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More than 2,100 people have died from coronavirus across the globe, according to the latest figures released Wednesday.
The Hubei health authority reported that 108 more people died of the coronavirus in Hubei province on Wednesday, raising the death toll in the epicenter since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak to 2,029. The Hubei report brings the total number of deaths in mainland China to at least 2,112.
The global death toll from coronavirus has risen to at least 2,120, with eight deaths reported outside of mainland China. Hong Kong and Iran have each reported two deaths from coronavirus. Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines and France have each reported one death.
The global number of confirmed coronavirus cases now exceeds 76,262, with the vast majority of cases in mainland China.
China’s National Health Commission is expected to release numbers for all of China’s provinces later.
See what Shanghai, China, looks like as coronavirus fears linger:
People with the novel coronavirus may have the same viral load — or amount of virus in the body — whether or not they are showing symptoms of illness, according to researchers in China.
The letter from the researchers, which was published in The New England Journal of Medicine, details how the researchers monitored viral loads of the novel coronavirus in samples taken from the nose and throat of 18 patients: nine men and nine women ranging in age from 26 to 76 in Zhuhai, in China’s Guangdong province.
For those samples, a total of 72 nasal swabs and 72 throat swabs were collected and analyzed.
The analysis revealed that higher viral loads were detected soon after a person was showing symptoms, with higher viral loads found in the nose than in the throat. Among the patients, only one was asymptomatic.
Yet overall, “the viral load that was detected in the asymptomatic patient was similar to that in the symptomatic patients, which suggests the transmission potential of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic patients,” the researchers wrote in the letter.
It also turned out that, when it comes to viral shedding, the novel coronavirus seemed to resemble influenza more than SARS, according to the letter.
How many affected: Globally, the World Health Organization has reported that there have been more than 75,000 laboratory or clinically confirmed cases of novel coronavirus and more than 2,000 deaths.
What do you need to know about coronavirus?:
Since mid-January, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been employing temperature checks at selected airports, at first on people flying in from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, and now on all passengers who’ve been anywhere in mainland China in the past 14 days.
While the CDC has screened more than 30,000 passengers in the past month, not a single US coronavirus case has been caught by airport temperature checks, according to a CNN investigation.
CNN reviewed statements by local, state and federal health officials, and emailed and spoke with officials, to determine how many people eventually diagnosed with the novel coronavirus went through airport temperature checks.
By the numbers: Ten passengers flew into US airports on commercial airliners and were later diagnosed with coronavirus.
Four of those 10 passengers went through temperature checks and were found not to have a fever or any other symptoms of the virus. Two of those passengers flew into Los Angeles International Airport and two flew into San Francisco International Airport. Previously, a CDC spokesperson had told CNN that two of the passengers were symptomatic during flight, but the spokesperson later said they were asymptomatic while flying.
Another four out of the 10 passengers were not screened because they flew into airports that did not have screening at the time. Those cases are in Illinois, Washington state, Massachusetts and California.
It’s unclear whether the final two passengers went through temperature checks because health officials at the CDC and in Wisconsin and Arizona refused to say when asked by CNN.
How the screening works: The temperature checks are part of an overall screening effort that includes giving passengers cards telling them to watch out for fever, cough and trouble breathing, all symptoms of the novel coronavirus disease, also called COVID-19.
While airport temperature checks haven’t caught any coronavirus cases, the information cards have helped catch US cases of the virus at least twice – once in a passenger who flew into San Francisco, and once in a passenger who flew into Los Angeles.
See family’s emotional reunion after coronavirus quarantine:
The cruise industry is “focused on protecting the health and safety of passengers and crew” amid the coronavirus outbreak, according to the industry’s largest trade group.
“The enhanced screening measures, the first of which were adopted within hours of the WHO declaring a global health emergency, do appear to be working and have enabled operations to continue as usual in many parts of the world,” said Bari Goin-Blaugrund, senior director of strategic communications of Cruise Lines International Association, or CLIA.
Goin-Blaugrund also said that within the global CLIA fleet of 272 cruise ships, only one has experienced any cases of coronavirus on board.
Passengers aboard that ship, the Diamond Princess in Japan, began disembarking Wednesday after a 14-day quarantine. A total of 624 cases of the virus are linked to the stricken ship.
Analysts say the coronavirus could take a financial toll on the industry, especially in China. If operators cancel cruises through March, JP Morgan predicts revenue could fall as much at 15%.
Shares for two of the biggest cruise operators — Royal Caribbean and Carnival — are down more than 16% and 14% this year, respectively.
The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention has calculated a case fatality rate of 2.3% for the novel coronavirus — meaning 2.3% of those known to be infected have died.
Some context: This is higher than influenza, which may hover around 0.1% — but far lower than SARS (9.6%) and MERS (35%).
And remember: International experts have cautioned that early numbers may not tell the whole story. Case fatality rates may come down as officials discover milder cases who don’t seek medical care.
The president of the company that owns the stricken cruise ship Diamond Princess greeted disembarking passengers in Tokyo on Wednesday, acknowledging that customers had endured a “challenging” situation following an outbreak of coronavirus on the vessel.
“This is an unprecedented situation,” Jan Swartz, President of Princess Cruises, said in an interview with CNN on Wednesday.
“Nobody going on vacation thinks that they’re going to be notified in the last days that they’ve got an extension … and they’re not going to be allowed to leave their cabins,” she added.
The Diamond Princess ship became a floating quarantine zone earlier this month. Dozens of passengers tested positive for the novel coronavirus, effectively trapping more than 3,000 people, including 428 Americans, on board.
A total of 624 confirmed cases of the coronavirus have been linked to the boat – the largest outbreak outside of China.
Swartz also specifically highlighted the actions of the ship’s crew. Japan’s government did not allow the roughly 1,000 crew members to be quarantined unless they took ill, instead asking them to work and serve the rest of the passengers throughout the two-week period.
“I think the guests and our crew who came together to help support each other, from 57 different countries and regions around the world really lifted each other’s hearts, as did social media play a critical role in that.”
“Our guests shared stories about living in the cabin for 14 days, clearly it was an uncomfortable, challenging situation,” Swartz added.
Even though the departing passengers have tested negative for the virus and endured the 14-day quarantine, there is mounting evidence from infectious disease experts that they could unknowingly be carrying the virus back into their communities.
On Monday, the United States evacuated more than 300 American passengers who had tested negative for the virus from the Diamond Princess, only to discover that more than a dozen of them were infected.
Canada, Australia and Hong Kong have arranged charter flights to take their citizens home after they leave the ship.
Princess Cruises, which operates a fleet of 20 ships, is the third largest cruise line in the world.
Because of the coronavirus outbreak onboard the Diamond Princess, the company has canceled dozens of sailings, and is moving one of its ships, the Sapphire Princess, from Shanghai to Australia.
Shares in Princess Cruises’ parent company Carnival Corporation are down nearly 16% for the year. Carnival said last week that the hit to global bookings and canceled voyages “will have a material impact” on its finances.
Carnival runs its flagship Carnival Cruise Line, the Princess Cruises brand and the Holland America Line, whose fleet includes the Westerdam, a ship that has been linked to one confirmed case of the coronavirus.
Passenger weeps after leaving cruise ship quarantine:
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a new travel advisory today for Hong Kong due to the coronavirus outbreak.
This is the only coronavirus-related travel advisory the agency has issued outside of mainland China.
The CDC advises travelers to “practice usual precautions,” in accordance with a “Watch - Level 1” notice of three possible levels.These precautions include avoiding contact with sick people and cleaning hands. The agency also advises people to seek medical advice if they have spent time in Hong Kong during the last two weeks and feel ill with fever or respiratory symptoms.
The agency currently lists mainland China as “Warning - Level 3” and advises travelers to “avoid nonessential travel.” The notice excludes Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
Scientists around the world are slamming and debunking conspiracy theories that the novel coronavirus has its origins not in animals, but in a Chinese laboratory, according to a statement published today in the medical journal The Lancet.
“We stand together to strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin,” wrote the 27 authors, citing studies from scientists in multiple countries that have analyzed the virus’ genetic makeup.
These studies “overwhelmingly conclude that this coronavirus originated in wildlife, as have so many other emerging pathogens.”
What this is about: CNN previously reported statements by Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas this week on Fox News saying that “this virus did not originate in the Wuhan animal market” and implying that it may have started in a laboratory not far away. “We don’t have evidence that this disease originated there … but we at least have to ask the question,” Cotton said.
Singapore’s Ministry of Health reported three new cases of the novel coronavirus today, bringing the nationwide total to 84 confirmed cases.
Here’s a look at the new cases:
The Chinese government announced today that it would revoke the press credentials of three Wall Street Journal reporters, the largest such expulsion of overseas media from the country in recent years.
What this is about: Chinese officials say the expulsion was due to an opinion piece the Wall Street Journal published earlier this month, entitled “China is the real sick man of Asia.” It criticized China’s initial reaction to the coronavirus epidemic and hypothesized what effect the outbreak might have on the country’s economy and political system.
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China (FCCC) — a group of journalists based in China — expressed “deep concern and strong condemnation” over the expulsion.
The group said China’s move “is an extreme and obvious attempt by the Chinese authorities to intimidate foreign news organizations by taking retribution against their China-based correspondents.”
“The expulsion of these three WSJ reporters is only the latest, and most alarming, measure authorities have taken.”
China has not expelled a foreign correspondent since 1998, according to the FCCC.
Here’s a look at where the cases are throughout the world, according to World Health Organization data.
These numbers may differ from those reported by national health authorities, who report updated totals at different times than the WHO.
Here’s a look at the situation on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
The case numbers here are from World Health Organization data that may differ from those reported by national health authorities, who report updated totals at different times to the WHO.
Scientists around the world are slamming and debunking conspiracy theories that the novel coronavirus has its origins not in animals, but in a Chinese laboratory, according to a statement published Wednesday in the medical journal The Lancet.
“We stand together to strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin,” wrote the 27 authors, citing studies from scientists in multiple countries that have analyzed the virus’ genetic makeup.
These studies “overwhelmingly conclude that this coronavirus originated in wildlife, as have so many other emerging pathogens.”
CNN previously reported statements by Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas this week on Fox News, who said “this virus did not originate in the Wuhan animal market” and implied it may have started in a laboratory not far away.
“We don’t have evidence that this disease originated there … but we at least have to ask the question,” Cotton said.
In the newly published statement, the scientists said: “Conspiracy theories do nothing but create fear, rumours, and prejudice that jeopardise our global collaboration in the fight against this virus.”
Iran has confirmed its first two cases of coronavirus, the country’s health ministry announced Wednesday.
“In the past two days we came across several suspicious cases of possible coronavirus in Qom. As soon soon as we received the reports our identification teams for contagious diseases were dispatched to Qom,” said health ministry spokesman Kianoosh Jahanpour in a statement.
“The suspicious cases were isolated according to protocol and medical samples taken. Several minutes ago the central laboratory confirmed that the result of the initial test of two of the suspect cases has come back positive for coronavirus,” he added.
The teams for contagious disease control are in Qom, a city located about 150 kilometers (93 miles) south of Tehran, the statement adds.
German sportswear giant Adidas released updated guidance Wednesday revealing its business activity in China has dropped 85% because of the novel coronavirus outbreak.
“Our business activity in Greater China has been around 85% below the prior year level since Chinese New Year on January 25,” said the company, adding that other markets such as Japan and South Korea have also seen a decline in traffic.
Adidas said their business in China performed strongly the first three weeks of the year, but since then there has been “a material negative impact” on operations due to the outbreak.
The company has shut down a significant number of stores – both own- and partner-operated – and has observed a pronounced traffic reduction within the remaining store fleet, according to the guidance.
Another big German sports firm, Puma, also warned warned about the impact of the virus on its bottom-line.
“After a good start into 2020, February has of course been negatively affected by the outbreak of COVID-19 [a name for the disease caused by the virus]. The business in China is currently heavily impacted due to the restrictions and safety measures implemented by the authorities,” the company said.
“Business in other markets, especially in Asia, is suffering from lower numbers of Chinese tourists.”
Both Adidas and Puma said it is impossible to forecast the overall impact of the virus at this point in time.
The second person to die from the novel coronavirus in Hong Kong was suffering from chronic diseases before catching the virus, health officials said Wednesday.
Dr. Lau Ka-Hin, Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority Chief Manager for Quality and Standards, said the second person who died was a 70-year-old male who was diagnosed on February 14.
He died on Wednesday morning local time at the Princess Margaret Hospital.
“His condition was not good before and his condition got worse this morning,” Dr. Lau said. He added the deceased patient suffered some “chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, his renal function was not in good order.”
More people from the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship tested positive for the novel coronavirus Wednesday, according to the Japanese Health Ministry.
The ministry said 79 new cases were confirmed, adding that 68 of the people were said to be asymptomatic.
The cases were taken from 607 samples on the cruise ship that has been docked in the Japanese port of Yokohama for two weeks.
In Japan, a total of 692 novel coronavirus cases have been confirmed, with 624 from the Diamond Princess and 68 outside the ship.
Roughly 800 passengers disembarked the vessel on Wednesday, Japanese health ministry officials told CNN. The official did not give the exact number.
Before the disembarkation, there were about 3,100 passengers and crew on board on Wednesday morning.
Among the remaining passengers are citizens of Canada, Australia, Italy and other nationalities who are due to fly back on chartered flights.
More than 300 Americans were evacuated over the weekend and are now in quarantine at two US bases.
Written by journalist Akanksha Sharma in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong has confirmed another new case of the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, taking the total to number of cases to 63, according to the city’s Department of Health and Hospital Authority.
The newly confirmed patient is 83-year-old female whose daughter and son-in-law were confirmed to have been infected with the novel coronavirus on February 15, the department said in a Wednesday news conference on Wednesday.
Dr. Chuang Shuk-kwan, Head of the Communicable Disease Branch of the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health said that the family had a meal together on January 29 and the patient’s daughter and son-in-law (57th and 60th case) developed symptoms on February 7 and 8.
On February 15, the 83-year-old had a fall, fractured her hip and was admitted to the orthopedic quarter of Tuen Mun Hospital, according to Dr. Chuang.
The following day she had a hip surgery and “as the doctor became aware of the confirmed cases of her daughter and her son-in-law, a test was performed and the test result came back positive today,” Dr. Chuang added.
Her husband has also been tested for the novel coronavirus and his test results are pending, Dr. Chuang said.
Christina Kerby is a passenger from the Westerdam, the cruise ship that was stuck at sea for days as fears of the coronavirus grew and several ports refused permission for the vessel to dock – even though no passenger had tested positive for the virus.
Kerby is now in a hotel in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, after Cambodia allowed the ship to dock, and waiting to hear if she and her mother will be able to get on a flight back home to the US.
“I’m a pragmatic person and I don’t want to rush things. I want those assurances along the way that it’s safe for me to travel,” she said. “I have been doing my best to make the best of it. We are in a beautiful 5-star hotel in Cambodia – there’s not much to complain about!”
Uncertainty over getting home
Throwing a spanner in the works is that on Saturday, one of the ship’s passengers tested positive for the coronavirus during a stopover in Malaysia. The 83-year-old American woman had been on the first charter flight taking 143 Westerdam passengers to Malaysia, from where they could fly home.
Westerdam passengers booked to leave today through Vietnam were rejected at the airport and returned back to the hotel. Kerby said her mother had a flight booked through Malaysia but when she arrived at the airport was told all travel had been halted.
The uncertainty is mounting and there is concern the window for getting on a flight could be closing.
Kerby, who has been posting regular updates about life onboard the ship on her Twitter feed, is optimistic.
“My hope is that the news today of the negative test results might open some doors for us rather than close them,” she said. “I am being cautiously optimistic that we are all healthy and I am pleased to have a health declaration saying I’ve tested negative for the virus. So I am trying to operate on facts here and hope for the best.”
Cambodian health officials confirmed on Wednesday that 781 passengers from the Westerdam had tested negative for the novel coronavirus.
Kerby said that she is following CDC advice and is self-monitoring. She said passengers were allowed to leave the hotel freely and some people have been moving around and seeing the city.
A wild journey
Of her reception in Cambodia, after more than 10 days stuck at sea, Kerby said it was “phenomenal.”
“Every Cambodian I’ve met has been warm and welcoming … such gracious hosts and hospitality,” she said.
She also said the Westerdam crew “are single handedly responsible for keeping our spirits up.”
“They were going through this with us, they were facing the same fear. And I never once saw a crew member not smile, not greet me warmly, not share a joke,” she said.
However, Kerby said she has faced stigma on social media and has been “exposed to a lot of hurtful comments” because “there is a perception and fear that I am contagious,” she told CNN.
“None of us feel like our lives will ever be the same again. And it’s actually a positive thing. It’s given us a new sense of community … it’s opened my eyes to other parts of the world that I never would have seen,” she said.
