World Health Organization declares coronavirus a pandemic

[schwartzie]

Officials: UMass Boston student is state’s first confirmed case of coronavirus


Jordan Frias | Eric Kane

BOSTON (WHDH) - A UMass Boston student in his 20s who recently traveled to Wuhan, China, and was living in Boston is the Bay State’s first confirmed case of the coronavirus, health officials announced Saturday, but is currently doing “quite well” at home.



The man, whose name was not released, arrived in Boston Wednesday and immediately went to the hospital, according to the Massachusetts Department of Health. He tested positive for the virus late Friday evening and the CDC alerted health officials in Massachusetts of the positive test results.



Officials said the student is not staying in a dorm and went home and started self-isolation. Officials said it could a be a greater risk to the public to transport him and public health nurses are currently monitoring him at home, where he is doing “quite well.”



Other people the man came in contact with are being monitored. State officials are working with the CDC to determine when he can be cleared for contact after he recovers.



“We are working closely with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Boston Public Health Commission to ensure all guidelines and protocols are diligently followed,” UMass Boston Interim Chancellor Katherine S. Newman said in an e-mail to UMass students and employees. “These agencies will continue to monitor the treatment and health of the affected person. State and city public health authorities have informed us that the risk to members of our community is low. For these reasons, we expect “business as usual” on campus.”



This is the eighth confirmed case of the coronavirus in the United States. Officials said the risk to the public remains low in Massachusetts and Mayor Martin J. Walsh said Boston residents should stay calm.


Full article at link

[schwartzie]

NYC tests first suspected coronavirus case as man in Boston becomes EIGHTH person diagnosed in US while the Pentagon prepares 1,000 quarantine beds and new study says 75,000 could be infected globally

A man in his 40s is being treated at Bellvue Hospital while health officials wait for test results within 48 hours

There are eight confirmed cases of coronavirus confirmed in the US, with a Boston man, diagnosed Friday

Officials say the college student in his 20s recently traveled to Wuhan, China, before traveling home

The University of Massachusetts student has been placed in isolation and his symptoms are being monitored

Viral outbreak that began in China has infected nearly 12,000 people globally, with 11791 on mainland China

A new study by medical researchers estimates that 75,800 in Wuhan are infected as the death toll rises to 259

The Pentagon on Saturday revealed plans to house 1,000 people who may need to be quarantined

By ARIEL ZILBER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and ASSOCIATED PRESS and REUTERS



PUBLISHED: 13:41 EST, 1 February 2020 | UPDATED: 17:14 EST, 1 February 2020




New York is testing its first suspected case of coronavirus as a man in Boston is confirmed to be the eighth person to be diagnosed with the disease.



Health officials in New York confirmed that a person in their 40s who recently returned from China has been suffering from symptoms that include cough, fever and shortness of breath.



The patient, who is being treated at Bellevue Hospital, has tested negative for other possible causes for his illness.



The city's health commissioner, Dr Oxiris Barbot said: 'This is exactly what we prepared for and we thank everyone for taking all the right steps.'



It will take 48 hours to determine whether the patient tests positive to coronavirus.



It's not clear where in New York the person being tested lives, or when the person arrived in the city from China. However, when they started feeling ill they saw their health provider who contacted city officials.



The virus has killed 259 people in China, and studies have projected that up to 75,000 people in Wuhan - where the virus originated - could be infected.



In the US, eight people have been diagnosed with coronavirus, with a Boston college student being the latest person to be diagnosed on Friday, January 31.



According to officials in the commonwealth, the man, a resident of The Hub, recently traveled to Wuhan.

Full story with pictures, video, and maps at link

[J.J.Gibbs]

Fears of new virus trigger anti-China sentiment worldwide

By HYUNG-JIN KIM

yesterday


SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A scary new virus from China has spread around the world. So has rising anti-Chinese sentiment, calls for a full travel ban on Chinese visitors and indignities for Chinese and other Asians.



Restaurants in South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Vietnam have refused to accept Chinese customers. Indonesians marched near a hotel and called on Chinese guests there to leave. French and Australian newspapers face criticism for racist headlines. Chinese and other Asians in Europe, the United States, Asia and the Pacific complain of racism.


Two dozen countries outside of China have reported cases of the new coronavirus, which has killed more than 300 people and sickened thousands of others in China. Many countries have sent planes to the Chinese city of Wuhan to evacuate their nationals.



The anti-China sentiments come as a powerful Beijing bolsters its global influence, and China’s rise has caused trade, political and diplomatic disputes with many countries.



But with rising fear of the mysterious disease has come a more acute anti-Chinese and, in some cases, anti-Asian backlash.



Full Coverage: Virus Outbreak

Here’s a look from AP journalists from around the world:



___



SOUTH KOREA



South Korean websites have been flooded with comments calling on the government to block or expel Chinese and racist remarks about Chinese eating habits and hygiene. A popular Seoul seafood restaurant frequented by Chinese tourists posted a sign saying “No entry for Chinese” before taking it down Wednesday after an online backlash.



More than 650,000 South Koreans have signed an online petition filed with the presidential Blue House calling for a temporary ban on Chinese visitors. Some conservative opposition lawmakers publicly back these steps, and about 30 people rallied near the Blue House on Wednesday demanding the government immediately ban Chinese tourists.



“Unconditional xenophobia against the Chinese is intensifying” in South Korea, the mass-circulation JoongAng Ilbo newspaper said in an editorial Thursday. “Infectious diseases are a matter of science, not an issue that can be resolved through an emotional outpouring.”



___



THE UNITED STATES



After news broke that someone attending Arizona State University has the virus, Ari Deng, who is Chinese American, said she sat down at a study table on the Tempe, Arizona, campus near five other students.



Deng, who was the only Asian, said the other students began whispering. “They got really tense and they quickly gathered their stuff and just left at the same time.”



In a recent business class a non-Asian student “said ‘Not to be racist, but there’s a lot of international students that live in my apartment complex. I try my best to keep my distance but I think it’s a good precaution for all of us to wash our hands,’” Deng said.



“It stings but I don’t let it take up room in my mind or weigh on my conscience,” she said.



Meanwhile, the University of California, Berkeley’s health services center removed an Instagram post Thursday that said “fears about interacting with those who might be from Asia and guilt about these feelings” were a normal reaction to the coronavirus outbreak.



“No matter how much time we spend in this country, at times we are almost immediately viewed as a foreigner,” Gregg Orton, the national director of the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans, said. “It’s a pretty frustrating reality for many of us.”



___



HONG KONG



The virus has deepened anti-Chinese sentiment in Hong Kong, where months of street protests against Beijing’s influence have roiled the semi-autonomous Chinese city.



Last week, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam suspended ferry and high-speed train services to the mainland and reduced flights between Hong Kong and Chinese cities.



Tenno Ramen, a Japanese noodle restaurant in Hong Kong, is refusing to serve mainland customers.



“We want to live longer. We want to safeguard local customers. Please excuse us,” the restaurant said on Facebook.



___





EUROPE



A French teacher started a Twitter conversation recently under #JeNeSuisPasUnVirus (I am not a virus) that has drawn numerous accounts of discrimination, from children taunted in the schoolyard to subway passengers moving away from people who appear Asian.



France has a significant and growing Asian community, and Chinese visitors are a pillar of the French tourism industry, but old prejudices run deep. A regional newspaper in northern France carried a front-page headline warning of a “Yellow Alert,” and later apologized amid national criticism.



“It’s a virus that comes from a region in China. It could have come from North Africa, Europe or anywhere,” said Soc Lam, a legal adviser to Chinese community groups in Paris. “People should not consider that just because we are Asian, we are more likely to spread the virus.”



A Danish paper, Jyllands-Posten, published a cartoon that replaced the yellow stars of the Chinese flag with representations of the virus. The Chinese Embassy in Copenhagen called the cartoon “an insult to China” and demanded the newspaper apologize.



The German Der Spiegel magazine ran a headline that said “made in China” along with a photo of an individual in protective gear.



On Friday, a cafe near Rome’s Trevi Fountain, a popular tourist site, posted a notice in its window saying “all people coming from China are not allowed access in this place,” according to the Italian news agency ANSA. When AP journalists went there to check on it, the post was no longer in the window.



___



AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND



More than 51,000 signatures have appeared on an online petition demanding apologies from Australia’s two biggest-circulation newspapers over their headlines.



The petition condemned Melbourne’s Herald Sun headline Wednesday that read, “Chinese virus pandamonium,” a misspelling that plays on China’s native pandas, and Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph headline on the same day that read, “China kids stay home.”



Singaporean Kiwi Dollice Chua told the New Zealand Herald that when she went to an Auckland mall last week to buy a wedding card a woman gave her a dirty look and told her “You Asians are the ones who brought this virus.” Chua has lived in New Zealand for 21 years. “It’s racist and beyond rude,” she said.



___



JAPAN



Many Japanese have taken to social media to call for a travel ban for the Chinese visitors amid worries they’ll come to Japan for virus-related treatments. One tweet said, “Please ban Chinese tourists immediately,” while another said, “I’m so worried that my child may catch the virus.”



A candy store in Hakone, a hot springs town west of Tokyo, recently made headlines after it posted a note saying, “Chinese people’s entry into the store is prohibited.” On Wednesday, Menya Hareruya, a popular ramen chain in Sapporo on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, posted a sign saying “No entry for Chinese tourists.”



Zhang Jiaqi, a Chinese student in Tokyo, said he has not faced any unpleasant response from his Japanese classmates and friends, but, he added, “I noticed that some people have turned around or watched me with angry looks on their face when I was talking to my friends in Chinese.”



___



SOUTHEAST ASIA



Last weekend, several hundred residents in the Indonesian tourist city of Bukittinggi marched to the Novotel Hotel, where some 170 Chinese tourists were staying, to protest their entrance into Indonesia.



They blocked roads near the hotel to prevent the Chinese, who’d arrived a day earlier, from getting out of the hotel. Local authorities decided to send the visitors back to China later in the day.



More than 400,000 Malaysians have signed an online petition calling for a ban on Chinese travelers and urging the government to “save our family and our children.”



A hotel in Danang, Vietnam, a popular beach destination, has been refusing to accept Chinese tourists.



A former police officer and town mayor, Abner Afuang, said he burned a Chinese flag on Friday in front of the National Press Club in Manila to protest the problems China has brought to the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries, including the virus and Beijing’s claim to disputed islands in the South China Sea.



The Philippine president’s office said in a statement: “Let us not engage in discriminatory behavior, nor act with any bias towards our fellowmen. The reality is everyone is susceptible to the virus.”

link

[schwartzie]

Coronavirus Is Worse Than You've Been Told: Scientist Explains

[J.J.Gibbs]

Coronavirus Nightmare MUCH WORSE Than They're Telling YOU!

[Midnight]

My thoughts on the Coronavirus Outbreak numbers - 2019nCoV originating in Wuhan China
(dutch sinse) 
 

[Midnight]

Putin Sends Russian Air Force to Evacuate Hundreds of Citizens from China

[Honoria]

WHO issues global emergency declaration due to “deeply concerning” cases of coronavirus

Monday, February 03, 2020 by: Ethan Huff

Tags: coronavirus, declaration, deeply concering, global emergency, global health emergency, Global Pandemic, human-to-human transmission, outbreak, pandemic, Public Health, WHO, World Health Organization




(Natural News) After a few weeks ago deciding not to declare a global public health emergency in response to coronavirus, the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) has now changed its mind, citing “deeply concerning” cases of the disease that have since emerged.



Growing evidence suggests that coronavirus is now increasingly spreading from person to person outside of China, which health authorities previously denied. So, the W.H.O. held emergency committee meetings to determine whether or not a global emergency declaration is now warranted.



The United Nations (U.N.), which oversees the W.H.O., announced previously that it was “too early” to signal a global crisis because human-to-human transmission of the virus had not yet been observed. But now that it has, all bets are off as to how this thing could possibly spiral out of control on a global scale.



As of this writing, the official infection count stands at nearly 15,000 cases, with 305 officially reported deaths. And within a matter of days, warn some experts, infection numbers could balloon into the hundreds of thousands.



There are now at least six coronavirus cases in which the infected individuals had not previously traveled to China, according to W.H.O.’s health emergencies programme executive director Michael Ryan. This indicates that the virus is, in fact, now being transmitted outside of China.



To keep up with the latest coronavirus news, be sure to check out Outbreak.news.



A German man contracted coronavirus from a visiting Chinese colleague who showed no symptoms of infection

What makes human-to-human coronavirus transmission even more of a concern is the fact that it can happen when symptoms aren’t even evident. This is how a 33-year-old German man caught it from one of his visiting Chinese colleagues, who reportedly became ill after she returned back to China.



This is what W.H.O. director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called “deeply concerning,” adding that this newfound evidence of how coronavirus is actually behaving – versus what public health authorities had initially claimed – shows “potential for a much larger outbreak.”



The W.H.O. is planning to make a public announcement about whether or not coronavirus is a global public health emergency on Thursday, January 30, from Geneva, Switzerland, immediately following the emergency committee’s meetings.



Ghebreyesus has also issued a public apology for his agency’s report from last week that dubbed the global risk from coronavirus “moderate,” as opposed to its newly revised designation of “high.”



Citing “human error in preparing the report,” Ghebreyesus claimed on Twitter that the previous designation was a mistake.



Gheybreyesus hasn’t, however, addressed accusations that his agency dropped the ball in praising the communist Chinese government for supposedly being transparent in its response to the outbreak, even though it’s now abundantly obvious that China has been downplaying the severity of what’s really going on over there in Wuhan.



It has also come out that China may have actually stolen this particular strain of coronavirus from a Canadian laboratory a while back, implicating the communist dictatorship in unleashing a deadly bioweapon.



“I strongly advocated on air for [the W.H.O.] to declare a global health emergency today,” tweeted Eric Feigl Ding, an epidemiologist and health economist at Harvard University‘s Chan School of Public Health.



“The facts are pretty clear this #coronavirus #nCoV2019 epidemic is no longer localized to China and has higher pandemic risk than SARS,” he added.



Due to his complicity in failing to disclose information about the disease in a timely manner, the mayor of Wuhan has publicly offered to resign from his position. Meanwhile, China’s foreign minister Wang Yi recently told British foreign secretary Dominic Raab that the epidemic is “generally controllable and curable,” even as coronavirus appears to be spreading exponentially.



link

[maybetoday]

China's coronavirus DID come from bats: Scientists reveal the virus is 96% identical to one found in the animals and is almost the same as SARS as global death toll hits 362

Finding the animal source of the virus has been challenging so far

Scientists in Wuhan analysed samples taken from seven coronavirus patients

They found a 96% similarity in the virus DNA to a coronavirus in bats

This makes it the most 'probable source' - but this is yet to be confirmed

2019-nCoV is also 79.5% similar with SARS, which could help with vaccines

By SAM BLANCHARD SENIOR HEALTH REPORTER FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 03:57 EST, 3 February 2020 | UPDATED: 13:51 EST, 3 February 2020






Bats are likely the cause of coronavirus from China after scientists find the virus is 96 per cent identical to one found in the animals.



The virus, which has killed 362 people so far, was believed to have transferred to humans from an animal, but identifying which one has been challenging.



Now, using samples from seven patients with severe pneumonia caused by the coronavirus, scientists have found striking similarities to coronavirus found in bats.



The DNA is also 79.5 per cent identical with the deadly SARS coronavirus, which suggests vaccines for the now non-existent virus may help with this epidemic.



Global cases have risen above 17,450, higher than the total recorded cases of the SARS virus that killed some 800 people in 2002 and 2003.



Although scientists stress the animal source of the recent outbreak in China is yet to be officially declared, experts have confirmed a wholesale animal market in Wuhan city is to blame.



A menagerie of live animals including koalas, rats and wolf pups were available at the Huanan Seafood Market in central Wuhan - the outbreak's epicentre.



While most research has pointed towards bats, research at Peking University implicated snakes as the most likely 'reservoir' of the rapidly spreading virus.


Full story with pictures and video at link

[Berean]

China arrests coronavirus whistleblower after filming piles of body bags in hospital

The undercover footage was taken inside the hospital in Wuhan which is at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak in China




BySimon GreenVideo News Editor

09:05, 3 FEB 2020UPDATED09:34, 3 FEB 2020

NEWS

Coronavirus: Wuhan hospital treats patients with infection

A hospital in Wuhan treats patients, some who have fallen ill with the Coronavirus. A tour round the hospital shows people being looked after and a man says there are 'so many dead people'.






CORONAVIRUS: WUHAN HOSPITAL TREATS PATIENTS WITH INFECTION


Chinese authorities have arrested a man who covertly filmed the true scale of the coronavirus outbreak from inside a Wuhan hospital.



The shocking footage was taken inside a medical facility in Wuhan, the quarantined city in China where the killer disease which has killed 361 people.



It shows what seems to be body bags piled on top of each other inside a van.



The man seems to imply there are “eight in total” in the vehicle. He then walks into the hospital ward.



“There are so many dead people,” the cameraman says. “He’s moving bodies here.”



Doctors in hazmat suits can be seen desperately trying to save countless victims.


Video and more at link

[Berean]

Fears thick 'death' smog over Wuhan confirms China is burning coronavirus bodies

Several Chinese people voiced their concern over the fog which has engulfed Wuhan. It's fuelled fears the death toll inside coronavirus-hit China is higher than what has been reported


ByEmma Parker 
11:39, 4 FEB 2020UPDATED16:13, 4 FEB 2020

NEWS

Wuhan: Thick cloud of fog descends across city in China

A thick cloud of fog descends across Wuhan in China. Skyscrapers can barely be seen against the fog.






WUHAN: THICK CLOUD OF FOG DESCENDS ACROSS CITY IN CHINA


Eerie footage of Wuhan engulfed in a thick fog has fuelled concerns the death toll inside coronavirus-hit China is “higher” than what’s been officially reported.



Clips appear to show the city in a mysterious haze which residents say has “come out of nowhere”.



The videos have led to concerns that the smog is the result of smoke from crematoriums burning coronavirus-infected bodies "24 hours a day".



It comes a day after the National Health Commission in China ordered all coronavirus fatalities to be cremated, with burials and funerals banned, to prevent to spread of disease.



Chinese nationals voiced their concerns on social media, suggesting the death toll could be "unthinkably higher" than reports if incinerators are running all day.


Video and more at link

[schwartzie]

[schwartzie]

Tencent may have accidentally leaked real data on Wuhan virus deaths

Tencent briefly lists 154,023 infections and 24,589 deaths from Wuhan coronavirus

421070

By Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

2020/02/05 18:59



Chart listing deaths as 24,589. (Internet photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As many experts question the veracity of China's statistics for the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, Tencent over the weekend seems to have inadvertently released what is potentially the actual number of infections and deaths, which were astronomically higher than official figures.



On late Saturday evening (Feb. 1), Tencent, on its webpage titled "Epidemic Situation Tracker", showed confirmed cases of novel coronavirus (2019nCoV) in China as standing at 154,023, 10 times the official figure at the time. It listed the number of suspected cases as 79,808, four times the official figure.



The number of cured cases was only 269, well below the official number that day of 300. Most ominously, the death toll listed was 24,589, vastly higher than the 300 officially listed that day.



Moments later, Tencent updated the numbers to reflect the government's "official" numbers that day. Netizens noticed that Tencent has on at least three occasions posted extremely high numbers, only to quickly lower them to government-approved statistics.





Feb. 1 chart showing higher numbers (left), chart showing "official" numbers (right). (Internet image)



Netizens also noticed that each time the screen with the large numbers appears, it shows a comparison with the previous day's data which demonstrates a "reasonable" incremental increase, much like comparisons of official numbers. This has led some netizens to speculate that Tencent has two sets of data, the real data and "processed" data.



Some are speculating that a coding problem could be causing the real "internal" data to accidentally appear. Others believe that someone behind the scenes is trying to leak the real numbers.



However, the "internal" data held by Beijing may not reflect the true extent of the epidemic. According to multiple sources in Wuhan, many coronavirus patients are unable to receive treatment and die outside of hospitals.



A severe shortage of test kits also leads to a lower number of diagnosed cases of infection and death. In addition, there have been many reports of doctors being ordered to list other forms of death instead of coronavirus to keep the death toll artificially low.


link

[shalom]

Coronavirus live updates: US can’t keep virus ‘out of our border,’ NYC has 2 new ‘patients under investigation’

PUBLISHED WED, FEB 5 20208:34 AM ESTUPDATED AN HOUR AGO

Berkeley Lovelace Jr.

@berkeleyjr

William Feuer

@willfoia

WATCH NOW

VIDEO07:06

How the coronavirus outbreak affects global business


This is a live blog. Please check back for updates.



Total cases: More than 24,000 as of Wednesday morning.

Total deaths: At least 490 worldwide as of Wednesday morning



5:10 pm: Yum China temporarily closes 30% of China stores, could see losses

Yum China Holdings, which operates Pizza Hut and KFC in China, has temporarily closed more than 30% of its stores there. Same-store sales for the locations that stayed open plunged by up to 50% since the Chinese New Year holiday, the company said, adding that it can’t say when its locations may reopen or whether it will need to close more. “Looking into 2020, the coronavirus outbreak is a major public health situation in China,” CEO Joey Wat said in a statement, adding that the safety of employees and customers was a priority. The outbreak will have a “material impact” on its 2020 sales and profit — possibly even see a quarterly or annual loss, depending on the course of the outbreak, the company said. -- Rogers



4:07 pm: New York City tests 5 people for potential coronavirus

The New York City Department of Health said it now has five “patients under investigation” for the virus and is awaiting test results on four of them from the CDC. “This means they had recently been in China and presented with fever and cough or shortness of breath without another common cause, like influenza and other respiratory viruses, identified through testing,” the agency said in a statement. The two new potential patients are both under 40. One has been hospitalized and the other is under isolation with daily monitoring by the health department. The specimen from the first suspected case sent to the CDC was negative, the department previously said.



3:40 pm: Consumers start to worry about impact on economy

As the coronavirus continues to spread, concerns among U.S. consumers about the economic impact of the outbreak have risen slightly, according to recent polling by Morning Consult. The opinion research firm said its Index of Consumer Sentiment fell slightly last week, based in part on worries about the spread of the disease. Among those surveyed, Americans are more concerned about the virus’ effects on the global and U.S. economies than on their own local economies. — Schoen



3:12 pm: Epidemiologist warns lawmakers: US can’t keep coronavirus ‘out of our border’

U.S. travel restrictions implemented in recent days to keep a fast-moving virus that has crippled much of China from spreading across America won’t work, a top epidemiologist told U.S. lawmakers. “I have never seen instances where that has worked when we are talking about a virus at this scale,” epidemiologist Jennifer Nuzzo, a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Health Security, testified before the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee. Respiratory viruses, like the one that’s sickened more than 24,300 across the globe and killed at least 490 in China, “they just move quickly. They are hard to spot because they look like many other diseases,” she said.



2:31 pm: Life under quarantine. Civil rights activists criticize lockdowns

Jarred Evans spent his fourth night of quarantine on the March Air Reserve Base with the 194 other Americans he was evacuated with last week from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. Evans and the other Americans at the base in Riverside, California were the first U.S. citizens to be quarantined by the federal government since the 1960s, health officials said last week. American Civil Liberties Union senior policy analyst Jay Stanley said the move is an escalation by the Trump administration that tests the balance of public health and individual liberty. “Quarantining somebody is an extraordinary deprivation of their liberties,” he said. “There’s a burden on the government to determine that it’s really using the least restrictive alternative.” - Feuer



2:25 pm Wisconsin confirms first case of virus

A Wisconsin resident who recently traveled to China has been infected with the coronavirus, state health officials said at a news conference. The patient is currently “doing well” and in isolation at home, they said. Health officials said there is no immediate danger and the risk to the broader public is “low.” - Lovelace



2:13 pm: US House panel holds hearing on the outbreak

The U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Foreign Affairs is holding a hearing on the outbreak scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. ET. Witnesses include senior scholar at Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Health Security Jennifer Nuzzo, senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation Jennifer Bouey and former White House Ebola response coordinator Ron Klain. Congressman Ami Bera, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Nonproliferation, announced the hearing last week. Watch the live hearing here.



1:50 pm: UPS strikes deal with union over flights to China

As the coronavirus spreads, the union that represents UPS pilots has struck a deal with shipping giant to make flying to China “voluntary.” “This joint effort addresses crewmember concerns over safety during the coronavirus health crisis,” the union said in a statement. More than a dozen airlines, including , and have suspended service to mainland China and to Hong Kong, citing a sharp drop in demand because of the outbreak. Others have significantly scaled back service. - Josephs



1:40 pm: Defense Department clears another quarantine site

The Department of Defense has cleared the way for Camp Ashland in Ashland, Nebraska to be used to house as many as 75 people who may need to be quarantined upon arrival from overseas travel due to the coronavirus. The authorization extends through the end of February. - Macias


More at link

[maybetoday]

[J.J.Gibbs]

Virus-hit Wuhan has two laboratories linked to Chinese bio-warfare program

Virology institute there has China's only secure lab for studying deadly viruse


By Bill Gertz - The Washington Times 
The deadly animal virus epidemic spreading globally may have originated in a Wuhan laboratory linked to China’s covert biological weapons program, according to an Israeli biological warfare expert.



Radio Free Asia this week rebroadcast a local Wuhan television report from 2015 showing China’s most advanced virus research laboratory known the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Radio Free Asia reported.



The laboratory is the only declared site in China capable of working with deadly viruses.



Dany Shoham, a former Israeli military intelligence officer who has studied Chinese bio warfare, said the institute is linked to Beijing’s covert biological weapons program.



“Certain laboratories in the institute have probably been engaged, in terms of research and development, in Chinese [biological weapons], at least collaterally, yet not as a principal facility of the Chinese BW alignment,” Mr. Shoham told The Washington Times.



Work on biological weapons is conducted as part of a dual civilian-military research and is “definitely covert,” he said in an email.



Mr. Shoham holds a doctorate in medical microbiology. From 1970 to 1991 he was a senior analyst with Israeli military intelligence for biological and chemical warfare in the Middle East and worldwide, holding the rank of lieutenant colonel.



China in the past has denied having any offensive biological weapons. The State Department, in a report last year, said it suspects China has engaged in covert biological warfare work.



A Chinese Embassy spokesman did not return an email seeking comment.



Chinese authorities so far have said the origin of the coronavirus that has killed scores and infected hundreds in in central Hubei Province is not known.



Gao Fu, director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told state-controlled media initial signs as of Thursday indicated the virus originated from wild animals sold at a seafood market in Wuhan.



One ominous sign, said a U.S. official, is the that false rumors since the outbreak began several weeks ago have begun circulating on the Chinese Internet claiming the virus is part of a U.S. conspiracy to spread germ weapons.



That could indicate China is preparing propaganda outlets to counter future charges the new virus escaped from one of Wuhan’s civilian or defense research laboratories.



The World Health Organization is calling the microbe novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV. At a meeting in Geneva Thursday, the organization stopped short of declaring a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.



The virus outbreak causes pneumonia-like symptoms and prompted China to deploy military forces to Wuhan this week in a bid to halt the spread. All travel out of the city of 11 million people was halted.



The Wuhan institute has studied coronaviruses in the past, including the including the strain that causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, H5N1 influenza virus, Japanese encephalitis, and dengue. Researchers at the institute also studied the germ that causes anthrax – a biological agent once developed in Russia.



“Coronaviruses (particularly SARS) have been studied in the institute and are probably held therein,” he said. “SARS is included within the Chinese BW program, at large, and is dealt with in several pertinent facilities.”



It is not known if the institute’s array of coronaviruses are specifically included in biological weapons program but it is possible, he said.



Asked if the new coronavirus may have leaked, Mr. Shoham said: “In principle, outward virus infiltration might take place either as leakage or as an indoor unnoticed infection of a person that normally went out of the concerned facility. This could have been the case with the Wuhan Institute of Virology, but so far there isn’t evidence or indication for such incident.”



After researchers sequence of the genome of the new coronavirus it might be possible to determine or suggest its origin or source.



Mr. Shoham, now with the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar Ilan University in Israel, said the virology institute is the only declared site in China known as P4 for Pathogen Level 4, a status indicating it uses the strictest safety standards to prevent the spread of the most dangerous and exotic microbes being studied.



The former Israeli military intelligence doctor also said suspicions were raised about the Wuhan Institute of Virology when a group of Chinese virologists working in Canada improperly sent samples to China of what he said were some of the deadliest viruses on earth, including the Ebola virus.



In a July article in the journal Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, Mr. Shoham said the Wuhan institute was one of four Chinese laboratories engaged in some aspects of the biological weapons development.



He identified the secure Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory at the institute as engaged in research on the Ebola, Nipah, and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever viruses.



The Wuhan virology institute is under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. But certain laboratories within it “have linkage with the PLA or BW-related elements within the Chinese defense establishment,” he said.



In 1993, China declared a second facility, the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products, as one of eight biological warfare research facilities covered by the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) which China joined in 1985.



The Wuhan Institute of Biological Products is a civilian facility but is linked to the Chinese defense establishment, and has been regarded to be involved in the Chinese BW program, Mr. Shoham said.



China’s vaccine against SARS is probably produced there.



“This means the SARS virus is held and propagated there, but it is not a new coronavirus, unless the wild type has been modified, which is not known and cannot be speculated at the moment,” he said.



The annual State Department report on arms treaty compliance stated last year that China engaged in activities that could support biological warfare.



“Information indicates that the People’s Republic of China engaged during the reporting period in biological activities with potential dual-use applications, which raises concerns regarding its compliance with the BWC,” the report said, adding that the United States suspects China failed to eliminate its biological warfare program as required by the treaty.



“The United States has compliance concerns with respect to Chinese military medical institutions’ toxin research and development because of the potential dual-use applications and their potential as a biological threat,” the report added.



The biosafety lab is located about 20 miles from the Hunan Seaford Market that reports from China say may have been origin point of the virus.



Rutgers University microbiologist Dr. Richard Ebright told London’s Daily Mail that “at this point there’s no reason to harbor suspicions” the lab may be linked to the virus outbreak.


link

[schwartzie]

Beijing is shut down too!

[J.J.Gibbs]

Coronavirus Update: Wisconsin Confirms State’s First Case as Virus Spreads Rapidly

[J.J.Gibbs]

[Midnight]

[schwartzie]

China orders Wuhan to round up ALL suspected coronavirus patients and put them in quarantine camps as Beijing warns officials who run away from the 'war' will be 'nailed to the pillar of historical shame'

Wuhan is set to isolate suspected coronavirus patients and their close contacts

Those who have fever will also be taken into quarantine camps, Beijing ordered

China's Vice Premier demanded officials take active lead in 'wartime condition'

Or they will be 'nailed onto the pillar of historical shame forever', she warned

The virus has killed at least 638 people and infected more than 31,520 globally

By TRACY YOU FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 05:09 EST, 7 February 2020 | UPDATED: 11:20 EST, 7 February 2020




China's central government has ordered Wuhan to round up all suspected coronavirus patients as well as their close contacts in mass quarantine camps.



The country's Vice Premier Sun Chunlan called on a 'people's war' against the fast-spreading epidemic, which has killed at least 638 people and infected more than 31,520 globally.



She demanded Communist officials of all levels take active lead in this 'wartime condition', or face being 'nailed onto the pillar of historical shame forever'.



The city has around 14 million residents, but it remains unknown how many people would be quarantined or where they would be kept.


Full story with pictures and video at link

[schwartzie]

[Midnight]

BREAKING: China to quarantine city of Shenzhen in Guangdong Province, causing “mad rush” to Hong Kong as (infected) citizens flee to other nations

Friday, February 07, 2020 by: Mike Adams

Tags: China, coronavirus, Guangdong, Hong Kong, infections, outbreak, pandemic, Shenzhen, Wuhan




(Natural News) This is a breaking news update from Natural News, translated from the Chinese language Liberty Times Net website, which has produced some of the best reporting on the coronavirus pandemic outbreak.



According to the report, the communist Chinese government has just announced the imminent quarantine of the city of Shenzhen in the Guangdong Province, causing a “mad rush” of Chinese citizens fleeing to Hong Kong to try to escape the quarantines before the international community blocks all flights from Hong Kong. This effort will, of course, only serve to accelerate the spread of the virus internationally.



There are roughly 25 million people in the greater Shenzhen municipal area, so this is a significant increase in the number of Chinese citizens who will soon be living under military-enforced quarantine. (Currently over 50 million, soon to be at least 75 million and growing…)



Here’s the translated text that explains this. Just remember, automated machine translations from Chinese to English are very difficult, so the English appears quite broken:



Shenzhen News Network reported that the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government said on the 7th, all communities will be 100% closed management, if there are confirmed cases of residential “hard isolation” for 14 days, and organize “regulatory service team” to do key ethnic groups tracking, where there is a history of close contact with the case 100% of the implementation of centralized isolation, households also want to take temperature and other measures.



According to Hong Kong’s “Position News” reported that Shenzhen city from the 8th began to seal the city after the announcement of the news, 7 days from the emergence of a large number of people want to pour into Hong Kong, from the scene film can be seen at 10:28 p.m., shenzhen port before the appearance of long lines of taxis, are to load the people of Shenzhen into Hong Kong, long car long about 1 km.



The same story also reports that the hard quarantine of Shenzhen begins on Feb. 8th (tomorrow), which is why people are panic fleeing today, while they can still get out: (another important reminder to always have a bugout bag)

Comprehensive Chinese media reports, the Shenzhen Municipal Government announced that from February 8 on the city’s people’s vehicles fully implement control, in the “vehicle epidemic control checkpoint” vehicle control, and foreign vehicles to sacrifice “advance declaration measures”, the first time the public driving through the “vehicle epidemic prevention checkpoint”, must be at least 1 day in advance of the Internet registration declaration, approval before passing.


Full article at link

[Midnight]

CREMATION VANS running 24/7 as China orders door-to-door mass roundups of infected citizens to be placed in “quarantine prison camps”

Thursday, February 06, 2020 by: Mike Adams

Tags: biological weapons, China, coronavirus, Cover-Up, cremation, cremation vans, dead bodies, Hospitals, military, outbreak, pandemic, prison camps, quarantine, Roundup, Wuhan




(Natural News) Just when you thought China’s draconian measures to stop the deadly coronavirus pandemic couldn’t get any more draconian, the communist Chinese regime has announced a whole new level of medical tyranny: Door-to-door forced roundups of infected citizens who will be removed against their will and placed in “quarantine prison camps” that China absurdly calls “hospitals.” (Real hospitals don’t have bars on the windows of every patient’s room, see photos below…)



“Wuhan is told to round up infected residents for mass quarantine camps,” reports the New York Times, sounding almost exactly like InfoWars.com’s stories from weeks ago. (Isn’t it interesting how the mainstream media sooner or later sounds like the independent media when the truth comes out?)



“In an effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus, China’s vice premier mandated on Feb. 6 that the Wuhan city government screen each resident’s body temperature by visiting their homes one by one,” reports The Epoch Times, warning that, “Chinese netizens are worried that the new regulation may inadvertently cause the virus to spread even more quickly.”


Full article at link

[Midnight]

More Than 400 Million People Now On Lockdown and Quarantined In China