Coronavirus: UK claims breakthrough, WHO snubs it as death toll nears 500

Outbreak won't impact China-India trade ties, says Chinese ambassador

World Health Organization officials have damped down expectations of imminent breakthroughs in the development of vaccines or treatments for the outbreak. “There are no proven, effective therapeutics” for the novel coronavirus, Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s Health Emergencies Program, said on Wednesday at a press conference in Geneva. 

The UN agency plans a systematic review of all therapeutics, Ryan said. The organization will share clinical trial protocols around the world, he said.

An antiviral drug from Gilead Sciences is expected to start testing in China in the coming days. A Chinese TV report said researchers at Zhejiang University had found an effective drug for the virus, while Britain’s Sky News said researchers had made a “significant breakthrough” in developing a vaccine. Oil prices jumped on the reports.

Trade relations with India

In an interview to PTI, Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong said China's foreign ministry and local governments are working hard to ensure the safety of Indians and people working in Indian diplomatic missions in China.

Admitting that there could be a short-term impact of the epidemic on China's economy, he said the country's internal resilience is growing and it has ample resources and policy tools to cope with economic volatility. “I am confident that it should not and will not be hindered by short-term difficulties. We should not suspend but expand the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries,” he said.

No sign of a slowdown 

The death toll from the monthlong coronavirus outbreak has continued to climb in China, rising to 490. New cases have surged by double-digit percentages in the past 11 days. More people have now died in this epidemic than in the SARS outbreak of 2002-3 in mainland China. During that outbreak, 349 people died in the mainland.

The new figures from China’s Health Commission on Wednesday showed that 65 people died on Tuesday and that 3,887 more people had been infected. So far, 24,324 people are known to have been infected. Health experts say the death toll is likely to rise because of the large number of infections. 

More American evacuees arrived in California, and were quarantined

Hundreds of Americans who had been in Wuhan as the outbreak worsened arrived in California on Wednesday on two evacuation flights arranged by the United States government. It was a second wave of American evacuations; an earlier flight arrived last week.  

US President Donald Trump has pledged to work with China on the outbreak, while cruise ships get new scrutiny after infections are found on two.

Cruise ships in Japan and Hong Kong being scrutinised after infections

Nine passengers and one crew member on a cruise ship quarantined in Yokohama, Japan, have tested positive for the coronavirus, the cruise line, Princess Cruises, said on Wednesday. The ship, carrying 2,666 passengers and 1,045 crew members, arrived in Yokohama on Tuesday, but the authorities did not allow anyone off. In all, 273 passengers were tested for the virus after everyone on board underwent an initial health screening. Twenty-one people were cleared, and officials were awaiting the other results.

Hong Kong imposes 14-day quarantine 

Hong Kong said that it will begin requiring people who arrive from mainland China to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine, as it tries to reduce the potential for imported cases of the coronavirus.

490 deaths and 24,324 confirmed cases

• Baby tests positive for China virus just 30 hours after birth
• WHO issues appeal for $675 million to fight novel coronavirus
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation pledge to commit up to $100 million for the global response to the epidemic
• Coronavirus vaccine hopes guide British stocks higher —FTSE 100 up 0.6%, 
• FTSE 250 up 0.4%
• Central Hubei province reported 3,156 new infections, its biggest single-day jump during the outbreak
• Cathay Pacific asks staff to take unpaid leave, Airbus shuts plant
• Three foreign nationals among 2,528 under observation in Kerala
• 46 under watch in Gujarat
• Delhi govt sets up 24x7 control room for any query related to virus
• Tamil Nadu procures 5,000 additional personal protection equipment for healthworkers, says state health secretary Beela Rajesh
• 104 kept at Indo-Tibetan Border Police facility test negative