Coronavirus

Kiribati blocks Chinese travelers over coronavirus fears

Kiribati is the latest Pacific country to impose entry requirements to stop the spread off the virus.

All visitors are now required to fill out a health form and travelers from countries with the coronavirus must go through a self-quarantine period.

Meanwhile, health authorities in Wallis and Futuna have ordered 5000 face masks amid concern over the propagation of the coronavirus.

This is the territory's biggest order of its kind as people worry the respiratory illness could reach the archipelago.

Coronavirus: Chinese quarantined in Fiji released

The six Chinese travellers were returned to Nadi from Samoa aboard a Fiji Airways flight for not meeting the self-quarantine requirements at Apia Airport.

Health official Sunil Chandra said the group tested negative for coronavirus and posed no threat to the public.

However, Mr Chandra could not confirm whether the group had been sent home or allowed to remain in Fiji due to restrictions imposed by the Chinese government at its borders.

Samoa's new emergency measures require travellers to undergo medical clearance at least three days before heading to the island.

CSL postponed due to coronavirus

Domestic football at all levels in China has been postponed in order to help control the spread of the virus - a SARS-like condition - which has reportedly claimed more than 130 lives.

The CSL was scheduled to get underway on February 22, with Guangzhou Evergrande looking to defend their title.

Coronavirus declared global health emergency by WHO

"The main reason for this declaration is not what is happening in China but what is happening in other countries," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The concern is that it could spread to countries with weaker health systems.

The death toll now stands at 170 people in China.

The WHO said there had been 98 cases in 18 countries outside of the country, but no deaths.

Most cases have emerged in people who have travelled from the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the outbreak began.

Pacific students not being evacuated from China - Forum

This is despite the number of people killed by the coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan, increasing.

Students spoken to by RNZ Pacific said their universities had either postponed or cancelled the school year and advised foreign students to return home if they can.

Some institutions were also advising students who went home for the holidays not to return until advised to do so.

Whole world 'must take action', warns WHO

Dr Mike Ryan praised China's response to the deadly outbreak, saying: "The challenge is great but the response has been massive."

The WHO will meet on Thursday to discuss whether the virus constitutes a global health emergency.

The Chinese city of Wuhan is the epicentre of the outbreak.

But the virus has spread across China and to at least 16 countries globally, including Thailand, France, the US and Australia.

More than 130 people have died in China and close to 6,000 have been infected.

Australian lab first outside of China to re-create coronavirus, helping vaccine push

Described as a "game changer" that will help scientists determine whether a future vaccine is effective, experts at Melbourne's Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity on Tuesday became the world's first scientific lab outside of China to recreate the virus.

They will now share it with the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Europe, which will in turn share it with labs worldwide — including one from Queensland — involved in the worldwide race to develop a vaccine.

The team of scientists grew the virus from a patient who had been infected since Friday.

Death toll climbs to 106 as China tightens measures

The number of total confirmed cases in China rose to 4,515 as of 27 January, up from 2,835 a day earlier.

The country has meanwhile further tightened travel restrictions to try to curb the spread of the virus.

The city of Wuhan, thought to be the epicentre of it, is already in effective lockdown as is much of surrounding Hubei province.

The coronavirus causes severe acute respiratory infection and there is no specific cure or vaccine.

Most of the deaths have been of elderly people or those with pre-existing respiratory problems.

     

NZ virus case may mean ban on Pacific flights, government told

There are fears the coronavirus could spell a repeat of an epidemic of measles that spread from New Zealand to Samoa, where it has killed 83 people and made nearly 6000 ill since October.

Samoa's Ministry of Health has already confirmed that two Samoan sailors are in quarantine for 14 days at the Faleolo District Hospital amid fears they might be carrying China's coronavirus.

Samoa has stopped direct flights from China to reduce the risk of introducing the coronavirus.

Pacific nations on alert for coronavirus, 6 quarantined in Fiji

Due to restrictions in Apia, the travellers were reportedly denied entry into Samoa yesterday after they had flown from China via Hong Kong and Nadi.

Fiji's information ministry said on return to Nadi, all six were examined by a doctor and assessed as well, with no fever.

They are in quarantine to be cleared to fly.

The ministry said all six were from Fujian province in China, and none had a history of travel to Wuhan or Hubei province where the coronavirus outbreak started.