Coronavirus LIVE: India likely to airlift its citizens from Wuhan on Feb 26

The number of coronavirus-related deaths in China rose to 2,592 on Monday, while the total number of confirmed cases on the mainland is now 77,150

1:29 PM

Afghanistan finds first coronavirus case: Health minister

1:29 PM

China's 'Steel Roses' footballers defy virus to lift spirits

China's women's football team has emerged as a symbol of defiance against the coronavirus after coming out of quarantine to move to the brink of a place at the Tokyo Olympics.

 

With sport at a standstill in China because of the outbreak, which has killed more than 2,500 people in the country, the team have become a source of national pride with their exploits.

1:11 PM

South Korea on frontline as coronavirus spreads

The deadly coronavirus epidemic spread further outside China on Monday with a surge of infections in South Korea making it the biggest hotspot abroad, while authorities in Europe and the Middle East battled worsening outbreaks.

 

The number of fatalities in China also continued to soar, with 150 more confirmed deaths taking the official death toll to nearly 2,600.

 

A rising number of new cases and deaths in other parts of the world have deepened fears about a potential pandemic, with South Korea, Italy and Iran emerging over the past week on the frontlines.

1:10 PM

South Korea postpones football season over virus: K-league

South Korea's K-league on Monday postponed the start of the new football season in the face of the growing novel coronavirus outbreak in the country.

 

"The K-league has decided to temporarily postpone the start of the 2020 K-league season until the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak eases," it said in a statement.

12:42 PM

Bahrain's first coronavirus case detected: BNA

The first case of the new coronavirus was detected in Bahrain, the state news agency said on Monday, citing the health ministry.

 

The Ministry of Health added that it was a Bahraini citizen arriving from Iran.

12:33 PM

Kuwait says three people who traveled to Iran have new coronavirus: KUNA

Kuwait said on Monday three people, including a Saudi national, who returned from Iran were infected by the new coronavirus, state news agency KUNA reported.

 

The three cases, the first in the Gulf state, were among the 700 people evacuated from the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad last week, KUNA said.

12:24 PM

S Korea may consider supplementary budget to head off virus impact

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Monday said the government should start reviewing whether a supplementary budget should be drawn up to head off the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on Asia's fourth-largest economy.

 

"In addition to swiftly deploying the emergency fund set aside, (the government) should review drafting up of a supplementary budget after coordinating it with the parliament," Moon said in a meeting with chief aides and medical experts.

12:18 PM

Bahrain, Kuwait announce first coronavirus cases: State media

12:17 PM

Pakistan suspends flights to coronavirus-hit China till March 15

Pakistan has again suspended flights to coronavirus-hit China till March 15 due to surge in the infected cases in that country, days after it resumed the air operations to and from Beijing, according to officials.

 

Earlier, Pakistan suspended flights from China on January 31 till February 2, a day after the World Health Organisation declared the outbreak of the virus as a global health emergency.

 

National flag-carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was operating two flights weekly to Beijing after the resumption of air services on February 3.

12:05 PM

First new coronavirus case detected in Bahrain: BNA

11:41 AM

Balochistan govt declares emergency in districts bordering Iran

The Balochistan government on Sunday declared a state of emergency in province's districts bordering Iran -- the first middle-east country to report deaths from novel coronavirus.

 

The development comes a day after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan held talks with Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Alyani where he told him to take all protective measures in the areas of the province bordering Iran.

 

Citing official sources, Dawn reported that the provincial Health Department had established an emergency centre and a control room at the bordering town of Taftan.

11:23 AM

New virus has infected over 79,000 people globally Beijing

A viral outbreak that began in China has infected more than 79,000 people globally.

 

The World Health Organization has named the illness COVID-19, referring to its origin late last year and the coronavirus that causes it.

11:23 AM

India refiners getting rare oil cheap as China demand slows

Refiners in India, the world's third-biggest oil importers, are spoilt for choice to buy new and rare crude grades amid ample supplies after the spread of the coronavirus curtailed crude processing and demand from China.

 

Chinese refiners have slashed output by at least 1.5 million barrels a day in February after the virus outbreak hit China's fuel demand and its crude and fuel inventories swelled up.

10:40 AM

WHO team visits hospitals in China's coronavirus-hit Wuhan: Death toll reaches 2,592

The WHO experts visited various hospitals in China's coronavirus-hit Wuhan city over the weekend as the death toll climbed to 2,592 with 150 new fatalities while the total number of confirmed cases increased to over 77,000, health officials said on Monday.

 

The country's National Health Commission (NHC) said it received reports of 409 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection and 150 deaths from 31 provincial-level regions on Sunday.

 

The overall confirmed cases on the Chinese mainland has reached 77,150 with a total of 2,592 fatalities by the end of Sunday, the NHC said.

 

Hubei province and its provincial capital Wuhan, the ground zero of the virus, continued to bear the brunt with 149 death while one person died in Hainan Province, it said.

10:30 AM

'No one cares': Locked-in Wuhan residents adapt to find food

The lockdown of Guo Jing's neighbourhood in Wuhan -- the city at the heart of China's new coronavirus epidemic -- came suddenly and without warning.

 

Unable to go out, the 29-year-old is now sealed inside her compound where she has to depend on online group-buying services to get food.

 

"Living for at least another month isn't an issue," Guo told AFP, explaining that she had her own stash of pickled vegetables and salted eggs.

But what scares her most is the lack of control -- first, the entire city was sealed off, and then residents were limited to exiting their compound once every three days.

 

Now even that has been taken away.

 

Guo is among some 11 million residents in Wuhan, a city in central Hubei province that has been under effective quarantine since January 23 as Chinese authorities race to contain the epidemic.