The new coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19, has spread to dozens of countries around the world.
Below are news updates from Feb. 29. Click here for March 1 updates.
Greece Confirms 3 New Cases, Bringing Total to 7
Greece has confirmed three new cases of coronavirus, the Health Ministry said on Saturday, bringing the total number of coronavirus infections in the country to seven.
The latest cases involve a woman and a man, who are related to previously confirmed cases in Greece, and a man who had recently traveled to Italy, Europe’s worst-hit country by the virus, the ministry said.
All patients are being treated in hospitals in Athens, the Greek capital, and the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki. Greece confirmed its first case of the virus on Feb. 26.
Iraq Reports 5 New Cases
Iraq has detected five new cases of coronavirus, four in Baghdad and one in Babel province, the Health Ministry said on Saturday, taking the total number of cases in the country to 13.
All five had recently returned from visits to neighboring Iran and had been placed in quarantine, the ministry said.
On Wednesday Iraq banned public gatherings and barred entry by travelers from Kuwait and Bahrain, prohibiting travel to or from a total of nine countries.
Iraq has cultural and religious ties with Iran which is one of the worst-hit countries outside China.
All 13 cases of coronavirus detected were linked to Iran, the health ministry said. The first case detected was of an Iranian student who has since been sent back and the other 12 are all Iraqis who had visited Iran.
Brazil Confirms 2nd Case
Brazil’s Health Ministry on Saturday confirmed the country’s second case of the fast-spreading new coronavirus, diagnosed in a 32-year-old patient in São Paulo who had recently visited Italy and arrived on Thursday.
The man returned to São Paulo accompanied by his wife and wore a mask during the flight from Milan, according to additional information on the case released by the ministry after a brief statement earlier.
The man exhibited the first symptoms on the day he arrived and sought medical attention on Friday, the statement said. He was in stable condition and was sent home to recover after receiving treatment at the same hospital that handled Brazil’s first case of the new coronavirus.
His wife is asymptomatic, the ministry added. Both are in isolation at home.
There was no evidence that the virus was circulating nationwide, the health ministry statement said.
Luxembourg Reports First Case
Luxembourg confirmed its first coronavirus case on Saturday, the RTL news outlet reported.
The patient was a man in his 40s who had recently traveled to Italy and returned via Belgium’s Charleroi airport, Health Minister Paulette Lenert said, according to RTL.
First Case of Coronavirus Confirmed in Republic of Ireland
Health authorities in the Republic of Ireland on Saturday confirmed the country’s first case of coronavirus and said it was associated with travel from an affected area in northern Italy.
The patient, a man in the eastern part of the country, is receiving appropriate medical care, Ireland’s health department said in a statement.
The British region of Northern Ireland, which shares an open border with the Irish republic, confirmed its first and so far only case of the virus on Thursday.
“This is not unexpected. We have been preparing for this eventuality for many weeks now. The health service has robust response measures in place,” said Dr. Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer at the department of health.
Health authorities are working rapidly to identify any contacts the patient may have had, officials said.
The Northern Irish patient who contracted the virus, the first confirmed case on the island, had traveled from Italy via Dublin Airport before returning to Belfast.
The number of people infected with coronavirus in the United Kingdom rose to 23 on Saturday, after three more patients tested positive, Britain’s health department said.
Ecuador Confirms its First Case of Coronavirus
Ecuador has confirmed the first case of a fast-spreading new coronavirus in the Andean country, its health minister said on Saturday.
The patient is an elderly female Ecuadorean residing in Spain, Catalina Andramuño, the health minister, told reporters. The patient arrived in Ecuador on Feb. 14 on a direct flight from Madrid without showing any symptoms, but soon felt ill and went to a hospital where she was diagnosed with the coronavirus.
“The patient is currently in intensive care at one of the hospitals we had designated to attend to coronavirus,” Andramuño said, adding that the government was monitoring people who may have come into contact with the patient.
First US Death Confirmed in Washington
Washington state health officials said on Feb. 29 that a patient died COVID-19, the first patient to die from the disease in the United States.
“It is a sad day in our state as we learn that a Washingtonian has died from COVID-19. Our hearts go out to his family and friends. We will continue to work toward a day where no one dies from this virus,” Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said in a statement.
The patient was a man in his 50s who had underlying health conditions, Dr. Jeff Duchin, health officer for Public Health, Seattle & King County, told reporters on a phone call. The patient died in Kirkland, a suburb of Seattle.
Washington’s governor, Jay Inslee, later declared a statement of emergency, directing state agencies to “use all resources necessary” to respond to the outbreak.
Duchin announced a possible outbreak at a nursing facility. A healthcare worker has tested positive as well as a longterm resident. Fifty-two others who either live or work at the facility have shown symptoms and will be tested.
Read more here about the state’s first death.
Read more here about the possible outbreak at the nursing facility.
Iran Reports 9 New Cases, Death Toll Rises to 43
Iran’s death toll from the coronavirus outbreak has reached 43, a health official told state TV on Saturday, adding that the number of infected people across the country has reached 593.
“Unfortunately nine people died of the virus in the last 24 hours. The death toll is 43 now. The new confirmed infected cases since yesterday is 205 that makes the total number of confirmed infected people 593,” Kianush Jahanpur told state TV.
Iranian media reported on Saturday that one lawmaker, elected in Iran’s Feb. 21 polls, had died of the coronavirus.
Iran has the highest death toll outside China.
US Advises Citizens to ‘Avoid Non-Essential Travel’ to Italy
The United States is now warning its citizens to “avoid nonessential travel” to Italy—level 3, which is the same level of warning that the State Department has applied to South Korea amid coronavirus concerns.
The highest is level 4, which is “do not travel.” The State Department has given this level of warning for China and Iran. For Iran, the State Department noted both an increased “risk of kidnapping and the arbitrary arrest and detention of U.S. citizens,” as well as “an outbreak of COVID-19.”
Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a level 3 travel advisory for China, South Korea, Iran, and Italy, citing coronavirus concerns. It upgraded its travel warning for both Iran and Italy to “avoid nonessential travel” late Friday.
New Cases of Unknown Origin in Washington State
Health officials in California, Oregon, and Washington state are concerned about the novel coronavirus spreading through West Coast communities after confirming three patients were infected by unknown means.
The patients—an older Northern California woman in Solano County with chronic health conditions; a high school student in Everett, Washington; and an employee at a Portland, Oregon-area school—hadn’t recently traveled overseas or had any known close contact with a traveler or an infected person, authorities said.
Earlier Friday, Oregon confirmed its first coronavirus case, a person who works at an elementary school in the Portland area, which will be temporarily closed. The Lake Oswego School District sent a robocall to parents saying that Forest Hills Elementary will be closed until Wednesday so it can be deep-cleaned by maintenance workers.
Washington state health officials announced two new coronavirus cases Friday night, including a high school student who attends Jackson High School in Everett, said Dr. Chris Spitters of the Snohomish County Health District.
The other case in Washington was a woman in King County in her 50s who had recently traveled to South Korea, authorities said.
Both patients weren’t seriously ill.
Oregon’s First Presumptive Case is of ‘Unknown Origin’
The latest confirmed case in Oregon is of unknown origin, health authorities said when the state declared its first confirmed presumptive case of novel coronavirus on Friday.
According to the statement, the infected individual, a resident of Washington County, did not have a history of travel to a country where the virus was circulating and is not believed to have had close contact with another confirmed case.
Public health officials are considering it a likely community-transmitted case because the origin of the infection currently remains unknown, the statement added.
A presumptive case means that the person has returned positive for a test that was carried out by the public health laboratory in Hillsboro.
“We’ll do a confirmation test through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. And so the case will be considered presumptive until we receive a confirmation one way or the other,” Oregon Health Authority Director Pat Allen said.
Australia Puts Iran on Travel Ban, Notes ‘High Death Rate’
Australia’s government intends to implement a ban on travelers coming from Iran, according to local reports.
Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt announced after a National Security Council meeting on Saturday that the new travel restrictions will apply from March 1, and cited a “high death rate” in Iran for the decision.
The ban will stipulate that people cannot travel from Iran to Australia for 14 days—they will have to spend the time in a third country before being allowed into Australia.
The exception is for Australian citizens and permanent residents coming from Iran, but they will still need to isolate themselves for 14 days after arriving in Australia.
Australia currently has a total of 25 cases of coronavirus, 15 of which have reportedly recovered, and the rest in stable condition. No deaths have been reported.
Iran has an official record of 388 cases of coronavirus and 34 deaths. This is the highest known mortality rate for the coronavirus outbreak outside China if going by official numbers.
64th Case in the United States
California’s Solano County announced a new coronavirus case late Friday, which marks the 64th case in the United States.
The CDC confirmed the case with Solano County’s health officials, which involved a person who was a Travis Air Force Base evacuee and passenger of the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
Solano County health officials announced a possible 65th case, saying that another Solano County resident, who is also a Travis Air Force Base evacuee, had “tested positive by Japanese testing; this case is pending confirmation from CDC.”
The two cases “will remain in mandatory home-isolation until cleared by Solano Public Health officials,” according to the announcement.
South Korea Reports 594 New Cases
South Korea on Saturday morning reported 594 new cases of COVID-19 from the previous afternoon, making the report the largest daily rise in cases in the country to date.
The country’s Centers for Disease Control (KCDC) also logged three new deaths. The total number of cases in the country is now 2,931.
2 New Cases in Australia
The number of confirmed cases in Australia has increased by two to 25 as the World Health Organization raised the risk of the spread of the disease to “very high.”
A 63-year-old woman who recently returned from Iran is in isolation at the Gold Coast University Hospital.
Meanwhile, a 79-year-old West Australian woman has tested positive. She was the wife of a man previously diagnosed with coronavirus. Her case marks the second confirmed case in Western Australia. The couple were both evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked off the coast of Japan earlier in February.
New Coronavirus Case of Unknown Origin in California
The 63rd case of the new coronavirus in the United States was confirmed on Friday in California’s Santa Clara County by the county’s public health department.
It marks the third case in the county and also California’s 10th case. It is also the second case of unknown origin in both California as well as the United States.
The case involves an “older adult woman with chronic health conditions” who did not have any recent travel history or known contact with a traveler or infected person, according to a press release from the Santa Clara County Public Health Department. She was hospitalized for a respiratory illness but later her doctor requested testing for the novel coronavirus. She is now under isolation at home.
The county’s health department said that “now is the time to prepare for the possibility of widespread community transmission.”
For updates from Feb. 28, click here.
