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The number of confirmed cases in Switzerland has increased to four, the Swiss health ministry has said.
At least one of the new cases is linked to the outbreak in northern Italy.
A person from the canton of Geneva and two people in the canton of Graubünden have tested positive for the new coronavirus. The person in the canton of Geneva returned to Switzerland from the region of Milan a few days ago. All three are being treated in hospital in an isolation unit. Their health condition is good. The number of cases in Switzerland that have tested positive has therefore risen to four ...
In view of the rising number of confirmed cases around the world, and particularly in northern Italy, it is likely that further cases will occur in Switzerland. The medical services are well prepared to identify and deal with suspected cases and treat further patients.
There is no reason why schools should currently be closing due to fears about coronavirus, a government minister has said after some shut their doors following travel abroad by staff and pupils.
The housing secretary, Robert Jenrick, also indicated that England rugby fans should still proceed with plans to attend the Six Nations fixture with Italy in Rome on Saturday week despite speculation that it may be cancelled.
Related: Coronavirus: no reason to close schools for now, minister says
Covid-19 fears have driven European stock markets down to a fresh four-month low this morning.
Related: FTSE 100 plunges again as Trump fails to reassure investors - business live
The latest two cases in the UK are among people who have travelled to Italy and Tenerife. The patients are being treated in Liverpool and London.
The chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, said:
The virus was passed on in Italy and Tenerife and the patients have been transferred to specialist NHS infection centres in Royal Liverpool Hospital and the Royal Free Hospital, London.
Two more patients in England have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of UK cases to 15, according to the the Department of Health and Social Care.
Update on #coronavirus:
Two further patients in England have tested positive for #COVID19, bringing the total number of UK cases to 15.
Patients have been transferred to specialist NHS infection centres.
More info:
▶️https://t.co/NIDom2yqyM pic.twitter.com/aoWIuKR7Ps
The number of confirmed cases in South Korea has increased by 171 (more than 10%) from 1,595 to 1,766, according to the Yonhap news agency.
(URGENT) S. Korea reports 171 more cases of new coronavirus, total now at 1,766 https://t.co/bLdmx18fCR
Saudi Arabia has banned travel to the holiest sites in Islam over virus fears, AP reports.
The extraordinary decision by Saudi Arabia stops foreigners from reaching the holy city of Mecca and the Kaaba, the cube-shaped structure the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims pray toward five times a day.
The decision also affected travel to Prophet Muhammad’s mosque in Medina. Authorities also suspended entry to the kingdom to those with tourist visas from nations affected by the new virus.
The official death toll from covid-19 cases in Iran has increased to 22 people, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. It also confirmed 141 cases of the virus, a day after officials imposed travel restrictions and a suspension of Friday prayers.
آمار رسمی کرونا در ایران | پنجشنبه ساعت ١٠:٠٠
٨ اسفند ١٣٩٨ pic.twitter.com/vyiONa6lFh
The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Kuwait now has leapt from 26 to 43, according to a health ministry official.
The official said that all the cases involved people who had been to Iran, Reuters reports.
Updated advice from the Department for Education tells schools not to send pupils home unless they have had contact with a confirmed case of covid-19. The update comes after at least 13 schools closed amid accusations of inconsistent and conflicting advice.
The advice says:
Currently there are minimal cases outside the risk areas and therefore the likelihood of an individual coming into contact with a confirmed case is low.
There is no need to advise any of these pupils, student or staff to avoid normal activities or educational settings unless they have had contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19.
AP has the latest breakdown of confirmed cases and deaths from the virus:
Mainland China: 2,744 deaths among 78,497 cases, mostly in the central province of Hubei
Hong Kong: 81 cases, 2 deaths
Macao: 10 cases
South Korea: 1,595 cases, 13 deaths
Japan: 894 cases, including 705 from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, 7 deaths
Italy: 447 cases, 12 deaths
Iran: 139 cases, 19 deaths
Singapore: 93
United States: 60
Thailand: 40
Taiwan: 32 cases, 1 death
Bahrain: 33
Australia: 23
Malaysia: 22
Kuwait: 26
France: 17 cases, 2 deaths
Germany: 21
Vietnam: 16
United Arab Emirates: 13
United Kingdom: 13
Spain: 12
Canada: 12
Russia: 5
Iraq: 6
Oman: 4
Philippines: 3 cases, 1 death
India: 3
Croatia: 3
Israel: 2
Pakistan: 2
Finland: 2
Austria: 2
Lebanon: 2
Egypt: 1
Algeria: 1
Afghanistan: 1
Greece: 1
North Macedonia: 1
Georgia: 1
Estonia: 1
Belgium: 1
Romania: 1
Nepal: 1
Sri Lanka: 1
Cambodia: 1
Sweden: 2
Norway: 1
Denmark: 1
Switzerland: 1
Brazil 1
I’ll be handing over this blog shortly to my colleagues in London. Here’s a quick summary of the latest developments:
#BREAKING: China is confident that it will put the #COVID19 outbreak under control by the end of April, leading #COVID19 expert Zhong Nanshan said Thursday at a press conference. pic.twitter.com/P4K5dYK3Qi
Another case linked to Iran: Iraq has confirmed its sixth case of coronavirus, in a young Iraqi man in Baghdad who had traveled from Iran, the health ministry said today.
Stocks in Asia are headed for their worst week for two years after more heavy losses on Thursday (all except mainland China shares):
So Asia Pac stocks are now headed for the worst weekly loss in two years and we're not even through with Thursday pic.twitter.com/WA53gEHqh4
North Korea, which has reported no cases of Covid-19, has postponed the start of the new school term.
North Korea postpones new school term to prevent the spread of the #coronavirus as the ill-equipped country ramps up efforts to prevent a devastating outbreakhttps://t.co/VHvbQJDmDG
Kim Won Jin pic.twitter.com/lBWMtsRMol
“School breaks for students have been extended as a preventive measure against the infection,” the Korean Central Broadcasting Station reported, according to Yonhap news agency.
The measure would apply to daycares, kindergartens and universities, it said, without specifying when schools would reopen.
Denmark and Estonia have reported their first cases, according to local media.
The Danish man is reported to have recently returned from a skiing holiday in northern Italy. He has been put in isolation in his own home.
Chinese immigration authorities have said regions of the country which are at low risk for the virus should resume visa and passport services for foreign and domestic travellers.
They said this would help get the nation back to work, Reuters is reporting.
Some more detail from the AP on that new case in the US, which could be the first in the country with no known connection to travel abroad or another known case.
Health officials say this is a possible sign the virus is spreading in a US community.
California officials said the person is a resident of Solano County, northeast of San Francisco, and is getting medical care in Sacramento County. They said they have begun the process of tracking down people who the patient has been in contact with, a process known as contact tracing.
The patient was brought to UC Davis Medical Center from another Northern California hospital on 19 February but it was four days before the CDC heeded a request to test the patient for COVID-19, according to an email sent to employees Wednesday by the hospital’s interim CEO, Brad Simmons, and David Lubarsky, CEO of UC Davis Health.
In Australia, the Victorian health minister Jenny Mikakos says hospitals have reported racism toward both medical staff and patients as fears of coronavirus grow.
Mikakos told reporters at the Royal Children’s hospital in Melbourne on Thursday:
OK we have sought confirmation and the plan announced by Austalia’s government today is this one, written about by my colleague Ben Doherty earlier this week.
The emergency response plans says impact of the outbreak will be determined by:
Related: How will Australia respond if the coronavirus outbreak becomes a pandemic?
There’s a question on economic impacts.
“Obviously the impact of a breakdown in supply chains or travel or right across the many sectors, there will be an impact on the economy,” says Morrison.
Q: Will there be further extensions of the travel ban?
A: It’s being monitored weekly, says Morrison. “The advice we received today was that on the balance of risks, further travel bans were not recommended.”
Questions now, and the first one is: what does this plan mean in practical terms?
Hunt: “The position in relation to quarantine powers actually came with the activation of the biosecurity act and the chief medical officer’s declaration on January 21. What this does is it now moves to a full preparation phase for all of the supply chains, the medicines, we’re working on national inventories and the national medical stockpile.”
The health minister Greg Hunt is explaining that the declaration in January by the country’s chief health officer, that this was a disease of pandemic potential, triggered a series of actions in Australia, including the engagement of various state and national bodies like the national critical care and trauma centre (which usually runs responses and deployments to overseas natural disasters).
As a quick aside, Morrison says the travel ban for China will continue, and will be monitored weekly.
We are well into this announcement by Morrison that Australia is getting ahead of the World Health Organisation and is implementing a pandemic response plan, despite the WHO not declaring a pandemic.
He is yet to provide any detail of what this plan is, or how/if it will change anything for Australian people’s daily life.
While Morrison’s announcement has some sense of alarm to it, he is also reassuring people.
“There is no need for us to be moving to having mass gatherings of people stop. You the football and the cricket and play with your friends down the street, you can go after the concert and you can go out for a Chinese meal. You can do all of these things becauseAustralia has acted quickly, Australia has gone ahead of this at this point in time. But to stay ahead of it we need to now elevate our response to the next phase.”
The Australian Border Force commissioner will report to government “as possible on additional measures that would be required a tour various ports of entry to ensure we are able to identify any persons coming from wherever in the world that may require additional information in terms of being self quarantined or other forms of quarantine that may be necessary
The education minister will engage with state counterparts on the management of schools.
Australian prime minister Scott Morrison has announced the implementation of a Coronavirus emergency response plan.
“There is every indication the world will soon enter the pandemic phase of the virus,” he has just told reporters.
Australia’s health minister, Greg Hunt earlier told the country’s parliament that they were as well-prepared as anywhere else.
“The arc of the virus continues to expand,” he said, noting the growing list of countries diagnosing cases.
Via the AP, South Korea has followed China in expressing dismay at travel restrictions imposed by other countries.
About 40 nations and regions so far have prohibited or restricted South Korean visitors, according to Lee Lee Tae-ho, Seoul’s second vice minister of foreign affairs, who described such moves as excessive and said his government has been effectively utilising its world-best quarantine capabilities.
Hello and welcome to our continuing coverage of the coronavirus.
Here’s a quick summary of the latest developments. If you’re looking for more detail you can catch up with the earlier blog over here.
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