Coronavirus UPDATE: S Korea tops 156 cases, Ukrainians attack evacuee bus

The total number of infected worldwide cases of coronavirus (Covid-19) stands at over 76,735. At least 2,247 people are now dead from the virus, with all but 11 of those deaths in mainland China. 18,561 people are now registered as ‘recovered’ from the virus. The fatality rate still sits around 2%.

• There has been a sharp spike in new cases of the virus in South Korea according to the country’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. A total of 52 new cases have been diagnosed in just one day, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 156.

Among the new cases, nearly 40 are linked to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in the southern city of Daegu. Authorities are now attempting to test the entire congregation.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke on the phone yesterday, agreeing to share information about the two countries’ clinical treatment experiences.

President Xi told Moon that “the Chinese people has broken away from the initial fear and are seeing the prospect and hope of overcoming the infectious disease.”

• Dozens of protesters in a Ukraine town have mobbed buses carrying evacuees from coronavirus-hit China. The evacuees were being brought to a hospital in the central Poltava region, where they will be quarantine for 14 days.

Many residents fear the virus could spread through the town, which has a population of about 10,000. Earlier yesterday, 45 Ukrainians and 27 foreign nationals were flown from Wuhan in China, the epicentre of the deadly outbreak, to eastern Ukraine. Six buses then drove them to the hospital in Novi Sanzhary, where they were met by demonstrators lighting bonfires and hurling stones.

The country’s health ministry says none of the passengers were sick, whilst the Ukraine PM has issued statements trying to calm the panic in the town.

PHOTO: Protesters in the Ukraine react violently to the arrival of a bus load log evacuees from China

• 11 people evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, marooned in Yokohama Bay, and flown out by US authorities on February 17, have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. 13 of the US evacuees were taken to the University of Nebraska Medical Centre for testing. All but two tested positive.

Ten of the evacuees taken to UNMC remain in a quarantine unit, while three others are in a state Bio-containment unit, according to the release.

• Meanwhile, 2 passengers from Australia, also evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan, have been diagnosed with the coronavirus. 164 evacuees from the cruise ship arrived at the Howard Springs Quarantine Facility yesterday to begin a 14 day quarantine period.

6 passengers were identified to have minor respiratory symptoms or fevers and were moved into isolation and tested. 2 tested positive for the virus.

Australia now has 17 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus with 11 people registered as “recovered”.

• In further scientific research, the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) spreads mostly through respiratory droplets and contact with infected patients. But new research suggests that it can also spread through feces.

There are currently more cases of coronavirus than would be expected if the virus were spreading only through respiratory droplets and contact with infected patients. The report was published February 15 by the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

Previous tests have found that the coronavirus can be present in faeces, but it was unclear if the virus would be ‘viable’ and able to spread to another person, according to a previous Live Science report. So, a group of researchers analysed stool samples from patients with coronavirus.

According to the Live Science website, they isolated the coronavirus from one patient who had severe pneumonia and examined the virus under an electron microscope. They found that the coronavirus was viable.

“This means that stool samples may contaminate hands, food, water, etc. People who use the bathroom and then don’t wash their hands could spread the virus to others, for instance.”