Sunday 24 / November / 2024
Global health authorities have reported 34,800 cases of coronavirus worldwide. The vast majority of cases are in mainland China, where there are over 27,000 infections confirmed.
The virus has killed 811 people in mainland China by Sunday, including two foreigners, with 89 deaths reported on Saturday alone. Most of the deaths have been in the central Hubei province, where the virus was first detected.
The death toll has now surpassed the number who died in the SARS epidemic in 2002-2003, when 800 people died globally. 81 of the deaths were in Hubei, bringing the total there to 780.
Another last-minute hospital
A second makeshift hospital opened in Wuhan, the city at the center of the coronavirus outbreak, on Saturday. The Leishenshan hospital has 32 wards with a total of 1,500 beds and a surgical operating room. A first medical crew arrived Saturday morning. Patients were due to follow later in the day.
The city is rapidly converting buildings into hospitals to deal with the high number of coronavirus infections. A first provisional hospital with 1,000 beds had opened on Monday after a rapid, 10-day construction phase.
As of Saturday, the province alone had 27,100 diagnosed cases of coronavirus, with 780 people dead.
First non-Chinese deaths
The US embassy reported Saturday thata 60-year-old US citizen who had contracted coronavirus died in Wuhan on Thursday, the first non-Chinese patient known to succumb to the infection.
A Japanese man in Wuhan also died after showing symptoms consistent with the virus, Japan's foreign ministry confirmed, though the cause of death was listed as viral pneumonia due to difficulties in diagnosing the disease.
Britons catch virus at French ski resort
Five British nationals including a child caught coronavirus at a ski chalet in France. During their stay at the Contamines-Montjoie resort in Savoie, the group came in contact with another British national who had recently been in Singapore, French Health Minister Agnes Buzyn said Saturday.
Health officials said two apartments at the resort were being examined and that the infected were staying at a hospital in the region and were in good condition.
Cruise ship crisis
A cruise ship stuck at the port of Yokohama in Japan began its fourth day of quarantine on Saturday. Three more people aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship tested positive for the infection, Japan's health ministry said, bringing the total confirmed cases on board to 64, including one critical case. A passenger who had disembarked the ship in January later tested positive for coronavirus.
Around 3,700 international passengers and crew are currently stranded on the ship. They may not be allowed to disembark until February 19 at the earliest.
In Taiwan, authorities began screening some 1,700 Taiwanese passengers on the cruise ship SuperStar Aquarius after it returned from Japan. On Thursday, Taiwan had said it would no longer allow international cruise ships to dock at its ports. An exception was made for the SuperStarAquarius because it is carrying Taiwanese nationals.
Weapons maker pulls out of airshow
Lockheed Martin Corp, a US weapons maker, said on Friday that it will not participate in an airshow in Singapore next week, citing concerns over coronavirus.
The company pointed to a Friday decision by the Singapore Ministry of Health to declare a Code Orange health alert.
"We determined this was in the best interest of our employees and aligned with the U.S. Department of Defense's decision to reduce its presence," the company said.
