Cases of the virus, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, have been reported around the world.
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New cases of infection with a new coronavirus known as COVID-19, which emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan, are being reported daily around the world.
In mainland China, 2,442 people have died, while more than 76,000 infections have been confirmed, according to government figures.
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Hundreds of cases have been confirmed elsewhere, withe the virus now present in at least 30 countries.
Here are the countries that have so far confirmed cases of the new coronavirus:
Australia – 22
Australia has confirmed 22 cases of the virus as of February 23, including several passengers evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan, according to the Australian government.
Belgium – 1
Belgium said on February 4 that one of nine Belgian citizens repatriated from Wuhan had tested positive for the coronavirus.
Cambodia – 1
Cambodia confirmed its first case of coronavirus on January 27.
Minister of Health Mam Bunheng said the patient was a 60-year-old Chinese national in the coastal city of Sihanoukville.
Canada – 9
Canada has confirmed nine cases of the coronavirus as of February 23 – three in the province of Ontario and six in British Columbia.
China – 76,936
As of February 23, a total of 76,963 people in mainland China were confirmed as having been infected with the virus, most of them in the central province of Hubei.
At least 2,442 people have died, China’s national health commission said.
The city of Macau, a gambling hub hugely popular with mainland tourists, has confirmed 10 cases.
Hong Kong reported its second death from the disease on February 19. Including the two deaths, Hong Kong has 74 confirmed cases of February 23.
Egypt – 1
Egypt’s health ministry reported its first confirmed case of the coronavirus on February 14. It is the first known case in Africa.
Officials said the infected person was a foreign national and on February 19 the World Health Organization said he had been discharged.
Finland – 1
A Chinese tourist who was admitted to hospital for tests was confirmed on January 29 as infected with the coronavirus.
The patient is said to be a 32-year-old woman from Wuhan.
France – 12
On February 15, France reported the first death in Europe – an 80-year-old Chinese tourist.
There are 12 confirmed cases in France, five of which are British citizens who had shared a chalet at a French ski resort with someone who had recently travelled to Singapore.
France was the first European country to record cases of the virus.
Germany – 16
Germany registered 16 confirmed cases of the coronavirus as of February 23, a majority of those infected in the southern state of Bavaria.
Almost all the patients in Germany are employees of auto parts supplier Webasto, who were infected by a
by a colleague from China who was attending a course in Germany.
India – 3
On February 3, a third positive case of the coronavirus was reported in India’s southern state of Kerala, the country’s health ministry said.
All three are students who returned from Wuhan, according to local media.
Iran – 43
Iran’s health authorities reported on February 23 that the number of confirmed cases had risen to 43.
Eight people have died from the virus, authorities said.
Israel – 1
On February 21, Israel reported its first case of coronavirus, a woman who was evacuated from a cruise ship in Japan tested positive to the virus upon her return to the country.
Italy – 144
As of February 23, Italy has 144 confirmed cases, mostly centered in the country’s north.
Three people have died; two in Lombardy and one in the Veneto region.
Japan – 132 691
A total of 691 people on the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship docked at Yokohama had tested positive for the virus as of February 23. Meanwhile, an elderly couple that was on the ship has died.
Japan does not include the people on board as part of its national tally, in accordance with WHO guidance. Japan’s national tally is 132, including an 80-year-old woman who died from the virus.
Three people who were on board the Diamond Princess have died in Japan.
Lebanon – 1
The first case of coronavirus was confirmed in Lebanon on February 21 after a woman arriving from Iran tested positive.
Malaysia – 22
Malaysia has a total of 22 confirmed cases as of February 23.
On February 19, the country’s health ministry said that 15 of the cases have recovered and been discharged from hospital.
| Explainer: Battle against Coronavirus |
Nepal – 1
Nepal said on January 24 that a 32-year-old man arriving from Wuhan had tested positive for coronavirus.
The patient, who was by a colleague from China who was attending a course in Germany.
India – 3
On February 3, a third positive case of the coronavirus was reported in India’s southern state of Kerala, the country’s health ministry said.
All three are students who returned from Wuhan, according to local media.
Iran – 43
Iran’s health authorities reported on February 23 that the number of confirmed cases had risen to 43.
Eight people have died from the virus, authorities said.
Israel – 1
On February 21, Israel reported its first case of coronavirus, a woman who was evacuated from a cruise ship in Japan tested positive to the virus upon her return to the country.
Italy – 144
As of February 23, Italy has 144 confirmed cases, mostly centered in the country’s north.
Three people have died; two in Lombardy and one in the Veneto region.
Japan – 132 691
A total of 691 people on the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship docked at Yokohama had tested positive for the virus as of February 23. Meanwhile, an elderly couple that was on the ship has died.
Japan does not include the people on board as part of its national tally, in accordance with WHO guidance. Japan’s national tally is 132, including an 80-year-old woman who died from the virus.
Three people who were on board the Diamond Princess have died in Japan.
Lebanon – 1
The first case of coronavirus was confirmed in Lebanon on February 21 after a woman arriving from Iran tested positive.
Malaysia – 22
Malaysia has a total of 22 confirmed cases as of February 23.
On February 19, the country’s health ministry said that 15 of the cases have recovered and been discharged from hospital.
| Explainer: Battle against Coronavirus |
Nepal – 1
Nepal said on January 24 that a 32-year-old man arriving from Wuhan had tested positive for coronavirus.
The patient, who was
initially quarantined, recovered and was discharged. The government said surveillance has been increased at the airport “and suspicious patients entering Nepal are being monitored”.
The Philippines – 3
Philippine health officials confirmed a third case of coronavirus on February 5. The country also had the first death from coronavirus outside China, which was announced on February 2.
Russia – 2
Russia reported two cases of coronavirus on January 31. Both patients – Chinese nationals – have recovered and were discharged from hospital.
Singapore – 89
Singapore has a total of 89 cases as of February 23, including 51 people who have recovered and been discharged from hospital.
South Korea – 602
South Korea confirmed the number of infections had reached 602 on February 23.
The majority of the cases have been traced to a hospital in the southeastern county of Cheongdo and a minor Christian sect in the southeastern city of Daegu, home to 2.5 million people.
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Spain – 2
Spanish authorities confirmed
the country’s second case of coronavirus on February 9 – a British man in Mallorca.
The patient is one of four members of a British family taken in for observation on the island after coming into contact with someone in France who was subsequently diagnosed with the virus. The other three tested negative.
The first case, reported on January 31, was a German man on the island of La Gomera in the Canary Islands.
Sri Lanka – 1
Sri Lanka confirmed its first case of coronavirus on January 27.
The patient was identified as a 43-year-old Chinese woman from Hubei province who had arrived in Sri Lanka as a tourist. She was admitted to the Infectious Diseases Hospital.
Sweden – 1
On January 31, Sweden’s Public Health Agency said a woman had tested positive for coronavirus and was being kept in isolation at a hospital in southern Sweden.
The woman, who is not gravely ill according to the agency, had visited the Wuhan area in China and began coughing after she arrived in Sweden. She contacted a hospital in southern Sweden, where she is being treated.
Taiwan – 26
Taiwan has 26 confirmed cases as of February 23, including a 61-year-old man with underlying health issues who died from the virus.
Thailand – 35
Thailand had a total number of 35 confirmed cases as of February 23.
United Arab Emirates – 13
The UAE had a total of 13 confirmed cases as of February 23.
On February 1, the UAE became the first country in the Middle East to confirm cases of the coronavirus.
United Kingdom – 13
The UK confirmed four new cases of coronavirus among people evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, bringing the total to 13.
All of the cases are in England and at least eight people have left hospital having tested negatively twice for the virus, NHS England said on February 15.
United States – 35
The US had confirmed 35 cases of the virus as of February 23.
The cases include those evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan.
Vietnam – 16
On February 13, the health ministry confirmed the nation’s sixteenth case of coronavirus. The authorities have said at least 11 of the cases were in the northern province of Vinh Phuc.
The Son Loi commune in Vinh Phuc was placed under a 14-day quarantine by Vietnamese authorities on February 13.
Confused about the coronavirus? | Start Here
SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies
China coronavirus outbreak: All the latest updates
Neighbouring countries introduce travel restrictions as Iran reports 43 infections and eight deaths.23 Feb 2020 17:10 GMT
Turkey, Pakistan and Armenia have closed their borders with Iran as it reported more coronavirus infections and deaths, prompting neighbouring Afghanistan to also introduce travel restrictions.
The measures were introduced as fears mounted over the rise of cases outside of China, particularly in Iran, Italy and South Korea.
More:
- Iraq extends ban on Iran arrivals amid coronavirus fears
- South Korea raises alert level to highest over virus
- Italy suspends Serie A football games to combat infection spread
Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping described the COVID-19 outbreak as the “largest public health emergency” since the founding of Communist China as the death toll on the mainland reached 2,442 with 76,936 infections reported as of Sunday.Â
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it was concerned about a rise in cases with no clear link to China – where the virus was first detected in the city of Wuhan in Hubei province in late December – and called for urgent funding to support countries with weaker health systems.Â
Here are the latest updates:
Sunday, February 23
Giorgio Armani shows collection behind closed doors at MFW
Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani has radically altered his autumn/winter2020 presentation at Milan Fashion Week due to concerns over the spread of coronavirus, informing guests that the show would take place “behind closed doors,” rather than in front of a live audience as usual.
Models walked down the catwalk in an empty theatre, while the show was live streamed on the brand’s website and social media channels.
Several Chinese designers have been absent from fashion month presentations in London, Paris and now Milan as quarantines have left entire collections trapped in China and industry professionals unable to travel.
The National Chamber of Italian Fashion has estimated that some 1,000 editors, models, buyers and other fashion industry workers would be forced to miss fashion month entirely.
A third person dies in Italy
A third person infected with the coronavirus has died in Italy, a regional official said, as the government struggles to contain an outbreak of the illness in the north of the country with more than 130 cases reported since Friday.
Lombardy regional councillor Giulio Gallera told reporters the victim was an elderly woman from the province of Cremona, in the Lombardy region.Â
The woman was also suffering from cancer, Gallera said.
Four test positive for coronavirus in England after cruise ship evacuation
Four passengers have tested positive for coronavirus in England after being evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan, Chief Medical Officer of Public Health England Chris Whitty said.
“Four further patients in England have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases in the UK to thirteen,” the statement said.
“The virus was passed on in the Diamond Princess cruise ship and the patients are being transferred from Arrow Park to specialist NHS infection centres.”
Update on #coronavirus:
Four further patients in England have tested positive for #COVID-19. The virus was passed on in the Diamond Princess cruise ship and the patients are being transferred to specialist NHS centres.
More info: https://t.co/cudRsJTMPe pic.twitter.com/AtccAx9qpf— Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) February 23, 2020
Armenia to ‘suspend communication’ with Iran for two weeks
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that the country will “suspend communication” with Iran for two weeks in a bid to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
In a post on Facebook, Pashinyan said Armenia would close its border with Iran and halt air transport.Â
He added that Armenia’s Coronavirus Prevention Commission would meet on Monday.
Bank of Japan says it is fully prepared to take action over virus impact
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) will ensure it is fully prepared to take necessary policy action as it scrutinises developments on the impact of coronavirus, its governor Haruhiko Kuroda said.
The BOJ is ready to ease without hesitation if needed, but sees no need to consider specific action now, he told a press briefing in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
The epidemic has cast a cloud over global recovery prospects, overshadowing a meeting of finance leaders of the G20 countries.
EU sees ‘no need to panic’ over Italy outbreak
The European Union sees “no need to panic” over a coronavirus outbreak in Italy that has already killed two people and infected more than 100 in the country, the bloc’s economic affairs commissioner said.
“The EU has full confidence in the Italian authorities and the decisions they are taking,” Paolo Gentiloni told reporters after a meeting of the G20 financial leaders in Saudi Arabia.
“We share concern for possible contagion (but )there is no need to panic.”
| Coronavirus: South Korea raises alert level to highest |
Coronavirus puts global recovery at risk: IMF to G20
The coronavirus could put an already fragile global economy’s recovery at risk, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) head told G20 finance ministers and central bank governors.
“The projected recovery … is fragile,” IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said at a meeting in the Saudi capital.
“The COVID-19 virus – a global health emergency – has disrupted economic activity in China and could put the recovery at risk,” she said.
Local authorities to close Venice Carnival early
The Venice Carnival festival will close on Sunday, several days ahead of schedule, because of the coronavirus outbreak in northern Italy, the head of the Veneto region said on Sky TG24 television.
“From this evening, we plan to stop carnival and all sporting activities until March 1,” regional president Luca Zai said in announcing a series of measures to combat the spread of the virus.
The carnival was due to close on Tuesday after opening on February 8.
Protective masks were a new addition to revellers costumes at the Venice Carnival [Manuel Silvestri/Reuters]
Pakistan closes border with Iran
Pakistan has announced it is closing its border with neighbouring Iran after Tehran announced eight deaths from the coronavirus.
“We have closed our border with Iran because of the reports of coronavirus there,” said Ayesha Zehri, a senior government official in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan’s province, which borders Iran.
Afghanistan bans travel to and from IranÂ
Afghanistan has suspended air and ground travel to neighbouring Iran, where millions of Afghan refugees live, as fears grow across the region over a jump in new coronavirus infections.
“To prevent the spread of the novel #coronavirus and protect the public, Afghanistan suspends all passenger movement (air and ground) to and from Iran,” the office of the National Security Council of Afghanistan said in a statement on Twitter.
| Coronavirus outbreak: Israel blocks arrivals from Seoul |
Turkey to ‘temporarily’ close border with Iran
Turkey has announced it will “temporarily” close its land border with neighbouring Iran as alarm grows over a spike in new coronavirus infections.
“We have decided to shut the land border temporarily after an increase in the number of cases in our neighbour Iran,” Health Minister Fahrettin Koca told reporters.
He added that air traffic would be unilaterally halted from 20:00 (1700GMT).
Jordan bars entry to citizens from China, Iran, South Korea
Jordan has said it would bar citizens from China, Iran and South Korea from entering the kingdom in a bid to prevent the outbreak spreading.
The minister of state for media affairs, Amjad Adayleh, said the decision was part of “preemptive measures … following the rise in cases of coronavirus in South Korea, Iran” and China.Â
Xi: Coronavirus ‘largest public health emergency’ in communist China’s history
The coronavirus epidemic that has killed over 2,400 people is communist China’s “largest public health emergency” since its founding, President Xi Jinping has said.
“It has the fastest transmission, widest range of infection and has been the most difficult to prevent and control,” Xi said at a meeting on curbing the epidemic, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
He added it was is necessary to learn from “obvious shortcomings exposed” during China’s response, a rare acknowledgement by a Chinese leader.
Chinese President Xi Jinping inspects the novel coronavirus prevention and control work at Anhuali Community in Beijing, China, on February 10 [Reuters]
Third passenger on cruise ship in Japan port dies
A Third passenger from the quarantined Diamond Princess has died after contracting the coronavirus, the national broadcaster NHK has reported, citing the health ministry.Â
A man in his 80s became infected on the cruise ship and was treated at a hospital, according to NHK. A man and a woman in their 80s, who had both been passengers on the ship, died last Thursday.
At least 634 passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship have been diagnosed with coronavirus [Franck Robichon/EPA]
Number of infections jump to 602 in South Korea, with five deaths
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in South Korea jumped to 602 and the death toll rose to five, authorities said.
More than half the new cases are linked to a church in the southeastern city of Daegu after a 61-year-old woman known as “Patient 31” who attended services there tested positive for the virus last week. The woman had no recent record of overseas travel.
Israel may quarantine 200 South Korean visitors in army base: Report
Israel may quarantine some 200 visitors from South Korea in a military base south of Jerusalem over coronavirus worries, Israel’s Ynet news site reported on Sunday.
Israeli officials had no immediate comment on the report. Interior Minister Aryeh Deri said separately on Sunday that he had ordered South Korea and Japan to be added to a list of Asian countries to which travel to and from Israel was being barred.
Authorities to suspend Venice Carnival
Venice’s famous carnival is going to be suspended due to the new coronavirus outbreak in northern Italy, the President of the Veneto Region Luca Zaia has said.Â
“We have to adopt drastic measures,” Zaia told reporters. When asked if that included calling off the carnival in Venice, which runs until Tuesday, he replied that measures about to be announced will cover that “and even more”.
Iran says 43 infected, with eight deaths
Iran has confirmed 15 new cases of the new coronavirus, Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur said on state TV, adding that the death toll has reached eight in the country.
“So far, we have 43 infected cases and the death toll is eight,” said Kianush Jahanpur.
| Iran’s coronavirus death toll rises |
Iran’s health minister says virus came from China travel
Iran’s health minister has said that travel from China brought the coronavirus to the Middle Eastern country, where it has killed at least seven.
Saeed Namaki told state TV that the virus came from China to the holy city of Qom in central Iran. He said that one the Iranian dead from the virus was a merchant who regularly shuttled between the two countries using indirect flights in recent weeks, after Iran stopped direct passenger flights to China.
Italy coronavirus cases rise to more than 100Â
The number of cases of COVID-19 in Italy’s Lombardy region has risen to 89, the governor of the Lombardy Region Attilio Fontana said on Sunday.
That brings the total number of cases in the country to more than 100, Fontana said, speaking on Sky TV.
Personnel carry new beds inside a hospital of Codogno, near Lodi in Northern Italy. [Luca Bruno/The Associated Press]
Iran confirms another death
Iran has confirmed a seventh coronavirus death, the head of the Medical Science University in the Mazandaran province, was quoted as saying.Â
“An Iranian who traveled from Tehran to Tonekabon has died of the new coronavirus,” Abbas Mousavi said, according to Iranian state media.Â
Israel quarantines pupils who met South Korean tourists
Nearly 200 Israeli pupils were ordered to begin a two-week quarantine after having come into contact with South Korean tourists who contracted the coronavirus, the education ministry has said.
Israeli authorities urged people who might have encountered the tourists to self-quarantine, including 180 pupils and 19 staff from three separate schools who it said they had had close contact. Eighteen members of the tour group, who visited Israel and the Occupied West Bank from February 8 to 15, tested positive for the virus after returning home, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).
Workers wearing protective gears help clean each other’s suits after disinfecting as a precaution against the coronavirus at a subway station in Seoul, South Korea [Ahn Young-joon/The Associated Press]
South Korea raises disease alert to highest level
South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in has said that the government will raise the country’s disease alert by one notch to the highest level in a bid to contain a surge in new coronavirus cases.
New coronavirus cases in the country jumped by 123 to 556 on Sunday and the death toll rose to five, according to the Korea Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention.
Medical workers wearing protective gear transfer a suspected coronavirus patient to another hospital from Daenam Hospital where a total of 16 infections have now been identified with the COVID-19 coronavirus [AFP]
Iran accuses foreign media of using virus to ‘discourage’ voters
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has accused foreign media of trying to use a deadly outbreak of coronavirus in Iran to “discourage” people from voting in a general election.
“This negative propaganda began a few months ago and grew larger approaching the election and in the past two days, under the pretext of an illness and a virus, their media did not miss the slightest opportunity to discourage people from voting,” said Khamenei on his official website. “(Our enemies) are even opposed to any election by the Iranian people”.Â
South Koreans who visited Israel, Occupied Palestinian territories test positive
Nine South Korean nationals who visited Israel and the Occupied West Bank from February 8 to 15 have tested positive for coronavirus, prompting Israeli and Palestinian authorities to order those who came in contact with the tour group to self quarantine for two weeks.Â
“All the test results of the workers in restaurants that were frequented by Korean tourists in Jericho were negative – that is, they do not carry the virus. We ask anyone that has interacted with the South Korean tourist group to quarantine themselves at home for 14 days, and not use any public transportation and avoid being in public places,” the Palestinian ministry of health said in a statement.Â
Japan minister apologises after woman who leaves ship tests positive for virus
Japan’s Health Minister Katsunobu Kato apologised after a woman who was allowed to leave a coronavirus-infected cruise ship docked near Tokyo tested positive for the virus.
The woman in her 60s disembarked the Diamond Princess in Yokohama on Wednesday following a two-week quarantine on board, but was found to be positive following another test in Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo.
China reports 648 new cases of coronavirus, but infections outside Hubei falling
China reported a rise in the number of new confirmed cases of coronavirus, but the number of fresh infections and deaths outside of the epicentre of central Hubei province continued to fall.
Nationwide, the number of new cases rose to 648 as of Saturday, from 397, the previous day, National Health Commission said. That brought the total number of confirmed cases in China to 76,936.
The number of new cases outside of Hubei stood at 18, the lowest since the commission started publishing nationwide data a month ago.
The nationwide death toll rose by 97 to 2,442, but only one new death was outside of Hubei.
| INSIDE STORY | Is the WHO mishandling the coronavirus response? (25:46) |
South Korea reports two more deaths, 123 new cases
South Korea reported 123 more coronavirus cases, taking the nationwide total to 556, as well as two additional deaths which brings the toll to four.
Among the latest cases, 75 were connected to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in the southern city of Daegu, the Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement.
China’s Hubei province reports 96 new virus deaths
The death toll in China from the coronavirus epidemic rose past 2,400 on Sunday after 96 more people died in hard-hit Hubei province.
The region also reported 630 new confirmed cases, bringing the total within China to about 77,000.
Three Serie A matches suspended due to virus deaths in Italy
Three Serie A football matches scheduled for Sunday in the northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto were suspended after the deaths of two people infected with COVID-19.
On orders from the Italian government, the games called off were: Inter Milan vs. Sampdoria, Atalanta vs. Sassuolo and Hellas Verona vs. Cagliari.
Three other matches in Genoa, Turin and Rome on Sunday are going ahead as scheduled.
A woman is taken into an ambulance amid a coronavirus outbreak in northern Italy, in Casalpusterlengo, February 22, 2020 [Flavio Lo Scalzo/ Reuters]
Italy towns close down as virus cases jump to 79
Italy’s prime minister announced a ban on people entering or leaving new coronavirus hotspots as the number of confirmed infections rose sharply to 79, in an outbreak that has claimed two lives in the country.
“In zones considered hotspots, neither entry or exit will be authorised without special permission,” Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said during a news conference, adding that businesses and schools in the areas would be closed.
The Italian outbreak is concentrated in the northern region of Lombardy. Officials raised the total confirmed cases to 79, from an earlier figure on Saturday of 39 in Lombardy, 12 in Veneto and 3 in Rome.