January 30 coronavirus news

Mainland China now has a total of 8,137 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, including 171 deaths. This is from the provincial health authorities reported as of 11:30 a.m. ET on Thursday. 

A breakdown of cases per province:

Hubei (including Wuhan): 4,903, including 162 deaths

Zhejiang: 428

Guangdong: 354

Henan: 278, including 2 deaths

Hunan: 277

Anhui: 200

Chongqing: 182

Jiangxi: 162

Shandong: 158

Sichuan: 142, including 1 death

Jiangsu: 129

Beijing: 121, including 1 death

Shanghai: 112, including 1 death

Fujian: 101

Guangxi: 78

Yunnan: 76

Hebei: 65, including 1 death

Shaanxi: 63

Hainan: 46, including 1 death

Heilongjiang: 44, including 2 death

Liaoning: 41

Shanxi: 35

Tianjin: 31

Gansu: 26

Inner Mongolia: 19

Ningxia: 17

Jilin: 14

Xinjiang: 14

Guizhou: 12

Qinghai: 8

Tibet: 1

Scenes from big cities across China, including Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, show usually bustling urban centers looking like ghost towns.

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A coronavirus task force under the authority of US President Donald Trump has been meeting daily since Monday, the White House announced Thursday.

In coordination with the National Security Council, the task force is led by US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and includes members from the National Institutes of Health, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the departments of State, Transportation and Homeland Security, among others.

The force will lead the US government's response to the current coronavirus outbreak and, according to a statement, “will lead the Administration’s efforts to monitor, contain, and mitigate the spread of the virus.”

Five cases of the coronavirus has been confirmed in the United States. The White House notes the risk of infection to Americans remains low.

Around 300 people were killed in Hong Kong during the SARS outbreak in 2003. Now the city’s residents are taking no chances.

Malls and streets are empty in what should be the busiest weeks of the year. But Chinese New Year celebrations have been muted -- in many cases here, they're simply canceled.

A line of people wraps around a deserted shop, as residents wait more than three hours to collect surgical face masks to help protect them from the Wuhan coronavirus, even though only 10 cases here have been confirmed.

People were also seen lining up for face masks in long lines in Shanghai. More than 100 people in the Shanghai municipality have been infected with the coronavirus, and one death has been confirmed.

After long delays, Chinese authorities have given permission for the UK to fly its nationals out of Wuhan early Friday morning local time, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement sent to CNN.

“We are pleased to have confirmation from the Chinese authorities that the evacuation flight from Wuhan airport to the UK can depart at 0500 local time on Friday 31 January,” Raab said. 

“The safety and security of British nationals is our top priority. Our Embassy in Beijing and consular teams remain in close contact with British nationals in the region to ensure they have the latest information they need.”

Raab had earlier said UK authorities had been "working tirelessly" to get the flight off the ground.

Roughly 7,000 people are being kept on a cruise ship in Italy as a female passenger and her husband are being tested for the Wuhan coronavirus.

A spokesperson for Costa Cruises told CNN that a 54-year-old woman and her husband, from Hong Kong, were being evaluated as the woman was suffering a fever.

"All the other passengers are, at the moment remaining on board," the spokesperson said.

Of the 7,000 people on board, around 1,000 are crew members.

Italian news agency ANSA and public broadcaster RAI reported that the woman and her husband were from Hong Kong and were being kept separately in solitary confinement in the hospital section of the Costa Smeralda cruiseliner. The couple will be held until the couple both test negative to the virus.

Images show the ship docked at Civitavecchia port, a coastal town northwest of Rome, after arriving Palma de Majorca, Spain.

The couple are expected to receive their results this afternoon, ANSA reports. They are said to have arrived in Italy on January 25 at Milan's Malpensa airport from Macao.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has signed an order to close his country's far-east border with China, state media reports, in an effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus. 

"An order has been signed today, it is in the works. Today we will inform everyone accordingly about the relevant measures to close the border in the Far Eastern region and other measures that have been taken by the government," Mishustin said, RIA reports.

Russia’s Far Eastern Federal District shares a land border with China, Mongolia and North Korea.  

It comes after several Russian tour operators and charter flight companies suspended flights to China.

Russia will also limit its railway service with China from Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said Wednesday, TASS reported.

“Trains will only follow the route Moscow-Beijing and Beijing-Moscow," she said.

Israel’s El Al Airlines said it was suspending flights along its Beijing route from today until March 25. It will continue its flights to and from Hong Kong.

The Israeli carrier joins several others halting flights to mainland China as the number of coronavirus cases in the country rises significantly each day.

British Airways, American Airlines, Air Canada, KLM, Lufthansa and United have all suspended flights. The moves follow travel guidance from multiple governments advising against nonessential travel to the country.

Beyond China, there are now more than 100 cases of the virus in 20 countries or territories.