Closing summary
- The head of the World Health Organization has written to all health ministers urging them immediately to improve data-sharing on coronavirus.
- Britons in China have criticised updated advice from the Foreign Office urging them to leave China if they can.
- Canada is preparing to repatriate about 300 of its citizens from Wuhan this Thursday.
- The number of people who have tested negative for the virus in the UK is now up to 414. Two people who have tested positive are in hospital in Newcastle.
- The death toll in China from the virus has increased to 425, and confirmed cases have passed 20,000. The mortality rate stands at 2.1%.
- The new hospital in Wuhan, built in 10 days, has accepted its first patients. Macau says it will shut its casinos for two weeks to try to stop spread of virus.
- Japan has prevented passengers from leaving a cruise ship after a male passenger was found to be infected with the coronavirus when he disembarked in Hong Kong late last month.
- Taiwan bans entry of foreign nationals who have visited China in previous 14 days.
- The US has reported its second human-to-human case of transmission. Belgian has reported its first coronavirus case, in a woman who was on a repatriation flight from Wuhan.
Updated
WHO chief urges health ministries to share coronavirus data
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday he had written to all health ministers urging them immediately to improve data-sharing on coronavirus and said he would send a team of international experts to work with Chinese counterparts, Reuters reports.
So far 22 nations have officially reported trade or travel-related measures linked to the coronavirus, which WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said should be “short in duration, proportionate” and reviewed regularly.
Chen Xu, China’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, told the WHO executive board that some restrictions went against the UN agency’s advice, and he told countries “not to over-react”.
So far 27 cases of person-to-person spread of the virus have been documented in nine countries outside of China, WHO officials said. The overall public health cost of the outbreak response from February to April is estimated at $675m, which does not include the social or economic consequences of the outbreak, they added.
Updated
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has said it is taking steps to speed up the development of vaccines and treatments for coronavirus.
In a statement on the agency’s website, Guido Rasi, its executive director, said it had activated its plan for “managing emerging health threats”.
He said: “The new coronavirus has been declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization, and we are drawing on the strong expertise of the European medicines network to provide fast-track scientific advice and give prompt feedback on any proposed medicine developments.”
Updated
More Britons have been contacting the Guardian with their responses to the Foreign Office’s call for them to leave China.
David, a teacher and poet in Shanghai, who preferred to keep his surname private, said:
The announcement by Dominic Raab has certainly caused a stir, but feels particularly like something said as though in order to get excuses in early. The UK government was strongly criticised for its lamentable handling of the evacuations from Wuhan, and it’s announcement today feels a bit like “leave, because we won’t come and help you”.
For many of us this has put us in an impossible position. I’m gay, my partner is Chinese. We met in the UK and have been together many years, but we are not married. It would be very unlikely he’d be able to leave China with me – and I can’t exactly see our government handing out visas to partners and dependants.
It’s all a bit of a shocker really.
Tom Styles, a teacher at a language school in Huizhou, Guangdong province, said:
I’ve lived in China for the past 7 years ... and myself and fellow Brits have been left baffled by today’s announcement by Dominic Raab. It seemed such a generic blanket statement ...
How long should we go back for? What to do about our jobs (all of which have been very understanding and supportive giving us updates, free masks, advice etc). Why now? There seems to be no great spike in numbers compared to previous days, do they know something we don’t?
Unless there’s a good reason for this it doesn’t help with the general sense of paranoia at the moment and will add further worry to our friends and family back home.
Updated
Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, has sharply criticised the government’s advice to British nationals in China that they should return to the UK.
From the very start of this outbreak, the government’s response has been a total shambles, and now they appear to be telling British nationals in China simply to fend for themselves in terms of getting out of the country.
How on earth has the Foreign Office not got plans and protocols in place for how these crises are managed? The first duty of any government is to protect its citizens, at home and abroad, and Boris Johnson is manifestly failing to do that.
The AFP agency reports that the foreign ministers of France and Germany are considering the possibility that Europe could impose a US-style ban on foreign visitors who have recently been to China, in an effort to battle the spread of coronavirus.
“Indeed, there is the question of possible travel restrictions or at least increased examination [of travellers) at the border,” Germany’s Jens Spahn said at a meeting in Paris with his French counterpart Agnes Buzyn.
He was responding to a question about whether Europe would consider a ban similar to that imposed by the United States, which China has accused of spreading “panic”.
“It makes no sense that a single country takes measures” on a continent with border-free travel between most nations, said Spahn.
The new coronavirus has killed more than 400 people and infected a further 20,000 in China since emerging in December and has now spread to more than 20 other countries.
Buzyn agreed that travel restriction “is one of the questions for European ministers. We must have a coherent vision in the [passport-free] Schengen area. There is no sense in one country taking this type of decision while citizens move around freely.”
Buzyn said they would ask the Croatian presidency of the EU council to call a meeting of health ministers within days to discuss further measures needed in the face of the coronavirus crisis.
“We would like … closer cooperation so that we have exactly the same measures in all countries in order to be consistent in Europe since there is this free movement of people, and we wish to maintain this free movement.”
Updated
An eight-year-old boy has been diagnosed with coronavirus in Queensland, bringing Australia’s total number of patients with the illness up to 13, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports.
The child is Chinese and from Wuhan, where the outbreak began, and had been travelling in the same tour group as Queensland’s two other confirmed coronavirus patients, a 44-year-old man and a 42-year-old woman.
He has been placed in isolation at the Gold Coast university hospital and is in a stable condition, according to ABC.
Updated
The updated advice from the Foreign Office warning all British nationals to leave China has left many Britons wondering what to do. With many holding down jobs and relationships, keeping pets or even raising children in the country, it is not simple to up sticks and leave.
Robin Mitchell, a 38-year-old lecturer in Xiamen, Fujian province, has a six-year-old daughter with his Chinese partner. He said:
I have just read that the Foreign Office has advised us Brits to leave China, and that Professor Head thinks this move will be reassuring. I’d just like to assure the professor that this news is about as far from reassuring as possible.
For most expats, leaving China is not like cutting a holiday short. We have jobs, houses, pets and (most importantly of all) family here. I, and presumably hundreds or possibly thousands like me, have a child with a Chinese partner, which complicates matters even further as visa applications take months.
Since the outbreak the consulate has not made any attempt to contact any expat I know, and appears to have completely jumped ship (if media reports are to be believed).
If Dominic Raab is serious about our safety as his priority, he could start by assuring us that Chinese parents of British nationals will be allowed to enter the UK if we follow his advice and leave China.
Another Briton, a recent graduate who is working as an English teacher in Chengdu, and who preferred not to be named, called the Foreign Office advice an “unwelcome intervention”. He pointed out that, alongside financial responsibilities such as continuing to pay rent for their Chinese homes, some British nationals simply can’t afford a ticket out. He said:
The recent advice from the government - for UK nationals to leave China as soon as we are able - has come at an already tense time for many of us in Chengdu. As you will already know, the Chinese authorities have prolonged the spring festival until the 10th February, however, my company has put in place systems whereby we can, or rather have to, work from home. This mainly involves correcting students’ oral presentations or reading practice on the Chinese messaging app WeChat.
At the same time, many foreign teachers have chosen to take unpaid leave in order to return home. The company has not yet made it clear to us when classes will resume in earnest (though early March has made its way through the rumour mill) and this has left many of us in a state of limbo. Do we follow the precedent set by others, potentially leaving China for an uncertain length of time, which might in some way jeopardize our contracts, or do we hold out for further information from the company or the Chinese authorities, by which time it might be even more difficult to leave.
The advice from the UK government is therefore somewhat of an unwelcome intervention as no new information on the virus has been provided. It also ignores the fact that many of us in China have financial responsibilities, paying rent being chief amongst them, that we cannot simply ignore or afford to neglect. This is beside the fact that some of us simply can’t afford the price of a flight home at the moment.
We’re in a bind with no new information from either the Chinese or British governments with regards to the severity or spread of the virus and a lack of transparency from our company as to the future conditions of our employment. Many staff are understandably scared of the recent outbreak and what it might mean for our health but I would say that concerns regarding our employment are of equal if not greater immediate importance and unfortunately the government’s advice offers no easy solution pertaining to this issue.
Updated
Six more cases of coronavirus have been detected in Singapore, including four with no recent travel history to China, bringing the total number of infected patients in the city state up to 24, reports the English-language local news channel CNA.
CNA’s report cites Singapore’s health ministry as saying that the four cases of local transmission are linked to travellers from China, whilst the other two were Singaporeans repatriated from Wuhan on 30 January.
Levels of concern over the spread of coronavirus remain high in York, where the UK’s only two positive-tested cases of the illness were detected last week.
York Central’s MP, Rachael Maskell, raised concerns in a Commons debate about the coronavirus on Monday, in particular raising concerns about how MPs, the NHS, the council and other statutory agencies have been briefed over Coronavirus developments in the city, reports York paper The Press. She said:
I particularly thank Public Health England for the advice it has provided throughout the weekend, but levels of concern remain high in York. Not only is that impacting on the local economy, but people are concerned. That concern could be alleviated by better communication and if the statutory bodies — including the local authority, the university, the police and other authorities — are kept better informed about what is happening.
A reader from York emailed me to say he senses a huge disparity between what was happening in York, where the patients were detected, in Newcastle, where they have been taken for treatment, and in the Wirral, where British nationals repatriated from Wuhan have been taken to quarantine. He said:
In the Wirral there is military grade assistance to care for people suspected with Corona virus, whereas in York there is nothing, and we’ve actually had it here. There is huge concern about whether the virus was passed onto anyone.
PHE are not giving out any information and it’s impossible to know if we are at risk or not. We don’t know when the two individuals arrived, how they got here?, how long they stayed?, where did they go?, where did they eat? York City Council even announced that York was ‘safe and open for business’ shortly after the coronavirus discovery was published. This careless statement filled the streets over the weekend. York has given every opportunity possible to spread this virus.
Rachael Maskell, our local MP, has voiced her concerns over the lack of information whereas York city council have a blasé attitude of “just sneeze into your elbow and essentially keep calm and carry on.”
The people of York want answers so we can make informed decisions.
Updated
Canadian police have arrested a man on a charge of “mischief” after he falsely told passengers and crew on a Jamaica-bound flight he was infected with coronavirus, forcing the plane to turn back mid-flight, reports Leyland Cecco from Toronto.
The WestJet plane departed Toronto Monday morning for Montego Bay. Two hours into the flight— halfway to its destination— the 29 year old man told passengers he had recently visited China and contracted the virus.
Flight crews quickly gave the man a mask and rubber gloves, requesting he move to the back of the plane.
“Out of an abundance of caution, our crew followed all protocols for infectious disease on board, including sequestering an individual who made an unfounded claim regarding coronavirus,” WestJet said in a statement.
After the pilot was made aware of the situation, the plane turned around midair. Because the passenger’s claims of recently visiting China barred the flight from landing in the US, the pilot was forced to return back in Toronto, where police and medical crews were waiting.
Peel police told reporters the man’s claim of a coronavirus infection were determined to be “unfounded”. He was subsequently charged with mischief and is set to appear in court 9 March.
WestJet apologized to frustrated passengers, placing them on a new flight that departed early Tuesday morning.
Updated
Canada readies flight to repatriate 300 nationals
Canada is preparing to repatriate about 300 of its citizens from Wuhan this Thursday, a Canadian government source has told Reuters.
Canadians in the city received an email from their government’s foreign ministry saying a plane was expected to leave on 6 February, according to a report by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
However, a Canadian government source said the Chinese government had yet to give final consent for the flight, Reuters says. Residents of Wuhan and Hubei have been under quarantine for a few weeks as China attempts to contain the spread of the virus.
According to a portion of the letter the CBC posted online, not everyone who is eligible for a seat will get one.
Canadian evacuees will be flown first to Vancouver, where the plane will refuel, and then on to Trenton Air Force base in southern Ontario, where they will be placed in quarantine for 14 days.
Damien Gayle taking over the reins on the liveblog now. As usual I want to hear your news, experiences and questions, from wherever you are in the world, to make sure our coverage is comprehensive. You can email me at damien.gayle@theguardian.com, or reach me through my Twitter profile, @damiengayle.
Experts have described the Foreign Office’s decision to advise British nationals to leave China as “prudent” but say it should not be seen as sign that virus has become any more risky.
Dr Nathalie MacDermott, clinical lecturer, King’s College London, said:
“Given the increasing number of cases of 2019-nCoV in China and the spread to multiple large cities within China, which have now also demonstrated increasing numbers of cases and localised transmission within those cities, this advice is prudent. The advice is not an indicator of a change in what we understand of the virus or its virulence, it is a decision made on the proportionate risk to British citizens in light of the scale of the epidemic. While the risk to British citizens in China remains low, the continued spread of the virus in large cities increases the chances of infection and potentially the risk of implementation of transport restrictions in the future.”
Prof Jonathan Ball, Professor of Molecular Virology, University of Nottingham, said:
“Clearly the government is getting concerned about the increasing number and spread of the novel coronavirus within China and the risk that this might pose to UK residents living or planning to visit China.”
“This is a judgement call – and not an easy one to make.”
Dr Michael Head, senior research fellow in Global Health, University of Southampton, said:
“This move will probably be reassuring to UK citizens in China. There may be significant local uncertainty as to how much risk there is of being exposed to this new coronavirus, and so it seems reasonable to makes attempts to support their removal from the country, until the spread of cases within China has reduced.”
Prof Paul Hunter, Professor in Medicine, University of East Anglia, said:
“It should be noted that this is advice and not a legal restriction. The World Health Organization still says ‘WHO advises against the application of any restrictions of international traffic based on the information currently available on this event’. Given that the new advice is not an absolute restriction, the UK’s position does not conflict with that of the WHO.
“It is still not yet possible to know how the outbreak will develop over the coming weeks and months but the current risks to British Nationals resident in most of mainland China remains low.
“If this current epidemic does develop into a pandemic with outbreaks in multiple countries then travel restrictions will become increasingly difficult to implement and less relevant towards the control of international spread.”
These comments were compiled by the Science Media Centre.
Updated
414 people tested negative in the UK
The number of people who have tested negative for the virus in the UK is now up to 414, according to the latest daily update from the Department of Health and Social Care.
Two people who tested positive are being treated at a special unit in Newcastle.
UPDATE on #coronavirus testing in the UK:
— Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) February 4, 2020
As of 2pm on Tuesday 4 February 2020, a total of 416 tests have concluded:
414 were confirmed negative.
2 positive.
Updates will be published at 2pm daily until further notice.
For latest information visit:
▶️ https://t.co/CZh5JdyN2Q pic.twitter.com/RqQWvRKjti
A Belgian woman who has just tested positive for coronavirus was on the same French repatriation flight that brought back 11 UK evacuees from Wuhan.
The woman was one of nine Belgians on board the flight, Belgium’s health agency said.
It was a French chartered flight evacuated more than 250 people from 30 countries including the UK. The French plane first landed at a military airbase in Istres, southern France. The non-French evacuees were then flown to their respective countries.
Twenty evacuees presented some coronavirus symptoms and stayed at the military airbase to allow test to be carried out.
The Belgian woman who has tested positive showed no signs symptoms of the virus.
Earlier the WHO reported that the virus was stable and there was no evidence it was mutating, but Chinese scientists have reported “striking” mutations between family members, the South China Post reports.
Researchers studying a cluster of infections within a family in the southern province of Guangdong said the genes of the virus went through some significant changes as it spread within the family.
Viruses mutate all the time, but most changes are synonymous or “silent”, having little effect on the way the virus behaves. Others, known as nonsynonymous substitutions, can alter biological traits, allowing them to adapt to different environments.
Two nonsynonymous changes took place in the viral strains isolated from the family, according to a new study by Professor Cui Jie and colleagues at the Institut Pasteur of Shanghai.
This case indicated “viral evolution may have occurred during person-to-person transmission”, they wrote in the paper published in the journal National Science Review on 29 January.
Updated
What we know so far
Here’s a summary of what we know so far:
- The Foreign Office has urged UK citizens to leave China if they can. In updated travel advice it said: “commercial airlines are still operating, but it may become harder to access departure options over the coming weeks”.
- The World Health Organization said the virus is not yet a pandemic. It added that it was showing no evidence of mutating.
- The death toll in China from the virus has increased to 425, with confirmed cases passing 20,000. The mortality rate currently stands at 2.1%.
- The new hospital in Wuhan, built in 10 days, has accepted its first patients. Macau says it will shut its casinos for two weeks to try to stop spread of virus
-
Japan has prevented passengers from leaving a cruise ship after a male passenger was found to be infected with the coronavirus when he disembarked in Hong Kong late last month.
- Taiwan bans entry of foreign nationals who have visited China in previous 14 days.
- The US has reported its second human-to-human case of transmission. Belgian has reported its first case in a woman who was on a repatriation flight from Wuhan.
Updated
The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, has been noticeably absent from public view as his government scrambles to fight the coronavirus outbreak that claimed more than 400 lives and infected more than 20,000 people.
His most recent public appearance was on 28 January when he met the director general of the World Health Organization in Beijing and said he was “personally commanding” the response to the outbreak.
Yet Xi does not appear to be the face of the government’s fight against the virus. He has not been pictured visiting hospitals, doctors or patients. In the days after officials acknowledged the gravity of the crisis it was the premier, Li Keqiang, who visited Wuhan, the city at the centre of the outbreak. While photos of a long convoy prompted rumours over the weekend that Xi was on his way to Wuhan, he has yet to turn up.
Foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, has confirmed that his officials are now urging UK citizens to leave China (see earlier). Raab said:
“We now advise British nationals in China to leave the country if they can, to minimise their risk of exposure to the virus.
“Where there are still British nationals in Hubei province who wish to be evacuated, we will continue to work around the clock to facilitate this.”
The Foreign Office said that commercial flights departing China were available throughout the country, except in Hubei where the virus originated.
Updated
Russia has sent planes to China as it begins its evacuation of Russian citizens from Wuhan and Hubei province, the centre of the coronavirus outbreak.
More than 700 Russians are said to be living in the region, of which 132 had expressed a desire to return to Russia, the country’s embassy in Beijing has reported. They will be subjected to a two-week quarantine period, possibly at a Russian military hospital. The quarantine site has not been made public.
In the past few days, Russia has quickly stepped up travel restrictions to and from China. Late Monday night, the government announced a temporary ban on direct travel for foreigners from China to Russia, except via Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport.
Two cases of infection have been reported in Russia, one in Siberia and the other in Russia’s Far East. Both of the victims are Chinese citizens. One of the men, Yan Wunbin, wrote in a letter to the Chita.ru website that he was never given his test results and only learned that he had been diagnosed with the coronavirus from media reports.
He complained about conditions at the hospital in Russia’s Zabaykalsky Krai region about 240 miles from the Chinese border. There were not enough doctors on call and he was worried for the health of his two-year-old daughter, who was ill and in quarantine with him.
“If I am indeed infected, I want to apologise to everyone,” he wrote. “I am hoping for help, because my child has a temperature and diarrhoea. I understand from Chinese media that this is very dangerous, but the conditions in the hospital are not sufficient for our rehabilitation.”
Updated
Here’s a map showing where the virus has spread:
Updated
UK tells its citizens to leave China
The Foreign Office has urged UK citizens to leave China if they can. In updated travel advice it says:
The British Consulates-General in Wuhan and Chongqing are currently closed. If you’re in China and able to leave, you should do so. The elderly and those with pre-existing medical conditions may be at heightened risk ...
Some airlines, including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, have announced a suspension of flights to and from mainland China. Other commercial airlines are still operating, but it may become harder to access departure options over the coming weeks.
#China The FCO continue to advise against all travel to Hubei Province and against all but essential travel to the rest of mainland China (not including Hong Kong and Macao). If you’re in China and able to leave, you should do so. Read more: https://t.co/wiPVxuVhrR pic.twitter.com/3lijYhRHqW
— FCO travel advice (@FCOtravel) February 4, 2020
Updated
There is no evidence so far that the virus is mutating, Briand is also reported to have said.
“It is quite a stable virus”, China Global Television Network quoted her .
"It is a quite a stable virus," said World Health Organization's director of Pandemic and Epidemic Diseases Department Sylvie Briand. So far, @WHO has no evidence of #coronavirus mutation @SCBriand said during a press conference Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/3eImqZMOlA
— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) February 4, 2020
Updated
WHO: coronavirus not yet pandemic
The World Health Organization has said the outbreak does not yet constitute a “pandemic”.
The head of WHO’s global infectious hazard preparedness, Dr Sylvie Briand, said: “Currently we are not in a pandemic. We are at the phase where it is an epidemic with multiple foci, and we try to extinguish the transmission in each of these foci.”
Briand said that while there is rapid spread of transmission in Hubei, the cases outside the province are mainly “spillover cases” with sporadic clusters of transmission.
At the same time, authorities in China have taken dramatic measures to halt transmission, while other affected countries have also taken steps to avoid the spread of the virus.
“We hope that based on those measures in Hubei but also in other places where we have had spillover, we can stop transmission and get rid of this virus,” she said.
VIDEO: The head of WHO's Global Infectious Hazard Preparedness division says that the outbreak of the deadly novel #coronavirus, which has spread from China to two dozen countries, does not yet constitute a "pandemic" pic.twitter.com/YKuEh5IEbN
— AFP news agency (@AFP) February 4, 2020
Updated
Thousands of African students in Wuhan, the centre of the coronavirus epidemic, face dwindling food supplies, limited information and lockdowns restricting them to their campuses or hostels.
Two weeks after restrictions on movement were imposed, residents are running short of basic necessities, say students in the central Chinese city.
Several people described profound anxiety, insufficient food and a lack of information. Many complained about the lack of assistance received from their own embassies, but refrained from criticising Chinese authorities.
African countries are rushing to reinforce their defences against the rapidly spreading coronavirus, as health officials say many countries on the continent are ill-equipped to combat the potentially lethal disease.
There have been no verified infections in Africa to date, but porous borders, a continuing flow of travellers and poorly resourced healthcare systems have raised fears that the virus could spread rapidly if the precautions of local authorities prove inadequate.
“Our greatest concern is the potential for the virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the World Health Organization’s director general, said last week.
Another British university has been hit by a coronavirus scare as a student returning from China was “self-isolated” amid fears they may have contracted the deadly illness.
The University of Southampton revealed the unnamed student felt “unwell” after landing in the UK yesterday, Solent News reports.
Fearing they had contracted the disease, the student went straight from the airport to their flat in the city and called an ambulance which took them to Southampton General hospital.
The student was kept in overnight. They were discharged this morning but only after being told they would have to ”self-isolate” until further notice.
The university said it had carried out a “deep clean” on the communal areas of the building including the lift to stop the spread of any potential outbreak.
A spokesman for the University of Southampton said: “We have spoken to the student’s flatmates and, also following the guidance from PHE, they have agreed to self-isolate until we receive further clarification from local health services.”
Updated
A London man who has just flown back from Shanghai to Gatwick said he was alarmed by the relaxed approach of British officials who refused to accept forms detailing where he had travelled in China.
Speaking to the Guardian, the man who did not want to be named, said China Air staff were very insistent that he fill in the two-page form, which asked for contact details and where he had been and where he planned to go next.
He said: “I was surprised to see that these were not accepted on arrival. I tried to hand them to staff, who said they had never seen these forms before and not to bother.”
He reported the incident to Public Health England.
He said: “When I passed through passport control, the guy said he’d never seen the form before. He said: ‘don’t bother with that, because if there’s any problems they would have told you directly’.”
“When I got to the customs I asked again and everyone was let through. I could have left other regions that have confirmed cases, including Shanghai, where there are also confirmed cases.
He added: “On the Shanghai side we were sprayed with aerosol disinfectant. Everyone’s made to wear a mask and the gloves, etc.”
The man contrasted the stringent virus controls being imposed in China with the relaxed approach in the UK.
“Everyone here is kind of blaming Chinese people, but they’re taking precautions and when you come here you are just let through. There is this self-righteous British tone from other media outlets constantly looking at how China is reacting to it, without asking what we could be doing. I’m not saying that we should automatically close the borders, but there’s middle steps that are not happening, and that just seems lazy and not planned out at the moment.”
“I was surprised because I know there has been concern to track the 2,000 people who flew to the UK from Wuhan before the outbreak was known. The fact they had not managed to find these 2,000 people sounded alarming to me. It has been declared a world public emergency, and the UK authorities still don’t seem to care about where people are going and where you’ve been.”
“In the district I live in there were no cases until yesterday, the day that I flew out. I’m happy to be back.
“Before I flew back I had self quarantine for 16 days. And on the journey I wore a mask, goggles, gloves and had alcohol handle gel.”
He still has the form and photographed a section to illustrate the tone of the document:
Updated
One of the infected Thai drivers, a 70-year-old, also had tuberculosis and was transferred into government care from a private hospital on Monday in a worse condition than the others.
The other driver was tracked down by Thai authorities after being identified as one of the people in contact with an infected Chinese tourist, Suwannachai said.
Thailand confirmed its first case of human-to-human transmission on Friday when a taxi driver tested positive. The country’s 25 cases consist of six Thais and 19 Chinese. Seventeen remain in hospital and eight have gone home, according to the health official.
Earlier on Tuesday, South Korea reported a 42-year-old woman has tested positive for coronavirus after visiting Thailand. It was not clear yet where she had contracted the virus.
Updated
China’s national health commission announced on Tuesday that the national mortality rate of coronavirus is running at 2.1%.
In Hubei province, which accounts for 97% of all fatalities, the rate is 3%. The commission said 80% of deaths were of people over the age of 60 and 75% had underlying conditions.
The Guardian’s explainer on the virus points out that the current death rates are likely to be an overestimate. This is because more people are likely to have been infected by the virus but not suffered severe enough symptoms to attend hospital, and so have not been counted.
For comparison, seasonal flu typically has a mortality rate below 1% and is thought to cause about 400,000 deaths each year globally. Sars had a death rate of more than 10%.
Updated
Photograph: STRINGER/EPA
More patients have been transferred to a rapidly built new hospital in Wuhan.
The first 50 patients were moved into Huoshenshan hospital, a prefabricated structure on the outskirts of Wuhan.
The 1,000-bed facility is equipped with state-of-the-art medical equipment, including negative-pressure isolation wards to prevent the virus from breaking the air seal. A second hospital, Leishenshan, is due to be ready soon and will provide a further 1,600 beds.
Updated
The virus has created a rare opening in domestic media coverage for debate and criticism – some from government bodies such as the supreme people’s court or the usually pro-government editor of Global Times.
But analysts say the outbreak is just as likely to justify more surveillance and invasive methods by the government. “The epidemic has given the authorities an excuse to boost control over the country,” said Willy Lam, an adjunct professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “Definitely we will see more control and surveillance.”
Updated
Hong Kong’s hospital authority says hospitals in the territory have admitted 64 people in the last 24 hours showing symptoms of coronavirus.
It comes after Hong Kong reported its first death from the virus – a 39-year-old man believed to have had underlying health issues.
An official also revealed that of the 17 confirmed case of the virus in Hong Kong, four are likely to have been locally transmitted.
Meanwhile, 4 cases out of 17 thus far confirmed #nCoV2019 cases are likely of local transmission, where local outbreak could not be precluded, said Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of Centre for Health Protection. The upcoming 14 days are vital for the control of the epidemic.
— Alvin L (@alvinllum) February 4, 2020
Updated
The authorities in Shanghai have confirmed that a seven-month-old baby girl has contracted the virus. She is the youngest person in the city to catch it, according to the Shanghai Daily.
The girl’s maternal grandparents came back to Shanghai from a trip to Wuhan on 20 January, an official said. He said the case underlined the need for anyone who has travel to Wuhan to disclose their movements to the authorities.
There are also reports of a confirmed case in a one-month-old in Guizhou.
More on #coronavirus - In Guizhou, local health officials recorded a confirmed case, and the patient is a one-month-old infant. She is now receiving treating in quarantine and her conditions are stable. pic.twitter.com/YGsR4Bc3nr
— William Yang (@WilliamYang120) February 4, 2020
Updated
Officials from the world’s largest oil producers are meeting in Vienna, the headquarters of the Opec oil cartel, today and tomorrow to discuss the sharp slide in the crude oil price following the coronavirus outbreak.
Brent crude fell to its lowest level in more than a year yesterday, at $54.17 a barrel, while US crude dropped below $50 a barrel. Prices have bounced back a little this morning on hopes of further production cuts.
Technical experts from Opec and its allies, including Russia – a group known as Opec+ – are expected to debate a cut of about 500,000 a barrels a day in Vienna, and whether to hold an emergency meeting of energy ministers in mid-February.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs said in a note:
“Oil prices are now at levels where we would expect a supply response from both Opec and shale producers, and where China would likely seek to build crude inventories.”
At the same time, some calm has returned to world stock markets following last week’s heavy losses. Chinese central bankers have pumped extra liquidity into markets and perhaps instructions from authorities not to panic are working. All Asian and European stock markets are higher.
Chinese stocks rose between 1.3% and 1.8% and in London the FTSE 100 index is up 1.5% at 7434.39, a gain of more than 100 points.
Business Live has more:
Updated
Adam Bridgeman and his wife and baby son were among 11 UK evacuees flown from Wuhan on a French-chartered flight, and are in now in quarantine at Arrowe Park in Wirral.
He missed a UK evacuation flight on Friday after confusion about whether his wife, Su, a Chinese national, would be allowed to travel. He told BBC Breakfast that all three of them were relieved to be back in the UK after an anxious flight.
Bridgeman said: “It was very stressful because we have a young young child, who is only one month old. We’re very worried about taking him to a place with lots of people who possibly have the virus, so it was it was an ordeal.”
He added: “As soon as we got here the NHS staff were very friendly and made us very comfortable. It really put us at ease, so we’re very relieved.
“We’re going to be tested soon. I’m not exactly sure. At the moment, we’re just in quarantine, and we’re isolated from anyone else. We have a little kind of apartment area. We’re not supposed to leave that. So I haven’t had a chance to sort of look around or see what how things are outside.”
Updated
A London-based woman is in Wuhan with a suspected case of coronavirus after her father was tested positive for the virus on Monday.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast via video phone from a hospital in the city, Muying Shi said she was feeling “short of breath now and coughing a lot”.
But she was most concerned about her father. She said: “My dad is more serious than I am. He got his result back yesterday. And it was positive so he was transferred to a proper quarantine hospital yesterday afternoon.
“His oxygen level is dropping, which means he is deteriorating. So I’m worried.”
Shi said it was difficult to get information about her condition and that of her father. Shi said: “It’s not easy to reach out to doctors because they are in full suits and cannot take any phone calls. So the only information I’m getting is from my calls with my dad. And he is finding it hard to speak. I’m not very sure when he would be cured, or if he would be cured.
Speaking about her own condition, Shi said:
“For now, my oxygen level is OK. It’s normal, but I still feel that is hard to breathe.
“I haven’t heard anything from the nurses or the doctors. So I’m still waiting. And when I asked them they they are not sure, they’re waiting as well. I’m quarantined in theory.
“The hospital prescribed us with some antibiotics and anti-virus medications and we also found ourselves some medications that are said to be working on this virus, but so far we don’t have any confirmed information about which kind of medication would work. We’re just trying everything.
“I have thought about going back to London a lot. But now I’m not very hopeful because now we don’t even have any public transportation on the street, not to mention whether they would let people fly out of Wuhan.”
Updated
Belgian woman on a repatriation flight tests positive
A Belgian woman who was on a repatriated flight from Wuhan on Sunday has tested positive for the coronavirus, Belgium’s health agency has announced.
In a statement, it said:
The person tested who tested positive shows no signs of illness at the moment. She was transferred last night to Saint Pierre University hospital in Brussels, one of the two reference centres in our country. This hospital has all the expertise and support necessary to guarantee the best care.
The agency said all nine Belgian on the flight had undergone a series of tests in a military hospital in the capital, Brussels. Eight of them tested negative.
A further person, from Denmark, who had not been able to return home on Sunday, had also tested negative, the agency said.
Updated
From gassy passengers to viral anthems: how Beijing is seeking to lighten the mood amid the coronavirus crisis. This includes state media striking an upbeat or humorous tone, in line with President Xi Jinping’s call for “public opinion guidance”. Read the full story below:
Reports that a South Korean person has tested positive for coronavirus following a visit to Thailand are likely to cause great concern to Thai officials. The outbreak has already dealt a massive blow to Thailand’s tourism industry, which relies upon Chinese visitors.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand said it expects 2 million fewer Chinese tourists this year than last year, when 11 million visited.
It is feared that tourists from elsewhere may also be deterred from travelling.
Thailand’s public health ministry has warned that an outbreak in a tourist area is possible, and last week the first case of human-to-human transmission was recorded when a taxi driver caught the virus from a traveller.
Summary
Here’s a summary of what we know so far about the coronavirus today.
- Hong Kong has reported its first death from the coronavirus – a 39-year-old man believed to have had underlying health issues
- Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, closed all but three border crossings with the mainland
- The death toll in China from the virus rose to 425, with confirmed cases passing 20,000
- Macau says it will shut its casinos for two weeks to try to stop spread of virus
- Wuhan’s new hospital built in 10 days accepted its first patients
- The US has reported its second human-to-human case of transmission
- The ratings agency Moodys says the economic impact of the virus on China will be “marked”
- Japan has prevented passengers from leaving a cruise ship after a male passenger was found to be infected with the coronavirus when he disembarked in Hong Kong late last month
- Australia is considering a second evacuation flight to get its remaining nationals out of Wuhan
- Taiwan bans entry of foreign nationals who have visited China in previous 14 days
Taiwan bans entry to foreign nationals who have visited China in 14 days
Taiwan’s foreign ministry has said the island will deny entry to all foreign nationals who had been to China during the past 14 days starting from Friday, due to the increasing threat from the coronavirus epidemic, Reuters reports.
The new incoming travel ban includes all foreign nationals who have been in China since 7 February, Taiwan’s foreign ministry said in a statement. It extends an existing ban on visitors from China but does not include visitors from Hong Kong and Macau.
South Korea has confirmed its 16th case of the coronavirus, reportedly involving a woman who recently returned from Thailand but had not visited China.
The Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said the patient, a 42-year-old South Korean woman, started feeling ill on 25 January, six days after she returned from Thailand, according to the Yonhap news agency.
After her condition failed to improve, she was transferred to a general hospital in the city of Gwangju and tested positive for the illness.
The KCDC said the patient had been placed in quarantine while authorities attempt to determine her recent movements and track down people with whom she came into contact.
The case, which South Korean media is describing as one of human-to-human transmission, is reportedly the second involving a person who has not been to China.
The first was a 48-year-old Chinese man who worked as a tour guide in Japan who tested positive after arriving in South Korea, Yonhap said.
Public health authorities in South Korea have so far tested 607 people, 462 of whom were given the all-clear. Among the total, 129 are undergoing further health checks. In addition, more than 1,300 people who have been in contact with patients who tested positive are being monitored for symptoms.
South Korea, like neighbouring Japan, is barring foreign nationals who are from or have passed through Hubei province. The travel ban, which came into effect on Tuesday, applies to all non-Koreans who have been to the Chinese province in the past 14 days.
Macau to shut down casinos for two weeks
Macau will shut down all casinos for two weeks in an attempt to contain the coronavirus.
Macau’s Chief Executive, Ho Iat Seng, told a press conference the government would meet with gaming operators to discuss the suspension, which is expected to include “casinos and related entertainment”.
There is no date for the suspension to start.
Macau has reported 10 cases of the virus and residents have been instructed to wear masks when travelling around the city and have been advised to stay home as much as possible.
Updated
China has rejected Taiwan’s accusation that Beijing has restricted the island’s access to the WHO during the coronavirus outbreak. The Chinese state tabloid Global Times report says:
“We always care about the health and well-being of our Taiwan compatriots. There have been no barriers for Taiwan to get the latest information on the coronavirus outbreak, said Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, at a news conference on Tuesday.”
Updated
Chinese women's football team trains in 'corridors', quarantined in Brisbane hotel
The Chinese women’s football team have been forced to train in hotel corridors ahead of their Olympic qualifying opener in Sydney on Friday.
The team has been in isolation at a Brisbane CBD hotel since their arrival in Australia last week due to strict protocols in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
You can read our full story below.
Updated
The city of Taizhou, 860km east of Wuhan, and three districts of the city of Hangzhou (capital of China’s Zhejiang province) – including the area with the main office of Chinese tech giant Alibaba – will now only allow one person per household to go outside every two days to buy necessities, AFP is reporting officials saying.
#UPDATE The city of Taizhou and three districts of the city of Hangzhou -- including the area with the main office of Chinese tech giant Alibaba -- will now only allow one person per household to go outside every two days to buy necessities, officials say#coronavirus pic.twitter.com/wmWCM0e3Ye
— AFP news agency (@AFP) February 4, 2020
I have just been looking at figures of daily increases in deaths from the virus in China and of new infections. The state-run Global Times has put the figures from the National Health Commission into a useful graphic.
Charts show daily figures of confirmed cases of novel #coronavirus in Hubei Province and all of China. Hubei reported 2,345 new cases and 64 deaths on Feb 3 compared with 3,235 new cases and 64 deaths nationwide. pic.twitter.com/h2XhqJN4Td
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) February 4, 2020
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency is reporting that South Korean airlines have suspended more than half of their flight services to China.
As of Tuesday, industry leader Korean Air Lines Co. and seven other carriers have temporarily suspended 55 out of their 100 routes to the neighbouring country, it says.
The airlines have also decided to reduce flights on 17 routes to Chinese cities, including the capital Beijing.
Updated
Taiwan calls China 'vile' over restricted access to WHO
Taiwan’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday China was “vile” for restricting the island’s access to the WHO during the coronavirus outbreak, adding to tensions with Beijing over the growing health crisis.
China, where the outbreak began, said on Monday that it had shared full information on the virus with authorities in Taiwan, where there have been 10 confirmed cases, and that channels of communication were “unblocked”.
President Xi warns virus 'directly affects' economic and social stability of China
The Chinese state news agency Xinhau reports that China’s President Xi has made an important speech to the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee on Monday to address the coronavirus outbreak.
The outcome of the epidemic prevention and control directly affects people’s lives and health, the overall economic and social stability and the country’s opening-up, Xinhau says.
Xinhau says Xi demanded “resolute opposition against bureaucratism and the practice of formalities for formalities’ sake in the prevention work”.
Those who disobey the unified command or shirk off responsibilities will be punished, Xi said. The report said that the party and government leaders supervising them would also be held accountable in severe cases.
A plane sent by Thailand to evacuate its citizens from Wuhan left Bangkok this morning. Around 144 people have reportedly registered to board. They will be flown home tonight and transferred to a navy base in Chonburi province, where they will remain in quarantine for 14 days. Anyone who boarded the flight will also have been screened by Chinese medical authorities.
Thailand, which reported its first case of human-to-human transmission last week, has stepped up surveillance measures at airports, tourism hotspots and in its shopping malls. Information signs have also been placed on public transport systems in Bangkok, where many commuters are wearing masks. On Tuesday, the government also announced it would be placing face masks and alcohol-based hand sanitiser on the state price control list, following a surge in demand for both items
Greg Hunt is being asked about the Chinese embassy’s news conference earlier, in which Wang Xining, Minister and Deputy Head of Mission of the Chinese Embassy in Australia, criticised Australia’s decision to restrict entry to Australia of foreigners who have been in China in the past 14 days. He said it left some Chinese students stranded in Australia.
Hunt doesn’t give a very clear answer, apart from saying the Australian government is following advice of medical experts.
Economic impact on China will be 'marked' – Moodys
A fall in consumer spending as large parts of China continues to be shut down will cause a “marked” impact on the economy, according to economists at the rating agency Moodys. The shut down will lower discretionary consumer spending on transportation, retail, tourism and entertainment, they said, and could also disrupt domestic supply chains if the outbreak persists, resulting in a broader hit to the economy.
They added that while China has the financial resources to absorb the shock, the country’s economy may not find it as easy to bounce back as it did during the Sars outbreak in 2003. This is because, as our financial editor Nils Pratley has pointed out, the makeup of China’s economy is quite different now and much more dependent on consumer spending than it was 17 years ago.
Moodys says:
The amplified role of consumer demand as a driver of growth raises the risk that the economic dampening effect of the current coronavirus outbreak could be greater than in 2003. In addition, the fact that the epidemic broke out just ahead of the Lunar New Year, a period of very high seasonal consumption and travel, will exacerbate the economic impact.
Hunt says at this stage there are expected to be 50 Australians on New Zealand’s evacuation flight from Wuhan. He says Australian citizens who are flying to NZ will be repatriated by Australia: “It will be our responsibility,” he says.
Updated
Australia considering second evacuation flight from Wuhan
The Australian health minister Greg Hunt is holding a news conference.
He says there are 12 confirmed cases in Australia.
“Two (cases) in South Australia, two in Queensland, four in Victoria, and four in New South Wales. And three of those in New South Wales are clear of the virus,” Hunt says.
Regarding the evacuations of Australians to Christmas Island where they are being held in quarantine, Hunt says all travellers have been examined and there are no cases of confirmed coronavirus. A pregnant woman and her partner who were on the flight are now in isolation in Perth.
He says an Air New Zealand flight will arrive in Wuhan in the next 24 hours. Australians may be on that flight.
Discussions are underway about a possible second flight to evacuate Australians from Wuhan.
Updated
Radio New Zealand is reporting that two people are in isolation at a Fiji hospital with what the health ministry describes as mild symptoms of the coronavirus. If confirmed, these would be the first two cases in the Pacific.
The Hong Kong resident who died had reportedly returned from Wuhan on 23 January via a high-speed rail link after a two-day trip.
Hong Kong Free Press reports that the man did not visit a wet market or medical facility during his time in Wuhan. He said he had felt muscle pain since 29 January and a fever since 31 January. He died on Tuesday at Princess Margaret Hospital in Kwai Chung
His death comes at a time when Hong Kong enters a second day of phased strikes by hundreds of medical workers, amid fierce debate over whether Hong Kong should seal its border with the mainland.
The China Development Forum, a major international conference, has been postponed until further notice, organisers have said. It usually takes place in mid-March.
Last year, the event proved a meeting point between dozens of central government officials, more than 100 overseas business delegates and nearly 30 scholars.
Wang Xining talked about the impact of the travel restrictions on Chinese students studying in Australia. He says some students were caught in transit after the changed travel restrictions were announced.
“There were still some people who already departed from China and, on February 2, about- some say 50, some say 70 people - most of them are students - were stranded in the airport in Sydney, Brisbane, and some in Melbourne. We are not happy about this situation because they were not alerted - there’s not enough time to be alerted about the restriction,” he says.
Updated
Chinese embassy in Canberra asks Australia to follow WHO guidelines
We are just seeing a news conference in Australia being held by the Chinese embassy in Canberra. The speaker, Wang Xining, Minister and Deputy Head of Mission of the Chinese Embassy in Australia, has said that President Xi Jingping is “in personal command” of efforts to combat the epidemic.
“All the governments (in China) - at different levels - are mobilised to carry out the request from the central government,” he said.
He paid tribute to the medical workers treating patients and recounts measures Beijing has taken to control the virus, including extending lunar new year holidays.
“China has been very open, transparent, and responsible in working with the international community and other countries to prevent the virus from further outbreak. So we shared information from the very beginning with other countries and the international health institutions, including WHO, which have won wide commendation from WHO leadership, from Director-General Tedross himself, and from many other leaders from other countries. We will continue to do that,” he said.
Asked about restrictions in Australia on the entry of foreign nationals who have been in China in the past 14 days, he says:
“It is our hope that theAustralian government contemplates and implements preventive measures on the basis of scientific, comprehensive, objective assessment of this situation in China, with a reference of the recommendations made by the international health institutions including WHO,” he said.
This appears to be a thinly-veiled swipe at Australia’s travel restrictions, and a call for countries to fall in line with WHO recommendations, which “advises against the application of any restrictions of international traffic based on the information currently available on this (coronavirus) event”.
Updated
And some more details on that reported death in Hong Kong. The South China Morning Post is reporting that the man had lived in Whampoa Garden with his mother. It says the mother was confirmed on 2 February as Hong Kong’s 15th case, but did not have a recent history of travel.
Breaking: Hong Kong confirms first novel #coronavirus death, a 39-year-old patient https://t.co/begUXImUtQ
— SCMP News (@SCMPNews) February 4, 2020
We are waiting for a press conference from the Hong Kong Hospital Authority (HA), but in the meantime the HA has said due to the absence of a “large number of medical staff in public hospitals today”, some emergency services have been severely affected. This follows industrial action that began on Monday calling for Hong Kong to close its border with China.
The statement says emergency departments of public hospitals can only focus on manpower to provide emergency services. It calls on patients with mild illnesses to go to private hospitals or clinics.
Specialist clinics can only provide a limited amount of services. Patients can call to change the appointment appointment later. If there is a need for supplementary medicine, they can go to the specialist clinic to add medicine.
“The Hospital Authority calls on all absent health care workers to return to work as soon as possible with the patient’s well-being as the main premise to provide patients with the services they need.”
Local media reports Hong Kong reports first death from virus
Chinese state media has reported that a 39-year-old man diagnosed with coronavirus has died in Hong Kong, citing local media. He would be only the second death outside mainland China from the virus.
A local outlet in Hong Kong, HK01 has reported that the man also had a “long-term illness and is known to have a cardiac arrest” at the Princess Margaret Hospital on Tuesday morning. Details will be announced at a press conference of the Department of Health and the Hospital Authority at 4.30pm local time.
HK01 says is understood that a man was the 13th confirmed case in Hong Kong and had been diagnosed on 31 January.
Another outlet in Hong Kong, RTHK, said the man had taken the high-speed train from Hong Kong to Wuhan on 21 January and from Changshanan to Hong Kong on 23 January.
RTHK reports that the Centre for Health Protection as saying he hadn’t visited any health care facilities, wet markets or seafood markets, nor had any exposure to wild animals during the incubation period.
Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, has closed all but three border crossings with the mainland, but insisted some checkpoints must stay open.
Here’s today’s front page from the South China Morning Post.
Good morning! Here’s today’s front page and the headlines you’re waking up to: pic.twitter.com/KUZTl1rjWZ
— SCMP News (@SCMPNews) February 3, 2020
There’s been huge demand for face masks with many outlets running out and long queues at shops in the city.
Bigger than Black Friday: Coronavirus outbreak overwhelms shopping agents with online mask orders https://t.co/xgskP1BdN4
— SCMP News (@SCMPNews) February 4, 2020
We are getting reports that there has been a death from coronavirus in Hong Kong. The Reuters news agency is quoting TVB news. I’ll bring you confirmation of this as soon as I have it.
Yesterday medical workers in Hong Kong when on strike, calling for the border with China to be shut. Hong Kong currently has 15 declared cases, according to Johns Hopkins University’s virus tracker.
Chinese shares up
Trading has resumed again on the Chinese stock markets and they are looking m,uch healthier than yesterday. The Shanghai Composite – the country’s benchmark – is up 0.3% after 30 minutes trading, comparing favourably with yesterday’s falls of 8%. The Shenzhen Component index is up 1.2%.
It’s harder to say what will happen from here. Our financial editor Nils Pratley points out that assuming the markets will bounce back in the same as they did after Sars in 2003 is dangerous. China has changed a lot since then, becoming more interconnected with the world, so the impact will be magnified. We just don’t know should be the starting point, he says.
Here’s his column:
China’s Global TV network, CGTN, is reporting that the Huoshenshan hospital, a SARS treatment-model makeshift hospital in Wuhan, started admitting patients on Tuesday morning. It was built in around 10 days.
Huoshenshan Hospital starts admitting patients #coronavirus https://t.co/nkBLHhambL
— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) February 4, 2020
CGTN has also published a video story of a patient’s journey from fever to diagnosis.
Reporter records patient's whole process from fever to diagnosis pic.twitter.com/l2qSVLqoKp
— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) February 4, 2020
The city of Wuhan at the heart of the coronavirus outbreak, has been in lockdown as it attempts to control the spread virus. You can see our picture gallery of life in the city below.
Japan is preventing passengers from leaving a cruise ship after a male passenger was found to be infected with the coronavirus when he disembarked in Hong Kong late last month, the health ministry said.
Several dozen quarantine officers were checking the health of the 2,500 passengers and 1,000 crew members, Japan’s health ministry said on Tuesday.
The vessel arrived at Yokohama, south of Tokyo, on Monday evening, with passengers informed that their departure would be delayed for 24 hours while tests were carried out, according to Kyodo news agency.
At least seven people on the vessel said they felt unwell, Kyodo said. The results of their tests will be available on Tuesday.
The infected passenger, a Hong Kong resident in his 80s, tested positive for the virus last weekend after returning home on the vessel on 25 January, authorities in Hong Kong said. He had boarded the cruise liner at Yokohama on 20 January. The ship has since made stops in Vietnam, Taiwan and the southern Japanese island of Okinawa.
The prime minister, Shinzo Abe, said Japan would work closely with the World Health Organization to ensure that the virus, which has infected 20 people in Japan, does not disrupt preparations for this summer’s Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
“We will closely work with the World Health Organization and others to make sure that preparations for the Olympics and Paralympics proceed without any impact from the outbreak,” Abe told MPs.
The Olympics minister, Seiko Hashimoto, said the Games’ organisers and sports associations could meet this week to discuss their response to the outbreak, days after organisers addressed false online rumours that the Games would be cancelled.
MPs in Japan, where 20 people have tested positive for the respiratory illness, have called on the Abe administration to do more to protect the public, including making tests more widely available. Testing is currently conducted only at government-run or public institutions, such as the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Tokyo.
“We have already started developing a simple test kit,” Abe said, adding that improving the testing regime was an “urgent task”.
Japan is preventing foreign nationals who have been to Hubei in the previous two weeks from entering the country, joining other countries in imposing travel restrictions in an attempt to contain the spread of the virus. Holders of Chinese passports issued in Hubei are also barred.
The government’s chief spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, said eight people had been prevented from entering Japan over the weekend.
Updated
There has been a lot of discussion social media and from emails from Guardian readers about how many people have had the virus and recovered.
This has been quite a difficult figure to pin down globally.
The latest figure that I have from the National Health Commission is that 632 people in China have so far recovered from the virus.
Outside of China the most up-to-date figures I have on recoveries (from Johns Hopkins University) are:
- Australia 2
- Japan 1
- Vietnam 1
Updated
Chinese state media is reporting that a one-month-old baby has been confirmed as having the coronavirus in Guizhou province.
A one-month-old infant has been confirmed as having been infected with the novel #coronavirus in Guizhou Province on Feb 3, according to the local health authority. pic.twitter.com/ffjoKZxc10
— People's Daily, China (@PDChina) February 4, 2020
Just breaking down those figures for the virus in China, the National Health Commission says:
- Of the 3,235 newly confirmed cases, 2,345 cases are in Hubei province. This includes 492 severe cases,442 of which are in Hubei province
- All 64 new deaths are in Hubei province
- Of 5,072 new suspected cases, 3,182 are in Hubei province
- There are 23,214 suspected cases nationally
- It says “at present, 221,015 close contacts have been tracked”. 171,329 are currently undergoing medical observation and 12,755 were released from medical observation on the same day
China's confirmed cases of coronavirus passes 20,000
Chinese state media has confirmed that confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the country have passed 20,000. The People’s Daily says there are now 20,438 cases confirmed on the Chinese mainland. The death toll in China remains at 425.
#LATEST on the #coronavirus outbreak in #China, as of Feb 3:
— People's Daily, China (@PDChina) February 4, 2020
- 20,438 confirmed cases on Chinese mainland, another 15 in HK, 8 in Macao, and 10 in Taiwan
- 425 deaths
- 632 discharged from hospital pic.twitter.com/oYEP2KkOL5
Stock markets calmer, but oil set for more falls
The outlook on the financial markets is calmer today after stocks rallied around the world on Monday despite the spectacular falls of 8% on Chinese markets.
This morning the ASX200 in Sydney is up slightly and while the Nikkei in Tokyo is off about 0.35%, shares in Seoul are up 0.7%.
It could all change again when the Shanghai and Shanzhen bourses open later today. But the feeling among investors in Europe and the US on Monday was that the virus was being brought under control and would not have too great an impact on the world economy.
In addition, Brent crude oil futures crashed to $54.11 a barrel, bringing losses for the year so far to 18%. US crude sank to $49.99.
Brent crude down 4.27% today to $54.2
— Prime Economics (@primeeconomics) February 3, 2020
Chart via @FT pic.twitter.com/nFtvYglPat
Seema Shah, the chief strategist at Principal Global Investors, said: “If the Sars episode is anything to go by, we should expect markets to bounce back sharply once the outbreak has peaked.”
Read the full story from economics editor Larry Elliott here:
I am seeing on the Chinese site Tencent News that confirmed coronavirus infections in China have passed 20,000. The agency is owned by Tencent, the major technology company based in Shenzhen that owns the social media platform WeChat. It has been extremely accurate with its figures throughout this virus outbreak.
I’m trying to confirm the numbers with the Chinese Health Commission but their site is understandably heavily overloaded and often difficult to access.
Updated
US reports second human-to-human case of transmission
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have announced second case of transmission of the new coronavirus within the country.
“We expect to see more cases of person-to-person spread,” said the CDC’s Dr Nancy Messonnier.
It takes the US total number of cases to 11.
Washington has taken some of the most stringent measures in terms of airport arrivals from China, something that has been criticised by Beijing.
Foreign nationals who have been in China in the past 14 days are banned from entering the US.
Citizens and permanent residents arriving in the United States on commercial airlines are being directed to one of 11 US airports for additional health assessments. If they show virus symptoms such as fever, US citizens and those who are exempt will be transferred for medical evaluation, and will not be allowed to complete their travel plans.
Updated
First up, let’s have a look at the death toll. It has jumped 64 from this time yesterday, to a total of 425 inside China, according to the latest figures (one death has also been recorded in the Philippines). This Chinese figure is an increase of just under 18% in 24 hours.
The confirmed cases of infection have gone up to 19,726, an increase of 2,521, which rounds up to a 15% increase over a day.
While these figures are significant, it’s worth noting that the rate of increase in both deaths and infections is lower on a day-by-day basis than it was on some occasions last week (where the death-toll increase was 29% on one day).
It’s obviously hard to tell if this represents a trend of any kind, given the relatively few days of data to look at, but I thought it was interesting, none-the less.
This image from the Johns Hopkins below shows the trend visually. If you want to check in with the tracker later, you can find it here.
Updated
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the coronavirus outbreak, with me Alison Rourke.
We have just had the latest figures from the Chinese authorities on the virus which show:
- The death toll inside China is 425, a jump of 19% on this time yesterday (more on that later)
- Confirmed infections are 19,726 inside China
- Global infections currently stand at 185. This includes Hong Kong (15), Macau (8) and Taiwan (10)
- There has been one death outside of China, in the Philippines, of a man from Wuhan
A few other key points before we kick off our coverage:
- China’s leadership has admitted “shortcomings” in its coronavirus response
- Chinese authorities said they “urgently” needed medical equipment and surgical masks, protective suits and safety goggles as it battles to control the outbreak
- The US has announced a second case of transmission of the new coronavirus within the United States
- China’s new hospital in Wuhan, built in around 10 days, opened on Monday
You can find our most up-to-date coverage below, including:
- China’s leadership admits ‘shortcomings’ in coronavirus response
- Coronavirus: British evacuee falls ill during flight from China
- How to protect yourself
- Hundreds of Canadians await evacuation flight from Wuhan
As always, you can contact me at alison.rourke@theguardian.com.
Updated
