Morning brief: COVID-19 update for Feb 18, 2020

ASIA: Taiwan announced two new cases of the virus, bringing the countrywide total to 22 confirmed cases, including one death. The first new case is a woman in her 80’s, and the second is a man in his 30’s; both are related to previous cases. The Diamond Princess cruise ship, which has been docked off the coast of Yokohama, Tokyo, announced 99 new cases on board on Monday (Feb 17). The total number of confirmed cases on the ship is 454, the highest number outside of mainland China. In Japan, there are now 66 cases of the coronavirus which are not from Diamond Princess. The country reported seven new cases. The Japanese Imperial Household announced the cancellation of next weekend’s public 60th birthday celebration for Emperor Naruhito, in order to minimise the risk of spreading the coronavirus further. The Tokyo Marathon will only be open to elite runners, event organisers said. The race, which is set to take place on March 1, will only allow elite runners and elite para-athletes to compete. Members of the public who were eligible to run this year will be given a slot in next year’s race without having to enter the lottery. India is sending a plane full of medical supplies to Wuhan, China later this week, and it will ferry back Indian nationals who are still in Wuhan and the Hubei province back to India. However, the plan reportedly has “limited capacity”. India has a total of three confirmed cases of the virus. South Korea reported one new case of the virus, bringing the country’s total to 30 cases. No other countries in the region reported new cases of COVID-19.

EUROPE: Executive director of The Who’s Health Emergencies Programme Dr Michael Ryan said that the coronavirus outbreak is not yet classified as a “pandemic”, because “the real issue here is whether we’re seeing efficient community transmission outside of China”. At the moment, said Dr Ryan, we are “not observing that”. While recent data appears to show a decline in new cases, WHO says this must be analysed “cautiously”. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the virus seems to be “not as deadly as other coronavirus including SARS and MERS”. The United Kingdom is considering repatriating 74 British nationals onboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan. The passengers had become “despondent” when other countries, such as the United States, were evacuating their citizens. The UK currently has nine cases of the virus. The Russian woman who escaped a hospital ward where she was under quarantine for the coronavirus has been ordered back to the hospital. She will have to remain quarantined in the hospital until Feb 19 at the earliest. The country has two cases of the virus. No other countries in the region reported new cases of COVID-19.

AMERICA: UNICEF says it needs over US$42 million (S$58.3 million) to scale up its response to the coronavirus. Executive director Henrietta Fore called it a “race against time” and added that the immediate focus is to reduce human-to-human transmission and help children in areas where services have been disrupted. UNICEF has already flown in 13 tons (11.8 metric tonnes) of medical supplies to affected countries. Of the United States citizens who were evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship and flown back to the United States on charter flights, 14 tested positive for the coronavirus. At least 140 foreign travellers were prohibited from entering the US, in line with its measures to contain the spread of the virus. The US currently has 15 confirmed cases of COVID-19. No other countries in the region reported new cases of COVID-19.