Coronavirus spreads to more countries: All the latest updates
The United Kingdom has confirmed its first two cases of the new coronavirus, a day after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a global emergency.
At least 213 have died in China, as more countries announced plans to evacuate their citizens from Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of the outbreak.
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Beijing said there are at least 9,809 people confirmed to have the infection, which has spread from Wuhan’s Hubei province to every one of China’s 31 provinces.
Another 102,000 people were also reportedly under medical observation with possible symptoms of the respiratory ailment.
Here are the latest updates:
Friday, January 31
Russia confirms first cases of coronavirus, cancels flights
Russia has reported its first two cases of coronavirus, saying the infected patients were Chinese nationals who had now been isolated.
Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova said the patients are in the Zabaikalsky region, which borders China, and in the Tyumen region, which borders Kazakhstan.
Golikova told reporters that all direct flights to China from Russia would be halted from 2100GMT on Friday.
Read more about which countries have confirmed cases of coronavirus here.
Companies in Beijing to resume work on Feb 10
China’s capital Beijing has said that companies in the province will postpone reopening until February 10 in order to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, government newspaper Beijing Daily reported.
The measure is applicable to government and private companies but not to utilities and some other firms such as medical equipment companies, pharmaceutical companies and supermarkets, the newspaper reported.
Myanmar turns back China Southern flight
Authorities in Myanmar have turned back a China Southern flight from Guangzhou with almost everyone on board after one of the passengers was found with flu symptoms similar to the fast-spreading coronavirus, a government spokesman said.
The plane arrived in the commercial capital Yangon and the passenger, a Chinese national, was sent to a hospital in the city where he will be quarantined, said government spokesman Zaw Htay.
Two Myanmar nationals who also disembarked have agreed to isolate themselves in their homes for 14 days, he told reporters at a press conference.
The plane returned to Gaungzhou with everyone else on board. Myanmar has no confirmed cases of the coronavirus.
Second Chinese film premiere moved online
The film Enter the Fat Dragon will premiere via video streaming on Saturday, makers China iQiyi Inc said, after plans for the film’s premiere in cinemas were affected by the outbreak of the coronavirus;.
It will be the second film to debut online because of the outbreak following Huanxi Media Group’s decision to premiere Lost in Russia on Bytedance’s online platforms.
That decision drew protests from Chinese cinemas and film studios.
Plane evacuating French nationals from Wuhan lands
The first plane repatriating about 200 French nationals from China landed in France, French TV station BFM reported.
BFM said the plane had arrived at a military base in Istres, southern France, and was carrying around 200 people.
Italy declares state of emergency over coronavirus: Official
The Italian government has declared a state of emergency to fast-track efforts to prevent the spread of a deadly coronavirus strain after two cases were confirmed in Rome.
Italy had said on Thursday it was stopping all flights to and from China following the news that two Chinese tourists holidaying in Italy had tested positive for the virus.
Number of cases in China rises over 9,800: Ambassador
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in China has risen over 9,800, the country’s envoy to the United Nations in Vienna said.
“Altogether there are 9,809 confirmed cases. Among them, there are 1,527 cases of critical conditions, (plus) 15,238 suspected cases,” the ambassador, Wang Qun – speaking through an interpreter – told member states and reporters.
He added that there had been 213 deaths.
Singapore introduces new travel restrictions
Singapore said it was suspending entry to travelers with a recent history of travel to China and suspending visas for Chinese passport holders.
The ban, effective from Saturday, will exempt Singaporean residents and work permit holders, the health ministry said, adding that it will also apply to those transiting through Singapore, a busy global travel hub.
Italy to discuss declaring coronavirus emergency
Italy’s government is set to discuss declaring a state of national emergency over the new coronavirus, after confirming its first two cases, a cabinet statement said on Friday.
Evacuation of Germans from Wuhan to begin shortly: FM
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said that a German military plane would be leaving for China shortly to evacuate more than 100 German citizens, none of whom are infected with coronavirus or suspected of having contracted it.
Maas said the plane would arrive in Germany on Saturday and the evacuees would be kept in quarantine for two weeks.
UK confirms first cases of coronavirus
The United Kingdom has confirmed its first two cases of coronavirus in two patients from the same family in England, England’s chief medical officer said.
“The patients are receiving specialist NHS care, and we are using tried and tested infection control procedures to prevent further spread of the virus,” Chris Whitty said.
“The NHS is extremely well-prepared and used to managing infections and we are already working rapidly to identify any contact the patients had, to prevent further spread,” he added.
Read the full story here.
Thailand confirms first case of human-to-human transmission
Thailand has confirmed its first human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus inside the country, a health official said.
The patient is a Thai taxi driver, said Tanarak Pipat, deputy director-general of the Department of Disease Control.
“The Thai person who got infected does not have the record of travelling to China and it is likely that he was infected from a sick traveler from China,” Tanarak said.
Read more about which countries have confirmed cases of coronavirus here.
Oman advises against travelling to China
Oman’s health ministry has advised against travel to China.
“It is advisable not to travel to China unless it is absolutely necessary,” the ministry said in a post on Twitter.
Facebook to remove coronavirus misinformation
Facebook has said it will take down misinformation about the coronavirus in a rare departure from its approach to health content.
The company said in a blog post that it would remove content about the virus “with false claims for conspiracy theories that have been flagged by leading global health organizations and local health authorities,” saying such content would violate its ban on misinformation leading to “physical harm”.
Keeping People Safe and Informed About the Coronavirus https://t.co/DZ1R5EMr3u
— Facebook Newsroom (@fbnewsroom) January 31, 2020
Turkish Airlines halts all flights to and from mainland China
Turkish Airlines has suspended all flights to and from mainland China and is redirecting four flights currently in the air back to Istanbul.
The flights will be suspended until February 9, while flights to and from Hong Kong will remain in operation, the company said.
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To evaluate the situation regarding the Corona virus outbreak with international and local authorities: Flights to Beijing Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Xi’an will be halted until February 9th. We will keep you informed regarding all developments.
🔎 https://t.co/z7tHXPONXD pic.twitter.com/GpscIVkqfg— TK HelpDesk (@TK_HelpDesk) January 30, 2020
Mongolia to close all ports of entry from, into China
Mongolia will close all ports of entry from and into China until March 2, the government said.
It will give its citizens currently in China until February 6 to return home, though non-Chinese foreign nationals travelling to Mongolia will not be able to do so via China.
South Korea confirms four more cases
South Korea has confirmed four more cases of the new coronavirus, bringing the country’s total to 11.
One is a 62-year-old South Korean woman who visited Wuhan, while the three others are presumed to be classified as person-to-person transmission cases, as they have not visited China recently, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said.
Read more about which countries have confirmed cases here.
WHO declares global health emergency – but what does it mean?
The WHO’s declaration of a global health emergency over the coronavirus means there is now more money available to combat the outbreak, Al Jazeera’s Wayne Hay, reporting from Hong Kong, said.
“That means the WHO now has more funds that it can throw at the problem but it also effectively gives the WHO more power because member nations, including China, have a binding obligation to accept and implement any decisions that the WHO makes.”
Vietnam carrier Vietjet to suspend China flights
Vietnamese carrier Vietjet will suspend all flights to and from China from February 1, the company said.
“Vietjet has already planned to suspend all of its flights to China,” it said in a statement. “The suspension is effective from February 1.”
Turkey to evacuate its citizens, others, from Wuhan: Health minister
Turkey’s health minister has said 34 Turkish citizens and several others will be airlifted from Wuhan.
The others include 7 Azeris, 7 Georgians and 1 Albanian.
The plane will take off from the Turkish capital, Anakara on Friday.
Diary of a Wuhan native: A week under quarantine
A teacher living in the epicentre of the deadly outbreak shares her experiences of isolation with Al Jazeera as the quarantine in Wuhan continues.
Read the full story here.
RwandAir suspends all flights to China
RwandAir has halted flights to and from China until further notice.
“RwandAir is to suspend flights with immediate effect between the Rwandan capital, Kigali, and the Chinese city of Guangzhou,” the airline said in a statement. “The decision will be reviewed later in February”.
Vietnam to ban visas for Chinese tourists
Authorities in Vietnam are introducing a temporary ban on issuing travel visas to Chinese tourists, a government statement said.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security has called on immigration officials to stop issuing visas to Chinese tourists amid growing concern over the new coronavirus, the statement read.
Vietnamese citizens were also encouraged not to travel to the Chinese border, while Vietnam’s travel authorities have asked all travel companies to suspend flights to infected regions in China.
Plane leaves Wuhan with 110 Britons and foreigners on board
A plane carrying 83 British and 27 foreign nationals has flown out from Wuhan, the UK government said.
The civilian aircraft chartered by the Foreign Office left the city at 09:45 local time (0145 GMT) and is due to arrive in the UK at 1300GMT before going to Spain, where the home countries of European Union citizens will take responsibility for the remaining passengers.
“We know how distressing the situation has been for those waiting to leave,” UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said, according to a notice on the government’s website. “We have been working round the clock to clear the way for a safe departure.”
Kenya Airway suspends all flights to China
Kenya Airways has suspended all flights to and from China until further notice.
“We have temporarily suspended all flights to and from Guangzhou starting Friday until further notice,” the airline said in a statement on its Twitter account.
— Kenya Airways (@KenyaAirways) January 31, 2020
Xiamen Airlines flights to fly citizens back to Wuhan
China’s civil aviation authority announced that it will dispatch two Xiamen Airlines planes to fly Wuhan citizens back from Bangkok, Thailand and Malaysia, according to the newspaper, People’s Daily.
China’s foreign ministry announced the decision earlier in the day in view of “practical difficulties that Hubei citizens, especially those from Wuhan, have faced overseas”.
Japan urges citizens to avoid non-urgent trips to all of China
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told parliament the government has decided to raise its infectious disease advisory level for China, excluding Hubei province, to 2, urging citizens to avoid non-urgent trips to the country.
The government is already telling its citizens not to take any trips to China’s central province of Hubei.
China to bring home overseas citizens from Hubei
The Chinese government is to send charter planes to bring citizens from virus-hit Hubei province who are overseas back “as soon as possible”, the foreign ministry said.
This is in view of “practical difficulties that Hubei citizens, especially those from Wuhan, have faced overseas”, said ministry of foreign affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying.
US gov’t warns US citizens against China travel over virus
The US State Department increased its travel advisory for China, as the death toll from a fast-spreading virus rose to more than 200 and the WHO declared a global health emergency.
In a notice posted on its website, the State Department said: “Do not travel to China due to novel coronavirus first identified in Wuhan, China.”
German foreign ministry warns against travel to Hubei
The German Foreign Ministry has warned against travel to China’s Hubei province.
The ministry also recommended that non-essential travel to China be postponed “if possible.”
Travellers were also advised to heed the advice of local Chinese authorities.
The ministry urged travellers to “get vaccinated against influenza with the current northern hemisphere vaccine” before setting off, according to the partial travel warning posted on the ministry’s website.
LPGA event cancelled, Olympic football qualifiers changed
The elite women’s LPGA golf tour has cancelled an event in China and Olympic football qualifying matches in Australia are being shuffled.
The four-team women’s football tournament involving China, Australia, Taiwan and Thailand was moved from Wuhan and hastily rearranged to be held in Australia by the Asian Football Confederation.
Organisers were forced to change their match schedule after China’s team, who arrived in Australia on January 29, were placed in quarantine in Brisbane until after February 5.
Meanwhile, the LPGA said its Blue Bay tournament due to be held on Hainan island from March 5-8 had been cancelled.
Japan to enforce special measures for coronavirus from Saturday: NHK
Japan plans to bring forward the date that the coronavirus will become a “designated infectious disease” to Saturday from February 7, public broadcaster NHK said.
Japanese Minister of Health Katsunobu Kato said that the government was considering moving up the date, without elaborating.
The government classified the virus as a designated infectious disease on Tuesday, a move that allows compulsory hospitalisation, stricter screening of people entering the country, and the use of public funds for treatment, among other measures.
In line with regulations, the designation was only set to take effect on February 7 after ordinances are issued.
China has confidence to win war against coronavirus: foreign ministry
China has the confidence and capability to win the war against the new coronavirus, said the country’s foreign ministry spokeswoman in responding to WHO’s decision to declare the virus outbreak in China as a global emergency.
Hua Chunying, the ministry spokeswoman, also said China will continue to work with the WHO and other countries to maintain global and regional public health security.
Charter flight carrying South Koreans from Wuhan arrives home
A charter flight carrying 367 South Koreans from Wuhan landed at the Gimpo International Airport on Friday, South Korea’s foreign ministry said.
The first of up to four flights planned to evacuate South Koreans from Wuhan departed on Friday morning, after an unexpected hours-long delay because China had only approved one flight.
About 700 South Koreans have signed up for the charter flights.
More French citizens evacuated from Wuhan
A jet carrying approximately 200 French citizens flew out of the virus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan on Friday, according to AFP journalists on board the flight.
The French military aircraft is bound for southern France, where the passengers will undergo a 14-day quarantine.
More Canadians ask for help to leave China
The number of Canadians looking to flee China because of the coronavirus epidemic rose to nearly 200 on Thursday while a third suspected case in Canada was confirmed.
Officials told a parliamentary committee that 196 Canadians in Wuhan – the epicentre of the epidemic – have requested help getting back home, an increase from Wednesday when the government announced an airlift for 160.
The Globe and Mail newspaper said the families of Canadian diplomats in China who were “vulnerable” to infections were also being repatriated. The foreign ministry was not immediately available to confirm the report.
They include people with existing medical conditions, over the age of 65 or under five, said the daily.
Read updates from Thursday, January 30 here.