Morning brief: Wuhan coronavirus update for Feb 3, 2020

As of 5am, Feb 3, 2020:

CHINA: There are 14,497 confirmed cases of infection in China, 116 more than this time yesterday. The death count of the virus has risen to 305 people—one more than yesterday. It was the first virus death outside of mainland China—a man in the Philippines. With China’s Xiangyang city announcing a lockdown at the end of January, all major cities in China’s Hubei province are now under lockdown, and more than 62 million people are affected. Hong Kong confirmed a new case of the coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 15. The health department noted that the woman is stable and under quarantine. Macao has also confirmed a new case of the virus, raising the country’s total number of cases to 8.

SINGAPORE: There were no new cases of the coronavirus in Singapore reported on Sunday (Feb 2); the total number of confirmed cases stands at 18. According to the Ministry of Health, 240 people have tested negative so far, while 43 cases are still pending results.

ASEAN: On Sunday (Feb 2), the Philippines reported the first coronavirus death outside of mainland China. A 44-year-old Chinese man died from the virus on Saturday (Feb 1). He was one of the two confirmed cases in the country; the other was a 38-year-old Chinese woman he was travelling with from Wuhan. She was the first reported case in the country and is currently being treated in isolation at a hospital in Manila. Vietnam reported a new case of the virus, increasing the country’s total case count to 8.

ASIA: South Korea reported three new cases of the coronavirus in the country. The South Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) confirmed the total cases as 15 in a press release. The country has also announced a ban, which is set to take effect on Tuesday (Feb 4), on all foreign nationals who visited the Hubei province in the last 14 days. South Korean citizens who travelled to the province in the last 14 days are being instructed to voluntary quarantine themselves at home for two weeks after they arrive. Pakistani students studying in Wuhan University are appealing to the Pakistani government for evacuation. They are willing to shoulder the expenses themselves, but as of last week, the Pakistani government said they would not be evacuating any students from Wuhan. Israel announced that it is temporarily banning all sea, land and air travel coming from China. The country still has no confirmed cases of the coronavirus, although a number of people have been tested for symptoms. All tests came back negative. The United Arab Emirates reported its fifth case of the coronavirus. On Saturday (Feb 1), the Ministry of Health and Prevention announced that the patient, who arrived from Wuhan, is stable. India has also reported another new case of the virus, bringing the country’s total to 2 cases. The national airlines of Qatar, Egypt and Saudi Arabia have all stopped flights to and from China.

NORTH AMERICA: The United States Department of Homeland Security announced that it will be enforcing the new travel restrictions on flights carrying persons who have recently travelled to China. A second flight set to evacuate US citizens remaining in the city of Wuhan is scheduled for Monday (Feb 3). Canada has not declared any new cases of the coronavirus. The country’s total stands at four confirmed cases.

AUSTRALIA: Australia announced that from Saturday (Feb 1), all travellers who have come from or transited through China will be banned from entering the country. An exemption is being made for Australian citizens, permanent residents, immediate family members, or any aircrew member previously using appropriate protective equipment—persons in these categories will be quarantined for 14 days upon their arrival. The country has a total of 12 confirmed cases of the infection. New Zealand, which has not reported any cases of the coronavirus, announced on Sunday (Feb 2) that any traveller that has come from or passed through China would temporarily not be allowed into the country, save New Zealand nationals. The ban will take effect on Monday (Feb 3).

AFRICA: As of yet, no confirmed cases of the Wuhan coronavirus have been reported in the region.

/TISG