed for 24 hours while others have announced closures without specifying a time limit.

Philip Fong

Afp Via Getty Images

People wear face masks as they take pictures of Hong Kong’s skyline on Feb. 12. The city’s retail sector has been hard hit by the coronavirus outbreak, following the disruption caused by months of political unrest.

Ashley Micklewright, president and chief executive at Bluebell Group, which distributes luxury brands such as Celine, Marc Jacobs and Victoria’s Secret, said the last seven months of losses have become “unbearable,” according to the paper. An employee from the group told The Washington Post that there are outlets with no recorded sales on some days.

“The impact on the business and traffic is far worse than anything we have ever experienced,” Micklewright was quoted as saying.

Hong Kong, which has no duty on luxury goods, has long relied on travelers from mainland China to boost sales. Arrivals dipped during protests last year, which at times turned violent, but have fallen even more steeply amid the coronavirus outbreak. Retailers want landlords to offer rental relief. Hong Kong is one of the most expensive real estate markets in the world.

By: Shibani Mahtani

1:37 AM: Renowned Chinese expert says coronavirus infections may not fall even after peaking

BEIJING — Zhong Nanshan, the Chinese pulmonologist who is heading a team of experts on managing the novel coronavirus outbreak, has predicted that the number of infections will plateau after hitting a peak in mid- to late-February as migrant workers return to the cities.

Considering factors including human migration as well as China’s compulsory quarantine measures, Zhong’s research team had previously estimated that the total number of infections would reach a peak later this month.

However, he warned that a decrease might not ensue immediately after that.

Thomas Suen

Reuters

Zhong Nanshan, head of the National Health Commission's team investigating the novel coronavirus outbreak, attends an interview with Reuters in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China Feb. 11, 2020.

“We are not clear if we have seen that peak yet, and we need to wait and observe a few more days,” Zhong said in Guangzhou on Monday afternoon during a remote conference with a team of intensive care doctors in Wuhan.

“A peak number doesn’t equal the ‘turning point’ … and new peaks could probably appear with the returning of migrant workers.”

Zhong, who has been widely seen as a heroic figure for his contribution to controlling the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, in 2002-2003, remains concerned about the high death rate and new coronavirus infections in Wuhan.

“The biggest problem right now is that human-to-human transmission in Wuhan has not been fully stopped and is still on the rise despite all the efforts we have made,” he said, adding that his team has been developing an immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibody testing kit for diagnosis, which would have a higher accuracy rate than the nucleic acid tests in use now.

Zhong said that the high fatality rate in Wuhan is due to cross infections and a failure to treat mild cases in the early stage.

However, he said that the situation is going to “look up” with stricter quarantine measures in Wuhan and the implementation of early prevention, early detection, and early quarantine in other areas.

By: Lyric Li

1:19 AM: South Korea sends plane to evacuate citizens from the Diamond Princess

SEOUL — South Korea is sending a presidential jet on Tuesday to evacuate its citizens onboard the Diamond Princess cruise liner docked in Japan, a Seoul government official said.

Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip said Seoul will fly out passengers on the quarantined ship “because health and lives of our people is the primary concern amid the rising number of coronavirus infections on the Diamond Princess.”

Yonhap

EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

A South Korean presidential plane arrives after an about two-hour flight from Seoul, at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, 18 February 2020.

Kim said at a briefing on Tuesday that four South Korean citizens and the Japanese spouse of one of them will fly back to Seoul early Wednesday.

The four out of 14 South Koreans in the quarantined cruise ship expressed intention to return to South Korea, Kim said. He added none of the 14 has symptoms related to the coronavirus.

The five evacuees will undergo a 14-day quarantine in South Korea.

South Korea has previously sent three charter planes to Wuhan to evacuate its citizens and their Chinese family members.

The country's health authorities confirmed a new case of coronavirus infection on Tuesday, bringing the national tally to 31.

By: Min Joo Kim

1:04 AM: Diamond Princess quarantine period to end Wednesday.

TOKYO — The 14-day quarantine period for all passengers remaining on the Diamond Princess will end as scheduled on Wednesday, Japanese Health Minister Katsunori Kato said Tuesday.

The remaining passengers will be notified on Wednesday of their latest coronavirus test results, and those who test negative will be free to disembark from the cruise ship, which is moored off the Japanese port of Yokohama. They will come off the ship in the order that they are tested, so it might take until Friday for everyone to leave.

“Everyone feels they want to go home soon. We would like to prepare for that and ensure that they will return home smoothly,” Kato told reporters in Tokyo.

Asked if the decision to keep the passengers on board was appropriate, Kato did not give a direct answer. “To be accurate, we are not making them stay on board, but are conducting a quarantine. They were asking to enter into Japan, and we have been taking necessary measures. That is all,” Kato said, according to NHK, the public broadcaster.

Separately, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said he thought it was appropriate for Japan to quarantine the passengers on board the ship, even as infections skyrocketed in the confined space.

He cited the words of gratitude expressed by the U.S. government and a number of U.S. passengers who decided to stay despite an opportunity for an early departure.

As of Monday, a total of 454 passengers and crew members have tested positive for the virus, and most of them have disembarked.

By: Akiko Kashiwagi

12:15 AM: Singapore Airlines cuts flights, citing weak demand, as troubles mount for Asian carriers

Singapore Airlines, the city-state’s flag carrier, said Tuesday it would temporarily cut back on flights, including to Los Angeles, Sydney and London, citing weak demand for travel due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The airline’s performance is a bellwether for Asia’s aviation industry, which is already taking a severe hit as the deadly outbreak and the travel and quarantine restrictions imposed by countries in response deter would-be travelers. In China, a major source of tourism arrivals, millions of people remain under lockdown as the death toll continues to climb.

Arnd Wiegmann

Reuters

A Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 takes off from Zurich airport on Oct. 16, 2019. The airline is cutting flights as the coronavirus outbreak hits travel demand.

Flights affected were scheduled between March and May, and span a range of cities and continents: Paris, Frankfurt, Copenhagen, Seoul, Tokyo, Sydney and Mumbai, to name a few. Singapore Airlines had already cut back on flights to mainland China and semiautonomous Hong Kong, Singapore’s rival for the title of Asia’s financial capital.

Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific has eliminated most of its flights to mainland China, and reduced overall capacity by about 40 percent. These flight cuts, Cathay said, will likely drag on into April. The airline’s chief customer and commercial officer, Ronald Lam, described this year’s Lunar New Year holiday period as the “most challenging” period the airline has experienced, and says the carrier is seeing “continued cancellations of bookings.”

By: Shibani Mahtani

12:01 AM: Filipinos among crew of Diamond Princess test positive for virus

MANILA — A total of 35 Filipino crew members on the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Japan have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Brigido Dulay told CNN Philippines that crew members will have to undergo a separate period of isolation after passengers disembark on Wednesday.

“The Filipino crew are the most exposed because they have to move around the ship. They have to service the passengers,” said Dulay. “What was told to us was [the crew] will now undergo a separate quarantine, so that’s another 14 days.”

It is unclear how this development will affect Philippine government plans to repatriate more than 500 Filipino crew on board.

Other crew members told The Washington Post about dire conditions on the ship, as they were not segregated and forced to continue working.

Victoria Lavado, whose father is on board, said on Monday she worried for him as she was concerned that infected crew members could “still mix” with others on board.

“It took a long time before they received safety masks and they are still forced to work as if it is business as usual,” Lavado said, according to a statement by Migrante International, an organization that advocates for the welfare of overseas Filipino workers. “We really want the Duterte government to work on medical repatriation for my father and for the other Filipino seafarers.”

By: Regine Cabato

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2020-02-18 08:49:00Z
52780605512759

Live updates: China coronavirus cases will plateau, expert predicts, as Diamond Princess evacuation proceeds - The Washington Post

Mayuko Isobe AP The quarantined ship Diamond Princess is pictured through barbed wire at Yokohama port in Japan on Monday.

BEIJING — Japan said Tuesday that the 14-day quarantine period for all those on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship will end, as scheduled, on Wednesday. Those who test negative for the virus will be allowed to leave the ship, which is docked at the port of Yokohama, Japanese health authorities.

The Philippines, meanwhile, said that 35 Filipino crew members have tested positive, while South Korea said it would send a plane to evacuate some of its citizens from the stricken vessel.

Meanwhile, as the number of infections in China continues to rise, although at a slower rate, a renowned Chinese pulmonologist who predicted a peak this month clarified his remarks to say that the peak may be followed by a plateau, rather than an outright fall in cases. Here is what we know so far:

● A prominent neurologist and a retired nurse who returned to work have died after becoming infected while treating coronavirus patients in Wuhan, the outbreak’s epicenter. Their deaths bring the total number of medical workers to have succumbed to the virus to eight.

● A renowned Chinese pulmonologist predicted the number of infections will plateau, rather than fall, after hitting a peak later this month.

● South Korea is sending a plane to evacuate citizens from the Diamond Princess

● Japan’s health minister says the Diamond Princess quarantine will end as scheduled on Wednesday.

● A total of 35 Filipino crew members on the cruise ship have tested positive for the coronavirus.

● China reported 1,886 new coronavirus cases and 98 more deaths in its daily update on the outbreak Tuesday, bringing the death toll in mainland China to 1,868, with 72,436 confirmed cases. The overwhelming majority have been in Hubei province.

2:52 AM: Prominent neurologist dies of coronavirus infection in Wuhan

BEIJING — Liu Zhiming, a widely-respected neurologist who was also director of Wuchang Hospital in Wuhan, died at age 51 of coronavirus infection on Tuesday morning, becoming the eighth health worker in China to have lost their lives in the ongoing outbreak.

According to a notice put out by Wuhan’s municipal health commission, Dr. Liu got infected at work and passed away at 10:54 on Monday at Tongji Hospital despite a “full effort rescue.”

“Since the epidemic broke out, Comrade Liu Zhiming has thrown aside his personal safety and led the staff at Wuchang Hospital to fight the outbreak from the front line,” the notice read, adding that Dr. Liu had made “significant contribution” to the prevention and control of the novel coronavirus pneumonia.

After graduating from Wuhan University Medical School in 1991, Dr. Liu had emerged as a leading expert on neurosurgery, especially brain tumor, craniocerebral trauma, intraspinal canal diseases, and cerebrovascular diseases.

AP

AP

In this Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020, photo, a doctor puts on a protective suit as he prepares to check on the patients at Jinyintan Hospital designated for new coronavirus infected patients, in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province.

Under Liu, Wuchang Hospital grew into a comprehensive institution of nearly 1,000 people and was recognized as a triple-A hospital [highest standard in China] in 2014. It was also one of the designated hospitals for the quarantine and treatment of coronavirus patients

The National Health Commission said that more than 1,700 doctors and nurses had been infected as of Feb. 14, although the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention put the number much higher at more than 3,000 medical workers.

Another case that has tugged at Chinese heartstrings this week involves Liu Fan, who was a nurse at Wuchang Hospital’s Liyuan Street Community Health Center.

Liu, who was 59, stopped working four years ago at the designated retirement age of 55 in 2016, came back to work to help fight the virus.

But she died on Feb. 14 after being infected. A WeChat user nicknamed “Tiantian” posted on the messaging app that Liu Fan was still working on Jan. 26 and without proper equipment.

“At the time [she] did not have protective suit, it’s basically like she was ‘streaking.’ As a result, her whole family was infected,” read the post, which was soon deleted by China's censors.

Liu Fan’s parents and younger brother have been infected with the novel coronavirus pneumonia, the Beijing News reported this week, and her husband is being quarantined at home as a precaution.

Hospital staff said Liu Fan was an easygoing and extroverted person who was a conscientious and hard-working nurse.

“We are also deeply saddened by the loss of such a good nurse,” Wuchang Hospital said in a statement posted on the Weibo microblogging site. “In this battle, the virus was brutal, and we express our deep condolences over comrade Liu Fan’s tragic death.”

By: Lyric Li and Liu Yang

2:23 AM: Chinese hospital under fire for shaving heads of women medical volunteers as a symbol of ‘sacrifice’

BEIJING — Social media users in China have slammed a hospital as being “insensitive” and “degrading” to women for encouraging or even forcing female doctors and nurses to shave their head in a gesture of sacrifice.

On Feb. 15, the government-run Gansu Daily posted a minute-long video clip on the Weibo microblogging site, showing 15 women doctors and nurses having their heads shaved bald by their male colleagues at Gansu Provincial Maternity and Childcare Hospital. These medical workers were to be sent to Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, that afternoon after a farewell ceremony where they were meant to show off their new looks.

As the camera panned, some of the women were shown weeping during the ordeal, wiping their tears when putting on their surgical cap and obviously pained to look at their long ponytails that had just been cut off.

“With hair cut short, they are ready to go on the expedition! They are pretty for traveling against the flow [to somewhere dangerous],” the post read, trying to demonstrate how women are willing to make sacrifices and getting hair out of the way to ensure higher efficiency at work.

A number of comments questioned the necessity of the head-shaving and asked if the women were forced.

“Okay, suppose they wanted to save the trouble and get rid of long hair out of their free will, they could have cut it really short, not opted for clean-shaven,” one comment read.

“What’s rush to cut people’s hair when you haven’t even got other supplies ready for them? Please at least show some respect if you are sending them to the front line,” another posted.

It is not the first time that hospitals have required front line volunteers to cut their hair or shave the head for the sake of “efficiency.”

Earlier on the same day, the Yellow River Sanmenxia Hospital in Henan province also shaved the long hair off the head of nurses before sending them to Wuhan.

“I don’t want to emphasize the stereotype that all women care about their appearance, but the love for beauty is a common pursuit for a lot of people,” read a blog post titled “Stop using women’s bodies as your propaganda tool,” which has been shared tens of thousands of times on WeChat on Tuesday.

“We cherish our hair, whether leaving it long or cutting it short, dyeing into a different color or having a perm. We love it when we look good, and more importantly, it is completely up to our own choice.”

“Don’t try to use the body of women to make cheap tear-jerkers: it’s neither what they need or what we want to see … what we need to see is that people being given the dignity they deserve.”

By: Lyric Li

2:06 AM: Hong Kong retailers go on strike, seeking rent reductions

HONG KONG — Fifty Hong Kong retailers on Tuesday closed their outlets in an effort to pressure landlords into offering rental cuts, with the compounded impact of anti-government protests and the coronavirus outbreak taking a massive toll on the retail, food and beverage industries.

The retailers, according to the South China Morning Post, include French sportswear brand Lacoste and American outdoor brand Timberland. All in all, about 200 shops operated by those 50 retailers have declared a “no business” day across 14 shopping centers in Hong Kong, the paper reported. Some will be closed for 24 hours while others have announced closures without specifying a time limit.

Philip Fong

Afp Via Getty Images

People wear face masks as they take pictures of Hong Kong’s skyline on Feb. 12. The city’s retail sector has been hard hit by the coronavirus outbreak, following the disruption caused by months of political unrest.

Ashley Micklewright, president and chief executive at Bluebell Group, which distributes luxury brands such as Celine, Marc Jacobs and Victoria’s Secret, said the last seven months of losses have become “unbearable,” according to the paper. An employee from the group told The Washington Post that there are outlets with no recorded sales on some days.

“The impact on the business and traffic is far worse than anything we have ever experienced,” Micklewright was quoted as saying.

Hong Kong, which has no duty on luxury goods, has long relied on travelers from mainland China to boost sales. Arrivals dipped during protests last year, which at times turned violent, but have fallen even more steeply amid the coronavirus outbreak. Retailers want landlords to offer rental relief. Hong Kong is one of the most expensive real estate markets in the world.

By: Shibani Mahtani

1:37 AM: Renowned Chinese expert says coronavirus infections may not fall even after peaking

BEIJING — Zhong Nanshan, the Chinese pulmonologist who is heading a team of experts on managing the novel coronavirus outbreak, has predicted that the number of infections will plateau after hitting a peak in mid- to late-February as migrant workers return to the cities.

Considering factors including human migration as well as China’s compulsory quarantine measures, Zhong’s research team had previously estimated that the total number of infections would reach a peak later this month.

However, he warned that a decrease might not ensue immediately after that.

Thomas Suen

Reuters

Zhong Nanshan, head of the National Health Commission's team investigating the novel coronavirus outbreak, attends an interview with Reuters in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China Feb. 11, 2020.

“We are not clear if we have seen that peak yet, and we need to wait and observe a few more days,” Zhong said in Guangzhou on Monday afternoon during a remote conference with a team of intensive care doctors in Wuhan.

“A peak number doesn’t equal the ‘turning point’ … and new peaks could probably appear with the returning of migrant workers.”

Zhong, who has been widely seen as a heroic figure for his contribution to controlling the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, in 2002-2003, remains concerned about the high death rate and new coronavirus infections in Wuhan.

“The biggest problem right now is that human-to-human transmission in Wuhan has not been fully stopped and is still on the rise despite all the efforts we have made,” he said, adding that his team has been developing an immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibody testing kit for diagnosis, which would have a higher accuracy rate than the nucleic acid tests in use now.

Zhong said that the high fatality rate in Wuhan is due to cross infections and a failure to treat mild cases in the early stage.

However, he said that the situation is going to “look up” with stricter quarantine measures in Wuhan and the implementation of early prevention, early detection, and early quarantine in other areas.

By: Lyric Li

1:19 AM: South Korea sends plane to evacuate citizens from the Diamond Princess

SEOUL — South Korea is sending a presidential jet on Tuesday to evacuate its citizens onboard the Diamond Princess cruise liner docked in Japan, a Seoul government official said.

Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip said Seoul will fly out passengers on the quarantined ship “because health and lives of our people is the primary concern amid the rising number of coronavirus infections on the Diamond Princess.”

Yonhap

EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

A South Korean presidential plane arrives after an about two-hour flight from Seoul, at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, 18 February 2020.

Kim said at a briefing on Tuesday that four South Korean citizens and the Japanese spouse of one of them will fly back to Seoul early Wednesday.

The four out of 14 South Koreans in the quarantined cruise ship expressed intention to return to South Korea, Kim said. He added none of the 14 has symptoms related to the coronavirus.

The five evacuees will undergo a 14-day quarantine in South Korea.

South Korea has previously sent three charter planes to Wuhan to evacuate its citizens and their Chinese family members.

The country's health authorities confirmed a new case of coronavirus infection on Tuesday, bringing the national tally to 31.

By: Min Joo Kim

1:04 AM: Diamond Princess quarantine period to end Wednesday.

TOKYO — The 14-day quarantine period for all passengers remaining on the Diamond Princess will end as scheduled on Wednesday, Japanese Health Minister Katsunori Kato said Tuesday.

The remaining passengers will be notified on Wednesday of their latest coronavirus test results, and those who test negative will be free to disembark from the cruise ship, which is moored off the Japanese port of Yokohama. They will come off the ship in the order that they are tested, so it might take until Friday for everyone to leave.

“Everyone feels they want to go home soon. We would like to prepare for that and ensure that they will return home smoothly,” Kato told reporters in Tokyo.

Asked if the decision to keep the passengers on board was appropriate, Kato did not give a direct answer. “To be accurate, we are not making them stay on board, but are conducting a quarantine. They were asking to enter into Japan, and we have been taking necessary measures. That is all,” Kato said, according to NHK, the public broadcaster.

Separately, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said he thought it was appropriate for Japan to quarantine the passengers on board the ship, even as infections skyrocketed in the confined space.

He cited the words of gratitude expressed by the U.S. government and a number of U.S. passengers who decided to stay despite an opportunity for an early departure.

As of Monday, a total of 454 passengers and crew members have tested positive for the virus, and most of them have disembarked.

By: Akiko Kashiwagi

12:15 AM: Singapore Airlines cuts flights, citing weak demand, as troubles mount for Asian carriers

Singapore Airlines, the city-state’s flag carrier, said Tuesday it would temporarily cut back on flights, including to Los Angeles, Sydney and London, citing weak demand for travel due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The airline’s performance is a bellwether for Asia’s aviation industry, which is already taking a severe hit as the deadly outbreak and the travel and quarantine restrictions imposed by countries in response deter would-be travelers. In China, a major source of tourism arrivals, millions of people remain under lockdown as the death toll continues to climb.

Arnd Wiegmann

Reuters

A Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 takes off from Zurich airport on Oct. 16, 2019. The airline is cutting flights as the coronavirus outbreak hits travel demand.

Flights affected were scheduled between March and May, and span a range of cities and continents: Paris, Frankfurt, Copenhagen, Seoul, Tokyo, Sydney and Mumbai, to name a few. Singapore Airlines had already cut back on flights to mainland China and semiautonomous Hong Kong, Singapore’s rival for the title of Asia’s financial capital.

Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific has eliminated most of its flights to mainland China, and reduced overall capacity by about 40 percent. These flight cuts, Cathay said, will likely drag on into April. The airline’s chief customer and commercial officer, Ronald Lam, described this year’s Lunar New Year holiday period as the “most challenging” period the airline has experienced, and says the carrier is seeing “continued cancellations of bookings.”

By: Shibani Mahtani

12:01 AM: Filipinos among crew of Diamond Princess test positive for virus

MANILA — A total of 35 Filipino crew members on the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Japan have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Brigido Dulay told CNN Philippines that crew members will have to undergo a separate period of isolation after passengers disembark on Wednesday.

“The Filipino crew are the most exposed because they have to move around the ship. They have to service the passengers,” said Dulay. “What was told to us was [the crew] will now undergo a separate quarantine, so that’s another 14 days.”

It is unclear how this development will affect Philippine government plans to repatriate more than 500 Filipino crew on board.

Other crew members told The Washington Post about dire conditions on the ship, as they were not segregated and forced to continue working.

Victoria Lavado, whose father is on board, said on Monday she worried for him as she was concerned that infected crew members could “still mix” with others on board.

“It took a long time before they received safety masks and they are still forced to work as if it is business as usual,” Lavado said, according to a statement by Migrante International, an organization that advocates for the welfare of overseas Filipino workers. “We really want the Duterte government to work on medical repatriation for my father and for the other Filipino seafarers.”

By: Regine Cabato

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2020-02-18 08:12:00Z
52780605512759

Live updates: China coronavirus cases will plateau, expert predicts, as Diamond Princess evacuation proceeds - The Washington Post

Mayuko Isobe AP The quarantined ship Diamond Princess is pictured through barbed wire at Yokohama port in Japan on Monday.

BEIJING — Efforts to deal with the coronavirus outbreak on the Diamond Princess cruise ship are continuing, with Japan saying the 14-day quarantine period for all those on board will end, as scheduled, on Wednesday.

Those who test negative for the virus will be allowed to leave the ship, which is docked at the port of Yokohama, Japanese health authorities said Tuesday. The same day, the Philippines said that 35 Filipino crew members have tested positive, while South Korea said it would send a plane to evacuate some of its citizens from the stricken vessel.

Meanwhile, as the number of infections in China continues to rise, although at a slower rate, a renowned Chinese pulmonologist who predicted a peak this month clarified his remarks to say that the peak may be followed by a plateau, rather than an outright fall in cases.

Here are the latest developments:

● A renowned Chinese pulmonologist predicted the number of infections will plateau, rather than fall, after hitting a peak later this month.

● South Korea is sending a plane to evacuate citizens from the Diamond Princess

● Japan’s health minister says the Diamond Princess quarantine will end as scheduled on Wednesday.

● A total of 35 Filipino crew members on the cruise ship have tested positive for the coronavirus.

● China reported 1,886 new coronavirus cases and 98 more deaths in its daily update on the outbreak Tuesday, bringing the death toll in mainland China to 1,868, with 72,436 confirmed cases. The overwhelming majority have been in Hubei province.

By:

2:06 AM: Hong Kong retailers go on strike, seeking rent reductions

HONG KONG — Fifty Hong Kong retailers on Tuesday closed their outlets in an effort to pressure landlords into offering rental cuts, with the compounded impact of anti-government protests and the coronavirus outbreak taking a massive toll on the retail, food and beverage industries.

The retailers, according to the South China Morning Post, include French sportswear brand Lacoste and American outdoor brand Timberland. All in, about 200 shops operated by those 50 retailers have declared a “no business” day across 14 shopping centers in Hong Kong, the paper reported. Some will be closed for 24 hours while others have announced closures without specifying a time limit.

Philip Fong

Afp Via Getty Images

People wear face masks as they take pictures of Hong Kong’s skyline on Feb. 12. The city’s retail sector has been hard hit by the coronavirus outbreak, following the disruption caused by months of political unrest.

Ashley Micklewright, president and chief executive at Bluebell Group, which distributes luxury brands such as Celine, Marc Jacobs and Victoria’s Secret, said the last seven months of losses have become “unbearable,” according to the paper. An employee from the group told The Washington Post that some outlets have no recorded sales on certain days.

“The impact on the business and traffic is far worse than anything we have ever experienced,” Micklewright was quoted as saying.

Hong Kong, which has no duty on luxury goods, has long relied on travelers from mainland China to boost sales. Arrivals dipped during protests last year, which at times turned violent, but have fallen even more steeply amid the coronavirus outbreak. Retailers want landlords to offer rental relief. Hong Kong is one of the most expensive real estate markets in the world.

By: Shibani Mahtani

1:37 AM: Renowned Chinese expert says coronavirus infections may not fall even after peaking

BEIJING — Zhong Nanshan, the Chinese pulmonologist who is heading a team of experts on managing the novel coronavirus outbreak, has predicted that the number of infections will plateau after hitting a peak in mid- to late-February as migrant workers return to the cities.

Considering factors including human migration as well as China’s compulsory quarantine measures, Zhong’s research team had previously estimated that the total number of infections would reach a peak later this month.

However, he warned that a decrease might not ensue immediately after that.

“We are not clear if we have seen that peak yet, and we need to wait and observe a few more days,” Zhong said in Guangzhou on Monday afternoon during a remote conference with a team of intensive care doctors in Wuhan.

“A peak number doesn’t equal the ‘turning point’ … and new peaks could probably appear with the returning of migrant workers.”

Zhong, who has been widely seen as a heroic figure for his contribution to controlling the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, in 2002-2003, remains concerned about the high death rate and new coronavirus infections in Wuhan.

“The biggest problem right now is that human-to-human transmission in Wuhan has not been fully stopped and is still on the rise despite all the efforts we have made,” he said, adding that his team has been developing an immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibody testing kit for diagnosis, which would have a higher accuracy rate than the nucleic acid tests in use now.

Zhong said that the high fatality rate in Wuhan is due to cross infections and a failure to treat mild cases in the early stage.

However, he said that the situation is going to “look up” with stricter quarantine measures in Wuhan and the implementation of early prevention, early detection, and early quarantine in other areas.

By: Lyric Li

1:19 AM: South Korea sends plane to evacuate citizens from the Diamond Princess

SEOUL — South Korea is sending a presidential jet on Tuesday to evacuate its citizens onboard the Diamond Princess cruise liner docked in Japan, a Seoul government official said.

Vice health minister Kim Gang-lip said Seoul will fly out passengers on the quarantined ship “because health and lives of our people is the primary concern amid the rising number of coronavirus infection in Diamond Princess.”

Kim said at a briefing on Tuesday that four South Korean citizens and the Japanese spouse of one of them will fly back to Seoul early Wednesday.

The four out of 14 South Koreans in the quarantined cruise ship expressed intention to return to South Korea, Kim said. He added none of the fourteen has symptoms related to the coronavirus.

The five evacuees will undergo a 14-day quarantine in South Korea.

South Korea has previously sent three charter planes to Wuhan to evacuate its citizens and their Chinese family members.

The country's health authorities confirmed a new case of coronavirus infection on Tuesday, bringing the national tally to 31.

By: Min Joo Kim

1:04 AM: Diamond Princess quarantine period to end Wednesday.

TOKYO — The 14-day quarantine period for all passengers remaining on the Diamond Princess will end as scheduled on Wednesday, Japanese health minister Katsunori Kato said Tuesday.

The remaining passengers will be notified on Wednesday of their latest coronavirus test results, and those who test negative will be free to disembark from the cruise ship, which is moored off the Japanese port of Yokohama. They will come off the ship in the order that they are tested, so it might take until Friday for everyone to leave.

“Everyone feels they want to go home soon. We would like to prepare for that and ensure that they will return home smoothly,” Kato told reporters in Tokyo.

Asked if the decision to keep the passengers on board was appropriate, Kato did not give a direct answer. “To be accurate, we are not making them stay on board, but are conducting a quarantine. They were asking to enter into Japan, and we have been taking necessary measures. That is all,” Kato said, according to NHK, the public broadcaster.

Separately, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said he thought it was appropriate for Japan to quarantine the passengers on board the ship, even as infections skyrocketed in the confined space.

He cited the words of gratitude expressed by the U.S. government and a number of U.S. passengers who decided to stay despite an opportunity for an early departure.

As of Monday, a total of 454 passengers and crew members have tested positive for the virus, and most of them have disembarked.

By: Akiko Kashiwagi

12:15 AM: Singapore Airlines cuts flights, citing weak demand, as troubles mount for Asian carriers

Singapore Airlines, the city-state’s flag carrier, said Tuesday it would temporarily cut back on flights, including to Los Angeles, Sydney and London, citing weak demand for travel due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The airline’s performance is a bellwether for Asia’s aviation industry, which is already taking a severe hit as the deadly outbreak and the travel and quarantine restrictions imposed by countries in response deter would-be travelers. In China, a major source of tourism arrivals, millions of people remain under lockdown as the death toll continues to climb.

Arnd Wiegmann

Reuters

A Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 takes off from Zurich airport on Oct. 16, 2019. The airline is cutting flights as the coronavirus outbreak hits travel demand.

Flights affected were scheduled between March and May, and span a range of cities and continents: Paris, Frankfurt, Copenhagen, Seoul, Tokyo, Sydney and Mumbai, to name a few. Singapore Airlines had already cut back on flights to mainland China and semiautonomous Hong Kong, Singapore’s rival for the title of Asia’s financial capital.

Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific has eliminated most of its flights to mainland China, and reduced overall capacity by about 40 percent. These flight cuts, Cathay said, will likely drag on into April. The airline’s chief customer and commercial officer, Ronald Lam, described this year’s Lunar New Year holiday period as the “most challenging” period the airline has experienced, and says the carrier is seeing “continued cancellations of bookings.”

By: Shibani Mahtani

12:01 AM: Filipinos among crew of Diamond Princess test positive for virus

MANILA — A total of 35 Filipino crew members on the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Japan have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Brigido Dulay told CNN Philippines that crew members will have to undergo a separate period of isolation after passengers disembark on Wednesday.

“The Filipino crew are the most exposed because they have to move around the ship. They have to service the passengers,” said Dulay. “What was told to us was [the crew] will now undergo a separate quarantine, so that’s another 14 days.”

It is unclear how this development will affect Philippine government plans to repatriate more than 500 Filipino crew on board.

Other crew members told The Washington Post about dire conditions on the ship, as they were not segregated and forced to continue working.

Victoria Lavado, whose father is on board, said on Monday she worried for him as she was concerned that infected crew members could “still mix” with others on board.

“It took a long time before they received safety masks and they are still forced to work as if it is business as usual,” Lavado said, according to a statement by Migrante International, an organization that advocates for the welfare of overseas Filipino workers. “We really want the Duterte government to work on medical repatriation for my father and for the other Filipino seafarers.”

By: Regine Cabato

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2020-02-18 07:11:00Z
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Syrian refugees in desperate race to outrun regime offensive - CNN

They fled their village in a panic, the older children carrying the little ones, walking for seven hours just to get away. The youngest children are shaking, their cheeks are bright pink from the cold.

Finally, a van stops -- it's a godsend. The family piles in with their hastily filled bags containing just a change of clothes, which they managed to grab in the darkness as they ran.

In the last two months, more than 832,000 people have fled the last opposition-held territory in Syria in the wake of a relentless air campaign and a swift ground offensive by the Syrian regime and its Russian backers. Tens of thousands of people are still on the move. Nearly 700,000 of the newly displaced are women and children, according to the latest UN figures.

There is plenty of international condemnation, but little action to relieve the situation in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib and the surrounding areas.

The van takes Samar and the six kids in her care to her sister-in-law's house in a village close to the town of Atarib. It's not far enough, but for now it will have to do.

"I don't feel better here," Samar told CNN. "We need to leave but we need to try to figure out transport or something because if we try to walk it will be impossible."

Just a few doors down, Umm Abdo's kids wait outside, bundled up in their winter coats as she finishes loading a truck with mattresses and blankets. The airstrikes are getting too close. It's time to leave.

"We are only taking a little, just some clothes, only what we need," Umm Abdo said.

She walks into the bedroom one last time and pulls out the kids' toys from the closet.

Eight-year-old Dima grabs her favorite -- a pink teddy bear called Hamze. The youngest, two-year-old Betoule, grabs a yellow chick. Ten-year-old Abdelbased keeps his hands in his pockets -- he is too old to play with stuffed animals anyway.

They fled their home two years ago, but had created new memories and a sense of stability in this house. The kids were in school and they had friends.

Umm Abdo tells the girls to put the toys back. They don't protest or hesitate, seemingly hardened well beyond their years, and head out to the truck.

After a final look around the house, Umm Abdo walks out, locking the front door behind her. It's an incredible act of optimism as the Syrian regime onslaught continues and the future looks bleak.

Fear of Syrian regime abounds

There are no good options for the population as the opposition enclave disintegrates.

In the short term, many say they would prefer a Turkish protectorate that would let people go back home. The nightmare scenario is for the Syrian government to take back control and reimpose its brutal regime of massacres and mass detentions.

For its part, Turkey has upped its military presence, sending in hundreds of armored vehicles and tanks in an effort to stop the government advance.

Thirteen Turkish soldiers and one civilian contractor have been killed in Syrian government attacks over the last two weeks, and Turkey has responded by shelling regime positions with a warning that they will respond even more harshly if their soldiers come under fire again.

Officials in Ankara say they will no longer tolerate aircraft targeting the civilian population in Idlib, but it's unclear how Turkey can end the airstrikes given that the Syrian regime and Russia control the airspace.

The Syrian government's official line over the last nine years has been that they are fighting "terrorists," even as they have hit civilian infrastructure, targeting hospitals, clinics and schools.

In Idlib, Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), a reincarnation of the al Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra, has been the dominant force. But that dynamic is changing with Turkey's increased military footprint in the area, according to Omer Ozkizilcik, the editor-in-chief of Suriye Gundemi, a Turkish analysis center focused on the Syrian civil war, and an analyst of the pro-government think tank SETA.

"HTS is no longer the dominant force in Idlib but the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF)," said Ozkizilcik.

"Even without TAF, the internal balance of power has changed in favor of Turkish-backed rebels, who were forced out when extremists returned to Idlib."

Civilians race to escape military advance

Umm Abdo drives off to join the thousands of others on the jam-packed roads out of Idlib, unsure of where they are headed or when she will be able to put her children to sleep in peace.

It's a race against the Syrian government advance from the east, which threatens to choke off access to a nearby Turkish-controlled safe zone inside Syria. The Turkish border is open for aid coming into Syria, but closed to people who want to leave.

Turkish officials have been warning for months that they cannot handle a new influx of refugees into the country, but the Syrian regime's offensive in Idlib could push nearly 3 million more people across the border into a nation that already hosts almost 4 million Syrian refugees.

Souad watches the two-lane road outside her tent congested with desperate people fleeing, crammed into cars, trucks and vans. Tears roll down her face. "Is this what has become of us, oh Lord?" she asks no one in particular.

She may have to pack her family and move again, but for now she looks on in grief. The last opposition enclave is crumbling around her. The sound of artillery sometimes pierces through the cacophony of honking horns, as vehicles carrying the possessions of desperate people struggle to leave.

It is a scene that plays out on every road leading out of the area.

A father clutching his sick daughter says they've been on the road for two days trying to reach safety. Where is that? He points ahead. "The camp," he says, before rushing off.

Once independent from each other, the camps along the border with Turkey have sprawled into a massive city of semi-permanent structures. More than one million people, displaced from nine years of fighting, already live in the ever-expanding camps, which provide some semblance of security even as the freezing temperatures take their toll.

Sitting in the corner of the family's tent, Samiya recalls the night when temperatures dipped below freezing as the last of their fuel ran out. Her seven-month-old baby, Abdulwahab, was warm when she changed his diaper and fed him that evening before putting him to sleep for the night.

Just after dawn, she woke up to the screams of her older kids. Abdulwahab's little body was as cold and gray as the cement their tent sits on.

"I touched him and he was icy," Samiya said. The family doesn't own a phone, so there are no photos of Abdulwahab alive. They rushed the boy to the closest doctor, who told them he died of the cold, according to Samiya.

"It's a hard thing, for a mother to wake up and find her son dead ... I wouldn't wish it on anyone," she said. "I thought the children would be safe here."

Conflict rumbles on

A short drive away, in a muddy makeshift camp near Sarmada, the conditions are miserable but a cheer goes up as people point to the sky and yell: "Regime aircraft down!"

In the distance there is an orange ball of fire falling through the sky, leaving a trail of black smoke as people look on, mesmerized.

It's one Syrian government helicopter out of five that were in the air, and it's been shot down by opposition fighters, according to activists from the area.

But it's a small victory. Syrian government forces have captured most of the M5 highway that runs through the opposition-held area, which has shrunk to nearly half the size it was in 2018, when Turkey brokered a deal to set up military outposts to observe a ceasefire.

Back then it was called a de-escalation zone, but now schools and mosques have been converted into shelters, and families cram into tents as more relatives arrive. The physical claustrophobia is palpable, but it's also psychological.

Obaid proudly shows us a photograph of his home, a large farmhouse surrounded by agricultural land. He apologizes for the mud outside, and for the conditions in his tent, as an app on his phone keeps buzzing with warnings about where planes are dropping bombs.

He found out his brother Saad died in regime custody; an acquaintance recognized him among more than 28,000 photos of bodies, smuggled out of the country by a Syrian army defector codenamed Caesar. Obaid's sorrow is deep, and the loss of his brother to such brutality is still a shock.

Saad's murderer moves closer each time the regime advances.

"For me even if there was a ceasefire and the regime is in control of the area and they said there would be reconciliation, I can't trust that," he said.

"If you go back you can be detained and spend your life in jail or worse."

For many in Idlib, death is preferable to life under President Bashar al-Assad.

"I would rather die than ever go back to the regime," said Obaid.

In freezing cold tents, on congested roads, it is a sentiment that echoes across Syria's last opposition enclave.

CNN's Eyad Kourdi and Isil Sarıyuce contributed to this report.

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2020-02-17 15:49:00Z
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14 Americans Taken Off Cruise Ship And Flown To U.S. Test Positive For Coronavirus - NPR

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American evacuees from the Diamond Princess cruise ship arrive at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland on Monday in San Antonio, Texas. Edward A. Ornelas/Getty Images hide caption

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Edward A. Ornelas/Getty Images

Updated at 11 a.m. ET

Fourteen U.S. passengers evacuated from a cruise ship in Japan and flown to military bases in California and Texas have tested positive for the new coronavirus, U.S. officials confirm.

An additional 44 Americans from the Diamond Princess ship who tested positive for coronavirus will stay in Japan while they recover. Some have been hospitalized, but not all who are infected are sick.

The State Department said it was in the process of transporting more than 300 Americans who had been quarantined on the Diamond Princess off Yokohama, Japan, when it got word of the positive tests for the disease now known as COVID-19.

"During the evacuation process, after passengers had disembarked the ship and initiated transport to the airport, U.S. officials received notice that 14 passengers, who had been tested 2-3 days earlier, had tested positive for COVID-19," the State Department said in a joint statement with the Department of Health and Human Services.

The officials said those Americans were separated from the other evacuees, even though the 14 individuals weren't showing symptoms of the virus officials said.

"These individuals were moved in the most expeditious and safe manner to a specialized containment area on the evacuation aircraft to isolate them in accordance with standard protocols," the statement said.

It added: "Passengers that develop symptoms in flight and those with positive test results will remain isolated on the flights and will be transported to an appropriate location for continued isolation and care."

Passengers on the two charter flights landed either at Joint Base San Antonio in Texas or at Travis Air Force Base in Solano County, California, roughly 60 miles northeast of San Francisco.

All passengers will remain under a mandatory a two-week quarantine.

The Diamond Princess has been under Japan-ordered quarantine since Feb. 5, after a passenger who had disembarked earlier tested positive for the virus in Hong Kong. Although Japanese authorities originally said the quarantine period for the ship would expire Wednesday, that date might now be pushed back, NPR's Jason Beaubien reports.

Health officials in Asia say 454 people aboard the Diamond Princess have been diagnosed with the coronavirus that emerged in late December in Wuhan, China.

Worldwide, more than 70,000 cases of the new coronavirus have been reported and more than 1,700 people have died of COVID-19.

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2020-02-17 15:03:00Z
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