February 7 coronavirus news

By Jessie Yeung, Jenni Marsh, Adam Renton and Amy Woodyatt, CNN

Updated 0136 GMT (0936 HKT) February 8, 2020
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2:18 a.m. ET, February 7, 2020

Australia will quarantine suspected coronavirus patients in a mining camp

From CNN's Chermaine Lee and Ben Westcott in Hong Kong

An offshore detention center on Australia's Christmas Island, where suspected coronavirus patients are being quarantined.
An offshore detention center on Australia's Christmas Island, where suspected coronavirus patients are being quarantined. Scott Fisher/Getty Images

Australia will use a mining camp to quarantine patients suspected of having the Wuhan coronavirus, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said today.

The mining camp is located in Darwin, the capital of Australia's Northern Territory. 

There is already a campsite on Christmas Island -- known for its notorious offshore immigration detention center -- being used to isolate suspected coronavirus patients. But the site there “does not suit the purposes” due to an “inability to properly segregate the people in the facility," said Morrison.

He added the government is currently consulting the local community in the Northern Territory on using the contingent campsite.

2:05 a.m. ET, February 7, 2020

This is where coronavirus cases have been confirmed worldwide

From CNN's Eric Cheung

The Wuhan coronavirus has spread throughout the world since the first cases were detected in central China in December.

There are now more than 310 confirmed cases in more than 25 countries and territories outside mainland China:

  • Australia (at least 15 cases)
  • Belgium (at least 1 case)
  • Cambodia (at least 1 case)
  • Canada (at least 5 cases, plus two pending confirmation)
  • Finland (at least 1 case)
  • France (at least 6 cases)
  • Germany (at least 13 cases)
  • Hong Kong (at least 24 cases, 1 death)
  • India (at least 3 cases)
  • Italy (at least 3 cases)
  • Japan (at least 86 cases, including 61 in cruise ship quarantine)
  • Macao (at least 10 cases)
  • Malaysia (at least 14 cases)
  • Nepal (at least 1 case)
  • Philippines (at least 3 cases, 1 death)
  • Russia (at least 2 cases)
  • Singapore (at least 30 cases)
  • South Korea (at least 24 cases)
  • Spain (at least 1 case)
  • Sri Lanka (at least 1 case)
  • Sweden (at least 1 case)
  • Taiwan (at least 16 cases)
  • Thailand (at least 25 cases)
  • United Arab Emirates (at least 5 cases)
  • United Kingdom (at least 3 cases)
  • United States (at least 12 cases)
  • Vietnam (at least 12 cases)

Read more about the patients in each place.

1:48 a.m. ET, February 7, 2020

How Chinese doctor Li Wenliang died twice in China's state media

From CNN's Ben Westcott

The two announcements published by Chinese state media about the death of Li Wenliang, which were later deleted.
The two announcements published by Chinese state media about the death of Li Wenliang, which were later deleted.

The Chinese media's reporting of the death of coronavirus whistleblower doctor Li Wenliang caused confusion and anger last night, as Li was first pronounced dead, then alive and, finally, dead again.

Here is how the reporting of Li's death played out over Thursday and Friday, local time:

Around 10 p.m. Thursday: News begins to circulate on Chinese social media that Li has died of the Wuhan coronavirus, prompting an outpouring of grief and anger online.

10:40 p.m. Thursday: Chinese state-run tabloid Global Times and the Communist Party's official newspaper People's Daily tweet that Li has died.

Around 11:30 p.m.: The World Health Organization (WHO) tweets that it is "deeply saddened" by Li's death.

It later deletes the tweet and clarifies that it has no information on Li's status.

12:38 a.m. Friday: Wuhan Central Hospital releases a statement saying Li hasn't died, but is in a critical condition and doctors are attempting to resuscitate him.

Around this time, the Global Times and People's Daily reports on Li's death are deleted.

12:57 a.m. Friday: Global Times says on its official Twitter that Li is "still under emergency treatment" and that his heart stopped beating at around 9.30 p.m. Thursday local time.

Around 2 a.m. Friday: The tide of emotion continues to grow on Chinese social media, with widespread calls for freedom of speech that are quickly deleted by censors.

3:48 a.m. Friday: Wuhan Central Hospital announces that Li died at 2.58 a.m. despite attempts to resuscitate him.

Around 4 a.m. Friday: The Global Times and then People's Daily tweet (again) that Li is dead. The Global Times references Li's role as a whistleblower who tried to raise awareness of the coronavirus back in December.

Early Friday morning: The top comments under the Wuhan hospital's announcement of Li's death show anger at the handling of the news. One post reads: "You think we've all gone to sleep? No. We haven't."

Read more here

1:34 a.m. ET, February 7, 2020

Toyota won't reopen its Chinese factories for at least another week

From CNN's Sherisse Pham in Hong Kong

A Toyota car in Brussels at a motor show on January 9, 2020.
A Toyota car in Brussels at a motor show on January 9, 2020. KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images

Toyota's plants in China will return to "normal operation" starting the week of February 17 and beyond, a Toyota spokesperson told CNN today. 

Toyota had been planning to resume operations on February 10. Car plants across China have been closed for two weeks for an extended Lunar New Year holiday as authorities try to contain the virus.

The spokesperson added that the situation will depend on the supplies of various plants, also taking into consideration "the guidelines from local and regional governments, including things like logistics." 

"We cannot definitively say whether we will restart plant operations from February 17 ... we are treating the week starting from February 10 as a period for our teams to prepare for the return to normal operation from next week and beyond," she said.
1:13 a.m. ET, February 7, 2020

These are the nationalities of the coronavirus patients on the Japan cruise

The Diamond Princess cruise ship anchored at Yokohama port on February 7, 2020.
The Diamond Princess cruise ship anchored at Yokohama port on February 7, 2020. STR/JIJI PRESS/AFP via Getty Images

An additional 41 people have tested positive for the coronavirus on the cruise ship currently docked and quarantined in Japan's Yokohama Bay, bringing the total to 61 infections on board.

This is where the 61 people are from:

  • Argentina (1)
  • Australia (7)
  • Canada (7)
  • Hong Kong (3)
  • Japan (28)
  • New Zealand (1)
  • Philippines (1)
  • Taiwan (1)
  • United Kingdom (1)
  • United States (11)

A statement from Princess Cruises said the Japanese Ministry of Health has confirmed this is the last batch of people on the ship to be tested.

Quarantined at sea: The ship will be quarantined until February 19 unless there are any other unexpected developments. There are more than 3,700 passengers and crew members on board.

Those quarantined on board will be provided complimentary internet and phone service to stay in touch with family and loved ones, cruise operator Princess Cruises said in a statement today.

"In addition, we have added additional live TV channels and a large selection of in-room movies available in multiple languages. The cruise activities staff is packaging games, puzzles and trivia and delivering them to guest staterooms," the statement said.
12:58 a.m. ET, February 7, 2020

China is sending an anti-corruption team to investigate the death of doctor Li Wenliang

From CNN's Steven Jiang in Beijing

China's National Supervisory Commission, the country's top anti-corruption agency, is sending a team to Wuhan to investigate the case of doctor Li Wenliang "in response to issues raised by the masses," the agency said today.

The brief statement didn't elaborate on the "issues" -- but a glance on Weibo, China's Twitter-like platform, reveal what these may be.

A whistleblower silenced: Li died late Thursday night from the coronavirus, after sounding the alarm on the outbreak in December. He was targeted by police and labeled a "rumor-monger," and later was diagnosed with the virus.

His death was met with extreme grief and rare fury online. Weibo users have flooded the platform with calls for accountability, greater freedom of speech, and an apology from the Wuhan government.

12:44 a.m. ET, February 7, 2020

Japanese evacuation flight lands in Tokyo with 198 on board

A passenger receives a temperature check at Haneda airport on January 31, 2020 in Tokyo, Japan.
A passenger receives a temperature check at Haneda airport on January 31, 2020 in Tokyo, Japan. Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images

Japan’s fourth charter flight evacuating citizens from Wuhan has landed in Tokyo, according to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

A total of 198 Japanese citizens and their family members were on board, and will now be placed under mandatory quarantine, said the ministry.

The previous three flights have already repatriated more than 550 Japanese evacuees from Wuhan.

12:27 a.m. ET, February 7, 2020

Chinese official: The virus can be "prevented, contained, and cured"

 Xie Feng, commissioner of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong.
Xie Feng, commissioner of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong.

Chinese officials praised the country's response to the coronavirus crisis at a news conference today -- but sidestepped questions about the death of whistleblower doctor Li Wenliang.

The virus, which has killed 636 people in mainland China, can be "prevented, contained, and cured," said Xie Feng, commissioner of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong.

"It is the strength of China’s system that reflects such confidence," he added.

He emphasized China's speed in responding to the outbreak, claiming "governments at all levels in China were immediately mobilized."

Fact check: In the weeks after the virus was first detected, authorities clamped down with knee-jerk censorship. Communist Party officials downplayed the severity of the virus, police targeted "rumormongers" like Li Wenliang, and online censors deleted anything that questioned the official line.

As the crisis has worsened, it has become clear that the failure to take quick action likely undermined any chance of containing the virus.

On Li Wenliang: When asked whether the government should apologize for the death of Li Wenliang, Xie Feng didn't answer directly, only reading out a brief statement from the Wuhan government that expressed "deepest condolences" to Li's family.

On censorship: Despite heavy anger from the Chinese public against the government and its censors, Xie Feng claimed there was freedom of speech in mainland China.

”The Chinese enjoy freedom of speech and access to information according to the law," he said. “If you go online you can see how freely and (actively) people online engage in lively discussions about the epidemic."
12:13 a.m. ET, February 7, 2020

The global death toll has reached 639

From CNN's Steven Jiang in Beijing and Jaide Garcia in Atlanta.

Medical staff preparing beds for patients at a converted hospital in Wuhan, Hubei, on February 5, 2020.
Medical staff preparing beds for patients at a converted hospital in Wuhan, Hubei, on February 5, 2020. STR/AFP via Getty Images

China's National Health Commission confirmed last night that 73 more people have died of the Wuhan coronavirus, raising the global death toll to 638.

Death toll

  • In mainland China: 636
  • Outside mainland China: 2
  • Global total: 638

Confirmed cases

  • In mainland China: 31,161
  • Outside mainland China: 318 (plus two cases pending confirmation in Canada)
  • Global total: 31,479

Some context: The vast majority of these cases and deaths are happening in China, and within that country it's concentrated in Hubei province, where the outbreak began.

In Hubei alone, the death toll stands at 618 and total confirmed cases is at 22,112. 

Hubei's health authority also reported that 841 patients of the 15,804 hospitalized are in critical condition.