Coronavirus: 12 more cases confirmed in UK, taking total in Britain to 35 – latest updates

USA, Australia and Thailand also report first deaths from coronavirus as bans are put in place around the world on large gatherings. Follow live news

Preventing a Covid-19 epidemic in the UK is looking increasingly unlikely, according to Paul Hunter, Professor in Medicine, University of East Anglia.

Today’s sharp increase in confirmed cases in the UK shows the country is entering the “next stage of the epidemic” he said.

“The recent sharp increases in the number of new cases in Italy and then France, Spain and Germany confirm that COVID-19 is spreading in Europe. As yet the number of cases in the UK who have no relevant travel history remains small but even a couple of such cases indicates community spread here. The current containment strategy is still appropriate for now but we can expect to see further increases in the next few days and consequently the UK’s response will move more towards the next phase of delaying rather than containing infections. Although it may still be possible to prevent a community wide epidemic this is looking increasingly unlikely and we should be prepared to cope with a more widespread epidemic on our shores.”

Swansea council says its schools will open as normal on Monday despite a confirmd case of covid-10 case in the city - the first in Wales.

In a statement it the risk of catching the virus remains low and “no extra measures” need to be taken beyond those set out by Public Health Wales.

Residents are aware a confirmed case of Coronavirus has occurred in Swansea. Following Public Health Wales advice all our schools are open as normal Monday.

Actual risk remains low & no extra measures need to be taken above advice provided by PHW

Info: https://t.co/Yw93Fftxm8

Here’s the latest summary:

Italy’s Serie A football season runs the risk of not finishing if more matches are postponed because of the coronavirus outbreak, Inter Milan’s chief executive Giuseppe Marotta said on Sunday.

Reuters reports:

Inter’s match at Juventus, which was to have been played later on Sunday, was one of five which were postponed by the league. The games, all in regions where sporting events have been banned by the government, had been due to be played behind closed doors.

Italy has registered more than 1,100 confirmed cases and at least 29 deaths.

Serving and former NHS doctors have reacted with scepticism to the idea of bringing former health professionals out of retirement as part of government plans to combat the spread of coronavirus.

Count me out. https://t.co/5sdeBmrs1D

The prospect of returning to work is sending a frisson of excitement down my spine.https://t.co/k2rO8a7BMO

1. Staff across the NHS and social care will desperately need extra support to cope in the event of a major outbreak but dubbing emergency returners a ‘Dad’s Army’ will not help to achieve that. https://t.co/DQ5qmpsjrm

Hands up if you’d rather have the non-surviving cast members of Dad’s Army in charge of the NHS in the event of a pandemic than the Health Secretary.

‍♂️‍♂️‍♂️https://t.co/MC6IVJ9EQG

NHS plans to deploy ‘Dad’s Army’ of retired doctors if Covid-19 spreads. Government pandemic preparation plans to include ‘war room’ of experts. Really? And no ‘Mum’s Army’ either https://t.co/0C5gSXpoSx

Or: reverse the tax anomaly that stops current doctors working extra shifts, and has led many into retirement

NHS plans to deploy ‘Dad’s Army’ of retired doctors if Covid-19 spreadshttps://t.co/buBeB6k8IG

Interesting. Wonder whether governments will also look at deploying people sideways? Surgeons, psychiatrists, dermatologists doing shifts in ED/respiratory/ICU? Necessary? Unrealistic? NHS plans to deploy ‘Dad’s Army’ of retired doctors if Covid-19 spreads https://t.co/9B4QsCB236

PA Media has further details about some of the 12 new cases in the UK.

Six of the people involved had recently travelled from Italy, while two had been in Iran. These patients are from London, West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Hertfordshire and Gloucestershire.

Government lawyers are assessing the possibility of delaying the local authority, mayoral and police and crime commissioner elections in May if the coronavirus outbreak continues to escalate, the Guardian can disclose.

An email sent to board members of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners on Saturday by its chief executive, Susannah Hancock, reveals that measures to contain the spread of the disease would also include potentially delaying the forthcoming elections.

Related: Local elections could be delayed by coronavirus outbreak

South Korea has reported four more coronavirus deaths in the south-eastern city of Daegu, bringing the country’s death toll to 21, the Yonap news agency reports.

South Korea has 3,736 confirmed cases of the disease.

(2nd LD) S. Korea reports 4 more coronavirus fatalities, death toll now at 21 https://t.co/xMuD6Ebwuz

A widely visited church in Rome has closed over coronavirus fears.

The move to shut Rome’s Church of San Luigi dei Francesi, which hosts Caravaggio’s The Calling of St Matthew masterpiece, came after a priest in Paris tested positive for the virus after returning from Italy.

Chuang Shuk-kwan, the director of the infectious disease division of the centre for health protection, confirmed the details of the new positive case in a man in Shenzhen who had travelled from London and worked in Bristol.

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Chuang said the passenger had been in the business class of flight CX250. The ferry the patient had taken, 3A109, had about 70 passengers, most of whom were Chinese nationals.

Cathay Pacific is helping authorities trace all passengers who flew from London to Hong Kong, after a passenger on one of its flights, who had been working in Bristol, tested positive.

In a statement, it said:

Cathay Pacific received notification from the health authorities in Hong Kong regarding a passenger who was recently confirmed to have contracted severe respiratory disease with Novel Infectious Agent.

We were informed that the passenger had flown from London to Hong Kong via CX250 on 27 February and arrived Hong Kong on 28 February.

The man who tested positive for coronavirus in Shenzhen after flying from London last Thursday had been working in Bristol, the Chinese authorities have confirmed.

A statement from the Guangdong Health Commission late on Sunday said authorities in Shenzhen had reported an “imported case” of the coronavirus infection, in a 35 year old male from Shenzhen who had been working in Bristol.

While 35 people have now tested positive for the virus in the UK, 11,715 have tested negative.

UPDATE on coronavirus (#COVID19) testing in the UK:

As of 9am 1 March 2020, a total of 11,750 people have been tested:

11,715 negative.
35 positive.

For latest information visit:
➡️ https://t.co/37eu0kQ0Cd pic.twitter.com/OiZTCJjS3o

One of the 12 people who have tested positive for the virus contracted it from within the UK, according to the chief medical officer, Chris Whitty.

In a statement, he said: “One patient, resident in Essex, had no relevant travel and it is not yet clear whether they contracted it directly or indirectly from an individual who had recently returned from abroad; investigations are ongoing.”

Three patients were close contacts of a known case, transmitted in the UK, identified as part of contact tracing.

The patients who have recently travelled are from London, West Yorkshire, Great Manchester, Hertfordshire and Gloucestershire. All are being investigated and contract tracing has begun.

The number of confirmed cases in the UK has leaped by 12 to 35.

12 further patients in England have tested positive for COVID-19.

Further details ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/7uTkl1Qmyp

Related: Twelve more people test positive for coronavirus in UK

The Louvre museum in Paris shut on Sunday afternoon, leaving visitors queueing up outside in the rain as staff and management held a meeting about coronavirus. A spokesperson for the museum said it was expected to open after the meeting, held with the staff doctor.

⚠ An informational meeting on the public health situation linked to #COVID19 prevention measures following the ministerial instructions transmitted by the competent authorities has delayed the opening of the #Louvre on Sunday, March 1.

The museum cannot open at the moment. pic.twitter.com/rmjcN2GORJ

Donald Trump says all travellers from at risk areas will be screened for coronavirus after they arrive in the US.

Coronavirus: In addition to screening travelers “prior to boarding” from certain designated high risk countries, or areas within those countries, they will also be screened when they arrive in America. Thank you! @VP @SecAzar @CDCgov @CDCDirector

David and Sally Abel, the British passengers who caught coronavirus on the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked off Yokohama, are still being treated in an isolation unit in a Japanese hospital.

In a video update on Sunday, they said they were recovering well, but Sally said she had tested positive again for the virus, after testing negative last week.

The crew began leaving the Diamond Princess on Thursday for quarantine ashore after the last of the passengers had departed.

“Including the captain, all crew members disembarked,” health minister Katsunobu Kato told reporters late Sunday.

Here’s video of what Hancock said about shutting down cities in the UK.

Here’s a summary of the latest developments:

Related: Matt Hancock: ministers to publish coronavirus 'battle plan' for UK

Labour is calling on Matt Hancock to fully explain the emergency powers the government is planning in response to a coronavirus outbreak in a Commons update on Monday.

The shadow health secretary, Jonathan Ashworth, said:

“There are growing concerns about our part-time prime minister’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak and serious questions about capacity in our overstretched NHS.

“The health secretary should come to the Commons on Monday to explain fully the emergency powers he is planning to bring in, and to update MPs on the government’s response so that we can properly scrutinise it.”

Iran’s health ministry has said the death toll from coronavirus has now reached 54 as the number of infected cases jumped overnight to 978.

It comes days after the ministry categorically denied reports that 50 people had died from the disease.

تعداد مبتلایان و جانباختگان #کرونا به ۹٧٨ و ۵۴ نفر رسید

جهانپور، سخنگوی وزارت بهداشت:
*تعداد قربانیان کرونا در سطح کشور به ۵۴ نفر افزایش یافت
* همچنین تعداد مبتلایان به کروناویروس از ۵٩٣ نفر به ٩٧٨ نفر افزایش یافتhttps://t.co/ts4TLAoDmx pic.twitter.com/6whCAvB2CO

The ministry’s spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said new cases were confirmed in a number of cities, including Mashhad, which is home to Iran’s most important Shia shrine that attracts pilgrims from across the region.

Calls by Iran’s civilian government to clerics to close such shrines to to the public have not been uniformly followed. The shrine in Mashhad is among those that have remained open.

A parent and child who attended the minor injuries unit at Sevenoaks hospital in Kent on Saturday afternoon have been advised to self-isolate at home and call NHS 111 in case they require testing for the coronavirus.

The parent grew concerned when the child, who had been at school with pupils who recently returned from Italy, developed a mild temperature.

Our Sevenoaks Minor Injury Unit (MIU) has now closed for the evening and will be reopening as normal tomorrow morning.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

You can find the details of your nearest, alternative MIU here https://t.co/TjQ9dy665d pic.twitter.com/YmotgxTFLq

A “surveillance network” of GP practices in Scotland will test patients with coughs and fevers and submit samples, even if patients have not travelled to an area affected by coronavirus, as part of the Scottish government plans.

The measure was described as an “early warning” system to alert health professionals to the possible spread of the virus.

“Hospitals and GP surgeries will now conduct tests on some patients with coughs, fevers or shortness of breath – regardless of whether they have travelled to a place where the virus is known to be spreading.

“Not everyone with flu will be tested, but this is a sensible step to take as a precautionary measure to give us an early warning of community transmission.”

A top Italian health official has warned of a “tsunami” effect on the hospital system as confirmed coronavirus cases in Italy rose to 1,128.

“The situation is, frankly, an emergency from the point of view of health system organisation,” Massimo Galli, a professor and director of infectious diseases at Milan’s Sacco hospital, told Corriere della Sera on Sunday.

“It is the equivalent of a tsunami for the number of patients with major diseases being hospitalised all together. For example, on Friday, before the new wave of cases arrived in Lombardy, there were 85 beds occupied by patients intubated for Covid-19, that’s a significant share of those available.”

A man who has tested positive for coronavirus in Shenzhen, travelled there after flying into Hong Kong from London on Thursday, according to local reports.

The news site Caixin reported that a 35-year-old man who had been working in the UK flew from London to Hong Kong on 27 February and arrived at noon on 28 February.

The health authorities in France have announced the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country has jumped to 100 as the government took measures to limit the spread of the virus.

People over 6o and those with underlying health conditions should try to avoid “crowded areas” and “places where you might interact with people who are sick”, according to the head of the World Health Organisation, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

If you are 60+, or have an underlying condition like cardiovascular disease, a respiratory condition or diabetes, you have a higher risk of developing severe #COVID19. Try to avoid crowded areas, or places where you might interact with people who are sick. #coronavirus

Spain now has 73 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, according to the head of the country’s Centre for the Coordination of Health Emergencies and Alerts.

Speaking on Sunday morning, Fernando Simón said that 90% of the cases were imported or related to imported cases of the virus, adding that Spain would not be raising its alert level for the time being. Nor, he said, would it be enacting the drastic measures seen in France and Italy.

The American Physical Society has announced the cancellation of one of the world’s major international scientific conferences, little more than a day before it was due to start.

An announcement on its website said:

“Due to rapidly escalating health concerns relating to the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), the 2020 APS March Meeting in Denver, Colorado, has been canceled. Please do not travel to Denver to attend the March Meeting.”

Isolating UK cities, as the Chinese authorities did to Wuhan where coronavirus was first detected, may be necessary to stop the the spread of the outbreak, the health secretary, Matt Hancock, has conceded.

Speaking to the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, Hancock also confirmed that the NHS was planning to bring doctors out of retirement if the coronavirus becomes more widespread.

Hancock also denied Labour claims Boris Johnson was shirking his responsibility by delaying chairing a Cobra emergency committee on the outbreak until Monday.

He told Sky:

The prime minister has been all over this. I have daily calls with him often more than once a day. And I’ve been updating cabinet weekly. I’ve been chairing those Cobra meetings across government – a case of ministers and officials working incredibly well together. And the prime minister is fully on top of all of this, and and that’s the way it should be.

Last week he did a night shift at a hospital to find out what it’s really like on the frontline at two o’clock in the morning. I applaud him for doing that

The health secretary, Matt Hancock, said the government is considering “all options” for tackling the spread of coronavirus.

Speaking on Sky’s Sophy Ridge programme, he described the outbreak as “a very, very significant challenge”.

We’re considering all options. At the moment the number of cases in this country is 23. And that means that so long as people are washing hands and taking the precautions that are set out that is the right thing to do. We don’t rule out taking any of these other measures. We will advice on those measures when it is right to take them because we want to minimise the economic and social disruption subject to keeping people safe.

It’s a balancing act, where I place the greatest weight on keeping people safe. But there’s no point in doing things that aren’t clinically effective. We have to be guided by the science.

The plan is very clear, firstly, to contain this virus, that’s the stage we’re in now. It means that every single case that is found here gets immediate treatment, but also we contact all of the people that that person has been in close contact with. Largely most of the cases so far, are from people who’ve caught the virus elsewhere and brought it here, and we’re then able to contain it.

We’ve put £40m into trying to find a vaccine and also trying to improve the treatments for people who do have the disease. The experts say that a vaccine, even accelerated as fast as possible, is still many months off. But the potential for treatments that make the virus less of a problem if you’ve got it, they are more optimistic. The final plan is to prepare for mitigation should this become endemic in this country and making sure that not only the NHS is prepared, but also all parts of society. The government has got a huge role to play, but so does every single person.

'We don't rule out taking any of these measures.'

Asked if the government is waiting for #coronavirus to worsen before taking greater action, such as France banning gatherings of 5,000 people, @matthancock says "we're considering all options."#Ridge: https://t.co/PXng4j5q7s pic.twitter.com/9M1XPiqqmH

Kuwait has confirmed a new case of coronavirus infection, bringing the total number of people diagnosed with the disease in the country to 46, a health ministry official told a press conference on Sunday, Reuters reports.

The majority of the cases, including the one identified in the past 24 hours, are either people who had travelled to Iran or been in contact with people who were there, the official said.

For the first time, Japan’s professional baseball teams staged pre-season opening games behind closed doors after the country dramatically escalated its response to coronavirus by closing schools and cancelling mass events.

The condition of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian woman detained in Iran, is getting “worse and worse” but the Iranian authorities are still refusing to test her for coronavirus, her family has said.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 live, Richard said his wife’s guards were “keeping away” from her in case she has caught the disease. He said her “cold like symptoms that have got worse and worse and they’re not going away”.

‘’She’s got cold-like symptoms that have got worse and worse and are not going away.’’

The husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe told #5LiveBreakfast that he fears she may have contracted #coronavirus in prison in Iran. pic.twitter.com/eIw8dk7zgU

The US, Australia and Thailand have reported their first deaths from coronavirus as two frontline doctors in China died and more countries put in place bans on large gatherings and travel restrictions.

A 35-year-old male retail worker in Thailand died from Covid-19, according to the country’s department of disease control on Sunday. The man had also tested positive for dengue fever. In Australia, a 78-year-old man who was on the Diamond Princess cruise ship died in a hospital in western Australia. His wife has also contracted the virus.

Related: Coronavirus: US, Australia and Thailand report first deaths

Good morning from London, where the main news is that former health professionals could be brought out of retirement under emergency plans to combat the spread of coronavirus.

The health secretary, Matt Hancock, is expected to give more details about the plans in a round of Sunday morning broadcast interviews.

Related: NHS plans to deploy ‘Dad’s Army’ of retired doctors if Covid-19 spreads

You can get up to speed on all our coverage on the links below:

A young woman in her 20s in Mexico has tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of cases for the country to four. All cases are linked to recent travel to Italy.

The woman, from northern Coahuila, was not showing symptoms. She had recently traveled to Milan.

An alarming story from our Beijing correspondent, Lily Kuo, on citizen journalist Li Zehua who is missing, presumed detained.

He’s one of many for whom the coronavirus crisis has led to a political awakening and a demand for free speech.

“I don’t want to remain silent, or shut my eyes and ears. It’s not that I can’t have a nice life, with a wife and kids. I can. I’m doing this because I hope more young people can, like me, stand up,” he says. The live stream, posted on Weibo, where it was later deleted, and on YouTube, shows two men in plain clothes entering the apartment and then cuts out.

Related: ‘They’re chasing me’: the journalist who wouldn’t stay quiet on Covid-19

An interesting report from Reuters, about Indonesia, which continues to say it has seen no cases, despite some infections around the world linked to travel to or through Bali:

Indonesia has the resources to cope with a coronavirus outbreak, the director of its leading infectious diseases hospital said, defending detection procedures in the Southeast Asian nation of more than 260 million, where no cases have been reported.

Reuters:

A man in his 70s died on Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido on Saturday night after testing positive for Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2, local authorities said on Sunday.

The municipal government of Hokkaido said the patient was hospitalised on Jan. 17 for another disease, but started to show flu-like symptoms a few weeks later and tested positive for the coronavirus on Feb. 25.

The coronavirus outbreak in Hong Kong has not reached its peak yet, he Dean of the University of Hong Kong’s Faculty of Medicine, Professor Gabriel Leung, warned on Sunday.

RTHK reports Leung said it was too soon to tell when the outbreak would be end, and people should remain vigilant.

Samsung Electronics has closed one of its factories in South Korea, according to Yonhap news agency.

The mobile device factory in Gumni, near Davey, was closed after a worker tested positive for the coronavirus.

From Reuters:

Churches were closed in South Korea on Sunday with many holding online services instead, as authorities fought to rein in public gatherings, with 376 new coronavirus infections taking the tally to 3,526 cases.

That came a day after the biggest daily jump of 813 cases in South Korea’s battle with the largest virus outbreak outside China, said the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), which will update numbers later in the day.

Some more details on that death in Thailand.

Dr. Teerawat Hemachutha, Thiravat Hemachudha, Head of Emerging Disease Health Science Center Faculty of Medicine Chulalongkorn Hospital, the Thai Red Cross, posted on Facebook earlier today that the victim was a 35-year-old male retail worker who also tested positive to dengue fever.

Citing an unnamed health official, Reuters is reporting that Thailand has seen its first Covid-19 death.

I’ll be handing over to my colleague, Helen Davidson, shortly, but before that, here’s a summary of the top points so far.

Thailand now has 42 cases of Covid-19, after a 21-year-old man tested positive on Saturday, the Bangkok Post reports.

Sukhum Kanchanaphimai, the permanent secretary for public health, said the man’s job brought him into contact with foreign tourists and he fell ill on 24 February, before seeking treatment the following day. He’s currently in hospital in Bangkok.

American Airlines will suspend all US flights to Milan. It announced the move just hours after the US State Department said it was raising its travel warning for parts of Italy due to the coronavirus outbreak to Level 4 or “do not travel”. This covers travel to Lombardy and Veneto, in Italy’s north.

American said it will suspend flights to and from Milan, from New York-JFK and Miami until 24 April, citing a reduction in demand.

Chinese state media is reporting that a doctor – 32-year-old Zhong Jinxing – has died “from overwork”.

Zhong Jinxing, 32, a doctor in South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, passed away on Friday after having worked consecutively for 33 days on the frontline against the #COVID19 epidemic. He died from overwork. pic.twitter.com/rpqmu5DAyW

Doctor Jiang Xueqing, also a winner of China's top medical worker award, passed away on Sunday in #Wuhan after infected with #COVID19 when fighting the epidemic on the frontline. Jiang was 55. #RIP pic.twitter.com/5XOoydA1uY

I’m just doubling back on those Chinese figures announced today, that I mentioned at the start of the blog.

Another 35 deaths were reported on Sunday, and 573 new confirmed cases. Of the deaths, all but one were in Hubei province, the centre of the outbreak. All but three of the new confirmed cases were also in Hubei.

You may have seen reports last week that a dog in Hong Kong had tested “weak positive” to Covid-19. Experts in the UK told the Guardian they thought it was unlikely to be an actual infection, and that one possible explanation was that a dog had produced a false positive test as a result of close contact with a human who had the virus, or from coming in contact with the virus via touch.

The dog showed no relevant symptoms of the virus authorities said and Hong Kong health authorities advised that it had no evidence that pets can be infected with Covid-19 or a source of the infection. But a spokesman from the Hong Kong Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), said: “To ensure public and animal health, the department strongly advise mammalian pets of patients confirmed to have been infected with COVID-19 virus to be put under quarantine by the AFCD.”

Past experience with coronaviruses and our current understanding of #COVID19 do not indicate that common household pets spread the disease or make people sick. We will provide further updates as we learn more.

If you’re just catching up with the latest news on the virus, outbreak, a reminder that the World Health Organization has raised the risk assessment “very high” globally. It also said the risk within #China remains unchanged as “very high.”

The WHO chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the risk level had been elevated for two reasons

Thank you, @tiktok_us for your efforts and help to ensure your users are accessing reliable #COVID19 information. Beating the infodemic will help us defeat #coronavirus. https://t.co/cx3QJ6TlMl

South Korea has recorded 376 more Covid-19 cases, taking the country’s total to 3,526. Seventeen people have died.

Of the 376 new cases, 333 were in Daegu, 300km southeast of Seoul, which has been at the centre of the outbreak linked to the. Shincheonji Church of Jesus.

Still on Australia, and on Sunday, the country’s Home Affairs minister, Peter Dutton, said it was not possible to extend travel bans to all countries affected by the coronavirus outbreak, but he defended Australia’s decision to restrict entry to people who had travelled from Iran, but not South Korea, which has many more cases.

“If you look at the underreporting or the lack of reporting coming out of Iran ... there was a real concern as to whether they had a handle on the numbers,” Dutton said, adding that South Korea has a more advanced health system.

We are hearing a news conference from Australia, where officials have confirmed that a Western Australian man has confirmed the country’s first death from Covid-19.

Dr Andrew Robertson, Western Australia’s chief health officer, confirms that the man travelled back to Australia from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan. The man was diagnosed in the Howard Springs quarantine facility outside Darwin 9 or 10 days ago.

We are getting unconfirmed reports that an Australian man has died in Western Australia from Covid-19 – the country’s first fatality.

We are waiting for official confirmation, but media reports say he is a 78-year-old passenger from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan, and was one of the 164 Australians to be repatriated from the ship around two weeks ago.

EXCLUSIVE: First Australian death from coronavirus in WA https://t.co/lcLriH2pQD @GregHuntMP @ScottMorrisonMP @AlboMP @AnthDeCeglie

First to the US where the first death from Covid-19 has been recorded. The man was in his 50s and had underlying health issues. He died at a hospital in Kirkland, near Seattle. Officials are unsure how he was exposed to the virus. Washington state has two other presumed cases at a long-term care facility in Kirkland where more than 50 residents and staff could be showing symptoms, according to Jeffrey Duchin, head of the Washington health department’s communicable disease unit.

“At this point we do not have widespread community-wide transmission locally. We have transmission that’s associated with an outbreak at this long-term care facility,” Duchin said.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the coronavirus outbreak. Before we get underway with this blog, here are the main points making news right now.

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