DW


 

Twenty individuals onboard the Diamond Princess have tested positive for the coronavirus. However, most of the thousands of passengers have yet to be screened. The death toll has continued to rise in the past 24 hours.

- The number of confirmed coronavirus deaths in mainland China has risen to 563, with the majority in central Hubei province, where the illness was first detected.
- Hong Kong and the Philippines have both reported one death.
- The new virus has infected more than 28,200 people globally.
- Thousands of people aboard two cruise ships remain quarantined off the coasts of Japan and Hong Kong after a number of passengers tested positive for coronavirus.

All updates in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC/GMT)

05:30 The coronavirus has infected more than 28,000 people in mainland China and has spread to more than 20 countries. The novel coronavirus affects the lower respiratory tract, and most of those infected exhibit a dry cough, shortness of breath or pneumonia, but not a sore throat.

04:38 The coronavirus has been impacting business with Adidas, McDonalds and Starbucks closing stores across China. On Thursday, tech giant Foxconn announced that workers at its plant in central China will now be quarantined for up to two weeks.

The company, officially called Hon Hai Precision Industry, is the world's biggest contract electronics maker and assembles Apple's iPhones.

04:16 Uzbekistan evacuated 251 people from China in wake of the virus, according to its flag carrier airline Uzbekistan Airways. The passengers have been subsequently quarantined upon arrival in the Central Asian nation's capital, Tashkent, the airline added.

03:31 The passengers aboard two evacuation flights from Wuhan, the city at the heart of the coronavirus outbreak, to California were placed under quarantine upon arrival at military bases, US officials said. The roughly 350 American citizens will remain there for two weeks. 

The move comes a day after the US confirmed the total number of infections had risen to 12, none of them fatal. 

02:59 The death toll in mainland China now stands at 563, with 28,018 people with confirmed infections, Chinese health authorities said. There have been 73 new fatalities over the last 24 hours.

02:51  An update on the global figures related to the virus shows Japan as having the most infection cases outside of China, primarily due to the 20 positive tests emerging from the cruise ship in the port of Yokohama. Japan has reported 45 infections so far, with that number expected to increase significantly as the screening of passengers continues.

Singapore has so far documented 28 cases, Thailand 25 and South Korea 23. The number of infections in Germany has held stable in recent days, with 12 cases currently confirmed.

02:36 A ship in Hong Kong is having its roughly 3,600 passengers screened after three people on board a previous voyage were diagnosed with the coronavirus. The territory's leader, Carrie Lam, who has recently struggled to deal with opposition protests, announced that two terminals, including one where the cruise ship is currently quarantined, will be shut down for the foreseeable future.

02:29 China's ambassador to France has described the decision by Hong Kong medical workers to strike at this time as "shameful."

Hundreds of medical staff in Hong Kong walked off the job earlier this week, demanding that the semi-autonomous territory completely close off its border with mainland China to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

On Monday, Hong Kong had closed all but two of its land crossings.
Ambassador Lu Shaye told a press conference in Paris: "At a time when everyone is throwing themselves into the fight against the epidemic, and a few cases have already been confirmed (in Hong Kong), it's not fair."

02:13 Ten more people on a cruise ship in Yokohama Port, on Japan's east coast, have tested positive for the new coronavirus, according to Japanese Health Minister Katsunobu Kato. This raised the total number of confirmed cases on the vessel to 20.

The ship, the Diamond Princess, had 3,700 people onboard. So far only 273 passengers have been tested. The passengers remain quarantined aboard the boat. Testing began after a previous passenger from Hong Kong was confirmed to have the virus.