February 6 coronavirus news

By Jessie Yeung, Adam Renton and Steve George, CNN

Updated 9:38 PM ET, Thu February 6, 2020
12 Posts
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11:26 p.m. ET, February 5, 2020

Countries and charities are donating millions in aid to fight the coronavirus

From CNN’s Martin Goillandeau and Niamh Kennedy in London

Medical supplies at a warehouse in Wuhan, China, on February 4, 2020.
Medical supplies at a warehouse in Wuhan, China, on February 4, 2020. STR/AFP via Getty Images

Several countries and charitable organizations are sending supplies and funding to assist in the global fight against the coronavirus outbreak.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation offered $100 million to support response efforts in vulnerable countries, said the director general of the World Health Organization yesterday.

The US government has sent supplies to Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak. Recent flights sent to evacuate US citizens out of Wuhan also brought medical supplies and other goods, donated by faith-based groups, said a government official.

The West African country of Equatorial Guinea also pledged $2 million to China in a show of "solidarity," according to local media reports.

WHO request: The World Health Organization is requesting $675 million to fund a new response plan for the next three months.

“$675 million is a lot of money, but it is much less than the bill we will face if we do not invest in preparedness now," said the director general yesterday. "Once again, we cannot defeat this outbreak without solidarity – political solidarity, technical solidarity and financial solidarity."
11:09 p.m. ET, February 5, 2020

Chinese runners are doing marathons ... in their apartments

With businesses closed in mainland China and residents staying home in fear of catching the coronavirus, some are finding unique ways to exercise.

Runners cooped up in their apartments are training indoors by running "home marathons," Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported yesterday.

One man in Hangzhou, southwest of Shanghai, spent five hours running 6,450 circles around two beds at home, Xinhua reported. Another runner in Xi'an, in central China, ran 100 kilometers (about 62 miles) in his living room.

An online home-running community has even sprung up, with runners posting their hourly records on social media and sharing training tips.

10:56 p.m. ET, February 5, 2020

The coronavirus outbreak has hit global shipping. Now goods are getting stranded at sea

From CNN's Hanna Ziady

Tugboats guide a container ship at the Yangshan Deepwater Port, Shanghai.
Tugboats guide a container ship at the Yangshan Deepwater Port, Shanghai. Ji Haixin/Getty Images

Countries are taking emergency action to stop the coronavirus -- but these measures are also hitting shipping companies hard, and threaten to disrupt global supply chains.

China's role in shipping: About 80% of the world's goods trade by volume is carried by sea, and China is home to seven of the 10 busiest container ports.

These ports handle shipping for goods ranging from cars and machinery to clothes and other everyday items.

But with China keeping factories shut and workers at home, shipping companies are reducing the number of ships between China and the rest of the world.

What this means: Some vessels can't get into Chinese ports. Others are stuck in dock, waiting for workers to return to ports so that construction and repairs can be completed, experts say.

Other ships are idling in "floating quarantined zones," as countries like Australia and Singapore refuse to allow ships that have called at Chinese ports to enter until the crew has been declared virus-free.

Read more here.

10:43 p.m. ET, February 5, 2020

Big brands like Nike, Adidas and Versace are being hit by the coronavirus

From CNN's Julia Horowitz

A security guard in a closed Apple store in Beijing on February 5, 2020.
A security guard in a closed Apple store in Beijing on February 5, 2020. GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images

Faced with shuttered stores and empty streets, big brands are getting nervous about the impact of the coronavirus on their bottom line.

Nike, Adidas, and Capri Holdings, which owns Versace, Jimmy Choo and Michael Kors, are among the companies this week that have warned investors that sales could take a hit.

"The situation in China and the measures being taken to protect the population are having a material impact on our business," John Idol, the CEO of Capri Holdings, said in a statement Wednesday.

Stores closed: Roughly 150 of Capri's stores in mainland China are closed in an effort to contain the virus, according to the company.

Nike, which saw nearly 18% of its sales coming from China in the most recent quarter, said it has shuttered about half of the stores it owns in China. Adidas said the company and its franchises had shut a "significant" number of shops.

Other brands: Apple has said all 42 of its stores in China will shut until February 9 "out of an abundance of caution." Starbucks said it had closed more than half of its roughly 4,300 Chinese locations last week.

Read more here about the impact of the outbreak on businesses.

10:31 p.m. ET, February 5, 2020

These airlines have suspended flights to and from China

From CNN's Michelle Toh

Passengers on a plane at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport on February 4, 2020.
Passengers on a plane at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport on February 4, 2020. NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images

Here's a roundup of some major airlines that have suspended or reduced their flights to mainland China to limit the spread of the virus:

North America

  • American Airlines: Suspended until March 27
  • United Airlines: Suspended until March 28
  • Delta: Suspended until April 30
  • Air Canada: Suspended until February 29

Asia and Oceania

  • Air Asia: Some flights suspended until February 29
  • All Nippon: Some flights suspended until March 29
  • Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon: 90% reduction in flights
  • Japan Airlines: Some flights suspended until March 28
  • Korean Air: Some flights suspended until the end of March
  • Singapore Airlines and SilkAir: Some flights suspended until March 1
  • Qantas: Suspended until March 29
  • Air New Zealand: Suspended until March 29

Europe and the Middle East

  • Air France: Suspended until February 9
  • British Airways: Suspended until February 29
  • Lufthansa, Swiss and Austrian Airlines: Beijing and Shanghai flights suspended until February 29; other routes until March 28
  • Turkish Airlines: Suspended until the end of February
  • Etihad: Suspended from February 5
  • Emirates: Suspended from February 5
  • Qatar Airways: Suspended until further notice
  • Finnair: Beijing and Shanghai flights suspended until February 29; other routes to March 29
  • KLM: Beijing and Shanghai flights suspended until February 9; other routes to February 29
  • Iberia: Suspended until February 29
11:24 p.m. ET, February 5, 2020

Nearly all crew on Hong Kong cruise ship test negative for coronavirus

A passenger aboard The World Dream cruise ship as it sits moored in Hong Kong on February 5, 2020.
A passenger aboard The World Dream cruise ship as it sits moored in Hong Kong on February 5, 2020. Anthony Kwan/Getty Images

Nearly all crew members on the World Dream cruise ship, docked under quarantine in Hong Kong, tested negative for the coronavirus, said the government.

A total of 32 of 33 crew members who reported respiratory symptoms tested negative for the disease, with one set of results pending. 

The World Dream is docked at Hong Kong's Kai Tak Cruise Terminal with more than 3,600 passengers and crew members on board, the city's Department of Health said Wednesday, as health inspections are carried out by officials.

Hong Kong officials say eight travelers from mainland China who were on the ship on a previous voyage later tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus.

Viruses spread so quickly on cruises because "you've got so many people in a crowded area and people are sharing areas, touching places," said John Nicholls, a clinical professor in pathology at the University of Hong Kong.
10:05 p.m. ET, February 5, 2020

Wuhan evacuees arrive in New Zealand and Australia

36 Australian citizens and residents who were flown out of Wuhan have landed on Christmas Island, where they will be quarantined for two weeks, said Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

The Australians had been on an Air New Zealand evacuation flight. According to the New Zealand government, the plane carried 190 passengers out of Wuhan, of which 98 were New Zealand citizens and permanent residents.

Other evacuees on the plane included foreign nationals from Pacific Island countries, including Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Kiribati, Tonga, Fiji and the Federated States of Micronesia, said the New Zealand government site.

The plane will arrive in Auckland, New Zealand, at around 6 p.m. local time -- in about two hours.

9:52 p.m. ET, February 5, 2020

Thousands of medical workers are on strike in Hong Kong

Members of the Hospital Authority Employees Alliance on strike in Hong Kong on February 5, 2020.
Members of the Hospital Authority Employees Alliance on strike in Hong Kong on February 5, 2020. ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP via Getty Images

Hong Kong's Hospital Authority (HA) warned today that public hospitals would only offer limited services, as thousands of employees and medical workers began a fourth consecutive day of strike action.

More than 7,000 healthcare workers participated in yesterday's strike, according to the Hospital Authority Employee Alliance, a union representing medical workers. This accounts for nearly 10% of all HA medical staff, the union said.

Limited service: The HA urged patients with only mild conditions to visit private hospitals and doctors, or specialist clinics, given the depleted workforce in public hospitals today.

Public hospitals "can only focus their limited number of staff on duty to the provision of emergency services," said the HA in a statement, and urged the striking employees to return to work "in the interest of patients."  

Why they're striking: Strikers and union members are demanding completely closed borders with mainland China, and have accused the city's government of inadequate action during the coronavirus outbreak.

Other demands include providing enough gear for health workers and providing “proper” isolation wards.

Government response: Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam criticized the strikers for weakening the city's medical capacity at a crucial time. Remaining employees still working in hospitals now have a heavier workload to make up for their absent colleagues, she said.

Lam also announced new emergency measures yesterday, including a mandatory 14-day quarantine for all travelers coming from mainland China -- including Hong Kong residents.

9:39 p.m. ET, February 5, 2020

Singapore, South Korea, and Malaysia report new cases

From CNN’s Carly Walsh and Yoonjung Seo in Seoul

Singapore announced a new confirmed case of the coronavirus today, bringing its total to 25.

South Korea also confirmed four more cases today, bringing the national total to 23.

Among those four, two are family members of previously confirmed patients, and one was in close contact with a confirmed patient. The last person is a 58-year-old Chinese woman who came to South Korea for a tour on January 23.

Malaysia confirmed 12 cases yesterday, according to a report by state news agency Bernama.

Cluster fears: The spike in cases in South Korea and Singapore, along with other Asian hubs like Hong Kong, have sparked fears of new, self-sustaining outbreak clusters.

It has led to additional screening and emergency measures, including a South Korean ban on the hoarding of surgical masks and hand sanitizers -- aimed to prevent manufacturers profiteering from the outbreak.