up and down

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/01/world/asia/china-coronavirus.html As New Coronavirus Spread, China’s Old Habits Delayed Fight At critical turning points, Chinese authorities put secrecy and order ahead of openly confronting the growing crisis and risking public alarm or political embarrassment. The Wuhan Red Cross Hospital on Jan. 25; five days after China acknowledged a new virus could pass from human to human, but weeks after it had started to spread. WUHAN, China — A mysterious illness had stricken seven patients at a hospital, and a doctor tried to warn his medical school classmates. “Quarantined in the emergency department,” the doctor, Li Wenliang, wrote in an online chat group on Dec. 30, referring to patients. “So frightening,” one recipient replied, before asking about the epidemic that began in China in 2002 and ultimately killed nearly 800 people. “Is SARS coming again?” In the middle of the night, officials from the health authority in the central city of Wuhan summoned Dr. Li, demanding to know why he had shared the information. Three days later, the police compelled him to sign a statement that his warning constituted “illegal behavior.” The illness was not SARS, but something similar: a coronavirus that is now on a relentless march outward from Wuhan, throughout the country and across the globe, killing at least 304 people in China and infecting more than 14,380 worldwide. The virus has sickened more than 14,500 people in China and 23 other countries. The government’s initial handling of the epidemic allowed the virus to gain a tenacious hold. At critical moments, officials chose to put secrecy and order ahead of openly confronting the growing crisis to avoid public alarm and political embarrassment. A reconstruction of the crucial seven weeks between the appearance of the first symptoms in early December and the government’s decision to lock down the city, based on two dozen interviews with Wuhan residents, doctors and officials, on government statements and on Chinese media reports, points to decisions that delayed a concerted public health offensive. In those weeks, the authorities silenced doctors and others for raising red flags. They played down the dangers to the public, leaving the city’s 11 million residents unaware they should protect themselves. They closed a food market where the virus was believed to have started, but told the public it was for renovations. Their reluctance to go public, in part, played to political motivations as local officials prepared for their annual congresses in January. Even as cases climbed, officials declared repeatedly that there had likely been no more infections. By not moving aggressively to warn the public and medical professionals, public health experts say, the Chinese government lost one of its best chances to keep the disease from becoming an epidemic. “This was an issue of inaction,” said Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations who studies China. “There was no action in Wuhan from the local health department to alert people to the threat.” The first case, the details of which are limited and the specific date unknown, was in early December. By the time the authorities galvanized into action on Jan. 20, the disease had grown into a formidable threat. Dr. Li Wenliang It is now a global health emergency. It has triggered travel restrictions around the world, shaken financial markets and created perhaps the greatest challenge yet for China’s leader, Xi Jinping. The crisis could upend Mr. Xi’s agenda for months or longer, even undermining his vision of a political system that offers security and growth in return for submission to iron-fisted authoritarianism. On the last day of 2019, after Dr. Li’s message was shared outside the group, the authorities focused on controlling the narrative. The police announced that they were investigating eight people for spreading rumors about the outbreak. That same day, Wuhan’s health commission, its hand forced by those “rumors,” announced that 27 people were suffering from pneumonia of an unknown cause. Its statement said there was no need to be alarmed. “The disease is preventable and controllable,” the statement said. Dr. Li, an ophthalmologist, went back to work after being reprimanded. On Jan. 10, he treated a woman for glaucoma. He did not know she had already been infected with the coronavirus, probably by her daughter. They both became sick. So would he. Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan on Jan. 11. It was shut on Jan. 1 — for renovation, state media said. Hazmat Suits and Disinfectants Hu Xiaohu, who sold processed pork in the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, sensed by late December that something was amiss. Workers were coming down with nagging fevers. No one knew why but, Mr. Hu said, several were in hospital quarantine. The market occupies much of a block in a newer part of the city, sitting incongruously near apartment buildings and shops catering to the growing middle class. It is a warren of stalls selling meats, poultry and fish, as well as more exotic fare, including live reptiles and wild game that some in China prize as delicacies. According to a report by the city’s center for disease control, sanitation was dismal, with poor ventilation and garbage piled on wet floors. In hospitals, doctors and nurses were puzzled to see a cluster of patients with symptoms of a viral pneumonia that did not respond to the usual treatments. They soon noticed that many patients had one thing in common: They worked in Huanan market. On Jan. 1, police officers showed up at the market, along with public health officials, and shut it down. Xinhua news agency reported that the market was undergoing renovation, but that morning, workers in hazmat suits moved in, washing out stalls and spraying disinfectants. It was, for the public, the first visible government response to contain the disease. The day before, on Dec. 31, national authorities had alerted the World Health Organization’s office in Beijing of an outbreak. How Bad Will the Coronavirus Outbreak Get? Here Are 6 Key Factors Here’s what early research says about how the pathogen behaves and the factors that will determine whether it can be contained. City officials struck optimistic notes in their announcements. They suggested they had stopped the virus at its source. The cluster of illnesses was limited. There was no evidence the virus spread between humans. Wuhan Coronavirus Impact in the U.S. There have been seven confirmed cases in the U.S., but no deaths. Anxiety is intense on college campuses. The 195 Americans who were evacuated from Wuhan to California have been quarantined as one person tried to flee. If you live in California, here’s what this means for you. President Trump has temporarily suspended entry into the U.S. for any foreign nationals who have traveled to China. Delta, United and American Airlines are suspending service from the U.S. and China. READ MORE “Projecting optimism and confidence, if you don’t have the data, is a very dangerous strategy,” said Alexandra Phelan, a faculty research instructor in the department of microbiology and immunology at Georgetown University. “It undermines the legitimacy of the government in messaging,” she added. “And public health is dependent on public trust.” Nine days after the market closed, a man who shopped there regularly became the first fatality of the disease, according to a report by the Wuhan Health Commission, the agency that oversees public health and sanitation. The 61-year-old, identified by his last name, Zeng, already had chronic liver disease and a tumor in his abdomen, and had checked into Wuhan Puren Hospital with a raging fever and difficulty breathing. The authorities disclosed the man’s death two days after it happened. They did not mention a crucial detail in understanding the course of the epidemic. Mr. Zeng’s wife had developed symptoms five days after he did. She had never visited the market. The intensive care unit at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University in Wuhan, China, on Jan. 24. The Race to Identify a Killer About 20 miles from the market, scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology were studying samples from the patients checking into the city’s hospitals. One of the scientists, Zheng-Li Shi, was part of the team that tracked down the origins of the SARS virus, which emerged in the southern province of Guangdong in 2002. As the public remained largely in the dark about the virus, she and her colleagues quickly pieced together that the new outbreak was related to SARS. The genetic composition suggested a common initial host: bats. The SARS epidemic began when a coronavirus jumped from bats to Asian palm civets, a catlike creature that is legally raised and consumed. It was likely that this new coronavirus had followed a similar path — possibly somewhere in or on the way to the Huanan market or another market like it. Around the same time, Dr. Li and other medical professionals in Wuhan started trying to provide warnings to colleagues and others when the government did not. Lu Xiaohong, the head of gastroenterology at City Hospital No. 5, told China Youth Daily that she had heard by Dec. 25 that the disease was spreading among medical workers — a full three weeks before the authorities would acknowledge the fact. She did not go public with her concerns, but privately warned a school near another market. By the first week of January, the emergency ward in Hospital No. 5 was filling; the cases included members of the same family, making it clear that the disease was spreading through human contact, which the government had said was not likely. No one realized, the doctor said, that it was as serious as it would become until it was too late to stop it. “I realized that we had underestimated the enemy,” she said. At the Institute of Virology, Dr. Shi and her colleagues isolated the genetic sequence and the viral strain during the first week of January. They used samples from seven of the first patients, six of them vendors at the market. On Jan. 7, the institute’s scientists gave the new coronavirus its identity and began referring to it by the technical shorthand 2019-nCoV. Four days later, the team shared the virus’s genetic makeup in a public database for scientists everywhere to use. That allowed scientists around the world to study the virus and swiftly share their findings. As the scientific community moved quickly to devise a test for exposure, political leaders remained reluctant to act. Wuhan on Jan. 27. The city went ahead with a giant potluck dinner in mid-January. ‘Politics is Always No. 1’ As the virus spread in early January, the mayor of Wuhan, Zhou Xianwang, was touting futuristic health care plans for the city. It was China’s political season, when officials gather for annual meetings of People’s Congresses — the Communist Party-run legislatures that discuss and praise policies. It is not a time for bad news. When Mr. Zhou delivered his annual report to the city’s People’s Congress on Jan. 7 against a backdrop of bright red national flags, he promised the city top-class medical schools, a World Health Expo, and a futuristic industry park for medical companies. Not once did he or any other city or provincial leader publicly mention the viral outbreak. “Stressing politics is always No. 1,” the governor of Hubei, Wang Xiaodong, told officials on Jan. 17, citing Mr. Xi’s precepts of top-down obedience. “Political issues are at any time the most fundamental major issues.” Shortly after, Wuhan went ahead with a massive annual potluck banquet for 40,000 families from a city precinct, which critics later cited as evidence that local leaders took the virus far too lightly. As the congress was taking place, the health commission’s daily updates on the outbreak said again and again that there were no new cases of infection, no firm evidence of human transmission and no infection of medical workers. “We knew this was not the case!” said a complaint later filed with the National Health Commission on a government website. The anonymous author said he was a doctor in Wuhan and described a surge in unusual chest illnesses beginning Jan. 12. Officials told doctors at a top city hospital “don’t use the words viral pneumonia on the image reports,” according to the complaint, which has since been removed. People were complacent, “thinking that if the official reports had nothing, then we were exaggerating,” the doctor explained. Even those stricken felt lulled into complacency. When Dong Guanghe developed a fever on Jan. 8 in Wuhan, his family was not alarmed, his daughter said. He was treated in the hospital and sent home. Then, 10 days later, Mr. Dong’s wife fell ill with similar symptoms. “The news said nothing about the severity of the epidemic,” said the daughter, Dong Mingjing. “I thought that my dad had a common cold.” The government’s efforts to minimize public disclosure persuaded more than just untrained citizens. “If there are no new cases in the next few days, the outbreak is over,” Guan Yi, a respected professor of infectious diseases at the University of Hong Kong, said on Jan. 15. The World Health Organization’s statements during this period echoed the reassuring words of Chinese officials. It had spread. Thailand reported the first confirmed case outside China on Jan. 13. Health officials in Hangzhou, China, taking train passengers’ temperatures after they arrived from Wuhan on Jan. 23. A City Besieged The first deaths and the spread of the disease abroad appeared to grab the attention of the top authorities in Beijing. The national government dispatched Zhong Nanshan, a renowned and now-semiretired epidemiologist who was instrumental in the fight against SARS, to Wuhan to assess the situation. He arrived on Jan. 18, just as the tone of local officials was shifting markedly. A health conference in Hubei Province that day called on medical workers to make the disease a priority. An internal document from Wuhan Union Hospital warned its employees that the coronavirus could be spread through saliva. On Jan. 20, more than a month after the first symptoms spread, the current of anxiety that had been steadily gaining strength exploded into public. Dr. Zhong announced in an interview on state television that there was no doubt that the coronavirus spread with human contact. Worse, one patient had infected at least 14 medical personnel. Mr. Xi, fresh from a state visit to Myanmar, made his first public statement about the outbreak, issuing a brief set of instructions. It was only with the order from Mr. Xi that the bureaucracy leapt into action. At that point the death toll was three; in the next 11 days, it would rise above 200. In Wuhan, the city banned tour groups from visiting. Residents began pulling on masks. Guan Yi, the Hong Kong expert who had earlier voiced optimism that the outbreak could level off, was now alarmed. He dropped by one of the city’s other food markets and was shocked by the complacency, he said. He told city officials that the epidemic was “already beyond control” and would leave. “I hurriedly booked a departure,” Dr. Guan told Caixin, a Chinese news organization. Two days later, the city announced that it was shutting itself down, a move that could only have been approved by Beijing. In Wuhan, many residents said they did not grasp the gravity of the epidemic until the lockdown. The mass alarm that officials feared at the start became a reality, heightened by the previous paucity of information. Crowds of people crushed the airport and train stations to get out before the deadline fell on the morning of Jan. 23. Hospitals were packed with people desperate to know if they, too, were infected. “We didn’t wear masks at work. That would have frightened off customers,” Yu Haiyan, a waitress from rural Hubei, said of the days before the shutdown. “When they closed off Wuhan, only then did I think, ‘Oh, this is really serious, this is not some average virus.’” Wuhan’s mayor, Zhou Xianwang, later took responsibility for the delay in reporting the scale of the epidemic, but said he was hampered by the national law on infectious diseases. That law allows provincial governments to declare an epidemic only after receiving central government approval. “After I receive information, I can only release it when I’m authorized,” he said. Dr. Li in Wuhan Central Hospital on Friday. The official reflex for suppressing discomforting information now appears to be cracking, as officials at various levels seek to shift blame for the government’s response. With the crisis worsening, Dr. Li’s efforts are no longer viewed as reckless. A commentary on the social media account of the Supreme People’s Court criticized the police for investigating people for circulating rumors. “It might have been a better way to prevent and control the new coronavirus today if the public had believed the ‘rumor’ then and started to wear masks and carry out sanitary measures and avoid the wild animal market,” the commentary said. Dr. Li is 34 and has a child. He and his wife are expecting a second in the summer. He is now recovering from the virus in the hospital where he worked. In an interview via text messages, he said he felt aggrieved by the police actions. “If the officials had disclosed information about the epidemic earlier,” he said, “I think it would have been a lot better. There should be more openness and transparency.”

Today the whole world is shocked by the first Coronavirus patient death in Philippines. Philippines recorded the first Coronavirus death outside of China. However we need not worry because the Coronavirus patient is actually from Wuhan. Coronavirus Cases: 14,559 Deaths: 305 Confirmed Cases and Deaths by Country and Territory as of 2nd February, 2020. (Affecting 27 countries and territories) Country Total Cases 1-day Change Total Deaths Region China 14,381 +2,590 304 Asia Japan 20 +3 0 Asia Thailand 19 0 Asia Singapore 18 +2 0 Asia South Korea 15 +4 0 Asia Hong Kong 14 +1 0 Asia Australia 12 +3 0 Australia/Oceania Taiwan 10 0 Asia U.S. 8 +1 0 North America Germany 8 +1 0 Europe Macao 8 +1 0 Asia Malaysia 8 0 Asia Vietnam 7 +2 0 Asia France 6 0 Europe U.A.E. 5 +1 0 Asia Canada 4 0 North America Philippines 2 +1 1 Asia India 2 +1 0 Asia Italy 2 0 Europe Russia 2 0 Europe U.K. 2 0 Europe Cambodia 1 0 Asia Finland 1 0 Europe Sri Lanka 1 0 Asia Nepal 1 0 Asia Sweden 1 0 Europe Spain 1 0 Europe

Today the world is once again shocked when someone from Wuhan died in Philippines. Phillipines have recorded the first Coronavirus case outside of China with the first death of a Coronavirus patient outside China. So things are getting severe now. By now Coronavirus has spread to the whole part of China. Therefore there is in no way any sports events or sports tournaments can be held in China due to this dangerous Coronavirus. We do not want to see any athletes infected with Coronavirus before Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Continue to pray hard for the whole state of China. Coronavirus is really getting out of control.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/02/world/asia/china-coronavirus.html Coronavirus Live Updates: Death in Philippines Is First Outside China As the overall death toll passed 300, health workers in Hong Kong threatened to strike if the territory’s government did not completely close the border with mainland China. The Philippines bans non-Filipino travelers arriving from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. Here’s what you need to know: A man from Wuhan has died in the Philippines. The death toll passed 300, with more than 14,000 infections confirmed. Hong Kong medical workers threaten to strike Monday. A man from Wuhan has died in the Philippines. Workers outside a hospital in Manila set up a quarantine area for people with symptoms of the coronavirus. A 44-year-old man in the Philippines has died of the coronavirus, health officials said on Sunday, making him the first known death outside China. The man, a resident of Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the virus, died on Saturday after developing what officials called “severe pneumonia.” “This is the first known death of someone with 2019-nCoV outside of China,” the World Health Organization’s office in the Philippines said in a statement, using the technical shorthand for the coronavirus. Philippines health officials said the man had arrived in the country on Jan. 21 with a 38-year-old woman who remains under observation. “In his last few days, the patient was stable and showed signs of improvement; however, the condition of the patient deteriorated within his last 24 hours, resulting in his demise,” the health secretary, Francisco Duque III, said. Hours before the death was announced, the Philippines said it was temporarily banning non-Filipino travelers arriving from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. Mr. Duque said the Philippines was currently observing 23 people who had been isolated in hospitals with possible coronavirus symptoms. “The new developments warrant a more diligent approach in containing the threats of the 2019-nCoV,” he said. The death toll passed 300, with more than 14,000 infections confirmed. A temporary field hospital being built in Wuhan is expected to open on Tuesday, 11 days after construction began. Chinese officials on Sunday reported a surge in new cases. ◆ The death toll in China rose to at least 304. ◆ More than 2,000 new cases were also recorded in the country in the past 24 hours, raising the worldwide total to nearly 14,380, according to Chinese and World Health Organization data. The vast majority of the cases are inside China; about 100 cases have been confirmed in 23 other countries. ◆ All of China’s provinces and territories have now been touched by the outbreak. ◆ Countries and territories that have confirmed cases: Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Australia, Malaysia, Macau, Russia, France, the United States, South Korea, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Britain, Vietnam, Italy, India, the Philippines, Nepal, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Finland, Sweden and Spain. Wuhan Coronavirus Impact in the U.S. There have been seven confirmed cases in the U.S., but no deaths. Anxiety is intense on college campuses. The 195 Americans who were evacuated from Wuhan to California have been quarantined as one person tried to flee. If you live in California, here’s what this means for you. President Trump has temporarily suspended entry into the U.S. for any foreign nationals who have traveled to China. Delta, United and American Airlines are suspending service from the U.S. and China. READ MORE ◆ Cases recorded in Thailand, Taiwan, Germany, Vietnam, Japan, France and the United States involved patients who had not been to China. ◆ China has asked the European Union for help in purchasing urgently needed medical supplies from its member countries, the China’s official Xinhua news agency said on Saturday. Hong Kong medical workers threaten to strike Monday. A staff member at Princess Margaret Hospital in Hong Kong on Saturday. As many as 9,000 medical workers in Hong Kong have pledged to strike this week, a threat that alarms the territory’s officials as they are struggling to contain the coronavirus outbreak. The workers are demanding that Hong Kong close all border checkpoints to visitors from mainland China, saying they represent a threat to health care workers in the city. They are planning to paralyze nonemergency and then emergency services at hospitals, a union formed during the city’s anti-government protest movement said. “We believe such actions are our last resort,” the Hospital Authority Employees Alliance wrote in a statement Saturday night. Under the plan, nonessential hospital staff members who belong to the union would not go to work on Monday. If the government failed to close the border and heed their other demands by 9 p.m., union members handling emergency services would also strike, the union said. Matthew Cheung, Hong Kong’s No. 2 official, appealed to medical workers to reconsider, comparing them to guardians of the public. “At this critical moment, I believe the general public would count on medical personnel to fight against the epidemic together, in the spirit of professionalism,” he wrote in a blog post Sunday. Hong Kong confirmed its 14th coronavirus case late Saturday. The patient, an 80-year-old man, had traveled for a few hours to mainland China in early January, and later spent several days in Japan. In arguing against the job action, government officials say that the number of visitors from the mainland and other countries has decreased significantly after they closed several border points and rail stations and cut flight arrivals by half. But several border points remain open, and many medical workers fear being overwhelmed by a flood of visitors seeking treatment in Hong Kong’s well-regarded health care system. They have also voiced frustrations about patients from mainland China hiding their travel and medical history, potentially endangering other patients.

Quick Facts : The Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) originating from Wuhan, China, has now spread to 27 countries and territories worldwide, with 12,027 confirmed cases and 259 deaths as of February 1, 2020. On January 31, the first 2 novel coronavirus cases in the UK, the first 2 cases in Russia, and the first case in Sweden and in Spain have been reported. Canada reported its 4th case. On January 30, 2020, the novel coronavirus total case count surpassed that for SARS (which affected 8,096 people worldwide). In the United States, there are 6 cases confirmed by the CDC: 1 in Arizona, 2 in California, 1 in Washington state, and 2 in Illinois. More info. On Jan. 30 CDC confirmed the first US case of human to human transmission. Wuhan (the city where the virus originated) is the largest city in Central China, with a population of over 11 million people. The city, on January 23, shut down transport links. Following Wuhan lockdown, the city of Huanggang was also placed in quarantine, and the city of Ezhou closed its train stations. This means than 18 million people have been placed in isolation. The World Health Organization (WHO) said cutting off a city as large as Wuhan is "unprecedented in public health history." and praised China for its incredible commitment to isolate the virus and minimize the spread to other countries. Germany, Japan, Vietnam and the United States have reported cases in patients who didn't personally visit China, but contracted the virus from someone else who had visited Wuhan, China. These cases of human to human transmission are the most worrisone, according to the WHO.

Here is the latest date statistics of coronavirus patient. Confirmed Cases and Deaths by Country (Affecting 27 countries and territories) Most of the countries listed below have coronavirus patients because they are tourists from China who have been abroad for holidays and then found out to be positive of coronavirus so they have to stay put at the particular country they have visited for treatment and inspection. However there are also countries such as Japan and Germany whereby even the local people who have never been to China have also been infected with Coronavirus. So of course things are getting very severe. Country Cases Deaths Region China 11,860 259 Asia Japan 20 0 Asia Thailand 19 0 Asia Singapore 18 0 Asia Hong Kong 13 0 Asia South Korea 12 0 Asia Australia 12 0 Australia/Oceania Taiwan 10 0 Asia Malaysia 8 0 Asia United States 7 0 North America Germany 7 0 Europe Macao 7 0 Asia Vietnam 6 0 Asia France 6 0 Europe United Arab Emirates 4 0 Asia Canada 4 0 North America Italy 2 0 Europe United Kingdom 2 0 Europe Russia 2 0 Europe India 1 0 Asia Finland 1 0 Europe Sweden 1 0 Europe Sri Lanka 1 0 Asia Cambodia 1 0 Asia Philippines 1 0 Asia Nepal 1 0 Asia Spain 1 0 Europe

Thank you very much for your constant updates.

As can be seen from many news reported, Coronavirus spread very fast. Now even people who have not been to Wuhan also can get infected with Coronavirus. Due to this, all the various different countries are on high alert over the spread of Coronavirus.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/01/30/national/three-japanese-wuhan-coronavirus/ Three Japanese returnees from Wuhan test positive for new coronavirus Three Japanese who returned from Wuhan on a government-chartered flight have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the health ministry said Thursday as more Japanese evacuees from the Chinese city arrived in Tokyo. The three — one in stable condition and two without symptoms — were among 206 people brought back Wednesday from Wuhan amid a deadly outbreak started by the pneumonia-causing virus. It is the first time that a person outside of China without symptoms has been confirmed to be infected with the virus, according to Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases. A further 210 Japanese were flown back home Thursday on a second government-chartered flight, with some displaying symptoms such as coughs, according to the health ministry. In the first group of returnees, all but two people agreed to tests for the virus. All passengers other than the three tested negative for the virus, the ministry said. The latest group who came back Thursday is expected to be similarly screened. “We will put top priority on protecting the lives and health of the people, and we will decide on what needs to be done without hesitation,” said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a Diet session Thursday, adding it was “extremely regrettable” that two people on the first flight refused to be screened. Abe said authorities “spent a long time trying to convince them following their return” but could not force them to undergo testing as it is not mandatory by law. Abe also stressed the importance of Taiwan joining the World Health Organization, saying “it will be difficult to stop the spread” if Taiwan is excluded for political reasons. The government is planning to send a third flight. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said there are still some 300 Japanese who wish to return from Wuhan, which has been under a virtual lockdown since last week. Suga said the government is also considering using public facilities, including the National Police Academy, to house the returnees. While returnees praised the government’s effort to bring them home quickly, there has been criticism of Japan’s decision to let them “self-quarantine,” including the two people on the first flight who refused to be tested. Those two were asked to avoid public transport, and quarantine officers will follow up on their health, officials said. Japan’s approach sits in stark contrast with other countries that are isolating repatriated nationals for between 72 hours and 14 days. Regulations make similar measures difficult, and the law allows people to refuse testing, said Kazuo Kobayashi, head of the public hygiene department at the Osaka Institute of Public Health. “(The authorities) can only make a request but it doesn’t have binding power,” he said, declining to comment on the public safety implications. The government has decided to classify the new virus a “designated infectious disease,” meaning it will be able to forcibly hospitalize those who test positive. But the rules on testing people with no symptoms will not be affected. The total number of people infected with the virus in Japan, including foreign nationals, rose to 14 on Thursday, including the two people showing no symptoms. On Wednesday, authorities reported a second case involving someone who had not traveled to China. The woman was a tour guide who worked on the same bus as a driver who had contracted the virus despite not traveling to China. The bus was carrying a group of Chinese tourists from Wuhan earlier this month. “The tour guide’s case is the second suspected incident of human-to-human transmission in Japan,” Kato said. “We are in a truly new situation.” The tour guide, who is in her 40s, is a foreign national living in Osaka and was hospitalized on Jan. 23 with pneumonia, the health ministry said. Neither the guide nor the driver has ever been to Wuhan. The government said Tuesday the driver in his 60s from neighboring Nara Prefecture became the first Japanese to be infected with the virus in the country. He is believed to have had close contact with a total of 22 people both in and outside Nara after infection, including the tour guide, according to the prefectural government. In mainland China, confirmed cases of infection have exceeded 7,700 and the death toll has reached 170, including over 120 in Wuhan, according to state media. Aside from China and Japan, cases of infection have been confirmed in 14 countries including Thailand, Australia, Singapore and the United States as of Wednesday, according to a World Health Organization report.

Agreed.

Not really.

I greatly support the idea of organising BAC (Badminton Asia Championship) in Philippines. BATC will be held in Philippines in the month of February. It is certainly a good idea for Philippines to host the BAC as well. Every part of China is now infected with Coronavirus. So any city in China is deemed as not safe to organize any sports events anymore. We do not want any athletes to be infected with Coronavirus before Tokyo 2020 Olympics. So moving is to Philippines is a good idea. Thumbs up from me.

Thank you very much for your explanation. I really pitied those citizens in China especially those living in Wuhan. Imagine living in the city where the deadly virus is spread and then being able to leave the city waiting for their death. My heart broken reading so many news about people dying nonstop in Wuhan and also differentb parts of China. Man this is so sad. I certainly hope this coronavirus will stop spreading.

https://bwfbadminton.com/news-single/2020/02/01/bwf-statement-on-postponement-of-lingshui-china-masters/ First good move made by BWF. Pospone the Lingshui China Masters which will be held in Fabruary after knowing that Corona Virus have spread to different parts of China. BWF STATEMENT ON POSTPONEMENT OF LINGSHUI CHINA MASTERS 01 FEBRUARY, 2020 TEXT BY BWF STAFF The Badminton World Federation (BWF) and Chinese Badminton Association (CBA) can confirm the decision to postpone the Lingshui China Masters 2020 until a later date in the wake of growing concerns over the coronavirus outbreak in China and surrounding areas. BWF and CBA have considered all necessary health, safety and logistical risks and both parties believe it is sensible to postpone the tournament at this time. It may be noted that many players have already withdrawn from the tournament. Exact replacement dates are yet to be established but alternative options are being discussed with a new time slot for May earmarked as a possibility. The tournament was due to be held from 25 February to 1 March, 2020. Both BWF and CBA are in dialogue with the tournament host as well as Member Associations and players to adjust travel plans and revise tournament planning. The Lingshui China Masters 2020 was one of the qualifying events for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. With a likely new date for May or later, ranking points from this event will now no longer contribute to Olympic qualifying as it will be outside the qualification window. The BWF is continuing to monitor all official updates on the coronavirus and is mindful that HSBC BWF World Tour and other BWF-sanctioned tournaments may be affected, but there are no concrete plans or decisions at this point to change the status of any other events. The BWF can also confirm that Badminton Asia is reviewing its flagship event, the 2020 Badminton Asia Championships to be staged in Wuhan, China, and the BWF will support Badminton Asia and CBA in this process. It is, however, too early at this time to make any final conclusions related to this event. The 2020 Badminton Asia Championships falls within the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games qualification window and is one of the last opportunities for athletes to qualify for the Olympics Games. BWF will continue to update the entire badminton community on any further announcements related to the coronavirus outbreak.

As can be seen from various different news, coronavirus has indeed spread to different parts of China and by now all the different districts in China has been reported to have patients infected with coronavirus. Due to this any part of China is no longer deemed as safe. Death toll due to coronavirus continue to increase. Due to this China is no longer a safe country to visit. Holding any sports events in any part of China is definitely posing danger to athletes health. Due to this any sport tournaments that is scheduled to be held in China should be cancelled or changed to be held in other countries due to athletes safety. We do not want to see any Tokyo 2020 Olympics bound athletes to be infected with Coronavirus for sure.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51305526 Coronavirus: Death toll rises as virus spreads to every Chinese region 30 January 2020 The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak has risen to 170, and a confirmed case in Tibet means it has reached every region in mainland China. Chinese health authorities said there were 7,711 confirmed cases in the country as of 29 January. Infections have also spread to at least 15 other countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) are again meeting in Geneva to consider whether the virus should be declared a global health emergency. Various countries have implemented evacuation and quarantine plans for nationals wanting to return from China, where the outbreak began in the city of Wuhan. Russia has decided to close its 4,300km (2,670-mile) far-eastern border with China in an attempt to stop contagion. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus named Germany, Vietnam and Japan, as places where people had caught the virus from others who had visited China. "Although the numbers outside China are still relatively small, they hold the potential for a much larger outbreak," he said, adding that human-to-human transmission was a concern. More people have now been infected in China than during the Sars outbreak in the early 2000s, but the death toll remains far lower. Sars, also a coronavirus, caused acute respiratory illness. Researchers are racing to develop a vaccine to protect people from the virus. One lab in California has plans for a potential vaccine to enter human trials by June or July. What's the latest on evacuations? Voluntary evacuations of hundreds of foreign nationals from Wuhan are under way to help people who want to leave the closed-off city and return to their countries. The UK, Australia, South Korea, Singapore and New Zealand are expected to quarantine all evacuees for two weeks to monitor them for symptoms and avoid any contagion. Britons in Wuhan to return home on Friday Australia plans to quarantine its evacuees on Christmas Island, 2,000km (1,200 miles) from the mainland in a detention centre that has been used to house asylum seekers. The Costa Smeralda cruise ship, carrying 6,000 people, is stuck at port near Rome Singapore is setting up a quarantine facility on Pulau Ubin, an island north-east of the city-state's mainland. In other developments: Chicago health officials have reported the first US case of human-to-human transmission of the deadly coronavirus Six thousand people on board a cruise ship in Italy were barred from disembarking after a Chinese passenger was suspected of having coronavirus; however initial tests have come back as negative Flights to take British and South Korean citizens out of Wuhan have both been delayed after relevant permissions from the Chinese authorities did not come through Two flights to Japan have already landed in Tokyo. Three passengers have so far tested positive for the virus, Japanese media report Around 200 US citizens have been flown out of Wuhan and are being isolated at a military base in California for at least 72 hours Two aircraft are due to fly EU citizens home with 250 French nationals leaving on the first flight India has confirmed its first case of the virus - a student in the southern state of Kerala who was studying in Wuhan Japan's first flight with evacuees arrived on Wednesday How is China handling the outbreak? Although questions have been raised about transparency, the WHO has praised China's handling of the outbreak. President Xi Jinping has vowed to defeat what he called a "devil" virus. The central province of Hubei, where nearly all deaths have occurred, is in a state of lockdown. The province of 60 million people is home to Wuhan, the heart of the outbreak. The city has effectively been sealed off and China has put numerous transport restrictions in place to curb the spread of the virus. The WHO warns the virus holds the potential for a much larger outbreak People who have been in Hubei are also being told by their employers to work from home until it is considered safe for them to return. The virus is affecting China's economy, the world's second-largest, with a growing number of countries advising their citizens to avoid all non-essential travel to the country. How are coronavirus patients treated? How worried should we be? Several international airlines have stopped or scaled back their routes to China and companies like Google, Ikea, Starbucks and Tesla have closed their shops or stopped operations. There have been reports of food shortages in some places. State media says authorities are "stepping up efforts to ensure continuous supply and stable prices". The Chinese Football Association has announced the postponement of all games in the 2020 season. Who has been affected? Although there have been nearly 8,000 infections, there has been little detailed information released on the profiles of patients and how the disease affects them. Most of the confirmed cases involve people either from Wuhan or who had close contact with someone who had been there. A new study published by The New England Journal of Medicine on the coronavirus is based on data for the first 425 confirmed cases in Wuhan. It reveals: Of the 425, 55% diagnosed before 1 January were linked to the seafood and animal market believed to be at the centre of the outbreak, compared with 8.6% of the subsequent cases The average age was 59 years and 56% were men Almost half the 425 cases were adults 60 years of age or older Human-to-human transmission among close contacts has occurred since the middle of December In its early stages, the epidemic doubled in size every seven days 89% of the patients were not hospitalised until at least day five of illness

In this case, BWF is just yet another total failure. BWF refused to move tournaments out of China. So as the outcome so many countries have withdrawn their players from playing in tournaments held in China. Worse still the BAC which is scheduled to be held in Wuhan, China. BWF still say it is too early to make a decision and will still want this tournament to be held in Wuhan, China. No plans made to shift the tournament to other places. What kind of response is this? Is BWF purposely putting badminton players health at risk?

https://bwfbadminton.com/news-single/2020/01/29/bwf-statement-on-coronavirus-outbreak/ The Badminton World Federation (BWF) will continue to closely monitor implications related to the coronavirus outbreak in China and surrounding areas with all necessary health, safety and travel precautions currently being considered. We also acknowledge today’s decisions to suspend flights to and from China in some countries and we are mindful of the complications this may have on the HSBC BWF World Tour, other BWF-sanctioned tournaments, and the badminton community in general. Currently, no decision has yet been made on any change in status to the Lingshui China Masters 2020 scheduled to take place between 25 February to 1 March in Lingshui, China, but the BWF is working with local organisers and the Chinese Badminton Association to create greater clarity around any risks. The BWF can also confirm that Badminton Asia is reviewing its flagship event, the 2020 Badminton Asia Championships to be staged in Wuhan, China, and the BWF will support Badminton Asia and the Chinese Badminton Association in this process. It is, however, too early at this time to make any final conclusions related to this event. The 2020 Badminton Asia Championships falls within the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games qualification window and is one of the last opportunities for athletes to qualify for the Olympics Games.

You are right. China is forever doing a poor job in this. Last time when SARS broke in China from 2002 till 2003, China hide the truth and refused to let the whole world knew about how severe is the virus. So horrible. As the outcome of it so many innocent people in China died.

The latest news I read is that PBSI, Indonesia Badminton Association has already suggested to Badminton Asia Confederation and BWF to move Badminton Asia Championship not to be held in Wuhan, China as long as the Corona Virus is still spreading rapidly in Wuhan.

Thank you very much for your reply.

Yes I totally agree with you. The host city must change. It should be moved out from China altogether for safety reasons. The whole of Indonesian team as far as I know has pulled out of Lingshui China Masters 2020. They are also considering pulling out their badminton players from playing in BAC now. So this is getting severe. Somehow the event must be shifted out from China. To do this they need to start finding countries who can host this event starting from now.

Thank you very much for your reply. However I personally think that the virus will still keep on spreading and it might take 1 whole year to subside. The SARS epidemic happened in year 2002 up to year 2003. So I still think that it is best to think of another venue to hold BAC to be on the safe side. This is Olympic qualification year and we do not want anything untoward to happen to any badminton players.

Thank you very much for your reply.

Thank you very much for your reply.