Asia

China asks recovered patients to donate plasma for virus treatment

  BEIJING, China (AFP) — Chinese health officials Monday urged patients who have recovered from the coronavirus to donate blood so that plasma can be extracted to treat others who are critically ill. Drugmakers are racing to develop a vaccine and treatment for the epidemic, which has which killed 1,770 people and infected over 70,500 people across China. Plasma from patients who have recovered from a spell of pneumonia triggered by COVID-19 contains antibodies that […]

99 more coronavirus cases on Japan cruise ship reported, bringing total infected cases to 454

  TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — An additional 99 people have tested positive for coronavirus on a cruise ship off the Japan coast, Japanese media said Monday, citing new figures from the health ministry. That would take the total number of positive cases on the Diamond Princess to 454. The health ministry declined to confirm the reports immediately. It was also not clear whether the figures included 14 US citizens who tested positive for the virus […]

14 test positive among US plane evacuees from Japan virus ship

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Fourteen people who had tested positive for the new coronavirus were among more than 300 US citizens and family members evacuated by plane from a quarantined ship in Japan, the US State Department said Monday. The passengers had already disembarked from the Diamond Princess and were preparing to return to the United States on chartered aircraft when US officials were informed 14 of them who had been tested days […]

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 […]