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BEIJING. – The death toll in China from the new coronavirus has risen to 170, as more countries announced plans to evacuate their citizens from Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of the outbreak.
More than 7 800 people, including 7 711 in China, are now confirmed to have the infection, which has spread from Wuhan’s Hubei province to every one of China’s 31 provinces.
The World Health Organisation on Wednesday urged governments around the world to “take action” over the SARS-like virus, cases of which have been confirmed in almost 20 countries.
The WHO will hold an urgent meeting on Thursday over whether the outbreak should be declared a global health emergency – a designation that can lead to increased international coordination.
Here are the latest updates:
Indonesia
Indonesia’s government says it is preparing to evacuate nearly 250 Indonesians from China’s Hubei province.
An official statement from his office said President Joko Widodo issued the instructions for the evacuation after a Cabinet meeting.
The government said it was making domestic preparations and that an Indonesian Embassy team in China was helping facilitate travel and documents.
Italy
Italy’s health ministry said that two Chinese passengers held in isolation on a crowded cruise ship appeared not to have the deadly coronavirus.
More than 6 000 tourists were under lockdown aboard the Costa Smeralda at a port near Rome after one of the passengers began running a fever.
It was not immediately clear whether the negative test result meant they would be allowed to disembark.
Ethiopia
Ethiopian Airlines has suspended all flights to China, according to the airline’s passenger call centre.
Egypt
Egypt said it was preparing a special flight to evacuate its citizens from Wuhan and would quarantine them for 14 days on their return home to avoid contagion, the cabinet said.
Meanwhile, Egyptair has suspended all flights to and from China starting tomorrow, the civil aviation ministry said in a statement.
France
Paris has postponed the popular annual Lunar New Year parade scheduled for this weekend in the capital’s Asian quarter, organisers said.
Sunday’s event, a highlight for Paris’ 13th arrondissement or district, will be postponed for a few months, mayor Jerome Coumet told AFP news agency.
“The Chinese community is not in the mood for partying, the situation is too complicated with what is happening in China,” he said.
Sacha Lin-Jung of the Association of Chinese People Living in France, which organises the festival, said it was being deferred for health reasons and to allay public concern.
Pakistan
A top Pakistani health official said that Islamabad had no immediate plan to evacuate any of about 30 000 nationals living in China to study and work.
Zafar Mirza, who advises Prime Minister Imran Khan on health issues, told a news conference that so far, only four Pakistani students in China have been diagnosed with the new virus and their conditions are listed as stable.
He said about 500 Pakistani students were in Wuhan – the site of the outbreak – at the time it surfaced. He said although the virus has killed 170 people in China, authorities in Beijing have done a good job of containing it by taking swift measures.
Spain
A group of Spanish citizens will fly back from the Chinese city of Wuhan in the coming hours as part of a joint repatriation operation with the United Kingdom, Spain’s foreign ministry said.
Spain’s Health Minister Salvador Illa said earlier that the group of about 20 Spaniards will spend 14 days in quarantine when they return to the country.
Meanwhile, the health chief of China’s Huanggang city, near the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, has been dismissed, the city’s health department said in a statement.
The brief statement said that Tang Zhihong had been dismissed, but gave no other details.
UK
The United Kingdom has asked the Chinese authorities to allow family members of its citizens who are trapped in Wuhan to leave, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman said.
The UK hopes a flight evacuating its nationals from Wuhan will be allowed to take off as soon as possible, the spokesman added. It was due to leave earlier yesterday but has not yet been given clearance.
“There is also the issue of seeking for people who are the partners or married to UK nationals to be able to leave as well. We have pressed that point with the Chinese authorities,” the spokesman said.
British Airways (BA) said it has suspended all flights to and from mainland China.
The airline flies daily from London’s Heathrow airport to Shanghai and Beijing. BA said it had taken the move following UK government advice against all but essential travel to China.
In a later development, Britain’s foreign minister Dominic Raab said he had confirmation that a delayed evacuation of United Kingdom citizens from the Chinese city of Wuhan will be able to leave this morning.
“We are pleased to have confirmation from the Chinese authorities that the evacuation flight from Wuhan airport to the UK can depart at 05:00 local time on Friday,” Raab said.
Thailand
Thai authorities have arrested two people for posting “fake news” about the coronavirus as a senior official warned internet users to think twice before sharing incorrect information.
Thailand’s digital economy minister Buddinpongse Punnakanta told AFP news agency that a man and woman were charged with violating the computer crimes act – which can carry up to five years in prison – for separate social media posts about the virus.
Iran
Iran’s Foreign Ministry is seeking approval from the Chinese government to evacuate its nationals from Wuhan, ISNA reported, citing a ministry spokesman.
Earlier on Thursday, state Department spokesman Abbas Mousavi told reporters that Iran’s embassy in China has sent “food and health packages” to all students living in Wuhan. – AFP.
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