ADVERTISEMENT

China Warns Virus Spread Increasing, New U.S. Case: Virus Update

The virus has killed at least 56 people in China, and President Xi Jinping on Saturday ordered a faster response.

China Warns Virus Spread Increasing, New U.S. Case: Virus Update
Members of the media wear protective masks as they use laptop computers during a news conference with Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive, in Hong Kong, China. (Photographer: Kyle Lam/Bloomberg)  

(Bloomberg) -- The novel coronavirus spread further and killed more people as Canada confirmed its first case and China reported an increase in fatalities and infections. The U.S. confirmed a fourth case, in Los Angeles.

The virus has killed at least 56 people in China, and President Xi Jinping on Saturday ordered a faster response, sending teams into hard-hit areas to push local officials to strengthen prevention and containment.

More than 2,100 cases have been reported in 15 countries and territories. South Korea on Sunday reported another infection, while Pakistan denied it has a confirmed case.

China Warns Virus Spread Increasing, New U.S. Case: Virus Update

Here are the latest developments:

Fourth U.S. case in Los Angeles (11 a.m. PST)

The fourth U.S. case of the coronavirus was confirmed Sunday in Los Angeles. The person recently returned to the U.S. from Wuhan, China, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said in a statement.

The infected person, who was not otherwise identified, showed up for treatment after they noticed that they were not feeling well, the department said. The person is receiving medical treatment, but county officials declined to say where the person is being treated.

The other U.S. confirmed cases are in Washington state, Chicago and Orange County, California -- which is adjacent to Los Angeles.

France asks to repatriate nationals (8 p.m. CET)

French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron has sked the Chinese government for permission to repatriate French citizens living the country, Health Minister Agnes Buzyn said Sunday.

Buzyn said a few dozen or a few hundred citizens could be in China, and the consul is conducting a survey to find out how many want to be repatriated.

The health minister said six additional possible cases are being examined with test results due later Sunday or Monday. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo earlier Sunday said that three people confirmed with the virus are doing fine.

China CDC advises extending holiday (5:01 p.m. HKT)

Gao Fu, head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters that the agency is advising that the Lunar New Year holiday ending Jan. 30 be extended due to the virus. The decision will depend on how the situation develops, he said.

Beijing will lengthen the winter break for schools from kindergarten to college, People’s Daily reported, citing the city’s education bureau.

Hong Kong confirms sixth virus patient (4:50 p.m. HKT)

A Hong Kong health official confirmed the sixth case of the coronavirus in the city.

The South China Morning Post earlier reported that the man had been to Wuhan and arrived in Hong Kong by high-speed rail. He will undergo more tests. It was not known when he returned from China, the newspaper said.

Protest over proposed quarantine center (4:15 p.m. HKT)

Government plans to use a newly built, unoccupied public estate in the New Territories district of Fanling for possible patients under quarantine and medical staff drew an angry response from residents and district councillors.

A couple dozen masked people barricaded a road in Fanling in protest at the government proposal to use Fai Ming Estate as an emergency medical facility. Some of the protesters said the building is too close to their homes, while others complained that approved applicants would lose their flats in the estate.

China says pathogen’s transmission is increasing (4:25 p.m. HKT)

Chinese authorities on Sunday told reporters the virus isn’t yet under control despite aggressive steps by authorities to limit movement for millions of people who live in cities near the center of the outbreak. Officials said information on the new virus is limited even though the pathogen was identified relatively quickly, and its transmission is increasing.

The government said it will hold daily press briefings on the situation.

Thailand, California report cases of infection (4:01 p.m. HKT)

Thailand’s director of communicable diseases said at a coronavirus meeting that the nation has eight confirmed cases of the illness. Those infected all came from outside the country, and there has been no local transmission so far.

California reported its first confirmed case, according to a statement from the Orange County Health Care Agency’s Communicable Disease Control Division. The person, who traveled from Wuhan, is in isolation in a local hospital and in good condition, it said.

China bans wildlife trade (2:36 p.m. HKT)

China banned the shipping and sale of wild animals starting Sunday and said it will quarantine breeding sites. Trade will be forbidden in markets, supermarkets, restaurants and online, the market supervision administration, agricultural ministry and forestry bureau said in a statement.

It also warned people against consuming wild animals. The new coronavirus was first found in people who shopped or worked at a so-called wet market in the central city of Wuhan, where live animals were sold.

China has tightened controls on the sale of exotic animals, considered nourishing in some parts of the country, though some are still sold surreptitiously.

AbbVie anti-HIV drugs in China treatment plan (12:13 p.m. HKT)

A clinical trial is underway using anti-HIV drugs ritonavir and lopinavir to treat cases of the new coronavirus, according to an article published in the Lancet medical journal Friday. Beijing’s municipal health commission said on Sunday the drugs made by AbbVie Inc. are part of the National Health Commission’s latest treatment plan, and its hospitals have supplies of the medicine if needed.

On Sunday, China’s Global Times tweeted that the nation’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention will start developing a vaccine.

U.S. charters flight to evacuate citizens (11:34 a.m. HKT)

The U.S. government is making plans for its Wuhan consulate to arrange a charter flight to evacuate its citizens on Tuesday, AP reported.

The plane can seat 230 people and the consulate is approaching Americans to offer to evacuate them with costs borne by those who accept it, Dow Jones said earlier. The State Department told Reuters that there will be “limited capacity,” according to a tweet by one of its journalists.

Wuhan doctor who died wasn’t on front lines (11:20 a.m. HKT)

A 62-year-old doctor who died from the virus on Saturday in Hubei province contracted the virus from another elderly member of his choir, and was not on the front line as some media had reported, according to a person familiar with the situation. He was retired but had been rehired on a part-time basis by another hospital, the person said.

Hong Kong theme parks shut (9:30 a.m. HKT)

Hong Kong theme parks including Disneyland and Ocean Park said they will be closed until further notice after the government stepped up prevention measures to curb the spread of the virus. Hong Kong on Saturday raised its response level to the coronavirus to “emergency” and said it will cancel its largest marathon scheduled to take place early next month.

Taiwan fines victim (8:30 a.m. HKT)

A man was fined NT$300,000 ($10,000) after he failed to report symptoms of a respiratory infection after traveling to Wuhan, the official Central News Agency reported, citing health authorities. He visited a nightclub without wearing a face mask the day after he returned to Taiwan, and a female employee later developed symptoms including a cough, according to the report. She has since been quarantined.

--With assistance from Siraj Datoo, Anuradha Raghu, Jihye Lee, Dong Lyu and Penny Peng.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Steve Geimann in Washington at sgeimann@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Matthew G. Miller at mmiller144@bloomberg.net

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

With assistance from Bloomberg

Opinion
China Warns of Faster Virus Spread as It Bans Wildlife Trade