BEIJING, China (AFP) — A virus similar to the SARS pathogen has killed 170 people and spread around the world since emerging in a market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. On Thursday, China’s National Health Commission said 7,711 people had been infected by the novel coronavirus. Outside mainland China, there have been more than 100 infections reported. The World Health Organization has declared an international emergency over the outbreak. Here are the places […]
Tag: Virus
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 […]
Russia to shut border with China over coronavirus; “We have to do everything to protect our people,” says PM
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia said Thursday it was closing the border with China to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus and would stop issuing electronic visas to Chinese nationals. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin told a government meeting that the order had been signed “to take measures to close the border (with China) in the Far East”. “We have to do everything to protect our people,” he said. According to the government order, […]
Three Japanese evacuated from Wuhan test positive for virus
by Miwa SUZUKI / Natsuko FUKUE Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Three Japanese evacuated from the epicentre of a deadly new coronavirus outbreak have tested positive for the illness, the government said Thursday, as it faced criticism for the country’s minimal quarantine measures. The new cases were announced as another evacuation flight from Wuhan landed in Tokyo, and the government confirmed a second local case of apparent person-to-person transmission of the virus. […]
China’s health commission warns of “walking source of infection”- patients without fever but have nCoV
(Eagle News) — People who have either no symptoms of the novel coronavirus or have not developed them yet seem to be able to spread the virus, according to China’s Director of the National Health Commission Ma Xiaowei. Based on new information and research on the latest coronavirus strain, the 2019-nCoV, Ma said that the spread of the epidemic is “relatively fast” and there are cases, even those from outside China, where patients have […]
Asia ramps up defenses against deadly outbreak; more countries clamp down on Chinese visitors
Asian nations have sealed borders and clamped down on Chinese visitors as they try to protect themselves from a deadly virus epidemic. The outbreak has killed 170 people in China, infected over 7,700 more and sparked progressively more urgent precautions around the region. Here are some key measures taken outside mainland China: – Hong Kong – Six of the territory’s 14 mainland crossings were sealed from Thursday as the city took steps to cut the […]
The highly contagious novel coronavirus: How it is transmitted
(Videographics showing how the new coronavirus can be transmitted. Courtesy Agence France Presse) (Eagle News) — The 2019 novel coronavirus or 2019 nCOV can easily spread from human to human, and the transmission can be via “aerosol droplets in the air released by sneezing or coughing” or by touching a surface which has the virus.” In this videographics provided by Agence France Presse, it shows that the virus is “most contagious when there […]
Updated: DOH confirms PHL’s 1st positive coronavirus case; Chinese woman from Wuhan only had “mild cough,” no fever
(Eagle News) — The Department of Health today, Jan. 30, confirmed a positive novel coronavirus 2019 (nCoV 2019) case, saying that the patient was a 38-year old Chinese woman from Wuhan, China who is now considered “asymptomatic.” The DOH said that it is now “working closely with the hospital where the patient is admitted.” “The Bureau of Quarantine remains on high alert,” DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III said in a briefing Thursday, Jan. 30. “We […]
DOH awaiting test results if Chinese man who died of pneumonia had nCoV; initial test showed he was HIV+
(Eagle News) – The Department of Health is now awaiting the results of the confirmatory tests on a Chinese national confined at the San Lazaro Hospital, considered a patient under investigation (PUI) for novel coronavirus infection, who died on Thursday, Jan. 29, for pneumonia. The DOH said that the 29-year old man who came from Yunnan province was also HIV positive upon testing, but that a confirmatory test on this too is necessary. San Lazaro […]
New Zealand charters flight to assist with Wuhan evacuation
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand announced Thursday it will charter a 300-seat aircraft to evacuate nationals from Wuhan, the Chinese city at the center of the deadly coronavirus outbreak. There are 53 New Zealanders confirmed to be in Wuhan but the actual number is believed to be more than double that. “New Zealand will be offering any additional seats to Pacific Island and Australian citizens as a matter of priority,” Foreign Minister Winston […]
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. […]
African nations take first measures to stop spread of Chinese virus
MALABO, Equatorial Guinea (AFP) — African states, including the continent’s biggest economy Nigeria, on Wednesday said they had begun to introduce measures aimed at stopping the spread of the new coronavirus. No verified infection has been reported to date in sub-Saharan Africa, but elsewhere countries have stopped flights to China and airlifted their citizens out of the area where the virus emerged. Nigeria issued a travel advisory advising “all Nigerians and persons intending to travel […]





