CDC says it is still waiting on invitation from China to assist with coronavirus outbreak
From CNN Health’s Jacqueline Howard
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Robert Redfield, and members of the Trump Administration's Coronavirus Task Force hold a press briefing on Friday, January 31. Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says it is poised to assist China with containing its coronavirus outbreak, but is still waiting on an official invitation.
“What I can say is that we have folks ready to go to China as soon as that offer is finalized,” Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said during a call with reporters on Monday.
“As soon as we are allowed to go, we will be there,” Messonnier said. “Our presence on the ground in China will be a help."
1:01 p.m. ET, February 3, 2020
CDC working to provide virus testing capabilities across the US
From CNN Health’s Jacqueline Howard.
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Director Nancy Messonnier. Samuel Corum/Getty Images
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is currently working to provide diagnostic testing for the virus to health departments across the United States.
Currently, tests are only carried out in Atlanta. But the “emergency use authorization” for tests have been expedited for local testing capabilities, according to CDC officials.
“The process is extremely expedited and our colleagues at [the US Food and Drug Administration] have been working with us closely ever since we made the plan that we were going to do this in this way,” Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said during a call with reporters on Monday.
The US Department of Health and Human Services declared the Wuhan coronavirus to be a public health emergency in the US on Friday.
On January 30, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus a public health emergency of international concern.
12:44 p.m. ET, February 3, 2020
Hong Kong's hospital authority urges staff to return to work and not go on strike
From CNN's Samantha Beech
Local medical workers hold a strike near Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong on Friday. Credit: Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images
Hong Kong's hospital authority (HA) urged healthcare workers to return to work after they began a strike Monday in response to the government's handling of the Wuhan coronavirus.
In a statement released Monday, the HA called "all healthcare workers participating in industrial action to return to work as soon as possible to avoid further affecting public hospital services and patient treatment."
We share the same objective with our colleagues that the cross-boundary passenger flow should further be reduced to avoid the spreading of the virus. However, we disagree with compromising patient safety when expressing opinions," the statement read.
Hong Kong's main public hospital medical workers union began a strike Monday with at least 2,400 people participating in the first day, according to Hospital Authority Employee Alliance union's Facebook page.
The union previously asked the government to meet demands including stopping all travelers from entering Hong Kong from mainland China, implementing measures to ensure the supply of face masks, providing isolation wards and sufficient support for staff working in them, and investigating reports of patients escaping hospitals.
12:06 p.m. ET, February 3, 2020
CDC has investigated 260 US patients for coronavirus
From CNN Health’s Michael Nedelman
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has listed 260 “patients under investigation” for the novel coronavirus across 36 states as of February 3, according to an update posted on the agency's website Monday. That’s an increase of 19 from the last update, provided Friday.
Of the 260 patients under investigation, 11 have tested positive, 167 negative, and 82 are still pending.
Pending cases includes specimens that have been received and not yet undergone testing, as well as those in transit to CDC from health authorities in various states.
CDC is the only lab in the US that can conduct diagnostic testing for the virus, but it is developing coronavirus testing kits to share with "domestic and international partners," according to an earlier statement from the agency.
11:11 a.m. ET, February 3, 2020
UAE suspends most flights to and from China, while Lufthansa extends restrictions
From Mostafa Salem in Abu Dhabi, Hamdi Alkhshali in Atlanta and Zahid Mahmood in London
The United Arab Emirates has joined a raft of countries and companies placing restrictions on flights to and from China due to the coronavirus outbreak
The UAE will suspend all flights to and from the country (except for the Beijing route) starting February 5, the state-run Emirates News Agency reported on Monday.
Passengers travelling from Beijing will undergo a “six-to-eight hour” medical screening at the airport, the statement added.
Meanwhile, Germany’s Lufthansa airline has extended its suspension of all flights to Beijing and Shanghai until February 28.
Flights to the cities were originally cancelled until February 9.
“Lufthansa Group has decided to suspend its Lufthansa, Swiss and Austrian Airlines flights to/from Beijing and Shanghai until February 28 with immediate effect,” the airline said in a statement on Monday.
12:01 p.m. ET, February 3, 2020
Japan will turn away foreign nationals who have visited Hubei province
From CNN's Junko Ogura and Yoko Wakatsuki in Tokyo
An airplane carrying Japanese citizens repatriated from Wuhan amidst the coronavirus outbreak lands at Haneda airport on January 29. Credit: Carl Court/Getty Images
Japanese authorities will deny entry to foreign nationals who have been to Hubei province --- the epicenter of the novel coronavirus -- in the past 14 days, even if they show no symptoms of the virus.
On Monday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Japan has rejected five people under the new measure. He did not disclose the nationalities of those who were denied entry.
The measure was announced by the government on Saturday at a coronavirus task force meeting at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s office. Abe called it “an extraordinary measure.”
Holders of Chinese passports issued in Hubei are also banned from entering Japan.
Japan has 20 confirmed cases of the virus.
10:39 a.m. ET, February 3, 2020
Pakistan resumes China flights
From CNN’s Sophia Saifi in Islamabad
People gather to receive arriving passengers at the Islamabad International Airport in Pakistan on Monday. Credit: Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images
Pakistan has resumed direct flights with China for all Chinese and Pakistani airlines after further review following a suspension on Friday due to the coronavirus outbreak.
According to Pakistan’s health ministry, Standard Operating Procedures have been set up to deal with the virus at the airport. Pakistan currently has no confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the country.
10:05 a.m. ET, February 3, 2020
CNN's Ivan Watson boards Macao-Hong Kong ferry as service is suspended
From Ivan Watson
CNN’s Ivan Watson caught one of the last ferries running between Hong Kong and Macao after the Hong Kong city government announced it is suspending the service as of midnight local time Monday as part of the effort to stop the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
On Monday, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced new border closures, amid intense public pressure to stop anyone crossing into the city from mainland China.
Lam said further measures were being taken "to ensure the control of the boundary control points to reduce people movement across the border," but fell short of completely sealing off the city.
12:13 p.m. ET, February 3, 2020
Hong Kong health workers expand strike actions
From journalists Isaac Yee and Eric Cheung in Hong Kong
Doctors register for the medical workers strike in support of border closures at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Hong Kong on Monday. Credit: Aidan Marzo/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images
Hong Kong's hospital union will expand its strike on Tuesday, following a breakdown in negotiations with the government and the organization on Monday night.
The expanded strike actions will now include all members of the union willing to go on strike as opposed to the strike on Monday which was only comprised of non-emergency personnel.
The union previously asked the government to meet demands including stopping all travelers from entering Hong Kong from mainland China, implementing measures to ensure the supply of face masks, providing isolation wards and sufficient support for staff working in them, and investigating reports of patients escaping hospitals.
After Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s press conference on Monday, union spokesperson Winnie Yu said the ports that remain open in Hong Kong – the International Airport, Shenzhen Bay, and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge – still account for nearly 60% of all inbound mainland travelers.
Yu added that under Article 27 of the Hong Kong Basic Law residents shall have freedom of speech and the right and freedom to form and join trade unions, and to strike.
