As it happened Ended
Thursday 20 February 2020 11:28
Coronavirus news – live: ‘Super-spreading event’ sparks panic as entire city told to stay at home after quarantine declared across Daegu
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The mayor of Daegu, South Korea’s fourth largest city, has urged its 2.5 million population to refrain from going outside amid a spike in coronavirus cases within the region.
Kwon Young-jin said the city was facing “an unprecedented crisis”, with 49 reported patients traced to an infected individual who had attended a local church.
But the World Health Organisation director general insisted the number of South Korean cases is “really manageable”, adding he hopes officials can contain the outbreak at an “early age”.
It comes as the Japanese government confirmed the death of two citizens, both in their 80s, who contracted the virus while aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship. More than 620 people onboard the ship – which was carrying 3,700 passengers – have tested positive for the condition.
Meanwhile in the UK, a total of 5,549 British nationals had been tested as of 2pm on Thursday. Nine cases of the virus have been discovered so far.
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Good morning and welcome to The Independent's rolling coverage of the coronavirus outbreak. There have been a number of major developments over the past 24 hours. Here's what we know:
- The mayor of Daegu has urged the city's 2.5 million population to refrain from going outside amid a spike in cases
- A total of 35 new cases were reported on Thursday. The majority of those have been linked to a local church in the city where an infected individual is believed to have spread the virus
- South Korea now has a total of 82 confirmed cases
- The Japanese government said on Thursday that two people from the cruise ship berthed in Japan, both in their 80s, have died from coronavirus infections
- At least 621 people on the ship have tested positive for the virus, the biggest cluster outside mainland China
- As of Thursday morning, the worldwide death toll for the virus had risen by 114 to 2,118
- In China, 74,576 people have been infected
Two police officers and a community support officer in Burton have been taken into quarantine after an arrested woman was tested for coronavirus.
A Staffordshire Police for the force said: "Three members of Staffordshire Police are staying at home as a precautionary measure after reports that a woman who had been detained in custody was unwell.
"The woman, who is a non-UK national, was arrested in Burton and taken to Northern Area Custody in Stoke-on-Trent yesterday."
More on Daegu
Mayor Kwon Young-jin has also asked citizens to wear masks indoors if possible. He expressed fears that the rising infections in the region will soon overwhelm the city's health infrastructure and called for urgent help from the central government in Seoul.
The explosion of infections in Daegu and the neighbouring southeast region, as well as some new cases in the Seoul metropolitan area, have raised concern that health authorities are losing track of the virus as it spreads more broadly in the country.
"National quarantine efforts that are currently focused on blocking the inflow of the virus (from China) and stemming its spread are inadequate for preventing the illness from circulating in local communities," Kwon said.
In addition to the cases that have already been linked back to the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony - where the recent outbreak originated in Daegu - a further 90 people from the 1,000-strong congregation are showing symptoms, Kwon said.
"We plan to test all believers of that church and have asked them to stay at home isolated from their families," he said.
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What's behind the drop in new confirmed cases?
China has reported the lowest number of confirmed cases since late January, partly due to a change in diagnostic criteria for patients in the Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak.
The National Health Commission (NHC) yesterday announced 394 cases, down from 1,749 on Tuesday in what is the lowest daily figure since 23 January.
Just how cases are diagnosed and confirmed has had a big impact on official tallies of cases, and changes in the method have raised questions about the extent to which daily tallies accurately reflect the state of the outbreak.
Initially, authorities were using nucleic acid tests to identify the presence of the virus, but such tests require days of processing.
Last week, Hubei introduced a new, quicker diagnostic method through computerised tomography (CT) scans, which use X-rays, to reveal lung infections, and to confirm the presence of the virus.
This led to a surge of more than 15,000 new coronavirus infections for 12 February, and sparked unfounded fears that the virus was suddenly spreading much faster.
But on Wednesday, the NHC said it was removing that category of clinically diagnosed cases from its criteria for confirmed cases.
BREAKING
South Korea's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed the country's first death from coronavirus, according to local reports.
More to follow on this.
Britons to be flown home
The British nationals stuck on the stricken cruise ship berthed in Yokohama, Japan will be flown home on Friday, the UK's foreign secretary has said.
"We’ve organised an evacuation flight for British nationals on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship to depart Tokyo on Friday," said Dominic Raab.
"Details have been sent to those who have registered for the flight. We urge other British nationals still seeking to leave to contact us.
"We will continue to support British nationals who wish to stay in Japan."
There was a total of 78 British passengers on the cruise ship when cases of the coronavirus began to emerge.
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South Korea's first death
South Korea has reported the country's first death from coronavirus, alongside a further 22 cases to bring the total to 104.
The exact cause of death is being investigated, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement.
Most of the new cases confirmed are in the city of Daegu where a person who was infected with the virus attended local church services and visited a hospital before testing positive.
Two deaths confirmed in Japan
Two people have died after contracting coronavirus on board a cruise ship quarantined in Japan.
The Japanese couple, who were in their 80s, died in hospital after being taken off the Diamond Princess last week.
They both had underlying health conditions and one died from the Covid-19 virus, while the other died from pneumonia, according to local reports.
It raises Japan’s death toll from the virus to three.
Read more on this story below:
Ukraine protests against arriving evacuees from China
Protests have broken out in central Ukraine against the arrival of a plane carrying evacuees from China's Hubei province amid rising fears of a coronavirus outbreak.
Angry protesters from the village of Novi Sanzhary blocked the road leading to a sanatorium where the evacuees are due to be held in quarantine for at least two weeks to make sure they were not carrying the virus.
Hundreds of police were dispatched to keep order, and some were seen dragging some protesters away from the crowd at the demonstration, which the authorities said had started overnight.
The protest prompted President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to issue a statement reassuring Ukrainians that there was no danger and that the authorities had done everything possible to make sure the virus would not spread to the country.
"But there is another danger that I would like to mention. The danger of forgetting that we are all human and we are all Ukrainian," he said.
"Attempts to block routes, block hospitals, not allow Ukrainian citizens into Ukraine - this does not show the best side of our character. Especially when you consider that most passengers are people under 30 years of age. For many of us, they are almost like children."
In addition to 45 Ukrainians, there were 27 citizens of Argentina on the plane that landed in Ukraine on Thursday, as well as citizens from the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Kazakhstan, Costa Rica and other countries.
More cases confirmed in Iran
Three more cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Iran, according to the ISNA news agency.
This follows the death of two Iranian nationals, marking the first recorded fatalities in the Middle East.
ISNA reports that five hospitals have been designated for the treatment of cases.
Three more cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Iran, according to the ISNA news agency.
This follows the death of two Iranian nationals, marking the first recorded fatalities in the Middle East.
ISNA reports that five hospitals have been designated for the treatment of cases.
Two Russian nationals aboard cruise ship confirmed as positive
Another two Russian nationals aboard a quarantined cruise ship docked near Tokyo have been diagnosed with coronavirus, Russia's embassy in Japan said on Thursday.
The two individuals will be taken to hospital soon, the embassy said in a post on social media. That brings the number of Russians who have contracted the virus on the Diamond Princess cruise liner to three.
The cruise ship has the biggest concentration of coronavirus infections outside China.
Operated by Carnival Corp, the ship has been quarantined since arriving in Yokohama on 3 February.
Another two Russian nationals aboard a quarantined cruise ship docked near Tokyo have been diagnosed with coronavirus, Russia's embassy in Japan said on Thursday.
The two individuals will be taken to hospital soon, the embassy said in a post on social media. That brings the number of Russians who have contracted the virus on the Diamond Princess cruise liner to three.
The cruise ship has the biggest concentration of coronavirus infections outside China.
Operated by Carnival Corp, the ship has been quarantined since arriving in Yokohama on 3 February.
Scientists rushing to develop vaccine
Scientists across the globe are working to produce a vaccine for the coronavirus.
Professor Shattock, of Imperial College London, revealed his team began trials of an experimental jab on animals on 10 February. According to him, a vaccine could potentially be produced much faster than conventional methods.
"We have the technology to develop a vaccine with a speed that’s never been realised before," he said. "We have successfully generated our novel coronavirus vaccine candidate in the lab – just 14 days from getting the genetic sequence to generating the candidate in the lab.
"This will go into the first animal experiments on Monday [10th February]. If this work is successful, and if we secure further funding, the vaccine could enter into clinical studies (with human participants) in early summer."
At Oxford University, Professor Sarah Gilbert of the Jenner Institute said: “Novel pathogens such as COVID-19 require rapid vaccine development.
“By using technology that is known to work well for another coronavirus vaccine we are able to reduce the time taken to prepare for clinical trials."
Information about the newly-named COVID-2019 is being widely shared among the scientific community.
However, most research is raw, with plenty of papers posted online without being peer-reviewed. Some of the material lacks scientific scrutiny, experts say, and some has already been exposed as flawed, leading to withdrawals.
"This will go into the first animal experiments on Monday [10th February]. If this work is successful, and if we secure further funding, the vaccine could enter into clinical studies (with human participants) in early summer."
At Oxford University, Professor Sarah Gilbert of the Jenner Institute said: “Novel pathogens such as COVID-19 require rapid vaccine development.
“By using technology that is known to work well for another coronavirus vaccine we are able to reduce the time taken to prepare for clinical trials."
Information about the newly-named COVID-2019 is being widely shared among the scientific community.
However, most research is raw, with plenty of papers posted online without being peer-reviewed. Some of the material lacks scientific scrutiny, experts say, and some has already been exposed as flawed, leading to withdrawals.
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Concern over Japan's economy as coronavirus spreads
Japanese Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Thursday the spreading impact from the coronavirus outbreak was the biggest concern for Japan's economy and he was closely watching developments.
Sales from Japanese shoppers and Chinese tourists have fallen at Japanese department stores from February, which warrants attention, Nishimura told reporters after the government issued its monthly economic report.
Japan's government kept its view that the economy is recovering moderately in a monthly report in February as the labour market remained solid, but it warned about risks to the outlook from the coronavirus epidemic.
Sales from Japanese shoppers and Chinese tourists have fallen at Japanese department stores from February, which warrants attention, Nishimura told reporters after the government issued its monthly economic report.
Japan's government kept its view that the economy is recovering moderately in a monthly report in February as the labour market remained solid, but it warned about risks to the outlook from the coronavirus epidemic.
Australian evacuees from virus-hit ship begin second quarantine
Around 180 Australians evacuated from the virus-stricken cruise ship berthed in Japan have arrived in the city of Darwin to begin a second quarantine period.
The former cruise ship passengers will spend the next two weeks in a camp facility near the northern Australian city, Australian health officials said.
The Diamond Princess ship had been docked at the port of Yokohama since early this month in a quarantine that was widely considered a failure. The quarantine ended Wednesday and passengers who tested negative for the virus began leaving.
The group of Australian evacuees was flown from Japan in the early hours of Thursday morning on a Qantas 747 chartered by the Australian government.
British couple diagnosed with coronavirus 'in best place' for treatment
A British couple diagnosed with coronavirus in Japan have said they are "in the best place" as they posted pictures from their hospital beds.
David and Sally Abel, from Northamptonshire, have been transferred for hospital treatment from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which has been quarantined near Yokohama, Japan.
Around 70 other Britons from the ship are due to fly back to the UK from Tokyo on Friday on a repatriation flight organised by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
In a Facebook post, Mr Abel said: "We arrived in lovely hospital a couple of hours ago.
"Taken by ambulance blues & twos the entire journey.
"Outside the hospital I came over a bit weird and nearly passed out. Every pore on my body opened and i was wheelchaired to our room.
"Full health inspection and now we know what's going on. We both contracted a cold (unaware of) and it has not yet turned into pneumonia. (we do have coronavirus).
"Tomorrow the big tests commence. chest x-rays, ECG, chest scan, urine + more.
"We are both in the best place! They do know what they are doing and our two nurses are gorgeous. Sally likes the Dr too."
David and Sally Abel, from Northamptonshire, have been transferred for hospital treatment from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which has been quarantined near Yokohama, Japan.
Around 70 other Britons from the ship are due to fly back to the UK from Tokyo on Friday on a repatriation flight organised by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
In a Facebook post, Mr Abel said: "We arrived in lovely hospital a couple of hours ago.
"Taken by ambulance blues & twos the entire journey.
"Outside the hospital I came over a bit weird and nearly passed out. Every pore on my body opened and i was wheelchaired to our room.
"Full health inspection and now we know what's going on. We both contracted a cold (unaware of) and it has not yet turned into pneumonia. (we do have coronavirus).
"Tomorrow the big tests commence. chest x-rays, ECG, chest scan, urine + more.
"We are both in the best place! They do know what they are doing and our two nurses are gorgeous. Sally likes the Dr too."
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Foreign Office to help Britons fly home from Cambodia
Britons in Cambodia who left the Westerdam cruise ship and have been cleared for travel are being assisted by the Foreign Office to make their way home, according to the PA news agency.
The group, who have all tested negative for coronavirus in Cambodia, are receiving health advice and being helped with commercial flight bookings.
The number of Britons in the group has not been disclosed. It is unclear whether some have already come back to the UK.
Public Health England said airport health teams will meet the flights and speak to Westerdam passengers about any symptoms.
If they do not have symptoms, the group will be given health advice and told to self-isolate at home for 14 days, PHE said. If they have symptoms, they will be taken to hospital for testing.
Britons in Cambodia who left the Westerdam cruise ship and have been cleared for travel are being assisted by the Foreign Office to make their way home, according to the PA news agency.
The group, who have all tested negative for coronavirus in Cambodia, are receiving health advice and being helped with commercial flight bookings.
The number of Britons in the group has not been disclosed. It is unclear whether some have already come back to the UK.
Public Health England said airport health teams will meet the flights and speak to Westerdam passengers about any symptoms.
If they do not have symptoms, the group will be given health advice and told to self-isolate at home for 14 days, PHE said. If they have symptoms, they will be taken to hospital for testing.
Coronavirus round-up - what we know:
- As of Thursday morning, the worldwide death toll for the virus had risen by 114 to 2,118
- In China, more than 74,000 people have been infected
- Hundreds of passengers disembarked a cruise ship in Japan on Wednesday after being held on board in quarantine for more than two weeks
- Japanese authorities said 79 new cases have been discovered aboard, bringing the total to at least 620, well over half of the known cases outside mainland China
- Two elderly passengers from the quarantined Diamond Princess ship have died of the disease, officials said
- South Korea has reported the first death in the country of a person infected with coronavirus and 22 new cases bringing the total to 104
- At least 15 people who attended religious services in the county's fourth-largest city of Daegu have tested positive for the virus as the city's mayor told residents to stay indoors on Thursday
- The epidemic that has already disrupted economic growth in China and spread to other countries, could derail a "highly fragile" projected global recovery in 2020, the International Monetary Fund warned.
- As of Thursday morning, the worldwide death toll for the virus had risen by 114 to 2,118
- In China, more than 74,000 people have been infected
- Hundreds of passengers disembarked a cruise ship in Japan on Wednesday after being held on board in quarantine for more than two weeks
- Japanese authorities said 79 new cases have been discovered aboard, bringing the total to at least 620, well over half of the known cases outside mainland China
- Two elderly passengers from the quarantined Diamond Princess ship have died of the disease, officials said
- South Korea has reported the first death in the country of a person infected with coronavirus and 22 new cases bringing the total to 104
- At least 15 people who attended religious services in the county's fourth-largest city of Daegu have tested positive for the virus as the city's mayor told residents to stay indoors on Thursday
- The epidemic that has already disrupted economic growth in China and spread to other countries, could derail a "highly fragile" projected global recovery in 2020, the International Monetary Fund warned.
Melbourne in show of solidarity with Chinese locals
A number of landmarks in Melbourne have been lit up with the colours of the Chinese flag in a display of solidarity with China, according to the Guardian.
The buildings include the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Town Hall and the city's Arts Centre.
This comes as Daniel Andrews, the premier of Victoria, urged people to show their support for local Chinese businesses and communities.
“Go and visit a Chinese restaurant, go to a precinct which is dominated by Asian businesses, go and show your support for them, because a lot of them are having it very, very tough at the moment as people stay away,” he said.
The buildings include the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Town Hall and the city's Arts Centre.
This comes as Daniel Andrews, the premier of Victoria, urged people to show their support for local Chinese businesses and communities.
“Go and visit a Chinese restaurant, go to a precinct which is dominated by Asian businesses, go and show your support for them, because a lot of them are having it very, very tough at the moment as people stay away,” he said.
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WHO in 'close communication' with South Korea following 'super-spreading event'
The World Health Organization (WHO) is in close touch with South Korea regarding a "cluster" of coronavirus cases within the central city of Daegu, a WHO spokesman said on Thursday, after authorities there described it as a "super-spreading event".
"WHO is in close communication with the Government of the Republic of Korea responding to a cluster of COVID-19 cases that have been confirmed in the area of Daegu," the organisation said.
"WHO is in close communication with the Government of the Republic of Korea responding to a cluster of COVID-19 cases that have been confirmed in the area of Daegu," the organisation said.
At least 15 people who attended a church service in Daegu, the country's fourth-largest city, have tested positive for the virus as major Kwon Young-jin told residents to stay indoors.
The city has subsequently gone into shutdown following the outbreak, with shops and streets deserted amid rising fears over the outbreak.
"It's like someone dropped a bomb in the middle of the city. It looks like a zombie apocalypse," Kim Geun-woo, a 28-year-old resident told Reuters.
"Even Dongseong-ro Street [the most crowded centre of the city] is empty," he said, adding that he had tried to buy surgical masks but shops were sold out.
The city has subsequently gone into shutdown following the outbreak, with shops and streets deserted amid rising fears over the outbreak.
"It's like someone dropped a bomb in the middle of the city. It looks like a zombie apocalypse," Kim Geun-woo, a 28-year-old resident told Reuters.
"Even Dongseong-ro Street [the most crowded centre of the city] is empty," he said, adding that he had tried to buy surgical masks but shops were sold out.
South Korea reported on Wednesday the country's first death alongside 22 new cases, bringing the total to 104.
BA cancels more flights to China
British Airways has announced it is cancelling all flights to and from Beijing and Shanghai until April 17 2020.
A spokesman for the airline said: "In line with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's continued advice against all but essential travel to mainland China, we are cancelling flights to and from Beijing and Shanghai until April 17 2020.
"We will be contacting customers on cancelled flights so we can discuss their travel options, including rebooking onto other carriers where possible, full refunds or booking with BA for a later date of travel. Customers can also find the latest information and options on BA.com.
"Safety is at the heart of everything we do and we will keep the situation under review."
BA added that it would be continuing to fly to Hong Kong.
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