China virus outbreak update: Toll rises to 81, measures fail to slow spread

The novel coronavirus spread further and became more deadly as, after the US and Canada, Cambodian today confirmed its first case and China reported an increase in fatalities and infections.

China’s death toll from the coronavirus climbed to at least 81 as the country extended the Lunar New Year holiday in an effort to contain an infection whose spread accelerated around the globe.

More than 2,835 cases have been reported in 15 countries and territories. South Korea on Sunday reported another infection, while Pakistan denied it has a confirmed case.

Chinese authorities said the virus isn’t yet under control despite aggressive steps to limit movement for millions of people who live in cities near the center of the outbreak.

Anxiety is growing amid evidence that the disease has an incubation period of as long as two weeks before those infected start to show signs of the illness. That raises the possibility that people who are carrying the virus but don’t show symptoms could infect others.

Here are the latest developments:

Four suspected cases of coronavirus reported in Hyderabad

Four suspected cases of the coronavirus (2019-nCoV) have been reported in Hyderabad. The four persons, whose blood samples have been sent for tests, had recently traveled to China and walked into the state-run Fever hospital fearing that they may have contracted the virus, which is a novel strain not seen before.

“There are no positive cases. Some people who traveled to those regions (China) had approached us with the apprehension that they may be infected, so we sent their samples (for tests). Two samples were found negative. There are two more in Fever hospital, but they are absolutely fine and just wanted to stay isolated (from the public)," said G. Srinivasa Rao, director of Telangana’s Public Health.

Hong Kong confirms 8 cases, all linked to China

Hong Kong has confirmed two more cases of a new virus, raising its total to eight.

Health department official Dr. Chuang Shuk-kwan said today that all the cases are connected to Hubei province, where the outbreak started in December. She said there is no sign yet of it spreading to Hong Kong’s general population.

Chuang added the government is still very concerned about that possibility and will watch developments.

Cambodia confirms the first case of coronavirus

Cambodian health minister Mam Bunheng today confirmed the first case of coronavirus in the country

The patient is a Chinese national in the coastal city of Sihanoukville, he said.

Coronavirus cases reach 2,835, China state media reports

The number of people infected with the coronavirus has reached 2,835, Chinese state television said today.

A total of 57 people have recovered and returned home, while the death toll remains at 81, it added.

Malaysia imposes ban on Chinese tourists from Wuhan

The Malaysian government banned visitors from the Chinese city of Wuhan and its surrounding Hubei province on Monday, in a bid to contain the spread of a deadly virus.

A statement by the prime minister's office said the authorities will temporarily halt all issuance of visas for Chinese citizens from the area with immediate effect.

"The government has decided to suspend temporarily all immigration facilities ... to all China nationals from Wuhan city and the surrounding Hubei province," it said.

Malaysia has reported four confirmed cases of the flu-like virus which started in the central-Chinese city and has spread worldwide.

Mongolia closes border crossings with China, suspends university classes

Mongolia's official news agency says the country's Cabinet on Monday closed border crossings with China and suspended university classes to prevent the spread of a new viral disease.

There are no confirmed cases in Mongolia of the coronavirus cases that first surfaced in the central Chinese city of Wuhan and have now spread to at least a dozen countries. But the MONTSAME news agency said the Cabinet cited the “high risk" of the disease spreading across the country's southern border.

The Cabinet also ordered public tours, children's playgrounds, and other public activities in the sprawling, sparsely populated North Asian nation to close.

Credit Suisse tells staff to work at home after China visit

Credit Suisse Group SA has told its staff in Hong Kong not to come into the office for at least 14 days if they’ve just visited mainland China, reported Bloomberg.

Employees who’ve visited the mainland in the past two weeks should discuss with their division manager and HR before returning to work after the 14-day office ban, the memo says. Anyone with fever or flu-like symptoms is required to work from home until a doctor certifies the person is well enough to return, it says, while non-essential business travel will also be curbed.

Germany urges citizens to avoid 'unnecessary trips' to China, mulls evacuating its citizens

Germany urged its citizens to avoid "unnecessary trips" to China amid fears over the rapid spread of a deadly virus. Berlin also said it was considering evacuating citizens from Wuhan, the city at the center of the outbreak.

"Travellers should consider delaying or canceling any unnecessary trips to China," Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told a press conference in the capital.

Maas added that the government was "considering a possible evacuation of all willing German citizens" from Wuhan, in Hubei province where the coronavirus first emerged.

The number of German citizens currently in the city was estimated to be "in double figures", he said.

China reports increase in number affected

Confirmed cases rose to 2,744 on the mainland, the National Health Commission said Monday.

China reports rise in Hubei deaths

Another 24 people have died in Hubei province, according to China’s CCTV. The latest information brings the total death toll in mainland China to 81.

The report said 371 new cases have been confirmed in the province as of Jan. 26. Wuhan, which is at the center of the virus outbreak, is located in Hubei.

China CDC advises extending the holiday

Gao Fu, head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters that the agency is advising that the Lunar New Year holiday ending Jan. 30 be extended due to the virus. The decision will depend on how the situation develops, he said.

Beijing will lengthen the winter break for schools from kindergarten to college, People’s Daily reported, citing the city’s education bureau.

Hong Kong confirms sixth virus patient

A Hong Kong health official confirmed the sixth case of the coronavirus in the city.

The South China Morning Post earlier reported that the man had been to Wuhan and arrived in Hong Kong by high-speed rail. He will undergo more tests. It was not known when he returned from China, the newspaper said.

Protest over proposed quarantine center

Government plans to use a newly built, unoccupied public estate in the New Territories district of Fanling for possible patients under quarantine and medical staff drew an angry response from residents and district councilors.

A couple dozen masked people barricaded a road in Fanling in protest at the government proposal to use Fai Ming Estate as an emergency medical facility. Some of the protesters said the building is too close to their homes, while others complained that approved applicants would lose their flats in the estate.

China says pathogen’s transmission is increasing

Chinese authorities on Sunday told reporters the virus isn’t yet under control despite aggressive steps by authorities to limit movement for millions of people who live in cities near the center of the outbreak. Officials said information on the new virus is limited even though the pathogen was identified relatively quickly, and its transmission is increasing.

The government said it will hold daily press briefings on the situation.

China bans wildlife trade

China banned the shipping and sale of wild animals starting Sunday and said it will quarantine breeding sites. Trade will be forbidden in markets, supermarkets, restaurants and online, the market supervision administration, agricultural ministry, and forestry bureau said in a statement.

It also warned people against consuming wild animals. The new coronavirus was first found in people who shopped or worked at a so-called wet market in the central city of Wuhan, where live animals were sold.