BEIJING, China (AFP) — A Chinese doctor who was among the first to raise a public alarm about the deadly new coronavirus outbreak died of the infection early on Friday, his hospital announced. Ophthalmologist Li Wenliang passed away from the infection at 2:58 am, Wuhan Central Hospital said in a post on its verified account on Chinese social media platform Weibo. © Agence France-Presse
Asia
Kremlin starts temperature checks at Putin events over virus fears
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — The Kremlin said Thursday it has begun checking the body temperature of officials and reporters attending events involving President Vladimir Putin due to coronavirus fears. “This is a precautionary measure,” presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state news agency RIA Novosti after journalists underwent checks at the Kremlin on Thursday afternoon. Peskov said that all participants of meetings involving the 67-year-old Russian leader would be checked. “There is a new screening […]
4 injured in suspected Jerusalem ‘terror attack’
JERUSALEM (AFP) — Fourteen people were injured at a popular night spot in central Jerusalem after being struck by a vehicle on Thursday, in an incident Israeli police are investigating as a terror attack. The driver “fled the scene” following the early morning attack at Jerusalem’s First Station, an historic rail stop that now hosts bars, shops and restaurants, police spokesman Micky Rosenfled said. “Police are searching for the vehicle,” he added. “The incident […]
Viral hysteria: Hong Kong panic buying sparks run on toilet paper
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Panic buyers in Hong Kong have descended on supermarkets to snap up toilet rolls as the government warned that online rumors of shortages were hampering the city’s fight against a deadly coronavirus outbreak. Videos obtained by AFP showed long queues of frantic shoppers packing trolleys with multiple packets of toilet rolls, with some arguments breaking out. Rice and pasta have also become a popular target for panic buying. The footage […]
Thousands quarantined on Asian cruise ships in virus fight
by Harumi OZAWA YOKOHAMA, Japan (AFP) — Thousands of people were stranded aboard two cruise ships in Asia on Thursday, quarantined by officials desperate to stem the spread of a deadly virus that has killed hundreds in China and spread panic worldwide. At least 20 people on board one ocean liner off the Japanese coast have tested positive for the new coronavirus, with thousands more staring at two-week sea-borne isolation. The outbreak on the vessel, […]
China scrambles to find beds for virus patients
by Helen ROXBURGH BEIJING, China (AFP) — China scrambled to find bed space for thousands of newly infected patients on Thursday, as the toll from a deadly new virus jumped again. More than 28,000 people are now known to be infected nationwide in an outbreak that has killed 563 and spiraled into a global health emergency. Two dozen countries now have confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus that emerged from a market selling exotic animals […]
Avalanches kill nearly 40 in eastern Turkey
ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — At least 33 people were killed in eastern Turkey Wednesday by a second avalanche which buried a team of rescuers searching for people hit by the first the day before. The bodies of 33 rescue workers and civilians were discovered in Van province, where they had been helping dig out a minibus buried by snow late Tuesday, the government’s disaster agency AFAD said. Five people aboard the vehicle were killed, taking […]
Baby tests positive for China virus just 30 hours after birth
BEIJING, China (AFP) — A baby in China’s epidemic-hit Wuhan city has been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus just 30 hours after being born, Chinese state media reported Wednesday. The infant is the youngest person recorded as being infected by the virus, which has killed nearly 500 people since emerging late last year. CCTV quoted experts as saying it may be a case of “vertical transmission”, referring to infections passed from mother to child during […]
JUST IN: Coronavirus cases in China pass 28,000: govt
BEIJING, China (AFP) — The number of confirmed infections in China’s coronavirus outbreak has reached 28,018 nationwide with 3,694 new cases reported, the National Health Commission said Thursday. In its daily update, the commission said there had been 73 new deaths from the virus — most of them in hardest-hit Hubei province, with three in other regions — bringing the national toll to 563. © Agence France-Presse
Ten more on cruise ship off Japan have new coronavirus: local media
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Ten more people on a cruise ship off Japan have tested positive for the new coronavirus, local media said Thursday, raising the number of infections detected on the boat to 20. Japanese authorities have tested 273 people among the approximately 3,700 passengers and crew on the ship after a man who got off the boat last month in Hong Kong tested positive for the new strain. The new cases were reported […]
China’s France envoy slams ‘shameful’ Hong Kong medical strike
PARIS, France (AFP) — China’s ambassador to France on Wednesday slammed as “shameful” the decision by Hong Kong medical workers to strike, accusing them of putting lives at risk in the midst of a deadly coronavirus outbreak. Hundreds of medical staff in Hong Kong walked off the job on Monday, demanding that the semi-autonomous territory completely seal its border with mainland China to stop the spread of the virus, which has claimed nearly 500 lives […]
UPDATED: Three dead, scores hurt, in Turkey plane accident
by Gokan GUNES ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) –Three people have died and 179 were injured when a plane skidded off the runway at an Istanbul airport, caught fire and split into three after landing in rough weather. Live images broadcast on Turkish television showed several people climbing through a large crack in the severed aircraft and escaping onto one of the wings at the rear. The Boeing 737 operated by Turkish low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines had […]
