China on lockdown: Nearly 60 million people have been affected by partial or full lockdowns in Chinese cities as the country’s government steps up its response.
Global spread: There are more than 50 confirmed cases in 13 places outside of mainland China, including at least five in the United States.
Contagious before symptoms: People can spread the virus before symptoms show, China’s health minister said Sunday, complicating efforts to contain the outbreak.
Shanghai businesses and schools will remain shut long into February in attempts to contain the virus
From journalist Isaac Yee in Hong Kong
Visitors stand outside a closed temple in Shanghai, China, on Saturday, January 25. Qilai Shen/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Shanghai’s government has ruled that all businesses in the city should remain shut until February 9, as it announced a series of new measures against the spread of the coronavirus.
Other moves include suspending schools until February 17 and implementing strengthened quarantine inspections for workers returning to Shanghai.
Only businesses the government deems vital to the operation of China’s biggest city — such as gas stations, pharmacies, and supermarkets — will be allowed to remain open, the municipal government said in a statement Monday.
It added that schools will be re-opened after an assessment on the epidemic.
This comes as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Shanghai increased to 53, including one death.
Are people infectious before they appear ill? Experts weigh in
From CNN’s Sarah Dean in London
In this 2015 file photo, Dr. Yvonne Doyle speaks at City Hall in London. Keith Larby/Alamy Live News
Chinese health officials said Sunday that the coronavirus can be spread before any symptoms appear, meaning carriers may not realize they are infected before they transmit the virus to others.
There’s still lots we don’t know about this outbreak, however, and according to Dr. Yvonne Doyle, medical director of Public Health England, “it isn’t confirmed that people are infectious before they appear to be ill.”
“That’s one of the things we have to learn,” she added.
Here’s an excerpt (lightly edited for clarity) of Dr. Doyle’s interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today Program on Monday:
Q: (We’re) hearing from China that people can spread the virus without having any symptoms…
A: At the moment we don’t have confirmed evidence that that’s the case. It’s reasonable of course to assume that could happen, but at the moment we don’t know that, because this is a novel virus.
Q: Do you think it is likely that we are going to see cases (in the UK)?
A: Yes I do… I think I would be surprised if there wasn’t. We are well prepared since we spotted this in the early new year. We have been working with increasing intensity with the NHS (National Health Service) to make sure we are well prepared, and we are.
Q: (We’re) also hearing Chinese officials are also developing a vaccine, will that be ready in time?
A: It won’t be ready in time at the moment. Vaccines take months, maybe years to develop.
A quick reminder: What is the Wuhan coronavirus?
From CNN’s Tara John and Jack Guy
Health experts are trying to understand how the coronavirus is being transmitted, who is at most risk and whether transmission is occurring mostly in hospitals or in the community.
This is what we know about the illness so far:
Coronavirus is a large family of viruses, which include severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).
Common symptoms include: a runny nose, cough, sore throat, and possibly a headache. Those who have a weakened immune system, particularly the young and the elderly, are at risk of the virus turning into a more serious respiratory tract illness.
Authorities said the Wuhan coronavirus was passed from animals to humans; can be spread from person to person, and appears to cause pneumonia in people who have weakened immune systems.
It is thought to be milder than SARS and MERS and take longer to develop symptoms. Patients to date have typically experienced a mild cough for a week followed by shortness of breath, causing them to visit a hospital.
Wuhan mayor admits government didn’t disclose information in “timely fashion”
From CNN’s Yong Xiong in Beijing
The mayor of Wuhan has admitted people were “not satisfied” with the rate that his government released information on the coronavirus, adding that it was “not disclosed in a timely fashion.”
Mayor Zhou Xianwang, whose city is at the epicenter of the virus outbreak, told state-run CCTV Monday that “we didn’t effectively use that information” in its response.
He explained that under Chinese law on infectious diseases, the local government first needs to report the outbreak to the national health department, and then get approval from State Council before they can make an announcement.
“I hope everyone can understand that this is (an) infectious disease which has special channels to be disclosed in accordance with law,” he said.
The mayor added that he took responsibility for the “unprecedented” decision to lock down the city.
Israel advises against “unnecessary” travel to China
From CNN’s Amir Tal and Oren Liebermann in Jerusalem
Israel’s Ministry of Health has joined several countries around the world in warning its citizens against “unnecessary” travel to China in light of the coronavirus outbreak.
The ministry warned Israelis to avoid the Hubei region, the epicenter of the virus, altogether.
A number of patients have been checked for the virus in Israel and the West Bank after suffering symptoms of respiratory disease, such as fever and coughing.
As of Monday morning, all cases — apart from one — had tested negative for the virus. The results of that case are still pending.
Global markets hit hard as coronavirus fears grow
From CNN’s Chris Liakos
Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP via Getty Images
Major European markets are down sharply Monday — almost 2% — as worries over the coronavirus escalate.
French stocks are being hit particularly hard, with luxury and travel companies suffering the most. Such companies would usually be reaping the benefits of Chinese New Year spending, experts say.
Air France KLM is down almost 5%
LVMH, Dior and Gucci owner Kering are down almost 4%
L’Oreal is down 3%
Elsewhere, Asian markets were lower and oil prices dropped 3% with Brent crude trading below $59 a barrel — its lowest level since October.
US stock futures also tumbled Sunday, after the Center for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed a fifth case of the virus in the United States.
France and Spain to bring hundreds of citizens home from Wuhan
From CNN’s Laura Perez Maestro in Madrid and Antoine Crouin in Paris
Agnès Buzyn arrives for a meeting with other ministers regarding the first cases of coronavirus infection in France on January 26. Lucas Barioulet/Getty Images
Both Paris and Madrid are working with Chinese authorities to repatriate French and Spanish citizens who are currently in Wuhan.
France will fly its citizens back home from Wuhan “in the middle of next week,” the country’s Health Minister, Agnès Buzyn, said Sunday.
“All our citizens in Wuhan, about 800, are connected to the consulate,” the French Health Ministry told CNN Monday.
“The Prime Minister has decided to respond to the French people of Wuhan and their request to return. Our consulate team is in contact with the nationals. All those who wish to return will be able to do so,” Buzyn added.
“We are arranging a direct flight from Wuhan,” she said.
Buzyn said those who return to France will be monitored in one place for 14 days to avoid any spread of the virus.
A spokesman for the Spanish Foreign Ministry also told CNN that “the ministry is working with other European Countries affected to organize a joint repatriation flight.”
In a statement, the ministry said: “The Minister of Foreign Affairs, EU and Cooperation has spoken with the Consul General of Spain in Beijing to obtain information of the situation of Spaniards in Wuhan.”
There are about 20 Spanish people in Wuhan, the ministry said.
People need to be prepared for this to become a global epidemic: Hong Kong expert
Gabriel Leung, chair professor of public health medicine at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong, Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images
The number of people infected by the Wuhan coronavirus could potentially double every six days in the absence of a major intervention by public health authorities, according to Professor Gabriel Leung, chair of public health medicine at the University of Hong Kong (HKU).
Leung, who is also the founding director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Infection Disease Epidemiology and Control in Hong Kong, gave his forecast on the likely extent of the outbreak during a press conference held at HKU on Monday afternoon.
He said he had submitted his report to Beijing and Hong Kong authorities as well as to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Leung said according to his team’s model, the number of cases of Wuhan coronavirus including patients that are incubating (not showing symptoms) could approach 44,000 cases as of January 25.
This epidemic is growing at quite a fast rate and it’s accelerating,” said Leung.
The results of two scenarios — one with a population quarantine as has been seen in Wuhan and one without — were almost identical, suggesting “population quarantine may not be able to substantially change the course of the epidemic in the other major city clusters.”
In addition to Wuhan, Leung warned China could see epicenters of self-sustaining epidemics in other major cities in the mainland, including in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
“It is not a prediction, it is not certain, but this finding makes us concerned enough to alert the authorities and to alert the public,” Leung said.
According to Leung’s forecast, the number of cases could peak between mid-May and mid-April in major cities.
In order to prevent this from happening, there would need to be “substantial draconian measures limiting population mobility sooner rather than later,” said Leung.
Leung said people need to be prepared for the outbreak to become a global epidemic, though it is “not a certainty by any stretch of the imagination…we must prepare better for it.
Get caught up: here’s the latest on the outbreak
AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
There are more than 2,700 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 80 deaths in China. Worldwide concern is mounting about the rate of its spread.
Global spread: There are more than 50 cases confirmed around the world, in the United States, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, France, Australia, and more. Some countries are trying to evacuate their citizens out of Wuhan, the city at the epicenter of the outbreak.
Contagious before symptoms: People can spread the virus before symptoms show, China warned on Sunday — meaning people may have been spreading the virus without knowing they were ill.
Transmission: The major transmission mode of the coronavirus is through “close range droplet transmission,” Feng Luzhao, researcher from the Chinese Disease Prevention and Control Center, said. His comments suggest that most people have contracted the virus by being in close contact with an infected person.
Stretched hospitals: A nurse from the Central Hospital of Wuhan tells CNN at least a dozen medical staff from the facility are infected with the Wuhan coronavirus. Videos and witness accounts in Wuhan show packed hospitals and overworked staff. About 1,600 medical professionals are being sent to the city on Sunday and Monday.
Here’s a breakdown of where the coronavirus has spread through China
CDC and LAX assisting in LA coronavirus contact tracing
From CNN Health’s Nadia Kounang
After a person in Los Angeles County tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus, efforts are being ramped up to trace everyone the patient came into contact with.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Los Angeles International Airport are assisting in contact tracing, along with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
Contact tracing is defined as the identification and follow-up of people who may have come into contact with an infected person, according to the World Health Organization.
During a press conference Sunday, Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, said that her department is working, “with the individual who is infected, along with the airport – LAX – and CDC to identify persons who may have had close personal contact with this individual.”
Ferrer said the patient, who is a resident of Wuhan, ground zero for the outbreak, had previously transited through LAX.
The individual presented themselves to health care authorities on January 22, saying they were ill. They were assessed by health care authorities and brought to a hospital in Los Angeles, where the patient remains.
The health department provided no further details about the patient’s condition, gender or age, or how many people have been contacted through their investigation.
The agency also announced at the press conference that all travelers coming from China through LAX are currently being screened.
The Los Angeles patient is one of two confirmed cases of Wuhan coronavirus in California. The other is in Orange County. The CDC on Sunday afternoon updated the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States to five.
Germany’s Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to China
The German Foreign Office has put out an updated travel advisory for China regarding the Wuhan coronavirus.
It is advising German citizens to:
consider postponing travel to China if it’s not urgent
register at one of the German government crisis preventive lists if you’re in China
avoid travel to the province of Hubei
plan for travel restrictions in the area
obey the orders of local security forces
take into consideration the World Health Organization advisories as well as those from the Robert-Koch institute, the German government agency responsible for disease control and prevention.
A holiday village in Hong Kong has become a coronavirus quarantine camp
Set within a protected area of the picturesque Sai Kung Country Park, the 13.2-hectare Lady MacLehose Holiday Village is known for its greenery and tranquility.
Since the early 1980s, Hong Kongers have come to the holiday village to get away from the bustling city and enjoy its camping facilities and outdoor activities.
But since January 23, the holiday camp has been turned into a quarantine center to house those who have come into close contact with confirmed cases of coronavirus in Hong Kong.
A checkpoint has been set up at the entrance of the village and police monitor those going in and out.
According to the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the Lady MacLehose Holiday Village can accommodate 268 residential campers and has 52 standalone bungalows.
The Hong Kong government has also turned the Lei Yue Mun Park and Holiday Village on Hong Kong island into a quarantine center and plans to do the same with a third facility.
“To cope with the quarantine need in future, the DH (Department of Health) is contacting holiday villages under other non-governmental organizations as potential sites of quarantine centers,” a government statement said Sunday.
However, there were protests in the northern Hong Kong town of Fanling — near the Chinese border — after it was announced that an unoccupied apartment building there would be converted to a “temporary” quarantine center. Residents set up roadblocks and clashed with police, and on Sunday the authorities said they were abandoning the plan.
Hong Kong authorities said residents of Hubei, the province of which Wuhan is the capital, and people who have visited the region in the last 14 days, will not be able to enter the city. The order does not cover Hong Kong residents, though they may be placed under quarantine.
Hong Kong has eight confirmed cases of the Wuhan coronavirus.
Each confirmed patient infects 2 to 3 people, say British scientists
Scientists at Imperial College London have estimated that each person infected with the Wuhan coronavirus has gone on to infect two to three people, according to a report released Saturday.
“We estimate that, on average, each case infected 2.6 (uncertainty range: 1.5-3.5) other people up to January 18, 2020, based on an analysis combining our past estimates of the size of the outbreak in Wuhan with computational modeling of potential epidemic trajectories,” said the report.
“This implies that control measures need to block well over 60% of transmission to be effective in controlling the outbreak,” it added.
When it comes to outbreaks, scientists and public health experts are concerned with how quickly a disease can spread and its mortality rate.
But there is still a lot more to learn about the virus, and scientists have warned against alarmism.
“It is quite easy to get fixed on a particular number but such predicted numbers will vary considerably at this early stage in an epidemic,” Mike Turner, Director of Science, The Wellcome Trust, said in a statement.
“What is becoming clear from several sources though is that there is substantive human to human transmission and that there may well be a lot of people who become infected but have no symptoms or very mild symptoms so don’t need to seek medical attention,” he added.
“This makes it more difficult to put in place effective control measures. A lot of people are working furiously to try and control this epidemic.”
On Sunday, Chinese officials said people can spread the virus before they have symptoms.
China’s unprecedented reaction to the Wuhan virus probably couldn’t be pulled off in any other country
Analysis from CNN’s James Griffiths
As the world watches the developing crisis around the deadly Wuhan coronavirus, it’s difficult to know how worried to be. One thing is clear, however: China is treating the matter extremely seriously.
Almost 60 million on lockdown: With the number of confirmed cases in the country approaching three thousand, and at least 80 deaths, China has placed almost 60 million people on lockdown, with full or partial travel restrictions on 15 cities across Hubei, the central Chinese province of which Wuhan is the capital.
Never been done in China before: The unprecedented scale of the response speaks in part to the sheer size of China — 60 million people is greater than the entire population of South Korea, and Hubei spans the equivalent area as Syria. Such a lockdown has never been carried out in China before, not even during the 2003 SARS outbreak. The cost of it is staggering, not just in terms of manpower or funds, but also the economic hit Hubei will take and the knock-on effect this will have on the wider Chinese economy during a sensitive period.
Powerful leadership: China is able to pull something like this off is thanks to the ability of centralized, powerful leadership to react in a crisis. It’s also a sign of just how vital it is for that leadership not to screw up.
Writing on Sunday, analysts Adam Ni and Yun Jiang said that the Chinese Communist Party’s “prestige and legitimacy are both on the line” in how they handle the crisis.
“Xi’s prestige is likely to take a hit, putting pressure towards collective leadership instead of the paramount leader model. Centralization of power under Xi means that inevitably Xi will take the blame if things go wrong, as would he be showered with glory when things go right. This is high risk, high reward for him.”
US evacuation flight out of Wuhan may no longer head to San Francisco
From CNN’s Steven Jiang in Beijing
A United States government-chartered plane is set to evacuate about three dozen US diplomats and their families from Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus, on Tuesday.
But the plane may not fly to San Francisco as previously announced by the State Department, a US official with knowledge to the matter told CNN.
The flight, operated by a private charter company using a Boeing 767 with 240 seats, will land somewhere in California, the official said.
It’s unclear how many non-diplomat US citizens will be aboard the flight, which will be staffed with medical personnel.
The US consulate in Wuhan, which is now closed, reached out to Americans who had registered with them and offered seats on the plane. Non-diplomat US citizens will be billed for the flight, the official said.
The city is normally a transport hub for central China, but Chinese authorities have placed Wuhan under a travel lockdown, barring all departures from the city’s airport and rail stations.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman said on Sunday that after the US proposed to evacuate its citizens from the city, Beijing made arrangements, “that are consistent with our epidemic control measures” and provided “necessary assistance and convenience.”
Other nations, such as Australia and India, are working on ways to repatriate their citizens from Wuhan.
Here’s a rundown of all the coronavirus cases in mainland China
There are more than 2,700 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 80 deaths in China.
Across China, 15 cities with a combined population of over 57 million people have been placed under full or partial lockdown.
Here’s a rundown of how many cases are in each Chinese province:
Hubei (includes Wuhan): 1,423, including 76 deaths
Guangdong: 146
Zhejiang: 128
Henan: 128, including 1 death
Chongqing: 110
Hunan: 100
Beijing: 68
Anhui: 70
Shandong: 63
Sichuan: 69
Shanghai: 53, including 1 death
Guangxi: 46
Jiangxi: 48
Fujian: 35
Jiangsu: 47
Hainan: 22
Shaanxi: 22
Liaoning: 22
Yunnan: 19
Heilongjiang: 21, including 1 death
Tianjin: 14
Hebei: 18, including 1 death
Shanxi: 22
Gansu: 14
Inner Mongolia: 11
Guizhou: 7
Jilin: 6
Ningxia: 4
Xinjiang: 5
Qinghai: 4
How the Wuhan coronavirus affects the body
From CNN’s Natalie Leung in Hong Kong
Mongolia shuts schools as it goes on high alert for coronavirus
Mongolia will close its schools from January 27 until March 2 as a preventative measure against the Wuhan coronavirus, state news agency Montsame reported
There are no reported cases in Mongolia, but the country is considered to be at high risk of the virus spreading there as it borders China, where the coronavirus originated.
Mongolian officials are on high alert in case the virus spreads.
The Chinese autonomous region of Inner Mongolia, which runs along Mongolia’s southern border, reported its first confirmed case of coronavirus last week.
There are now confirmed cases in every Chinese province, except the remote autonomous region of Tibet.
The ruling in Mongolia followed a cabinet meeting on Sunday to discuss preventative safety measures.
The cabinet also ordered public gatherings be canceled and that border crossings for “auto vehicles and pedestrian traffic” be canceled starting Monday.
The agency also reports that 31 Mongolia students in Wuhan will be repatriated on Monday.
Australia confirms the fifth case of coronavirus
Five people in Australia have now been confirmed to have the Wuhan coronavirus, the Department of Health said in a statement Monday.
The latest patient to be infected with the respiratory virus in the country is a 21-year-old woman who flew into Sydney on the last flight from Wuhan last week, CNN affiliate Nine News reports.
The deadly virus was first identified in Hubei province’s Wuhan in December and since then it has infected at least 2,700 people and killed 80 in mainland China.
The woman in Australia developed symptoms 24 hours after arriving back into Sydney on Thursday, health officials said. When they worsened, she went to the emergency department.
“We were alerted the testing was done, the patient was immediately put into isolation in a home isolation setting, and then once the diagnosis was confirmed, the patient has just been transported to Westmead Hospital,” New South Wales Chief Health Officer, Dr. Kerry Chant said, according to Nine News.
On Monday, Australia’s Health Minister said the country was working on ways to repatriate its citizens from Wuhan, including 100 “young Australians.”
Video game company urges players to avoid Plague Inc. game for information on coronavirus
From CNN’s Clare Duffy
The popularity of a video game that teaches players about how diseases spread has grown sharply amid concerns about the spread of coronavirus. Now, the company is warning people to seek information on the disease from official sources, rather than relying on its game, Plague Inc.
“The current coronavirus outbreak is a very real situation which is impacting a huge number of people,” Ndemic Creations, the maker of the game, said in a statement last week. “We would always recommend that players get their information directly from local and global health authorities.”
The company said it often sees a surge in new users amid new disease outbreaks, as people try to better understand how diseases operate and spread.
Plague Inc. is an app and online video game developed by Ndemic Creations where players become a disease and aim to infect the world by developing new means of transmission and symptoms — countering countries closing their borders, news reports about the disease and scientists trying to develop cures.
The company said in its statement that the game was designed to be “realistic and informative, while not sensationalizing serious real-world issues.” However, it pointed out that the game is not a “scientific model” and should not be relied upon for information about coronavirus.
Shanghai manufacturer of coronavirus test kits says it has enough supplies
From journalist Alex Lin in Hong Kong
A Shanghai manufacturer says it is fully equipped to ensure sufficient supply of Wuhan coronavirus test kits to meet nationwide demand, according to state media CCTV.
The factory, belonging to Shanghai ZJ Bio-Tech, is capable of producing 8,000 boxes per day and has raw materials in stock to make tests kits for two million people, CCTV reports.
Chinese state media is also reporting that there are more than 1,000 hospitals nationwide that have laboratories capable of preforming tests to identify the Wuhan coronavirus.
From CNN’s Natalie Thomas in Beijing
A nurse from the Central Hospital of Wuhan tells CNN at least a dozen medical staff from the facility are infected with the Wuhan coronavirus.
“Some are being given emergency treatment. Those who have milder symptoms have been sent home with medication,” the nurse, who spoke on the condition of anonymity told CNN Sunday.
The nurse said she has also contracted the virus and that her symptoms were relatively mild. She was discharged and told to isolate herself while recuperating at home. The nurse said she is more than happy to be out of the hospital where she believes the virus is endemic.
“The concentration of the virus in the hospital is so great,” the nurse said via the Chinese instant messaging app WeChat.
Her account comes as Beijing said it would deploy another 1,600 medical professionals to Wuhan to help the city cope with the growing number of coronavirus patients, Chinese Health Minister Ma Xiaowei said in a rare Sunday news conference.
Another 1,000 workers are on standby, Ma said.
Authorities acknowledged that Wuhan, a city 11 million people and ground zero of the outbreak, and much of Hubei province are facing manpower and medical supply shortages.
“In terms of resources, the whole of Wuhan is lacking,” one Wuhan-based healthcare worker told CNN by phone. The person said they were looking for more protective clothing, protective goggles, and masks.
At the news conference Sunday, Wang Jiangping, the vice minister of industry and information technology, said Hubei needs about 100,000 protective medical suits per day — but the 40 factories across the country making them only produce 30,000 daily.
Wang said authorities are now trying to get factories to resume production — most would have closed for the Lunar New Year holiday — and requisition factories that make the suits for export.
Dow futures tumble on fifth US case of coronavirus
From CNN Business’s Rob McLean
US stock futures dropped sharply Sunday night as fears of the coronavirus grew.
Dow futures fell by as much as 300 points and were last down about 200 points. S&P 500 (INX) futures were down about 0.8% and Nasdaq futures were lower by about 1.1%.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 was last down 1.7%. It is the only major stock market in Asia open Monday due to the Lunar New Year.
The Dow closed down 0.6% on Friday —its worst day of the year. Also Friday, the S&P 500 had its worst day since early October, while the Nasdaq had its lowest close since early December.
Most Wuhan coronavirus transmissions from “close range droplet transmission.” Here’s how to protect yourself
From CNN’s Alexandra Lin and Holly Yan
The major transmission mode of the Wuhan coronavirus is through “close range droplet transmission,” Feng Luzhao, a researcher from the Chinese Disease Prevention and Control Center, said at Monday’s press conference by the National Health Commission.
His comments suggest that most people have contracted the virus by being in close contact with an infected person.
Droplet transmission is when a virus is passed on due to an infected person sneezing or coughing, and another comes into contact with those infected particles.
Feng said that “people should avoid going out, especially going to crowded areas.”
According to a how-to guide published by Chinese Disease Prevention and Control Center, the public is advised to reduce visiting families during Lunar New Year, stay home and rest, and avoid going to crowded public areas, especially those with less airflow such as theaters, internet cafes, KTV (karaoke), and shopping centers.
With more cases of the Wuhan coronavirus confirmed outside mainland China, here’s how can you minimize your risk of getting infected.
Avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness, such as coughing and sneezing, the World Health Organization says. Other symptoms of this coronavirus include fever and shortness of breath. Severe cases can lead to pneumonia, kidney failure, and even death.
Avoid live animal markets: Anyone with underlying medical conditions should avoid live animal markets and raw meats altogether since those people are “considered at higher risk of severe disease,” the World Health Organization says.
Wash hands: Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
Cover mouth and nose: If you’re the one feeling sick, cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze, and disinfect the objects and surfaces you touch.
Common sense: In general, the public should do “what you do every cold and flu season,” said Dr. John Wiesman, the health secretary in Washington state — where the first US case of Wuhan coronavirus was confirmed.
Chinese officials call for those who were in Wuhan to self-quarantine and report to “community leaders”
Chinese officials have called on anyone who was in Wuhan in the last 14 days to self-quarantine and report to community leaders in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, according to an expert speaking at the Chinese National Health Commission press conference on Monday.
There are no official figures on the number of people who have visited or passed through the city since the outbreak was first identified in mid-December.
However, the number is likely to be large. Wuhan, which is home to an estimated 11 million people, is one of China’s most important cities.
Located on the confluence of the Yangtze River and its largest tributary, the Han River, it is considered the political and economic capital of central China.
It’s also a major travel hub.
In addition to conventional railway networks, Wuhan is one of the stops on two of the main long-haul high-speed railway lines: Beijing-Guangzhou (from north to south) and Shanghai-Chengdu high-speed railway (from east to west).
It’s also home to one of just four major train maintenance centers in the country.
The city’s international airport is the only airport in the mid-China region to have direct flights to five different continents.
According to data from aviation website Flightconnections.com, Wuhan Airport services non-stop scheduled passenger flights to 109 destinations in 20 countries. These include major cities like London, Moscow, Paris, Rome, New York, San Francisco, Bangkok, Tokyo, and Seoul.
Singapore students and teachers must stay away from schools for 2 weeks after returning from mainland China
Singapore has announced that all students and teachers returning from mainland China will be required to self-quarantine for 14 days.
The Ministry of Education said Monday that it will implement the two-week leave of absence for all students and staff upon their arrival back in Singapore.
Any student who is on a leave of absence, “will be supported via a home-based learning plan,” the ministry added.
Singapore has urged travelers to defer non-essential travel to mainland China after the Ministry of Health confirmed four cases of the coronavirus on Saturday.
The Wuhan coronavirus — part of a family of viruses that are common among animals and can cause fever as well as respiratory symptoms when transmitted to humans — has been found in cities all over China, and travelers have since spread the virus to 13 places outside of mainland China, including the US, France, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, as well as Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau.
From Hilary Whiteman in Brisbane
Australia is working on ways to repatriate its citizens from the city of Wuhan, including 100 “young Australians,” Australia’s Health Minister Greg Hunt told national broadcaster ABC Radio Monday.
Hunt said he was in touch with the Chinese Foreign Minister as well as other countries on what can be done for its citizens in Wuhan.
“We are working to make sure there’s support for those Australians and that we are there- we are also working on, as our other countries, to try to secure their ability to return to Australia,” Hunt said.
Hunt also said he expects to get final results on fifth suspected cases of the Wuhan coronavirus later Monday.
The Chinese city of Wuhan has become ground zero for the new deadly strain of coronavirus, which has since spread to 13 places outside of mainland China.
Other countries, such as the United States, are also looking to evacuate their citizens from the city, which has been placed under lockdown.
The US government is arranging a charter flight to evacuate American diplomats and citizens from Wuhan, a US official with knowledge of the matter told CNN Saturday.
Chinese government’s response hints at the severity of the crisis
From CNN’s James Griffiths
The severity of the emerging coronavirus crisis is evident in the Chinese government’s response.
The Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party — the country’s top political body, headed by President Xi Jinping — has taken direct control of operations.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrived in Wuhan Monday to tour local hospitals, according to state media.
And more than 11 billion yuan ($1.58 billion) in government funds have been dedicated to the crisis.
Over the weekend, Xi chaired a meeting with top officials of the ruling Communist Party on the prevention and control of the outbreak.
He pointed out that in facing the grave situation of the accelerating spreading epidemic, it is necessary to strengthen the centralized leadership of the Party Central Committee.
He also demanded that the government at all levels put people’s life and health as the top priority.
“Life is of paramount importance. When an epidemic breaks out, a command is issued. It is our responsibility to prevent and control it,” Xi said.
CDC official: We’re “preparing as if this is a pandemic”
From CNN Health’s Elizabeth Cohen and John Bonifield
Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, responded to a statement Sunday by the Chinese health minister Ma Xiaowei that people are infectious before they have symptoms of Wuhan coronavirus.
“We at CDC don’t have clear evidence that patients are infectious before symptom onset, but we are actively investigating that possibility,” she said.
Messonnier said the risk to the American public for contracting this virus continues to be low.
“We need to be preparing as if this is a pandemic, but I continue to hope that it is not,” Messonnier said.
The CDC confirmed Sunday there are five cases of Wuhan coronavirus in the United States – one in Arizona, two in California and two previously confirmed cases in Illinois and Washington. All five cases were in people who had recently traveled in Wuhan, China.
The CDC has about 75 people still under investigation because they might have the virus and about 25 others who were found not to have the virus. The CDC is the only lab in the United States that tests for the virus.
China goes into emergency mode as spread of Wuhan coronavirus accelerates
From CNN’s James Griffiths
The death toll from the Wuhan coronavirus now stands at 80, with almost 2,800 cases confirmed across China, as the country initiates emergency procedures to try and rein in the pathogen’s global spread.
Making that task more difficult is the fact that the virus can be spread before any symptoms appear, Chinese health authorities said Sunday, meaning carriers may not realize they are infected before they transmit the virus to others.
Across China, 15 cities with a combined population of over 57 million people — more than the entire population of South Korea — have been placed under full or partial lockdown.
Wuhan itself has been effectively quarantined, with all routes in and out of the city closed or highly regulated. The government announced it is sending an additional 1,200 health workers — along with 135 People’s Liberation Army medical personnel — to help the city’s stretched hospital staff.
Wuhan Mayor Zhou Xianwang said Sunday the number of cases could rise by another thousand.
The disease has also spread widely across China, with almost 70 cases confirmed in the capital Beijing, including a nine-month-old girl — the youngest known case to be confirmed so far.
Concerns grow for rural populations in containing the spread of coronavirus
China is worried about migrant workers who went home to visit family during the Lunar New Year, according to a health expert speaking at the National Health Commission Monday.
The rural population is also of particular concern as those living in rural areas did not have as much experience in dealing with outbreak prevention as the urban populations did during the 2002-2003 severe respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak.
SARS is also a type of coronavirus, which causes flu-like symptoms, and can mutate as it spreads from person to person.
Around 40% of China’s population live in rural areas, according to Chinese state media Xinhua.
The country also has a sustained wave of migrant workers moving from rural to urban areas for employment, with millions making the switch every year.
China calls on those who were in Wuhan to self-quarantine
Chinese officials have called on anyone who was in Wuhan in the last 14 days to self-quarantine and report their time in the city to community leaders, an expert speaking at a Chinese National Health Commission press briefing said on Monday.
The measure is to prevent the further spread of the new coronavirus, which was first identified in the city in December.
On Sunday, Wuhan’s Mayor Zhou Xianwang said that 5 million people left Wuhan before the lockdown due to the Lunar New Year holiday.
At the briefing, Chinese officials also said that arrangements could be made to further extend the holiday period. The holiday observance has already been extended until February 2 to try and prevent the spread of the virus.
Chinese Premier visits hospitals in Wuhan
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrived in Wuhan on Monday and is touring hospitals, according to state media.
Li is head of a central government working group set up to tackle the outbreak.
Last week he called on local departments to “go all out” to prevent and control the spread of the disease.
His visit to Wuhan, ground zero for the outbreak, comes as Chinese authorities announced they would extend the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, which was supposed to run through January 30, to now run until February 2, according to state news agency Xinhua.
On Sunday, Chinese President Xi Jinping chaired a meeting with top officials of the ruling Communist Party on the prevention and control of the Wuhan coronavirus.
CGTN@CGTNOfficial
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, entrusted by President Xi Jinping, has arrived in #Wuhan to inspect and guide the #CoronavirusOutbreak response work; he will also visit patients and medical workers in the area
During the meeting, Xi said that in facing the grave situation of the rapid spreading epidemic of the deadly new coronavirus, it was necessary to strengthen the centralized leadership of the Party Central Committee. He also demanded that the government at all levels put people’s life and health as the top priority.
“Life is of paramount importance. When an epidemic breaks out, a command is issued. It is our responsibility to prevent and control it,” Xi said.
Xi ordered officials in Hubei province to take more rigorous measures to prevent the virus from spreading and to put all patients in centralized quarantine for treatment.
HIV and AIDS drugs are being used on Wuhan coronavirus patients in Beijing
From Alex Lin in Hong Kong and CNN’s Elizabeth Cohen in Atlanta
Drugs often used to combat HIV and AIDS are being used to treat patients of the Wuhan coronavirus in Beijing, the city’s Health Commission said in a statement.
Three designated hospitals are using the drugs Lopinavir and Ritonavir to treat patients as part of a test program titled “Pneumonitis Diagnosis and Treatment Program for New Coronavirus Infection (Trial Edition).”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the US National Institutes of Health told CNN there are currently no proven effective drugs to treat this virus.
The US National Institutes of Health is working on a vaccine against the new virus but it would take a few months until the first phase of the clinical trials get underway and more than a year until a vaccine might be available, Fauci said.
A team of scientists in Texas, New York, and China are also at work on a vaccine, according to Dr. Peter Hotez, a vaccine scientist at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
China says coronavirus can spread before symptoms show
From CNN’s Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen
China’s health minister Ma Xiaowei made a startling statement Sunday about the Wuhan coronavirus: He said people can spread it before they become symptomatic.
“This is a game-changer,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a longtime adviser to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It’s much harder to contain a virus — to track down a patient’s contacts and quarantine them immediately — if the patient was spreading the disease for days or weeks before they even realized they had it.
“It means the infection is much more contagious than we originally thought,” said Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “This is worse than we anticipated.”
Ma didn’t explain why he thinks the virus can be spread before someone has symptoms. If the Chinese health minister is right — and there are those who doubt him — that means the five confirmed cases in the United States might have been infectious while traveling from Wuhan to Arizona, California, Illinois, and Washington state, even if they had no symptoms at the time.
Four cases of Wuhan coronavirus now confirmed in South Korea
From CNN’s Yoonjung Seo in Seoul
South Korea confirmed its fourth case of the Wuhan coronavirus on Monday.
The patient is a 55-year-old South Korean man who had tested positive for the virus after visiting Wuhan.
Major airports across South Korea have stepped up efforts to detect signs of the virus, health authorities have also bolstered quarantine and testing facilities.
New details on Arizona coronavirus patient
From CNN Health’s Amanda Sealy
Another case of coronavirus has been confirmed, in Arizona, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Sunday, bringing the total to five cases in the United States.
The state health department said the patient is an adult member of the Arizona State University community, though it did not release the patient’s age or gender.
Dr. Cara Christ, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, told CNN that the patient had recently returned from travel to Wuhan and that they called their health care provider once they developed mild respiratory symptoms. Christ added that the patient was asymptomatic — not showing symptoms — during travel.
Health officials decided to test the patient for the coronavirus and sent samples to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday, which were confirmed positive on Sunday.
The patient is currently not hospitalized but self-isolated at home. Public health officials will be following up with any close contacts of the patient during the time period when they were symptomatic.
Five Wuhan coronavirus cases now confirmed in the US
From CNN’s Elizabeth Cohen and Jamie Gumbrecht
Five cases of Wuhan coronavirus have been confirmed in the United States, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Sunday.
One new case was confirmed in Arizona and two cases were confirmed in California. Cases had previously been confirmed in Illinois and Washington state. All the cases were in people who had recently traveled to Wuhan, China.
Several people have been infected with the Wuhan coronavirus in the US — including a man in his 30s in Washington state; a Chicago woman in her 60s; a man in his 50s in Orange County, California, a patient in Los Angeles County; and a fifth in Arizona. All had recently traveled to Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak.
State and federal officials are following up with anyone who may have had close contact with the person and is at risk of infection.
China’s unprecedented quarantines could have wider consequences, experts say
From CNN’s Dakin Andone
With Chinese authorities warning the coronavirus outbreak is accelerating, placing millions of people in more than a dozen Chinese cities under intense travel restrictions might seem like a good idea.
But historically a mass quarantine is an aggressive response that’s far from perfect. In the past, it has led to political, financial and social consequences.
Quarantines date back to Italy in the 1300s, as the bubonic plague ravaged Europe. In Venice, sailors and ships coming from infected ports were made to wait 40 days before docking in a practice called “quaranta giorni,” or “40 days.”
No quarantine goes perfectly: People criticize quarantines because in practice a virus or bacteria “invariably gets loose,” as do people, said Howard Markel, professor, and director of the Center for the History of Medicine at the University of Michigan.
Logistical issues: Just the word “quarantine” can cause panic or hysteria, Markel said. Anyone concerned about a common cold or sniffle will head for hospitals, straining already precious resources. Wuhan officials have already acknowledged local hospitals were struggling to accommodate people seeking medical attention.
Broader financial consequences: Quarantines “are often very economically and financially costly,” said Alexandre White, an assistant professor of sociology and the history of medicine at Johns Hopkins University. The flow of trade in and out of the quarantined zone is halted, and goods in the process of being shipped could go bad — depending on how long it lasts.
Social impacts: Historically, the aggressive control needed in quarantine can link the disease to marginalized people and potentially fuel existing anxieties about race and class. There was a “long history of quarantine being misused as a social separator, rather than a public health one,” Markel said.
Trust and cooperation are key: The trust and cooperation of the public is the most important thing for officials to have in a public health crisis, said Lawrence Gostin, a professor of global health law at Georgetown University and director of the World Health Organization’s Center on Global Health Law. Without it, people won’t come in for testing and won’t share the names of people they’ve been in contact with — a vital part of the strategy to prevent the spread of disease.
8 Wuhan coronavirus cases now confirmed in Thailand
Eight cases of the Wuhan coronavirus have been confirmed in Thailand, Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Sunday, according to a government statement.
Among the eight, five have already returned home, while three are being treated in the hospitals and supervised by the Ministry of Public Health, the statement says.
Thailand is among the most popular global destinations for Chinese tourists. More than ten million Chinese visit Thailand every year, according to official figures.
80 dead, 2,744 cases have now been confirmed in mainland China
The Wuhan coronavirus continues to spread around the world having already killed dozens of people and infected more than 2,700 people in mainland China.
Here are the latest numbers:
As of the end of the day Sunday, 2,744 cases were confirmed in mainland China.
80 people are dead, all in mainland China.
55 people outside mainland China have tested positive in the following places: Australia (4 cases), France (3 cases), Hong Kong (8 cases), Japan (4 cases), Macao (5 cases), Malaysia (4 cases), Nepal (1 case), Singapore (4 cases), South Korea (3 cases), Taiwan (4 cases), Thailand (8 cases), United States (5 cases) and Vietnam (2 cases)
China’s National Health Commission said 461 people have severe cases of the virus and there are 5,794 suspected cases in mainland China.
Here’s the latest on the coronavirus
There are more than 2,700 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 80 deaths in China. Worldwide concern is mounting about the rate of its spread. Here’s what you need to know:
Outbreak in China: 2,744 cases have been confirmed in mainland China, and 80 people are dead. There are full or partial lockdowns in 15 Chinese cities in an effort to limit the virus’s spread.
Global spread: There are now 50 cases confirmed around the world, in the United States, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, France, Australia, and more. Some countries are trying to evacuate their citizens out of Wuhan, the city at the epicenter of the outbreak.
Contagious before symptoms: People can spread the virus before symptoms show, China warned on Sunday — meaning people may have been spreading the virus without knowing they were ill.
Wild animal ban: The sale of all wild animals has been banned, the Chinese government announced Sunday. The outbreak has been linked to a market that sold wild animals in Wuhan.
Stretched hospitals: Videos and witness accounts in Wuhan show packed hospitals and overworked staff. A new, 1,000-bed hospital is being built on the city’s outskirts, to be ready by February 3. About 1,600 medical professionals are being sent to the city on Sunday and Monday.