Minggu, 01 Maret 2020

‘This Will Be a Long Battle’: More Countries Report First Coronavirus Deaths - The Wall Street Journal

Medical staff wearing protective suits outside a hospital in Daegu, South Korea.

Photo: Kim Hyun-tae/Associated Press
By
Wenxin Fan

More countries reported their first coronavirus fatalities and the toll grew in places such as China, as the number of deaths from the epidemic globally nears 3,000.

Hours after the U.S. reported its first fatality, Australia on Sunday announced its first death from the disease known as Covid-19. So did Thailand, more than a month after it became the first country outside of China to report an infection. Italy added five more deaths, with 528 new confirmed cases since Saturday.

In China, health authorities said 35 patients died on Saturday, bringing the total number of deaths from the disease in the hardest-hit country to 2,870. A doctor in the city of Wuhan died early Sunday morning after he was infected while fighting the virus, his hospital said.

As Iran fights to contain the coronavirus epidemic, governments including Saudi Arabia and Iraq are closing some of the world's largest religious sites and canceling prayers. Here's why countries in the Middle East are particularly concerned. Photo: Ganoo Essa/Reuters

The fast-rising number of cases and the spreading death toll from a disease long concentrated in China has sparked fears of a global pandemic. That has set off a new round of travel restrictions, sending markets spiraling down and forcing closures of popular public events and tourist sites—including Paris’s Louvre museum, which shut down Sunday morning after workers expressed concern about the illness.

The epidemic threatens to stress hospital systems in less-prepared countries and has crimped economic activity, depriving many people of their livelihoods.

“This will be a long battle,” said Ben Cowling, head of the epidemiology and biostatistics division at the University of Hong Kong’s School of Public Health.

China’s count of confirmed cases grew by 573 Saturday to nearly 80,000. Only eight new cases were recorded outside the city of Wuhan, where the global epidemic started.

Armenia, Ireland, Luxembourg, Ecuador and Qatar each reported their first infections over the weekend.

The Latest on the Coronavirus

  • U.S., Australia and Thailand report their first coronavirus deaths
  • Global death toll is now about 3,000—China’s death toll as of Saturday was 2,870
  • Armenia, Ireland, Luxembourg, Ecuador and Qatar each reported their first infections over the weekend
  • Japan ran a slimmed-down marathon in Tokyo to protect the Olympics from the threat of the epidemic
TRACKING THE CORONAVIRUS

VIEW In Depth

The Australian who died was a passenger on the Diamond Princess, the cruise ship that had more than 700 coronavirus infections confirmed among the 3,700 passengers and crew. Six of those who were infected died in Japan.

Government officials in Australia said the man had begun to feel sick during an evacuation flight from Japan, and had been taken to a hospital in Western Australia, where he died overnight.

In South Korea, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced 586 new confirmed cases Sunday, including one death.

Countries have tightened restrictions on travel. The U.S. will bar foreign nationals who have traveled to Iran in the past 14 days, Vice President Mike Pence said, and the U.S. government is also strongly advising against travel to areas in Italy and South Korea that have been affected by the virus.

In Italy, 1,577 people are infected with the virus and 34 have died, Italy’s Civil Protection agency said late Sunday. Eighty-three people have fully recovered.

Italian authorities said the rapid increase in new cases—50% since Saturday—reflects the disease’s long incubation period and the fact that containment measures were put in place around a week ago, after many people were infected. They said they expect the emergence of new cases to start to slow down in about a week.

As the coronavirus continued to spread in Italy, Pope Francis announced that he had a cold and would be sitting out a week-long spiritual retreat for Vatican officials starting Sunday evening.

The pope made his first public appearance since Wednesday, when he had spoken with a hoarse voice and wiped his nose during Ash Wednesday Mass. He worked on a restricted schedule for the following three days, canceling speeches to large groups but holding private meetings, on account of what the Vatican described as a “slight indisposition.”

Pope Francis coughs during the Angelus noon prayer from a window overlooking St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, on Sunday.

Photo: Andrew Medichini/Associated Press

It was the pope’s longest stretch of time off for health reasons since his election almost seven years ago, and it raised speculation that he might have been infected with the virus. But on Sunday, the pope described his ailment as a cold.

“Unfortunately, a cold requires me to not participate [in the retreat] this year,” he said. “I’ll follow the meditations from here.”

The pope coughed twice during his 10 minutes at a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square and seemed slightly tired but alert, improvising remarks about his concern for war refugees. When he was a young man he had part of a lung removed after a battle with respiratory illness.

Iran’s foreign ministry had advised its citizens to stay away from South Korea, while the country’s state-controlled news agency IRNA reported Azerbaijan had closed its border with Iran for two weeks starting Saturday afternoon.

City officials in Beijing said both of its two new cases confirmed on Saturday in the Chinese capital were Chinese citizens who flew back from Iran. Ningxia, a Muslim region in northwestern China, also reported two such cases earlier this week.

In Moscow, the Chinese embassy issued a statement confirming that 80 Chinese citizens who had violated self-quarantine rules imposed in Russia have been moved to a quarantine facility.

In a news conference later, China said it understands most countries’ restrictions on travel by Chinese citizens, but saw some as overreaction.

“Some countries had taken unnecessary steps,” said Cui Aimin, director-general of the Department of Consular Affairs of the Foreign Ministry, without elaborating.

Ballet dancers demonstrate movements during an open course on live stream, in Shanghai.

Photo: Ren Long/Zuma Press

In the same press conference, Chinese officials said air travel with South Korea and Japan had been cut back and would be further reduced next week.

Mr. Cui also acknowledged that Chinese cities have been monitoring foreigners arriving from affected countries and have subjected them to the same home quarantines and other disease-control measures applied to Chinese citizens.

Such steps “effectively prevented cross-border transmission and benefited both China and foreign countries,” he said.

—Stuart Condie, Giovanni Legorano and Francis X. Rocca contributed to this article.

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Write to Wenxin Fan at Wenxin.Fan@wsj.com

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2020-03-01 19:21:00Z
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Coronavirus Spreads in U.S., as Rhode Island Confirms State’s First Case - The Wall Street Journal

At a hastily arranged White House news conference on Saturday, President Trump and other officials sought to project confidence in how the U.S. is handling the coronavirus situation.

Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images
By
Brianna Abbott,
Alex Leary and
Joe Barrett

Rhode Island health officials confirmed the state’s first case of coronavirus on Sunday, signaling a widening spread of the virus a day after the first death in the U.S. was reported in Washington state and the White House imposed additional international travel restrictions.

The Rhode Island patient, the 25th confirmed local case in the U.S., is a person in their 40s who had traveled to Italy in mid-February, the state health department said in a press release. Officials said they are working closely with the hospital where this person is being treated.

The family of the Rhode Island patient has been in self-quarantine since the person’s symptoms and travel history made the person a candidate for monitoring for Covid-19, the state agency said. The person hadn’t returned to work and extensive efforts are underway to reach anyone who the person did have contact with since returning to the U.S., it said. Any of those contacts will be monitored and directed to self-quarantine for 14 days as well.

The Latest on the Coronavirus

  • The global death toll is now about 3,000—China’s death toll as of Saturday was 2,870
  • U.S., Australia and Thailand report their first coronavirus deaths
  • Armenia, Ireland, Luxembourg, Ecuador and Qatar each reported their first infections over the weekend
  • Japan ran a slimmed-down marathon in Tokyo to protect the Olympics from the threat of the epidemic
TRACKING THE CORONAVIRUS

VIEW In Depth

Vice President Mike Pence, head of the government’s task force on the virus, said at a briefing Saturday that the U.S. will bar foreign nationals who have traveled to Iran in the past 14 days. The government is also strongly advising people against travel to areas in Italy and South Korea that are affected by the virus and has asked those countries to ensure adequate screening of travelers to the U.S.

At the hastily arranged White House news conference, President Trump and other officials sought to project confidence in how the U.S. is handling the situation, which has sent markets tumbling. “This too will end,” the president said.

Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said, “The risk is low. We need to get on with our normal lives.”

In response to a reporter’s question, Mr. Trump said the U.S. is also considering restrictions at the Mexican border. On Sunday, Mr. Trump said on Twitter that travelers from high-risk countries or areas wouldn’t only be screened for the virus prior to boarding but also when they arrive in the U.S.

The patient in Washington, a man in his 50s with underlying health conditions, died Friday night after test results confirmed he had novel coronavirus, according to a letter from the EvergreenHealth health-care system. He didn’t have any travel history to areas where the virus was circulating.

The CDC on Saturday also announced the first case of novel coronavirus in a U.S. health-care provider. The woman, who is in her 40s and is currently in good condition, is connected to yet another case in Washington state—a woman in her 70s in serious condition.

President Trump, Vice President Pence and health officials held a press conference on Saturday after Washington state health officials reported the country’s first coronavirus death. Photo: Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo

Both are associated with a long-term care facility called Life Care Center of Kirkland in Kirkland, Wash. Health officials warned of a potential outbreak in the facility and said that an additional 27 residents and 25 staff are experiencing symptoms.

So far, roughly 80% of the cases are mild, with the most common symptoms being a fever and a dry cough. Many patients recover within a few weeks. But the rapidly spreading virus can also be deadly, especially among older adults and those with underlying health conditions, such as chronic cardiac disease, lung disease and diabetes.

Federal health officials said that the overall risk to the general public in the U.S. is still low, though the risk is rising in some areas and is higher for certain groups. People can protect themselves and their communities by taking steps such as frequent handwashing, avoiding contact with people who are sick and staying home if they develop symptoms, health authorities say.

“We are facing a historic public health challenge,” Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said on a press call. “While we still hope for the best, we continue to prepare for this virus to become more widespread in the United States.”

A total of 25 people have been diagnosed with the novel infection within the U.S., not including repatriated Americans.

Late Saturday, health officials in Illinois said a third person there had tested positive for coronavirus. They didn’t say how the person had contracted it. The patient, who wasn’t identified, remains in the hospital and is in isolation. Two people in the state previously confirmed to have the virus have made full recoveries, officials said in a statement.

New cases in patients who currently have no clear path of exposure signal a wider spread of the novel coronavirus in some American communities. On Saturday, officials in Santa Clara County, Calif., announced a fourth confirmed case, a woman they said had been a “household contact“ of another woman who contracted the disease through apparent community transmission.

They released few details about the case other than to say the unidentified woman isn’t hospitalized or ill. The other woman, who also hasn’t been identified, remains under hospital treatment.

Read More

That woman was one of three new cases reported by health officials in California, Washington and Oregon on Friday in which the patients had no relevant travel history or known exposure to carriers.

The patients were tested following a change in the CDC guideline, which the agency expanded on Thursday to include people with recent travel history to Japan, Italy, Iran and South Korea as well as people with severe respiratory illnesses and a fever without a clear cause of infection.

The agency expanded the guideline after a patient in California wasn’t tested right away because the woman didn’t meet the stricter guidelines but ended up testing positive.

On Saturday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it would allow some 300 to 400 academic-hospital labs to begin testing for the virus, allowing for checks of thousands of people rather than the few hundred already tested.

Until Saturday’s announcement, there were relatively few diagnostic tests conducted in the U.S., with most state and local health departments sending patient samples to the CDC and waiting days for results. Even those initially had some accuracy problems, though the CDC has said those problems have been remedied.

Washington state started testing patient samples locally on Friday, officials said, which contributed to the quick uptick of reported cases in the region.

Mr. Trump is scheduled to meet Monday with pharmaceutical companies as work continues on a vaccination.

Write to Brianna Abbott at brianna.abbott@wsj.com, Alex Leary at alex.leary@wsj.com and Joe Barrett at joseph.barrett@wsj.com

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2020-03-01 16:34:00Z
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Greece Sends Army to Border as Turkey Open Gates for Migrants - The New York Times

ORESTIADA, Greece — Greece deployed additional military forces to the country’s northern border with Turkey on Sunday to fortify the area and to repel a stream of migrants after Turkey opened the floodgates to the European Union over the weekend.

Military officials would not say how many additional troops were being deployed, but they confirmed that they were stepping up joint military and police operations along the border. Dozens of military vehicles were seen moving toward various outposts along the 120-mile-long border with Turkey.

Groups of army officers in uniform appeared on Sunday morning in the small Greek town of Orestiada, which is close to the frontier, before heading toward the border. Two army officers said they had been brought in overnight from other parts of the country.

The fortification of the border came after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey confirmed on Saturday that he was opening Turkey’s border for migrants to enter Europe, saying that his country could no longer handle the huge numbers of people fleeing the war in Syria.

Mr. Erdogan accused European leaders of failing to keep their promise to help Turkey bear the load of hosting 3.6 million Syrian refugees. And he demanded European support for his military operation against a Russian and Syrian offensive in northern Syria that has displaced at least a million more Syrians who are heading toward the Turkish border. The Turkish Army also suffered significant casualties in an airstrike in northwest Syria last week.

European Union leaders have issued vague messages of support to Turkey for its loss of soldiers in Syria after airstrikes and to Greece for its migrant troubles. But the leaders had been unable to commit to a joint statement on the evolving crisis on Sunday.

Thousands of migrants languishing in Turkey made their way to the border this weekend after Mr. Erdogan said he wouldn’t stand in their way. Many dropped everything the moment they heard the border was opening and rushed by bus or taxi, fearful that they might miss the chance to get across.

The Greek government, alarmed at the unfolding migrant wave, said that it was sending a warning through mass text messages to all international phone numbers in the border area. “From the Hellenic Republic: Greece is increasing border security to level maximum,” the message said in English. “Do not attempt illegally to cross the border.”

Many migrants went ahead, nevertheless, and some succeeded. Many ended up clashing with the authorities in Greece this weekend, as riot police with batons, shields and masks tried to block their path, sometimes firing tear gas.

Turkey’s interior minister, Suleyman Soylu, said in a tweet on Sunday that more than 76,000 people had left Turkey for Greece — a drastically inflated number, according to ground reports from both sides of the border.

The United Nations estimated that some 15,000 people from several countries, including families with children, were on their way in Turkey to the northern land border with Greece.

Hundreds of people went over the Turkish border in the north, either through farmland or by crossing the Evros River. Nearly 500 others arrived by boat on the islands bordering Turkey in the northeastern Aegean, creating small-scale scenes that were still reminiscent of the 2015 crisis that paralyzed Europe.

The Greek government said it had thwarted nearly 10,000 crossing attempts in 24 hours and arrested 150 people over the weekend.

But dozens of migrants in small groups could be seen scattered in the region’s villages. The Greek government claimed that those attempting to cross into Greece were all single men and none were Syrians, but families and Syrians did manage to reach Greece.

One man with his wife and small children took shelter in a church, trying to warm up and regroup after the arduous crossing.

Another migrant, Kaniwar Ibrahim, a 26-year-old tailor from Kobane, Syria, said he had heard from friends that Mr. Erdogan was opening the borders to Europe, so he rushed north.

Mr. Ibrahim, his face ashen and his lips blue from the cold, was planning his next move at the train station in Orestiada with three West Africans and a few Palestinian migrants who had crossed the border with him overnight.

He had spent two terrible years in Turkey, he said, so he grabbed the chance to join his relatives, who were legally settled in Germany.

On the Turkish side of the border, where thousands were gathering and smugglers were flocking to offer rides, boats and other services, others were less fortunate, and the hazards of crossing the border were becoming clear.

One migrant died from the cold overnight, according to other migrants, and others said they were badly beaten by Greek border guards or vigilantes — a claim that the Greek government denied.

Abdul Kareem al Mir, 23, a refugee from the city of Al Salamiyah in Central Syria, reached Edirne, near the northern border with Greece, but he was already having second thoughts.

“I’ve been stuck here for three days in the rain and cold,” he said in a series of messages. “I guess the promises and statements were just a lie,” he said.

Carlotta Gall contributed reporting from Istanbul, and Hwaida Saad from Beirut.

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2020-03-01 15:36:00Z
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Rebecca Grant: After peace deal with Taliban, many uncertainties remain about what comes next in Afghanistan - Fox News

The signing of the U.S.-Taliban peace agreement Saturday in Qatar is a hopeful and historic moment, but the Trump administration knows full well that the security situation across Afghanistan is shaky at best.

That’s why Secretary of State Mike Pompeo informed Taliban leaders that he would "closely watch the Taliban’s compliance with their commitments and calibrate the pace of our withdrawal to their actions.”

The peace agreement is designed to end the longest war in American history, which began after Al Qaeda terrorists using Afghanistan as their base to stage the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the United States that killed almost 3,000 people.

LINDSEY GRAHAM ON US-TALIBAN PEACE AGREEMENT: 'LET'S GIVE IT A TRY'

The agreement calls for U.S. forces in Afghanistan to be reduced from the current 13,000 to 8,600 in three or four months, after which there could be further U.S. troop withdrawals if the Taliban keep their commitments to stop backing Al Qaeda and make peace a reality in Afghanistan.

As it turns out, the seven-day “reduction in violence” in Afghanistan preceding the signing of the peace agreement almost unraveled. Two motorcycle vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attacks took place in Kabul last week. The attacks were immediately disavowed by the Taliban and claimed by ISIS.

U.S. Army Gen. Scott Miller, who commands the NATO support mission and U.S. forces in Afghanistan, ultimately ruled in favor of continuing with the peace process. Pompeo reiterated Saturday that the Taliban must “keep up the fight to defeat ISIS” in Afghanistan.

It’s naïve to think Afghanistan will settle down and become what the military calls a “permissive environment” anytime soon.

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President Ashraf Ghani’s government does not control the rural areas. ISIS is still out there, along with a dozen other non-Taliban terrorist groups. And Iran has been meddling in Afghanistan across their common border for years. However, the truce put the Taliban to the test and they passed.

Intra-Afghan talks between Ghani’s government and the Taliban are tentatively scheduled to start March 10 in either Norway or Qatar. The fact is, the Taliban leadership was ready for the deal last fall.

A big dilemma was getting the Afghan government in a position to enter talks with the Taliban. This has been made possible by the Trump administration’s investment in Afghanistan’s military and security sector.

Recently Afghan special forces – with a little coalition command and control assistance – rescued several Afghan military hostages from Taliban control. And the Afghan Air Force is now carrying out up to 50 percent of the airstrike missions, up from zero a few years ago.

From a military standpoint, the Afghans are in a much better place today. Over the last three years, Afghanistan’s forces have shown they can carry out better-coordinated, intensified military operations against the Taliban and other insurgent groups.

Afghan forces are not perfect by any means, but their improved military record has shown that the Taliban can’t conquer Kabul and take over as they did from 1996 to 2001.

As a result, the Afghan government has the stature and confidence to enter into negotiations with the Taliban. However, Afghanistan’s position of strength requires continued U.S. and NATO backing.

Don’t expect an immediate Afghanistan “peace dividend” for the U.S.  In fact, the U.S. Defense Department budget request for Afghanistan operations has actually increased slightly.

This is a critical time, and Afghan military forces still need contractor logistic support even when U.S. military forces leave. Two prime examples are maintenance and training support for the Afghan Air Force A-29 attack aircraft and the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters. Both systems depend almost exclusively on American contractors.

Central Command reported a total of 24,202 contractors in Afghanistan as of December. Some 4,951 provide base security, while others drive, translate, cook, clean and maintain equipment.

If the Taliban behave and peace proves durable, it might be possible to close down smaller bases in due course.

The biggest security risk is that the Taliban could regroup for a spring offensive. Right now it’s unclear whether they are making plans to fight or stand-down this spring. Last year the Taliban announced the start of their spring offensive on April 12 and launched attacks in Nangarhar province hours later.

So far, the Taliban have made no announcement about an offensive this year. Much will depend on what they say and do in the coming weeks.

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However, the Trump administration has at last crafted the right moment to make this deal and empower Afghanistan’s government to negotiate from a position of strength.

Of course, U.S. Special Representative for Afghan Peace Talks Zalmay Khalilzad will be on hand to coach, referee and drive momentum forward. But he’s not alone.

Norway started hosting informal talks between Afghan officials and Taliban representatives over five years ago, and German diplomats have also been very helpful in keeping the Taliban talks on track.

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Afghanistan’s Vice President-elect Amrullah Saleh was once a Northern Alliance fighter with Ahmed Shah Massoud, who was killed by Al Qaeda on Sept. 9, 2001. Saleh himself was later hunted by the Taliban.

Yet on Friday Saleh said in an essay for Time Magazine: “I am ready to make peace with the Taliban on the battlefield, and fight them in a very different arena: at the ballot box.”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE BY REBECCA GRANT

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2020-03-01 16:02:10Z
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Coronavirus live updates: Australia, Thailand and US report first deaths over weekend - CNBC

People wearing face masks walk on the promenade of the Bund along the Huangpu River in Shanghai on February 28, 2020.

Hector Retamal | AFP | Getty Images

9:00 am: England reports 12 new coronavirus cases 

There were 12 new coronavirus cases reported in England on Sunday morning, bringing the total number of cases in the U.K. to 35.

Three of the patients were close contacts of a known case, while one patient — a resident in Essex — had no known travel history. The other cases were patients who had recently traveled from Italy and Iran, according to U.K. health officials. -- Newburger 

8:31am: Trump says US will screen travelers from high risk countries upon arrival to US 

President Donald Trump on Sunday morning tweeted that passengers traveling from high risk countries will be screened prior to boarding as well as when they arrive to the U.S. The administration on Saturday expanded travel restrictions against Iran and raised an advisory that Americans refrain from visiting regions of Italy and South Korea impacted by the coronavirus.

"In addition to screening travelers 'prior to boarding' from certain designated high risk countries, or areas within those countries, they will also be screened when they arrive in America," Trump wrote on Twitter. -- Newburger 

8:30 am: Australia, Thailand and U.S. report first virus-related deaths over weekend 

Australia, Thailand and the U.S. all reported their first deaths from the coronavirus over the weekend as the outbreak continues to stretch across the globe. 

In the U.S., a man in his 50s with underlying health conditions died in Washington state. There was no evidence that he got the infection through travel or contact with another infected person, raising fears over a local community spread within the U.S. 

In Thailand, a 35-year-old man who was also sick from dengue fever died of the coronavirus. Thailand has reported a total of 42 cases. 

A 78-year-old man also died of the virus in Australia on Sunday. He was one of the evacuated passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship quarantined off Japan. Australia has confirmed a total of 26 cases. 

"We still need to make the point very clear that there isn't community spread within Australia," said Andrew Robertson, chief health officer at the Western Australia Department of Health. "This very tragic case is still related to the Diamond Princess. The public shouldn't be panicking at this stage." -- Newburger 

6:55 am: Iran's death toll now at 54, confirmed cases jump to 978 amid suspicions about government reporting

Iran's death toll from the coronavirus hit 54 on Sunday, its health ministry said, just days after the Iranian government denied 50 deaths from the virus reported by a lawmaker in the city of Qom, the center of the country's outbreak.

Based on the number of fatalities, health experts believe the number of infected people must be higher than what the government is reporting. -- Turak, Kemp

3:06 am: WHO chief says global markets 'should calm down and try to see the reality'

Market panic over the fast-spreading new coronavirus is uncalled for, the World Health Organization's director-general said Sunday as governments around the world rush to contain its spread.

"Global markets … should calm down and try to see the reality," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told CNBC's Hadley Gamble during a panel discussion at the King Salman Humanitarian Aid Center's International Humanitarian Forum in Riyadh. "We need to continue to be rational. Irrationality doesn't help. We need to deal with the facts."

The comments come after global stocks were slammed in their worst week since the 2008 financial crisis. The Dow Jones plunged a whopping 3,500 points across the week, more than 12%, its largest weekly point loss ever and biggest percentage drop in 12 years. -- Turak 

-- CNBC's Natasha Turak and Ted Kemp contributed reporting 

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2020-03-01 13:46:00Z
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Coronavirus Live Updates: New Fears in Washington State, and a Murder Inquiry in Korea - The New York Times

Get an informed guide to the global outbreak with our daily Coronavirus newsletter.

Here’s what you need to know:

Credit...David Ryder/Getty Images

As Washington State declared a state of emergency over the new coronavirus, researchers who studied two cases in the state say that the virus may have been spreading there for weeks, suggesting the possibility that up to 1,500 people in the state may have been infected.

The state became the site of the country’s first coronavirus death on Saturday, at a time when President Trump issued new foreign travel warnings and restrictions in an effort to stop the spread of the virus, while also urging calm among members of the public.

The number of confirmed cases worldwide had reached nearly 87,000 as of Sunday, with more than 7,000 cases outside mainland China, where the outbreak began late last year. The virus has now been detected in at least 60 countries.

With 71 cases confirmed in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration announced this weekend that testing for the coronavirus would be greatly expanded in the country, a move that is expected to improve the pace of detecting infections and help identify patterns of suspected or confirmed cases.

In Washington State, researchers compared two cases in the hopes of gaining such insight. One case, which last month became the first in the United States, appeared in a patient from whom health officials took a sample on Jan. 19. Another case that surfaced in the region last week probably descended from it, based on an analysis of the virus’s genetic sequence.

The findings suggest that the virus has been spreading in the community for close to six weeks, according to one of the scientists who compared the sequences, Trevor Bedford, an associate professor at the University of Washington.

If that is true, it could mean that 150 to 1,500 people “have either been infected and recovered or currently are infected now,” said Mike Famulare, a researcher at the Institute for Disease Modeling in Bellevue, Wash., who performed the analysis. Those cases, if they exist, have thus far been undetected.

Many of those people might not yet be contagious, Dr. Famulare said.

His estimation was based on a simulation using what scientists have learned about the incubation period and transmissibility of the virus. He characterized his estimate of community cases as a “best guess, with broad uncertainty.” Another method, based on census data and estimated sampling, produced similar results, he said.

[Do you know anyone who lives or works at Life Care Center in Kirkland, Wash.? If so, please email our reporter, Mike Baker, at mike.baker@nytimes.com.

The city of Seoul, South Korea, on Sunday asked prosecutors to investigate the founder of a church at the center of the country’s coronavirus outbreak and other top leaders of the sect on murder and other criminal charges.

Official believe that the church has contributed to the country’s rising death toll from the virus — which reached 18 as of Sunday — by failing to provide disease-control officials with a full accurate list of church members and by interfering with the government’s efforts to fight the outbreak.

In a Facebook post, Mayor Park Won-soon of Seoul said the church’s behavior was tantamount to “murder through to willful negligence.”

The Coronavirus Outbreak

  • Answers to your most common questions:

    Updated Feb. 26, 2020

    • What is a coronavirus?
      It is a novel virus named for the crownlike 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 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.
    • 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 nonessential travel to South Korea and China.
    • 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 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.
    • Who is working to contain the virus?
      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 was not ready for a major outbreak.

Officials say that nearly 60 percent of the 3,736 confirmed cases in South Korea are in members of Shincheonji Church of Jesus in the southeastern city of Daegu or people who came into contact with them.

Prosecutors have yet to decide whether to begin a formal investigation into the founder, Lee Man-hee, and other sect leaders.

Shincheonji officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday. The church has said it was fully cooperating with the government, calling itself the victim of a “witch hunt.”

South Korean officials also said on Sunday that some church members had visited the Chinese city of Wuhan in January. The global outbreak is believed to have begun in a seafood and poultry market in Wuhan.

Officials in South Korea have been trying to figure out how the virus reached the congregation. The church has acknowledged having members in Wuhan, but it said none of them had visited South Korea since December.

President Trump has sought to more aggressively address the coronavirus after weeks of confusion over his administration’s response, urging public calm and issuing new foreign travel warnings and restrictions.

At a White House news conference on Saturday, Mr. Trump acknowledged the first death recorded in the United States, in Washington State. Vice President Mike Pence said the administration was issuing its highest-level warning, a “do not travel” warning, to areas of Italy and South Korea most affected by the virus.

The United States is also banning all travel to Iran and barring entry to any foreign citizen who has visited Iran in the past 14 days. There will also be screenings of travelers coming from Italy and South Korea.

Speaking later on Saturday at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Mr. Trump suggested that the United States was ready to help Iranians amid an outbreak there.

“If we can help the Iranians, we have the greatest health care professionals in the world,” he said, adding that “we would love to be able to help them.”

“All they have to do is ask,” he said.

Coronavirus Map: Tracking the Spread of the Outbreak

The virus has infected more than 87,500 people in at least 60 countries.

Of the nearly 87,000 coronavirus cases recorded globally as of Sunday, more than 7,000 were outside mainland China. It has now been detected in at least 60 countries.

The Chinese authorities reported 573 new cases. That brings the country’s total to 79,824 since the outbreak began, a figure that includes people who have recovered or died. China also reported 35 new deaths on Sunday, a drop from the previous day’s toll of 47.

South Korea, which has the largest coronavirus outbreak outside China, reported 586 new cases on Sunday, bringing its total to 3,736.

Iran, which has been at the center of the virus’s spread in the region, said on Sunday that 385 new cases were detected this weekend, bringing its official total to 987. The death toll rose to 54 — a number many public health experts say indicates a wider spread than officials have acknowledged. Nearby Qatar confirmed its first case on Saturday, a 36-year-old who had been in quarantine since recently returning from Iran, the country’s health ministry said.

The numbers also continued to rise in Europe. Italy, the center of the outbreak on the Continent, has a total of 1,128 confirmed cases and 29 deaths. France has reported 100 cases and two deaths. And Germany said on Sunday that cases there had risen to 117, including 66 in North Rhine-Westphalia, its most populous state.

Ireland reported its first case, the country’s Health Protection Surveillance Center said on Twitter on Sunday, while in neighboring Britain officials said that its number of cases had risen to 23. A school in Reading, in southeastern England, said on Saturday that a staff member had tested positive, forcing the school to “shut for some days to allow for a deep clean,” the school’s head teacher said in a message to the pupils’ parents.

In Norway, two more staff members at Oslo University Hospital tested positive for the virus, a hospital spokesman said on Sunday, raising the total number of cases in the country to 17, while Sweden has confirmed its 13th case.

Also Sunday, Australia, which has 25 confirmed cases, reported its first death from the virus.

Iran, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East, said on Sunday that 385 new cases had been detected in the country this weekend, raising its total number of officially confirmed cases to 987, the state news media reported.

The continued rise in infections has prompted the United States to ban all travel to Iran and bar entry to foreign citizens who have visited Iran in the past 14 days.

An Iranian health ministry spokesman, Kianoush Jahanpur, said on Sunday that the country’s death toll from the virus had risen to 54, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

Iran has temporarily closed schools and universities and canceled public events like concerts in an effort to curtail the virus’s spread. But secrecy and confusion over the outbreak in the country have fueled suspicions that its number of cases is far higher than officially acknowledged.

In neighboring Iraq, the government grappled with how tightly to shut down daily life as some international flights were suspended.

Turkish Airlines on Sunday suspended flights to and from Iraq, saying initially that the suspension was for 24 hours but later suggesting that it could last at least three or four days.

The suspension of flights came as something of a surprise in Iraq, since the country has relatively few coronavirus cases, with 13 confirmed by the Health Ministry. Yet despite the presence of health teams at all of the country’s airports, and the use of masks by all passport control officers as of Saturday, a day earlier hardly any were wearing masks, according to Jawad al Musawi, an orthopedist and member of Parliament.

Efforts to shut down gathering places such as cafes have proved difficult, but on Sunday the government closed or partly closed many ministries, focusing on those that have extensive contact with the public. The government said the ministry closings would last at least a week.

China’s initial response to the coronavirus epidemic was marred by policy stumbles that fueled public anger, the nation’s leader, Xi Jinping, said in published speech excerpts that laid out his ideas for strengthening the country’s defenses against such outbreaks.

Mr. Xi’s comments, drawn from two internal speeches that he made in February, were published on Saturday in Qiushi, or “Seeking Truth,” the ruling Communist Party’s leading journal. They seemed intended to highlight the policy and legal changes that Mr. Xi intends to push to confront the epidemic.

Those include banning the trade in wildlife that scientists believe may have let the coronavirus jump from animals into the human population; more effective monitoring of potential epidemics; and stronger coordination to direct emergency medical supplies when an outbreak happens.

While praising the Chinese government’s response to the crisis, Mr. Xi also acknowledged problems, using blunter language than he has in previous public comments on the epidemic.

“Some localities and departments were at a loss in how to react to this sudden epidemic,” Mr. Xi said. “Some protective measures went through abrupt changes, and in some areas there was even lawless and criminal conduct that seriously impeded containing the epidemic, and there was public dissatisfaction about this.”

Mr. Xi did not elaborate on what he meant by criminal conduct. Chinese news media outlets have reported cases of officials neglecting stricken families, as well as crude, unhygienic efforts to transfer patients.

After more than a month of emergency measures that have locked down cities, towns and villages, and shut down much transportation, commerce and industry, China appears to be taming the new coronavirus that emerged late last year in Wuhan, a city in the country’s center. On Saturday, China officially recorded 573 new infections, and another 35 deaths, from the virus.

One notable thing was what Mr. Xi did not say.

Many Chinese people, including health experts, have said that the epidemic illustrated the risks to public health created by official censorship, which early in the epidemic led to doctors being silenced by the authorities after they discussed the outbreak with colleagues. One of those doctors, Li Wenliang, himself died from the virus, making him into a martyr-like symbol of the costs of speaking out.

But Mr. Xi gave no indication that loosening censorship was on his agenda. The government, he said, would continue to crack down on “concocting and spreading rumors” — the accusation that the police in Wuhan leveled against Dr. Li.

A 78-year-old man died of the coronavirus early Sunday at a hospital in Perth, Australia, the first known death from the illness in that country, officials said. He had been a passenger on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, where a large concentration of coronavirus infections emerged last month as it was docked in Japan.

The man’s death was announced by Andrew Robertson, chief health officer at the Western Australia Department of Health. The man’s wife, who had also been on the cruise ship and was later discovered to have the virus, was in stable condition, Mr. Robertson said.

Australia has reported 25 confirmed cases of the new virus, nine of which were associated with the Diamond Princess. Fifteen of these patients have recovered.

“We still need to make the point very clear that there isn’t community spread within Australia,” Mr. Robertson said. “This very tragic case is still related to the Diamond Princess.”

“The public shouldn’t be panicking at this stage,” he said.

Reporting was contributed by Sheri Fink, Choe Sang-hun, Knvul Sheikh, Alissa J. Rubin, Mike Baker, Michael Crowley, Keith Bradsher, Raymond Zhong, Iliana Magra and Tess Felder.

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2020-03-01 12:43:44Z
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