• Global death toll rises to at least 565 as confirmed cases reach more than 28,000 on mainland China
• More Americans from Wuhan arrive in the U.S.
• 10 more cases found on cruise ship quarantined off Japan
• Another cruise ship with 3,600 on board quarantined in Hong Kong
• Hong Kong to quarantine all people entering from mainland China
10 more test positive for coronavirus from cruise ship quarantined off Japan
Ten more people aboard a cruise ship quarantined off Japan have tested positive for the novel coronavirus that has sickened more than 28,000 and killed more than 560 people in mainland China, Japan’s health ministry said Thursday.
That brings the number of people who have tested positive for the coronavirus from the Diamond Princess to 20. The ship is quarantined off Yokohama with around 3,700 passengers and crew aboard.
The first 10 were discovered in the first batch of testing, and the second 10 were confirmed after 71 more results were available, the health ministry said.
The ship has docked in Yokohama to disembark the 10 new cases and to load food and other supplies.
Of the newly confirmed 10, two are Americans — one a woman in her 60s, the other a woman in her 70s, health ministry officials said Thursday. Four are Japanese, two are Canadian, one is from New Zealand and one is from Taiwan.
The other 10 were previously identified by Princess Cruises as two Australians, three Japanese, three from Hong Kong and one from the U.S., as well as one Filipino crew member. They have been taken to hospitals.
A person from Hong Kong had been on the ship and later tested positive for novel coronavirus, which set off testing for 273 people who either showed symptoms or had close contact with that patient. The person disembarked in Hong Kong before being confirmed to have the virus. — Arata Yamamoto and Phil Helsel
Death toll in mainland China reaches at least 563, with more than 28,000 confirmed cases
The death toll in a novel coronavirus outbreak in mainland China has risen to at least 563, with more than 28,000 confirmed cases across the country, according to figures released China's national health commission.
Also Wednesday, U.S. health officials confirmed that a 12th patient in the United States has the virus, also known as 2019-nCoV.
The new patient is in Wisconsin and their illness has been reported to be mild. The patient had come into contact with an individual with the virus while traveling in China. Health authorities said the person is in isolation at home and was never sick enough to require hospitalization.
Almost all of the deaths from novel coronavirus have been in mainland China. There was also one death each in the Philippines and Hong Kong of people who had been confirmed to have it, bringing the number of total global deaths to at least 565.
At the end of the day Tuesday local time, China’s national health commission reported the total deaths as 490 in mainland China. The epicenter of the outbreak is in and near the city of Wuhan, which is in Hubei Province. — NBC London and Phil Helsel
12th coronavirus case confirmed in U.S.
Public health officials in Wisconsin have confirmed a case of the new coronavirus in that state, bringing the national total to 12.
The patient had come into contact with an individual with the virus while traveling in China.
The patient's illness is reported to be mild, and is in isolation at home. Health authorities said the person was never sick enough to require hospitalization.
"At this time, the risk of getting sick from 2019 novel coronavirus is very low," Jeanne Ayers, administrator for the Wisconsin Division of Public Health, said during a call Wednesday afternoon with journalists.
Canada to fly in evacuees from Wuhan
A small town in central Canada that is host to the country's largest air force base is preparing for the arrival of some 200 evacuees from the Chinese city of Wuhan — the epicenter of a coronavirus outbreak.
Canada plans to fly the evacuees to the base in Trenton, Ontario, the country's main military hub for air transport, and hold them in quarantine for two weeks.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday that the plane was expected to arrive on Friday.
WHO asks for $675 million in aid
The World Health Organization is asking the global community for $675 million in aid to help control the spread of the coronavirus.
"Our message to the international community is invest today, or pay more later,” WHO's director-general, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said during a briefing Wednesday.
He added that Bill and Melinda Gates are donating $100 million toward the efforts.
More Americans from Wuhan arrive in the U.S.
Hundreds of U.S. nationals, who were extracted from locked-down Wuhan, arrived in the U.S., a U.S. official familiar with the situation told NBC News.
Two planes carrying the Americans from Wuhan, the center of the novel coronavirus epidemic, arrived at Travis Air Force Base, southwest of Sacramento, California early Wednesday morning.
One of the planes will offload passengers at the base while the other will refuel and continue on to Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in San Diego.
The passengers will be subjected to a 14-day quarantine upon arrival, U.S. Northern Command said earlier in a tweet.
Last week, 195 Americans were extracted from Wuhan aboard a chartered plane. All of those passengers are under a federal quarantine order at an air base in California.
Additional evacuation flights from Wuhan maybe organized by the State Department on Thursday, the U.S. Embassy in Beijing said in a statement Tuesday.
Inbound evacuation flights to Wuhan were using their cargo space to deliver donated medical supplies for coronavirus relief efforts in China, State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus tweeted Tuesday. — Mosheh Gains and Yuliya Talmazan
Coronavirus deaths in mainland China reach 490
The number of deaths from novel coronavirus in mainland China has risen to 490 with more than 24,300 confirmed cases, Chinese health officials said Wednesday.
More than 185,000 people are currently under medical observation, they added.
China is experiencing an outbreak of novel coronavirus, also known as 2019-nCoV, which was first identified in the city of Wuhan in Hubei Province.
So far 11 cases have been confirmed in the U.S.
The first death outside mainland China was recorded in the Philippines over the weekend; another person with the virus died in Hong Kong on Tuesday. — Phil Helsel
10 coronavirus cases confirmed on cruise ship quarantined off Japan
Ten people from a cruise ship quarantined off Japan have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, officials said.
All 10 people — one of whom is American — have now been taken ashore for treatment at local hospitals, the company that owns the cruise ship confirmed Wednesday.
Princess Cruises said that a guest who later tested positive for coronavirus sailed from Yokohama, a port city south of Tokyo, on Jan. 20 and disembarked at Hong Kong on Jan. 25. That person did not report any symptoms while onboard, but later tested positive for coronavirus. — Arata Yamamoto and Phil Helsel
Another cruise ship with 3,600 on board quarantined in Hong Kong
Another cruise ship with 3,600 people on board has been quarantined in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong’s health ministry said Wednesday three people who tested positive for the novel coronavirus were on board the World Dream cruise ship during a previous voyage that took place between Jan. 19 and 24.
The three passengers are from mainland China — all of them got off in Guangzhou on Jan. 24.
The ministry said around 1,800 passengers and another 1,800 crew members are on board at the moment — 90 percent of them are Hong Kongers while the remainder are foreign nationals.
They have had no contact with the previous group of passengers, the ministry added.
Officials said around 30 crew members have already declared that they have symptoms of the virus. Three of them have been taken to local hospitals for treatment.
While the ship is in quarantine, no passengers or crew members are allowed to leave.
The cruise ship was originally bound for Taiwan, but had to return to Hong Kong after Taiwanese government prohibited it from proceeding to its port of call in Kaohsiung. — Jasmine Leung and Yuliya Talmazan
Hong Kong to quarantine all people entering from mainland China
Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam announced that all people entering the semi-autonomous territory from the mainland, including Hong Kong residents, will be required to undergo 14 days of quarantine starting this Saturday.
She also added that two cruise terminals — including one where a cruise ship is currently under quarantine — will be shut down.
“This newly introduced measures are stringent,” Lam said. “We have to be vigilant in every step in the course of coronavirus outbreak." — Jasmine Leung
Tokyo Olympics organizers raise concerns about coronavirus impact
Tokyo Olympics organizers on Wednesday said they are increasingly concerned about the disruption the coronavirus is causing ahead of the games, which open in just under six months.
“I am seriously worried that the spread of the infectious disease could throw cold water on the momentum toward the games," Chief Executive Officer Toshiro Muto said. “I hope that it will be stamped out as soon as possible.”
Tokyo organizers have repeatedly said there are no plans to cancel the Olympics. That position has been repeated by the Switzerland-based International Olympic Committee.
But some Olympic qualifying events have already been cancelled or relocated because of the outbreak. — The Associated Press
One man's lies leave thousands in quarantine, state media claims
A man who lied about returning from Wuhan amid the coronavirus outbreak has led to thousands of people being quarantined, China’s state CCTV reported Wednesday.
The man, who was only named as Zhang, came to a village in China’s Fujian province in late January from Wuhan. CCTV reported that he lied to the villagers and told them he returned from the Philippines.
He then attended a number of events in the community, including a 3,000-people folk-custom banquet and a wedding banquet attended by nearly 1,000 people.
He showed symptoms in late January and was isolated for treatment. On Feb. 1 he tested positive for coronavirus.
A local police statement released Wednesday said when the man returned from Wuhan, the local county government and hospital staff requested that he be quarantined at home and not go out, but he didn’t follow the order.
The statement said “compulsory measures” were taken against Zhang, who was suspected of endangering public safety.
Xinjing newspaper quoted a local official as saying more than 4,000 people are currently under medical observation as the result of the man’s actions. — Dawn Liu