The death toll from China’s coronavirus outbreak has surpassed 250, the government said on Saturday, as foreign nations tightened restrictions on travellers from China in response to the rapid spread of the illness.
At least 259 people have died and 11,791 people have been infected in China by the new coronavirus, according to new figures from China’s health officials.
Most of the latest fatalities are from Hubei province. The city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak is located in Hubei.
Another 17,888 people are suspected of being infected, while 243 have been discharged, according to a separate report by China’s state-owned international channel, CGTN.
On Friday, it was reported that there were over 102,000 people under medical observation.
Fresh cases have been detected abroad, with more than 20 countries now affected, including Spain and the UK.
The top Communist Party official in Wuhan, the central city of 11 million people where the virus first emerged in December, on Friday expressed “remorse” because local authorities acted too slowly.
Here are the latest updates:
Saturday, February 1
UK withdraws some staff from China embassy
Britain is withdrawing some staff from its embassy and consulates in China due to the coronavirus, the UK government said in a statement.
“Essential staff needed to continue critical work will remain,” it said.
“In the event that the situation deteriorates further, the ability of the British Embassy and Consulates to provide assistance to British nationals from within China may be limited.”
China criticises latest US response to coronavirus outbreak
Beijing criticised Washington’s order barring entry to most foreigners who visited China in the past two weeks, and “unfriendly comments” that its government is failing to cooperate in the crisis.
The Chinese government said the decision contradicted the WHO’s appeal to avoid travel bans.
US imposes travel restrictions as coronavirus cases rise
The United States took drastic steps that will temporarily bar foreign nationals who have traveled in China within the last 14 days.
Americans returning from China will be allowed into the country, but will face screening at select ports of entry and required to undertake 14 days of self-screening to ensure they do not pose a health risk.
Those returning from Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak, will be subject to up to 14 days of mandatory quarantine.
Beginning on Sunday, the US will also begin funneling all flights to the US from China to seven major airports where passengers can be screened for illness.
More airlines suspend China flights
Qantas Airways said it will suspend its two direct flight routes from Australia to mainland China from February 9 in response to travel restrictions imposed by some countries due to the coronavirus crisis.
The Australian national carrier’s direct flights from Sydney to Beijing and Sydney to Shanghai will be halted until March 29, it said in a statement published on Saturday.
The Philippine airline company, Cebu Pacific, also said on Saturday that it has canceled flight to and from mainland China, Macau and Hong Kong from Sunday, February 2 to March 29.
Earlier, three US airlines, American, Delta and United said they would soon suspend all flights to China.
China’s Tianjin says all schools, non-essential companies to remain close
China’s city of Tianjin announced on Saturday that all schools and non-essential companies will remain close until further notice to help curb the spread of coronavirus, according to the state media.
Tianjin, which has a population of around 15 million and borders capital Beijing, had 32 confirmed cases of coronavirus as of 10 pm local time on January 31.
Spain confirms case of coronavirus – health ministry
Spain’s National Centre for Microbiology has confirmed the country’s first case of coronavirus after a man was diagnosed with the virus on the remote island of La Gomera in the Canaries, the Health Ministry said.
The patient is part of a group of five people taken into observation on the island and isolated after it was found they had come into contact with a German man diagnosed with the virus.
UN biodiversity talks moved out of China on virus fears
The next round of talks on a global biodiversity treaty due to be held in the Chinese city of Kunming on Feburary 24 will be moved to Rome as a result of a coronavirus outbreak, the United Nations announced.
The UN’s Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity said it had reached the decision after consultations with the Chinese government.
Kunming is still set to host the main round of global biodiversity talks in October this year.
Pasteur Institute eyes coronavirus vaccine in 2021
France’s Pasteur Institute Foundation said it had set up a taskforce aimed at developing a vaccine against the coronavirus in 20 months.
Christophe D’Enfert, a scientific director with the Pasteur Institute, told reporters in Paris the vaccine could be made available in 20 months if “all goes well”.
“At the end of August, we could enter clinical trials and, provided all goes well, obtain a vaccine candidate within 20 months.”
Tokyo 2020 Olympics dismiss cancellation fears
Tokyo 2020 Olympics organisers dismissed rumours that the Games were endangered by the spread of the coronavirus.
“We have never discussed cancelling the Games. Tokyo 2020 will continue to collaborate with the (International Olympic Committee) IOC and relevant organisations and will review any countermeasures that may be necessary,” organisers said in a statement to the German news agency DPA.
The IOC also said that preparations for the July 24-August 9 Games were continuing as planned.