Coronavirus Live Updates: Australia and Malaysia Announce 3 New Cases Each
The new coronavirus, known as the 2019 Novel Coronavirus or the Wuhan coronavirus, has infected over 1,200 people in China and spread to at least eight other countries since breaking out in December 2019.
Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold and severe illnesses such as SARS. It is currently unclear to know how dangerous the virus is, or how easily it spreads between people.
Check back for updates.
8:15 a.m. UTC—3 New Cases Confirmed in Australia
The health authorities of Australia’s most populous state of New South Wales confirmed that three men—aged 53, 43 and 35—are in isolation and under care in Westmead Hospital in Sydney, according to local reports.
According to Fairfax, all three recently arrived from Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak. Four other people may also have the coronavirus, health officials said. Two of the three men arrived in Australia on Jan. 6 and Jan. 9. The date when the third man arrived is not yet confirmed.
“I’d like to thank each of these three people because they have been exemplary in the way that they presented themselves, to have a medical test, and to have the necessary pathology in due course, when it was appropriate from the medical practitioners point of view,” NSW Minister for Health Brad Hazard said, reported Fairfax.
The latest announcement means that Australia’s total number of confirmed coronavirus cases has risen to four.
3:45 a.m. UTC—Malaysia Confirms First 3 Cases of Coronavirus
Malaysia said three people tested positive on Saturday, Jan. 25, for the coronavirus—the first cases confirmed in the country.
Malaysian Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said that the three who were diagnosed with the virus were Chinese nationals, Reuters reported. They are relatives of a 66-year-old man and his son from Wuhan who were earlier diagnosed with the virus in neighboring Singapore.
Dzulkefly said that the three people are a 65-year-old woman—the wife of the man diagnosed with the virus in Singapore; and their two grandsons, aged 11 and 2. They were admitted to Sungai Buloh hospital in Kuala Lumpur for treatment and are in stable conditions, the health minister told reporters at a news conference.
Malaysia Airports said in a separate statement that it has increased the screening of passengers and crew arriving from China at gateway airports across the country.
Bloomberg reports that the total number of confirmed cases of the virus stands at 1323 worldwide, as of 15:30 UTC.
2:00 a.m. UTC—Doctor in Wuhan City Dies from Coronavirus: State Media
A doctor in a hospital in Wuhan city has died from the coronavirus, China Global Television Network reported in a tweet.
“Liang Wudong, a doctor at Hubei Xinhua Hospital who had been at the front line of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan city, dies from the virus at age 62,” the tweet said.
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