Tag: china

China virus death toll reaches 1,110: govt

BEIJING, China (AFP) — The number of fatalities from China’s new coronavirus epidemic jumped to 1,110 nationwide on Wednesday after hard-hit Hubei province reported 94 new deaths. In its daily update, Hubei’s health commission also confirmed another 1,638 new cases in the central province, where the outbreak emerged in December. © Agence France-Presse

WHO names deadly virus from China as ‘COVID-19’

by Dario THUBURN GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The UN health agency on Tuesday announced that “COVID-19” will be the official name of the deadly virus from China, saying the disease represented a “very grave threat” for the world but there was a “realistic chance” of stopping it. “We now have a name for the disease and it’s COVID-19,” World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva. Tedros said that “co” stands for […]

WHO head sees chance to stop virus which poses ‘grave’ threat

by Laurent Thomet and Jing Xuan Teng BEIJING, China (AFP) — Countries have a chance of stopping the global spread of the new coronavirus, the chief of the World Health Organization said Tuesday, urging them to work together against the outbreak. The WHO is holding a conference in Geneva on combatting the virus that Beijing is struggling to contain and which has killed more than 1,000, infected more than 42,000 and reached about 25 countries. […]

Persons under investigation for nCoV in PHL climb to 382, with 68 new PUIs; but confirmed cases still at 3

  (Eagle News) – The total number of persons under investigation (PUIs) for the novel coronavirus-2019 has jumped to 382 in the Philippines, with the number of confirmed cases still at three, according to the Department of Health’s latest data. As of its latest update on Tuesday, Feb. 11, there were 68 new cases added to the previous day’s accumulative total of 314.  (https://ncovtracker.doh.gov.ph/) There are also 266 admitted PUIs, with five added from Monday’s […]

Taiwan seeks lifting of PHL travel ban, says it is “wrong” for Taiwan to be confused with China

  (Eagle News) — Taiwan on Tuesday, Feb. 11,  said that it would continue to communicate with the Philippine government in hopes of reversing a travel ban that the Philippines had imposed on Taiwan because of the novel coronavirus scare. Taiwan’s foreign ministry said that it was “wrong” for Taiwan to be confused with China after the Philippines included Taiwan on Monday in its travel ban, citing the World Health Organization (WHO) classification on Taiwan […]

UK team tests novel coronavirus vaccine on mice

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — A team of British scientists believe they have become the first to start animal testing of a vaccine for the new coronavirus that has killed more than 900 people. Researchers at Imperial College London said their ultimate goal was to have an effective and safe way of halting the SARS-like strain’s spread by the end of the year. “At the moment we have just put the vaccine that we’ve generated […]

Eight days in Wuhan, cut off from the world: AFP situationer in ground zero of virus epidemic

    Photos by Hector Retamal and video by Leo Ramirez.  by Sébastien RICCI Agence France Presse WUHAN, China (AFP) — For eight days, an AFP team lived and worked at the centre of a global health emergency, witnessing how life in the Chinese city of Wuhan was turned upside down as it was cut off from the world. The city of 11 million was placed under an unprecedented quarantine to try and stop the […]

China removes two Hubei leaders as virus crisis deepens

BEIJING, China (AFP) — The two most senior health officials at the epicenter of China’s deadly virus outbreak has been sacked, state media said Tuesday, as pressure mounts over the way local authorities have handled the epidemic. Zhang Jin, the Communist Party boss of the provincial health commission in Hubei, and its director Liu Yingzi have been removed from their positions, reported state broadcaster CCTV, after a decision by the province’s party committee Monday. The […]

From Singapore to UK via the Alps: how one man spread coronavirus

  by Marie WOLFROM Agence France Presse A British man managed to pass on the coronavirus to at least 11 other people without ever setting foot in the epicentre of the outbreak in China, in an infectious journey that shows how the deadly virus can spread rapidly around a globalised world. The adult British citizen, who has not been named publicly, caught the virus while attending a conference in Singapore and then passed it on […]

JUST IN: China virus cases exceed 42,600 nationwide: health commission

BEIJING, China (AFP) — The number of confirmed infections in China’s coronavirus outbreak has reached 42,638 nationwide with nearly 2,500 new cases reported, the National Health Commission said Tuesday. In its daily update, the commission said there had been 108 new deaths from the virus — with 103 in hardest-hit Hubei province — bringing the national toll to 1,016 fatalities. © Agence France-Presse

Global stocks mixed on coronavirus but S&P 500, Nasdaq hit records

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Major US stock indices finished at fresh records Monday, shrugging off worries about the coronavirus that pressured other equity markets and drove oil prices lower. As the outbreak continued, Chinese President Xi Jinping donned a face mask while visiting medical workers and patients affected by the deadly coronavirus that has killed more than 900 people. Although parts of China remain shut down, roads in Beijing and the financial hub […]

Japan cruise ship now has 135 coronavirus infections: government

by Shingo ITO TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Another 65 people aboard the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship moored off Japan have been diagnosed with novel coronavirus, the health ministry said Monday, bringing the total number of known infections to 135. The Diamond Princess has been in quarantine since arriving off the Japanese coast early last week after the virus was detected in a former passenger who got off the ship last month in Hong Kong. […]