A man wearing protective face mask and gloves puts a drawing outside a residential compound in Beijing. Photograph: Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images
A man wearing protective face mask and gloves puts a drawing outside a residential compound in Beijing. Photograph: Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images
More than 78,000 people around the world have been confirmed to have been infected by the Covid-19 virus, with most cases in mainland China, though clusters that have unclear origins have emerged in Singapore, Iran and South Korea.
Five people have now died from the coronavirus in Iran, prompting World Health Organization head to say Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus he was especially concerned about the country.
Carnival celebrations were banned in some Italian towns after they were placed on lockdown following the deaths of two people from the coronavirus.
The UK residents who were trapped on the Diamond Princess cruise ship off the coast of Japan for more than two weeks were sent to an isolation facility on Merseyside for a further 14 days of isolation at a facility after landing back in the south of England on a Ministry of Defence flight.
A British couple diagnosed with the coronavirus also have pneumonia, after spending two weeks in quarantine onboard the coronavirus-stricken Princess Diamond. The family of David and Sally Abel, from Northamptonshire, said they had been moved to a “prison”-like hospital.
Around 100 more passengers were allowed to disembark from the cruise ship on Saturday, as Japan’s health minister apologised after 23 others were allowed to leave without being properly tested.
Around 150 people brought to a hotel in Milton Keynes earlier this month after being evacuated from Wuhan will be discharged tomorrow following a two-week period in quarantine.
There is uncertainty in Singapore, where eight out of 85 infections appear to have no links to previous cases, and in South Korea, where links to a controversial church are being investigated.
Samsung shut a mobile device factory in South Korea after a worker tested positive for coronavirus, while organisers for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics postponed training for volunteers because of the spread of the coronavirus.
Hundreds of Filipino couples participated in a mass wedding wearing face masks because of coronavirus fears following health tests provided by officials.
A restaurant owner in Yulha-dong, Daegu, the city at the heart of South Korea’s coronavirus outbreak, likened his deserted surroundings to Gotham City to be.
We are now going to close today’s live blog. Thank you for reading.
Thousands of members of a secretive religious sect in South Korea are being screened for the new coronavirus after more than 430 cases were confirmed in the country by officials, the Guardian’s Rebecca Ratcliffe reports with Nemo Kim in Seoul.
Dozens to be released from quarantine in Milton Keynes
Around 150 people brought to the Kents Hill Park hotel and conference centre in Milton Keynes earlier this month after being evacuated from Wuhan will be discharged tomorrow.
They arrived in the UK on February 9, having been on a second evacuation flight from the virus-hit city, and the Department of Health confirmed that the 14-day quarantine period will come to an end on Sunday but did not say what time the group would be released.
The group will have been regularly tested for any signs of the virus during the quarantine period. As of Saturday afternoon there had been no new cases of coronavirus detected in the UK, the department said.
COVID-19 is now confirmed to have infected 52 people across Italy: 39 in Lombardy, 12 in Veneto, 1 in Turin and a suspected case in Umbria.
The viral outbreak that began in China has infected nearly 78,000 people globally and, on Friday, Italy became the first country in Europe to report the death of one of its own nationals from the coronavirus, triggering a lockdown in about a dozen towns.
Around 100 more passengers were allowed to disembark from the coronavirus-stricken Diamond Princess cruise ship on Saturday, as Japan’s health minister apologised after 23 others were allowed to leave without being properly tested, AFP reports.
The 100 passengers included the last group of Japanese passengers to leave the ship, while some foreign passengers were still waiting onboard for chartered aircraft to be sent by their governments. About 970 passengers disembarked earlier this week.
Television footage showed a driver in a white protective suit at the wheel of a bus with the curtains drawn so that passengers could not be identified.
They will be quarantined for two weeks near Tokyo, officials said.
At a news conference, the health minister, Katsunobu Katō, apologised that 23 passengers had been allowed to disembark without undergoing all the required tests.
“We deeply regret that our operational mistake caused the situation,” Katō said, adding that the passengers would be tested again.
With the latest disembarkation, a 14-day quarantine is expected to start for more than 1,000 crew still onboard as many of them did not undergo isolation because they were needed to keep the ship running.
They were preparing food and delivering meals to cabins, leading some critics to say they were inadvertently spreading the virus throughout the ship, which has seen more than 600 cases of the potentially deadly Covid-19 disease.
Katō defended Japan’s onboard quarantine, telling a TV programme on Saturday that there was no medical facility large enough to admit more than 3,000 people at once.
For the record, their answer on whether we should panic is:
No. The spread of the virus outside China is worrying but not an unexpected development. The WHO has declared the outbreak to be a public health emergency of international concern. The key issues are how transmissible this new coronavirus is between people, and what proportion become severely ill and end up in hospital. Often viruses that spread easily tend to have a milder impact. Generally, the coronavirus appears to be hitting older people hardest, with few cases in children.
Andrew Tatem, a professor within geography and environmental science at the University of Southampton, said the new cases outside China were worrying:
Prior to the recent news of apparent outbreaks in South Korea, Italy and Iran, it seemed like the relatively low number of cases outside of China and with no link to travelling there pointed to hope that the virus could be contained. This recent news, particularly regarding Iran, is especially worrying, and [WHO director general] Dr [Tedros Adhanom]Ghebreyesus’ assessment that the window of opportunity for containing the outbreak is narrowing is certainly correct.
The fact that cases have been confirmed in both Canada and Lebanon that seem to have come from Iran suggests that a significant outbreak is ongoing there and may have been occurring for some time. Given the relative rarity of international travel across a whole national population typically, especially a country like Iran where international travel may be rarer per capita than for high-income countries like in North America and Europe, exported cases seen internationally can often represent the tip of an iceberg of something occurring in the origin country.
Iran normally has some strong travel connections to countries where health systems may be weaker, such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan – importations and outbreaks here would be particularly concerning in terms of capacities to detect the virus and contain spread.
Cruise ship evacuees will be made 'safe and comfortable'
Speaking at Arrowe Park, where the British citizens brought home from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan are headed, the chief executive of Wirral teaching hospital NHS trust, Janelle Holmes, said:
There was a lot of preparation that went in for our Wuhan guests who successfully left and had been really appreciative of the support and help that we provided. That has given us a blueprint for building on that for the new arrival of guests.
I was pleased for the staff and partners who had spent such lot of time making sure their stay was as comfortable as possible and clearly I think because we did such a good job we were asked to support this group of travellers that are coming back from a cruise in Japan.
The group of people is slightly different. Obviously they have come from a cruise ship rather than from their own homes over in China but we are working exactly the same as we did before with the healthcare professionals and Public Health England to make sure they are safe, well managed and comfortable while they are with us.
Holmes praised the support of the local community – including donations from schools and scout groups – for evacuees based at Arrowe Park and also thanked staff previously living in the quarantine accommodation blocks for their patience as they stay in nearby hotels.
Police outside the buildings at Arrowe Park hospital. Photograph: Danny Lawson/PA
Thousands of Russia-linked social media accounts are attempting to spread panic about the coronavirus outbreak, US officials said.
They said the disinformation campaign promoted unfounded conspiracy theories that the US was behind the outbreak, in an apparent attempt to damage its international standing.
False personas are being used on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to advance Russian talking points and conspiracies, including suggesting that the CIA is behind the virus that has claimed more than 2,300 lives, mostly in China.
Philip Reeker, the acting assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasia, said:
Russia’s intent is to sow discord and undermine US institutions and alliances from within, including through covert and coercive malign influence campaigns.
By spreading disinformation about coronavirus, Russian malign actors are once again choosing to threaten public safety by distracting from the global health response.
Couples in Philippines marry wearing masks – video
Hundreds of Filipino couples participated in a mass wedding wearing face masks because of coronavirus fears. As part of efforts to prevent the spread of the virus, officials in the city of Bacolod conducted health tests and provided the 220 couples with masks before they tied the knot
Coronavirus: couples in Philippines marry wearing masks – video
British and European cruise ship passengers bussed to quarantine
The UK residents who were trapped on the Diamond Princess cruise ship off the coast of Japan for more than two weeks are en route to a further 14 days of isolation at a facility on Merseyside, after landing back in the south of England (see 11.47am).
Thirty-two masked British and European evacuees from the vessel are being bussed with a police escort to Arrowe Park hospital in Wirral, where they will spend a fortnight in quarantine to protect against the spread of the illness should any of them be infected.
The group, who tested negative for Covid-19 before they flew, are expected to arrive at the hospital later on Saturday afternoon.
Diamond Princess evacuees depart from Boscombe Down airfield with a police escort. Photograph: Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images
As with the previous coach loads of people brought to Arrowe Park, the bus drivers did not appear to be wearing any protective clothing as the convoy, escorted by police and ambulance vehicles, was pictured leaving the MoD base.
Before the flight, one passenger who was diagnosed with Covid-19 at a Japanese hospital but was since given the all-clear said he expected the experience would be like visiting a holiday camp.
Alan Steele, who was on honeymoon with his wife, Wendy, wrote on Facebook: “Wendy’s test was negative so ‘Butlins the Wirral’ here we come for 14 days.”
Since being kept onboard the cruise liner in the port of Yokohama, 634 passengers and crew have been infected – accounting for more than half of all the confirmed coronavirus cases outside of China.
It is understood some British nationals who are part of the Diamond Princess crew opted to remain.
Carnival celebrations banned in Italy after deaths
Italy is taking evasive action after the deaths of two people from coronavirus (see 10.38am). AFP has the latest:
In Codogno, streets were mostly deserted and few shops were open after the mayor put the town of 15,000 on temporary lockdown on Friday.
A 38-year-old man from the town is in intensive care, and his pregnant wife and another man have also tested positive for the virus.
Three others have tested positive in initial tests, but are awaiting results of a second round. “No entry”, read the sign outside Codogno’s emergency room.
Only a bakery and a few businesses were open, with many shops posting signs saying they were closed due to the lockdown, which could last as long as five days.
In the areas under lockdown in northern Italy, public activities such as carnival celebrations, church masses and sporting events have been banned for up to a week.
In the town of Casalpusterlengo, a billboard instructed residents to stay in their homes. In most towns, bars, restaurants and libraries have been closed, and in the small city of Cremona, about 25 minutes east of Codogno, school has been cancelled.
Streets were almost deserted after the Italian town of Codogno was placed under lockdown. Photograph: Miguel Medina/AFP via Getty Images
The World Health Organization says it is taking precautions for the arrival of the new coronavirus in Africa. Earlier today, its director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said in a briefing that the WHO’S biggest concern was the potential for the virus to spread in countries with weaker health systems.
There have been more than 200 suspected cases in the WHO’s AFRO region, which includes most African countries, though nearly all have been confirmed negative, the regional director, Matshidiso Rebecca Moeti, said on Saturday. Egypt is the only African country to have recorded a confirmed case.
The African Union commission chairman, Moussa Faki Mahamat, told officials to take “drastic preventive and control measures.” He said:
Our dear continent, Africa, is particularly at risk, given its relatively fragile health systems.
Yoon-sook Lee, a restaurant owner in Yulha-dong, Daegu, the city at the heart of South Korea’s coronavirus outbreak, said:
It is literally like how I imagine Gotham City to be. Streets are deserted and those who are outside are half-running as if they are all in a hurry or being chased. I run a restaurant which serves takeaway lunches for special events. As all events are being cancelled, all my orders have been cancelled.
From the evening of the 19th, I’ve noticed that people are stockpiling water and instant noodles. It’s also difficult to buy masks. I had to queue up for two hours at Costco to get a single box of 20 masks. We try and stay indoors as much as possible and when we do have to venture outside, we make sure to wear a mask. We try and wash our hands as often as possible even when we’re at home.
I’m starting to feel panicky as I’m worried about my family. I have young children so I’m worried about them. I’m also getting really worried about how long this will go on as it will affect our family’s income from the restaurant.
I’m getting news from TV and social media but I think there is also a lot of fake news. Last month in Daegu, some YouTubers pretended to be chasing down an infected person on the subway and it was found to be fake. Everyone thought how ridiculous they were but now things don’t seem so far off from what they were filming.
A woman wearing a face mask waits for her food at Dongseong-ro shopping street in central Daegu, South Korea. Photograph: Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters
A British couple diagnosed with coronavirus after spending two weeks in quarantine onboard the Princess Diamond have contracted pneumonia.
The family of David and Sally Abel, from Northamptonshire, said they had been moved to a “prison”-like hospital.
The couple were on the cruise for their 50th wedding anniversary when it was placed in quarantine. Mr Abel has now been diagnosed with acute pneumonia, while his wife has mild pneumonia.
Although they were originally in a hospital just 90 minutes from the coronavirus-stricken cruise ship, Mrs Abel called her son in the middle of the night to say the couple were suddenly being moved to a different “three-star” hospital.
It took seven hours for the family to track down which hospital they had been taken to. Princess Cruises have sent the Abels a mobile phone that can make calls to their family. Steve Abel, their son, posted video updates on the couple’s YouTube channel alongside his wife Roberta on Friday night and Saturday morning.
Speaking on Friday evening, he said:
They are in a really bad way. Dad is very weak. He can’t walk around – he’s in a wheelchair now. I haven’t seen him in a wheelchair, but mum tells me he has to be put in a wheelchair to go from the ambulance to the hospital.
They are really distressed. His exact words to me were, ‘this has to stop now, we can’t take any more of this. It’s like a prison.’”
He said his parents were left in a hospital room that has no shower or bathing facilities, and were only provided with basic paper towels:
They haven’t eaten properly. Neither of them can eat the food. They don’t know what’s happening, they haven’t had any treatments. They have been told they won’t get any treatments, but have been told they will see if they test negative for the coronavirus in two or three days and if they test negative twice they can go – but that doesn’t treat the pneumonia, which is what we are so worried about.
On Saturday morning he posted a second update and said:
They have spoken to a doctor who can liaise with them a bit better. That is really reassuring and has done a lot for their mental wellbeing. They are brighter today and seem a lot happier, but they are still in the same situation.
The family have said they are willing to fly out to Japan to bring the couple home. Roberta Abel said: “We are in fight mode now, we just want them back.”
She criticised the reaction of the Foreign Office, and said their response had been “next to useless”. She said in an update on Saturday morning: “We do not believe they are in the best possible place like the Foreign Office are telling people.”
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: “The welfare of all British nationals is of the highest priority to the UK government. We are working with the Japanese authorities to ensure those British nationals who are remaining in Japan for health reasons get the best care possible.”
David Abel receiving treatment for coronavirus in a hospital in Japan. Photograph: David Abel/PA
Iran, facing the potential closure of some of its borders, has ordered extra supplies of face masks, disinfectants and gloves as worried Iranians responded to the sudden outbreak of coronavirus that has so far claimed five lives in the country.
The health ministry announced on Saturday that 10 new cases of coronavirus had been detected, including one person who has died. Both Iraq and Turkey were placing restrictions on visitors from Iran.
A health ministry spokesman, Kianush Jahanpur, said the new numbers brought the total number of cases of the new coronavirus in Iran to 28, with five deaths.
Extra diagnostic supplies have been sent to the country by the World Health Organization. The ministry said it would take steps to prevent pharmacists exploiting the rise in demand for masks amid reports that prices were being doubled or even inflated by five times. The number of people wearing masks has visibly increased over the past 48 hours in the capital, Tehran, with some commuters avoiding the underground and other crowded public spaces.
Earlier reports said two patients had died in Qom on Thursday. Most of the new cases include people living in Qom and those who have visited the religious city, an hour’s drive south of Tehran, during the past week.
A local Tehran mayor was among those reported to have contracted the virus, provoking concern that other politicians that had recently met with him were at risk. At one point it was reported that Tehran city council was to be shut for a week, but this was later denied.
Jahanpur said earlier that 735 patients with symptoms similar to flu had been hospitalised in various cities.
Iranians, some wearing protective masks, wait to cross a street in the capital Tehran. Photograph: Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images
