Delhi violence: Clashes in India's capital leave 22 dead - The - The Washington Post

Adnan Abidi Reuters Security forces stand guard in an area where riots broke out this week in Delhi.

NEW DELHI — The sit-in where women had gathered to protest a new citizenship law was gone, the posters torn and trampled. The mosque next door stood charred and silent, its floor marked with smeared blood. Stillness filled a major road, empty except for stray dogs picking their way through debris.

A tense calm settled on a swath of India’s capital Wednesday after a stunning outbreak of communal violence this week left at least 22 dead. The riots are the worst such clashes to hit Delhi in decades and came as President Trump made his first official visit to India.

Mobs of Hindus and Muslims had clashed on roads and alleyways in northeast Delhi, throwing stones and crude gasoline bombs. At least four mosques were torched, as were scores of homes and businesses. Witnesses said that instead of stopping the violence, police joined crowds shouting Hindu nationalist slogans and fired indiscriminately.

[Trump’s second day in India: Violence in Delhi and support for Modi on ‘religious freedom’]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/video/world/riots-in-new-delhi-leave-at-least-20-dead/2020/02/26/2eef6b26-c5ad-4077-ab16-09a29eac4a67_video.html

On Wednesday afternoon, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ended days of silence on the riots. He issued an appeal for calm, urging people in Delhi to “maintain peace and brotherhood at all times” and restore normalcy.

This week’s violence marked the second time in Modi’s political career that he has presided over a significant episode of communal violence. In 2002, when he was chief minister of the state of Gujarat, more than 1,000 people were killed, mostly Muslims, in three days of riots. A court-appointed panel cleared Modi of involvement in the violence.

[Why protests are erupting over India’s new citizenship law]

Adnan Abidi

Reuters

A man walks over debris after clashes erupted between people demonstrating for and against a new citizenship law in Delhi.

The riots in Delhi took place against a backdrop of rising tensions over a controversial citizenship law passed by the Modi government in December. Critics say the measure is unconstitutional and deepens fears that Muslims will be treated like second-class citizens in Modi’s India. Protests against the law have erupted nationwide, with Indians of all religions taking part.

But Muslims have led the opposition to the law. Meanwhile, members of Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party have engaged in increasingly strident rhetoric against the protesters. During the run-up to an election in Delhi this month, BJP leaders called protesters criminals and traitors who deserved to be shot.

Tania Dutta contributed reporting.

Read more

Trump praises Modi’s record on religious tolerance as violence erupts over India’s treatment of Muslims

India’s Muslims rush to collect documents after new law fuels anxiety over their citizenship status

Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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2020-02-26 14:25:00Z
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Coronavirus Live Updates: Europe Is Threatened as Illness Spreads From Italy - The New York Times

Here’s what you need to know:

• Coronavirus pushes across Europe and Middle East, while U.S. braces for arrival.
• As new cases soar in South Korea, a U.S. soldier there tests positive.
• European officials struggle to present a unified response.
• Stock markets around the world continue to slide.
• Three European hotels are locked down as new cases spread across the Continent.

Read updates in Chinese: 新冠病毒疫情最新消息汇总

A landmark arch and square in Milan was almost empty on Monday as Italy became the focal point of the outbreak in Europe.Credit...Andrea Mantovani for The New York Times

Coronavirus pushes across Europe and Middle East, while U.S. braces for arrival.

New cases of the coronavirus popping up across Europe. Dozens of new infections in Iran stoking fears about the uncontrolled spread of the virus in the Middle East. Global markets continuing to slide. Health authorities in the United States warning it was a matter of when, not if, the virus would invade American shores. A toxic political climate in Washington complicating the public health challenge.

That worrying drumbeat frayed nerves across the world on Wednesday even as the pace of the outbreak seemed to be slowing in China.

For the first time, more new cases have been reported outside China than inside, according to the World Health Organization. The number of new cases reported in China on Tuesday was 411; in the rest of the world, the number was 427. The total number of cases globally has now reached 80,980 and nearly 3,000 have died.

In the European Union, which prides itself on its open borders, new cases were recorded in Austria, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Spain and Switzerland. Most were tied to Italy, where the authorities have been struggling to contain an outbreak that has infected at least 325 people, most of them in the north near Milan.

Three hotels — in Austria, in France, and in the Canary Islands of Spain — were locked down this week after guests tested positive for the virus. The steps to limit contagion differed from place to place, but large group gatherings were often the first things to be canceled in towns and villages where the virus had been detected.

In Germany, two new cases were reported on Wednesday, including a man in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, who was said to be in critical condition. It was unclear whether his illness was tied to the outbreak in Italy or to a different source.

In Asia, the Chinese authorities cautioned that the falling rate of infection might only be a temporary reprieve, while South Korean officials were still scrambling to contain the largest outbreak of the virus outside China. The U.S. military confirmed that one soldier stationed in South Korea had tested positive for the virus.

As the American health authorities braced for the virus’s arrival in the United States, the Trump administration came under withering criticism from both Democrat and Republican lawmakers for its contradictory statements on the severity of the crisis, lack of transparency and seemingly lackadaisical preparations.

As new cases soar in South Korea, a U.S. soldier there tests positive.

South Korea on Wednesday reported hundreds of new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the total to 1,261 from 1,146. It is the largest outbreak outside of China.

Eighty-two of the new cases were found in the southeastern city of Daegu and nearby areas, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The city is at the center of the country’s outbreak.

Also on Wednesday, an American soldier in South Korea tested positive for the virus, the U.S. military said.

The patient, a 23-year-old man, is stationed at Camp Carroll in Waegwan, only 12 miles from Daegu.

The soldier, the first U.S. service member to become infected, has been quarantined in his off-base residence, the military said.

The soldier visited Camp Walker, a military base in Daegu, on Monday and visited Camp Carroll from Friday to Tuesday.

South Korean and American “health professionals are actively conducting contact tracing to determine whether any others may have been exposed,” the military said.

The military added that it was “implementing all appropriate control measures to help control the spread of Covid-19 and remains at risk level ‘high’” for all its 28,500 soldiers stationed in South Korea “as a prudent measure to protect the force.”

The U.S. military in South Korea elevated its risk level to “high” on Monday, advising all troops to “limit non-mission-essential” meetings and “off-installation travel.” At gates of the American military bases across South Korea, soldiers are being given temperature checks and screening questionnaires.

The Coronavirus Outbreak

• What do you need to know? Start here.

  Updated Feb. 25, 2020

  • What is a Coronavirus?
    It is a novel virus named for the crown-like spikes that protrude from its surface. The coronavirus can infect both animals and people, and can cause a range of respiratory illnesses from the common cold to more dangerous conditions like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS.
  • How contagious is the virus?
    According to preliminary research, it seems moderately infectious, similar to SARS, and is probably transmitted through sneezes, coughs and contaminated surfaces. Scientists have estimated that each infected person could spread it to somewhere between 1.5 and 3.5 people without effective containment measures.
  • Where has the virus spread?
    The virus, which originated in Wuhan, China, has sickened more than 80,000 people in at least 33 countries, including Italy, Iran and South Korea.
  • How worried should I be?
    New outbreaks in Asia, Europe and the Middle East are renewing fears of a global pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned this week that Americans should brace for the likelihood that the virus will spread to the United States.
  • Who is working to contain the virus?
    The World Health Organization officials have been working with officials in China, where growth has slowed. But this week, as confirmed cases spiked on two continents, experts warned that the world is not ready for a major outbreak.
  • What if I’m traveling?
    The C.D.C. haswarned older and at-risk travelers to avoid Japan, Italy and Iran. The agency also has advised against all non-essential travel to South Korea and China.
  • How do I keep myself and others safe?
    Washing your hands frequently is the most important thing you can do, along with staying at home when you’re sick.

---

On Tuesday, the United States and South Korea said they would consider scaling back joint military exercise after an outbreak among South Korean soldiers had infected at least 13.

South Korea reported 284 new patients on Wednesday, bringing the total number to 1,261, the biggest outbreak outside China. More than half of the patients were residents of Daegu.

The U.S. military in Japan sent out a notice Wednesday telling all personnel there to avoid nonessential travel to South Korea.

European officials struggle to present a unified response.

The European Union needs to prepare for a coronavirus pandemic, the bloc’s top official for communicable diseases warned on Wednesday, as Italy struggled to control an outbreak in the north of the country.

“Our current assessment is that we will likely see a similar situation in other countries in Europe, and that the picture may vary from country to country,” said the official, Andrea Ammon, who is director of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

“We also need to consider the need to prepare for other scenarios, for example large clusters elsewhere in Europe,” she added, speaking at a news conference on Wednesday in Rome.

The bloc of 27 countries, interconnected through trade and travel, has been on high alert after the coronavirus took hold in northern Italy over the weekend. The illness has already spread to other countries on the Continent, with patients in Austria, Croatia, Spain and elsewhere.

The European Commission, the European Union’s administrative branch, has been desperately herding cats, trying to get health care officials in the 27 member states to talk to each other and to share information about the virus. Despite urgent meetings in Brussels of European Union health ministers, officials say there is still scant information on what each country plans or is able to do should a larger-scale outbreak occur.

In a visit to Italy on Wednesday, the bloc’s health commissioner, Stella Kyriakides, said she had asked all countries to send her details of their pandemic preparedness, including how they planned to chase down people who had been in contact with someone who was sick.

“I urge member states to share that with us and each other, as it is important for our security,” she told reporters in Rome.

Stock markets around the world continue to slide.

European markets fell more than 1 percent on Wednesday as investors weighed the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. Asian markets ended the trading day lower, while futures pointed to a mixed start on Wall Street.

Investors have been dumping stocks all week, seeking safer investments like government bonds, as the outbreak spreads beyond Asia.

After health officials in Washington warned Americans to brace for the arrival of the coronavirus, the S&P 500 closed 3 percent lower on Tuesday.

In trading on Wednesday, the DAX in Germany fell 2.1 percent, and the FTSE 100 in Britain was 1.1 percent lower. In Asia, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 0.7 percent and the Shanghai Composite Index dropped by 0.8 percent.

Two more global companies provided estimates of the financial cost of the outbreak. Diageo, the British maker of alcoholic drinks like Johnnie Walker, said the loss in sales would cut profits by about 200 million pounds, or about $260 million, this year.

Danone, the French maker of dairy products and bottled water, said it expected the outbreak to cost it 100 million euros, or about $108 million, in lost sales in 2020.

Three European hotels are locked down as new cases spread across the Continent.

Two additional European hotels were put on lockdown on Wednesday, as coronavirus infections spread across the Continent.

The authorities in Innsbruck, an Austrian ski town in the Alps, sealed off the 108-room Grand Hotel after an Italian employee there tested positive for the virus. The cordon was the second at a European hotel in two days, after Spain on Tuesday cordoned off the H10 Costa Adeje Palace on the resort island of Tenerife after a guest, also from Italy, tested positive.

Each of the infected Italians had recently visited the Lombardy region of the country.

Though the virus originated in China, an outbreak in Italy has given it a foothold in Europe from which it has rapidly spread to at least five countries.

Spain, Austria, Croatia, Switzerland and France all reported cases linked to Lombardy on Tuesday.

In central France, the Ibis Center hotel in Beaune was closed after a client from Hong Kong died during the night. While tests for the virus were underway, health authorities ordered that all 30 members of the guest’s group remain in isolation.

Coronavirus Map: Tracking the Spread of the Outbreak

The virus has infected more than 81,800 people in China and 39 other countries.

A boy was found alone at home where his grandfather died, prompting an outcry

A Chinese community worker checking on residents a in central Chinese city found a six-year-old boy fending for himself after his grandfather died at home. The discovery set off a wave of criticism on Chinese social media.

The worker in the city of Shiyan in Hubei Province, the heart of the coronavirus outbreak, had been conducting medical checks on residents on Monday when the boy answered the door.

The worker found that the boy’s 70-year-old grandfather had died at home, the Shiyan People’s Procuratorate, the office that carries out investigations and prosecutions, said on Weibo, a Chinese social media site, on Tuesday. It identified the grandfather by his surname, Tan.

The boy had not left home because his grandfather had told him not to go out, to avoid exposure to the outbreak, the Weibo post said. It cited a hospital worker who said the man appeared to have been dead for two or three days when he was found. It also said Mr. Tan was not infected by the coronavirus and that the time of his death was being investigated.

The reports unleashed public anger online over whether public officials had, in imposing severe lockdown and containment measures in the province, allowed a vulnerable family to fall through the cracks.

Some social media users also accused the boy’s parents of negligence, even though as one Chinese news outlet reported, Mr. Tan’s adult son was in the southern Chinese region of Guangxi and unable to return home. Others worried that the boy had been traumatized.

The Zhangwan government could not be immediately reached for comment.

Nurses in Wuhan make a bold appeal for international help.

Nurses in Wuhan, China, psychologically stressed and physically exhausted, appealed to medical workers around the world to come to the heart of the outbreak and help them treat the thousands of infected people there.

The unusually public appeal for help, made in an open letter published Monday in the medical journal The Lancet, underlines how severely overwhelmed and understaffed the hospitals in the city continue to be despite the thousands of volunteers the government has deployed.

The government has sought to promote its efforts in the party’s propaganda outlets, hailing the medical workers as patriots while downplaying the shortages in hospitals beds, protective gear and medical supplies that have been made worse by a monthlong lockdown.

“We are asking nurses and medical staff from countries around the world to come to China now, to help us in this battle,” read the letter signed by nurses working in isolation units at a hospital in Wuhan. “In addition to the physical exhaustion, we are also suffering psychologically. While we are professional nurses, we are also human.”

Severe shortages of protective equipment and a lack of health care professionals in Wuhan were exacerbating the tough conditions inside isolation wards, the letter said. Wearing thick layers of protective gear for long stretches means having to “speak very loudly” to communicate, while some nurses developed pressure ulcers on their foreheads and ears from the special masks and goggles and blisters around their mouths.

The front line workers are at particular risk for infection. More than 3,000 medical workers across China have been infected with the virus, according to the Chinese government.

Xi Jinping, the leader of China, has praised hospital workers in Hubei Province as heroes, but some of them have had to beg friends for protective gear or purchase it with their own money. The government has cracked down on medical workers who have used social media to seek equipment donations.

And offers of assistance doctors and nurses from around the world as well from the World Health Organization were ignored in the early weeks of the outbreak.

“Like everyone else, we feel helplessness, anxiety, and fear,” the letter said.

Japan insists that plans for the Summer Olympics are unchanged.

The Japanese government on Wednesday sought to play down concerns that the global spread of the coronavirus would affect the Tokyo Olympics, saying it had no plans to cancel or make other big changes to the Games.

At a regular news briefing, the chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, said that preparations for the Games, which are scheduled to open in late July, were proceeding “as planned.”

Mr. Suga offered his assurances a day after The Associated Press published an interview with Dick Pound, a member of the International Olympic Committee, who said that the Games might have to be canceled if they could not be held safely.

Mr. Pound said that a decision would need to be made no later than May. “In and around that time, I’d say folks are going to have to ask: ‘Is this under sufficient control that we can be confident about going to Tokyo or not?’” he said.

In response to a question about the remarks, Mr. Suga said that they were “not the official view of the I.O.C.”

The virus has already affected preparations for the Olympics, particularly in China, where athletes have had to change their training regimens and forgo qualifying events because of restrictions on their travel.

Hoping to curb a gradual increase in reported coronavirus cases in Japan, the authorities on Tuesday called for the cancellation of public gatherings such as sporting events and concerts in the coming weeks.

Japan’s professional soccer and rugby leagues have announced that they will cancel or delay events, while some professional baseball games have been closed to spectators.

Another cruise ship is denied at multiple ports of call.

A cruise ship in the Caribbean has been turned away from two ports over fears of the coronavirus. The pattern of denial is similar to the Westerdam, a ship that made visits at five ports before being allowed to dock in Cambodia this month.

The ship, the MSC Meraviglia, has more than 4,500 passengers and 1,600 crew members. It was not allowed to dock in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands after it was discovered a crew member onboard was unwell.

After the ship’s command reported one case of influenza onboard, Jamaican authorities, concerned that the man might have the coronavirus, said no one could disembark. The ship left Ocho Rios for its next port of call, Georgetown, Cayman Islands, after waiting to be cleared for nearly four hours.

The ship was expected to dock in Georgetown on Wednesday morning, but the Ministry of Health said on Tuesday night that it could not do so.

In China, pregnant women face a sudden shortage of health care.

Pregnant women in China are facing an emergency they could hardly have imagined a few months ago: The doctors and hospitals they were relying on are suddenly unavailable.

The government has taken nurses and doctors away from their usual jobs and assigned them to work on the coronavirus outbreak. That has left many small community hospitals, where prenatal care and childbirth are often handled, so understaffed that they have closed temporarily.

Many pregnant women have been unable to find even basic care, while reports of infected mothers giving birth have heightened fears of passing on the virus to newborns — though there is no evidence of such transmission.

In Wuhan, the city at the center of the outbreak, pregnant women have struggled to figure out where they can give birth. Not only are hospitals closed, so is the public transit system, and residents are not allowed to leave the city.

“I worry every day about whether my child will die in my belly,” said Jane Huang. “I worry if there is an early delivery, it will not be able to survive.”

Women who have given birth in China since the epidemic began say they have received minimal care in short-handed hospitals. Regular checkups for babies have been postponed, and mothers have been unable to get their infants vaccinated.

Experts say the situation is undercutting the major political effort in recent years to prod Chinese women to have more children amid historically low birthrates and a looming demographic crisis.

Reporting was contributed by Russell Goldman, Choe Sang-Hun, Keith Bradsher, Austin Ramzy, Elaine Yu, Ben Dooley, Alexandra Stevenson, Kevin Granville, Marc Santora and Matina Stevis-Gridneff.

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2020-02-26 11:50:57Z
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US testing begins for possible coronavirus treatment as health experts predict virus will spread - CNN

The clinical trial to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the antiviral drug remdesivir in adults diagnosed with coronavirus has begun at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, according to the NIH. The first participant is an American who was evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Japan.

News of the start of the trial came on the same day that one of the top officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Americans that health experts foresee the coronavirus spreading in the United States.

"We expect we will see community spread in this country," said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. "It's not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illness."

There have been more than 80,000 cases of coronavirus worldwide. The death toll is now more than 2,700, the majority in mainland China.

The US has now confirmed 57 cases, US health officials said Tuesday, a number that is expected to grow.

"We are asking the American public to work with us to prepare in the expectation that this could be bad," Messonnier said.

Clinical trial for a treatment

There are currently no specific medicines approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat the novel coronavirus. Without one, a top infectious disease doctor said Tuesday, the US could see mortality rates from the coronavirus similar to those in China.

The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention has calculated a case fatality rate of about 2% for the novel coronavirus -- meaning about 2% of those known to be infected have died. That's higher than influenza, which is about 0.1%, but much lower than severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, (9.6%) and MERS, Middle East respiratory syndrome (35%).

"I think we would expect something similar to that because we don't have an antiviral drug," Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN's Chris Cuomo Tuesday night on "Cuomo Prime Time." "The people who are dying who require intensive care, for example in an intensive care unit -- maybe even intubation for respiratory assistance in breathing -- the Chinese have that. They have a pretty good system, and yet you're still seeing the 2% mortality. ... So if, in fact, we do get a pandemic that does impact us in this country, I think you're going to see comparable types of morbidity and mortality."

Remdesivir, the drug being tested at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, was previously tested in humans for Ebola and in animals for MERS and SARS.

There are clinical trials of remdesivir going on in China, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases developed the current study to match those trials, the NIH said in its news release.

Participants in the US treatment group will receive 200 milligrams of remdesivir intravenously when they're enrolled in the study. They will receive another 100 milligrams while they are hospitalized for up to 10 days total. A placebo group will receive a solution that resembles remdesivir but contains only inactive ingredients, the NIH said.

US cases rise to 57

The number of coronavirus cases in the United States rose to 57 on Tuesday, with four more patients who were on a cruise ship, the CDC said.

The current total breaks down to 40 passengers who were aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was traveling in Asia, three people repatriated from China, and 14 US cases.

Of the 14 US cases, eight are in California, two in Illinois and one each in Massachusetts, Washington, Arizona and Wisconsin.

Although President Donald Trump cast coronavirus as "a problem that's going to go away," experts worry a pandemic could be in the offing, given the virus' spread in Europe and the Middle East.

The CDC is employing a twofold approach, working to contain the virus while also implementing strategies to lessen the impacts on communities, Messonnier told reporters.

"We've also enacted the first quarantine of this scale in the US, and are supporting the State Department and (Department of Health and Human Services) in repatriating citizens from high-risk areas," she said.

In addition, the center is tracking and isolating cases when it can, issuing travel advisories for affected countries and taking on the increasingly difficult task of preventing the introduction of new cases, most notably at points of entry into the United States, she said.

Messonnier described the containment strategies as "largely successful" and said they were geared toward "buying us more time to prepare."

What to look for and what to do

The symptoms of coronavirus are similar to those of a common cold. The virus usually causes a mild to moderate upper respiratory tract illness, with symptoms including a runny nose, cough, sore throat, possibly a headache and maybe a fever, which can last for a couple of days.

For those with a weakened immune system, the elderly and the very young, there's a chance the virus could cause a lower, and much more serious, respiratory tract illness such as pneumonia or bronchitis.

People may be able to reduce their risk of infection by avoiding those who are sick, avoiding touching their eyes, nose and mouth, and washing hands often with soap and water and for at least 20 seconds.

Most of the time, symptoms will go away on their own and experts advise seeking care early. People with symptoms that feel worse than a standard cold should see their doctor.

CNN's Joe Sutton, Jamie Gumbrecht, Ben Tinker and Carma Hassan contributed to this report.

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2020-02-26 11:42:00Z
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Coronavirus live updates: Outbreak spreads in South Korea and Italy as CDC warning rattles markets - CBS News

The coronavirus epidemic that started in China late last year continues to spread around the world, with hundreds more cases confirmed in South Korea on Wednesday and Italy racing to try and control a smaller, but equally worrying outbreak.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Americans Tuesday to be prepared for the COVID-19 illness to start spreading within the U.S. populace, saying it's a question of when, not if.

Among the almost 1,300 cases in South Korea — the largest outbreak outside China — was a 23-year-old U.S. service member who has been ordered to self-quarantine in their home off-base. Before he was isolated, however, he recently visited two U.S. military facilities in the region where South Korea's outbreak is focused. The U.S. has thousands of troops based around the city of Daegu, where the outbreak has been linked to a large church congregation.

With the global death toll from the flu-like virus inching toward 3,000 and Italy reporting a 45% increase in cases in just one day, mounting fear that the disease could gain a foothold in other countries has sent stock prices plunging. The CDC's warning on Tuesday shaved about 3% off stock prices on all the major U.S. exchanges, and Asian and European markets were down again Wednesday.

U.S. economy takes hit in wake of coronavirus spread

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2020-02-26 11:31:00Z
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Live updates: Coronavirus fears spook markets as outbreak spreads; France, Iran report new deaths - The Washington Post

Athit Perawongmetha Reuters A man wearing a protective face mask, following an outbreak of the coronavirus, stands in front of a screen showing the Nikkei index outside a brokerage in Tokyo on Wednesday.

European financial markets fell Wednesday and U.S. futures tilted lower as the economic costs of the coronavirus spooked investors, a day after the Dow Jones industrial average slumped to its largest two-day percentage decline in two years.

London’s FTSE 100 index fell 0.7 percent, while the benchmark Stoxx 600 shed 1.2 percent and U.S. crude-oil prices slid below $49.50 a barrel. Earlier, losses in Asia were milder, with Tokyo ending the day down 0.8 percent and Hong Kong closing 0.7 percent lower.

While economic alarms flashed, there was little sign that the epidemic was relenting after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned of the “inevitable” spread of the coronavirus in the United States.

France reported the first death of a French citizen from the epidemic as cases spread rapidly across Europe, with Spain confirming eight new cases in the past 24 hours and new infections reported in France, Croatia, Austria and Switzerland. Although China announced a decline in new confirmed cases on Wednesday, numbers soared in South Korea to over 1,200, with more expected in the coming days as the state attempts to test 200,000 people.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/video/national/health-science/the-coronavirus-and-other-outbreaks-are-hard-to-contain-heres-why/2020/02/06/8c69ef04-cbfd-4251-9323-a12e167ad082_video.html

Here are the latest developments:

● France reported the first coronavirus death of a French citizen amid a dramatic uptick in cases within Europe, with most new cases connected to the outbreak in northern Italy, still the largest in the continent.

● Stocks fell in Europe, though indexes recovered some earlier losses. Asian markets registered modest drops. A day earlier, the Dow Jones industrial average plunged 879 points, worrying the Trump administration.

● Official numbers released by the Chinese government showed a decline in the number of new cases in mainland China, with 406 additional cases reported Wednesday morning, along with 52 deaths. All but five of the new cases and all of the new deaths were in Hubei province.

● South Korea reported 284 additional cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday, bringing up the national tally to 1,261. That number is expected to rise in coming days as the country begins the mass testing of more than 200,000 members of a messianic religious movement at the center of an outbreak in the city of Daegu.

5:18 AM: Iran confirms 19th death, official tells state television

Nineteen people have died in Iran from the novel coronavirus outbreak, health ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur told state television on Wednesday.

Iran has the highest number of deaths from the coronavirus outbreak outside of China. Jahanpur said that the number of confirmed cases in the country now stood at 139.

Atta Kenare

Afp Via Getty Images

Tehran Municipality workers clean a metro train to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus on Wednesday.

Jahanpur said Iranians should cancel nonessential travel and urged people to avoid Gilan and Qom, areas of the country with lots of confirmed coronavirus cases.

The large number of novel coronavirus infections in Iran have stretched the country’s health system, already under pressure from international isolation caused by punishing U.S. sanctions.

Speaking on Wednesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that the country would bring the outbreak under control within weeks.

Rouhani emphasized that more common illnesses such as influenza kill people every year, adding that deaths from the coronavirus “are no more than influenza.”

“The point I want to emphasise is that [the] coronavirus should not become a weapon at the hand of our enemies,” Rouhani told a cabinet session, according to a transcript on his website.

By: Adam Taylor

4:50 AM: France confirms three new coronavirus cases, one death

PARIS — The French Health Ministry confirmed three new cases of coronavirus in France on Wednesday, one of which led to the death of the first French citizen in the outbreak.

That patient, a 60-year-old man, died at a Paris hospital overnight. The other two new cases involved a 55-year-old man hospitalized in the northern French city of Amiens and a 36-year-old man hospitalized in the eastern French city of Strasbourg, said Jérôme Salomon, France’s director general of health.

The Strasbourg patient had recently returned from Lombardy in northern Italy, the center of Europe’s coronavirus outbreak, Salomon said. The Amiens patient was in a critical condition and was currently placed in the hospital’s intensive care unit, he said.

These three new cases were the latest in a rapid spike of new coronavirus infections across Europe.

French Health Minister Olivier Véran is expected to announce further details Wednesday evening.

By: James McAuley

4:38 AM: Coronavirus cases rapidly spread across Europe

PARIS — Spain has confirmed eight new cases of coronavirus in the 24 hours since a hotel in Tenerife was placed on lockdown after an Italian guest tested positive for the virus. Two of the new cases were confirmed in Madrid, and one in Barcelona.

The numbers represented a dramatic uptick, with most new cases connected to an outbreak in northern Italy, still the largest in Europe.

Other European countries also reported new infections related to the Italian outbreak: France, Croatia, and Austria and Switzerland all reported late Tuesday or early Wednesday new cases in their respective territories.

As in Tenerife, Austrian authorities placed a hotel in the Alpine city of Innsbruck under lockdown when a receptionist —an Italian who had recently visited Lombardy, one of the affected regions — tested positive for the virus.

The virus’s rapid European spread — and the mystery behind its arrival in Italy — has triggered anxieties across the continent, with government ministers urging passengers not to pursue nonessential travel to affected regions and other politicians calling for border closures.

“There is no prohibition,” said Spain’s health minister, Salvador Illa, according to El Pais. “But unless it is essential, do not go to a risk zone. It’s common sense.”

By: James McAuley

3:49 AM: Bahrain confirms 26 cases of coronavirus

BEIRUT — The tiny island nation of Bahrain said on Wednesday the number of coronavirus infections had risen to 26 after three more cases were detected in people who had recently returned from Iran, according to the state news agency.

Bahrain now has the highest number of infections in the Middle East outside Iran, which is emerging as a new epicenter of the virus. Cases linked to Iran have been detected in the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Lebanon, Oman and Kuwait, which reported two new infections on Wednesday, bringing the total to 11.

Bahrain on Tuesday ordered all schools to close for two weeks and airlines across the region have begun suspending flights to and from Iran, and to hubs that connect with Iran.

By: Liz Sly

3:34 AM: South Korea adds 115 more cases, bringing total to 1,261

SEOUL — South Korea confirmed 115 more cases of the novel coronavirus late Wednesday local time, as the U.S. military reported its first infection in a service member stationed in the Asian country.

The latest jump brought the number of confirmed the cases of the day to 284, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). More than half of South Korea’s 1,261 coronavirus cases are in southern city of Daegu.

U.S. Forces in Korea (USFK) said a 23-year-old soldier stationed at Camp Carroll near Daegu tested positive for the virus. The patient is in self-quarantine at his off-base residence, according to the military.

“KCDC and USFK health professionals are actively conducting contact tracing to determine whether any others may have been exposed,” the military said in a statement.

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday that planned joint military exercises with South Korea could be scaled back because of concerns about the virus.

South Korea also reported its 12th death from the virus, a 73-year-old man. Additionally, it announced that a Mongolian man in his 30s who had the novel coronavirus died in Gyeonggi province near Seoul.

Except for the Mongolian man’s case, all of South Korea’s 12 fatalities occurred in Daegu and surrounding North Gyeongsang province.

The South Korean government has designated Daegu and North Gyeongsaang as “special care zones” where support will be concentrated.

By: Min Joo Kim

3.23 AM: Philippines imposes travel restrictions on South Korea

MANILA — As the number of cases of the novel coronavirus continues to grow in South Korea, Asian countries are responding with travel bans.

Kim Hyun-Tae

AP

A man wearing a face mask passes by empty ticket counters at the Daegu Airport in South Korea on Monday.

The Philippines on Thursday announced an immediate ban on entry to travelers from North Gyeongsang province, where the coronavirus-hit city of Daegu is located, and said officials would consider widening the ban to other parts of South Korea.

Filipinos who are permanent residents, students, and overseas workers are authorized to travel, provided they sign a declaration that they are aware of the risks.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo told reporters that officials expect tourism to take a hit due to the ban, but “the safety and security of Filipinos here and outside the Philippines remain our primary concern.” South Korea is one of the Philippines’ top sources of tourists, with over 1.6 million visitors from the country in 2018.

The move comes as other countries impose restrictions on visitors from South Korea, which has the second-highest national tally of coronavirus cases after China.

Japan announced Wednesday that it would bar visitors who had traveled to the Daegu or Cheongdo, another afflicted city, in the past two weeks. Vietnam and Singapore have also imposed similar restrictions. In addition, Mongolia said it was suspending flights from Japan.

By: Regine Cabato

2:49 AM: Beijing asks banks to disinfect cash, keep notes stored for at least a week

BEIJING — Beijing is asking all banks in the region to disinfect paper cash and keep the notes in a dry place for at least seven days before putting them in circulation.

The request was made by Beijing’s Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau on Wednesday as it issued guidelines for controlling the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The bureau also asked financial institutions to intensify disinfection at counters and public facilities in all customer-facing banking and insurance establishments.

After cash is withdrawn from circulation, financial stitutions are required to disinfect the bills using ultraviolet light and keep them in a dry environment for at least a week.

Money returned from hospitals will be stored separately after disinfection, the bureau said.

Banks in other regions of China have installed similar measures in a bid to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. On Monday, China Construction Bank in the southeastern province of Fujian announced it had disinfected banknotes worth 6.9 billion yuan — roughly $980 million — between Jan. 28 and Feb. 23.

By: Wang Yuan

2:20 AM: Japan’s Abe wants to cancel major sporting, cultural events over crucial two-week period

TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe recommended on Wednesday that major sporting and cultural events in the country taking place over the next two weeks should be postponed or canceled to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Issei Kato

Reuters

A view of Japan’s new National Stadium, the main arena for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, on Dec. 15, 2019.

Abe’s government believes the next two weeks is a critical time for Japan as it seeks to limit the spread of the virus, reduce mortality rates and save the summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Already Japan’s J-League soccer has postponed all matches until March 15, while the Yomiuri Giants announced they would play two pre-season baseball games this weekend behind closed doors. Japan’s Rugby Football Union announced on Wednesday it would postpone two rounds of games due to have taken place over the next two weekends.

Concerts from Japanese boy bands NEWS and SixTONES as well as American rockers the Pixies have also been canceled in recent days.

Japan has announced 171 cases of coronavirus, including 14 of its citizens evacuated from the Chinese city of Wuhan, but not including more than 700 people who contracted the virus on board the cruise ship the Diamond Princess.

By: Simon Denyer

1:48 AM: Chinese Internet users now worry about their neighbors in South Korea and Japan

BEIJING — After a surge in coronavirus cases in South Korea and Japan, the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian on Wednesday announced a 14-day quarantine on all arrivals.

The move, which came a day after nearby Qingdao and Weihai imposed similar measures, shows how many in China are now less worried about the domestic spread of the novel coronavirus and more worried about it coming from abroad. Chinese social media users had appealed on local governments to protect China’s northeastern regions, which are home to a substantial number of Korean and Japanese expatriates and businesses.

Ahn Young-Joon

AP

Workers wearing protective suits spray disinfectant as a precaution against the coronavirus at a bus garage in Seoul on Wednesday.

“Please put those who return from overseas under centralized quarantine and keep our current promising situation,” wrote one user on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like social network.

Another user also subscribed to the government resolution:”We cannot lose hold of our port of entry now, and we have to be restrict with the 14-day quarantine!”

Topics about South Korea’s coronavirus outbreak were among the most serached on Weibo on Wednesday, with many users expressing shock and concern for their neighbors.

“It wouldn’t be like this if only they copied our earlier method,” wrote one user who noted that South Korea’s numbers were growing too fast. South Korea, a democracy, has declined to mimic China’s approach of placing entire cities or regions under forced lockdown.

Chinese Internet users also discussed whether the Tokyo Olympics, due to be held this summer, would go ahead. “This is unfair to athletes,” one user complained.

Despite the large number of cases of novel coronavirus across China, outside of Hubei province many provinces have not announced new cases in several days. Confirmed cases in South Korea have surged passed 1,000 this week, while Japan has had 171 confirmed cases, not including the hundreds who eventually tested positive on the Diamond Princess cruise ship.

By: Wang Yuan

1:26 AM: Over 400 Filipinos who had been on board Diamond Princess repatriated by government

MANILA — Over 400 Filipinos who were on board the virus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship arrived in the Philippines by Wednesday morning in government repatriation operations.

A total of 445 people were brought back on two flights, escorted by a four-member repatriation team and a nine-member health response team. Everyone will undergo two weeks of quarantine at the Athletes’ Village — a former Southeast Asian Games housing facility — in New Clark City, north of Manila.

Eighty out of 538 Filipinos on the Diamond Princess tested positive for the coronavirus. There are at least 70 who are still being treated in hospitals in Japan.

This is the second batch of repatriates since the Philippines brought home returnees from Wuhan, China.

By: Regine Cabato

1:16 AM: 13 Chinese provinces have lowered emergency response level

BEIJING — As of Wednesday, 13 Chinese provinces have lowered their emergency response level as they asssess that the threat posed by the novel coronavirus has receded, according to the state-run People’s Daily.

China has a four-tier public health emergency alert levels, with level one the most serious.

All 31 provincial-level regions in China activated a first-level emergency response to contain the spread of the virus by Jan. 29.

Shanxi, Guangdong, Xinjiang, Jiangsu, Sichuan and Anhui have adjusted their measures from level one to level two, while Gansu, Liaoning, Guizhou, Yunnan, Qinghai, Guangxi and Inner Mongolia have dropped theirs to level three.

The moves come as Beijing has tried to compel people in areas unaffected by the coronavirus outbreak to return to normal economic activity, hoping to avoid a prolonged downtown as the crisis drags on.

Though China continues to report hundreds of new coronavirus cases every day, almost all of these cases are in the epicenter of the outbreak, Hubei province, where strict quarnatine requirements have been in place since Jan. 23.

By: Liu Yang

12:56 AM: Asian markets extend losses amid coronavirus fears

HONG KONG — Asian markets extended losses Wednesday, though the declines were modest compared with those on U.S. markets on Tuesday, when the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 879 points.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down about 1 percent in midafternoon trade, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was 0.8 percent lower. Crude oil and U.S. stock futures were slightly higher.

The Chinese government announced a series of stimulus measures on Tuesday, encouraging financial institutions to defer loan payments and increase lending for small and medium sized businesses.

Hong Kong also announced its own stimulus package on Wednesday, including a payment of over $1,200 to all adult permanent residents.

By: Adam Taylor

12:30 AM: Number of South Korea coronavirus cases expected to jump as mass testing of more than 200,000 begins

SEOUL — The number of South Korean coronavirus cases is widely expected to jump in coming days, as the country begins the mass testing of more than 200,000 members of a messianic religious movement at the center of an outbreak in the city of Daegu.

South Korea reported 169 additional cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday, bringing up the national tally to 1,146.

Of latest cases, 134 are in southern city of Daegu, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

Kim Hong-Ji

Reuters

A woman walks through a market in Seoul on Wednesday as disinfection workers sanitize the area.

More than half of South Korea’s covid-19 cases have been traced to a regional branch of the secretive Shincheonji Church of Jesus, formally known as the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony.

Shincheonji members believe leader Lee Man-hee is the second coming of Jesus. The church is widely considered a cult and some members have been accused of hiding from health workers.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in visited the virus-hit city with aides on Tuesday. After one of attendees at a Daegu meeting with Moon tested positive for the virus, presidential aides and reporters who attended the meeting have been advised to quarantine themselves, according to South Korea’s state-funded Yonhap News Agency. A spokesman for the President said he could not confirm the media report.

South Korea’s military said 18 soldiers have been diagnosed with the virus as of Wednesday. Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo told soldiers not to leave their barracks other than for exceptional situations.

By: Min Joo Kim in Seoul and Adam Taylor in Hong Kong

12:20 AM: Hong Kong offers $1,280 handouts to residents to stimulate struggling economy

HONG KONG — In a bid to stem the financial damage caused by the coronavirus outbreak, Hong Kong’s government has announced a number of measures to aid individuals and firms.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po revealed the measures in a speech on Wednesday, announcing that each adult permanent resident in the city would receive a handout of 10,000 Hong Kong dollars, about $1,280.

Other measures included a full guarantee on loans of up to 2 million Hong Kong dollars — more than $250,000 — for small and medium-sized businesses, and government support for commercial utility payments.

Roy Liu

Bloomberg

People protested outside Hong Kong’s legislature on Wednesday ahead of the city’s announcement of economic relief measures.

Chan warned that the financial outlook for Hong Kong, already rough after the U.S.-China trade war and a police clampdown on pro-democracy protests last year, would be tough in 2020. Hong Kong’s economy contracted by 1.2 percent last year, the first annual decline since 2009, figures showed Wednesday.

“Hong Kong has been intensely affected by the profound changes in the international political and economic landscape,” Chan said. “Meanwhile, we had an extraordinary year with the occurrence of local social incidents.”

Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive, is facing historically low popularity ratings over perceptions that she prioritizes the needs of Beijing and the Chinese Communist Party over those of residents. Authorities are likely hoping that the budget relief package will help quell the deep dissatisfaction and stave off further protests against the government.

“I believe that given the extraordinary challenges that our community is facing, this is a justifiable and effective measure,” Lam said. “For some people, the cash payout will help to make ends meet in their hour of need.”

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Hong Kong reached 85 on Tuesday, with two known deaths from the outbreak.

By: Adam Taylor and Shibani Mahtani

12:00 AM: China announces 406 new cases, 52 new deaths

HONG KONG — The Chinese government announced 406 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Wednesday morning, along with 52 deaths. As in line with a recent trend, all but five of the new cases were in Hubei province, the epicenter of the current outbreak; all of the deaths were in Hubei.

The numbers marked another dip in new cases, though health experts have cautioned against reading too much into the declining numbers, noting both the unpredictability of new outbreaks like this and the Chinese state’s opacity.

The new numbers mean that mainland China has seen a total of 78,064 infections and 2,715 deaths.

By: Adam Taylor

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2020-02-26 10:39:13Z
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US soldier stationed in South Korea tests positive for coronavirus as global outbreak worsens - CNN

Iran and Italy are also grappling with major outbreaks within their borders that have turned deadly, and a top official from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned that the United States could see the virus spread within its borders.

"Ultimately we expect we will see community spread in this country. It's not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illness," said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, the director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

South Korea currently has the largest outbreak outside mainland China, with more than 1,100 people infected -- including the first US soldier -- and at least 12 dead. Iran's health ministry has confirmed at least 95 cases and 15 fatalities. In Italy, at least 322 people have been infected and 11 have been killed, while Algeria, Croatia, mainland Spain and Switzerland all announced their first confirmed cases.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has so far held off on classifying the coronavirus' spread as a global pandemic, but the outbreak appears to be getting closer to meeting the global health body's definition of one.

The CDC's Messonnier said Tuesday that the situation has met two of the criteria for a pandemic: "the fact that this virus has caused illness -- including illness that has resulted in death -- and sustained person-to-person spread."

"As community spread is detected in more and more countries, the world moves closer towards meeting the third criteria: worldwide spread of the new virus," she said.

To date, the virus has killed more than 2,760 people globally, 2,715 of whom are in mainland China. China's National Health Commission reported that 406 confirmed cases were identified on Tuesday -- all but five in hard-hit Hubei province -- and 52 people were killed by the virus. The total number of people infected in mainland China is now 78,064, bringing the global total to 80,970.

The situation has rattled global markets and led to concern about the long term economic impact of the virus.

Investors and economists have been particularly concerned about how the continued shutdown of factories in China could affect global supply chains, but the new outbreaks in two major economies -- Italy and South Korea -- have rattled markets and dashed hopes of a speedy recovery, sparking this week's worldwide stock rout.

South Korean outbreak spreads to the military

South Korean authorities are attempting to contain an outbreak that has gone from just 51 people infected last week to at least 1,146 as of Wednesday. The outbreak began in the southern city of Daegu and was centered around the Shincheonji religious group, but the virus appears to have spread now beyond practitioners.

Eighteen South Korean soldiers have been confirmed infected, and the country's defense ministry has placed significant restrictions on soldiers leaving their bases due to fears surrounding the virus. On Wednesday, it was announced that a US service member stationed in South Korea tested positive for the virus, according to US Forces Korea statement.

The soldier, who is stationed at Camp Carroll which is approximately 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) from the city of Daegu, is the first US service member to test positive for the novel coronavirus.

"The patient, a 23-year old male, is currently in self quarantine at his off-base residence. He visited Camp Walker on 24 February and Camp Carroll 21-25 February. KCDC and USFK health professionals are actively conducting contact tracing to determine whether any others may have been exposed," the statement said.

The virus' spread also prompted South Korea and the United States to scale back joint military drills, according to three US officials.

The three officials said this would be the first major impact of coronavirus on US military readiness, according to the officials. Without the full exercise, the US could lose ground in being able to quickly conduct future operations in a coordinated and highly synchronized manner with South Korea against North Korea in the event of a crisis, one of the officials said.

Iranian health official infected

Tehran continues to grapple with a significant outbreak that one lawmaker in the holy city of Qom, the epicenter of the Iranian outbreak, said has killed as many as 50 people, though the country's health ministry has denied his claims.

Among the infected is Iran's deputy health minister Iraj Harirchi. Harirchi appeared on television sweaty and ill to warn Iranians of coronavirus Monday, only to test positive for coronavirus on Tuesday.

In a news conference on national television, Harirchi coughed and wiped sweat from his face using tissues on several occasions. He was later diagnosed with coronavirus, according to state media.

Across the Middle East, flights from Iran have been halted and borders with the country have been closed as the region tries to keep the spread of a deadly coronavirus at bay. Several countries have also issued travel bans for the country.

The heavy economic sanctions imposed against Iran by the US and other bodies have made tackling the disease harder, with the country struggling to access novel coronavirus test kits, a board member of Iran's Association of Medical Equipment Importers told the semi-official news agency ILNA on Sunday.

Italian officials try to calm fears

The worst outbreak outside Asia is in Italy, where authorities were on the defensive Tuesday as they faced tough questions over the country's handling of the deadly virus as it spreads across the country's northern regions.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte tried to allay fears that the central government has no control over the affected regions after he was forced to admit that a hospital in the northern town of Codogno had mishandled the region's first coronavirus case and had contributed to the deadly virus' spread.

The cases are heavily concentrated in the region of Lombardy where 212 infections have been confirmed. Around 100,000 people in Lombardy and nearby Veneto are facing travel and other restrictions.

Conte on Monday night said that the hospital that treated the first coronavirus case in Codogno, known as Patient 1, had not followed protocol. Conte did not elaborate on what protocols were breached.

It was clear "there has been a management of the hospital not entirely proper according to prudent protocols, which are recommended in these cases, and this has certainly contributed to the spread," he said.

Italian authorities have identified Patient 1 as a 38-year-old man, giving only the name Mattia.

Mattia was originally in intensive care for respiratory problems at a hospital in Codogno, but is now being treated at the Policlinico San Matteo in Pavia, about 35 kilometers (21.7 miles) south of Milan, Italian Civil Protection Agency spokesman Juri Pittaluga told CNN. Mattia's pregnant wife, Valentina, has also tested positive for the virus and is in the Sacco hospital in Milan, but her health condition is "not worrying at all," Pittaluga said.

Authorities in Italy have not yet identified Patient 0, the individual who suspected of bringing the coronavirus into the country.

Blame goes around in the United States

Government officials in the United States spent much of Tuesday assessing the situation, with several leveling accusations against their domestic and international counterparts.

US President Donald Trump has privately expressed frustration in recent days about some of the ways his administration is confronting a spreading coronavirus outbreak, according to people familiar with the conversations. Publicly, he has expressed optimism that the virus is "going to go away."

Lawmakers in Congress, meanwhile, have voiced concerns that more needs to be done. Republicans and Democrats alike have suggested that the Trump administration's response has exposed vulnerabilities.

"Looking ahead, we should be passing laws to make sure we have that manufacturing capability, that we have sufficient stockpiles. You know things expire. We need to be far more strategic about how we approach these things for the next potential pandemic," Republican Sen. Ron Johnson said. "These are serious issues."

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was quick to criticize China and Iran, accusing both countries of a lack of transparency. He also alleged that attempts by both governments to stifle dissent has played a part in the virus' spread.

"Had China permitted its own and foreign journalists and medical personnel to speak and investigate freely, Chinese officials and other nations would have been far better prepared to address the challenge," Pompeo said.

The WHO has continually praised China's response to the crisis, a move that has led critics to question the relationship between the two entities and whether the global health watchdog is sufficiently independent from Beijing, one of its most important financial patrons.

CNN's James Griffiths contributed reporting from Hong Kong; Ramin Mostaghim contributed reporting from Tehran; Sophie Jeong and Yoonjung Seo contributed reporting from Seoul; Angela Dewan contributed reporting from London; Nicola Ruotolo contributed reporting from Milan; and Kevin Liptak, Kaitlan Collins, Lauren Fox, Claire Foran and Barbara Starr contributed reporting from Washington

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2020-02-26 09:04:00Z
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