January 30 coronavirus news

Carriers of the Wuhan coronavirus may face criminal charges if they spit at others in public, according to the Public Security Department of Hubei province.

In a statement on Wednesday morning, the department stated that those who intentionally spread the pathogen to other people by spitting -- and therefore pose a threat to public security -- could face criminal proceedings in serious cases.

Suspected patients who refuse to be screened, quarantined or treated and who cause transmission to others as a result, could also face charges.

Currently there have been 4,586 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Hubei Province -- the epicenter of the virus -- with 162 deaths. Worldwide the infection rate has exceeded 7,000.

The announcement will be effective immediately.

Ikea has announced it is now closing all of its stores in mainland China effective from January 30, amid the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak.

In a statement shared with CNN, Beth Ze of the Ikea China Communications Department said that stores will be closed until further notice.

“The recent outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia touches everyone's heart. IKEA China has been continuously and closely monitoring the epidemic situation of Coronavirus 2019 n-CoV. IKEA always care the health and safety of our customers and co-workers”, the statement said.

It ends by saying “we encourage people to stay at home, the most important and safe place in the world."

Ikea had closed some of their operations in China earlier in the week.

The Wuhan coronavirus has spread throughout the world since the first cases were detected in central China in December. At least 170 people have died and more than 7,700 are fighting symptoms including fever and breathing difficulties. 

China's National Health Commission has confirmed the virus can be transmitted from person to person through "droplet transmission" -- where a virus is passed on due to an infected person sneezing or coughing -- as well as by direct contact. 

There are more than 100 confirmed cases of Wuhan coronavirus -- but no deaths so far -- in 19 places outside mainland China.

A number of countries, such as the United States and Japan, have evacuated their nationals on flights from Wuhan, capital of Hubei province. 

At least three of the Japanese citizens evacuated from Wuhan on Wednesday have been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases in Japan to 11.

Read more here

Elon Musk's Tesla factory in China just got up and running. Now its vehicle production there will be delayed because of the deadly Wuhan virus outbreak. 

Beijing has taken extraordinary measures to try and contain the outbreak, including placing major cities on lockdown and extending the Lunar New Year holiday. Officials in Shanghai, where Tesla's China factory is located, extended the holiday period from January 30 to February 9.

"At this point, we're expecting a 1 to 1½ week delay in the ramp (up) of Shanghai-built Model 3 due to a government-required factory shutdown," Tesla's chief financial officer Zachary Kirkhorn said during an earnings call Wednesday.

Kirkhorn said the hit to Tesla earnings will be limited because profits from the China-made cars are still in the early stages. He added that the company is also keeping an eye on whether there will be supply chain disruptions for Tesla's California-made cars.

Read the full story here.

The New Zealand government has chartered an Air New Zealand aircraft to evacuate its nationals currently in Wuhan, according to a government press release.

The statement says the aircraft will have capacity for 300 passengers.

“This is a complex operation as we work through all the necessary requirements but we are working to have the aircraft depart as soon as possible,” said Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters.

"We encourage all New Zealanders in the Hubei region to register on Safetravel and ensure all their details are accurate and up to date. This will give us a better understanding of the level of demand for this flight," he continued.

Any spare seats on the flight will be offered to Pacific Island and Australian citizens “as a matter of priority."

Hong Kong customs officials are carrying out a large scale city-wide special operation to crack down on stores selling fake surgical masks amid the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak.

Officers with the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department have conducted spot checks on almost 200 stores across the city, including pharmacies, chain stores, and other shops that sell the face masks.

"The spot check operation focused on three aspects of surgical masks, namely false origin claims, non-compliance with consumer goods safety standards and false trademarks," a statement from the customs department said.

The operation, codenamed "Guardian," is to ensure masks sold in Hong Kong comply with consumer goods safety standards.

"Immediate announcements will be made if any irregularities are spotted during the operation," the statement said.

The crackdown comes as supplies of face masks are running low in Hong Kong. Long lines of residents queueing outside pharmacies and stores are a common sight around the territory.

Hong Kong has now confirmed 10 cases of the Wuhan coronavirus.

At least three of the Japanese citizens evacuated from Wuhan on Wednesday have been diagnosed with the Wuhan coronavirus. 

Only one of the patients has a fever, while the other two are not showing any symptoms, Japan’s Health and Welfare Ministry announced today.

They are currently quarantined in Tokyo.

Two flights carrying more than 400 Japanese citizens arrived back in the country from Wuhan on Wednesday and Thursday.

Footage taken in Hong Kong's eastern Tin Hau district shows hundreds of people queuing to get their hands on face masks, as fears grow around the continued spread of the coronavirus outbreak.

Supplies of face masks in the city are running low and many pharmacies or drugstores have put up signs saying they've sold out of masks and hand sanitizer, as people scramble to stock up.

The line in Tin Hau shows people outside a pharmacy on Thursday morning -- the line can be seen stretching around the block, up a flight a stairs, and down another street.

Similar scenes are playing out across the city as people hear that a store has received a new shipment of masks, or wait before opening time in the hopes of new stock.

Hong Kong has now confirmed 10 cases of the Wuhan coronavirus.

Tibet has now confirmed its first case of the Wuhan coronavirus, Chinese health authorities said Thursday.

Tibet was previously the only region administered by the Chinese government to have avoided the virus. Now, all provinces, autonomous regions, special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macao) and municipalities have confirmed cases.

Cases have also been confirmed in the self-governing island of Taiwan.

The spread to Tibet, a remote and mountainous region, will renew concerns about how easily the virus is transmitted, particularly when people are asymptomatic.

On Tuesday, Tibet announced the indefinite closure of all tourist attractions, state-run newspaper People’s Daily reported, citing the regional Communist Party committee.

All travelers, including tourists, entering Tibet are now required to register with authorities and be quarantined for 14 days.

There are now 7,711 confirmed cases in mainland China, with 4,586 in Hubei province, where the outbreak originated.