GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Many countries are unprepared to face the deadly virus spreading in China and beyond, a global health monitor warned Thursday as it urged governments to get ready. The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB), an independent body created by the World Health Organization and the World Bank, hailed “the speed of response so far” by China and other countries affected by the novel coronavirus. “The Board, however, is concerned that many countries […]
Europe
Italy suspends all China flights after coronavirus cases confirmed
ROME, Italy (AFP) –The Italian government said Thursday it was suspending all flights between Italy and China after doctors confirmed two Chinese tourists had tested positive for the coronavirus. Health Minister Roberto Speranza has issued a “decree closing air traffic to and from China,” Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told a news conference without giving a list of the affected airlines. “We think we are the first EU country to take this precautionary measure,” Conte added […]
WHO declares international emergency over novel coronavirus
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The UN health agency on Thursday declared an international emergency over the deadly novel coronavirus from China — a rarely used designation that could lead to improved international coordination in tackling the disease. “Our greatest concern is the potential for the virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems,” World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said as he declared a “public health emergency of international concern”. “This is […]
600 Europeans seeking to leave China amid virus: EU
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — Nearly 600 European citizens in China want to be repatriated because of the coronavirus epidemic, the EU said on Wednesday, as airlines began suspending flights to and from the Asian giant. “There are a number of EU citizens in China who would like to leave the country, the current number is about 600, and they cannot do so at the moment,” Janez Lenarcic, the EU commissioner for crisis management told reporters. […]
Airlines halt, reduce China flights
PARIS, France (AFP) — A number of airlines say they are halting or reducing flights to China as the country struggles to contain the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus sweeping the country. China has advised its citizens to postpone trips abroad and canceled overseas group tours, while several countries have urged their citizens to avoid travel to China if possible. The epidemic has killed 132 people, infected more than 6,000 worldwide, and spread to […]
Five people in France confirmed to have coronavirus
PARIS, France (AFP) — The daughter of a Chinese tourist who is seriously ill in a Paris hospital has become the fifth person in France to be confirmed with the coronavirus, officials said Wednesday. Her 80-year-old father was the fourth confirmed case in France of the new coronavirus that has killed more than 100 people since it emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December. “A fifth case has been detected,” Health Minister Agnes […]
Germany confirms first human transmission of China virus; first human-to-human transmission in Europe
A German man who contracted the novel strain of coronavirus was infected by a colleague visiting from China, officials said on Tuesday, in what appeared to be the first human-to-human transmission in Europe. Other confirmed cases in Europe of the viral outbreak have so far involved patients who had recently been to China. In this instance, the 33-year-old German attended a training session held by a visiting Chinese colleague on January 21 at the […]
UK fishermen angling for big catch post Brexit
NORTH SHIELDS, United Kingdom (AFP) – Roland JACKSON / William EDWARDS Just before dawn, the Good Fellowship trawler casts its nets deep into the North Sea’s cold swirling waters, fishing for prawns off England’s northeast coast. Britain finally departs the European Union on Friday but remains bound by the bloc’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) until the end of a transition period on December 31. The Good Fellowship’s captain, David Shiel, is cautiously hopeful that Brexit […]
Icelandic volcano swell signals potential eruption
REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AFP) — Small earthquakes and a so-called “inflation” of the mountain, signaling a potential volcanic eruption, have been reported near Iceland’s famous “Blue Lagoon,” local authorities said Monday. The Icelandic Met Office declared a state of uncertainty over the weekend, following days of several smaller earthquakes and swelling of the mountain. Alert levels for aviation were also raised from “green” to “yellow,” defined as when a volcano “is experiencing signs of elevated unrest […]
WHO says still probing if Chinese virus can spread before symptoms
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization said Monday it remained unclear if the deadly coronavirus spreading in China and beyond is contagious during its incubation period before symptoms appear. The virus, which can cause a pneumonia-like acute respiratory infection, has in a matter of weeks killed more than 80 people and infected some 2,740 in China, while cases have been identified in more than a dozen other countries. In a fresh report on […]
Just in: First coronavirus case confirmed in Germany by Bavarian health ministry
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Health authorities in Germany’s southern Bavarian region have confirmed the country’s first case of the deadly coronavirus spreading in China. The virus, which can cause a pneumonia-like acute respiratory infection, has in a matter of weeks killed more than 80 people and infected some 2,740 in China, while cases have been identified in more than a dozen other countries. “A man in the Starnberg region has been infected with the new […]
Death toll from Storm Gloria in Spain rises to 13
MADRID, Spain (AFP) — The death toll from a violent storm that wrought havoc across huge swathes of Spain’s eastern and southern coastline last week has risen to 13, local authorities said Monday. The family of a 41-year-old Colombian man confirmed that a body found off of Ibiza on Saturday was his, the island’s local government told AFP. The man had been “one of three people missing in the Balearic Islands”, which were badly hit […]
