Some Passengers May Be Let Off Quarantined Cruise Ships As Criticism Over Bungled COVID-19 Response Mounts
Japan wants to start moving people who are 80 or older with underlying medical conditions or windowless cabins off the cruise ship. The news didn't come as a relief to those who are going to remain stuck aboard the ship where cases are climbing daily. “People in the ship’s surroundings are kind of in a cesspool of probability of being infected,” said Dr. Peter Katona, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, Los Angeles. Other global news on the outbreak focuses on the economic fallout, increased evacuation attempts, and more.
The New York Times:
As Passenger Angst Grows, Japan To Let Some Off Ship, But Fewer Than Hoped
For a moment on Thursday, John and Carol Montgomery thought they might be departing early from the cruise ship quarantined in Yokohama, Japan, where new cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed almost daily. Japan’s health minister said a few categories of passengers could spend the remainder of the two-week quarantine ashore. The Montgomerys thought they qualified because they share a cabin without windows or a balcony and Mr. Montgomery, 68, has diabetes. (Rich, 2/13)
Reuters:
Passengers On Ship Turned Away Over Virus Fears Disembark In Cambodia
Passengers on a cruise ship that spent two weeks at sea after being turned away by five countries over coronavirus fears started disembarking in Cambodia on Friday. The MS Westerdam, carrying 1,455 passengers and 802 crew, docked in the Cambodian port town of Sihanoukville on Thursday. It had anchored offshore early in the morning to allow Cambodian officials to board and collect samples from passengers with any signs of ill health or flu-like symptoms. (2/14)
The Washington Post:
Economic Fallout From China’s Coronavirus Mounts Around The World
The economic casualties from China’s coronavirus epidemic are mounting as Asian and European auto plants run short of parts, free-spending Chinese tourists stay home and American companies brace for unpredictable turbulence. That’s just the start of a financial hangover that is expected to linger for months even if the flulike illness is soon brought under control, economists and supply chain experts say. The Chinese epidemic’s aftereffects will probably cause the global economy to shrink this quarter for the first time since the depths of the 2009 financial crisis, according to Capital Economics in London. (Lynch, 2/13)
The Wall Street Journal:
Coronavirus Outbreak Slams Iran’s Embattled Economy
Iran’s crude-oil sales have been battered by a sudden downturn in demand from its last big trading partner, China, following the deadly coronavirus outbreak, U.S. and Iranian officials said, a blow that lands as the Islamic Republic faces the risk of an economic collapse. In addition to declining oil sales, turmoil in China also is disrupting the supply of spare parts and cheap goods Tehran needs for its factories and bazaars. (Faucon and Lubold, 2/13)
Reuters:
Factbox: Countries Evacuating Nationals From China Coronavirus Areas
A growing number of countries around the world are evacuating or planning to evacuate diplomatic staff and citizens from parts of China hit by the new coronavirus. Following are some countries' evacuation plans, and how they aim to manage the health risk from those who are returning. (2/14)
Reuters:
Vietnam Quarantines Rural Community Of 10,000 Because Of Coronavirus
Vietnam has quarantined a community of 10,000 people near the capital, Hanoi, for 20 days because of fears the coronavirus could spread there, two local officials told Reuters on Thursday. The rural commune of Son Loi, in the northern Vietnameseprovince of Vinh Phuc, 44 km (27 miles) from Hanoi, is home toll of the 16 coronavirus cases in the Southeast Asian country,including a three-month-old baby. (Vu and Pearson, 2/14)
Associated Press:
Health Concerns Meet Politics Amid Taiwan’s WHO Exclusion
Taiwan’s exclusion from the World Health Organization is pitting health concerns against geopolitics during the current crisis over the new illness known as COVID-19. Taiwan has called repeatedly for it to be allowed to participate in WHO, from which it has been barred by China. So strong is China’s diplomatic pressure that Taiwan can no longer take part in the organization’s annual World Health Assembly, even as an observer. (Jennings, 2/14)
CNN:
Where Coronavirus Has Been Confirmed Worldwide
The novel coronavirus has spread throughout the world since the first cases were detected in central China in December. At least 1,380 people have died and more than 65,000 people have been infected, and the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. China's National Health Commission has confirmed the virus can be transmitted from person to person through "droplet transmission" -- where a virus is passed on due to an infected person sneezing or coughing -- as well as by direct contact. There are at least 585 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus in more than 25 countries and territories outside mainland China. Three people have died outside of mainland China from the virus -- a 44-year-old Chinese man in the Philippines, a 39-year-old man in Hong Kong, and a Japanese woman in her 80s. (Cheung, 2/14)
Health News Florida:
Coronavirus Threatening Cruise Industry, But Tampa Seeing Limited Effects
The Diamond Princess cruise ship is currently quarantined in Japan because of 175 confirmed cases of the coronavirus — the infectious disease the World Health Organization is calling COVID-19, raising questions about the future of the cruise industry. The question is important for Tampa, a port for six cruises lines and over one million passengers annually. (2/13)
