BEIJING, China (AFP) — China will waive trade-war tariffs on imports of selected US medical equipment from March 2, the government said Tuesday, as the country battles to contain the new coronavirus epidemic. More than 72,000 people have been infected by the outbreak of the new COVID-19 strain in China, which has claimed the lives of over 1,800 people. Products that will qualify for the exemptions include patient monitors, blood transfusion equipment and instruments to […]
Tag: Virus
WHO warns against virus over-reaction as death toll hits 1,868
by Laurent THOMET BEIJING, China (AFP) — The World Health Organization has warned against a global over-reaction to the new coronavirus epidemic following panic-buying, event cancellations and concerns about cruise ship travel, as China’s official death toll neared 1,900 on Tuesday. More than 72,000 people have now been infected in China and hundreds more abroad, although the WHO stressed the disease has infected a “tiny” proportion of people outside its epicenter and the mortality rate […]
China virus death toll passes 1,800: govt
BEIJING, China (AFP) — The death toll from China’s new coronavirus epidemic jumped past 1,800 on Tuesday after 93 more people died in Hubei province, the hard-hit epicenter of the outbreak. In its daily update, the province’s health commission also reported 1,807 new cases, a smaller number of infections compared to those declared on Monday. The new cases mean more than 72,300 people have now been affected across the country. Most of the cases are […]
France confirms first case of ruinous tomato virus
PARIS, France (AFP) — Tomato plants in France’s far-west Finistere region has been contaminated with a destructive virus that can lead to whole crops being wasted, the agriculture ministry said on Monday. A farm had been isolated and greenhouses full of tomatoes would be destroyed, as there is no known treatment, it said. The tomato brown rugose fruit virus, known as ToBRFV, leads to rough discolored patches on the fruit that render it unsellable — […]
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 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 can help […]
13 US citizens at ‘high risk’ of coronavirus being treated in Nebraska
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Thirteen US citizens deemed “high risk” for the deadly new coronavirus are being treated at a federally designated facility in the University of Nebraska following their evacuation from a cruise ship in Japan, officials said Monday. A total of 338 Americans were flown home from the Diamond Princess cruise ship off Japan’s Yokohama, touching down first at Travis Air Force Base in California shortly before midnight Sunday. The second flight […]
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 […]
26 Filipinos in Japan, 1 Filipino in UAE confirmed to have COVID-19
(Eagle News) — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed that the total number of Filipinos overseas who had been infected with the dreaded coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has now reached 27. In a report, the DFA said that 26 of the Filipinos were those on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship, while the other Filipino was found positive for COVID-19 in the United Arab Emirates. The DFA said that the Philippine Inter-Agency Task Force […]
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 […]





