Turkey and Pakistan close borders with Iran after eight deaths, while in northern Italy towns are on lockdown after jump in cases
Here’s Angela Giuffrida, Patrick Wintour and Sam Jones’s roundup of today’s coronavirus developments across the globe.
Four of the 32 British and Irish Diamond Princess cruise ship passengers taken to Arrowe Park, Merseyside on Saturday have tested positive for coronavirus strain Covid-19, the chief medical officer for England has said.
Prof Chris Whitty said: “Four further patients in England have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of cases in the UK to 13.
We are pausing the live blog now but will update it again is there are more major developments. There have been a lot of updates today in terms of how the coronavirus is spreading and what measures are being taken to stop it.
Here is a summary of the main points.
The European Union sees “no need to panic” over a coronavirus outbreak in Italy that has killed two people and infected more than 100 in the country.
The bloc’s economic affairs commissioner, Paolo Gentiloni, said: “The EU has full confidence in the Italian authorities and the decisions they are taking.”
Venice carnival will close early this year due to concerns about the coronavirus, which has spread in northern Italy. Below is a photograph of a police officer wearing a protective face mask and standing next to a masked carnival reveller at the event.
The Bank of Japan governor, Haruhiko Kuroda, has said that if the virus outbreak persists it may have a big impact on Japan and global economies through supply chain disruptions.
France should produce more vital goods, such as drugs and electric batteries, as the coronavirus outbreak highlights the danger of relying on imports from China, the country’s finance minister said.
Bruno Le Maire spoke to Reuters on Sunday as the virus spread in Europe, with Italy particularly affected.
The Irish singer Rebecca Harkin is among those who have been evacuated from the Coronavirus-stricken Diamond Princess.
The musician is now in quarantine in Australia. She and her partner were working as musicians on the ship and were evacuated to Australia along with many others. They will spend two weeks in quarantine in Darwin.
Pakistan has closed its land border with Iran, as Afghanistan suspends travel to the neighbouring country amid concerns about the growing numbers of people being infected by new coronavirus.
“To prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus and protect the public, Afghanistan suspends all passenger movement (air and ground) to and from Iran,” the office of the National Security Council of Afghanistan said in a statement posted on Twitter.
To prevent the spread of the novel #coronavirus and protect the public, Afghanistan suspends all passenger movement (air and ground) to and from Iran. The suspension also includes the import of poultry products (eggs and chicken) from Iran and Pakistan. #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/wfV5f5FaDD
Health authorities said that 18 of the 39 South Koreans from the south-eastern region who had made a group pilgrimage to sites in Israel later tested positive for the virus.
Israel’s foreign ministry issued added warnings about travel to South Korea and Japan due to the coronavirus, and the health ministry is ordering Israelis returning from those countries to remain in home quarantine. This was previously ordered for those returning from Hong Kong, China, Macau, Thailand and Singapore.
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, will be adding additional restrictions on entry to Israel from countries including Australia and Japan.
Iran has seen the lowest parliamentary election turnout since 1979, with senior figures blaming the new coronavirus outbreak.
“The turnout across the country was 42.57% ... In Tehran, it was around 25%. Across Iran, over 24 million people voted,” interior minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli told a televised news conference.
Giuseppe Conte says cases of the the Covid-19 virus in Italy have risen dramatically in the past two days. The prime minister told a press conference Italy would not try and suspend the Schengen treaty as such a draconian measure would be disproportionate.
Schools in Milan will be closed, however, and people will not be allowed in and out of affected areas. Social and sporting events in Lombardy and Veneto have also been cancelled.
The virus can be spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Hand-washing is a first line of defence
Related: How to protect yourself from coronavirus
Here is a roundup of the areas where cases of Covid-19, the virus’s official designation, have been confirmed:
China: 77,000 people have been infected and 2,442 have died.
Turkey will close its border with Iran as a precautionary measure to halt the possible spread of coronavirus.
It comes after reports emerged of 43 cases of the disease in Iran, with eight deaths – the highest death toll outside of China.
The Japanese government faces growing questions about whether it is doing enough to counter the coronavirus, after 773 cases were announced by early Sunday evening.
Most of the infected people were from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which was quarantined near Tokyo. A third passenger from the ship – a Japanese man in his 80s – died on Sunday.
Jordan will not allow entry to citizens of China, Iran and South Korea and other foreigners travelling from those countries in response to the deadly coronavirus outbreak.
The minister of state for media affairs, Amjad Adayleh, said the decision was part of “pre-emptive measures ... following the rise in cases of coronavirus in South Korea, Iran” and China.
Milan fashion week has also been affected by the outbreak. Giorgio Armani, whose show was scheduled for 4pm on Sunday afternoon, announced on Saturday night that guests should not come to the venue. Instead, the collection would be shown to an empty room.
On Sunday, the head of the civil protection department, Angelo Borrelli, said during a press conference that thousands of beds were at the ready in military barracks or hotels to house quarantined or sick individuals, if needed.
The number of those infected with the virus had now grown to 132, including the two people who died, Borrelli said.
Italians across the country’s north prepared for weeks of quarantine on Sunday as lockdown measures hit tens of thousands.
More than 100 cases have now been reported in Italy, with two deaths from the virus since Friday.
The coronavirus is communist China’s “biggest health emergency”, said president Xi Jinping.
The virus has killed over 2,400 people and Xi Jinping said Sunday that it was necessary to learn from “obvious shortcomings exposed” during China’s response.
Some 118 people flown out of Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of the outbreak, were leaving Kents Hill Park training and conference centre in Milton Keynes on Sunday for the first time in 14 days.
The group, who were brought back to Britain earlier this month, included about 10 children and a family of four.
As the final group flown from Wuhan leave supported isolation in Milton Keynes today, they must be commended for their patience and perseverance.
All 118 are in good health and pose no risk to the public – and this is thanks to the dedicated team of healthcare professionals and other staff who have worked round the clock to keep each and every one of them safe and supported.
The guests from Kents Hill Park Hotel are leaving today, and I’d like to thank them for the very responsible compliance they have shown during their time in self-isolation.
In the upcoming weeks, more of us may need to spend time at home to reduce the spread of the virus, and those in Milton Keynes have set the best example of how to self-isolate, while remaining calm and patient in what must have been a difficult situation.
The final two days of the Venice Carnival have been cancelled because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The head of the Veneto region, Luca Zaia, said on Sunday that the event, which draws tourists from around the world, would no longer continue on Monday and Tuesday after more than 100 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Italy.
Despite a decline in cases from China it is “extremely concerning” to see developments elsewhere, experts have said.
Prof Paul Hunter from the University of East Anglia (UEA), said: “The dramatic increase in case in South Korea most of which are associated with a religious sect has been unprecedented so far in the epidemic. Although far less dramatic Japan is the country with most cases after China and South Korea and is also experiencing a growing epidemic.”
China’s president said measures to deal with the coronavirus outbreak have been effective, but the battle is still at a crucial stage.
On Sunday, state TV quoted Xi Jinping as saying the situation is showing a positive trend after arduous efforts but remains serious and complex.
More than 100 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Italy, as numbers continued to rise on Sunday following government measures to limit the spread of the outbreak. Here’s a selection of photos from the northern region, which has been worst hit.
The worst-affected areas in Italy are Lombardy – home to Italy’s financial capital, Milan – and Veneto, Italy’s industrial heartland
What’s happening and where? The World Health Organization (WHO) is worried about the number of cases with no clear link – including those with no travel history to China or contact with a confirmed case.
However, the total number of cases outside China remains relatively small, WHO’s director general said on Saturday. It added that there have been more than 1,200 cases in 26 countries.
Iran has confirmed eight deaths from the the new coronavirus, with the number infected rising to 43.
Most of the infections have been in Qom. The health minister, Saeed Namaki, urged people to avoid travelling to the city, a major site for Shia pilgrims 75 miles (120km) south of the capital, Tehran.
The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Italy had reached 115.
The governor of the Lombardy region, Attilio Fontana, said that there were 89 cases in his region, most of which had popped up in small towns in the countryside.
Government reports show nine patients in England have tested positive for coronavirus. As of 22 February, a total of 6,152 people have been tested – the government said – of which 6,143 were confirmed negative and nine positive.
The Department of Health and Social Care will be publishing updated data here every day at 2pm.
An evacuee released from a two-week coronavirus quarantine centre has said it is “fantastic” to be allowed to return home.
Some 118 people flown out of Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of the outbreak, were leaving Kents Hill Park training and conference centre in Milton Keynes on Sunday for the first time in 14 days.
Parts of Iran face lockdown in an attempt to control the spread of coronavirus that has now claimed eight lives and led to 43 infections in the country.
“If the situation gets any worse city staff will be expected to convert to teleworkers,” said Pirouz Hanachi, the mayor of Tehran, Iran’s capital.
More than 100 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Italy, as numbers continued to rise on Sunday following government measures to limit the spread of the outbreak.
The governor of Italy’s northern Lombardy region, Attilio Fontana, said cases of the illness in his area had risen in a day from 54 to 89, with total cases in the country now at more than 100.
In an emergency decree approved late on Saturday – just hours after two people died – the government adopted special powers to be able to stop people leaving or entering the worst impacted zones.
With the confirmed cases of Coronavirus in Italy at 79, focused in the north of the country, Milan’s fashion week is being affected by the outbreak.
Giorgio Armani, whose show was scheduled for 4pm on Sunday afternoon, announced on Saturday night that guests should not come to the venue. Instead, the collection would be shown to an empty room.
Britons in Cambodia who left another cruise ship, the Westerdam, and who have been cleared for travel, are also being assisted by the Foreign Office to make their way home. All have tested negative after one case was diagnosed onboard.
In an effort to help stop the spread of the virus in the UK, the health service is piloting home testing, where NHS staff, including nurses and paramedics, will visit people in their homes.
As dozens of evacuees from a the coronavirus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship begin their two-week quarantine in the UK, more than 100 others rescued from China are due to be released from isolation.
Thirty-two people, who spent more than two weeks on the cruise ship off the coast of Japan, are settling in at an accommodation block at Arrowe Park hospital on the Wirral – their home for the next 14 days.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has accused foreign media of trying to use the outbreak of coronavirus in Iran to discourage people from voting in a general election.
This negative propaganda began a few months ago and grew larger approaching the election and in the past two days, under the pretext of an illness and a virus, their media did not miss the slightest opportunity to discourage people from voting,” said Khamenei on his official website. [Our enemies] are even opposed to any election by the Iranian people”.
Iran shut schools, universities and cultural centres across 14 provinces from Sunday following five deaths in the Islamic Republic, the first in the Middle East.
Iran’s outbreak surfaced on Wednesday and quickly grew to 28 confirmed infections.
The Chinese authorities are encouraging citizens to return to work, a month after announcing the unprecedented quarantine of millions of people.
Authorities are caught between urgent need to restart economy and efforts to contain virus.
The French health minister, Olivier Véran, said new cases of coronavirus were “very likely” in France and health authorities were ready in case of an epidemic.
“Today, there is only one infected patent in France, who is hospitalised in Lyon. His health condition is not worrying. All the others, apart from an 80-year old man who died, were released cured and are not contagious,” Véran said in an interview with Le Parisien/Aujourdhui en France-Dimanche newspaper.
The number of cases of the new coronavirus in Italy’s Lombardy region has risen to 89, the governor of the region, Attilio Fontana, said on Sunday. That brings the total number of cases in the country to more than 100, Fontana said, speaking on Sky TV.
Asked on Friday if the new cases put the crisis at a tipping point, the World Health Organization director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the “window of opportunity is narrowing, so we need to act quickly before it closes completely”.
My colleagues Sarah Boseley, Hannah Devlin and Martin Belam have answered questions on the virus. Here are a selection of them, including whether we should panic:
In South Korea’s fourth-biggest city, Daegu, 90 new cases were confirmed on Sunday, bringing the city’s total to 247.
More than half of the people confirmed to have been infected are either members of – or connected to – the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a secretive religious sect with a strong presence in Daegu.
A repatriation flight carrying 32 Britons and Europeans from the coronavirus-infected cruise ship Diamond Princess landed in the UK on Saturday – amid growing fears for the welfare of some UK passengers left behind in Japan.
Related: Passengers from coronavirus-hit cruise ship Diamond Princess land in UK
President Moon Jae-in said South Korea was raising its alert level on the new coronavirus to the “highest” in the face of a sudden spike in the number of infections.
“The Covid-19 incident faces a grave turning point. The next few days will be crucial,” Moon said following a government meeting.
A dozen towns in northern Italy in effect went into lockdown on Saturday after the deaths of two people infected with the coronavirus from China.
In some Lombardy and Veneto towns, schools, businesses and restaurants have closed. The mayor of Milan, Italy’s business capital and the regional capital of Lombardy, shuttered public offices.
Related: Coronavirus: northern Italian towns close schools and businesses
Welcome to this morning’s coronavirus live blog. I will be here to give you updates on the latest news throughout the day.
A summary of the news on Sunday:
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