'Sealed off': China isolates city of virus outbreak
BEIJING, China — The Chinese city at the heart of a deadly virus outbreak is under effective quarantine, with outward flights and trains suspended, subways halted and large public events cancelled as doctors in full-body protective suits treat patients.
The coronavirus has spread across China and beyond, with 17 people killed and
Most cases are in Wuhan, a major transport hub with a seafood market that has
Authorities announced that flights and trains out of the city will
"Without a special reason, city residents should not leave Wuhan,", the central city's special command centre to combat the virus said, according to state media.
The decision came as hundreds of millions of people are travelling across China for the Lunar New Year holiday, which starts on Friday.
The city's tourism and culture department cancelled all group tours until February 8, Xinhua said.
Tourist attractions and star-rated hotels must also suspend all large-scale activities until that date, it added.
The provincial library and two major local theatres cancelled exhibitions and performances, while four museums have suspended operations until further notice, it said.
City officials had earlier urged people to stay away from Wuhan and for residents to avoid leaving.
The annual prayer-giving at the city's
Sealed off
The hashtag "Wuhan
"Once there's a suggestion of a new development, the first thought is to maintain stability
Comments deemed politically sensitive
Others commended the government's response, with one person saying "we should spare no effort in supporting
Fever scanners were checking passengers at the city's airport and train station this week.
Footage on state broadcaster CCTV showed Wuhan medical staff in full-body protective suits, gloves and plastic face visors as they registered patients.
The patients, wearing normal clothes with face masks, had their temperatures checked as queues snaked out of the consultation room into the corridor.
A prominent expert from China's National Health Commission confirmed this week that
However, animals
Police have conducted spot checks for live poultry or wild animals in vehicles exiting and entering the city.
The city government announced the series of tightening measures after facing criticism for going ahead with an annual public banquet for 40,000 families at the weekend, despite the spread of the virus.
Wuhan's mayor told state broadcaster CCTV that they didn't then fully understand how the virus
"We are constantly learning more about the epidemic," he said.
Follow this page for updates on a mysterious pneumonia outbreak that has struck dozens of people in China.
New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins says on Sunday that he had contracted COVID-19, testing positive at a key point in his flailing campaign for re-election.
Hipkins saYS on his official social media feed that he would need to isolate for up to five days -- less than two weeks before his country's general election.
The leader of the centre-left Labour Party said he started to experience cold symptoms on Saturday and had cancelled most of his weekend engagements. — AFP
The World Health Organization and US health authorities say Friday they are closely monitoring a new variant of COVID-19, although the potential impact of BA.2.86 is currently unknown.
The WHO classified the new variant as one under surveillance "due to the large number (more than 30) of spike gene mutations it carries", it wrote in a bulletin about the pandemic late Thursday.
So far, the variant has only been detected in Israel, Denmark and the United States. — AFP
The World Health Organization says on Friday that the number of new COVID-19 cases reported worldwide rose by 80% in the last month, days after designating a new "variant of interest".
The WHO declared in May that Covid is no longer a global health emergency, but has warned that the virus will continue to circulate and mutate, causing occasional spikes in infections, hospitalisations and deaths.
In its weekly update, the UN agency said that nations reported nearly 1.5 million new cases from July 10 to August 6, an 80% increase compared to the previous 28 days. — AFP
The head of US intelligence says that there was no evidence that the COVID-19 virus was created in the Chinese government's Wuhan research lab.
In a declassified report, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) says they had no information backing recent claims that three scientists at the lab were some of the very first infected with COVID-19 and may have created the virus themselves.
Drawing on intelligence collected by various member agencies of the US intelligence community (IC), the ODNI report says some scientists at the Wuhan lab had done genetic engineering of coronaviruses similar to COVID-19. — AFP
Boris Johnson deliberately misled MPs over Covid lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street when he was prime minister, a UK parliament committee ruled on Thursday.
The cross-party Privileges Committee said Johnson, 58, would have been suspended as an MP for 90 days for "repeated contempts (of parliament) and for seeking to undermine the parliamentary process".
But he avoided any formal sanction by his peers in the House of Commons by resigning as an MP last week.
In his resignation statement last Friday, Johnson pre-empted publication of the committee's conclusions, claiming a political stitch-up, even though the body has a majority from his own party.
He was unrepentant again on Thursday, accusing the committee of being "anti-democratic... to bring about what is intended to be the final knife-thrust in a protracted political assassination".
Calling it "beneath contempt", he said it was "for the people of this to decide who sits in parliament, not Harriet Harman", the veteran opposition Labour MP who chaired the seven-person committee. — AFP
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