Topline: The coronavirus outbreak that began in the central Chinese
city of Wuhan has now spread to all regions in the country, with at least 170
people dead and nearly 8,000 infected worldwide—mostly in China.
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That means the
illness, formally known as 2019-nCoV, has surpassed the number of SARS
infections in China during the 2003 outbreak in which 5,327 people fell ill with the respiratory disease.
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A case of the current
pneumonia-like virus was reported in Tibet, meaning all regions of China have
been touched by it. All deaths from the disease have occurred in China, where
the outbreak is concentrated.
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A handful of cases are
spread across 18 other countries in Europe, North
America, Asia, Australasia and the Middle East, with the first case in India
confirmed on Thursday.
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More airlines have
canceled flights to China. On Wednesday, Air Canada and KLM suspended flights to some Chinese
cities, while British Airways canceled flights to
mainland China for a month.
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Global markets are
down as investors react to the fast-spreading illness. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng
Index has dropped 6% this month, while Brent crude also hit a
2020 low, falling to $58.86 a barrel.
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Nearly 60 million
people are now under lockdown across the worst affected cities in China.
Russia closed its border with China to prevent
the spread of the virus.
Evacuations in numbers:
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Efforts to repatriate
200 U.K. citizens from Wuhan have been delayed.
The Chinese government is not letting its citizens leave the country, a move
that is threatening to split families.
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The U.S has
successfully airlifted 200 citizens to the U.S. who are being voluntarily
quarantined for three days at March Air Base in Riverside, California.
·
Australia will attempt
to airlift around 600 of its citizens. The government has planned to quarantine all those returning
from Wuhan, particularly vulnerable citizens, on remote Christmas Island near
Indonesia.
·
Japan also evacuated
400 citizens, with a handful testing positive for the virus. The government has
advised returnees to quarantine themselves at home.
·
The EU, South Korea,
Malaysia, the Philippines and Canada are all planning to evacuate their
citizens in Wuhan in the coming days.
·
Meanwhile, 6,000
people are being kept aboard a cruise ship near Rome after
two passengers were suspected of being ill with the virus. They are undergoing
medical checks.
What to watch for: The World Health Organization will decide
whether to declare a global health emergency on Thursday, while Hong Kong will
enforce a ban on high-speed rail and ferry travel to and from mainland China
beginning Thursday.
Additional fact: More businesses are shuttering stores in
China. Ikea has temporarily closed its 30 sites in the mainland, in addition to
Starbucks, McDonald’s, KFC and Pizza Hut, while employees of Amazon and
Facebook in China have been told to work from home. Many provinces have advised
nonessential businesses to remain closed until the week after next, while the Lunar New Year
holiday ends this Sunday. Ongoing travel and lockdown restrictions are likely
to hamper a return to normal routines.
Key background: The first case of 2019-nCoV was reported in
December. Chinese authorities say the disease broke out in a seafood market in
Wuhan, transmitted from an animal, and now being transmitted between humans.
The disease remains a mystery to health experts, but is spread through airborne
droplets from coughing and sneezing. Symptoms range from coughing and sneezing
to pneumonia and kidney failure in the severest cases; the incubation period is
up to 14 days. This week, Australian scientists created the virus in a lab,
which could be used to speed up the development of a vaccine and develop a
better understanding of the virus.
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