The spread of the coronavirus outbreak to countries from Italy to Iran sparked concerns about a pandemic, with the number of cases worldwide topping 80,000.
Infections in South Korea, the worst affected country after China, rose to nearly 900, with nine dead, as the US, Japan and Hong Kong issued travel warnings to the country. Among those infected is a Korean Air cabin crewmember.
China’s death toll rose by 71 to 2,663. The government said it will continue to ban flights to and from Hubei, which reported 499 more cases, and will keep the strictest control measures for the province.
The head of the World Health Organization called the new cases “deeply concerning,” but said the outbreak isn’t yet a pandemic. The WHO said an experimental drug Gilead Sciences Inc. is testing may be the only one that will work for the virus.
Italian tourist tests positive
An Italian staying on the Spanish island of Tenerife tested positive for the virus and a second test to confirm the case will be carried out in Madrid, the government said. The case would be Spain’s third and the first on the island, one of Europe’s top holiday destinations for winter sun. Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands, attracted more than 5.7 million tourists last year.
The tourist, a doctor, had come from Lombardy, a region of northern Italy that is a focus of an outbreak of the virus, Efe news service reported. Spain’s two previously confirmed patients no longer have the infection.
HK schools extend closure
Hong Kong extended school closures by four weeks until at least the end of the Easter break. The city will hold written university exams as scheduled from March 27 but postponed oral tests, Education Secretary Kevin Yeung said in a briefing.
Students in the city, which has 81 confirmed coronavirus cases, haven’t attended classes since the Lunar New Year break began in late January.
In a February 12 letter to Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, the city’s international schools warned that a prolonged shutdown could cause families to leave Hong Kong and force some schools to shut permanently.
Japan cruise ship death
A fourth passenger from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan has died, NHK reported.
The patient was in his 80s and had the coronavirus, according to NHK. Three others from the ship have also died, though pneumonia was cited as the cause of one of the deaths.
The cruise ship that was quarantined for 14 days off of Yokohama has been the source of about 700 infections.
$2.5 billion to battle virus
The Trump administration said it has asked Congress for $2.5 billion in supplemental funding to battle the spread of the coronavirus. More than $1 billion of the money would go toward creating, manufacturing and distributing a vaccine, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The money would also be used to “support preparedness and response activities, and to procure much needed equipment and supplies,” said Rachel Semmel, a spokesman for the Office of Management and Budget.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Nita Lowey said the requested sum “is woefully insufficient.”
Temasek freezes pay
Temasek Holdings Pte, Singapore’s state-owned investment firm, said it will implement a company-wide wage freeze and ask senior management to take bonus cuts and voluntary pay reductions starting in April amid the coronavirus outbreak.
About 26 percent of Temasek’s holdings were in China as of March 2019, including multibillion-dollar stakes in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. With the money saved, Temasek said it will donate to staff volunteer initiatives and support the community as needed through unspecified measures.
Avigan drug
Fujifilm Holdings Corp. rose as much as 8.8 percent on Tuesday after Japan’s health minister said the country plans to recommend its Avigan drug to treat coronavirus.
Avigan, an anti-influenza medication developed by Fujifilm and Toyama Chemical Co., has previously been used to treat Ebola. A test dosage showed effects in mild and asymptomatic patients, Yomiuri reported last week. China’s National Health Commission is also studying the efficacy of Avigan.
US cases now at 53
There are now 53 people in the US with the novel coronavirus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday
The American cases include 12 people who tested positive for the condition known as Covid-19 after traveling to areas where the virus is spreading widely. Additionally, two spouses of people in that group contracted it from direct human-to-human transmission.
Three others were diagnosed after being repatriated from Wuhan, China, the outbreak’s epicenter, on State Department flights, while 36 had previously been aboard the contaminated Diamond Princess cruise ship.
WHO: Not yet a pandemic
The increase in the number of cases in Italy, Iran and South Korea is “deeply concerning,” the head of the World Health Organization said at a press briefing in Geneva.
Countries need to do everything they can to prepare for a potential pandemic, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. The disease hasn’t reached that stage, which is defined by an uncontrollable geographical spread.
Image credits: Lee Jong-chul/Newsis via AP