The United Kingdom confirmed its first citizen to test positive for coronavirus. The patient traveled from Singapore. The unidentified man became the third confirmed case in the UK.
On Wednesday, a report emerged about a business meeting at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Singapore. About 100 business people attended the said meeting. The said meeting was also linked to infected local patients in Malaysia and South Korea who had no travel history to China.
Singapore, meanwhile, has confirmed its 29th case with the latest being a man who visited the Seletar clinic of the Phoenix Medical group. The patient had no travel history to China and no known links to the Grand Hyatt meeting.
With the growing number of cases of local transmissions involving non-Chinese nationals who also don't have travel history to China, the World Health Organization is now working on a global diagnostic system to fast track detection of the virus.
WHO said it gathered an international network of specialized referral laboratories to support measures in place. The organization is also shipping 250,000 test kits to 159 laboratories worldwide.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, meanwhile, also pledged to distribute test kits for speedy diagnosis of the virus. Until now, CDC is single-handedly doing tests and confirmation of suspected cases in the United States. CDC will deploy test kits to as many as 200 laboratories in the US and a separate 200 kits in laboratories worldwide.
More airlines are canceling flights not only because of precautionary measures but the demand has plunged drastically. In the US, sales dropped 59%, according to the Airlines Reporting Corporation. At the same time, ticket refunds jumped by a whopping 534%.
People are starting to raise questions on the viability of the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The opening ceremony is already set on July 24. So far, Japan remained committed to proceed with the event.
At the same time, the Asian country confirmed 61 more infections on a cruise ship docked in its Yokohama port:
1 from Argentina
7 from Australia
7 from Canada
3 from Hong Kong
28 from Japan
1 from New Zealand
1 from the Philippines
1 from Taiwan
1 from the United Kingdom
1 from the United States
So far countries are restricting travel to and from China. Evacuations for residents are happening and those evacuated are subjected to the required 14-day quarantine.
The first Canadians to be evacuated has already departed Wuhan and would be taken to Ottawa. About 347 Canadians are seeking to fly back to Canada from China but only 176 were able to make it to flight. The country has five confirmed cases as of Thursday.
Meanwhile, South Korea is raising eyebrows with its extraordinary measures to spray a market with disinfectant. The said market is selling meat and food imported from China. Seoul's Daelim Market is located in a village where many Chinese nationals are residing.
