Coronavirus latest: South Korea and Japan in quarantine row

• On Friday, Germany reported 134 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number to 534. 
• Japan announced a two-week quarantine for South Korean visitors
• The White House admitted a shortage of coronavirus tests
• There are now over 98,000 cases and more than 3,300 deaths worldwide

All updates in Universal Coordinated Time (UTC/GMT)

Read more: Coronavirus: The latest developments in Europe

09:50 The Vatican reported its first COVID-19 case in a patient at the small city-state’s outpatient care center. Serbia also reported its first case on Friday. 

09:45 Cameroon reported its first case of COVID-19 on Friday from a French citizen who arrived in the capital,Yaounde, on February 24. 

09:30 German Health Minister Jens Spahn said Friday that although the COVID-19 has been challenging to slow down in Europe, Germany did not yet see a need to limit free movement across borders. 

08:23 More than half of Germany’s 534 COVID-19 casesare in the state of North Rhine Westphalia, according to the Robert Koch Institute. 

07:45 Stock markets in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Australia all dropped Friday, as uncertainty continues over the epidemic’s long-term effect on international business.  

07:40 The tiny Himalayan country of Bhutan said Friday that it will ban the entry of tourists for two weeks following the country’s first reported COVID-19 case, which reportedly came from an Indian tourist. 

06:45 North Korean state media reported Friday that 221 foreigners in the country were released from quarantine. North Korean authorities placed about 380 foreigners under “medical observation” in late February, according to state media.

North Korea has not publicly reported any cases of COVID-19. However, international observers are skeptical it has escaped the virus. 

06:30 China’s National Health Commission said Friday that Hubei province has reported no new cases of COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, apart from 126 new cases reported in the provincial capital, Wuhan.

Read more: What you need to know about the coronavirus

05:30 The development of vaccines against the COVID-19 disease is in full swing. Nevertheless, it will still take at least a year before one is available on the market. The question is: Will the virus still be prevalent? Read more here.

05:15 The World Health Organization (WHO) warned Thursday that a “long list” of countries were not showing “the level of political commitment” needed.

“This is not a drill,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters. “This epidemic is a threat for every country, rich and poor.”

05:07 South Korea on Friday criticized Japan’s “unjust, unacceptable” travel restrictions that bar arrivals from areas of South Korea and Iran hit hard by the coronavirus, while imposing a two-week quarantine on travelers from those regions. 

South Korea’s presidential National Security Council said it is considering countermeasures to Japan’s actions.

“It is unacceptable that the Japanese government took such an unjust action without prior consultations with us, and we will explore necessary countermeasures based on principles of reciprocity,” the council said in a statement.

03:37 The northwestern Canadian province of British Colombia has identified eight more presumptive cases of coronavirus, according to CBC News.

The Canadian broadcaster said one case involves a woman in her 50s who has not had any contact with other coronavirus patients or people returning from disease hot spots.

British Colombia now has 21 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including four patients who have recovered.

03:13 Saudi Arabia reopened mosques in Mecca and Medina, two holy sites in the country on Friday, according to state TV Al-Ekhbariya. Both were temporarily closed for sterilization. Saudi Arabia has reported five cases of COVID-19.

02:21 South Korea Center for Disease Control (KCDC) reported 196 new coronavirus cases, increasing the country’s total to 6,284. The major cases were concentrated in the city of Daegu in the country’s southeast. 

02:01 US President Donald Trump defended his administration’s response to the outbreak, but admitted the virus “may have an impact on the economy.”

“Nobody is blaming us for the virus … Everybody has to be calm. It’s all going to work out,” Trump said. “We hope it doesn’t last too long.”

01:59 Qantas Airways, a long-haul Australian airline, said Friday it would cut more international capacity in March as it grapples with the falling demand resulting from the coronavirus outbreak. The destinations cut include Tokyo, Sapparo and Osaka in Japan, Auckland in New Zealand and Hong Kong.

01:54 Asian share prices fell as the coronavirus outbreak has caused continued disruptions to global business. Australian shares fell 1.86% and Japan’s Nikkei stock index dropped 1.45%.

01:25 Three new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the eastern US state of Maryland — which borders Washington DC. The patients contracted the disease while traveling overseas and are in good condition, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said.

01:08 China’s northwestern province of Gansu reported 11 new confirmed cases of coronavirus late Thursday, according to broadcaster CCTV.

All of the patients entered China on commercial flights from Iran. A total of 311 passengers arriving in the provincial capital of Lanzhou from Iran have now been quarantined.

Read more: Coronavirus, cold, or flu symptoms? When you should be worried

00:15 The death toll from COVID-19 in the United States has risen to 12 after King County in the northwestern state of Washington reported the latest fatality. Eleven of the 12 deaths in the US have come in Washington — 10 in King County. 

US Congress on Thursday passed a $8.3 billion (€7.4 billion) emergency spending bill to combat coronavirus. 

00:09 A member of France’s National Assembly has been hospitalized in intensive care after being infected with coronavirus, according to a statement from the country’s lower house of parliament on Thursday. The legislator has not been named, but the statement added that all lawmakers and personnel have been informed of the situation.

France’s national health service has confirmed a total of 423 cases of the virus as of late Thursday, an 138 increase from the day before. No deaths have been reported in France thus far.

00:05 Welcome to our rolling updates regarding the COVID-19 outbreak.

As of Friday, there are 96,000 confirmed cases worldwide, with infections in more than 80 countries. More than 3,300 people have been killed by the coronavirus. 

Click here to find out how things developed on Thursday.

wmr,dv/rt (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)

Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-latest-south-korea-and-japan-in-quarantine-row/a-52657896?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf