Morning brief: COVID-19 update for Feb 13, 2020

As of 6am, Feb 13, 2020:

WORLD COUNT: There are 45,213 confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in the world. A total of 28 countries and territories have been affected so far. The number of deaths has risen to 1,118. Across the world, a total of 8,217 are in critical condition, while 4,874 previously infected persons have recovered.

CHINA: There are 44,690 confirmed cases of infection in China. The country’s death count now stands at 1,116 people. Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com announced 20,000 job openings for workers—warehouse workers, drivers and couriers—who have lost jobs because of the COVID-19 outbreak. Some of the positions may be temporary. A small study published in the medical journal The Lancet on Wednesday (Feb 12), which was conducted on nine women in Wuhan, China, found no evidence of mother-to-child transmission of coronavirus. Each woman was confirmed to be infected with COVID-19. All the pregnancies had successful live births and none of the newborns needed special medical treatment. The Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai has been officially postponed amidst the coronavirus outbreak. The FIA and F1 said it would continue monitoring the situation and explore the “viability of potential alternative dates for the Grand Prix later in the year should the situation improve.” Hong Kong has confirmed an additional case of the coronavirus, bringing the citywide total to 50. Macao, which has a total of 10 cases, has not reported any new cases of the virus.

ASEAN: The Westerdam cruise ship, which was denied entry by at least four different countries despite not having any confirmed cases of the virus onboard, has been given permission by Cambodia to dock in the country. Passengers will be disembarked on Thursday (Feb 13), according to Holland America Line. The company said that passengers will be transported from Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh on charter flights and then will be flown home, courtesy of Holland America Line. That is in addition to the full cruise refund and “100% future cruise credit.” Cambodia has only one confirmed case of the virus. No other countries in the region reported new cases of the COVID-19 virus.

ASIA: The Diamond Princess cruise ship, which is currently docked in Yokohama, Japan, will be released from quarantine on Feb 19, after more than 3,700 passengers and crew were screened and isolated since Feb 4. Japan currently has 203 confirmed cases, the largest number outside of mainland China. The Dalai Lama has cancelled all his public engagements until further notice, during the “deteriorating outbreak” of the coronavirus.  No other countries in the region reported new cases of the COVID-19 virus.

EUROPE: Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) health emergencies program, noted that the world needs to be “very cautious“, as the “outbreak could still go in any direction,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. He has also expressed gratitude toward Cambodia for allowing the Westerdam cruise ship to dock there, calling it a show of “international solidarity”. Germany’s health minister Jens Spahbn announced at a press conference on Wednesday (Feb 12) that the outbreak will get worse before it gets better. He also announced that the G7 group—which includes the US, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Canada and Britain—will hold another conference call to coordinate their response to the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. The United Kingdom announced that a ninth patient has been diagnosed with the COVID-19 coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases in the UK to nine. Mobile World Congress, the world’s largest annual mobile event previously scheduled to take place in Barcelona, Spain, has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. Two patients who had been diagnosed with the virus in France have since recovered and have been discharged from the hospital. The country has 11 total cases of the virus. No other countries in the region reported new cases of the COVID-19 virus.