Coronavirus spread: Over 600 cases in India, Delhi doctor tests positive

The all India tally, however, did not take into account one death each reported on Wednesday by state officials in Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh.

The total number of coronavirus cases in India rose to 606 on Wednesday as authorities beefed up preparedness to fight the pandemic with a chain of hospitals of the Army ordnance factories and central paramilitary forces earmarking over 2,000 beds for isolation and treatment of people affected by COVID-19.

In addition, the Hamirpur district administration in Himachal Pradesh took over all the ten hostels with 2,000 rooms of the National Institute of Technology (NIT) for creating an isolation centre, an official said in Shimla.

A 2,200-bed state-run hospital in Kolkata has stopped admitting new patients who are suffering from other diseases and was discharging patients whose condition had improved as part of efforts to create a dedicated isolation centre, another official said in Kolkata.

ALSO READ: Coronavirus LIVE: Over 3 bn in lockdown as global toll tops 20,000

Addressing people of his constituency in Varanasi via a video link, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated that social distancing and staying indoors were the only way out and the best option to deal with coronavirus.

“Around one lakh people infected with coronavirus are recovering, this also needs to be highlighted,” he said.

“People should focus on how deadly this virus is. This disease doesn't discriminate between rich and poor," the prime minister said, a day after he announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown to try halt the spread of the coronavirus. The lockdown came into effect from midnight.

China coronavirus toll rises to 490, confirmed infections top 24000

By the end of Tuesday, a total of 490 people had died of the disease and 24,324 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection had been reported in 31 provincial-level regions.

The death toll in China's coronavirus outbreak rose to 490 on Tuesday with the number of confirmed cases mounting to 24324, Chinese health officials announced on Wednesday.

By the end of Tuesday, a total of 490 people had died of the disease and 24,324 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection had been reported in 31 provincial-level regions, China's National Health Commission reported.

It said 65 deaths were reported on Tuesday, all from Hubei province and its capital Wuhan.

Also 3,887 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection were reported on Tuesday, it said.

Also on Tuesday, 431 patients became seriously ill, while 262 were discharged from hospital after recovery.

The commission added that 3,219 patients remained in severe condition and 23,260 people were suspected of being infected with the virus.

A total of 892 people had been discharged from hospital after recovery, it said.

Over 2.52 lakh who were in close contacts with patients had been traced with over 1.85 lakh others still under medical observation, it added.

By the end of Tuesday, 18 confirmed cases had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), including one death, 10 in the Macao SAR and 11 in Taiwan, it said.

Coronavirus: China death toll now at 80; virus spreads to Beijing, Shanghai

The newly identified coronavirus has created alarm because much about it is still unknown, such as how dangerous it is and how easily it spreads between people.

BS : The death toll from China's new coronavirus grew to 80 on Monday as residents of Hubei province, where the disease originated, were banned from entering Hong Kong amid global efforts to halt the rapid spread of the outbreak.

The number of deaths from the flu-like virus in Hubei province climbed from 56 to 76 overnight, health commission officials said, with four deaths elsew here. The total number of confirmed cases in China had risen about 30% to 2,744.

U.S. S&P500 e-mini futures fell more than 1% in Asian trade on Monday on mounting worries the outbreak of the virus could severely disrupt the Chinese economy, an engine of global growth.

Kicking off the Asian trading day, New Zealand shares fell with travel and tourism-related stocks among the worst performers as the speed of the outbreak's spread raised alarm over its future impact on movement.

China's cabinet said it would extend the week-long Lunar New Year holiday by three days to Feb. 2 in a bid to slow the spread of the virus. The Hubei city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, is already under virtual lockdown, with severe restrictions on movement in place in several other Chinese cities.

Beijing has called for transparency in managing the crisis, after public trust was eroded by a cover-up of the spread of SARS, a coronavirus that originated in China and killed nearly 800 people globally in 2002 and 2003.

The newly identified coronavirus has created alarm because much about it is still unknown, such as how dangerous it is and how easily it spreads between people. It can cause pneumonia, which has been deadly in some cases.

The virus, believed to have originated in a seafood market in Wuhan that was illegally selling wildlife, has already spread to cities including Beijing and Shanghai.

Companies announce clinical trials for vaccine against China virus

At least four companies say they are working 'very rapidly' to find a vaccine.

BS : Clinical trials for a vaccine against the new virus sweeping China could be carried out in the summer, the head of an anti-epidemic coalition said on Thursday, as different companies announced research into the disease.

"We can announce that we have three partnerships to develop vaccines against the novel coronavirus," Richard Hatchett, chief executive of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), said in Davos.

"Our goal is to have these vaccines developed very rapidly and to move very rapidly to begin clinical trials, perhaps as early as the summer," Hatchett said during the annual World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort town.

A fourth company, Novavax, which has worked on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), said earlier it had also initiated development of a vaccine candidate.

There is no vaccine or antiviral treatment against the novel coronavirus detected in China, which has killed 18 people so far and has now spread internationally.

Hatchett said the three partnerships were with Inovio Pharmaceuticals, a US-based company, the University of Queensland in Australia and Moderna, another US biotech firm.

Moderna is working with the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a US government agency.

Shares in Inovio jumped 6.68 per cent on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, while Moderna stock was up 1.37 per cent and by a total of 6.5 per cent over two sessions.

Shares in other biotech companies also rose in expectation of growing interest in a vaccine against the virus.

India to Singapore: How airlines, passengers are responding to China virus

An explainer on the airline industry's response to the outbreak so far and its potential financial exposure compared to SARS in 2003.

Airlines and passengers are on guard against a new flu-like virus that originated in Wuhan, China.

Here's an explainer on the airline industry's response to the outbreak so far and its potential financial exposure compared to SARS in 2003, which killed nearly 800 people:

What is the expected financial impact on airlines?

The biggest concern is a sharp drop in travel demand if the virus becomes a pandemic.

During the height of the SARS outbreak in April 2003, passenger demand in Asia plunged 45%, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Cathay cut nearly 40% of its flights and reported a financial loss, as did Singapore Airlines Ltd, Japan Airlines Co Ltd and ANA Holdings Inc.

The industry is now more reliant on Chinese travellers.

For example, in Australia, Chinese travellers account for more than 15% of international arrivals, up from just 4% in 2003, according to Moody's ratings service.

Those travellers, who arrive mostly via mainland carriers, often take domestic flights once they arrive in Australia, pointing to the potential for knock on effects for the likes of local airline Qantas Airways Ltd if there is a fall in travel demand.

Since 2003, the number of annual air passengers has more than doubled, with China growing to become the world's largest outbound travel market.

In 2003, 6.8 million passengers from China travelled on international flights, and that number has grown by close to 10 times to 63.7 million in 2018, according to data from the country's aviation authority.

Global airline industry revenues more than doubled to $838 billion in 2019 from just $322 billion in 2003, according to IATA data.

"Whether only one secondary market, an entire country or the wider region is impacted is obviously unpredictable and outside of the industry's control," said Brendan Sobie, an independent aviation analyst in Singapore.

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