February 26 coronavirus news

Brazil announced its first case of coronavirus today, marking the first time the virus has been reported in South America.

The coronavirus outbreak — which started in the city of Wuhan in China — has now spread to six of the world's seven continents. It has not yet reached Antarctica.

Here's a look at the virus across the world:

Delta is temporarily reducing the number of weekly flights it operates between the U.S. and Seoul-Incheon (ICN), South Korea, due to global health concerns related to coronavirus, the airline said Wednesday in a news release. 

From Feb. 29 through April 30, the carrier will suspend service between Minneapolis/St. Paul and ICN, with the last flight departing MSP for ICN on Feb. 28 and departing ICN for MSP on Feb. 29.

Delta will also reduce to five times weekly its services between ICN and Atlanta, Detroit and Seattle through April 30. The airline’s new service from Incheon to Manila, previously scheduled to begin March 29, will now start on May 1. Full schedule details are available on the Delta website.

For customers whose itineraries are affected by the schedule changes, Delta teams are working to help them adjust their travel plans, using partners where appropriate.

Delta continues to offer a change fee waiver for customers who wish to adjust their travel plans for flights between the U.S. and South Korea, China and Italy.

There are 42 cases of Americans with coronavirus who were repatriated to the United States from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan, according to Health and Human Services Alex Azar.

During a budget hearing in DC today, Azar said there are 14 cases involving travel or close contact, three who were repatriated from Wuhan and 42 among Diamond Princess passengers.  

This brings the total of Americans with coronavirus to 59.

India has sent China 15 tons of medical relief material to help in the battle against coronavirus.

India’s Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said the gesture is a “strong expression of our solidarity with the Chinese people at this difficult time”.

Jaishankar also thanked the Indian Air Force and the Indian Embassy in Beijing for their efforts.

This aircraft will be bringing stranded Indians, who have consented to be evacuated from Wuhan/Hubei back to India shortly.

Minority leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats are preparing to request $8.5 billion to combat the coronavirus, a senior Senate Democratic aide told CNN today, setting up a spending showdown in Congress where lawmakers are grappling with how to help contain the disease.

Here's a breakdown of Schumer's proposal:

German airline Lufthansa and Dutch carrier KLM announced a series of cost-saving measures today to counter the impact coronavirus will have on their business, including budget cuts and hiring freezes.

Here's how Lufthansa described its measures in a statement:

Meanwhile, KLM announced precautionary measures saying the impact on its operations will be “very significant”.

In a letter to employees, KLM Chief Financial Officer Erik Swelheim said the impact on KLM’s revenues "will be very significant."

Measures announced in the letter include cutting back on external hiring in non-operational departments and hiring of consultants and other advisors as well as delaying IT and “real estate” projects.

“Given the external challenges, there is a serious risk that the operating margin for 2020 will be again under pressure,” the CFO said. 

Three out of eight Russians who were evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan were diagnosed with coronavirus, the head of Russian consumer protection agency Rospotrebnadzor Anna Popova said Wednesday, state-run news agency TASS reported.

The Diamond Princess cruise ship was previously under a 14-day quarantine in Japan, and more than 600 cases of the coronavirus have been linked to the vessel.

Popova added that all evacuated Russians and their families are under quarantine in the city of Kazan and "feeling well."

Previously, Russia reported two confirmed cases of coronavirus, both in Chinese nationals.

“Obviously, today we must admit that the possibility of coronavirus spreading further into the Russian Federation is certainly increasing,” Popova added. “The number of countries with coronavirus infection is increasing, it is better not to plan a trip abroad if there is no urgent need.”

Brazil's heath minister confirmed today that a 61-year-old Brazilian man who arrived in Sao Paulo after traveling to Italy is the first case of novel coronavirus in Brazil. 

Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta said the man arrived in Brazil on Saturday without any symptoms and spent the weekend with his family before coming down with symptoms and going to a health clinic on Monday. 

He was hospitalized and tested positive for the virus in a preliminary test and was isolated. The second test confirmed he had the virus. The man was in Italy from Feb. 9 until Friday.

Authorities are mapping who the man came in contact with. 

US stocks opened higher today, taking a break from the sharp selloff of the past two days.

Worries about the spread of coronavirus around the world tanked global markets at the start of the week. The Dow lost more than 1,900 points over the past two trading sessions alone.

Here's how the US markets opened on Wednesday:

All three indexes extended their gains after the open.