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Monday, March 02, 2020, 23:21
Japan confirms at least 15 new cases; India sees 2 new cases
By Reuters
Monday, March 02, 2020, 23:21 By Reuters

Medical members wearing protective gear take samples from a driver with suspected symptoms of the COVID-19 coronavirus, at a "drive-through" virus test facility in Goyang, north of Seoul, on Feb 29, 2020. (PHOTO / AFP)

SEOUL / TOKYO / DUBAI / JERUSALEM / BAGHDAD / SYDNEY / JAKARTA / KARACHI / TAIPEI / AMMAN -  Two people have been diagnosed with the new coronavirus in India -- one in the country’s capital New Delhi and another in the southern state of Telangana, the Press Information Bureau of India reported Monday.

Japan confirms at least 15 new coronavirus infections on Monday

Japan on Monday confirmed at least 15 new coronavirus cases, bringing the number of cases in the country to 976 including passengers infected by the pathogen on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, Kyodo newswire reported.

Infections were reported around the country, including five on the northern island of Hokkaido and five others in a nursing home in Kanagawa prefecture near Tokyo, Kyodo said

Infections were reported around the country, including five on the northern island of Hokkaido and five others in a nursing home in Kanagawa prefecture near Tokyo, Kyodo said.

Many schools across Japan were closed on Monday as part of a concerted government effort nationwide to contain the new coronavirus and combat its further spread in Japan.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced the school closure plan last Thursday and made the request to local governments to shutter their schools until early April.

Japan will announce a second batch of measures around March 10 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and mitigate its damage to the economy, Abe said on Monday.

The Japanese government will take sufficient steps including helping small- and medium-sized firms cope with any financial shortfalls by tapping its 270 billion yen (US$2.50 billion) in budget reserves, Abe told parliament.

“We will carefully monitor developments and take steps without hesitation, as needed,” Abe said.

Australia sees first community transmission

Australian health authorities reported the country’s first two cases of human-to-human transmission of the virus.

One Sydney woman was infected by her brother who just returned from Iran. Authorities could not explain how the second infected person, a male health worker, contracted the illness -- but they said he had been in direct contact with patients. 

Australia’s chief medical officer said on Monday it was no longer possible to completely prevent people with the coronavirus from entering the country, citing concerns about outbreaks in Japan and South Korea.

“It is no longer possible to absolutely prevent new cases coming in,” Brendan Murphy, Australia’s Chief Medical Officer, told reporters in Canberra.

“We have got concerns about Japan and South Korea. They are working hard to control their outbreaks but we are still concerned that people in those countries and other high risk countries may present with an infection.”

Australia now has 33 coronavirus cases. 

READ MORE: ROK closes churches as coronavirus tally passes 3,700

S. Korea sees 123 additional virus cases, tally at 4,335

South Korea reported 123 more cases on Monday afternoon, on top of 476 new coronavirus cases reported by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) earlier in the day, taking the national tally to 4,335. 

Jung Eun-kyeong, the director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the nation’s coronavirus fatality rate stood at 0.5% -- with the figure spiking to 3.7% for people aged 80 and older.

The death toll rose to 22, up from 20 the day before, KCDC said earlier Monday.

The agency said some Shincheonji Church of Jesus members in January visited the central Chinese city of Wuhan, though it was investigating to determine whether that played a role in the outbreak.

The government of Seoul asked for a murder investigation into leaders of Shincheonji Church of Jesus

The government of Seoul asked for a murder investigation into leaders of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, saying the church was liable for its refusal to cooperate with efforts to stop the disease.

Park Won-soon, mayor of the capital Seoul, said if Lee Man-hee and other leaders of the church had cooperated, effective preventive measures could have saved those who later died of the virus.

Seoul’s city government said in a separate statement that it had filed a criminal complaint with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, asking for an investigation of Lee and 12 others on charges of murder and disease control act violations.

The church issued a statement late on Sunday reiterating calls for an end to “stigmatisation, hatred and slander” against its followers, saying it was cooperating with the government.

ALSO READ: Thailand, Australia record 1st coronavirus deaths

66 die in Iran over new coronavirus infection

Death toll over infection of the new coronavirus, officially named as COVID-19, has risen to 66 in Iran, said the latest report by Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education on Monday.

Kianush Jahanpur, head of Public Relations and Information Center of the ministry, said that the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Iran has affected 1,501 people, adding that 291 of them have recovered.

On Monday, it was announced that Mohammad Mir Mohammadi, a member of Iran's expediency council, died from the coronavirus.

Earlier, the Iranian Minister of Health and Medical Education Saeed Namaki warned that the week ahead is the peak of virus rampage in the country

The Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiee said on Monday that there are still two weeks of tough days regarding the virus outbreak in the country.

Earlier, the Iranian Minister of Health and Medical Education Saeed Namaki warned that the week ahead is the peak of virus rampage in the country. He urged people to observe the instructions by the officials for their health sake.

Iran announced the first cases of viral infection in central Qom city on Feb 18. 

British embassy staff in Tehran evacuated

Dependants and some staff are being evacuated from the British embassy in Tehran as of March 1 due to coronavirus but essential staff will remain, Britain’s Foreign Office said on Sunday as part of a travel advisory for Iran posted online.

“In the event that the situation deteriorates further, the ability of the British Embassy to provide assistance to British nationals from within Iran may be limited,” the advisory said.

Lufthansa calls off flights to Tehran until April 30

Lufthansa said on Monday that it was suspending flights to Tehran until April 30 due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Lufthansa said it was also adjusting its flights to northern Italy.

Kuwait has 10 new cases of virus, total 56

Kuwait’s Health Ministry announced 10 new cases of coronavirus in the country on Monday bringing the total number to 56, a ministry official said.

The official, who was speaking during a news conference broadcast on state television, urged citizens to avoid gatherings to avoid spreading the virus in the Gulf state.

Armenia confirms first infection 

The first confirmed case in Armenia is a male Armenian citizen, who returned on Friday on a repatriation flight from Iran and on Sunday tested positive for COVID-19. As a precautionary measure, 30 others are to be quarantined, according to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Indonesia confirms two new infected

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on Monday two Indonesians had tested positive for coronavirus, marking the first confirmed cases in the world’s fourth most populous country.

The two had been hospitalized, Widodo told reporters at the presidential palace in Jakarta. He did not specify where the patients were being treated.

Uzbekistan suspends air links with Afghanistan, Iran, Italy

Uzbekistan has suspended flights to and from Afghanistan, Iran, and Italy to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the Central Asian nation’s foreign ministry said on Monday.

Thailand reports one new case, tally 43

Thailand has reported one new coronavirus case, bringing the total number of such cases in the country to 43 since January, a senior health official said on Monday.

The new case is a 22-year-old Thai woman who works with another Thai patient, a Thai driver for foreign tourists, Sukhum Kanchanaphimai, the permanent secretary of the health ministry, said in a news conference.

So far 31 coronavirus patients have recovered and returned home and 11 are still being treated in hospitals.

Israel reports 10th case of coronavirus

Israel on Sunday confirmed three more cases of the coronavirus, bringing the total number of patients who have been diagnosed in Israel to ten.

Israel on Sunday confirmed three more cases of the coronavirus, bringing the total number of patients who have been diagnosed in Israel to ten

Israel’s Health Ministry said two of the people had brought the virus back after a trip to Italy and a third caught it locally.

All three have light symptoms, the ministry said.

Iraq reports six new coronavirus cases

Iraq reported six new coronavirus cases on Sunday, bringing the total number of cases there to 19, the health ministry said.

The ministry said two of the six are in the capital Baghdad and the other four in Sulaimaniya in the north east of the country. All had recently returned from neighboring Iran.

The health ministry had earlier issued a separate statement telling Iraqis to avoid any gatherings, be it protests, religious ceremonies or social events to avoid catching the virus.

Iraq on Wednesday had banned public gatherings and barred entry by travelers from Kuwait and Bahrain, prohibiting travel to or from a total of nine countries.

Taiwan confirms one new coronavirus case

The daughter of the 34th patient of novel coronavirus disease in Taiwan was on Monday confirmed to have been infected of the virus, raising the total number to 41, according to the island's epidemic monitoring agency.

The new patient, a woman in her 20s, visited and took care of her mother in the hospital from Feb 15 to 26, the agency said in a press release, adding that she did not travel outside Taiwan recently.

A total of 289 people have been identified as contacts, 197 of whom were cleared, the agency said.

Jordan confirms 1st case of coronavirus infection

Jordan on Monday confirmed the first case of novel coronavirus infection in the country, the state-run Petra news agency reported.

The report said the infected patient is a Jordanian who arrived recently from Italy.

Pakistan's largest city shuts schools for two weeks over virus fears

Pakistan’s southern province of Sindh extended the closure of all educational institutions following the confirmation of a second coronavirus case in Karachi, the country’s largest city.

Pakistan has confirmed four cases of coronavirus, three of them involving people who had traveled to neighboring Iran, one of the countries hardest hit by the outbreak that began in China in December.

While two of the confirmed cased were in the southern port city of Karachi, the other two were in the capital Islamabad.

Schools in Sindh have been closed since Thursday, after the first case in Karachi was confirmed.

Pakistan suspended all flights with Iran and closed the land border last week.

Kazakhstan to bar Iranian nationals from entry

Kazakhstan will bar Iranian nationals from entering the Central Asian nation starting from March 5, the government said on Monday, as part of efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The government will also decrease the number of flights to and from Azerbaijan and suspend the issuance of work permits to citizens of countries hit by the virus, officials said at a government meeting on Monday.

Qatar imposes entrance restriction on visitors from Egypt

Qatar has imposed a temporary entrance restriction to its territories on visitors from Egypt via intermediate points because of the spread of the new coronavirus, the state news agency reported on Sunday.

Qatar discovered 2 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, bringing its total to 3.

Oman suspends Italian tourism flights

Oman has suspended Italian tourism flights to its Salala airport for a month to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the civil aviation authority said on Sunday.

Singapore reports 4 new infections

Singapore confirmed on Sunday it has four more cases of the virus, bringing the total number to 106.

Japan cruise passengers leave ship 

All the remaining passengers and workers on the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Japan’s Yokohama harbor have disembarked, Health Minister Katsunobu Kato told reporters in Tokyo on Sunday.

Malaysia reports new cases 

An employee at Khazanah Nasional Bhd. was diagnosed with the coronavirus and is now at a government hospital, the Malaysian state investment fund said in a statement. 

Malaysia has a total of 29 cases, with four new ones reported on Sunday, according to the health ministry.

With Bloomberg, Xinhua inputs 

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