February 18 coronavirus news

President Trump is being briefed daily on the coronavirus outbreak, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham this morning.

She appeared on Fox News where she addressed a variety of topics, incluiding the outbreak. She touted the administration’s “unprecedented steps” to curb travel from China.

Grisham said a task force, led by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, is “meeting twice every day.”

Hong Kong has reported one more confirmed case of the novel coronavirus on Tuesday, bringing the citywide total to 62 cases, according to the Hong Kong Health Department.

The new case is a 58-year-old man who developed fever and chills on February 11. According to the Health Department, he traveled to Zhongshan, China, and Macao during the incubation period. He is currently in stable condition.

A British family who contracted coronavirus in the French ski resort Contamines-Montjoie has been discharged from hospital, French Health Minister Olivier Veran told journalists in Paris on Tuesday. 

The British nationals, including a 9-year-old child, were infected after coming into contact with Steve Walsh, a British man who traveled to the resort from a conference in Singapore, where he got the coronavirus. They were hospitalized in Grenoble. 

The health minister also gave an update on French citizens onboard the Diamond Princess ship in Yokohama, saying that a third French national tested positive for coronavirus on board the cruise liner.  According to Veran the third person does not reside in France and has been taken into the care of the Japanese authorities. There have been no demands to repatriate the person so far.

World Health Organization Health Emergencies Programme head Michael Ryan attends a news conference on January 12 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Dr. Michael Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization’s Health Emergencies Programme, said the organization is still not classifying the coronavirus outbreak a “pandemic.”

“I think we need to be extremely cautious in using the term ‘pandemic.’ We had lots of controversies during the H1N1 situation, around when it was pandemic and when it wasn’t pandemic, and I think we need to be careful,” Ryan said yesterday.

Ryan continued:

Dr. Sylvie Briand, director of WHO’s Infectious Hazards Management Department, agreed on the need to be cautious with wording.

“The difficulty with certain words is that their interpretation varies, and for [the] general public, very often ‘pandemic’ is really the worst-case scenario,” Briand said. “And so I think we need, before qualifying the event as the worst-case scenario, we need a lot more evidence and a lot more data. And so that’s why I think we need to be cautious, because it can really create panic unnecessarily.”

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves Downing Street in London on February 12.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson offered his sympathies to those affected by the coronavrus outbreak in China, in a phone call with the Chinese President Xi Jinping today.

President Xi thanked the UK for its support and donations of vital medical equipment, according to a readout by Downing Street. 

Here’s the rest of the readout:

Medical workers move a person who died from the novel coronavirus at a hospital in Wuhan on Sunday.

The severity of the novel coronavirus is higher than flu — but perhaps not as high as the 2.3% death rate that has been reported by Chinese authorities, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN today.

“My sense and the sense of many of my colleagues is that the ultimate case fatality rate … is less than 2%,” Fauci said.

This would mean the novel coronavirus is more lethal than flu but far less lethal that SARS, which comes from the same family of viruses. However, Fauci noted the novel coronavirus is more transmissible than SARS, which infected far fewer people.

Fauci’s comments follow a study published yesterday by scientists at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, calculating a case fatality rate of 2.3% — meaning 2.3% of people found to be infected with the virus have died.

“I would think at tops it’s 2%,” Fauci said. “And it likely will go down when all the counting gets done to 1% or less.”

“That’s still considerable if you look at the possibility that you’re dealing with a global pandemic,” he added.

Rebecca Frasure, an American who has tested positive for the novel coronavirus and is in hospital in Japan, spoke to CNN’s Alisyn Camerota on Tuesday.

Frasure, a passenger on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, talked about her experience with the virus – and what if feels like to be isolated in a hospital.

Pedestrians wearing protective face masks walk along a street in Shanghai on Monday.

If you’re just joining us, here’s the latest you need to know about the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The number of coronavirus cases worldwide has topped 73,400, after China’s National Health Commission reported more than 1,880 new confirmed cases.

Here’s the latest:

The numbers: Ninety-eight additional deaths were recorded in mainland China on Monday, China’s National Health Commission said – including 93 in Hubei province.

The global death toll is 1,873 deaths, including five people outside mainland China.

The number of cases outside mainland China is nearing 1,000, reported in 28 countries and regions.

“Credible risk” of global pandemic: French health minister Olivier Veran said on Tuesday there is a “credible risk” the novel coronavirus outbreak could turn into a pandemic.

Wuhan hospital director death: Liu Zhiming, head of the Wuchang hospital in Wuhan, died from the coronavirus this morning, the first hospital head to die of the virus.

China will designate medical workers who died while working to combat the virus as “martyrs.”

Liu Zhiming, president of Wuhan's Wuchang Hospital, died at the age of 51 from the novel coronavirus pneumonia on Tuesday.

Cruise ship cases spike again: There are 88 more cases of novel coronavirus on the Diamond Princess, the cruise ship currently docked in Yokohama, the Japanese health ministry announced on Tuesday. That brings the total number of cases from the ship to 544.

Cruise evacuations: The UK, Canada, Italy and Hong Kong are sending flights for their citizens onboard the Diamond Princess. The US has evacuated more than 300 Americans from the ship, 14 of whom have tested positive for the virus. 

Japan’s health minister has confirmed that Diamond Princess disembarkation will begin on Wednesday.

Westerdam concerns: Questions are being raised over how an 83-year-old American woman, who had been on the first charter flight taking Westerdam cruise liner passengers to Malaysia, was infected. There are also queries about whether authorities will be retesting the other 2,257 passengers and crew, about half of whom who have already left the ship.

More flights reduced: Singapore Airlines says it is temporarily cutting flights across its global network due to the outbreak of the coronavirus. Destinations affected include Frankfurt, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Paris, London, Tokyo, Seoul, and routes across Australia and Southeast Asia.

Economic woes: Apple warned investors on Monday that the outbreak is hurting its business more than previously expected by limiting how many devices it can make and sell in China. The closing of Chinese plants has also disrupted supply chains globally, threatening to cause a recession in Germany and smartphone shortages worldwide.

Here’s a look at where the cases are throughout mainland China, according to World Health Organization (WHO) data. These numbers may differ from those reported by Chinese health officials, who report updated totals at different times than the WHO.

Here’s a look at where the cases are throughout the world, according to the latest World Health Organization (WHO) data.

These numbers may differ from those reported by national health authorities, who report updated totals at different times than the WHO.

Employees wear face masks at an Apple Store in Beijing on Monday.

Apple warned investors on Monday that the ongoing coronavirus outbreak is hurting its business more than previously expected by limiting how many devices it can both make and sell in China.

In an investor update, Apple said it no longer expects to meet the revenue guidance it provided last month for the upcoming quarter. “Work is starting to resume around the country, but we are experiencing a slower return to normal conditions than we had anticipated,” the company said.

Read the whole story here.

Staff clear a table at a Chinese restaurant in Melbourne, Australia, on February 14.

Chinese restaurants in Australia and elsewhere have been suffering for nearly two months, with many reporting a drop in business due to public fears over the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Now, a social media campaign in Australia is urging communities to rally around their local Chinese restaurant, as authorities warn against the danger of misinformation and racialized stigma.

The campaign, launched this week by Australian political activist group GetUp!, encourages people to show their support by spreading the hashtag #IWillEatWithYou and pledging to support struggling Chinese businesses.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 13: An empty restaurant stands in New York's Chinatown on February 13, 2020 in New York City. Gregg Bishop, commissioner of the Department of Small Business Services in New York, has said that revenues are down around 40% in Chinatown as fears continue over the coronavirus. There are no confirmed coronavirus cases in New York City and the city is urging people to visit Chinatown to shop and dine. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Related article Chinese restaurants are losing business over coronavirus fears

The Philippines is exempting its citizens who are employed abroad from a travel ban that barred them from returning to work in Hong Kong and Macao due to coronavirus fears, the Department of Foreign Affairs undersecretary tweeted Tuesday.

The travel restrictions were put in place by the Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on February 2, leaving thousands of Oversees Filipino Workers (OFWs), as the expat workers are known in the country, stranded in the Philippines.

The stuck OFWs were each awarded a cash aid of US$197 (10,000 Philippine peso) and provided with dormitories and food.

There are over 210,000 Filipino workers working in Hong Kong and 32,000 in Macao, according to CNN Philippines.

Economists at the research firm Capital Economics have tried to estimate the impact the novel coronavirus outbreak could have on Japan’s already struggling economy.

The world’s third biggest economy is already flirting with recession, and the novel coronavirus could push it over the edge.

The outbreak is already hurting Japan’s important tourism sector. “The number of air passenger leaving Hong Kong has plunged by 90% since the Lunar New Year and tourist arrivals from China may have fallen by a similar amount,” Marcel Thieliant, Capital Economics’ senior Japan economist, wrote in a note on Tuesday.

Thieliant said the slump in tourist arrivals will most likely knock around 0.4 percentage points off Japan’s GDP growth in the first quarter. However, he added there was “a growing risk” that an outbreak of the virus in Japan could hurt consumer spending.

The firm now expects Japan’s economy to shrink by 0.5% in 2020.

Pedestrians wearing protective masks cross a road in the Ginza area in Tokyo, Japan, on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020.

Related article Japan's economy is shrinking and a recession looks 'all but inevitable'

Concerns are mounting about how long the novel coronavirus may survive on surfaces – so much so that China’s central bank has taken measures to deep clean and destroy its cash, which changes hands multiple times a day, in an effort to contain the virus.

It is unknown exactly how long the novel coronavirus can linger on contaminated surfaces and objects with the potential of infecting people, but some researchers are finding clues by studying the elusive behaviors of other coronaviruses.

Cleaning with common household products can make a difference, according to the research, which also found that human coronaviruses “can be efficiently inactivated by surface disinfection procedures with 62-71% ethanol, 0.5% hydrogen peroxide or 0.1% sodium hypochlorite” or bleach within one minute.

This transmission electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2—also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19. isolated from a patient in the U.S., emerging from the surface of cells cultured in the lab. Credit: NIAID-RML

Related article Here's how long coronaviruses may linger on contaminated surfaces, according to science

The quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship is pictured at Yokohama port on Monday.

There are 88 more cases of novel coronavirus on the Diamond Princess, the cruise ship currently docked in Yokohama, the Japanese health ministry announced on Tuesday.

That brings the total number of cases from the ship to 544, and 606 in Japan as a whole.

Around 3,600 passengers have been quarantined on the vessel in the Japanese port since February 4.

More than 300 US citizens were evacuated from the Diamond Princess and flown to the United States over the weekend.

The Canadian Government plans to evacuate its citizens from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama on Thursday, February 20, according to an email sent to a passenger on board and obtained by CNN.

The email from Global Affairs Canada says:

The email notes that passengers should not leave the ship on Wednesday when the quarantine begins to lift, even if eligible to do so. The flight will leave from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport

“Please note that if you leave the ship before you are instructed to do so, it will not be possible to board the assisted Canadian flight.”

Hong Kong now has 61 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus, according to the city’s health department.

The latest patient is a 32-year-old woman from the Philippines who works in Hong Kong as a domestic helper, Dr. Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Center for Health Protection said at a news conference on Tuesday.

Her employer was the 52nd person to become infected with the virus in the city, Chaung added.

The woman started to have a cough and fever on February 2 but got better after self-medicating and didn’t go to the doctor, Chaung said.

Her employer tested positive on Thursday, February 13. The domestic helper first tested negative, but remained in hospital for monitoring. She tested positive on Monday.

Chaung warned initial tests may not pick up enough of the virus, causing people to test negative even when infected. This is why a patient is tested again if their condition deteriorates or they have had close contact with confirmed cases.

Health officials are contacting about a dozen friends of the 61st case who gathered with her outside City Hall on February 9.

Hong Kong is home to 385,000 foreign domestic workers, from countries including the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. They are the economic backbone of the city, enabling more mothers to work and generating $12.6 billion to Hong Kong’s economy each year, according to one report.

French Health and Solidarity Minister Olivier Veran addresses media during a news briefing on the coronavirus.

French health minister Olivier Veran said on Tuesday there is a “credible risk” the novel coronavirus outbreak could turn into a pandemic.

“We have a very strong health system,” Veran added.

The minister said he had recently met with the daughter of the 80-year-old Chinese tourist who died from coronavirus last Saturday in France – the first fatality from the outbreak in Europe.

“Out of the 12 confirmed cases of coronavirus in France, four patients remain in hospital,” Veran said.

There are two French citizens who tested positive for the virus on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan. They have not asked to be repatriated, according to Veran.

Not a pandemic: Michael Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization’s Health Emergencies Program, said the organization is still not classifying the coronavirus outbreak as a “pandemic” because they were not seeing an “efficient community transmission outside of China.”

American evacuees from the Diamond Princess cruise ship arrive at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland on February 17, 2020 in San Antonio, Texas.

An American who was evacuated on a US-chartered jet from a cruise ship docked in Japan told CNN that she wasn’t aware that other passengers on the plane had tested positive for novel coronavirus until they landed.

Sarah Arana was one of more than 300 US citizens evacuated from the Diamond Princess and flown to the United States.

Fourteen passengers from the Diamond Princess had tested positive for coronavirus before they boarded the flight.

But Arana felt she was in good hands while on the evacuation flight and when she landed on US soil. 

“On the plane we were with specialists … very knowledgeable doctors and CDC professionals,” she said. “I have no doubt that they did everything with extreme caution.”

Read the full story here.

US citizens who arrived at the Marine Corps Air Station in Southern California earlier this month in the first evacuation flights from Wuhan – the epicenter of the outbreak – are nearing the end of their quarantine.

The US State Department flights from Wuhan landed at MCAS Miramar in San Diego County, on February 5 and February 7.

About 160 people are expected to be released Tuesday morning, Capt. Matthew Gregory, MCAS Miramar’s director of communication, confirmed to CNN Monday night. Another group is expected to be released on Thursday. Gregory did not have details on Thursday’s release.

There have been two confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus among the group. The first and second patients arrived on different planes and were housed in separate facilities, CDC officials said.

As Americans are returning to the US on government-chartered evacuation flights, commercial airlines are keeping tabs on passengers leaving the country who may have been exposed to people infected with the virus.

Chinese women wear protective masks on their way to work in Beijing.

The number of coronavirus cases worldwide has topped 73,000, after China’s National Health Commission reported more than 1,880 new confirmed cases.

Here’s the latest:

The numbers: 98 additional deaths were recorded in mainland China on Monday, China’s National Health Commission said – including 93 in Hubei province. The global death toll is 1,873, including five people outside mainland China.

Wuhan hospital director death: Liu Zhiming, head of the Wuchang hospital in Wuhan, died from the coronavirus this morning, the first hospital head to die of the virus. China will designate medical workers who died while working to combat the virus as “martyrs.”

Cruise ship evacuations: The UK, Canada, Italy and Hong Kong are sending flights for their citizens onboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship quarantined in Japan. The US has evacuated more than 300 Americans from the ship, 14 of which have tested positive for the virus. 

Disembarking the Diamond Princess: Japan’s health minister has confirmed that Diamond Princess disembarkation will begin on Wednesday.

Westerdam concerns: Questions are being raised over how an 83-year-old American woman, who had been on the first charter flight taking 143 Westerdam cruise liner passengers to Malaysia, was infected, and whether authorities will be retesting the other 2,257 passengers and crew, about half of whom who have already left the ship.

More flights reduced: Singapore Airlines says it is temporarily cutting flights across its global network due to the outbreak of the coronavirus. Destinations affected include Frankfurt, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Paris, London, Tokyo, Seoul, and routes across Australia and Southeast Asia.

Economic woes: Apple warned investors on Monday that the outbreak is hurting its business more than previously expected by limiting how many devices it can make and sell in China. The closing of Chinese plants has also disrupted supply chains globally, threatening to cause a recession in Germany and smartphone shortages worldwide.

A general view of the Westerdam cruise ship docked at Sihanoukville port on February 15, 2020.

Questions are being raised over how an 83-year-old American woman, who had been on the first charter flight taking 143 Westerdam passengers to Malaysia, was infected with coronavirus after the cruise operator said no cases had been found on board.

It’s not clear whether authorities will be retesting the other 2,257 passengers and crew of the Westerdam, about half of whom who have already left the ship.

The ship: The Westerdam was stuck at sea for days, after Japan, Guam, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand turned it away over coronavirus concerns. On Friday, Cambodia finally allowed the ship to dock and passengers disembarked. No coronavirus cases were reported.

What we know about the patient:

Flights canceled: All other Holland America charter flights to Malaysia for the remaining Westerdam passengers have been canceled. The Thai government also announced Monday that it would no longer be accepting any Westerdam passengers until February 28.

Where did she get the virus? It isn’t clear from official statements where the American woman contracted the virus or how long she has had it. The Westerdam left Singapore on January 16 for what was supposed to be a 30-day trip around Asia. The ship visited Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, according to marinetraffic.com. But after departing Hong Kong on February 1, where 768 guests joined the boat, it quickly became unwelcome in ports around the region.

Westerdam representatives said the company had checked that no one onboard the ship had traveled to mainland China in the 14 days prior to the cruise.

Everyone was screened: Holland America Line, which operates the Westerdam, confirmed the virus case but was insistent that everyone on the ship had been screened on February 10, five days before the positive diagnosis.

Read the full story here.

A charter plane hired by the Canadian government is due to arrive in Tokyo on Wednesday, according to a government email sent to passengers on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship.

“The departure date will be confirmed once final arrangements have been made with the Japanese government and the cruise ship company,” the email, which was obtained by CNN, reads. “You will be notified 24 hours before the flight leaves.”

Passengers who get on the flight will have to undergo a further 14-day quarantine once they arrive in Canada.

In a statement to CNN on Tuesday, Global Affairs Canada said that the plane would bring citizens to Canadian Forces Base in Trenton, “after which passengers will be assessed and transported to the NAV Canada Training Institute in Cornwall, Ontario, to undergo a further 14-day period of quarantine.”

When the quarantine started, there were 256 Canadians on the Diamond Princess. Of that number, 32 have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

A worker produces protective face masks at a factory in Qingdao in China's eastern Shandong province.

China’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), is the powerful central body that oversees the country’s state sector.

There are about 460,000 state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in China. Ninety-six of those are “central enterprises,” which are massive state-owned businesses.

Together, the SOEs contribute 40% of China’s GDP.

During a news conference on Tuesday, the SASAC said the government was still assessing the overall loss of this sector due to the coronavirus and it expects SOEs to be hurt even more this month compared to January.

Here’s what came up:

Back to work: More than 80% of the over 20,000 state-owned manufacturing subsidiaries have resumed work.

Airline refunds: The three biggest airline operators – Air China, China Eastern and China Southern – refunded 13 million tickets and canceled 78,000 flights between January 20 and February 13.

Face mask production: The government has ordered some SOEs to start making facial masks. By February 16, 11 of oil and gas enterprise Sinopec’s production lines were producing 620,000 face masks per day.

Importing protective equipment: Beijing is also importing face masks from overseas and donating them to Hubei province at the outbreak’s epicenter. So far, they have donated 1.74 million imported face masks, 61,800 protective clothing suits, 27,000 clinical goggles, and 348,000 clinical gloves.

The Bamboo Forest in Kyoto's Arashiyama neighborhood.

Kyoto is usually packed with tourists from all over the world.

But as the coronavirus outbreak keeps visitors away from the historic streets of Japan’s former capital, a group of shopkeepers have launched an “empty tourism” campaign to lure them back. 

Merchants from five shopping streets in Kyoto’s Arashiyama neighborhood – a popular tourist district on the western outskirts of the city that’s filled with temples and shrines – have devised an advertising campaign dubbed “suitemasu Arashiyama.” It translates to “empty Arashiyama” or “there are few people around in Arashiyama.” 

The posters created for the campaign showcase how any would-be travelers could have the district’s most-visited spots all to themselves. 

One poster shows a monkey with the caption: “It’s been a while since there were more monkeys than humans.” Underneath, there’s a photo of Togetsukyo Bridge – normally crowded with Instagrammers – with no tourists about. 

Another depicts Arayshiyama’s beautiful bamboo grove accompanied with several hashtags, including “#nopeople” and “#nowisthetime.”

Kyoto has enjoyed many busy traveler-filled winters over the past few years, to the point where the city was facing overtourism. 

However, due to the effects of the coronavirus outbreak, locals report that the neighborhood has had fewer visitors so far in 2020 than in 2019.

Read the full story here.

New images show life inside an exhibition center that has been converted into a hospital treating coronavirus patients in Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Patients who exhibit mild symptoms of the virus, officially called Covid-19, take part in exercise classes lead by a member of the medical staff – dressed in full protective gear.

Other images show patients lying in rows of beds, getting checked over by a member of staff, reading books or at their laptops.

A member of the medical staff leads patients who have displayed mild symptoms of the novel coronavirus in group exercises.

A man who has displayed mild symptoms of the novel coronavirus using a laptop at an exhibition center converted into a hospital in Wuhan.

A member of the medical staff massages a patient at the converted hospital.

Medical staff members in protective gear work at the converted hospital in Wuhan.

A patient helps himself to free drinks at the exhibition center-turned-hospital.

Chinese customers wear protective masks as they line up to buy dumplings at a shop in Beijing.

There’s still a lot we don’t know about the novel coronavirus, officially called Covid-19, and scientists around the world are racing to gather data and develop a treatment.

Here’s what we can tell you so far:

Is there a cure? There’s no cure, but patients can be treated for symptoms and may recover. The US National Institutes of Health said it’s also working on a vaccine – but it would take months for clinical trials to begin and more than a year until a vaccine might be available.

What are the symptoms? Coronavirus symptoms can look like the flu – a runny nose, cough, sore throat, headache and maybe a fever. “It can be more severe for some persons and can lead to pneumonia or breathing difficulties,” the World Health Organization says.

How does the virus spread? The virus is thought to spread from person to person through respiratory droplets emitted by coughing or sneezing. There’s also a possibility the virus can exist in and spread through contaminated fecal matter. There’s currently no evidence that the virus is airborne – meaning, for instance, it doesn’t travel across a large room.

Who is at risk of infection? People of all ages can be infected with the virus, but older people and those with pre-existing medical conditions are especially vulnerable to severe complications.

How can I protect myself? Take the same precautionary measures you would during flu season. Wash your hands often with soap and water, cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze or cough, avoid close contact with people or large gatherings, and wear a face mask.

Chinese citizens who bought medicine to treat fever and coughs in Hubei province will be subjected to extra screening by authorities, the provincial government announced Tuesday.

Health workers will collect the personal information of those who purchased the medication in Hubei from January 20, regardless of whether they bought it online or offline, the notice read.

Those individuals will be subjected to extra testing for the coronavirus and may be quarantined if necessary.

Wuhan, a city in Hubei province, is the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak.

People who exhibited fever symptoms while seeking medical care in Hubei since January 20 will also be checked, the notice added.

The policies, which will be implemented with immediate effect, also require pharmacies to submit the identity of those who purchase fever medicine on a daily basis.

A man cycles on an empty street at Optical Valley in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. 

Stringent and often draconian measures are being ramped up in much of mainland China as the country continues to deal with the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak.

It comes as authorities make an effort to return to something like normality in many major cities and commercial hubs, with the long break forced by the outbreak taking its toll on the country’s economy.

780 million on lockdown: According to analysis by CNN of Chinese government orders, some 780 million people are still living under some form of restrictive movement, including all of Hubei, the northeastern province of Liaoning, and China’s two most important cities, Beijing and Shanghai. Restrictions include everything from self-quarantines to limits on who can come and go from neighborhoods.

Tight restrictions: Some of the strictest measures can be found in four cities in Hubei province. The cities of Wuhan, Huanggang, Shiyan and Xiaogan have completely sealed off all residential complexes and communities. The use of non-essential vehicles on local roads is also banned. Residents in each city receive daily necessities from neighborhood and community committees as they are not permitted to leave their homes.

China’s top political event under threat: In an almost unprecedented move, the central government announced late Monday that it was considering postponing its annual meeting of the National People’s Congress (NPC), a gathering of the the country’s nearly 3,000 national legislators. The full session was due to open on March 5. Instead, the NPC Standing Committee, a smaller group of fewer than 200 people, will meet in the capital on February 24 to review a proposal to postpone the plenary session, according to Chinese state media.

Read the full story here.

The disembarkation of some passengers from the Diamond Princess cruise ship quarantined in Yokohama will being on Wednesday, the Japanese Minister of Health, Labour, and Welfare said.

Kato said that disembarkation would being on Wednesday and last several days.

Massive outbreak: Another 99 people from onboard the ship tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the ministry announced on Monday. That brings the total number of cases linked to the stricken vessel to 456 – around half of all virus cases confirmed outside mainland China. It’s the largest single-day increase to date, and comes as several countries prepare to follow the United States in evacuating their citizens from the ship.

Who can get off the ship? Japanese authorities have said in recent days that passengers who test negative for the virus and have not been in close contact with those who have tested positive would be eligible for disembarkation. The ministry began testing passengers 80 years or older, then 70 years or older, and then others.

CNN is working to confirm exactly how the disembarkation will take place.

Jumbo jets arrive to evacuate US citizens from the Diamond Princess cruise ship.

Nebraska’s largest medical facility has treated Ebola, SARS, monkeypox, and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. On Monday it was the novel coronavirus that kept the personnel at the Nebraska Medicine/University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha up overnight.

That’s when the US Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness Response asked UNMC to take in a total of 13 patients who had either tested positive, or had a high likelihood of testing positive, for the novel coronavirus. The patients had been on a cruise ship docked off the cost of Japan for two weeks. The center said it was prepared.

The facility: The special 10-bed biocontainment unit is a state-of-the-art facility that has been doing this kind of complicated work for nearly 15 years. 

It is a secured area with its own ventilation system that is isolated from the rest of the hospital and is staffed by people with specialized training in communicable diseases.

The quarantine center: UNMC has a federal quarantine center on its campus. That’s where 12 other patients from the cruise ship were sent Monday. The facility has 20 purpose-built rooms, that are separate from, but are in close proximity to the biocontainment unit, that can be used if the patients need additional care. 

It was set up to care for patients who may not have symptoms, but who are at a high risk of exposure, or for patients who currently have mild symptoms or a positive test for a disease, but are not sick enough to require hospital admission.

The 12 patients in the quarantine center will be tested on site for the novel coronavirus.

Read more here.

Britain is working to organize a flight to return its citizens onboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama “as soon as possible,” according to a Foreign Office spokesperson.

Foreign Office staff are contacting British citizens on the ship to make arrangements and urge those who have not yet responded to get in touch immediately.

China will designate medical workers who died of the novel coronavirus while working to combat the disease as “martyrs,” according to state media.

The move comes as the government has faced criticism for not providing frontline medics with sufficient equipment or support as they struggle to contain the outbreak, particularly at the epicenter in Hubei province.

As of February 11, more than 3,000 medical workers were believed to have been infected with the virus, according to a study published this week by the Chinese Centers for Disease Control.

First hospital head to die: On Tuesday morning, Wuhan’s Health Commission announced that Liu Zhiming, director of the Wuchang hospital in Wuhan, had died from the virus.

Liu was a neurosurgeon and is the first hospital director to die as a result of the coronavirus epidemic, which started in the city of Wuhan in late 2019.

Whistleblower’s death: One of the most prominent doctors to die of Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, was Li Wenliang, who had previously been reprimanded by police in Hubei for “spreading rumors” about the virus, after he tried to warn university classmates of a SARS-like infection spreading in Wuhan.

Li’s death sparked widespread outrage in China, fueling frustration with how the authorities have handled the outbreak. Revelations of doctors and nurses lacking equipment, being forced to shave their heads, and working almost until they drop, has fueled more frustration.

National heroes: Chinese state media has repeatedly praised frontline workers for their heroics, highlighting their sacrifices and travails ⁠– though without some of the criticism medics have voiced in overseas and private Chinese media.

By declaring deceased doctors and nurses martyrs, the government is adding them to the pantheon of national and political heroes like Lei Feng, the quasi-mythical Red Army soldier lauded by Mao Zedong.

While no one doubts the very real heroism being practiced by Chinese doctors, it’s unclear if the veneration of them after they die will be enough to undo the anger caused by the government’s alleged failures to protect them in life.

Liu Zhiming, director of the Wuchang hospital in Wuhan, died from the novel coronavirus on Tuesday morning, according to the city of Wuhan’s Health Commission. 

Liu was a neurosurgeon and is the first hospital director to die as a result of the coronavirus epidemic which started in the city of Wuhan in late 2019.

People on a deck of the Westerdam cruise ship watch a helicopter take off in Sihanoukville.

The novel coronavirus has spread throughout the world since the first cases were detected in central China in December. Five people have died outside of mainland China from the virus – in the Philippines, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, and France.

There are now at least 895 confirmed cases in over 28 countries and territories outside mainland China – around half of them linked to the stricken Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan.

Read more about the patients in each place.

A man uses his cell phone as he walks past advertising for Apple's iPhone.

Apple warned investors on Monday that the ongoing coronavirus outbreak is hurting its business more than previously expected by limiting how many devices it can make and sell in China.

In an investor update, Apple said it no longer expects to meet the revenue guidance it provided last month for the upcoming March quarter. “Work is starting to resume around the country, but we are experiencing a slower return to normal conditions than we had anticipated,” the company said.

Much of Apple’s manufacturing operations are based in China, which has been hardest hit by the coronavirus outbreak. Nearly half the country’s population are living under some form of travel restrictions.

Read more here.

Israel is barring entry to foreigners who have traveled through four places in Asia in the past 14 days, as concern over the coronavirus grows ⁠– adding the locations to a list that already includes mainland China.

Foreign travelers who have been to the following places in the past two weeks will be denied entry to Israel, according to the country’s interior and health ministries.

Anyone who is not an Israeli citizen and has been to these locations is not allowed to enter Israel through sea, land, or air crossings, interior minister Aryeh Deri said.

Israel has already barred foreigners who have recently traveled through mainland China from entering the country.

Self-quarantine: On Sunday, the health ministry announced that any Israeli citizens returning from the four locations must self-quarantine for a period of two weeks. Those citizens are not allowed to visit any public areas, including schools, their workplaces, hospitals, entertainment centers, shopping centers, or travel on public transportation.

A Singapore Airlines Airbus A350-900 passenger plane takes off from Changi International Airport in Singapore.

Singapore Airlines has announced that it will reduce flights due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the company said that Singapore Airlines and its regional wing SilkAir, “will temporarily reduce services across our network due to weak demand as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak.”

Covid-19 is the official name for the coronavirus.

Flights across the Singapore Airlines and SilkAir global network will be affected through February, April and May.

Destinations affected include Frankfurt, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Paris, London, Tokyo, Seoul, and destinations across Australia and Southeast Asia.

It comes after Singapore Airlines reduced flights to mainland China and Hong Kong earlier this month following a decrease in demand.

This transmission electron microscope image shows the virus that causes Covid-19, isolated from a patient in the US, emerging from the surface of cells cultured in the lab.

Concerns are mounting about how long the novel coronavirus may survive on surfaces — so much so that China’s central bank has taken measures to deep clean and destroy its cash, which changes hands multiple times a day, in an effort to contain the virus.

It is unknown exactly how long the novel coronavirus can linger on contaminated surfaces and objects with the potential of infecting people, but some researchers are finding clues by studying the elusive behaviors of other coronaviruses.

About the virus: Coronaviruses are a large group of viruses common among animals. In rare cases, they are what scientists call zoonotic, meaning they can be transmitted from animals to humans, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Officials do not know what animal may have caused the current outbreak of novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. But previously, studies have suggested that people were infected with the coronavirus MERS, or Middle East respiratory syndrome, after coming in contact with camels, and scientists have suspected that civet cats were to blame for SARS, severe acute respiratory syndrome.

These human coronaviruses, such as SARS and MERS, have been found to persist on inanimate surfaces — including metal, glass or plastic surfaces — for as long as nine days if that surface had not been disinfected, according to research published earlier this month in The Journal of Hospital Infection.

Cleaning with common household products can make a difference, according to the research, which also found that human coronaviruses “can be efficiently inactivated by surface disinfection procedures with 62-71% ethanol, 0.5% hydrogen peroxide or 0.1% sodium hypochlorite” or bleach within one minute.

Read more here.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said arrangements are being made to bring back Hong Kong residents aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama, Japan.

A total of 352 passengers on the ship are Hong Kong residents.  

Two charter flights will be sent to bring them back and each flight has 148 seats, Lam said at a news conference on Tuesday.

The first plane was sent to Japan yesterday, Lam said, with the second going today.

Returnees will be sent to quarantine centers in Hong Kong for 14 days.

Health officers screen arriving passengers from China with thermal scanners at Changi International Airport in Singapore.

Singapore is increasing isolation conditions for those who have returned or transited through mainland China, the Ministry of Health said Tuesday.

Previously, Singapore had issued a 14-day “Leave of Absence” (LOA) notice, which “allowed returnees to leave their homes briefly, for example for their meals or to buy household supplies,” a news release said.

Now, travelers must abide by a “Stay-Home Notice” (SHN), which means they’ll “have to remain in their place of residence at all times during the 14-day period.”

“Those placed on the SHN will be reminded to monitor their health closely and minimise contact with others,” the statement said.

The new rules apply to Singapore residents, long-term pass holders and returning workers from mainland China on work passes. 

The ministry said support will be available for those who need assistance in getting “food and daily necessities.”

Rising cases: Singapore has confirmed two new cases of the virus, bringing the citywide total to 77, the Ministry of Health announced on Monday.

The latest cases are:

A total of 24 coronavirus patients have been discharged, according to the ministry.

Buses carry American citizens from the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship at Daikoku Pier to be repatriated to the United States, on Monday, February 17 in Yokohama, Japan.

Carl Goldman, 66, and his wife, Jeri Seratti-Goldman, were passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise when the ship became quarantined in Japan’s Yokohama port.

Now, one of the 13 evacuees who just arrived at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, he recalls his experiences so far.

However, by the time he, his wife, and the other Diamond Princess passengers were being evacuated to the US, Goldman, who is from Santa Clarita, California, began to show symptoms. 

“I had a high fever on the flight and they took my temperature and I wound up in a section of the plane that is isolated,” Goldman said.

“They put me there with other people they suspected of having the virus. The section was sealed off with big sheets of plastic.” 

Goldman, who was first taken to Travis Air Force Base, landed in Omaha this morning.

“I am being tended to by two nurses in full hazmat suits and the doctor who visited me was also in a hazmat suit,” he said.

“My wife and I are in separate wings of this facility and we’re talking to each other via Facetime.”

Goldman and his wife are now awaiting test results for the novel coronavirus.

Hong Kong’s Department of Health has announced that it will prosecute two people suspected of violating compulsory quarantine requirements.

In a statement released on Monday, the department said that since the compulsory quarantine began on February 8, four Hong Kong residents under quarantine have attempted to leave Hong Kong in breach of the requirements.

The department added that following investigations, it had applied to serve summons to two of the people involved. The other two people are still under investigation. 

The rules: According to quarantine regulation, all travelers who have been in mainland China within 14 days preceding their arrival in Hong Kong must be subject to a 14-day quarantine.

Potential punishment: If convicted of violating the quarantine regulation, the two Hong Kong residents face a maximum fine of $3,220 each and up to six months in prison. 

Commuters pass through a train station in Tokyo's Ginza district on February 17, 2020.

Japan’s health ministry has issued guidelines for people experiencing symptoms similar to the coronavirus, as the country steps up efforts to contain its spread.

People who are feeling lethargic, experiencing shortness of breath, or who have had a temperature of 37.5 Celsius or higher for four days should call nationwide healthcare centers that are in charge of responding to the coronavirus outbreak, the ministry advises.

The guidance is geared to prevent worried citizens from inundating hospitals by providing them with specific hotlines to call.

It comes as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held a meeting with medical experts over the weekend and Japan’s health minister warned on Sunday that the nation is “entering a new phase” in the coronavirus outbreak.

Kato said that as it would be difficult to track the source of the infections, Japan could see a rise in cases. He stressed that it was important for medical facilities to prepare themselves in advance to tackle a potential spread of the infection in Japan. 

Biggest outbreak outside China: Japan has now confirmed a total of 518 virus cases – 456 related to the Diamond Princess and 62 with no connection to the ship. An elderly woman is the only person in Japan to have died of the virus.

Medical staff members working at the isolation ward of the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province. 

China’s National Health Commission confirmed a total of 98 deaths on Monday from the novel coronavirus, with 93 of those in Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak.

The death toll in mainland China now stands at 1,868.

Five deaths have been reported outside mainland China, with one death each in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines and France.

That brings the global death toll to 1,873.

The cases:

As of end of day Monday, there were 1,886 more confirmed cases of the virus in mainland China, with 1,807 of those in Hubei.

The total number of confirmed cases in mainland China is now 72,436, bringing the global total to 73,325.

China’s NHC said that a total of 12,552 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospital.

An additional case of the novel coronavirus has been confirmed in South Korea by the South Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). 

A woman in her 60s with no recent travel history overseas tested positive today, the KCDC said in a news statement.

South Korea now has 31 confirmed cases of the coronavirus.

The quarantined ship Diamond Princess is pictured through barbed wire at Yokohama port in Yokohama, near Tokyo Monday, February 17.

South Korea’s government plans to send a third presidential aircraft to Japan Tuesday afternoon, local time, to repatriate its citizens from the Diamond Princess cruise ship who wish to return, according to a new release from Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, Kim Gang-lip.

Seoul is in consultation with Tokyo to work on specifics, according to the news release.

Currently, nine South Korean passengers and five crew members are on the ship.

A doctor looks at an image as he checks a patient who is infected by the COVID-19 coronavirus at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province.

The number of coronavirus cases worldwide has topped 71,000, according to the latest numbers from China’s National Health Commission.

Here’s the latest:

The numbers: 98 additional deaths were reported in mainland China on Monday, China’s National Health Commission said as of Monday – including 93 in Hubei province. The global death toll is 1,873, including five people outside mainland China.

Diamond Princess: Another 99 cases have been confirmed aboard the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan. The US has evacuated more than 300 Americans from the ship, 14 of which have tested positive for the virus. Canada, Italy and Hong Kong are also sending flights for their citizens.

Westerdam: An American woman was confirmed to have the virus, after almost 1,500 fellow passengers departed the ship docked in Cambodia for onward travel. Some 92 American citizens are still on board the Westerdam, and 260 in hotels in Phnom Penh.

Decline in new cases: Recent data from around the world — and in particular from China — appear to show a decline in new cases. The World Health Organization says the new data must be analyzed “cautiously.”

Travelers denied entry to US: At least 140 travelers were denied entry to US due to coronavirus outbreak. Fourteen foreign nationals were turned away at US airports and 126 people were refused entry at land ports from February 2 to 12, according to data from the Department of Homeland Security.

Not a pandemic: Michael Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization’s Health Emergencies Program, said the organization is still not classifying the coronavirus outbreak a “pandemic” because they were not seeing an “efficient community transmission outside of China.”

Travel restrictions: Almost half of China’s population – 780 million people – is living under some form of travel restrictions, as authorities attempt to contain the novel coronavirus outbreak. Restrictions of varying degrees are being enforced in various provinces and cities across mainland China including Hubei, Liaoning, Beijing and Shanghai.