News Headlines - 13 February 2020
▽14th American diagnosed with new coronavirus after CDC warned spread was 'likely' - ABC News
In Japan, where travelers aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship have been quarantined for over a week, the mood among passengers shifted Wednesday as dozens more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus... At least 174 people aboard the vessel had tested positive for the new coronavirus by Wednesday -- with 39 new cases in the past 24 hours. One quarantine officer has also been infected, according to Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare... Some experts questioned whether the cruise ship quarantine was doing more harm than good.
"The issue with quarantine remains the lack of ability in a closed environment like this to maintain infection prevention measures on a ship," said Dr. Eric Cioe-Pena, director of global health at Northwell Health in New Hyde Park, New York. "We are seeing numbers increase dramatically, which likely means that there is ongoing spread of the virus on these ships. That’s concerning, as it's creating a second epicenter of the infection in a Japanese port."
A woman in her 80s is the first person infected with the coronavirus to die in Japan, the Health Ministry said on Thursday (Feb 13), though it stressed that it was not clear if the virus had caused her death.
The woman, who lived in Kanagawa prefecture, to the south of Tokyo, was being treated for pneumonia, having first developed symptoms on Jan 22. She was hospitalised on Feb 1.
Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said that it was only during the post-mortem that doctors found that she tested positive for the disease, officially named Covid-19.
▽China's Hubei, Wuhan Communist Party chiefs removed amid epidemic
China's Communist Party has replaced the party heads in the coronavirus stricken province of Hubei and its capital Wuhan, state media said on Thursday, reporting the most high profile officials to be dismissed in the wake of the epidemic.
The removal of Jiang Chaoliang, the leading Communist Party official of Hubei province, and Ma Guoqiang, his counterpart in Wuhan, follows the dismissal of two provincial health officials on Tuesday, and is part of a wider effort by Beijing to remove bureaucrats it accuses of shirking their duties.
The central government has set up a special cabinet task force under Premier Li Keqiang to handle the crisis, and the new appointments in Hubei suggest that China's senior leaders are taking greater control.
▽Taiwan says it didn't need China's permission for WHO meeting - Reuters
Taiwan’s presence at a World Health Organization (WHO) meeting this week on the new coronavirus was the result of direct talks between the island and the body, and did not require China’s permission, Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday... But in a small diplomatic breakthrough for the island, its health experts were this week allowed to attend an online technical meeting on the virus.
China’s Foreign Ministry said that was because China gave approval for Taiwan’s participation. Taiwan Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou said China was trying to take credit for something it didn’t deserve.
▽Putin: referendum to be held on a working day, which will be announced weekends | KXan 36 Daily News
a Nationwide vote on amendments to the Constitution will be held on a working day, which will be announced this weekend. This was stated by the President of Russia Vladimir Putin at a meeting with the working group on preparation of amendments to the Constitution. The live broadcast is channel “Russia 24”... the date of the vote is not yet known. However, previously a number of media with reference to the source in the working group called on April 22, which this year falls on Wednesday.
