The novel coronavirus is rapidly spreading. It is a force of nature like hurricanes, tsunamis, and typhoons. The difference is that the viral epidemics don’t announce themselves coming like the strong winds or the dark clouds from a coming storm.
We have Covid-19 news from all over the world, and from that, we can see what works and what makes the epidemic worse so that we can better prepare ourselves.
Covid-19 Headlines
This page will be updating the whole day.
BEIJING (Reuters) – Mainland China had 508 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections on Monday, the country’s National Health Commission said on Tuesday, up from 409 cases a day earlier.
That brings the total number of confirmed cases in mainland China so far to 77,658.
The death toll from the outbreak in mainland China had reached 2,663 as of the end of Monday, up by 71 from the previous day.
Politico and The Washington Post, citing people familiar with the planning, reported the administration may request US$1 billion from Congress. An administration official told Reuters the amount was being finalised, and the request could go to lawmakers this week.
Open in Chrome then translate.
“Wuhan Pneumonia” South Korea increased by 60 additional cases today, totaling 893 – Liberty Times News
[Instant News / Comprehensive Report] The epidemic in Wuhan continues to spread in South Korea. South Korea ’s Central Epidemic Prevention Headquarters announced earlier that 60 new cases were diagnosed today, with a total of 893 confirmed cases.
Sunday morning found Kim Tae-woo sitting in his convenience store at the normally bustling East Daegu train station, counting the day’s customers on the fingers of one hand.
“Things are beyond quiet here,” he said. “It feels like I’m at a meditation centre. I’m thinking of removing the magazine stand. No one has the peace of mind to flip through them now.”
The city’s streets were eerily quiet, with stores and restaurants closed and stations, markets and shopping areas devoid of the usual foot traffic. The few people who dared to venture out were masked and wearing gloves.
Updated 5:40 pm
The coronavirus is a public health emergency, but its threat is not only medical. Millions of lives have been altered by the outbreak, from those in self-isolation in China to Chinese nationals experiencing racism abroad. We talk to those affected in different ways, from Wuhan to the north of England.
Canadian families ‘plead urgently’ for third evacuation flight from Wuhan – Reuters
TORONTO (Reuters) – Canadian citizens and permanent residents who remain in Wuhan, China, the center of the coronavirus outbreak, need to be brought home on a third evacuation plane, a group of families urged the federal government.
In a letter sent to Global Affairs Canada on Saturday, 44 families said that poor communication and misinformation meant their relatives did not board either of the previous government-chartered flights. The families represent about 100 Canadian citizens and PRs who want to leave Wuhan.
Australians trapped in China’s Hubei province say they are feeling the strain of being cut off and have pleaded with the Morrison government to send another evacuation flight.
SBS News understands there are at least 100 Australian citizens and residents still trapped in the locked down city of Wuhan where the coronavirus outbreak originated.
Businesses in the usually busy neighborhood are cutting staff as sales drop even though the virus has not yet made it to New York City
Though Wuhan is nearly 7,500 miles (12,000km) from New York City, and there have been no confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the city or state of New York, Chinatown business owners say their restaurant and shops are taking hits over fears of the virus.
- Venice Carnival cancelled, landmarks like Milan’s Duomo cathedral shut, and schools, museums and universities closed in much of northern Italy
- All deaths, including four announced on Monday, concerned elderly people, most of them with pre-existing health conditions
Tests so far suggest that the coronavirus is relatively stable but as it is passed from human to human the virus will become more adapted as a human disease. This is not necessarily a bad thing, though. “In Darwinian terms, the virus wants to survive,” said Prof Peter Smith, an epidemiologist at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. “And to do that it’s generally not a sensible idea for a virus to kill people. The most successful viruses infect a lot of people and cause relatively little pathology.”
The coronavirus is not expected to mutate this rapidly and so once a vaccine is here, it should continue to work far into the future.
The raging coronavirus outbreak that has shut down employers and paralyzed business in China could soon constrain the production of core ingredients for critical drugs and medical products sold thousands of miles away in the U.S.
Restrictions on travel to and from China have forced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to postpone inspections of Chinese factories. This delay could interfere with China’s ability to continue supplying the U.S. with the active pharmaceutical ingredients for antibiotics and other medications used to treat serious illnesses, including tuberculosis, experts said.
Related article: Covid-19 Can Cause Drugs and Medical Supply Shortages Worldwide
Austria has said it will stop people suspected of carrying the coronavirus from crossing its border, after parts of northern Italy were put into lockdown over the weekend following a surge in cases.
“As far as the borders and cross-border traffic are concerned, we will proceed as follows: we will further tighten warning systems with our neighbours; [and] we will immediately order a stop in the event of suspected cases, as happened last night,” Kurz said on Monday.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 1000 points on Monday due to concerns of the coronavirus becoming a global pandemic
- The Dow traded as high as 1080 points lower, or 3.7 per cent, after having erased all gains for the blue-chip index for the year
- The S&P 500 also slid 3.5 per cent, its biggest decline since February 2018, while the Nasdaq Composite was 3.9 per cent lower
- Passengers from Italy’s worst-affected regions were held up after arriving in Mauritius on an Alitalia flight
- Forty of them eventually chose to return home to northern Italy where the virus death toll has risen to six
- Two men aged 84 and 88 and a woman at a Brescia hospital were confirmed as victims four, five and six today
- Britain has said the ‘threat is low’ while France has dismissed calls to close its mountainous border with Italy
- Italy has confirmed 219 cases of the virus, by far the largest number outside China, Japan and South Korea
- Lombardy and Veneto have locked down towns and banned public events with schools shut to stop the virus
- A passenger left a flight from London to Milan today amid fears that tourists could spread virus across Europe
Two-thirds of COVID-19 cases exported from mainland China may be undetected – Imperial College of London
Dr Sangeeta Bhatia, report author, explained: “We compared the average monthly number of passengers travelling from Wuhan to major international destinations with the number of COVID-19 cases that have been detected overseas.
Based on these data, we then estimate the number of cases that are undetected globally and find that approximately two thirds of the cases might be undetected at this point. Our findings confirm similar analyses carried out by other groups.”
Emergency planners would consider temporarily shutting schools in affected areas if there was a sudden surge in coronavirus cases in any part of the UK, as part of contingency plans being drawn up by the government.
Department of Health sources pointed to official advisory documents, which suggest that school closures could not only potentially protect children from infection but reduce the overall transmission of the virus across the population.
Update 3:18 pm EST
(Reuters) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Monday there were 14 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the country, apart from the 39 cases among those evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship and the city of Wuhan in China.
With coronavirus cases rising in Italy and several Middle East countries dealing with their first infections, fears of a global pandemic sent markets into a tailspin, even as China eased curbs with no new cases reported Beijing and other cities.
The surge of cases outside mainland China triggered sharp falls in global markets as investors fled to safe havens. European equities markets suffered their biggest slump since mid-2016, gold soared to a seven-year high and oil tumbled nearly 5%.[MKTS/GLOB][.N]
The Dow Jones Industrials dove to a two-month low while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were at their lowest in three weeks on Monday, all off by more than 3%.
7th case of COVID-19 diagnosed in B.C., bringing number of cases to 11 in Canada – CFJC
VICTORIA — A seventh case of the novel coronavirus has been diagnosed in British Columbia, bringing to 11 the number of cases in Canada.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said Monday a man in his 40s who is a close contact of the sixth case in the province has been diagnosed with COVID-19.
“There were a few additional close contacts that he had that have now been identified over the weekend and are also in isolation and being monitored carefully,” she added.
The sixth case involves a woman in her 30s whose diagnosis was confirmed last week after she returned from Iran.
China says more than 3,000 medical staff infected by COVID-19 – CNA
BEIJING: More than 3,000 medical staff in China have been infected by the new coronavirus that emerged in the country late last year, an official at China’s National Health Commission said on Monday (Feb 24).
The infections were likely due to the lack of protective gear and fatigue, Liang Wannian told reporters during a joint press briefing with the head of the World Health Organization delegation to China, Bruce Aylward.
Staff have also faced shortages of masks and protective bodysuits, with some even wearing makeshift suits and continuing to work despite showing respiratory symptoms, health workers previously told AFP.
Investors are just beginning to price in the possibility of a sharp and nasty global recession that would be followed by a rapid rebound once the disease has run its course. Whenever that will be.
In the longer run, of course, a pandemic could have more far-reaching effects, including a smaller and less productive workforce and even a reordering of globalization. More at the link.
The Dow is off by more than 1,000 points and heading for its second-worst point drop ever — here’s how the stock market tends to perform after big drops – Market Watch
Second-biggest point drop
If it holds until the closing bell, the day’s decline would mark the second-biggest daily point drop for the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -3.10% in its 124-year history. The blue-chip benchmark dropped 1,079.97 points at its low, or 3.73%.
While WHO says virus still containable, sudden cases in Iran and Italy causing alarm – Guardian
The World Health Organization has played down fears of a coronavirus pandemic sweeping the world, despite sudden serious outbreaks in Italy and Iran, but some experts said they believed it was now inevitable
“We now consider this to be a pandemic in all but name, and it’s only a matter of time before the World Health Organization starts to use the term in its communications,” said Dr Bharat Pankhania, from the University of Exeter Medical School.
Updated 11:55 am 2/24/2020
COVID-19 epicenter Wuhan revokes announcement about easing lockdown – CNA
SHANGHAI: An announcement that the Chinese city of Wuhan would relax some of its travel restrictions and allow some people to leave was made without authorisation and has been revoked, the local government said on Monday (Feb 24).
The city at the epicentre of a coronavirus outbreak that has already killed nearly 2,600 people said it would continue to impose strict controls over its borders in order to prevent the virus from spreading further.
WHO tells world to brace for ‘potential pandemic’ as virus spreads – AFP
The World Health Organization warned countries on Monday to be ready for a “potential pandemic” as new deaths and infections in Europe, the Middle East and Asia triggered more drastic efforts to contain the new coronavirus.
WHO definition of a pandemic – A pandemic is the worldwide spread of a new disease.
Comment: Based on the WHO definition, there is a Covid-19 pandemic!
At the edge of the northern Italian town of Casalpusterlungo, residents are slowly getting used to the isolation measures descending around towns like theirs, the centres of Italy’s outbreak of the new coronavirus.
But China’s actions, especially in Wuhan, had probably prevented hundreds of thousands of cases, said the head of the WHO delegation in China, Bruce Aylward, urging the rest of the world to learn the lesson of acting fast.
“The world is in your debt,” Aylward, speaking in Beijing, told the people of Wuhan. “The people of that city have gone through an extraordinary period and they’re still going through it.”
‘No one cares’: Locked-in Wuhan residents adapt to find food – AFP
The lockdown of Guo Jing’s neighbourhood in Wuhan –- the city at the heart of China’s new coronavirus epidemic –- came suddenly and without warning.
Unable to go out, the 29-year-old is now sealed inside her compound where she has to depend on online group-buying services to get food.
But the new rules this month barring residents from leaving their neighbourhoods are the most restrictive yet — and for some, threaten their livelihoods.
“I still don’t know where to buy things once we’ve finished eating what we have at home,” said Pan Hongsheng, who lives with his wife and two children.
WHO to visit Iran – Guardian
A team from the World Health Organization is due to arrive in Tehran on Tuesday after the sharp rise in cases in Iran.
Speaking at a news conference, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the WHO, said the sudden increase in cases Iran, Italy and South Korea was “deeply concerning”.
- The baby is the youngest patient to have recovered from the virus in China
- She was allowed to go home on Friday after making a full recovery by herself
- Doctors didn’t give her antibiotic medication because her condition was minor
- Experts suspect the virus could be passed from mothers to babies in the womb
Related: Study: Pregnant Moms Do Not Transmit Covid-19 to their Babies
A seventh person has died in the coronavirus outbreak in Italy, the Ansa news agency has reported.
Ansa said the latest person to die was an 80-year-old man who had been taken to hospital last week in Lodi after having a heart attack, Reuters reports. Doctors believe he caught the virus there from another patient.
Israel turns back South Korean airliner – CBS
Meanwhile, a diplomatic row erupted after Israel turned back a South Korean airliner, underscoring fear and tensions over the fast-spreading outbreak.
A Korean Air flight with 188 passengers that landed at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport Saturday evening was taxied away from the terminal while authorities allowed only 11 Israelis to enter the country. The plane returned to South Korea with the rest of the passengers on Sunday, according to airline officials.
“The next 1-2 weeks are on the verge”, expert panel in the country says – NHK
As reports of the new coronavirus infection continued, a national expert meeting expressed the view that the next week or two would be on the verge of slowing the spread of the infection. As for what the general public can do, we ask for cooperation in measures such as 避 け る avoiding places where we face many people as close as possible and treating people with mild symptoms such as colds at home at home.
The views were summarized by a member of the Expert Group of the National Coronavirus Emergency Response Headquarters.
MILAN (Reuters) – A sixth person has died in the coronavirus outbreak in Italy, state broadcaster RAI reported on Monday.
It said the person was a cancer patient in the northern town of Brescia.
MILAN (Reuters) – A fifth person infected with the coronavirus has died in Italy, officials said on Monday as the government battled to contain Europe’s worst outbreak of the illness and Italian shares tumbled nearly 5% on fears over the economic impact.
Local authorities announced two new deaths on Monday, both men in their 80s from Lombardy. The three previous fatalities recorded since Friday were also all elderly and most of the dead had serious underlying health problems.
11 workers banned for entering Singapore without proper approval, 500 entry applications rejected daily – CNA
SINGAPORE: Eleven workers have been banned since Singapore implemented entry approval requirements for work pass holders with travel history to mainland China, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in a news release on Monday (Feb 24).
These workers had entered Singapore despite failing to obtain approval from MOM – a requirement announced on Feb 7 as part of efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19.
All work pass holders with travel history to mainland China within the last 14 days and are planning to enter or return to Singapore, are required to obtain the ministry’s approval before they start their journey.
WHO Press Conference – From Eunice Yoon’s Tweets of CNBC
Highlights
5 major findings: 1) understanding of virus. Experts studied 104 strains from different places and found they were 99.9% similar in origin. So experts believe there is no significant mutation. Ave age 51. 80% of patients 30-65. In confirmed cases, 78% from Hubei as of Feb 22…
Host- not clear. But possibly an intermediate host. Research ongoing. Transmission. Respiratory droplets. In relatively closed rooms. Might be transmitted through aerosol. Family cluster quite common. Sichuan, Guangdong typical. 78.85% cases came from family clusters…
For close contacts, all locations tracked and observed them. So far 1-5% of close contacts are later confirmed. Because it is a new #coronavirus, no people are especially immune to it, so are universally/equally able to get infected. (!)..
On severity: most patients are mild cases. 80% are mild. 13.8% severe. 6.1% critical. Death rate 3-4% nationally. Outside Wuhan: 0.7%. From symptoms to confirmed, lowered from 12 days in early Jan to 3 days now. For Wuhan, 5 to 15 days. Evidence diagnosis ability has improved…
Average recovery time: 2 weeks for mild cases from onset to recovered. 3-6 weeks for severe…
More at the Tweeter link
After officials earlier speculated about possible sources of the outbreak including Chinese workers and pilgrims from Pakistan, Iran’s health minister Saeed Namaki on Sunday said the contagion was believed to be linked to a merchant from Qom who regularly travelled between Iran and China.
The Iranian, who died from the virus, had been using indirect flights to get around a ban on direct flights between the countries introduced at the end of January.
On Monday, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain and Afghanistan recorded their first new coronavirus cases, all involving people who had visited Iran, which has reported 61 cases of the disease, state media said.
The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Saturday said that it has a series of response measures planned in case COVID-19 begins to spread in communities.
The CECC’s four-part prevention plan is based on Taiwan’s experience of dealing with the 2002-2003 SARS outbreak, Department of Medical Affairs Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said.
The first part of the plan would focus on prevention efforts, as any community-level transmission would cause a sudden spike in the number of confirmed cases, he said, offering no additional details.
In the second part, the CECC would introduce new rules to minimize the risk of infection among healthcare workers, Shih said. (more at the link above)
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Chinese patient who just recovered from the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) has reportedly been infected for the second time in the province of Sichuan, according to local health officials.
On Wednesday (Feb. 19), the People’s Daily reported that a man in Sichuan’s capital Chengdu had tested positive for the virus during a regular check-up just ten days after being discharged from the hospital. The report said he had previously been cleared of the virus by medical staff.
LOS ANGELES (NYTIMES) – The scramble to find places to quarantine American coronavirus patients is beginning to run into resistance from local officials who do not want the patients housed in their backyards.
The city of Costa Mesa, California, has gone to court to block state and federal officials, at least temporarily, from placing dozens of people evacuated from Asia in a state-owned residential centre in their community.
New virus has infected over 79,000 people globally – AP
A viral outbreak that began in China has infected more than 79,000 people globally. The World Health Organization has named the illness COVID-19, referring to its origin late last year and the coronavirus that causes it.
Hong Kong/London (CNN Business)Stock markets are falling around the world after the number of coronavirus cases surged in Italy and South Korea, putting two more major economies at risk from a virus that has already caused widespread disruption in China.
South Korea’s Kospi (KOSPI) index closed down nearly 3.9% on Monday, its worst day since October 2018, after coronavirus cases in the country surged past 800. In Italy, the main market index was down more than 4% in early trading after the number of cases there topped 150 and authorities started shutting down schools and museums in parts of the country.
BEIJING/SEOUL (Reuters) – Fears of a coronavirus pandemic grew on Monday after sharp rises in new cases reported in Iran, Italy and South Korea but China relaxed restrictions on movements in several places including Beijing as its rates of new infections eased.
The surge of infections outside mainland China triggered steep falls in Asian shares and Wall Street stock futures as investors fled to safe havens such as gold. Oil prices tumbled and the Korean won fell to its lowest since August.
Singaporeans advised to defer non-essential travel to South Korean cities affected by COVID-19: MOH – CNA
SINGAPORE: Singaporeans are advised to avoid non-essential travel to the South Korean cities of Daegu and Cheongdo as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases from the area continues to rise, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a public health travel advisory on Sunday (Feb 23).
Members of the public are also reminded to continue to exercise caution when travelling to the rest of South Korea.
Overnight increase of cases by 502. Deaths increase by 155
A staggering 50 people have died in the Iranian city of Qom from the new coronavirus this month, Iran’s semi-official ILNA news agency reported on Monday, as Kuwait, Bahrain and Afghanistan confirmed their first cases.
The new death toll is significantly higher than the latest number of confirmed cases of infections that Iranian officials had reported just a few hours earlier and which stood at just 12 deaths out of 47 cases, according to state TV.
Do farts spread the COVID-19 virus? Pants work just fine to cut off novel coronavirus transmission in farts, a Beijing district disease control center announced on Sunday.
In a lengthy and seemingly humorous yet serious article on its WeChat account, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of Tongzhou district in Beijing clarified that farts, normally, do not constitute another transmission route of COVID-19, unless someone takes a good and rather close sniff of gas from a pantless patient.
China ‘comprehensively’ bans illegal wildlife trade after COVID-19 outbreak – CNA
BEIJING: China on Monday (Feb 24) declared an immediate and “comprehensive” ban on the trade of wild animals, a practice believed responsible for the deadly COVID-19 outbreak.
The country’s top legislative committee met on Monday and approved a proposal “on comprehensively prohibiting the illegal wildlife trade, abolishing the bad habit of overconsumption of wildlife, and effectively protecting the lives and health of the people”, state television reported.
Afghanistan confirms first COVID-19 case: Health minister – CNA
KABUL: Afghanistan’s health minister said on Monday (Feb 24) the country has identified its first confirmed case of COVID-19.
Ferozuddin Feroz, the minister of public health, told a press conference in Kabul that one of three suspected cases has tested positive for the coronavirus in the western province of Herat.
He announced a state of emergency in the province, which borders Iran where dozens of cases have been confirmed and eight people have died.
“I ask people to try to stay at home and restrict their movements,” Ferozuddin said, referring to residents of the border region.
The three suspected patients in Herat had recently returned from Iran, Dr Sayed Attaullah Sayedzai, head of the disease surveillance department at ministry of public health, said on Sunday.
Italy reported Monday its fourth death from the new coronavirus, an 84-year old man in the northern Lombardy region, as the number of people contracting the virus continued to mount.
It was the third death in Lombardy, where villages have been put in lockdown and security measures enforced in a bid to stem the spread of the disease, the region’s health department said.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has said that residents could face weeks of lockdown in an effort to sit out the virus.
Seoul bears brunt as Asia, European markets dive on pandemic fear – AFP
Seoul led a sharp drop across Asian and European equity markets Monday as South Korea announced a surge in COVID-19 infections, while oil plunged and safe-haven assets rallied on growing concerns about a possible pandemic.
With the outbreak showing little sign of easing, investors are increasingly concerned it could have a much longer-term impact on the world economy, which was already stuttering, with a number of companies warning about their bottom lines.
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