PHILIPPINES reports first death outside China, as the death toll from the still-unknown virus reaches 305.
The death toll from a new coronavirus outbreak has jumped to more than 300, the Chinese government has said, as other nations imposed extraordinary travel restrictions on China, and airlines suspended flights.
The Philippines meanwhile reported on Sunday the first death outside China – a 44-year-old man from the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak.
At least 304 people in China were confirmed dead till February 1, according to the National Health Commission. Thousands more were confirmed infected, bringing that total to 14,380 people.
Here are the latest updates:
Iraq bans foreigners’ arrival from China
Iraq has banned the entry of all foreigners coming from China over fears about the coronavirus outbreak, the interior ministry said.
Bangladesh suspends on-arrival visas for Chinese visitors
Bangladesh has temporarily suspended visa-on-arrival services for travellers from China in an attempt to halt the coronavirus.
Chinese nationals can usually acquire visas on reaching Bangladesh, but now will have to obtain visas before travelling, Foreign Minister Abul Kalam Abdul Momen told reporters in Dhaka.
“We have suspended the privilege for a month,” he said.
Potential Chinese visitors will have to submit health certificates when applying for Bangladeshi visas, Momen added.
More UK citizens flown back from China A further 11 British nationals are being flown back to Europe from China on a French flight, foreign minister Dominic Raab said.
“It’s correct that there is a further French flight that is expected back in Europe today and that will carry some UK nationals,” he told Sky News.
Afghanistan sets up isolation wards
Afghan health authorities are establishing isolation wards across the country ahead of a potential influx of coronavirus cases, an official said.
In the capital, Kabul, authorities have created a 100-bed isolation ward and another 200 or so beds will be made available across the country, public health minister Ferozuddin Feroz said.
No cases have been recorded in Afghanistan so far, but the war-torn country’s health services have set up screening units at airports and borders.
“We have put serious measures in place,” Feroz told reporters.
Indonesia to stop flights to and from China
Indonesia will temporarily stop flights to and from mainland China starting Wednesday and bar visitors who had been in China in the past 14 days from entering or transiting in the southeast Asian country, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said.
The government will temporarily stop visa-free entry for Chinese nationals and visas-on-arrival for those who live in mainland China, she said, asking Indonesians not to travel to China amid the coronavirus epidemic.
A total of 243 Indonesian citizens living in Hubei province were also repatriated back to the country, and transferred to the Natuna Islands military base to be quarantined, Indonesia’s foreign ministry said.
The new strain of coronavirus in China may be spreading from person to person via the digestive system, Xinhua news agency reported, citing medical experts.
Researchers from the Renminbi Hospital of Wuhan University and the Wuhan Institute of Virology of the Chinese Academy of Science reported their findings after studying patient stool samples and rectal swabs, the news agency said.
Xinhua reported that many coronavirus patients suffered only from diarrhoea instead of from classic viral symptoms like fever.
Uber suspends 240 user accounts in Mexico over possible virus contact Uber has suspended the accounts of 240 users in Mexico who may have been in contact with drivers who ferried a person suspected of having the deadly coronavirus.
The ride-hailing app said Mexico City health authorities had requested information in January on a possible carrier of coronavirus and Uber had been able to find two drivers who transported the suspected individual before driving a further 240 people.
“We have proceeded to send information to these two drivers and the 240 users regarding the temporary deactivation of their accounts,” the company said in a statement posted on Twitter.
So far, Mexico has not reported a confirmed case of the novel coronavirus.
Oman, Saudi airlines suspend flights to China
Oman and the state airline of Saudi Arabia, Saudia, both suspended flights to China in reaction to the coronavirus epidemic.
Chinese economy gets $173bn boost
China’s central bank has announced that it will inject 1.2 trillion yuan ($173bn) into the economy to help deal with the outbreak of coronavirus.
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said in a statement it would launch a 1.2 trillion-yuan reverse repurchase operation on Monday to maintain “reasonable and abundant liquidity” in the banking system, as well as a stable currency market, during the epidemic.
Kazakhstan evacuates 83 citizens from Wuhan
Kazakhstan has evacuated 83 of its citizens, mostly students, from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of a new coronavirus epidemic, Kazakhstan’s government said.
The Kazakh aeroplane also took an undisclosed number of Kyrgyz, Belarusian and Armenian citizens, the cabinet said in a statement. The evacuees would be quarantined and tested, it added.
South Korea ‘to ban entry’ from China’s Hubei province
South Korea will bar entry to foreigners who have visited China’s Hubei province, South Korea’s prime minister said on Sunday, according to Yonhap news agency.
The entry ban will go into effect on Tuesday, Yonhap reported, citing Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun.
India confirms second coronavirus case
India’s health ministry confirmed the country’s second case which, like the first, is in the southern state of Kerala.
The patient is a young woman who returned to India from China on January 24.
“The patient has a travel history from China,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that the new case is being treated in isolation at a hospital.-Aljazeera
