Coronavirus Outbreak LIVE: Wuhan Hospital Director Dies of Infection; China Offers Tariff Exemptions on US Medical Equipment

Apple to Miss Revenue Forecast as iPhone Supply Hit by Coronavirus | Apple is to miss its revenue forecast for the March quarter due to the coronavirus epidemic, the US tech giant said Monday, warning that iPhone supplies worldwide would also be impacted, underlining the economic cost of the health crisis."We are experiencing a slower return to normal conditions than we had anticipated," Apple said in a statement. "As a result, we do not expect to meet the revenue guidance we provided for the March quarter." Apple had forecast revenue of $63 billion to $67 billion for the second quarter to March.

Chinatowns Feel Brunt of Coronavirus Panic |  Normally bustling century-old Chinatowns from Melbourne to San Francisco have fallen quiet and businesses are struggling to survive as fears over the deadly novel coronavirus outbreak ripple around the world. "Scaremongering is rampant" complains Max Huang, owner of the Juicy Bao restaurant in Melbourne's historic Chinese district. "Customers won't come in if they can avoid it." Huang's eatery sits among dozens of restaurants making up Australia's oldest Chinatown enclave, dating back to the influx of fortune-seekers during an 1850s gold rush.

Japan has faced criticism for its handling of the situation, with dozens of new infections detected almost daily since the ship arrived in early February. But it has defended its approach and health minister Katsunobu Kato insisted again Tuesday that passengers who test negative will be allowed to leave the ship from Wednesday.

At Least 6 Medical Staff Died from Coronavirus | Liu's death was initially reported by Chinese media and bloggers shortly after midnight on Tuesday -- but the stories were later deleted and replaced with reports that doctors were still attempting to save him. At least six other medical workers have died from the virus, while 1,716 have been infected, according to official figures.
 

Wuhan Hospital Director Dies of Coronavirus | A hospital director at the epicentre of China's virus epidemic died Tuesday, state media said, the latest medical worker to fall victim to the coronavirus which has spread across the country. Liu Zhiming, the director of Wuchang Hospital in Wuhan, died Tuesday morning after "all-out rescue efforts failed," state broadcaster CCTV reported. He is the first known hospital director to have died from the coronavirus.

China Offers Tariff Exemptions on US Medical Equipment Amid Coronavirus Outbreak | China will accept applications for exemptions from trade-war tariffs on imports of US medical equipment from March 2, the government said today, as the country battles to contain the new coronavirus epidemic. Products that qualify include patient monitors, blood transfusion equipment and instruments to measure blood pressure, according to a list released by the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council. 

231 Indians, 7 Maldivians Sent Home from ITBP Camp |  A total of 238 people, including seven Maldivians, housed at a quarantine facility here in Chhawla ITBP camp have been sent home after they tested negative in the final check — with no coronavirus infection symptoms, officials said today. They are among 406 inmates, including seven children, who were shifted to the west Delhi quarantine facility of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) after the group was brought back from China's Wuhan — the epicentre of the deadly virus — on February 1 and 2.

Over 200 Wuhan Evacuees to be Discharged from Manesar Today | At least 220 people, who tested negative for COVID-19 (coronavirus) infection, in quarantine at Manesar Army Camp after being evacuated from Wuhan in China, are set to be discharged today, the Union Health Ministry said. In wake of the virus outbreak in Wuhan, the Government of India had conducted evacuation of its citizens in two phases on February 1 and 2.

Japan Completes Coronavirus Testing for Quarantined Ship | All passengers and crew on board a ship quarantined off Japan have now been tested for the new coronavirus, the government said today, as more countries moved to evacuate citizens from the boat. South Korea became the latest to announce it would remove its citizens from the Diamond Princess, where more than 400 people have tested positive for COVID-19. 

People wearing face masks ride their vehicles along a street, as the country is hit by an outbreak of the new coronavirus, in Beijing, China.

Japan Plans HIV Drug Trials for Coronavirus | Japan plans to trial HIV medications to treat patients infected with coronavirus as the growing number of cases poses an increasing threat to the country's economy as well as public health. Yoshihide Suga, the government's top spokesman, said at a briefing on Tuesday that the government is "currently conducting preparations so that clinical trials using HIV medication on the novel coronavirus can start as soon as possible." Suga said he couldn't comment on how long it would take for the new drug to be approved.

Coronavirus Fears Rise After Cambodia's Acceptance of Cruise Ship | The feel-good story of how Cambodia allowed a cruise ship to dock after it was turned away elsewhere in Asia for fear of spreading a new disease took an unfortunate turn after a passenger later tested positive for the virus. News over the weekend that an 83-year-old American woman who was on the ship and flew from Cambodia to Malaysia was found to be carrying the virus froze further movement of the passengers and crew of the Westerdam. The American woman was among several hundred passengers who were flown out of Cambodia on Friday and Saturday. 

13 US Citizens at 'High Risk' of Coronavirus Being Treated in Nebraska |  Thirteen US citizens deemed "high risk" for the deadly new coronavirus are being treated at a federally designated facility in the University of Nebraska following their evacuation from a cruise ship in Japan, officials said. A total of 338 Americans were flown home from the Diamond Princess cruise ship off Japan's Yokohama, touching down first at Travis Air Force Base in California shortly before midnight Sunday. The second flight arrived early Monday at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas.

Over 1.41 Lakh People Under Observation | In view of human-to-human transmission of the disease, over 1.41 lakh people who have come in contact with the people who contracted the virus are still under medical observation, it said. By yesterday, 60 confirmed cases including one death had been reported in Hong Kong 10 confirmed cases in Macao and 22 in Taiwan including one death. Top World Health Organisation experts, including from the US, have joined the fight against the the virus, called COVID-19, in China. China confirmed that the 12-member WHO team includes Americans, as sought by the US.

Apple Warns China Coronavirus Will Cut iPhone Production, Sales | Apple Inc. is warning investors that it won't meet its second-quarter financial guidance because the viral outbreak in China has cut production of iPhones. The California-based company said Monday that all of its iPhone manufacturing facilities are outside Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak, and all have been reopened. But the company said production is ramping up slowly.

The outbreak, which has infected some 70,500 people in China and killed over 1,700, has battered manufacturing and tourism across the region and led to multiple travel restrictions including for flights and cruises. "If we are going to disrupt every cruise ship in the world on the off chance that there might be some potential contact with some potential pathogen then where do we stop?" said Michael Ryan, head of WHO's health emergencies programme.

WHO Warns Against Coronavirus 'Blanket Measures' | The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday warned against "blanket measures" over the novel coronavirus outbreak, pointing out the epidemic outside of China was only affecting a "tiny" proportion of the population. WHO also said that - with a mortality rate of around 2 percent -- COVID-19 was "less deadly" than other coronaviruses such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). WHO officials rejected the suggestion that all cruises should be halted to avoid risking a new nest of infection like the one on the coronavirus-hit Diamond Princess off Japan. "Measures should be taken proportional to the situation. Blanket measures may not help," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva.

Of the 41,957 patients hospitalised in Hubei, 9,117 were still in severe condition and another 1,853 in critical condition, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The province also saw 1,223 patients discharged from hospital after recovery on Monday, bringing the total number of discharged patients in the province to 7,862. A total of 12,552 people had been discharged from hospital after recovery across China so far, it said. In view of human-to-human transmission of the disease, over 1.41 lakh people who have come in contact with the people who contracted the virus are still under medical observation, it said. By Monday, 60 confirmed cases including one death had been reported in Hong Kong 10 confirmed cases in Macao and 22 in Taiwan including one death.

Coronavirus Death toll in China Climbs to Over 1860 | The death toll from China's coronavirus epidemic climbed to 1,868 today as 98 more people died while the total number of confirmed cases jumped to 72,436, officials said. Of the new deaths, 93 were reported from Hubei Province, the epicentre of the virus, three from Henan, and one each from Hebei and Hunan, said the National Health Commission. Hubei reported 1,807 new confirmed cases, taking the total number of such cases to 59,989 in the province. Another 1,432 new suspected cases were reported from the rest of China. Yesterday, 1,097 patients became seriously ill and 11,741 patients remained in severe condition, the commission said.