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Amazon employees in Milan quarantined after testing positive for coronavirus Amazon said it was "supporting" two employees in Milan, Italy, who tested positive for coronavirus. “We’re supporting the affected employees who were in Milan and are now in quarantine,” a company spokesperson told NBC News in a statement. The company told its workers Friday to defer all non-essential travel within the United States and beyond. The United States on Saturday hiked its travel advisory and urged U.S. citizens not to travel to the Veneto and Lombardy regions in the north of Italy because of the coronavirus outbreak there. Italy, the worst-hit country in Europe, has so far reported 1,694 coronavirus cases and 34 people have died. Share this -







Number of confirmed cases in mainland China tops 80,000 The number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases in mainland China climbed over 80,000 as of Sunday. Officials with China’s National Health Commission reported 202 new confirmed cases, sharply down from 573 new cases the day before. That is the lowest number of daily new cases since January 23, the day when emergency measures — including placing entire cities in lockdown — were introduced. They also reported 42 new deaths, compared to 35 new deaths the day before. That brings the total death toll of the epidemic in mainland China to 2,912, most of them in the Hubei province that was hardest hit by the outbreak. Share this -







Murder probe sought for South Korea sect at center of coronavirus outbreak The mayor of Seoul has asked for a murder investigation into leaders of a Christian sect at the center of the country’s deadly coronavirus outbreak. A large majority of the more than 4,000 confirmed cases of the South Korean outbreak, the largest outside China, have been linked to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a secretive movement that reveres founder Lee Man-hee. Seoul’s city government said Sunday it had filed a criminal complaint, asking for an investigation of Lee and 12 others on charges of murder, injury and violation of prevention and management of infectious diseases. "Lee Man Hee, the chairman, and the rest of the accused not only evaded the test and are in hiding but are not taking any measures to get their sect members to actively work with the health authorities to prevent further spreading of COVID-19,” Park Won-soon, mayor of the capital Seoul, said in a Facebook post Sunday. Park said if Lee and other leaders of the church had cooperated, effective preventive measures could have saved those who later died of the virus. More than 4,200 cases have been reported in South Korea as of Monday, with 22 deaths. In a press conference Monday, Lee said that he took the test for the novel coronavirus and was told the result was negative. Many have blamed the church’s secretive nature and tightly packed conditions at services for the large number of cases linked to it. Share this -







How to wash your hands properly, according to doctors Hand-washing is the easiest way to prevent the spread the coronavirus and the common flu. Believe it or not, there’s a right way to wash your hands. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) breaks it down into these five steps: Wet your hands (to the wrist) with clean, running water (the temperature doesn’t matter). Turn off the tap, and apply a good amount of soap. Lather up the soap by rubbing your hands together. Don’t forget to spread that lather to the backs of your hands up to your wrists, between your fingers, and under your nails. Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Both doctors recommend humming the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning-to-end twice to get the timing right. “Before surgery, surgeons have to stand at the scrub sink for 5 full minutes, and use an under-the-nail brush, and a very strong soap with a scrub brush on each finger, both sides of their hands, and scrub all the way up to their elbows. No one expects the rest of us to scrub as much, but that gives you an idea of what is needed to really kill most germs,” Laird says. Rinse your hands thoroughly under clean, running water. Dry your hands using a clean paper towel (best bet), hand dryer (OK), or let them air dry (in a pinch). Read more about when to wash your hands. Share this -







France closes the Louvre as virus spreads Louvre museum closed as global coronavirus fears grow March 1, 2020 01:40 In Paris, the Louvre Museum closed its doors Sunday as coronavirus continue to spread globally. Workers who guard the museum's trove of artworks were fearful of being contaminated by the museum's flow of visitors from around the world. “We are very worried because we have visitors from everywhere,” said Andre Sacristin, a Louvre employee and union representative for its staffers. “The risk is very, very, very great," he said in a phone interview. While there are no known virus infections among the museum's 2,300 workers, “it’s only a question of time,” he said. A short statement from the Louvre said a staff meeting about virus prevention efforts stopped the museum from opening as scheduled Sunday morning. On Sunday afternoon, would-be visitors were still waiting to get inside. Share this -







Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declares health emergency after two coronavirus cases Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a public health emergency Sunday after officials reported two presumptive cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. The cases must still be confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but DeSantis said the declaration was necessary to control the virus. He said the patients are residents of Manatee and Hillsborough counties on the Gulf Coast. Both adults are isolated and being cared for, the state Health Department said. Additional information was not immediately available. Share this -







Dominican Republic, France report Caribbean virus cases SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Health officials in the Dominican Republic and France on Sunday reported the first confirmed cases of the new coronavirus in the tourist-rich Caribbean, while British cruise ship passengers who had been trapped at sea due to virus fears were finally set to come home. Dominican Public Health Minister Rafael Sánchez Cárdenas said a 62-year-old Italian man had arrived in the country on Feb. 22 without showing symptoms. He was being treated in isolation at a military hospital and “has not shown serious complications.” France, meanwhile, reported three cases on the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe, the first in one of France's overseas territories. The announcements came shortly before the Braemar cruise ship, which had been denied entry to the Dominican Republic due to the virus fears, at last found a place to dock — the Dutch territory of St. Maarten. Share this -







2nd person dies in Washington state from coronavirus A second person has died in Washington state from COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, health officials said Sunday. The man, who was in his 70s, had underlying health conditions, they said. The announcement came one day after officials said a man in his 50s in Kirkland, east of Seattle, died after contracting the disease through community spread, the term used when there is no known source of transmission. Officials also confirmed three new cases, those of two women in their 80s and 90s and a man in his 70s, who were in critical condition. The latest cases raised the number of COVID-19 patients in King County to 10. Share this -







First coronavirus case reported in New York state New York state reported its first case of COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus, saying Sunday that a woman is quarantined in Manhattan after contracting the virus during a recent trip to Iran. In a statement, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the woman, who is in her late 30s, is isolated in her home with respiratory symptoms that are "not serious." He added that she has been in a "controlled situation" since arriving in New York. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio later said the woman is in isolation in Manhattan. Her test results were confirmed by a public laboratory in Albany, Cuomo said. "There is no reason for undue anxiety — the general risk remains low in New York," he said. "We are diligently managing this situation and will continue to provide information as it becomes available." Share this -





