Italy locks down, hotel collapses, travel bans: Virus update

A passenger wearing a protective face mask looks on in Milano Centrale railway station in Milan, Italy on Sunday. (AFP photo)

The number of deaths from the coronavirus outside China edged toward 500, pushing governments and airlines around the world to curtail travel to and from heavily affected areas.

In a hastily convened news conference, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte unveiled measures to restrict movement for a quarter of the nation’s population in the region around Milan. Social media videos showed people rushing to get on the last train out. Italy’s death toll rose to 233, the most after China.

Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific suspended flights to cities in Japan. Malaysia banned cruise ships from entry.

In the US, Washington, D.C., and Virginia reported their first cases, and Argentina its first death.

A hotel in Fujian province in China that was being used to quarantine people from affected regions collapsed, trapping dozens, the local government said.

Key Developments:

- Cases surpass 105,000 worldwide; deaths exceed 3,500

- China death toll rises to 3,097

- Italy curbs travel for northern region around Milan

- Grand Princess cruise ship to dock in Oakland

- US tests fewer than 6,000 samples

Governments can’t save lives and the economy: Lancet

Governments won’t be able to minimise both deaths from the coronavirus and the economic impact of a mass spread, according an article published in the Lancet medical journal. Measures needed to slow the spread until a treatment or a vaccine is found are poised to hurt the economy the most, according to the authors of the article published on March 6.

“The warm months of summer in the northern hemisphere might not necessarily reduce transmission,” the Lancet said, adding that “broader-scale social distancing is likely to be needed.”

Iran Air suspends flights to Europe: Tasnim

Iran’s flag carrier, Iran Air, said on Sunday that all of its flights to European destinations have been suspended until further notice “due to restrictions imposed on Iran Air flights from Europe for unknown reasons,” the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, citing a company statement.

Israel to draft teens, army to fight virus spread

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to mobilise the military and an army of teenagers to disinfect public spaces such as railway and bus stations with bleach. Netanyahu is putting them on the front line after concluding “the pandemic is not afflicting children or young people.”

He’s also weighing putting parts of the US on a travel blacklist.

Bahrain bans spectators from F1 race

Bahrain’s F1 Grand Prix motor race will be held without spectators later this month because of the spread of the virus, according to a statement from Bahrain International Circuit.

“Convening a major sporting event, which is open to the public and allows thousands of international travellers and local fans to interact in close proximity would not be the right thing to do at the present time,” it said. “Safety has to remain our utmost priority.”

China study shows virus’s fatal ‘tipping point’ in lungs

The majority of people infected with new coronavirus get little more than a cough as it stays in the nose and throat, but one in seven patients develop difficulty breathing and 6% become critical as the virus travels down into the lungs, according to a report by the joint World Health Organization-China mission that reviewed data from 56,000 cases.

The progression from mild or moderate to severe can occur “very, very quickly,” said Bruce Aylward, a WHO assistant director-general who co-led the mission in China. Patients at highest risk include people age 60 and older and those with pre-existing conditions such as hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Virus-hit cruise ship off California given permission to dock

The virus-hit cruise ship Grand Princess off the coast of California will be allowed to dock at the Port of Oakland on Monday, the operator said on Twitter. At least 19 passengers and two crew members on the Carnival Corp vessel had tested positive for the virus, US Vice President Mike Pence said earlier.

Elderly individuals with serious underlying health issues should avoid certain activities such as taking a cruise, Pence said after meeting with the cruise-line industry in Florida. Pence said the industry agreed to work on plans to quarantine passengers on land, rather than aboard ships that can turn into transmission vehicles for the virus.

Vietnam Airlines case sparks hoarding in Hanoi

A 26-year-old business class passenger on a Vietnam Airlines flight from London to Hanoi has triggered hoarding in the Southeast Asian country’s capital, the lockdown of her neighbourhood and the home quarantine of Planning and Investment Minister Nguyen Chi Dung, who was on the same plane.

The Hanoi woman, who had returned on March 2 after visiting London, Milan and Paris, tested positive for the virus, the Ministry of Health announced on March 6. Over the weekend, her uncle and family driver and a 61-year-old man who was on the flight were also confirmed to have the virus, the ministry said. Vietnam hadn’t reported an official case in more than three weeks before the new group.

California prepares to close schools

Governor Gavin Newsom said it was a “question of when” and not if some California schools will be closed due to the coronavirus outbreak. California has 88 cases and one death, while about 10,250 people are self-monitoring after returning to the country via San Francisco or Los Angeles airports, according to a statement from the public health department.

Malaysia bans cruise ships from entering: Star `

Malaysia issued a ban on all cruise ships entering the country, effective immediately, local newspaper the Star reported. Malaysia reported 10 more Covid-19 cases, bringing the total in the Southeast Asian nation to 93.

Italy unveils emergency measures for Milan region

Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte tried to ward off alarm from spreading throughout Europe’s fourth-biggest economy after he personally unveiled measures in the middle of the night to contain the spread of the virus by restricting movement and activity in the region around Milan.

Conte’s announcement came after a leaked draft of the restrictions sparked confusion, with images on social media of Italians crowding trains to head south before the new rules came into force. The regulations are set to take effect “within hours,” Conte said. They will last until April 3, according to the draft seen by Bloomberg.

Cases in Italy surged to 5,883, including Nicola Zingaretti, the leader of one of the two major government parties.

US CDC overruled by White House on advice to seniors: AP

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was overruled by the White House when it recommended that elderly and frail Americans shouldn’t take commercial flights because of the virus, the Associated Press reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.

The CDC updated its website on March 6 to advise older adults and people with severe medical conditions to “stay home as much as possible” and avoid crowds.

Quarantine hotel collapses in China

A hotel in the city of Quanzhou in Southern China that was being used to quarantine people has collapsed, according to the local government. The accident happened at around 7pm on Saturday, trapping 71 people, the Quanzhou city government said on its website. The hotel was used as a medical observation center for people coming from key virus-hit regions, the government said. At least seven people died as a result of the accident and 36 have been rescued, official news agency Xinhua reported.

US marine infected in Virginia

A US Marine at Fort Belvoir has tested positive for the coronavirus, becoming the first case in the state of Virginia. “Officials at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital and the Virginia Department of Health are working cooperatively, according to longstanding public health protocols,” the Virginia Department of Health said in a news release. Health officials said Governor Ralph Northam had been briefed.

Cathay Pacific suspends flights to Japan

Cathay Pacific, which has slashed 40% of capacity across its network and asked staff to take unpaid leave, will suspend its flights to/from Tokyo Haneda, Fukuoka, Nagoya and Sapporo from March 9 to 28. Its flights to/from Tokyo Narita and Osaka Kansai will be halted from March 13 to 28, it said in a statement on its website late Saturday.

The airline, one of the most high-profile corporate casualties of months-long pro-democracy protests in its home base Hong Kong, is slated to report 2019 full-year earnings Wednesday. It warned last month that first-half 2020 financial results will be “significantly down”.

Trump didn’t meet infected CPAC attendee

President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence didn’t meet with a person who had the coronavirus at the Conservative Political Action Conference in suburban Maryland, White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said.

“There is no indication” the leaders came “in close proximity” to the individual, Grisham said in a statement. CPAC didn’t identify the person but said they were exposed to the virus before attending the event and were diagnosed on Saturday. Trump and Pence made separate addresses at the CPAC conference.

“The president’s physician and United States Secret Service have been working closely with White House Staff and various agencies to ensure every precaution is taken to keep the first family and the entire White House complex safe and healthy,” Grisham said.

US Capital confirms first case

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser said tests by the city’s lab and the Department of Forensic Sciences confirmed the first coronavirus. Bowser’s Saturday tweet didn’t provide more information.

Argentina reports first virus death

A man in his 60s became the first fatality from coronavirus in Argentina and in Latin America, La Nacion reported.

The man had travelled to France before returning to Argentina, the newspaper said, adding that he died Saturday morning at the Cosme Argerich Hospital. His diagnosis was confirmed by health authorities, the newspaper said.

US tests fewer than 6,000 virus samples

The US has tested fewer than 6,000 samples of suspected coronavirus cases, the top drug regulator acknowledged, as health officials struggled to explain the government’s difficulty creating a diagnostic tool to contain the disease.

Food and Drug Commissioner Stephen Hahn said the government doesn’t know how many people have been tested. The number is less than the 5,861 specimens checked, because each patient needs from two to 20 tests to confirm a diagnosis, he told reporters at the White House on Saturday.

The US response is set to ramp up substantially, Hahn and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said, as deaths nationwide reached 19. About 1.1 million tests have been shipped in the past week and another 1 million are being prepared, Hahn said.

A US-developed test was plagued for weeks, and has put health workers on the back foot in efforts to contain known clusters of infections. Hahn said 48 states now have labs able to test for the new coronavirus, including New York and California.