The US deaths come as more countries report cases of the infection, and WHO says virus ‘uncharted territory’.
The US has reported six deaths from the coronavirus, as the outbreak that started in China continues to spread to new countries around the world and the World Health Organization (WHO) urges countries to step up containment measures to rein in the infection.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a breifing on Monday the world was in “uncharted territory” with the new coranvirus because while it does spread within communities, it can also be contained.
In South Korea, the country with the most severe outbreak outside China, the number infected continues to grow with three more deaths reported on Tuesday morning. In China itself the infection seems to be slowing. It reported only 125 new cases on Tuesday, the lowest since January.
Tuesday, March 3
04:45 GMT – G7 virus response might not detail fiscal, monetary steps – Reuters
The Group of Seven industrial powers are crafting a statement for their finance leaders to issue on countering the impact of the coronavirus, but for now it does not specifically call for new government spending or coordinated interest rate cuts by central banks, a G7 official with direct knowledge of the deliberations told Reuters on Tuesday.
In the statement, expected on Tuesday or Wednesday, the G7 countries will pledge to work together to mitigate the damage to their economies from the fast-spreading epidemic, the source said on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
The language of the statement is still under discussion and could change, the source said.
Share prices have been rising on expectations of measures to boost the global economy.
03:45 GMT – Guangdong imposes quarantine for visitors from virus-hit countries
China’s southern province of Guangdong says it will require travellers arriving from countries and regions with severe coronavirus outbreaks to quarantine themselves for 14 days, the government-backed Nanfang Daily newspaper reported on Tuesday.
The report did not name specific countries.
It said that between Feb. 27 to March 1, 1,496 people had entered Guangdong from overseas areas hit hard by the virus but to date tests had shown that none had been infected.
03:40 GMT – Indonesia confirmed cases trigger panic buying
People in Jakarta rushed to supermarkets on Monday night to stock up on basic supplies shortly after President Joko Widodo announced the country had two confirmed cases of coronavirus.
Shoppers found queues were longer than usual for a weekday night and that basic supplies such as bottled water had sold out.
03:15 GMT – Church leader tests negative for virus
Lee Man-hee, the founder of the controversial Shincheonji Church of Jesus, has tested negative for the coronavirus, after he being taken to a “drive-through” test site late on Monday.
The church is at the center of the outbreak in South Korea and has been heavily criticised over its response to the virus.
Lee apologised on Monday and called the epidemic a “great calamity” but refused to be tested by public authorities until a local governor threatened to drag him by force to be tested. Al Jazeera’s Rob McBride is in Seoul and you can watch his story below.
02:25 GMT – Australia to use biosecurity law in virus fight
Australia’s Attorney General has said the government will use its biosecurity to law to restrict the movements of people suspected of having the coronavirus.
Speaking to the country’s public service broadcaster ABC, Christian Porter said the government would use the law to either designate some places out of bounds or place a patient in detention at home.
“Under the biosecurity act, you could have the prevention of movement from persons in and out of particular places,” Porter told the ABC.
“You might have a major sporting event where people would be in very, very close proximity to each other and… it might be determined that the risk of transmission at a venue like that was too high.”
Australia passed the biosecurity law in 2015, replacing the Quarantine Act, which had been in force for more than 100 years. You can find our more about the act in this report by two academics at the Australian National University.
02:20 GMT – Hong Kong to bring home citizens from Wuhan
Hong Kong’s chief executive Carrie Lam has been holding her regular weekly press briefing.
She says the territory has chartered four planes to bring back 533 Hong Kong people from Wuhan. The flights will take place on Wednesday and Thursday and the passengers will be quarantined for 14 days on arrival.
02:12 GMT – China looks to recovered to tackle COVID-19
There’s been lots of talk about vaccines for COVID-19, but they will take a long time to become available.
In the meantime, beyond not getting infected in the first place (wash your hands more and touch your face less), doctors are looking for ways to treat the illness more effectively.
My colleague, Shawn Yuan, has been speaking to medics in China about the difficulties they’ve encountered in treating the new virus.
02:10 GMT – Pakistan confirms fifth case
Pakistan has reported a new case of coronavirus.
“We have now 5th confirmed case of COVID19 in federal areas,” Zafar Mirza, the country’s health minister said a in tweet early on Tuesday morning.
The patient is stable and being managed well, the minister added.
01:40 GMT – World in ‘uncharted territory’ with new virus – WHO
World Health Organization Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesushas said the world is in “uncharted territory” with the new coronavirus because while the infection can spread through a community, it can also be contained.
He is urging countries around the world to focus on containing the virus, calling for “early, aggressive measures”.
01:20 GMT – South Korea outbreak continues to grow
South Korea has reported 600 new coronavirus cases in its first daily update on Tuesday. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) also says three more people died overnight.
Total cases in the country now stand at 4,812, making it the largest outbreak outside China.
01:15 GMT – New York governor seeks to reassure on costs
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has just issued a directive to all insurers to waive cost-sharing associated with virus testing.
00:45 GMT – China cases continue to slow
Figures just released by China’s National Health Commission suggest the outbreak there might be slowing.
Mainland China had 125 new confirmed cases on Monday, compared with 202 the day before. That’s the lowest since the country started publishing national data in January.
In Wuhan, the number of new cases was 111, compared with 193.
The commission said 31 people died from the infection.
A recap of Monday’s major developments:
The death toll in the United States has risen to six with mounting concern that the virus has been spreading undetected in the northwestern state of Washington for weeks.
Deaths in Italy rose to 52, while Iran’s toll rose to 66. Italy is the hardest-hit country in Europe, while Iran has reported the most deaths outside China.
Countries including Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, the Czech Republic and Tunisia announced their first cases of the disease.
China reported more cases, but the rate of infection appeared to be slowing.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
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