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Coronavirus: India Evacuates 112 People From China, 124 From Japan

China Reported 29 New Fatalities, The Lowest In Weeks, On Wednesday As Coronavirus Spread To The Middle East, Europe And Other Parts Of The World.

News Nation Bureau | Edited By : Pawas Kumar | Updated on: 28 Feb 2020, 12:33:13 AM
Coronavirus

At least 80,000 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 so far (Photo Credit: Reuters)

New Delhi:

While the virulence of the novel coronavirus continues to show a declining trend in China, the outbreak is now speading to the Middle East, Europe and other parts of the world, as Brazil confirmed its first case in Latin America. According to Aj-Jazeera, at least 80,000 people have been diagnosed with the illness, code named COVID-19, globally so far.

China reported 29 new fatalities, the lowest in weeks, on Wednesday taking the death toll to 2,744 while the confirmed cases climbed to 78,497, officials said on Thursday. The country's National Health Commission (NHC) said it received reports 433 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus infection and 29 deaths on Wednesday from 31 provincial-level regions on the mainland. Among the deaths, 26 were from the epicentre of the virus Hubei province and its capital Wuhan and one each from Beijing, Heilongjiang and Henan, it said.

South Korea has reported 334 new coronavirus cases, taking its total to 1,595, still the largest in the world outside China, where the disease first emerged. 12 people have died in the country so far.

Iranian authorities had announced domestic travel restrictions for people with confirmed or suspected cases of the novel coronavirus. According to official figures, the virus has since killed 19 people in Iran and another 140 people have been infected.

Coronavirus outbreak continued to spread through Europe with the number of people infected with coronavirus in Italy has risen to 400, while the death toll remains at 12 people. Norway detected its first case while new cases were reported in France and Germany.

Meanwhile, Brazil's government confirmed Latin America's first confirmed case of the coronavirus. Pakistan has also confirmed two cases of COVID-19 in the country.

(With Agency Inputs)

India on Thursday brought back 112 people from the coronavirus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan and another group of 124 from Tokyo who were on board a cruise ship off the Japanese coast, taking the total number of evacuees in view of the spread of the deadly outbreak to 842.

The new coronavirus epidemic is at a "decisive point" globally, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Thursday, urging affected countries to "move swiftly" to contain the disease. "We're at a decisive point," Tedros said, adding: "If you act aggressively now, you can contain this virus, you can prevent people getting sick, you can save lives". 

A new coronavirus case in California could be the first in the US that has no known connection to travel abroad or another known case, a possible sign the virus is spreading in a US community, health officials said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the case on Wednesday. California officials said the person is a resident of Solano County, northeast of San Francisco, and is getting medical care in Sacramento County. They said they have begun the process of tracking down people who the patient has been in contact with, a process known as contact tracing.

Donald Trump has said he was considering US travel restrictions on Italy and South Korea over coronavirus fears, adding the situation would not inevitably worsen in the United States. The president's optimism about containing the pathogen contradicted a senior health official in his own administration and came as authorities said they had identified the first case of unknown origin in the United States.

Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday said he expects this year's Tokyo Olympics to go ahead smoothly despite fears being expressed over the fate of the Games amid the novel coronavirus threat. The Olympic Games are scheduled to be held in July-August this year but a senior IOC member Dick Pound has said that the event might have to be cancelled if the deadly coronavirus outbreak is not brought under control by May.

Italian golfers Edoardo Molinari and Lorenzo Gagli have been quarantined in Muscat and forced to pull out of the Oman Open starting Thursday over fears they may have the coronavirus. Gagli suffered flu-like symptoms during the week and as Molinari, the older brother of former British Open winner Francesco, was his roommate both have been placed in isolation as a precautionary measure. Gagli told Italian newspaper La Nazione that he had been told he would have to remain isolated until next Wednesday. Italy has reported 12 deaths and 400 confirmed cases in Europe's worst outbreak of the virus.

76 Indians and 36 foreigners were evacuated from coronavirus-affected Wuhan city of China on Thursday morning. They were being taken to an ITBP facility in the national capital for quarantine, officials said. An Indian Air Force (IAF) C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft brought 112 people that includes 76 Indians, 23 citizens from Bangladesh, six from China, two each from Myanmar and the Maldives and one each from South Africa, the US and Madagascar. The military aircraft was sent to Wuhan on Wednesday and it carried 15 tonnes of medical supplies for coronavirus-affected people in China.


Earlier, India had evacuated around 650 Indians from Wuhan in two Air India flights who were kept at the ITBP facility and another quarantine facility set up by the Army in Manesar near. All these people later tested negative for the virus and were allowed to go home after over a fortnight of quarantine.

US President Donald Trump has announced that his deputy Mike Pence will lead the administration's efforts against coronavirus in the country. Hours after returning from India, Trump on Wednesday held a series of meetings to take stock of the situation in the United States. The president also said that he is in touch with several world leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, over the issue.

Iranian authorities has announced domestic travel restrictions for people with confirmed or suspected cases of the novel coronavirus. According to official figures, the virus has since killed 19 people in Iran and another 140 people have been infected.

South Korea reported 334 new coronavirus cases Thursday, taking its total to 1,595, still the largest in the world outside China, where the disease first emerged. No new deaths had occurred, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement, with the toll remaining at 12, reported AFP.

A special Air India flight arrived in New Delhi from Tokyo today bringing back 119 Indian nationals and five foreign nationals who were on-board the Diamond Princess Cruise ship docked off at Yokohama in Japan. 

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First Published : 27 Feb 2020, 01:17:05 PM

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