Japan and the US have airlifted hundreds of their citizens from the virus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan as the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak rose again to 132.
Confirmed cases of the virus also rose sharply to nearly 6,000 on Wednesday morning, overtaking the 5,327 confirmed cases of SARS during the 2002-2003 outbreak which killed more than 750 people in 17 countries worldwide.
The evacuations came as the UK government worked to finalise plans overnight to bring Britons back from Wuhan, with flights back to the UK potentially taking place as early as Thursday.
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More than 6,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in China
The People’s Daily – China’s largest newspaper – has released its latest update for the number of confirmed cases and deaths from coronavirus.
Although the death toll has remained unchanged since the start of the day, the number of confirmed cases has risen to more than 6,000.
Malaysia reports three new cases of coronavirus
Malaysia’s Health Ministry has said three more people have been infected with coronavirus, all Chinese citizens, bringing the total cases in the country to seven.
The new cases involve a 4-year-old girl, a 52-year-old man and the mother of two children who were confirmed as infected earlier, the ministry said in a statement.
Earlier this week, Malaysia imposed a temporary ban on Chinese nationals arriving from Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, and areas in the surrounding Hubei province.
The country is also in talks with China to evacuate its 78 citizens from the virus-hit city.
China’s president Xi Jinping has said preventing and containing the new strain of coronavirus remains a grim and complex task, according to state television.
His comment comes after he described the virus as a “devil” that China is battling to stop yesterday.
Apple retail stores and the availability of iPhones could be affected by the spread of the coronavirus, according to the company’s CEO.
Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, has said the company is worried about the outbreak because China is both a major market for its products and a location for large amounts of its manufacturing.
“We have limited travel to business-critical situations as of last week,” Mr Cook said.
“The situation is emerging, and we’re still gathering lots of data points and monitoring it very closely.”
Our technology editor, Andrew Griffin, has more details below:
Kuwait has asked its nationals not to travel to the Chinese city of Shanghai due to concerns about the spread of coronavirus, according to the state news agency KUNA.
Matt Hancock confirms Britons from Wuhan will be quarantined
Health secretary Matt Hancock has confirmed plans to place British nationals arriving from Wuhan in quarantine for two weeks.
His statement came as a government source told PA that Britons will likely be kept at a “military base”.
“We have got the facility ready for them to arrive,” the source said.
India’s Press Information Bureau (PIB) has recommended “homeopathy” for the prevention of coronavirus.
“The outbreak of a mysterious new CoronaVirus is rapidly spreading,” a PIB statement said.
“The whole world is going through the fear of this Corona Virus, the Research Councils under the Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India have issued advisory based on the Indian traditional medicine practices Ayurveda, Homeopathy and Unani.”
BREAKING: British nationals who are set to be evacuated from Wuhan will be quarantined for up to 14 days after arriving back in the UK, health officials have said.
Our health correspondent Shaun Lintern has more details on the story below:
Kazakhstan suspends transport links with China over outbreak
Kazakhstan’s government has announced it will suspend all forms of travel to and from neighbouring China over concerns about the spread of coronavirus.
The government has also suspended the issuance of visas to Chinese citizens, it said in a statement.
Travel expert warns ‘lack of clear information’ on flight suspensions could cause distress
Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, has warned that a “lack of clear information” from British Airways on its decision to suspend flights to China could cause distress to passengers.
“British Airways’ decision to cancel flights to and from China is understandable following the Foreign Office travel warning,” Mr Boland said.
“These passengers will be worried that they are now stranded. BA and the Foreign Office must urgently clarify what options it can provide to customers – particularly those already in China – so they can amend their plans accordingly and get home.”
Papua New Guinea has announced that all travellers from Asia will not be allowed into the country over fears of a coronavirus outbreak, according to the BBC’s Stephen McDonell.
The move is one of the strictest measures yet by a country to stop the spread of the virus.
Our travel correspondent Simon Calder has some more details on the impact of the Foreign Office’s advice to avoid “all but essential travel” to China.
“The Independent’s travel desk calculates from holiday patterns and flight data that there are 10,000 UK travellers in mainland China – together with a similar number who are in Hong Kong, which is unaffected by the new Foreign Office advice.
“In addition, thousands of long-stay British expatriates are in the People’s Republic as students, staff of multinational companies and teachers of English.”
The estimate comes as a number of airlines have announced this morning that they are suspending flights to China over the coronavirus outbreak.
The British Airways flight 38 from Beijing and BA168 from Shanghai, which will touch down at Heathrow just after 3pm, will be the last British Airways flights from the two Chinese cities for an indefinite time.
Virgin Atlantic has said it is continuing to operate its daily flights between Heathrow and Shanghai after a number of airlines said they were suspending travel to China.
“We continue to monitor the situation regarding coronavirus and will always follow guidance as set out by relevant authorities,” a spokesperson said.
“The Foreign & Commonwealth Office is advising against all but essential travel to mainland China, excluding Hong Kong.”
Chinese national football team quarantined in Australia
The Chinese women’s national football team has been quarantined in Australia over concerns about the spread of coronavirus, according to health officials.
Jeannette Young, Queensland state’s chief health officer, said the group of 32 people had travelled through Wuhan a week ago and would be kept in isolation in a Brisbane hotel until next Wednesday.
The group, which includes players and staff, were placed in isolation by border officials after arriving in Brisbane on a flight from Shanghai on Tuesday.
They are travelling with a team doctor and no-one has shown symptoms so far.
Indonesia’s Lion Air has joined BA by suspending flights to China over the coronavirus outbreak.
Hong Kong confirms new cases of coronavirus
Hong Kong has confirmed two more cases for coronavirus, according to AFP’s Jerome Taylor.
The two patients are reportedly a 73-year-old woman and 72-year-old man who are both residents of Wuhan.
Mr Taylor added that the couple stayed in two hotels before falling ill on 28 January and may have been infectious for six days before they went to hospital.
Japanese evacuation flight brings workers back from virus-hit city
The first group of Japanese evacuees from Wuhan also arrived in Tokyo this morning, with five of the 206 passengers immediately taken into hospital with a cough and fever.
The five evacuees were taken to a designated Tokyo hospital specialising in treating infectious diseases, prime minister Shinzo Abe told a parliamentary session.
It is unclear if any passengers are ill with coronavirus at this time.
“We were feeling increasingly uneasy as the situation developed so rapidly when we were still in the city,” Takeo Aoyama, an employee at Nippon Steel Corp’s subsidiary in Wuhan, told reporters at Tokyo’s Haneda airport while he waited for a bus to take him to a health check.
Jet lands in Alaska with US citizens from China outbreak zone
A chartered plane carrying about 200 Americans from Wuhan landed in Alaska earlier this morning (at 9.30pm local time).
The plane, which is carrying diplomats from the US Consulate in Wuhan and some other US citizens, has made a refuelling stop in Alaska before it flies on to Southern California, according to the US Embassy in China.
In Anchorage, Alaska, passengers were set to go through customs and a Centers for Disease Control screening.
“Then they will put them back on the plane and then send them on to their final destination,” Jim Szczesniak, manager of the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, said.
A British national who has been living in Wuhan with his Indonesian wife and two British children has criticised the UK government’s evacuation efforts this morning.
Nick House told Sky News that he was told by an official he could take a flight home but his wife, who does not have a visa, could not.
“We would like to be out of here. The man on the other end of the phone said ‘Yes, you are on the list, but unfortunately your wife probably won’t be able to get on the plane because she doesn’t have a visa at the moment,’” Mr House said.
“I won’t leave without my wife, so essentially the government are leaving three British people here for the sake of one seat on a plane.”
UAE confirms first cases of coronavirus in Middle East
The United Arab Emirates has said doctors are treating a family for coronavirus, confirming the first cases in the Middle East from the outbreak.
The UAE’s state-run WAM news agency made the announcement and cited the Health and Prevention Ministry, but offered no details on where the family lived nor where they were receiving treatment.
It has also not offered the number of patients being treated and only said the cases came from “members of a family arriving from the Chinese city of Wuhan.”
The UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula that includes Dubai and Abu Dhabi, is home to long-haul carriers Emirates and Etihad Airways and is a hub for global air travel.
The virus, which was first identified in Asia, has spread around the world to North America, Europe and Australasia.
Additional reporting by AP
