JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Israel confirmed its first case of new coronavirus Friday, in a citizen who flew home from Japan earlier this week after being quarantined on the stricken cruise ship Diamond Princess. “One of the passengers who returned home from the cruise ship in Japan tested positive in a checkup by the health ministry’s central laboratory,” a ministry statement said. A total of 15 Israelis were among the passengers quarantined on board the […]
Asia
Erdogan urges ‘concrete action’ over Idlib crisis
ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for “concrete action” to prevent a crisis in Syria’s last rebel stronghold in a phone call with his French and German counterparts, his office said Friday. A humanitarian crisis has unfolded in the northwestern province of Idlib as the Syrian regime, backed by Russian airstrikes, presses on with an offensive that has forced nearly one million civilians to flee their homes. “The president stressed the […]
Iran says, two more deaths among 13 new coronavirus cases
TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran’s health ministry Friday reported two more deaths among 13 new cases of coronavirus in the Islamic republic, bringing the total number of deaths to four and infections to 18. “Thirteen new cases have been confirmed,” ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said on Twitter. “Unfortunately two of them have lost their lives.” The COVID-19 outbreak first appeared in Iran on Wednesday, when officials said it killed two elderly people in the Shiite […]
DIY virus protection: Hong Kongers making own masks amid shortages
by Yan Zhao and Katie Forster HONG KONG, China (AFP) — With chronic face mask shortages in the midst of a virus outbreak, Hong Kongers have started making their own — with a pop-up production line and seamstresses churning them out on sewing machines. In one of the most densely populated cities on earth, face masks have become hot property as people scramble for protection against the new deadly coronavirus. Long queues — sometimes thousands […]
Young Chinese doctor dies of coronavirus
BEIJING, China (AFP) — A 29-year-old doctor at the epicenter of China’s new coronavirus outbreak has died from the disease, one of the youngest known fatalities of the epidemic and the latest among medical workers. Peng Yinhua died Thursday after becoming infected while working at Wuhan’s Jiangxia district People’s No. 1 Hospital, official news agency Xinhua reported. The respiratory and critical illness doctor had planned to get married during the Lunar New Year holiday but […]
59 Hong Kong police quarantined after meal with virus colleague
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Dozens of Hong Kong police officers have been placed in quarantine after attending a banquet with a colleague who later tested positive for the new coronavirus, officials said Friday. The news prompted celebrations among some pro-democracy protesters, a vivid illustration of how deeply polarised the city has become after months of rallies and thousands of arrests last year. The 48-year-old officer found to be carrying the virus had dinner on […]
Quarantine nightmare still not over for left-behind cruise ship crew
by Richard Carter and Sara Hussein with Simon Sturdee in New Delhi and Mikhail Flores in Manila TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — The nightmare of a 14-day quarantine is ending for most passengers on the coronavirus-stricken Diamond Princess cruise ship, but it is far from over for the more than 1,000 crew. While passengers on board were confined to their cabins around the clock apart from an hour of fresh air on deck, most crews did […]
UPDATED: South Korea coronavirus cases jump over 200 as sect infections spike
by Kang Jin-kyu SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea’s coronavirus cases nearly doubled Friday, rising above 200 and making it the worst-affected country outside China as the number of infections linked to a religious sect spiked. A total of 100 new cases were confirmed by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), 85 of them connected to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in the southern city of Daegu. More than 120 members […]
China says, coronavirus vaccine trials to start around late April
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China could start clinical trials for a potential vaccine for the novel coronavirus around late April, an official said Friday. Public and private researchers around the world have been working to develop treatments and vaccines to combat the COVID-19 virus that first emerged in central China in December. More than 2,200 people have died and more than 75,000 have been infected by it in China. Another 11 people died abroad, with […]
China’s Xi urges more protection for medical workers after deaths
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China’s President Xi Jinping called Wednesday for greater protection of medical staff fighting the new coronavirus after the deaths of prominent doctors sparked national anger at the government’s handling of the outbreak. At least seven medical workers have died from the virus, while 1,716 have been confirmed as infected, most at the epicenter of the epidemic in central Hubei province where hospitals have dealt with a huge influx of patients. The […]
Coronavirus threatens North Korea chaos: analysts
by Sunghee Hwang SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea’s self-imposed isolation in the face of the coronavirus epidemic raging in neighboring China is its only method of protection from an outbreak that would wreak havoc given its crumbling health system, analysts say. The country was among the first to seal its border with China — its main provider of trade and aid — and has since suspended flights and train services, banned tourists, and […]
South Korea confirms 52 more coronavirus cases, total 156
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea confirmed 52 more cases of novel coronavirus on Friday, taking its overall figure to 156 and making it the worst-infected country outside China. Altogether 39 of the new cases were linked to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in the southern city of Daegu, the Korean Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said. More than 80 members of Shincheonji have now been infected, starting with a 61-year-old woman who […]
