▶️ Mainland China has recorded 5,090 more cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing the global total to 64,435. The death toll from the coronavirus has now risen to at least 1,486 globally.
▶️ There are at least 585 confirmed cases of coronavirus in more than 25 countries and territories outside mainland China. A Japanese woman in her 80s is the third person to die of the virus outside mainland China.
▶️ CDC confirms 15th US case in evacuee under quarantine at Texas military base. The U.S. has evacuated and quarantined more than 800 Americans from Wuhan since the outbreak started last month; 600 are still in federal quarantine facilities.
▶️ CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield says coronavirus could stay in US through this year and beyond. He said it could become a disease like the seasonal flu, the “only difference is we don’t understand this virus.”
▶️ A 50-year-old Indian man hangs himself after mistakenly believing he had coronavirus. Despite the doctors’ assurances, Krishna began watching videos on the virus on his mobile phone and became convinced that he had been infected. He feared he would put his family in harm’s way.
▶️ A senior health official in Wuhan, China, the center of the outbreak, has called on residents who have recovered from the coronavirus to donate blood plasma, believing their naturally produced antibodies could be used to treat patients who are still sick.
▶️ Several top Chinese officials were removed from their posts Thursday, including the Communist Party chiefs of Hubei and Wuhan, in a show of Beijing’s dissatisfaction with the local response to the crisis.
▶️ China’s National Health Commission revises down death toll after “duplication”.
▶️ Hundreds of frontline medics in China likely infected with coronavirus.
▶️ A group of US evacuees who were taken out of the coronavirus epicenter in Wuhan last week and are now in quarantine have petitioned the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to test them as soon as possible. Two people who were evacuated have already been diagnosed with the virus and sent into isolation.
▶️ Japanese minister visits quarantined cruise ship with largest coronavirus outbreak outside China. Japan announces $140 million to combat the coronavirus.
▶️ Philippines florist sells coronavirus-prevention bouquets for Valentine’s Day.
▶️ Bank of Japan warns coronavirus could hurt the country’s economy.
▶️ Royal Caribbean warns cruise cancellations in Asia to shave 2020 profit by 65 cents.
▶️ The United States does “not have high confidence in the information coming out of China” regarding the count of coronavirus cases, a senior administration official told CNBC’s . The official also noted that China “continues to rebuff American offers of assistance.” The New York Times reported last week that Chinese authorities had shown little interest in accepting help from the U.S.
▶️ China’s city of Huanggang, near the epicenter of the outbreak of the coronavirus, said that starting from Friday it would tighten epidemic control measures including sealing residential complexes and only allowing essential vehicles on roads. Food and the delivery of other essential goods will be arranged by designated personnel, the city said in a statement.
Photo by Alex Plavevski/EPA, via Shutterstock
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