China Agrees to Entry of American Scientists As Part of WHO Delegation: Feb 3 Updates

The new coronavirus killed the first person outside of China over the weekend and has spread to roughly two dozen countries around the world as governments, groups, and airlines take action to try to stem its spread.

"China has accepted the United States’ offer to incorporate a group of experts into a World Health Organization mission to China to learn more about and combat the virus," White House spokesman Judd Deere said.

Earlier on Monday, Beijing had accused the United States of fueling panic over the disease with travel restrictions and evacuations.

Washington has "unceasingly manufactured and spread panic," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters, noting that the WHO had advised against trade and travel curbs.

"It is precisely developed countries like the United States with strong epidemic prevention capabilities and facilities that have taken the lead in imposing excessive restrictions contrary to WHO recommendations," she claimed.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defended the measures.

"We made an aggressive decision in front of an unprecedented threat that action now had the biggest potential to slow this thing down. That's what the theory is here," said Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, as she noted that there are already some 17,000 cases of a virus for which the population does not have immunity.

Chinese stocks plunged on Monday on the first day of trading following an extended break over the Lunar New Year.

“Princeton is committed to ensuring the health and safety of all members of the University community,” said Hotchkiss in a statement. “Guided by that principle, we are responding to the novel coronavirus based on the latest information and recommendations from government and health officials.”

The agency didn’t disclose what hospital would house the patients. The identities of the patients were also not given.

"We have folks ready to go to China as soon as that offer is finalized. I understand that there still are negotiations in process on that. And really we’re waiting. As soon as we are allowed to go we will be there," Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters on a phone call.

“We do hope that the Chinese government will take us up” on the offer, Azar said. “CDC experts are standing by, ready to go to China.”

Passengers arriving in the United States on commercial airlines will be directed to one of 11 U.S. airports for additional health assessments. If the travelers need to be quarantined, military bases are close to some of the airports while hotels have been identified for use for quarantined people by health officials in some of the states, Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters in a call.

“No options are off the table," she said.

The eleven airports are: John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, San Francisco International Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Hawaii, Los Angeles International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Dulles International Airport in Virginia, Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, and Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport.

Russia, which has a 2,670-mile land border with China, reported its first two cases of the virus last week in the Siberian regions of Tyumen and Zabaykalsk. Both involved Chinese nationals.

Russia halted passenger trains to China as of Sunday night and the last train from Beijing rolled into Russia empty after 136 passengers—all Chinese nationals—were taken off at the border, the RIA news agency reported.

Moscow has already restricted direct flights to China, its largest trade partner, and the remaining flights are being routed through a separate terminal at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport.

Starting from Tuesday, Sheremetyevo will be the only place where foreign citizens coming from China by air can enter Russia.

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin told senior government officials that Moscow has formally labeled coronavirus a “very dangerous disease,” granting authorities enhanced powers to combat it.

"These may be the last flights available for foreign nationals out of Hubei," the embassy said in a statement, citing the Chinese government.

Hubei encompasses Wuhan, the city of around 11 million where the new coronavirus originated in December 2019.

British authorities also said over the weekend that a national evacuated from Wuhan was taken to a hospital in Oxford after falling ill on the flight.

Anthony May-Smith, the man who fell ill, told Sky News that he had a cough and sore throat. He was isolated and test results are pending. He said he thinks it was "probably the stress of getting back and being run down more than anything."

The other 10 passengers were taken to Arrowe Park Hospital. They joined 83 others who were evacuated last week. They'll be quarantined for two weeks as health workers monitor them for symptoms of the coronavirus.

"The safety of passengers and employees is a top priority for the Lufthansa Group. After thoroughly evaluating all currently available information on the coronavirus, Lufthansa Group has decided to suspend its Lufthansa, SWISS and Austrian Airlines flights to/from Beijing and Shanghai until February 28 with immediate effect," the German company said in a statement.

The flights were initially suspended until Feb. 9.

The four crossings, to be shut down at midnight today, are Lo Wu, Lok Ma Chau, Huanggang, and the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal.

The remaining three open crossings are Hong Kong International Airport, Shenzhen Bay, and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.

The patient, who recently traveled to Wuhan, is now receiving treatment at the Kanjangad District Hospital in Kasaragod, a town in Kerala.

The possibility that the new virus could be spread in different ways, including through the air by coughing and sneezing, poses greater threats as governments around the world try to contain the outbreak.

The ban, effective from Feb. 3, does not include Maldivian citizens, according to Waheed.

Both patients, who are over 60 years old, recently arrived from China.

They join a third patient who health authorities said on Feb. 1 was being tested for the virus.

“With the best public health system in the world, New York City stands ready to respond to any confirmed cases of the coronavirus,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

Currently, the United States has 11 known cases of coronavirus.

“We’re working closely and hand-in-hand with the Chinese government to try and resolve what is now this global epidemiological challenge,” Pompeo said.

“We’ll have more details exactly on when those flights will depart and when they return and how they’ll return to the United States before too long.”

The woman, who returned to Vietnam with seven other coworkers abroad on the same flight, was an employee of Japan-based Nihon Plast Company, the outlet said.

Of the seven coworkers, three have already tested positive for coronavirus.

Monday marked the first stage of the five-day planned strike. The alliance said that if the Hong Kong government is unable to respond to their demands by 6 p.m. local time, about 9,000 hospital workers, including those in the hospital’s emergency units, will take part in the second phase of the strike beginning Tuesday.

The market slide came even as the central bank poured cash into the financial system as it stood poised to post its worst day in more than four years.

The 9th case involved a woman in Santa Clara County, who is now in isolation at the home of a family she is staying with. The woman, who was not sick enough to be hospitalized, recently traveled to Wuhan.

“Around 800 service members have been quarantined either at their residences or military bases, including around 630 people who had contact with those who traveled China, Hong Kong, and Macao recently," Choi Hyun-soo, South Korea’s defense ministry spokesperson said, according to local media Yonhap News Agency.

Regular training for South Korea’s 2.75 million-strong reserve forces has been also postponed until after April 17.

Currently, South Korea has 15 confirmed cases of coronavirus. None of these cases involve South Korean soldiers.