State Department Named 5 Chinese Media Outlets as Foreign Missions, but Not CCTV
Countries around the world are taking measures to try to stem the spread of the new coronavirus disease, COVID-19, as the death toll continues to rise.
Refresh for Feb. 27 updates.
All Schools to Close in Japan For Most of March
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Thursday that the government would ask all elementary, junior high and high schools to close from March 2 until 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.
Australia Starts Emergency Plan, Extends Travel Ban
Australia’s government on Feb. 27 initiated its emergency response plan, warning its citizens to prepare for a coronavirus “pandemic” as the deadly virus continues to spread around the globe.
“We believe the risk of a global pandemic is very much upon us and as a result, as a government, we need to take the steps necessary to prepare for such a pandemic,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.
Australia has 23 confirmed cases of coronavirus—15 of these are reported to have recovered. Eight more Australians were infected while aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
Morrison also announced Thursday the country has extended its travel ban to March 7, forbidding foreign nationals from entering the country from mainland China for a further week to protect Australians amid the outbreak.
Denmark, Estonia Join Others in Europe to Report First Cases
Denmark and Estonia on Thursday confirmed they had each detected their first known cases of COVID-19.
The Danish Health Authority said that its first patient was a male who had recently returned from a ski holiday in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, Reuters reported. He tested positive on Wednesday night and is in self-isolation at home.
In Estonia, Tanel Kiik, the Minister of Social Affairs, told Eesti Television that their first patient is an Iranian citizen who arrived in the country on Wednesday. They are now being quarantined.
At least five European countries confirmed their first known cases on Wednesday: Georgia, Greece, Romania, North Macedonia, and Norway.
A woman wears a sanitary mask in downtown Milan, Italy, on Feb. 25, 2020. (Claudio Furlan/Lapresse via AP)Saudi Arabia Halts Travel to Islam’s Holiest Site
Saudi Arabia on Thursday halted travel to the holiest sites in Islam just months ahead of the annual hajj pilgrimage, a move coming as the Mideast has over 220 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
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. It also said travel was suspended to Prophet Muhammad’s mosque in Medina.
The decision showed the worry about the outbreak potentially spreading into Saudi Arabia. The epicenter in the Mideast’s most-affected country, Iran, appears to be in the holy Shiite city of Qom, where a shrine there sees the faithful reach out to kiss and touch it in reverence.
“Saudi Arabia renews its support for all international measures to limit the spread of this virus, and urges its citizens to exercise caution before traveling to countries experiencing coronavirus outbreaks,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement announcing the decision. “We ask God Almighty to spare all humanity from all harm.”
The hardest-hit nation in the Mideast is Iran, where Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said 19 people have died among 139 confirmed cases.
Experts are concerned Iran may be underreporting cases and deaths, given the illness’s rapid spread from Iran across the Persian Gulf. For example, Iran still has not confirmed any cases in Mashhad, even though a number of cases reported in Kuwait are linked to the Iranian city.
In Bahrain, which confirmed 33 cases as of Thursday morning, authorities halted all flights to Iraq and Lebanon. It separately extended a 48-hour ban over flights from Dubai and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, through which infected travelers reached the island kingdom off the coast of Saudi Arabia.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said there were no immediate plans to quarantine cities but acknowledged it may take “one, two, or three weeks” to get control of the virus in Iran.
As Iran’s 80 million people find themselves increasingly isolated in the region by the outbreak, the country’s sanctions-battered economy saw its currency slump to its lowest level against the U.S. dollar in a year on Wednesday.
A policeman and pedestrians wear masks to help guard against the coronavirus in downtown Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 23, 2020. (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)US Postpones Military Exercises As South Korea Confirms 13th Death
The United States and South Korea have postponed their joint military exercises amid the local coronavirus outbreak in the East Asian country.
“The ROK-U.S. Alliance made the decision to postpone the combined command post training for the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command until further notice,” the Combined Forces Command said in a statement, referring to the Republic of Korea. “ROK JCS and USFK’s commitment to the ROK-U.S. alliance remains ironclad and unbreakable, and the decision to postpone the combined training was not taken lightly.
“The safety of the ROK and U.S. service members were prioritized in making this decision.”
“The ROK-U.S. alliance remains committed to providing a credible military deterrence and maintaining a robust combined defense posture to protect the ROK against any threat,” it added.
CDC Says 15th Case Could Be From Local Transmission
The CDC has said that the 15th individual to test positive for COVID-19 in the United States could be the nation’s first case of local transmission.
In a statement released Wednesday evening, shortly after President Donald Trump addressed the nation on the coronavirus threat, the agency said that one person from California with no travel history to COVID-19-impacted locations and no contact with known COVID-19 carriers had tested positive for the disease.
“At this time, the patient’s exposure is unknown,” the CDC said in a statement. “It’s possible this could be an instance of community spread of COVID-19, which would be the first time this has happened in the United States.”
The agency explained that community spread is the transmission of the illness from unidentified sources, which the agency added could have been a “returned traveler who was infected.”
The resident of Solano County was identified by his local doctors in the public health system, who notified the agency of a potential case.
The California Department of Public Health added in a separate statement: “The health risk from novel coronavirus to the general public remains low at this time. While COVID-19 has a high transmission rate, it has a low mortality rate. From the international data we have, of those who have tested positive for COVID-19, approximately 80 percent do not exhibit symptoms that would require hospitalization. There have been no confirmed deaths related to COVID-19 in the United States to date. California is carefully assessing the situation as it evolves.”
The 15th case is in addition to the 42 passengers evacuated from the Diamond Princess and the three Wuhan evacuees who have also tested positive for the virus.
Passengers wear masks to protect against the spread of the coronavirus as they arrive at the Los Angeles International Airport, California, on Jan. 22, 2020. (Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images)Georgia, Greece, North Macedonia, Norway, Romania Each Detect First Cases
Georgia confirmed on Wednesday its first confirmed coronavirus case who is a citizen who recently arrived back in the country from Iran through Azerbaijan.
According to the country’s health minister Ekaterine Tikaradze, he was then quickly isolated in a hospital where he will remain for monitoring.
A female who returned to North Macedonia from Italy after a month of travel has tested positive for the virus.
She had received treatment for the virus while in Italy, but was not tested, according to the country’s health minister.
Upon her return, she was immediately admitted to an infectious diseases clinic where she tested positive for the virus.
Meanwhile, Norway confirmed its first case of coronavirus on Wednesday, announced the country’s Institute of Public Health.
The patient was identified as a Norwegian who had returned from a trip to China late last week.
“This person is not showing symptoms but … was tested after returning from the region of China where the outbreak began,” agency director Line Vold told a news conference.
Area Director Geir Bukholm and Department Director Line Vold of the Institute of Public Health hold a press conference on the first coronavirus case in Oslo, Norway, on Feb. 26, 2020. (Terje Bendiksby/NTB Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images)They are asymptomatic and unlikely to infect others, the agency said.
The individual is now self-quarantined at home, reported Reuters.
Romania has also reported its first case—a man who came in contact with a visitor from Italy last week, according to AFP.
Seven other people living at the same address as the man have all tested negative for the virus and will now remain in quarantine for 14 days as a precaution, an official with the country’s emergency department told reporters.
Melanie Sun, Mimi Nguyen Ly, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
For updates from Feb. 26, click here.
This article is from the Internet:Coronavirus Live Updates: Australia Starts Emergency Plan, Extends Travel Ban
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