At least three of the Japanese citizens evacuated from Wuhan on Wednesday have been diagnosed with coronavirus, according to Japan’s health ministry.
Only one of the patients have a fever, while the other two are not showing any symptoms. They are currently quarantined in Tokyo.
Two flights have repatriated over 400 Japanese citizens from Wuhan on Wednesday and Thursday mornings local time.
At least 7,711 cases of Wuhan coronavirus have been confirmed in China, including 170 deaths as of the end of Wednesday, according to China’s National Health Commission.
This number reflects an increase of 1,737 cases and 38 deaths from Tuesday.
Tibet has now confirmed its first case of the coronavirus. All 31 provinces in mainland China have now reported cases of the Wuhan coronavirus.
The person recently returned from Wuhan, China, where the virus is believed to have originated.
"As part of our case investigation, individuals who may have been exposed to the patient will be notified by public health and provided with proper follow-up," ADHS communications director Chris Minnick told CNN.
The ADHS said the patient is not severely ill. The patient is being kept in isolation to prevent the illness from spreading, according to the health department.
Malaysia arrested four people on Wednesday on suspicion of spreading fake news about the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak on social media, according to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.
The four include a 49-year-old part-time tutor, two 25-year-old and 30-year-old pharmacy assistants and a 24-year-old student.
They have been accused of sharing false information about the novel coronavirus on Facebook and Twitter from Jan. 25 to 27.
If prosecuted, they are subject to a maximum fine of $12,232 each and imprisonment for up to a year.
Singapore’s Ministry of Health has confirmed three more cases of Wuhan coronavirus Thursday morning, bringing the country’s total to 10.
All three cases are Chinese nationals who traveled from Wuhan, according to a statement from Singapore’s Health Ministry.
Among the new cases are a married couple — a 56-year-old man and 56-year-old woman— and another 56-year-old man, who are in isolation rooms at the National Center of Infectious Diseases.
All three new patients were asymptomatic during the flight to Singapore.
The South Korean Foreign Affairs Ministry announced early Thursday morning (local time) that two planned charter flights to evacuate citizens from Wuhan had been delayed.
The flights had been scheduled to depart from Wuhan at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. local time. Now, the South Korean government is working with the Chinese government to organize flights as early as tonight, according to a Korean official.
A planned flight to bring British citizens back from Wuhan today has also been delayed.
President Trump announced Wednesday that he received a briefing on the coronavirus.
“Just received a briefing on the Coronavirus in China from all of our GREAT agencies, who are also working closely with China,” the President tweeted. “We will continue to monitor the ongoing developments. We have the best experts anywhere in the world, and they are on top of it 24/7!”
He included pictures that appear to show a meeting in the White House Situation Room.
Trump suggested Wednesday that he’d recently spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping amid concerns over containing the Wuhan coronavirus, but a White House official tells CNN that the last time the two world leaders spoke was in December.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday said that 195 passengers who were evacuated from Wuhan to an airbase in California have been screened, monitored and evaluated every step of the way.
None of the passengers show signs of sickness, CDC officials said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon, but they will remain under a voluntary quarantine at the air base.
The evacuees are not required to stay at the base. The health agency said the travelers agreed to a request to remain there for three days of testing, monitoring and rest.
“The good news here is that despite an aggressive public health investigation to find new cases, we have not,” said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, the director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
“The situation in China is concerning,” Messonnier said. “However we are looking hard here in the United States. We will continue to be proactive. I expect that we will find additional cases.”
So far the agency has confirmed five cases of coronavirus in the US in four states and 165 suspected cases.