Chronicle Editor
Kuwait, Bahrain, Afghanistan and Iraq yesterday reported their first infections from the coronavirus, which has killed more than 2 600 globally, the vast majority in China.
Kuwait reported three cases, while Bahrain and Iraq each confirmed one, bringing the number of countries in the Middle East with the virus, known as COVID-19, to eight.
Meanwhile, Turkey, Pakistan and Armenia have closed their borders with Iran, as authorities reported 43 coronavirus infections and 12 deaths.
China had 150 new confirmed deaths from the coronavirus on Sunday, the National Health Commission announced, pushing the death toll nationwide to 2 592 among 77,150 confirmed cases, while South Korea’s cases continued to balloon, reaching 833 with seven confirmed deaths.
And in Italy, at least 152 cases and five deaths have been reported in the country’s north, prompting emergency measures in Europe.
China says more than
3 000 medical staff infected
More than 3 000 medical staff in China have been infected by the new coronavirus that emerged in the country late last year, an official at China’s National Health Commission has said.
Liang Wannian told reporters during a joint press briefing with the head of the World Health Organisation delegation to China, Bruce Aylward, the infections have mostly occurred in Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak that has killed nearly 2 600 to date in the mainland. The infections were likely due to the lack of protective gear and fatigue, he said
Turkish Airlines cancels
flights to four Iranian cities
Turkish Airlines has cancelled its flights to four Iranian cities and decreased the frequency of flights to Tehran until February 27, the company said yesterday.
The company said it cancelled flights to Mashhad, Isfahan, Tabriz and Shiraz until that date. It also decreased the frequency of Tehran flights to two per day. Turkey has already closed its land border with Iran and halted incoming flights.
Mauritius blocks some Italian
visitors over coronavirus concerns
An Alitalia plane landed in Mauritius yesterday but some of the passengers and crew opted to return straight home after being told they would have to go into quarantine because of local concerns over the coronavirus, the airline said.
Some 224 passengers and crew had been aboard the flight from Rome to the Indian Ocean island. Forty people from the northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto decided to head home because of the quarantine threat, Alitalia said in a statement.
Fifth person dies in northern Italy
A fifth person infected with the coronavirus has died in Italy, the chief of the Civil Protection agency has said, with more than 200 cases reported in the north of the country since Friday. Italian media reported that the dead patient was 88 and came from the region of Lombardy. The four other people who have died of the illness were also elderly and at least three of them had been suffering serious underlying health problems.
Pakistan quarantines 200 near Iran border
Pakistan began quarantining at least 200 people near the Iranian border, officials said, as fears spiralled over the growing toll from the coronavirus in the region amid allegations of a cover up in Iran.
In Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province authorities quarantined at least 200 people after Shia Muslim pilgrims returning from Iran entered the country and briefly interacted with other residents. The quarantine announcement came shortly after Pakistan sealed off its land border with Iran.
Iraq confirms first case
Iraq has confirmed its first novel coronavirus case, an Iranian national living in the southern city of Najaf, according to health officials.
Iraq had blocked travel to and from Iran days before announcing that the religious seminary student in Najaf is its first confirmed case. The case brings the total countries in the Middle East with confirmed cases to eight.
Iranian health ministry
says death toll remains at 12
Twelve people have died and up to 61 have been infected with the new coronavirus, Iran’s Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi has said during a news conference on state TV, rebutting claims from a member of parliament that 50 people had died in the country from the virus.
“We will announce any figures (we have) on the number of deaths throughout the country. We pledge to be transparent about the reporting of figures,” government spokesman Ali Rabiei said in a news conference aired live on state television.
Iranian member of parliament
says the death toll in Qom is 50
A staggering 50 people have died in the Iranian city of Qom from the new coronavirus this month, a member of parliament from the city of Qom has said, according to the semiofficial ILNA news agency.
“He is accusing the health ministry of not being transparent with the official death toll, he claims that more than 50 people have already died from the virus in Qom,” Al Jazeera’s Dorsa Jabbari, reporting from Tehran, said.” Now this is something the health ministry has not confirmed yet.”
China postpones parliament
for first time in decades
China has decided to postpone the annual meeting of its parliament due in March for the first time since the Cultural Revolution, as the country fights to contain the coronavirus outbreak, state media reported.
The standing committee of the National People’s Congress will decide on a new date later, state broadcaster CCTV said.
EU: Any travel restrictions
should be proportionate, coordinated
European Union health commissioner Stella Kyriakides has said possible travel restrictions in the Schengen border-free area should be proportionate and coordinated among EU states, as the bloc faces a coronavirus outbreak in Italy.
“For the moment WHO has not advised imposing restrictions on either travel or trade,” Kyriakides told reporters on Monday, adding that a mission of the World Health Organization will go to Italy today to assess the situation.
South Korea top flight postpones
start of season due to coronavirus
South Korea’s professional football league has postponed the start of the new season due to the surge in coronavirus cases in the country, Yonhap news agency reported.
The K League made the decision to postpone all matches at an emergency board meeting in Seoul. The 2020 season had been due to kick-off on Saturday. The league had also asked its four teams in the AFC Champions League, the continent’s elite club competition, to hold matches behind closed doors, Yonhap reported.
South Korea reports 70 new cases
South Korea has reported 70 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total in the country to 833 infections, according to health authorities.
WHO says it has phased out
use of ‘pandemic’ to describe outbreaks
The World Health Organization (WHO) no longer has a process for declaring a pandemic, but the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak remains an international emergency, a spokesman said.
“There is no official category (for a pandemic),” WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said. “WHO does not use the old phasing system that some people may be familiar with from 2009. Under the IHR (International Health Regulations), WHO has declared a public health emergency of international concern.”
China not considering travel advisories
China’s foreign ministry said yesterday that Beijing was not considering issuing travel advisories for countries such as South Korea and Japan that are reporting an increase in coronavirus cases.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian made the remarks during a press briefing in Beijing-Al Jazeera.
Online Reporter