Summary of Saturday’s developments
- The Department of Health said 203 people had been tested in the UK as of 2pm on Saturday, with 201 results coming back negative and two positive.
- One of the two people who has tested positive for coronavirus is a student at the University of York. The student infected is not thought to have come into contact with anyone on campus while showing symptoms, Public Health England said, but investigations are ongoing to fully establish this. The University of York said it has been advised that the risk of the infection being passed to other people on campus is low.
- The Foreign Office said it is withdrawing staff from China after it flew dozens of UK nationals home from coronavirus-hit Wuhan. Essential staff will remain to continue “critical work” but the FCO has warned its ability to provide help to Britons in the country may be limited.
- More than 100 Germans and family members landed in Frankfurt today after being evacuated from Wuhan. None of the people on the aircraft had shown any symptoms of the virus, German Health Minister Jens Spahn said.
- The Russian military will evacuate Russian citizens from China on Monday and Tuesday.
- Vietnam has suspended all China flights, its civil aviation authority said.
- Qatar Airways has suspended flights to mainland China from 3 February due to “significant operational challenges caused by entry restrictions imposed by several countries”.
- Delta Airlines says its last China-bound flight will leave today and the last return flight will be on Sunday.
My colleague Lucy Campbell is at The University of York and says students have been milling about, going to the gym or library as normal.
Kate Bunting, a second year biology student, said it was “quite scary” to learn they had been staying at the Staycity hotel in York as it is right next to where she lives.
Kate added she and her friends felt some of the media coverage was scaremongering.
“I don’t think it’s as scary as it sounds, the fact that there’s a low risk of further contamination gives me some security and it’s only because it’s here that people find it a bit scary.
“But nobody I know is changing their behaviour because of it and the uni’s done a good job of updating us throughout the week.
“It’s just been a normal day on campus, but quiet, but then it always is on a Saturday.”
Three Philippines airlines have cancelled flights to China after health officials confirmed the country’s first case of coronavirus.
A 38-year-old Chinese woman who arrived from Wuhan, China, tested positive for the virus on Thursday.
Delta Airlines says its last China-bound flight will leave today and the last return flight will be on Sunday.
Delta had previously planned to suspended all flights to China by Thursday.
More than 100 Germans and family members landed in Frankfurt today after being evacuated from Wuhan.
None of the people on the aircraft had shown any symptoms of the virus, German Health Minister Jens Spahn told reporters.
“All those returning are currently healthy but to protect them, their personal environment and society at large, it is important that we ensure that nobody is infected,” Spahn said.
Spahn also warned against hysteria and hostility towards those in quarantine.
“I am most concerned about conspiracy theories of all sorts that circulate in the social media, which only have one goal, to spread uncertainty.”
Germany confirmed a seventh case of the coronavirus on Friday.
The IndiGo carrier has said it will suspend flights on the Kolkata-Guangzhou route from February 6 to February 25.
Authorities have detected the first suspected case of coronavirus in Tunisia, according to local reports.
The passenger is male and was returning to Tunis Airport via Qatar from China.
A summary of what other countries are doing to address the outbreak:
- The Russian military will evacuate Russian citizens from China on Monday and Tuesday.
- Vietnam has suspended all China flights, its civil aviation authority said.
- Qatar Airways has suspended flights to mainland China from 3 February due to “significant operational challenges caused by entry restrictions imposed by several countries”.
- Iraq’s Basra International A airport said it was denying entry to passengers of any nationality travelling to Iraq from China.
- Turkmenistan Airlines has suspended flights to and from Beijing.
- The government of Uzbekistan has instructed the state airline to suspend flights to and from China.
- The evacuation of Thai nationals from the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in China could take place “in a matter of days”, Thailand’s government said.
The Russian military will evacuate Russian citizens from China next week due to the coronavirus outbreak, news agencies have reported.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the evacuation would take place in regions that had been most affected by the outbreak.
Peskov initially said that evacuation will start on Saturday but later corrected himself, saying it will be carried out on Monday and Tuesday.
The Russian defence ministry plans to use five aeroplanes to evacuate people from China.
Updated
Samara Jones, the president of the University of York Students’ Union, has released a statement after the news that one of two people who have tested positive for coronavirus in the UK was a student at the university. She said:“Our thoughts are with the family affected.
“The student community at York is a tight-knit, global community and we will continue to support one another at this time.
“We would encourage students with any questions to keep an eye on the university’s website. The dedicated helpline will remain open over the weekend.”
Updated
The University of York’s vice chancellor, Prof Charlie Jeffrey, has said he wants to reassure students and staff that the university is working with Public Health England and other agencies to manage the situation at a briefing outside the university.
The risk of the virus being transmitted on campus was low and the university would open as normal, he said.
He said the university, which is home to students and staff from more than 140 countries, is “very much an international community”.
Updated
China’s Hubei provincial government has extended the lunar new year holiday break to 13 February as it seeks to curb the coronavirus outbreak that emerged from its capital, Wuhan, the Hubei Daily reported.
Updated
The University of Derby has confirmed that “a very small number” of students who came back from Wuhan before travel restrictions were put in place are self-isolating for 14 days. A spokeswoman for the university said all the students were fit and well.
Updated
Department of Health: 203 people tested for coronavirus in UK
The Department of Health said 203 people had been tested in the UK as of 2pm on Saturday, with 201 results coming back negative and two positive.
Updated
Horseman Coaches, which repatriated 83 Britons yesterday from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire following the flight from Wuhan, has issued a statement on the safety of its drivers and passengers. The company said:
- Horseman Coaches had provided PPE (personal protective equipment) equipment for all drivers involved.
- Military medics and government officials told drivers that PPE equipment was not necessary due to the precautions already taken by the Department of Health and Public Health England.
- Government officials confirmed drivers wearing PPE while driving posed a greater risk to the safety of passengers. This was a governmental decision based on a risk assessment conducted by the Department of Health and Public Health England.
- An individual photographed wearing a PPE suit was in direct contact with each of the 83 Britons, and so needed to wear protective clothing.
- The individuals repatriated have not had direct contact with any drivers, and officials from PHE have been present to supervise and manage the situation at all times.
- PHE has confirmed all drivers may return to work immediately, however Horseman Coaches has asked all drivers to remain at home on full pay and benefits for the next 10 working days under quarantine conditions as an additional precautionary measure.
James Horseman, the company’s director, added: “We wish to reassure our customers that every recommendation made by the deputy chief medical officer for Public Health England has been correctly followed and implemented.
“The five coaches used, out of 62 in our fleet, will remain locked in a secure facility for a minimum of 10 working days after a military-grade cleansing process has been completed as an additional precautionary measure.
“PHE has confirmed that there will be no risk to any future passengers.”
Updated
The government has said it will send another plane to Wuhan to rescue British citizens if needed.
The Foreign Office is working with EU countries to add British passengers to any rescue flights they may charter back from the city, according to PA Media.
The Cabinet Office minister, Michael Gove, said another plane will be sent to Wuhan if necessary.
Updated
China has exempted US imports from tariffs as it tries to tackle the coronavirus epidemic.
Beijing announced that US imports that can be used in its fight against the new virus will be exempted from retaliatory tariffs imposed in the trade war.
The US and China have been engaged in a trade conflict for around two years, although both sides came to a ceasefire last month as Beijing agreed to buy a further $200bn of US products in a partial trade deal.
China has now announced it will “implement more preferential import tariff measures from January to March 2020, to step up support for prevention and control of the (ongoing) epidemic”.
Authorities said any tariffs levied on goods used in the fight against the virus could be refunded.
Beijing said it would relax its rules on tariff exemptions and this would extend to goods such as disinfectants, protective supplies and emergency command vehicles.
Updated
The UN on the coronavirus outbreak.
"This is the time for facts, not fear.
— UN Geneva (@UNGeneva) February 1, 2020
This is the time for science, not rumors.
This is the time for solidarity, not stigma.
We are all in this together."@DrTedros of @who declares a public health emergency of international concern over #coronavirus.https://t.co/GmRJNvqmCN pic.twitter.com/voa5UP5Kq0
The outbreak has infected more than 11,900 people globally.
China has had 11,791 cases on the mainland. In addition, Hong Kong has 12 cases and Macau has five.
Most of the 259 deaths have been in central Hubei province, where illnesses from the new type of coronavirus were first detected in December. Here are the other cases:
Thailand: 19
Japan: 20
Singapore: 18
South Korea: 12
Taiwan: 10
Malaysia: 8
Australia: 7
Germany: 6
United States: 6
France: 6
Vietnam: 6
Canada: 4
United Arab Emirates: 4
Russia: 2
Italy: 2
United Kingdom: 2
Cambodia: 1
Finland: 1
India: 1
Philippines: 1
Nepal: 1
Sri Lanka: 1
Sweden: 1
Spain: 1
Updated
Vietnam has suspended all China flights as part of “strengthening measures” against the coronavirus outbreak, its civil aviation authority said.
The decision applies to all airlines “which have routes between Vietnam and China” and includes Hong Kong and Macau, the directive posted on its website said.
An earlier version included Taiwan but references to the island have since been removed.
Updated
Russia’s aerospace forces, part of the armed forces, will start evacuating Russian citizens from China today due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters the evacuation would take place in regions that had been most affected by the outbreak.
Russia’s deputy prime minister, Tatiana Golikova, said on Friday that Russia planned to evacuate more than 600 of its citizens now in Wuhan and Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak in China, and they will be quarantined for 14 days.
Russia has already reported its first two cases of coronavirus and restricted direct flights to China.
Updated
A British man who has remained in Wuhan to be with his wife and family is worried he will be forgotten by the UK government.
The Foreign Office (FCO) said it would have limited ability to help Britons in China after it made the decision to withdraw all but essential staff from the country due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Chris Hill, 38, is one of the Britons who has chosen to remain in the country where he lives with his wife, Caitlyn Gao, and daughter, Renee Gao, who are both Chinese citizens.
He told the PA news agency: “My only worry now is, after everybody pulls out, the FCO will forget about those who are staying and not give any support for us.”
Hill, who is from Sunderland, added: “For British nationals that are staying in Wuhan, but also in China, to have the consulate and embassy evacuating, it’s not a good sight to see really, is it?
“My concerns would basically be that they’re going to completely write off China in the long run. Even though they say that they are trying, it’s also a fear that with pulling all the staff out, they’re just going to go ‘out of sight, out of mind’.”
Hill said he received a call from the FCO today saying he, his wife and daughter would be able to get on an evacuation plane bound for France.
But his wife is unable to leave because she works as a nurse at a hospital and is also unwilling to abandon her parents.
Updated
Public Health England has said it is making good progress in tracing people who have come into close contact with the two Chinese nationals diagnosed with the new strain of coronavirus in the UK.
Those who have been in close contact – within two metres of those infected for at least 15 minutes – will receive advice.
The pair, who are related, were confirmed as having coronavirus after being taken ill at a hotel in York on Friday.
It has since emerged that one of them is a student at the University of York.
Updated
Here is the statement from the University of York.
Public Health England (PHE) have confirmed that one of the two individuals recently reported to have tested positive for coronavirus is a student at the University of York, but that risk of infection on campus remains low. Full information and updates: https://t.co/MIUqrcyOzn
— University of York (@UniOfYork) February 1, 2020
Updated
The University of York said it has been advised by Public Health England (PHE) that the risk of the infection being passed to other people on campus is low, after it was confirmed that one of two people who have tested positive for coronavirus in the UK was a student at the university.
A spokesman for the university said: “We understand this development will cause concern and anxiety among our students, staff, and the wider community.
“PHE has advised us that the risk of infection being passed to others on campus is low.
“Current information from PHE suggests that the student did not come into contact with anybody on campus whilst they had symptoms, but investigations are ongoing to fully establish this.
“Our immediate concerns are for the affected student and family, along with the health and continued wellbeing of our staff, students and visitors.”
Updated
Qatar Airways has announced it has suspended flights to mainland China from 3 February due to “significant operational challenges caused by entry restrictions imposed by several countries”.
Updated
Public Health England has said the University of York student confirmed as infected with coronavirus did not come in contact with anyone on campus while showing the coronavirus symptoms, Sky News is reporting.
Updated
Vietnam has declared a public health emergency over the coronavirus epidemic and said it would stop all flights to and from China.
The government said it would also stop issuing visas for foreign visitors who had been in China in the past two weeks.
All permits granted for flights between Vietnam and China, including Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, have been revoked until further notice, the government said.
Budget carrier Vietjet Air and the national firm, Vietnam Airlines, earlier said they would suspend all flights to and from China from today.
Updated
One of two people in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus is University of York student
One of the two people who has tested positive for coronavirus is a student at the University of York, a university spokesman said.
He said the university continues to operate normally.
The spokesman added: “We are monitoring the situation closely and we continue to provide as much advice, care and support as we can to our university community.
“If people have any concerns about their health in relation to suspected coronavirus we ask that they follow current PHE advice and contact NHS 111.
“The University has set up a call centre over the weekend for anyone who has any further concerns or inquiries. The telephone number is 01904 809571.”
Updated
Three Chinese citizens were denied entry to Erbil International airport, in the semiautonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq, over fears about the coronavirus outbreak in China, authorities said.
The three passengers were sent back to Dubai, from where they had flown to Erbil, a statement from Kurdistan’s airport authority said.
Iraq’s Basra International airport said on Friday it was denying entry to passengers of any nationality travelling to Iraq from China.
Updated
Turkmenistan Airlines has suspended flights to and from Beijing.
The move was aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus, the company said in a statement.
The government of Uzbekistan has also instructed the state airline to suspend flights to and from China.
Charter flights will bring back Uzbek citizens if they wish to return, except from Wuhan, it said.
Updated
The World Health Organization has advised that it is safe to receive a letter or a package from China.
Q: Is it safe to receive a letter or a package from China?
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) February 1, 2020
A: Yes, it is safe. People receiving packages from China are not at risk of contracting #2019nCoV.
From previous analysis, we know coronaviruses do not survive long on objects, such as letters or packages.#KnowTheFacts pic.twitter.com/RBBqjkd5JQ
Eighty-three Britons evacuated from China will spend their first full day in quarantine today.
They will spend 14 days in two apartment blocks normally used to house nurses, who have been moved to local hotels, in Wirral.
The UK evacuees have been put up in fully furnished rooms, including kitchens, and provided with food and laundry facilities.
Families are being kept together with toys and baby equipment available.
They will have access to a team of medical staff who will closely monitor their condition.
An English teacher, speaking from his room at Arrowe Park Hospital, Wirral, told The Guardian: “It’s like being in a crap hotel or a student halls of residence.
“I haven’t actually asked but I suspect I’m not really supposed to come out here in the next 14 days.
“It’s alright though. It will be OK.”
Matt Raw, one of those in quarantine, said he and his family “were extremely glad to be here” and they are feeling fine.
He told the BBC that he, his wife and his mother were staying in a four-bedroom apartment, along with another woman and her daughter.
Raw stressed they had “an army of people looking after them”.
He added there was a contained area outside where they were able to get some fresh air, adding they were “allowed contact with anybody within the facility, as long as we’re wearing face masks”.
Updated
Officials are attempting to trace people who had close contact with two Chinese nationals diagnosed with the new strain of coronavirus in the UK.
The pair, who are related, were taken ill while staying at a hotel in York on Friday.
Public Health England (PHE) said anyone who had close contact – defined as being within two metres of those infected for at least 15 minutes – will receive health advice.
Professor Sharon Peacock, director of the national infection service at PHE, said: “Public Health England is contacting people who had close contact with the confirmed cases.
“Close contacts will be given health advice about symptoms and emergency contact details to use if they become unwell in the 14 days after contact with the confirmed cases.”
Updated
Here is the latest advice from the Department of Health and Social Care.
Here's our latest advice for the public on #coronavirus.
— Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) February 1, 2020
The government and NHS are well prepared to deal with this virus.
There are some simple steps you can take to help.
Full information 🔽https://t.co/CZh5JdyN2Q pic.twitter.com/VzHKZtkL9R
Updated
The Department of Health and Social Care has just published its latest advice for the public.
It has confirmed that two patients in England have tested positive for coronavirus. If more cases are confirmed in the UK, it will be announced as soon as possible by the relevant chief medical officer.
“Based on the World Health Organization’s declaration that this is a public health emergency of international concern, the UK chief medical officers have raised the risk to the public from low to moderate,” the statement said. “This permits the government to plan for all eventualities.
“The risk to individuals in the UK has not changed at this stage. Our advice for travellers from Wuhan and Hubei province remains unchanged from the below and we have added further advice for travellers from elsewhere in China.
“As of 31 January, a total of 177 UK tests have concluded, of which 175 were confirmed negative and 2 positive.
“Some 1,466 passengers and 95 staff arrived in the UK on direct flights from Wuhan between 10 and 24 January.
- 162 of the passengers have already left the UK.
- 53 of the crew have already left the UK.
- 866 are now outside of the incubation period.”
Updated
The Guardian’s Beijing bureau chief, Lily Kuo, has tweeted about new restrictions in the second worst-hit city in China, Huanggang.
New restrictions on the second worst-hit city in China. In Huanggang, only one family member per household will be allowed to go out every two days to get supplies, necessities. https://t.co/7YiP5pUqNg
— Lily Kuo (@lilkuo) February 1, 2020
Updated
China’s premier, Li Keqiang, has asked the EU to facilitate China’s urgent procurement of medical supplies from member countries, the Chinese government said.
Updated
Foreign Office pulls staff out of China
The Foreign Office is withdrawing staff from China hours after flying dozens of UK nationals home from coronavirus-hit Wuhan, PA Media reports.
Essential staff will remain to continue “critical work” but the FCO has warned that its ability to provide help to Britons in the country may be limited.
The rescued UK nationals were taken to Arrowe Park hospital in Wirral in a convoy of six coaches on Friday.
They will spend the next 14 days in quarantine.
Updated
Here is our latest news report by Justin McCurry, which lays out Beijing’s anger at the US announcing a ban on foreign arrivals from China.
Updated
Thailand to evacuate its nationals from China
The evacuation of Thai nationals from the centre of the coronavirus outbreak in China could take place “in a matter of days”, Thailand’s government said on Saturday.
Three officials from the Thai embassy in Beijing were expected to reach Wuhan, the capital of the central province of Hubei where the outbreak began, on Sunday to help with the evacuation, government spokeswoman Narumon Pinyosinwat said.
“We have an increase from 161 to now 182 Thais in the area who have registered with us, and we are verifying their documents,” she told Reuters.
“The evacuation will be in a matter of days, likely after February 2,” she said.
Updated
Apple will close its stores in China “due to recent public health and prevention concerns” until 9 February, a statement on the company’s Chinese website says.
Updated
Agence France-Presse has details on China’s operation to fly its citizens back home to Hubei from overseas.
A Xiamen Air charter flight from Bangkok touched down late on Friday in Wuhan, where the infection originated, possibly in a market that sold wild animals.
Health authorities in full-body, white protective gear stood by the cabin door as the plane’s 73 passengers disembarked, smiling through face masks and waving to news photographers.
A second Xiamen flight landed soon afterwards, carrying Hubei residents from Kota Kinabalu, a popular coastal tourist destination in Malaysia.
China’s foreign ministry said earlier on Friday that the country would bring Wuhan residents back from overseas “as soon as possible” due to “the practical difficulties that Chinese citizens from Hubei, especially Wuhan, have faced overseas”.
Updated
Summary
- The number of confirmed deaths from China’s coronavirus outbreak has risen to 259, as authorities in hardest-hit Hubei province reported 45 new fatalities.
- Cases of infection in China now stand at more than 11,790.
- Both the US and Australia have announced travel bans for anyone coming from mainland China, except for citizens and residents. Citizens travelling from China will be subject to a two-week quarantine.
- The Trump administration has declared a public health emergency over the coronavirus outbreak.
- Multiple airlines have also suspended flights to mainland China until 29 March, including Australian airline Qantas, which has cancelled flights to Shanghai and Beijing, and Air New Zealand which has suspended flights to Shanghai.
- Australia now has 10 reported cases of coronavirus.
- The UK government is withdrawing staff from embassies across China.
- Two patients in England, who are members of the same family, have tested positive for coronavirus. They are being treated in Newcastle.
- India has reported its first case of coronavirus, a student in Kerala who had studied at Wuhan University, while Russia has also reported its first two cases.
- The plane carrying 83 Britons to the UK from Wuhan in China landed at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire and the evacuees were driven to a facility in Wirral, where they will stay in quarantine for the next 14 days. The UK government has promised to send another plane to evacuate any “frustrated” Britons who could not get on the first flight.
Updated
Britain withdraws some embassy staff from China
Britain is withdrawing some staff from its embassy and consulates in China due to the coronavirus, the UK government said in a statement on Saturday.
“As of 31 January, some staff and dependants from the British embassy and consulates are being withdrawn from China. Essential staff needed to continue critical work will remain. In the event that the situation deteriorates further, the ability of the British embassy and consulates to provide assistance to British nationals from within China may be limited.”
Updated
Australia issues China travel ban
Speaking at a press conference, Australian prime minister Scott Morrison announced that no one travelling from mainland China would be allowed into Australia unless they are Australian citizens or residents. Entry will be denied to anyone who has left or transited through mainland China from 1 February.
Morrison also announced that the Australian government had raised the travel advice warning to level four, recommending that no Australian travel to anywhere in mainland China, following the spread of coronavirus beyond Hubei province.
Australian citizens returning from China will have to be quarantined for two weeks, said Morrison. Half a million masks will also be provided for those coming off flights from China, while thermometers and special screening arrangements will be set up at airports.
Updated
In India, 324 Indians evacuated from Wuhan arrived in Delhi this morning and have been taken to two quarantine centres. Six people were held back from taking the flight after they reported high fevers.
India has so far reported one cases of coronavirus in the country, a student in Kerala who had studied at Wuhan university.
Updated
Beijing has criticised the US government’s decision to raise their travel warning advisory on China to the highest level of risk.
The Chinese foreign ministry said that the US travel alert levels were not a “gesture of goodwill”. The World Health Organization opposes the introduction of travel restrictions to China.
Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for China’s foreign ministry, said on Friday in an online statement: “Just as the WHO recommended against travel restrictions, the United States rushed to go in the opposite way. Certainly it’s not a gesture of goodwill.”
Updated
Air NZ suspends daily flights to Shanghai
Air New Zealand has now suspended all daily flights to Shanghai amid coronavirus outbreak.
“Our teams are currently putting in place alternative travel options for customers impacted by the suspension and they will be contacted directly over the coming week,” said Air New Zealand’s chief David Morgan.
Updated
According to a Reuters report, coronavirus has led to a damaging drop in tourism for beach resorts in Thailand which are hugely popular with Chinese tourists. Reduced travel from China alone could result in 50 billion baht ($1.52 billion) of lost tourism revenue, the Thai Tourism Ministry estimated.
In Phuket, which is usually thriving with Chinese tourists who travel over for the new year holiday, the streets were empty. “The impact is tremendous,” said shop owner 45-year old Ausana Akaradachakul. “Only a few days after the news broke about the virus, the Chinese tourists were visibly few. I think about 70% of them are gone.”
Qantas to suspend flights to China
The airline has announced the suspension of mainland China services from 9 February.
Here’s the statement:
Qantas will suspend its two direct services to mainland China (Sydney-Beijing and Sydney-Shanghai) from 9 February until 29 March 2020.
This follows entry restrictions imposed by countries including Singapore and the United States, which impact the movement of crew who work across the Qantas International network.
These entry restrictions pose significant logistical challenges for rostering crew to operate mainland China services, leading to the need to temporarily suspend these flights.
Images of the first group of Chinese residents to arrive back in Wuhan have emerged.
Updated
Agence France-Presse reports that China’s virus outbreak has forced the country’s first badminton tournament of the 2020 world tour season to be postponed, organisers said Saturday.
The six-day China Masters was due to start on 25 February at Lingshui, in China’s southern Hainan island.
But organisers “considered all necessary health, safety and logistical risks and... believe it is sensible to postpone the tournament at this time, said a statement from the Badminton World Federation.
Several players had already withdrawn from the competition, the BWF added.
We’ve got a bit more on Australia’s reaction to the virus, after the Queensland state premier called on the government to stop flights from China.
A spokesman for Australia’s prime minister, Scott Morrison, said national security officials would hear from the chief medical officer, Prof Brendan Murphy, in Sydney on Saturday.
Morrison is then due to give a press conference at 3pm.
Updated
Summary
Here is a quick breakdown of where we are up to:
- The number of confirmed deaths from China’s coronavirus outbreak has risen to 259, as authorities in hardest-hit Hubei province reported 45 new fatalities.
- Cases of infection in China now stand at more than 11,790.
- The Trump administration has declared a public health emergency over the coronavirus outbreak.
- It has also announced it will temporarily bar entry to the US for people travelling from China unless they are Americans or immediately related to US citizens.
- Two patients in England, who are members of the same family, have tested positive for coronavirus. They are being treated in Newcastle.
- The Foreign Office said it was ‘aware of frustrations’ of Brits who had wanted to leave Wuhan but proved unable to board the evacuation plane.
- Michael Gove told Sky News the government would send another plane to Wuhan to evacuate British nationals if needed.
- Russia has reported its first two cases of coronavirus. Russia’s deputy prime minister Tatiana Golikova told reporters the infected people were Chinese citizens who had been isolated.
- Australia now has 10 cases. The premier of Queensland has called on the government to stop planes arriving from China.
- The plane carrying 83 Britons to the UK from Wuhan in China landed at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire and the evacuees were driven to a facility on the Wirral where they will stay in quarantine for the next 14 days.
- Thailand has recorded its first human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus after a taxi driver was apparently infected by a traveller.
- The Trump administration has declared a public health emergency over the coronavirus outbreak. It has also announced it will temporarily bar entry to the US for people traveling from China.
- A plan to evacuate Australians stranded in China is likely to go ahead over the weekend, the AAP news agency is reporting.
Agence France-Presse reports that African countries are scrambling to avert an outbreak of the rapidly spreading coronavirus strain, as health officials warn that the poorest countries are ill-equipped to combat the deadly disease.
Across the continent, governments have stationed nurses at airports to check for feverish passengers and have suspended Chinese entry visas, while ordinary people grow increasingly nervous.
There have been no verified infections in Africa to date, but deep trade links with China and often overstretched healthcare systems are raising concerns about the capacity to respond to an outbreak.
More from Annastacia Palaszczuk’s press conference:
“The community needs to be calm. There are only two confirmed cases but the number of cases in Australia is the same as in the United States.”
“Whatever action the federal government can take I implore them to take that action.”
“We need to take some immediate short-term measures.”
Annastacia Palaszczuk calls for ban on flights from China
Annastacia Palaszczuk, the Queensland premier, has called for more regular updates from the federal government.
“We do need more clear messaging to reassure Australians.”
She also wants a ban on incoming flights from China.
“I believe that the recommendations in relation to no more incoming flights until the virus is contained.”
“I don’t usually agree with Donald Trump,” she said. “But I do agree with the US authorities on this occasion that I think we should take every measure possible to combat this virus.”
Updated
In Australia, the Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is giving a press conference about the virus.
She has urged people not to discriminate against the Chinese community.
“Do the right thing and show respect,” she said.
She said she had been briefed by the chief health officer and Australia must contain the virus in the same way that the US is.
“All people returning from China need to self-isolate.”
Here is more information about the latest case in the Australian state of Victoria:
The Australian Associated Press reports that the woman aged in her 20s became ill two days after returning from Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, last Saturday.
She was not infectious on her flight back to Victoria and is recovering at home in isolation, as authorities wait for 13 other test results for the respiratory illness.
Australia confirms 10th case - reports
There are reports from the state of Victoria that Australia has confirmed its 10th case of coronavirus.
A new case of novel coronavirus has been confirmed in Victoria @theheraldsun
— Wes Hosking (@WesHosking) February 1, 2020
Australia records its 10th #nCoV2019 case 👇 https://t.co/KVO6acLa90
— Amy Coopes (@coopesdetat) February 1, 2020
Biden criticises Trump over health cuts
The Associated Press report that Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden has criticized President Donald Trump for reducing US oversight of global health issues before the coronavirus outbreak.
“We have, right now, a crisis with the coronavirus,” said Biden. “This is no time for Donald Trump’s record of hysteria and xenophobia - hysterical xenophobia - and fearmongering to lead the way instead of science.”
Biden said Trump had rolled back progress on global health oversight that occurred when he was vice president from 2009 to 2017.
In particular, he cited “draconian cuts” the White House proposed to the budgets of “the very agencies that we need to fight this outbreak,” including the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
A spokesman for Trump’s re-election campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Global Times, China’s Communist party-controlled tabloid, has tweeted out a video that purports to show drones telling people who are out in public without a face mask to go home and wash their hands.
It is quite the dystopian vision.
Walking around without a protective face mask? Well, you can't avoid these sharp-tongued drones! Many village and cities in China are using drones equipped with speakers to patrol during the #coronavirus outbreak. pic.twitter.com/ILbLmlkL9R
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) January 31, 2020
Updated
There has been a lot of misinformation about the coronavirus circulating online. We have debunked a lot of it here.
The latest unfounded rumour is that the 2020 Tokyo Olympics have been called off as a result of the virus, according to Japanese news site Mainichi.
The next round of talks on a global biodiversity treaty due to be held in the Chinese city of Kunming on 24 February will be moved to Rome as a result of a coronavirus outbreak, the United Nations announced.
The UN’s Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity said it had reached the decision after consultations with the Chinese government.
Kunming is still set to host the main round of global biodiversity talks in October this year.
Infections surge to 11,791
China’s National Health Commission has said in its daily update that number of infections has risen by 2,102 to 11,791.
Most British papers lead today on the nation leaving the European Union, but the Daily Mail has chosen to splash on coronavirus:
MAIL: How many more UK victims of virus? #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/dW72mAt2hG
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) January 31, 2020
The Associated Press has spoken to some of the 200 Americans evacuated from Wuhan, one of whom said they were “very relieved’ to be quarantined at a military base in Southern California for two weeks.
“All of us really want to stay here and make sure were all medically clear and the public safe”, said Matthew L. McCoy, a theme park designer who lives in China.
So far there’s been no sign of illness among the group.
“We understand this action may seem drastic. We would rather be remembered for overreacting than underreacting,” said Dr Nancy Messonnier of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
My colleague Nicola Slawson has spoken to an English teacher who has lived in Wuhan for the last four years. He described his long journey back to the UK after being evacuated on Friday.
Speaking from his room at Arrowe Park Hospital, Wirral, where he and 82 other Britons will be quarantined for two weeks in NHS staff accommodation, he said he was “very tired” after a 30 hour journey but grateful to have been evacuated.
The 32-year-old man, who asked not to be named, described the facilities where he was staying:
“It’s like being in a crap hotel or a student halls of residence. I haven’t actually asked but I suspect I’m not really supposed to come out here in the next 14 days. It’s alright though. It will be OK.”
Here is the full story:
Reuters is reporting that the northern Chinese city of Tianjin has ordered schools and non-essential companies to remain closed until further notice to curb the spread of the coronavirus that has already infected thousands in the country, a local government-run newspaper said.
Tianjin Daily, said the date when work and school could resume would be announced at a later stage, citing a local government committee responsible for controlling the epidemic.
Tianjin, which has a population of around 15 million and borders capital Beijing, had 32 confirmed cases of coronavirus as of 10pm local time on 31 January.
Hello and welcome to our coverage of the coronavirus outbreak.
Here is a quick summary of where we are up to:
- The number of confirmed deaths from China’s coronavirus outbreak has risen to 258, as authorities in hardest-hit Hubei province reported 45 new fatalities.
- Cases of infection in China now stand at more than 11,000
- The Trump administration has declared a public health emergency over the coronavirus outbreak.
- It has also announced it will temporarily bar entry to the US for people travelling from China unless they are Americans or immediately related to US citizens.
- Two patients in England, who are members of the same family, have tested positive for coronavirus. They are being treated in Newcastle.
- The Foreign Office said it was ‘aware of frustrations’ of Brits who had wanted to leave Wuhan but proved unable to board the evacuation plane.
- Michael Gove told Sky News the government would send another plane to Wuhan to evacuate British nationals if needed.
- Russia has reported its first two cases of coronavirus. Russia’s deputy prime minister Tatiana Golikova told reporters the infected people were Chinese citizens who had been isolated.
- The plane carrying 83 Britons to the UK from Wuhan in China landed at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire and the evacuees were driven to a facility on the Wirral where they will stay in quarantine for the next 14 days.
- Thailand has recorded its first human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus after a taxi driver was apparently infected by a traveller.
- The Trump administration has declared a public health emergency over the coronavirus outbreak. It has also announced it will temporarily bar entry to the US for people traveling from China.
- A plan to evacuate Australians stranded in China is likely to go ahead over the weekend, the AAP news agency is reporting.
Here is our latest news wrap:
