Hong Kong to evacuate stranded residents from China’s Hubei province

Hong Kong has arranged four charter flights to bring back more than 500 of its residents from the Chinese province of Hubei, the center of the coronavirus outbreak, about a month after countries around the world began evacuating their citizens.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the flights would return on Wednesday and Thursday and those coming back would be quarantined for 14 days upon arrival.

Various countries including the United States, France, Germany and South Korea began evacuating hundreds of their citizens in late January or early February.

More than 3,800 Hong Kong residents in more than 30 cities in Hubei, the capital of which is Wuhan, had asked the government of the Chinese-ruled, semi-autonomous city for help, creating a logistics headache. 

The coronavirus has killed two of the 100 people infected in Hong Kong.

Shanghai says visitors entering from virus-hit countries must be quarantined

Shanghai will require everyone entering the city from countries with “relatively serious virus conditions” to submit to 14 days of quarantine, an official said on Tuesday.

The rule will apply to all people regardless of nationality, said Xu Wei, an official with the city government’s news office, speaking to reporters at a briefing.

The southeast province of Guangdong, neighboring Hong Kong, announced similar rules earlier on Tuesday.

Empty shelves amid outbreak

Lawyer for American held in Iran alleges coronavirus detected in his prison ward

The lawyer for an American held in Iran said on Monday that his client is at “serious risk” of contracting the coronavirus after another inmate held near his cell tested positive for the illness.

A detainee held in the same prison ward as Iranian-American Siamak Namazi was diagnosed with coronavirus and has been removed, Jared Genser, a U.S. lawyer working on behalf of Namazi, said in a statement.

Before prisoners in the ward were confined to their cells on Monday, the inmates were eating meals together, gathering in the prison library, exercise facilities and television room, raising the risk of spreading the virus, Genser said.

Inmates who have asked to be tested for the coronavirus have been denied, he said. Evin prison also has rudimentary medical services and lacks basic medications for flu-like symptoms, according to Genser, who often speaks to Namazi by phone.

“To keep Siamak at Evin prison in the midst of a coronavirus outbreak and without access to testing or even basic medicines constitutes cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment in violation of Iran’s obligations under the Convention Against Torture,” Genser said.

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South Korean president declares ‘war’ against coronavirus

South Korean president Moon Jae-in has declared war against the novel coronavirus and apologized for a shortage of masks. 

At a cabinet meeting Tuesday Moon spoke about dangers of the growing epidemic in South Korea, where 4,812 cases have been confirmed so far and 28 people have died from the virus.

“The whole country has entered a war against the infectious disease,” Moon said. 

The president added that South Korea has been strengthening its prevention strategy and identifying confirmed cases quickly.

“I would like to sincerely apologize for the insufficient supply of masks,” Moon said, adding that producers are being encouraged to expand capacity.

He also asked his cabinet officials and the public to refrain from “amplifying anxiety and division” during the outbreak.

“The only way to overcome the situation with COVID-19 is for everyone to stay strong,” he added, referring to the name of the disease the virus causes.

Moon also said investment, consumption and industrial activity have shrunk considerably due to the outbreak promised that the government will spend 30 trillion won ($25 billion) on dealing with the crisis.

600 more cases reported in South Korea, deaths now at 28

South Korea on Tuesday morning reported an additional 600 cases of the coronavirus illness and additional deaths.

The new numbers reported by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention bring the total of confirmed cases there to 4,812, and the deaths to 28.

That is six additional deaths reported since Monday morning, which is the most number of deaths in a single day.

Thirty-four of the confirmed cases are said to have fully recovered, according to the KCDC official numbers. As of Monday afternoon local time, the number of those reported to be fully recovered was 31.

South Korea has one of the largest numbers of confirmed cases outside mainland China, where the coronavirus outbreak began. 

In mainland China, the deaths rose by 31 as of Tuesday morning local time, bringing the deaths there to 2,943, according to China’s National Health Commission. All 31 new deaths were in Hubei Province, which is where the Chinese city of Wuhan is located.

The number of confirmed cases in mainland China rose by 125 as of the end of the day Monday, the national health commission said, bringing the total number of cases on the mainland to more than 80,100.

San Antonio loses bid for restraining order over quarantine

The city of San Antonio on Monday lost a bid to get a temporary restraining order to prevent the release of more than 100 people who have completed a 14-day quarantine until they were either confirmed negative or completed a 28-day period.

The city was seeking to pause the planned release of people evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which had been quarantined in Japan. They were quarantined at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland.

In denying the temporary restraining order, U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez wrote that he was doubtful that the court had jurisdiction and that the U.S. Surgeon General and Secretary of Health and Human Services are authorized to make and enforce regulations.

“In this case, they have determined that two negative tests (twenty-four hours apart) and/or quarantine for fourteen days is sufficient to prevent transmission or spread of COVID-19,” Rodriguez wrote. “This Court has no authority to second-guess those determinations even though the Court also shares the concerns expressed by the Plaintiffs.”

But the mayor of San Antonio also issued a public health emergency declaration that says that travel through the city by anyone quarantined would not be permitted. 

“Effectively, the order requires the more than 120 evacuees at Lackland Air Force Base to remain on base and under quarantine,” the city said in a statement. A city representative did not immediately respond to a request for more clarity Monday night.

The lawsuit and the emergency declaration came as a woman was released under CDC protocol after two negative tests but then tested weakly positive for the coronavirus. The person, who had been evacuated from Wuhan, China, was released Saturday, returned to isolation and is being monitored, Mayor Ron Nirenberg said at a news conference earlier Monday.

The CDC said in a statement Monday that the person is being retested, and they were not showing symptoms at the time of release. “CDC is making decisions on a case-by-case basis using the best available science at the time. CDC’s priority is to protect both patients and communities,” the agency said.

Georgia reports first novel coronavirus cases

Georgia has reported its first cases of novel coronavirus, officials said Monday.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp told reporters that the cases, which were confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, involved two people in Fulton County, which includes Atlanta.

The people live in the same home and one had recently traveled to Milan, Italy, he said. The country has seen more cases of the virus than any other in Europe, with more than 1,800 cases and 52 deaths.

The person developed symptoms shortly after returning to Georgia, Kemp said.

The pair is at home with other relatives who were showing minor symptoms of the virus, said Kathleen Toomey, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health.

Toomey said that epidemiologists were working to trace their contacts to prevent the virus from further spreading.

Citing privacy concerns, officials declined to provide additional details about the cases.

Facebook won’t participate in SXSW because of coronavirus fears

Facebook will not participate in the annual media and music event South by Southwest because of fears of the novel coronavirus, the company said Monday. 

“Due to concerns related to coronavirus, our company and employees will not be participating in SXSW this year,” a Facebook Company spokesperson said in an email.

The withdrawal was reported by Business Insider earlier Monday.

Featured speaker Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced Sunday that he would be withdrawing after his company enacted a ban on non-essential travel.

South by Southwest, known as SXSW, is scheduled to be held in Austin, Texas, in mid-March.

Organizers said in a statement that they are working closely with local, state and federal agencies and that they are proceeding with the event. Organizers said that the health and safety of its attendees, staff and volunteers are a top priority.

“At this time, there are a handful of cancellations from participants who were traveling from China and Japan and there have been a few corporate travel bans. Other than that, the cancellations are on par from past years,” organizers said in a statement.

The statement said that participants are encouraged to follow personal hygiene practices, including washing hands and covering coughs, among other measures.