UK reports two new cases as outbreak spreads and losses on stock markets mount
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We’re now closing this live blog. You can follow the latest updates on our new live blog:
Here’s a recap of what has happened so far today:
Dr Michael Ryan, executive director of WHO health emergencies programme, said that no decision is impending on the fate of the Tokyo Olympics. He said:
My understanding is no decision will be taken in the near-term regarding the future of the Olympics ...
Everyone is working together to try to preserve what is a fantastic global event.
Tedros said the WHO is now more concerned about new cases outside China, especially the “epidemics” in Iran, Italy and South Korea.
He said:
It is what’s happening in the rest of the world – that’s now our greatest concern. Outside China, there are now 3,474 cases in 44 countries and 54 deaths. We’re at a decisive point. For the past two days, the number of new cases reported in the rest of the world has exceeded the number of new cases reported in China.
#COVID19 Feb. 27, 2020 - 14:15 GMT update
Daily new cases in China (excluding Hubei province) and the rest of the world
https://t.co/lH0XPJPtBe pic.twitter.com/SfBTS0IUFf
My message to each of these countries is, this is your window of opportunity. If you act aggressively now, you can contain this virus, you can prevent people getting sick, you can save lives.
The World Health Organization has urged people to keep calm, saying that ministers across the world need to be able to answer questions on how they are preparing to halt the spread of the virus.
The WHO’s message continues to be that the virus “has pandemic potential” and it is helping every country to prepare.
The New York Times has some alarming detail about the first person-to-person transmission of Covid-19 within the United States (see earlier).
A California coronavirus patient had to wait days to be tested because of restrictive federal criteria, despite doctors’ suggestions.
Doctors at the University of California, Davis, Medical Center considered the novel pathogen a possible diagnosis when the person was first admitted last week.
But the federal agency that conducts the testing did not administer the test until days later because the case did not fit the agency’s narrow testing criteria, university officials said in a letter to the campus community.
The consumer healthcare giant Reckitt Benckiser (RB) says the coronavirus outbreak has helped to drive greater demand for its Dettol and Lysol hygiene products.
A man from Derbyshire who travelled to the H10 hotel in Tenerife for four nights has confirmed that British guests are desperate to return to the UK to avoid contracting the disease.
“None of the Brits staying here feel safe”, he told PA.
“We have been told to stay in our rooms but the hotel has no way of enforcing it. We have a WhatsApp group for all of the Brits and we don’t feel safe. We think this is going to end up worse than that ship [the Diamond Princess].
“I don’t think confusion would be the right word to describe it – they are just not able to enforce quarantine conditions. People are able to walk around the buildings and some are even going in the pool. People are walking about and interacting with each other and not wearing masks. They served a buffet-style dinner last night, and people were milling about without masks, touching utensils – the virus is bound to spread.
Streets and shops in Codogno in northern Italy have been left eerily empty after the town was placed under lockdown due to the new coronavirus outbreak. The virus has so far killed 14 people in Italy, and cases across the country had reached 528.
Italian churches are stepping up measures to contain the spread of coronavirus, calling on priests not to distribute holy communion wafers directly on to worshippers’ tongues and urging congregations to avoid exchanging handshakes during mass.
The Catholic archdiocese of Messina in Sicily made the recommendations in response to the rapid rise in infections in Italy.
Related: Coronavirus: Italy's priests told to take steps to stop spread at mass
The number of patients infected with coronavirus in Iran has risen to 245, with 26 deaths, according to Kianoush Jahanpour, a spokesman of the Iranian Health Ministry.
He added that 106 new cases of coronavirus-positive patients had been diagnosed since Wednesday noon, voicing regret that seven of them had passed away.
Number of Coronavirus-Positive Patients in Iran Increases to 245, Deaths to 26https://t.co/yAcHKpxXTT pic.twitter.com/kmE81u3VS2
Insurers and travel companies should not be asking people for GP letters to get holiday refunds for trips they cannot go on due to the coronavirus.
The Royal College of GPs said it had heard reports of businesses asking for GP letters in order for people to cancel holidays due to Covid-19.
Prof Martin Marshall, the chair of the Royal College of GPs, said:
Insurers and travel companies should be basing their decisions to offer refunds on advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Public Health England, not letters from GPs. It is not a good use of GPs’ time to be writing letters for patients who are not ill but have plans to travel – and GPs will always base their decisions on official advice.
Patients will undoubtedly have good and sensible reasons for not wanting to travel to certain places because of Covid-19, but this is not the same as being unable to travel due to existing illness, and it should not become the GP’s responsibility to give patients advice about where not to travel.”
Hammersmith Surgery in west London was closed this morning after a suspected coronavirus case, but those who work there said that they would be reopening at 1pm. Patients received a message saying that the surgery had to close “immediately” due to an “incident” and that any appointments booked would have to be frozen.
I am covering the live blog while my colleague takes a break. If you have any news tips, images, or information to share then please email me on sarah.marsh@theguardian.com, tweet @sloumarsh or send a direct message on Instagram (sarah_marsh_journalist). Thanks
Jacob Rees-Mogg expressed concern about the plight of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who is being held in Evin jail in Tehran.
He added that UK officials were trying to find out more information and said that, while the Iranian authorities had denied any outbreak of coronavirus at the prison, he would “not always take as authoritative” such remarks.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini airport while travelling to show her young daughter, Gabriella, to her parents in April 2016.
She was sentenced to five years in prison over allegations, which she denies, of plotting to overthrow the Tehran government.
Responding to concerns raised by Labour, Rees-Mogg told the Commons: “It is a particular concern that the coronavirus has been rumoured – but I emphasise rumoured and not confirmed – to be in the prison in Evin where Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe is.
“The UK ambassador to Iran has raised this with the Iranian ministry of foreign affairs and we’re in contact with our international partners on this issue.
“The Iranian authorities have denied this at the moment, but I must confess I for one would not always take as authoritative denials issued by the Iranian government.”
He added: “The government is trying to do what it can in this very serious issue.”
Two more people have died in Italy from coronavirus, bringing the death toll to 14.
In a statement the Civil Protection agency said the number of confirmed cases had risen from 420 to 528.
The health secretary, Matt Hancock, told the Commons on Wednesday that the Foreign Office had been in touch with the estimated 160 British guests quarantined in Tenerife.
At the time guests in the hotel said they had had no contact with the Foreign Office. But overnight letters from the British consulate in Tenerife, were posted to every UK guest at the Costa Adeje Palace in La Caleta.
NHS staff have been asked to shave their beards to allow masks to fit more securely in an attempt to limit the spread of coronavirus, according to the Sun.
Bosses at Southampton University NHS Trust sent a mass email to tackle a “known problem” with ill-fitting masks on hairy faces.
“You will see that the presence of facial hair compromises the ability to protect any individual through a mask.
“I am writing to ask those who do not have a strong cultural or religious reason for a beard and who are working in at-risk areas to consider shaving.
Prof Christl Donnelly, a leading statistical epidemiologist, has warned that based on death tolls, the outbreaks in Italy and Iran are likely to be far greater than confirmed cases in both countries suggest.
Iran has reported 22 deaths but just 141 cases, and Italy has reported 12 deaths and 470 case.
“It is not surprising that we have seen additional cases today. The estimate from our work at Imperial College London is that about 1% of infections with the virus responsible for Covid-19 are fatal, so the total of 12 deaths to date in Italy suggests many more than the 470 cases detected so far.
Our best estimate would be over 1,000 cases. Each undetected case creates at least the potential for onward spread. This combined with frequent travel to and from affected regions, means that all countries are at risk of detecting cases both in travellers and those they came into contact with.”
One of the two new cases in the UK is likely to be a parent from Burbage primary school in Buxton, Derbyshire, which says it has had a confirmed case.
Here’s a summary of today’s events
More on the latest UK cases:
Two further patients in England have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of UK cases to 15, the Department of Health said on Thursday.
Related: Two more patients in England test positive for coronavirus
An Israeli man who returned from Italy four days ago has tested positive for Covid-19, according to Israel’s health ministry. The unidentified man is the third Israeli with the virus, but the first who was not already in quarantine when tested. There are concerns he may have infected others.
The country’s interior minister, Aryeh Deri, said he planned to bar non-Israelis from travelling to Israel from Italy as a preventive measure. “What can I do, the virus has spread in Italy,” Deri told the local Ynet news site.
Paul Hunter, professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia cautions against reading too much into the case of a Japanese woman who has tested positive for coronavirus for a second time.
In remarks distributed by the Science Media Centre he said:
So there are a two possibilities
1. This is indeed a relapse of the illness – This was seen in Sars but in someone who was being treated with steroids. It is possible that the illness could be biphasic as suggested by Dr Tierno, though this is unlikely to be common, based on current information.
Local health authorities have confirmed that a second person has tested positive for the coronavirus in the eastern Spanish region of Valencia, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 14.
According to reports in the Spanish media, the man – who is showing mild symptoms of the virus – was among the 2,500 Valencia fans who travelled to Milan on 19 February to watch their team play Atalanta in the Champions League.
The president of France, Emmanuel Macron, has called the coronavirus outbreak a “crisis, an epidemic that is on the way”.
Macron was speaking to doctors and other healthcare professionals at a Paris hospital.
#BREAKING 'We are facing a crisis, an epidemic, that is coming': President #Macron says France preparing for a jump in number of #coronavirus cases pic.twitter.com/cZ5py4hSIp
Buxton Medical Practice in Derbyshire has urged people not to go to the practice on Thursday due to a confirmed case of coronavirus, PA reports.
In a message to prospective patients, a spokesman said:
We have a confirmed case of the coronavirus. We are liaising with Public Health England and the CCG to ensure all appropriate actions are taken. Please do not come to the practice.
A woman working as a tour bus guide in Japan has tested positive for coronavirus for a second time, in what authorities say is the first such case, Reuters reports.
The woman, in her 40s and a resident of Osaka in western Japan, tested positive on Wednesday after developing a sore throat and chest pains, the prefectural government said. She first tested positive on 29 January and was discharged from the hospital after recovering on 1 February, before testing negative on 6 February.
Related: Coronavirus: Japanese woman tests positive for second time
Saudi Arabia has taken the unprecedented step of banning foreign pilgrims from entering the country five months before the annual hajj pilgrimages, in an effort to halt the spread of the coronavirus, after 240 cases were confirmed around the Middle East, most of them in Iran.
Authorities in Riyadh said the ban was temporary, but did not say how long it might last. The country has yet to report a case of the virus.
Related: Saudi Arabia bans foreign pilgrims as coronavirus spreads through region
There are now 18 confirmed cases of coronavirus in France and two people have died.
The prime minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, has ordered all primary and secondary schools to close from 2 March until the spring break, typically around the end of March.
He was speaking at a meeting of the government’s task force to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.
Based on the "Basic Policies" adopted Feb 26, GOJ takes proactive measures to tackle #coronavirus, calling to refrain from holding nationwide sports/cultural events in the next 2 weeks, urging remote work and off-peak commuting, and closing schools and national museums. pic.twitter.com/RhwIbs88Rg
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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