South Korean president declares ‘war’ against coronavirus

600 more cases reported in South Korea, deaths now at 28

South Korea on Tuesday morning reported an additional 600 cases of the coronavirus illness and additional deaths.

The new numbers reported by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention bring the total of confirmed cases there to 4,812, and the deaths to 28.

That is six additional deaths reported since Monday morning, which is the most number of deaths in a single day.

Thirty-four of the confirmed cases are said to have fully recovered, according to the KCDC official numbers. As of Monday afternoon local time, the number of those reported to be fully recovered was 31.

South Korea has one of the largest numbers of confirmed cases outside mainland China, where the coronavirus outbreak began. 

In mainland China, the deaths rose by 31 as of Tuesday morning local time, bringing the deaths there to 2,943, according to China's National Health Commission. All 31 new deaths were in Hubei Province, which is where the Chinese city of Wuhan is located.

The number of confirmed cases in mainland China rose by 125 as of the end of the day Monday, the national health commission said, bringing the total number of cases on the mainland to more than 80,100.

San Antonio loses bid for restraining order over quarantine

The city of San Antonio on Monday lost a bid to get a temporary restraining order to prevent the release of more than 100 people who have completed a 14-day quarantine until they were either confirmed negative or completed a 28-day period.

The city was seeking to pause the planned release of people evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which had been quarantined in Japan. They were quarantined at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland.

In denying the temporary restraining order, U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez wrote that he was doubtful that the court had jurisdiction and that the U.S. Surgeon General and Secretary of Health and Human Services are authorized to make and enforce regulations.

"In this case, they have determined that two negative tests (twenty-four hours apart) and/or quarantine for fourteen days is sufficient to prevent transmission or spread of COVID-19,” Rodriguez wrote. “This Court has no authority to second-guess those determinations even though the Court also shares the concerns expressed by the Plaintiffs."

But the mayor of San Antonio also issued a public health emergency declaration that says that travel through the city by anyone quarantined would not be permitted. 

"Effectively, the order requires the more than 120 evacuees at Lackland Air Force Base to remain on base and under quarantine," the city said in a statement. A city representative did not immediately respond to a request for more clarity Monday night.

The lawsuit and the emergency declaration came as a woman was released under CDC protocol after two negative tests but then tested weakly positive for the coronavirus. The person, who had been evacuated from Wuhan, China, was released Saturday, returned to isolation and is being monitored, Mayor Ron Nirenberg said at a news conference earlier Monday.

The CDC said in a statement Monday that the person is being retested, and they were not showing symptoms at the time of release. “CDC is making decisions on a case-by-case basis using the best available science at the time. CDC’s priority is to protect both patients and communities,” the agency said.

Georgia reports first novel coronavirus cases

Georgia has reported its first cases of novel coronavirus, officials said Monday.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp told reporters that the cases, which were confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, involved two people in Fulton County, which includes Atlanta.

The people live in the same home and one had recently traveled to Milan, Italy, he said. The country has seen more cases of the virus than any other in Europe, with more than 1,800 cases and 52 deaths.

The person developed symptoms shortly after returning to Georgia, Kemp said.

The pair is at home with other relatives who were showing minor symptoms of the virus, said Kathleen Toomey, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health.

Toomey said that epidemiologists were working to trace their contacts to prevent the virus from further spreading.

Citing privacy concerns, officials declined to provide additional details about the cases.

Facebook won't participate in SXSW because of coronavirus fears

Facebook will not participate in the annual media and music event South by Southwest because of fears of the novel coronavirus, the company said Monday. 

"Due to concerns related to coronavirus, our company and employees will not be participating in SXSW this year," a Facebook Company spokesperson said in an email.

The withdrawal was reported by Business Insider earlier Monday.

Featured speaker Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced Sunday that he would be withdrawing after his company enacted a ban on non-essential travel.

South by Southwest, known as SXSW, is scheduled to be held in Austin, Texas, in mid-March.

Organizers said in a statement that they are working closely with local, state and federal agencies and that they are proceeding with the event. Organizers said that the health and safety of its attendees, staff and volunteers are a top priority.

"At this time, there are a handful of cancellations from participants who were traveling from China and Japan and there have been a few corporate travel bans. Other than that, the cancellations are on par from past years," organizers said in a statement.

The statement said that participants are encouraged to follow personal hygiene practices, including washing hands and covering coughs, among other measures.

Massachusetts reports first presumptive case of COVID-19

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health said Monday that the state has its first presumptive case of the illness caused by the coronavirus, COVID-19, since local testing began Friday.

The patient in the presumptive positive case announced Monday was described as a woman in her 20s who recently traveled to Italy with a school group and is now recovering at home.

She had symptoms and a local test came back positive Monday evening, the state health department said. A CDC test will be done to confirm the local test.

"We are grateful this individual is recovering," Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel said in a statement. "We understand the concern this new virus is causing, and our state’s ability to quickly test for the virus is a positive development. The risk to the public from COVID-19 remains low in Massachusetts."

Previously another person, a Boston man who returned from Wuhan, China, was confirmed to have it by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention testing.

The person who had previously been confirmed by CDC testing to have COVID-19 was a student at the University of Massachusetts Boston who returned from Wuhan, China, in early February, and he is recovering well, NBC Boston reported citing officials.

Six people have died in the state of Washington. 

The rest of the world surpasses China in a grim statistic: coronavirus deaths per day

Approximately 40 people have been reported dead in the last 24 hours due to coronavirus in countries outside of China, which is more than the 31 new deaths in mainland China in the same amount of time. This is the first time since the virus started spreading that deaths in China didn't outnumber those in the rest of the world.

There were 125 new cases of the COVID-19 disease reported in mainland China, according to the latest numbers from China's National Health Commission. More than 900 new cases were reported in the rest of the world, bringing the total confirmed cases to more than 89,000.

At least 3,100 people have died, including six deaths in Washington state. More than 47,000 people have recovered from the disease.

Wisconsin able to test for coronavirus at 2 labs

Wisconsin, which had one confirmed case of coronavirus in early February, is now able to test suspected samples at the state lab in Madison and at the City of Milwaukee health lab.

Faster test results will help local health departments monitor people suspected of having the virus and other people who may have been exposed to it, said Jeanne Ayers, administrator for the Wisconsin Division of Public Health.

Test samples previously were sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Positive test results identified by the two labs in the state will now be presumed positive and sent to the CDC for confirmation. 

New York governor moves to mitigate coronavirus treatment and testing costs

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Monday night that he was issuing a directive that would require state health insurers to waive costs associated with coronavirus treatment. 

Trump pushes for vaccine, treatment at White House meeting with pharma execs

President Donald Trump and members of the coronavirus task force met with top pharmaceutical and biotech executives at the White House Monday, where the president urged speedy action on a vaccine and treatment for the virus. 

Trump, who's been criticized by Democrats and some doctors for offering too rosy an outlook on the impact of the virus in the United States, was more restrained Monday, speaking shortly after officials in Washington state reported that six people had died from the illness.

"The White House coronavirus task force, led by Vice President Mike Pence, has been meeting daily and coordinating closely with the state and local governments," Trump said. "Mike had a call today with 53 governors, and I heard it was a very good call and everybody's very well-coordinated. And the governors and the states — all of them, I can't think of an exception — they have been really working closely with us. It's been a very good relationship. We will confront this challenge together."

"We're working very hard to expedite the longer process of developing a vaccine. We're also moving with maximum speed to develop a therapy so that we can help people recover as quickly as possible," he added.

After one of the pharma executives suggested a vaccine could be ready within months, Trump suggested that the vaccine could then be deployed to the public. However, Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease interjected to note that that's when a vaccine could be ready for testing.

A flawed vaccine would do more harm than good, he added, and the timeline for a vaccine to get market would be "at the earliest a year to a year and a half, no matter how fast you go."

The executives and Fauci suggested that some sort of treatment for people who are sick could be available in a matter of months, news Trump called "very exciting." 

County in Washington to buy motel for isolated patients

Officials in King county, Washington said they plan to buy a local motel and set up modular units that will be used to isolate people who have been diagnosed with coronavirus. 

These modular units will be set up in publicly-owned parking lots and other available land.

Later Monday, during a news conference, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said the state is looking at multiple options to increase the "surge capacity" of its health care system.