Asia

China virus toll jumps to 1,770: govt

BEIJING, China (AFP) — The death toll from China’s new coronavirus epidemic jumped to 1,770 after 105 more people died, the National Health Commission said Monday. More than 70,500 have now been infected nationwide by the virus, which first emerged in December in central Hubei province before spreading across the country. Chinese authorities have placed about 56 million people in Hubei and its capital Wuhan under quarantine, virtually sealing off the province from the rest […]

China virus cases pass 70,000 as WHO mission begins

by Helen Roxburgh and Beiyi Seow BEIJING, China (AFP) — The number of people infected with the new coronavirus in China passed 70,000 on Monday as international experts began meetings with their Chinese counterparts on how to tackle an epidemic that has caused global concern. The death toll jumped to 1,765 in mainland China after 100 more people died in Hubei province, where the virus first emerged in December before spreading across the country and […]

Taiwan records its first coronavirus death as global toll passes 1,600

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Taiwan reported its first death from the new coronavirus Sunday, as the death toll from the outbreak rose to 1,665 inside mainland China. A 61-year-old man from central Taiwan with underlying health problems but no recent overseas travel history died in hospital on Saturday after testing positive for the virus, officials confirmed. It is the fifth recorded death outside mainland China — previous victims were in the Philippines, Hong Kong, Japan, […]

Global experts begin meetings in China over virus: WHO

by Helen Roxburgh and Beiyi Seow BEIJING, China (AFP) — International experts have begun meeting with their counterparts in China over the new coronavirus epidemic, whose future path is “impossible” to predict, the World Health Organization said late Sunday. The number of new cases from China’s coronavirus epidemic dropped for a third consecutive day, but global concern remains high about its spread, emphasized by a US announcement that more than three dozen Americans from a […]

40 US nationals infected on Japan ship as others fly home

by Harumi Ozawa with Sara Hussein in Tokyo YOKOHAMA, Japan (AFP) — Forty Americans are among hundreds with the new coronavirus on a cruise ship quarantined off Japan, a US official said on Sunday, after other Americans on board left for chartered flights home. The evacuation coincided with stepped-up warnings from Japanese authorities over the deadly outbreak, urging citizens to avoid crowds and “non-essential gatherings.” The Diamond Princess was placed in 14-day quarantine in early […]

China toll leaps past 1,600 as first death reported outside Asia

by Jing Xuan Teng and Laurent Thomet Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — The death toll from the new coronavirus outbreak surpassed 1,600 in China on Sunday, with the first fatality reported outside Asia fuelling global concerns. More than 68,000 people have now been infected in China from a virus that emerged in central Hubei province in December before spreading across the country and some two dozen countries. Amid criticism over the handling of […]

US to evacuate Americans as virus cases rise on quarantined ship

by Shingo ITO Agence France Presse Americans will be removed from a cruise ship quarantined off Japan and flown home, the US embassy said Saturday as dozens more cases of the new coronavirus were diagnosed on board. At least 285 people on the Diamond Princess have contracted the illness but hundreds of passengers and crew have not yet been tested as they wait in a quarantine that was scheduled to end February 19. In a […]

Death toll in China epidemic surges past 1,500; more than 66,000 infections reported

  BEIJING, China (AFP) — The death toll from China’s new coronavirus epidemic surged past 1,500 on Saturday after 143 more people died in the country, according to official data. The National Health Commission also reported 2,641 new cases of the COVID-19 strain, with the vast majority in hard-hit central Hubei province. More than 66,000 people have now been infected in China from an illness that emerged in the Hubei capital Wuhan in December and […]

Beijing orders returnees to quarantine as virus death roll hits 1,523

  by Laurent THOMET Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — The death toll from China’s new coronavirus epidemic jumped past 1,500 on Saturday as Beijing ordered people returning to the capital from holiday to self-quarantine for 14 days in another drastic effort to contain the outbreak. More than 66,000 people have now been infected in China from a virus that emerged in central Hubei province in December before spreading across the country as millions […]

US offers to help virus efforts in N.Korea

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States on Thursday promised to support aid work in North Korea to combat the new coronavirus, voicing alarm at the ill-equipped state’s susceptibility. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said the United States was “deeply concerned” about the vulnerability of the North Korean people to COVID-19, which originated in neighboring China where it has killed more than 1,300 people. Ortagus said the United States supported efforts of aid groups […]

Japan to begin moving some off quarantined cruise ship

by Hiroshi Hiyama with Kyoko Hasegawa in Tokyo YOKOHAMA, Japan (AFP) — Japanese authorities were preparing Friday to move some older passengers who test negative for new coronavirus off a quarantined cruise ship and into government-designated lodging. The move comes a day after the number of infections diagnosed on the Diamond Princess rose to 218, with fears growing for the health of some of the several hundred people on the ship aged 80 or over. […]

China virus death toll nears 1,500 but new cases fall

BEIJING, China (AFP) — The death toll from China’s coronavirus epidemic rose to 1,483 on Friday but the number of new infections in hard-hit Hubei province fell after a change in case definitions caused a massive increase the previous day. The central province’s health commission reported 116 more deaths and 4,823 new cases, the majority involving “clinically diagnosed” patients. The province, the epicenter of the outbreak, had 242 more deaths and over 14,800 new cases […]