Chinese health authorities have warned people not to travel to the city of Wuhan over concerns a new viral illness that has infected hundreds and killed at least 17 could mutate and spread further.
Some 473 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in 13 jurisdictions, said Li Bin, deputy director of the National Health Commission.
The virus has also spread to Thailand, where four cases have been confirmed, as well as Japan, South Korea, Macau, Hong Kong and the United States, which have all reported one case each.
Officials are working on the assumption the outbreak resulted from human exposure to wild animals being sold illegally at a food market in Wuhan and the virus is mutating, Gao Fu, an academic of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control, told a news conference.
Health minister Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford has announced there will be “enhanced monitoring” of all direct flights from Wuhan to the UK from today.
Catch-up on events as the happened
A new virus that has infected hundreds of people and killed nine is adapting and mutating, a Chinese health official has warned.
"We are still in the process of learning more about this disease." Gao Fu, an academic of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control said at the news conference.
The coronavirus has spread to Beijing and Shanghai, as well as overseas to the United States, Japan, South Korea and Thailand.
Chinese health authorities have warned people not to travel into and out of the city of Wuhan, where the virus originated.
There were 440 confirmed cases and nine people have died, according to Li Bin, deputy director of the National Health Commission.
“There has already been human-to-human transmission and infection of medical workers,” Mr Li said at a news conference with health experts.
“Evidence has shown that the disease has been transmitted through the respiratory tract and there is the possibility of viral mutation.”
Chinese health officials say virus could mutate and spread further as they warn: 'Don't go to Wuhan, don't leave Wuhan'
Some 440 cases confirmed so far as disease reported in Thailand, Japan, South Korea and United StatesDonald Trump has said the US has a plan in place to contain the coronavirus outbreak.
"We do have a plan and we think it is going to be handled very well. We've already handled it very well. The CDC [Center for Disease Control] is terrific. Very professional..." the US president said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
Hong Kong has confirmed its first case of coronavirus following an outbreak in mainland China, local broadcasters RTHK, Cable TV and TVB said, citing unnamed sources.
Cases have also been reported in South Korea, Thailand, Japan, Macau and the US.
Here is everything travellers need to know about coronavirus, from Simon Calder, our travel correspondent.
The World Health Organization has said: “Based on currently available information, WHO does not recommend any restriction of travel or trade.”
Travellers from China to three airports in the US – Los Angeles, New York JFK and San Francisco – are having their temperatures taken and filling out a “symptom questionnaire” that asks if they are suffering with a fever, a cough or breathing difficulties. But such procedures are of questionable value since they cover only a tiny proportion of travellers.
Australia has said that it will screen arrivals from Wuhan. Airports in the UAE, where many passengers transfer, say they are on standby to implement precautions.
Everything travellers need to know about coronavirus
‘The risk to travellers to Wuhan from this disease is low and we are not advising them to change their plans’ – Public Health EnglandThailand has quarantined a fourth patient with the new cornavirus, authorities have said.
At least one Thai national is among those who have been diagnosed with the virus. The 73-year-old woman had travelled to Wuhan during the New Year holiday and developed a fever after returning.
Heathrow Airport is going to introduce separate areas for passengers travelling from regions affected by the coronavirus outbreak in China, transport minister Grant Shapps has said.
"That is something which we are keeping a very close eye on," Mr Shapps told Sky News.
"There's been some announcements this morning about flights that come direct from the infected region to Heathrow with some additional measures there. This is to ensure that when flights come in directly to Heathrow there is a separate area for people to arrive in."
China has now confirmed 473 cases of coronavirus, according to state media.
Heathrow Airport is introducing new measures to prevent the introduction of coronavirus into the UK, Helen Coffey writes.
Three direct flights a week currently arrive at Heathrow from Wuhan.
Further directives are expected to be issued by health minister Matt Hancock later today, including that a team of health workers meet direct flights from Wuhan at Heathrow airport and that inflight announcements are made and leaflets distributed instructing passengers who feel ill to seek assistance from the health team.
Heathrow creates separate arrival area for passengers arriving from coronavirus region
World Health Organization expected to declare international public health emergencyThe current risk of coronavirus in the UK is "considered low", Dr Nick Phin, deputy director of the National Infection Service at Public Health England, has said.
In a statement, he said: “This is a new and rapidly evolving situation where information on cases and the virus is being gathered and assessed daily.
"Based on the available evidence, the current risk to the UK is considered low. We are working with the WHO and other international partners, have issued advice to the NHS and are keeping the situation under constant review.
“If you are traveling to Wuhan, you should maintain good hand, respiratory and personal hygiene and should avoid visiting animal and bird markets or people who are ill with respiratory symptoms.
“If you are traveling to Wuhan, you should maintain good hand, respiratory and personal hygiene and should avoid visiting animal and bird markets or people who are ill with respiratory symptoms.
"Individuals should seek medical attention if they develop respiratory symptoms within 14 days of visiting Wuhan, either in China or on their return to the UK. They should phone ahead before attending any health services and mention their recent travel to the city.”
Companies across China have been handing out masks amid fears the coronavirus will spread rapidly through the population.
Firms from Foxconn to Huawei Technologies and HSBC Holdings have issued advisories, while the government has urged members of the public to be extra careful if showing symptoms of a fever or a cold and has asked travel and other companies to accommodate people who might be affected.
Dr. David Heymann, who headed WHO's global response to Sars in 2003, said the new virus appears dangerous to older people with other health conditions, but does not look nearly as infectious as Sars.
"It looks like it doesn't transmit through the air very easily and probably transmits through close contact," he said. "That was not the case with SARS."
A World Health Organisation panel of experts will meet today to evaluate whether outbreak constitutes an international emergency.
The 16 independent experts in disease control, virology, epidemiology and vaccine development held a closed-door meeting at the UN agency's Geneva headquarters.
Hong Kong has quarantined a 39-year-old man after the city's first preliminary positive result in a test for the new flu-like coronavirus found in an outbreak in central mainland China, authorities said.
The tourist from Wuhan came to Hong Kong on Tuesday via high-speed rail from nearby Shenzhen and was detected having fever at the border.
He was in stable condition in an isolation ward at Princess Margaret Hospital, Sophia Chan, the health minister, said.
Russia is working to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus strain in China, Rospotrebnadzor, the country's consumer safety regulator has said, according to the RIA news agency.
"Yes, of course, the development of a vaccine is underway. Every time we have a mutation [of a virus], we start developing a vaccine immediately," Anna Popova, the head of Rospotrebnadzor, was cited as saying.
RIA cited Elena Yezhlova, head of Rospotrebnadzor's Epidemiological Surveillance Department, as explaining the process.
"The development of a vaccine is a long and complicated process; a decision is made on the basis of risk and the level of need dictated by the current situation," Ms Yezhlova was quoted as saying.
"At present, we will rely on the WHO's recommendations."
Authorities in Mexico are investigating one potential case of coronavirus in the northern border state of Tamaulipas, the country's president has said.
"It's being dealt with," Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said. A second potential case of the infection in Mexico had been ruled out, he added.
The death toll from the virus in China has risen to 17, state TV has reported. The previous death toll was nine.
Turkey has prepared thermal cameras and other precautions against the spread of the new flu-like coronavirus, but currently has no cases or at-risk patients, the country's health minister has said.
Turkey's new Istanbul airport is a major international hub, handling more than 50 million passengers last year, and flag-carrier Turkish Airlines operates daily flights to destinations in China including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
"We have preparations, including taking a risky patient from China to our quarantine room and taking them to the hospital via a specially designated ambulance," Fahrettin Koca told the state-owned Anadolu news agency.
"The World Health Organization [WHO] did not recommend thermal cameras for Turkey, but we took all precautions anyway, including thermal cameras."
In contrast with its secretary over the 2002-2003 Sars outbreak, which killed nearly 800 people, China has this time given regular updates to try and head off panic as millions travel at home and abroad for the Lunar New Year.
"The rise in the mobility of the public has objectively increased the risk of the epidemic spreading," National Health Commission vice-minister Li Bin acknowledged.
Amid official exhortations to stay calm, many Chinese were cancelling trips, buying face masks, avoiding public places like cinemas and shopping centres, and even turning to an online plague simulation game or watching disaster movie The Flu as a way to cope.
"The best way to conquer fear is to confront fear," said one commentator on China's Twitter-like Weibo.
