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South Korea confirmed three new deaths and 438 additional cases of the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, according to the South Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).
The three deaths bring the nation’s death toll to 35, and the latest cases bring the total number of infections to 5,766, according to the KCDC.
Among the 438 new cases, 320 are from Daegu city where the outbreak has been concentrated. In total, 4,326 cases have been from Daegu, with many of them linked to the Shincheonji religious group.
Another 87 of the new cases are from North Gyeongsang Province, which surrounds Daegu.
Around 90% of the nation’s cases are from Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province.
Malaysia confirmed 14 more cases of the novel coronavirus, Malaysia’s Director General of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah announced in a tweet Thursday morning, local time.
The latest numbers bring the country’s total to 50 cases.
The director general said out of the 50 confirmed cases, 28 are still receiving treatment in public hospitals.
There are 158 cases of the novel coronavirus in the United States, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as state and local governments.
According to the CDC, there are 49 cases from repatriated citizens. According to CNN Health’s tally of US cases that are detected and tested in the United States through US public health systems, there are 109 cases in 14 states.
This brings the total number of coronavirus cases in the US to 158.
This includes presumptive positive cases that tested positive in a public health lab and are pending confirmation from the CDC, and confirmed cases have received positive results from the CDC.
Here is how a virus spreads:
The House will have an all-members briefing on the coronavirus response effort Thursday morning at 9:15 a.m. ET in the Capitol Visitors Center auditorium, according to two Democratic aides.
Among those expected in attendance are Secretary Alex Azar, US Department of Health and Human Services, Ken Cuccinelli, acting deputy secretary, US Department of Homeland Security and Dr. William Walters, Bureau of Medical Services, U.S. Department of State.
There are 11 passengers and 10 crew members on the Grand Princess cruise ship that are “symptomatic,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a press conference today.
The ship, which is currently off the coast, is holding hundreds of passengers, Newsom said.
The ship, which departed from San Francisco to Mexico from February 10-21, returned to San Francisco and left for Hawaii on February 21.
Over 50% of the 2,500 passengers from the cruise to Mexico are Californians, Newsom said. Some of these passengers stayed and went on the second cruise to Hawaii on the same ship.
They are sharing the list of passengers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and local health care partners to contact all individuals who were on the cruise ship.
The Senate is scheduled to vote on coronavirus funding at 1:45 p.m. ET tomorrow.
The House passed the $8.3 billion coronavirus response package this afternoon in an effort to send billions of dollars to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.
The measure passed with broad bipartisan support. The vote was 415 to 2 with just two Republicans voting against the measure; Andy Biggs, the chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, and Ken Buck.
The legislation was formally unveiled this afternoon after lawmakers worked to hammer out a package to respond to the outbreak. The funding package is far higher than the $2.5 billion the White House requested. Despite that, however, the White House is expected to back the deal.
A coronavirus vaccine won’t be widely available for a long time, several top pharmaceutical executives said Wednesday.
Early stage clinical trials likely won’t start until the end of the year or in 2021, they said, cautioning that vaccines for previous viral outbreaks, such as SARS and Zika, never made it “over the finish line.”
“So that’s why we are cautioning people not to overpromise on the timeline of the vaccine availability,” she said, adding that preventing the future spread of coronavirus will take “more than a year and potentially longer than that,” Gerberding said.
President Trump is pushing drug makers to develop vaccines swiftly, asking pharmaceutical executives on Monday if it could ready in the next few months. His comments came days after Dr. Tony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said a vaccine would hopefully be ready if the virus returns next year.
Johnson & Johnson will likely start phase one trials by the end of this year and begin larger-scale trials next year, said Paul Stoffels, the drug maker’s chief scientific officer.
Some outbreaks, such as Zika, disappear while vaccines are still in the clinical trial stage, Stoffels said.
Big money: Drug makers will likely get federal funding to help develop coronavirus vaccines, testing and treatment. The House of Representative on Wednesday passed a $7.8 billion spending package that includes more than $3 billion for such efforts.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
The proclamation is to help advance resources to help California prepare for a broader spread of the virus.
Newsom said during today’s press conference that the proclamation “is not about money, it’s about resourcefulness.”
“Money is not the issue,” Newsom added.
He also explained that the proclamation will loosen up regulatory environment, provide clarity, will also allow the state to preempt local land use. It will also help jurisdiction share information and data, advantageous to address the spread, Newsom said.
What is happening in California: Over 9,400 people are being monitored by 49 jurisdictions, Newsom said. It was previously reported that 8,400 people were being monitored.
The Grand Princess cruise ship that was scheduled to arrive in San Francisco this evening has been delayed, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in a press conference today.
The ship is currently off the coast and its arrival has been delayed to provide an opportunity for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the US Coast Guard and state health officials to conduct tests on the ship as there are a number of passengers and crew members that have developed symptoms of the coronavirus, Newsom said.
These groups and organizations are flying test kits to the cruise ship and the samples will subsequently be sent to the state’s public health lab in Richmond for testing, according to Newsom.
A semi-truck carrying toilet paper caught fire and erupted into flames in Brisbane, Australia, late Wednesday night.
A spokesperson for the Queensland Fire and Emergency confirmed to CNN that “the truck was carrying toilet paper.” The spokesperson added that firefighters were able to contain the fire upon arrival.
Why this matters: Bulk-buying has struck Australia as fears of shortages caused by the coronavirus outbreak continue to cause worried shoppers to stock up on basic necessities such as toilet paper.
On Wednesday, major Australian supermarket chain Woolworths announced that customers would only be allowed to purchase four packs of toilet paper per each customer transaction in order to “ensure more customers have access to the product.”
British Columbia announced its 13th case of novel coronavirus today, bringing Canada’s total number to 34.
The latest case is a woman in her 80s, who recently returned from traveling to India and Hong Kong, according to Dr. Bonnie Henry, British Columbia’s provincial health officer.
Henry said the woman has had a severe illness and is currently in critical condition in isolation in the intensive care unit at Vancouver General Hospital.
Across the country: The 34 cases in Canada now include 20 in Ontario, 13 in British Columbia and one in Quebec.
Santa Clara County in Northern California has three new cases of the novel coronavirus, the county’s public health department confirmed on its website today.
One case is from an adult male who is currently hospitalized, exposure details are under investigation. The other two cases, both adult males, are close contacts of an existing case. Both are in isolation at home, according to Santa Clara County’s Public Health Department.
By the numbers: There are now 14 cases in Santa Clara County.
California has 36 cases, including one death.
King County, Washington, is still finalizing its purchase of a motel in Kent to serve as an isolation facility for coronavirus patients.
The exact timetable for bringing in patients was not clear this afternoon, as a CNN journalist saw private customers still being checked in at the 85-room Econo Lodge.
“As you can see, it’s still operating, and we’re going to be working on that within the next few days,” county spokesperson Chase Gallagher said.
Gallagher said the primary benefit to the facility the county is buying is that the rooms have their own individual heating and air systems which would avoid contamination across rooms that could be caused by a shared climate control unit. Additionally, there are no shared hallways, as all rooms open to the outside, Gallagher said.
The county is still working out what will happen to the staff currently at the Econo Lodge, although leaders say they hope to find funding to hire up to 11 of the current employees.
Along with improvements to the motel and taking over a property lease, the total cost of operating it as an isolation facility could be $5.5 million dollars, according to a release from King County. The money is expected to come from the county’s contingency fund.
In addition to the motel, County Executive Dow Constantine announced today they will be using temporary modular units set up in three communities around Seattle for coronavirus quarantine.
Health officials in New Zealand have confirmed a third case of the novel coronavirus.
The country’s Ministry of Health said that the new positive test result came through on Wednesday evening local time, according to a statement. No further information was provided.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said an investigation is underway to find close contacts of the latest positive case. Ardern added that “basic public health is what is going to get New Zealand through.”
Japan recorded 33 new cases of coronavirus on Wednesday, its biggest one-day increase so far, according to data released by its Ministry of Health.
The country’s total now stands at 1,023 cases, of which 706 are from the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention is working with the California Health Department to investigate another cruise ship with confirmed coronavirus cases, according to CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield at a White House press briefing tonight.
The ship under investigation, the Grand Princess, is getting ready to dock in San Francisco after a “small cluster” of coronavirus cases were traced back to the ship’s previous voyage, according to a statement from Princess Cruises.
The statement recommends previous passengers experiencing symptoms of acute respiratory illness with fever, chills or cough to contact a doctor.
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Vice President Mike Pence will hold a meeting with leaders of the cruise ship industry on Saturday to discuss the coronavirus, according to remarks he made this afternoon during a Coronavirus Task Force briefing.
“There are unique challenges, our experts tell us, in a closed environment” like a cruise ship, Pence said, adding that the group will “talk about best practices.”
Pence also praised Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who, he said, has “been providing strong leadership for the state,” as well as the state’s public health officials.
Asked whether there will be additional restrictions on travel, Pence said, “At this time they’re not recommending that the President impose additional travel advisories or restrictions… We’re going to follow the data on that very closely.”
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The health department in King County, Washington, confirms that one of the nine novel coronavirus deaths reported in its county was a resident of Life Care Center in Kirkland.
This is the sixth resident of that nursing home to die in the coronavirus outbreak.
A health department statement describes the latest victim as a woman in her 90s who died on Tuesday at EvergreenHealth in Kirkland.
By the numbers: As of Wednesday afternoon, there are 11 total US deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus; 10 in Washington state and one in California.
There are more than 100 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the US as of Wednesday, including domestic cases and Americans who have returned from China or the Diamond Princess cruise ship, Vice President Mike Pence said this afternoon during a press briefing.
Pence insisted that the American public’s risk of contracting the novel coronavirus “remains low” while stressing that there is “no need for Americans to buy masks.”
However, Pence said, “It does appear that the elderly are the most vulnerable, and especially those with serious health issues,” something both Ambassador Deborah Birx and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, echoed.
As a result, the administration is releasing new guidelines for the nation’s nursing homes.
For the foreseeable future, Pence said, the administration will “focus all of our inspection resources… on compliance with infection control standards,” meaning that inspectors who monitor for abuse and neglect at nursing homes will focus “exclusively” on making sure the facilities are complying with these new standards.
Seema Verma, an administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said there were three memos released today: one for hospitals on triaging patients with coronavirus symptoms, one with information for nursing homes about limiting visitors and monitoring staff and another to state nursing home surveyors.
Pence also noted that his meeting with lab industry representatives “gave us great hope for great progress” on expanding testing across the country.
Working together: The labs have created a consortium to share information and resources. Pence also said it has been conveyed to state governments that all state laboratories and university labs at the state level can conduct coronavirus tests without additional assets or resources from the federal government.
Pence noted that “many members of the task force” will be traveling with him to Minnesota and Washington state for meetings with representatives from 3M and Gov. Jay Inslee, respectively.
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