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February 13 coronavirus news

What we're covering here

  • Death toll spikes: China's Hubei province announced 242 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, which is known officially as Covid-19, today — twice as many as on the previous day. New infections there jumped by more than 14,000.
  • What this is about: The spike in numbers is partly due to a broader definition of what constitutes a confirmed case, to include people diagnosed on the basis of their symptoms rather than testing positive.
  • Global spread: There are at least 570 confirmed cases of coronavirus in more than 25 countries and territories outside mainland China.
9:13 p.m. ET, February 13, 2020

Our live coverage of the coronavirus has moved here.
8:28 p.m. ET, February 13, 2020

Japan to earmark $140 million to combat coronavirus

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will approve a series of emergency measures to combat the coronavirus in a cabinet meeting on Friday, according to the prime minister’s office. 

The government will earmark 15.3 billion yen (approximately $140 million) for emergency measures, including ones to bolster testing and medical treatment capacity, to double mask production to more than 600 million a month, and credits for small and medium-sized businesses hurt by the outbreak, according to the prime minister’s office. 

The prime minister will also approve a measure calling for 1,800 beds to be readied for patients and for virus research results to be shared internationally.

8:28 p.m. ET, February 13, 2020

Malaysia confirms its 19th coronavirus case

Passengers wear protective masks while they wait for a train, following the outbreak of the new coronavirus in China, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on February 10. Lim Huey Teng/Reuters/FILE

Malaysia added a new case to its list of confirmed coronavirus patients, raising the national tally up to 19, according to a report from state media Bernama on Thursday.

The patient is a 39-year-old woman from China, who is a friend and a relative to two previous cases. She and four other individuals arrived in Malaysia from Wuhan on Jan 25.

 The woman is now placed in isolation and is in stable condition, according to the report.

8:25 p.m. ET, February 13, 2020

Japanese minister visits Diamond Princess cruise ship where the coronavirus has spread

Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images

A Japanese vice minister for health, labour, and welfare visited the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama on Friday morning, according to an announcement made to passengers by Captain Stefano Ravera. 

Ravera read out a statement from Gaku Hashimoto, who subsequently read it himself, in Japanese. Hashimoto expressed the government’s “deep appreciation” for passengers’ “understanding and cooperation.” 

“We understand that everyone is currently confined to the vessel in difficult and inconvenient circumstances due to the COVID-19 virus. We also understand that there are many people who are hoping to go home as soon as possible, and people who have pre-existing medical conditions who are still on board,” Hashimoto said, in the statement read by Ravera. “To improve the situation as much as possible, the government is making its best efforts.”

He said that the government was setting up dedicated phone lines to help passengers request prescription medications. He also reiterated that the government is preparing for disembarkations, starting Friday with those over 80 years old with pre-existing medical conditions or in an inside cabin.

More context: Another 44 cases of coronavirus were confirmed Thursday on the Diamond Princess cruise ship docket in Yokohama, Japan, according to CNN's Will Ripley.

Ripley spoke with CNN's Anderson Cooper Thursday afternoon about the ship and how people are coping. The ship currently has 219 people on board who have the virus, Ripley said.

7:49 p.m. ET, February 13, 2020

Hong Kong confirms three more cases of coronavirus

A shopper wearing a face mask and gloves while shopping in a Hong Kong supermarket, Wednesday, February 12. Miguel Candela/SOPA Images/Sipa USA

Hong Kong confirmed three additional coronavirus cases on Thursday, bringing the total to up to 53, according to a government statement. 

A 43-year-old male patient is the relative of a previous case. He developed a cough on Jan. 29, and has had diarrhea and vomiting since Jan. 31.

The other two new cases are a 67-year-old woman and her 37-year-old son, who had dinner with three previous confirmed cases in a seafood restaurant. The mother developed a cough on Jan. 31 and a fever on Feb. 1, while her son developed a fever on Feb. 8.

7:19 p.m. ET, February 13, 2020

Death toll from coronavirus rises to 1,486 globally

The Hubei health authority has reported that 116 more people died of the coronavirus in Hubei province on Thursday, raising the death toll in the epicenter since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak to 1,426.

This brings the total number of deaths in mainland China to at least 1,483. The global death toll is at least 1,486, with one death in Hong Kong, one death in the Philippines and one death in Japan.    

Hubei authorities confirmed an additional 4,823 cases of the virus in Hubei, which brings the total number of cases in the epicenter of the outbreak to 51,986.

There are 36,719 patients who have been hospitalized in Hubei, including 1,685 who are in critical condition, according to the health authority. There are 4,131 patients who have recovered and been discharged.

Around the world: The global number of confirmed coronavirus cases has now exceeded 65,191 with the vast majority of cases in mainland China.

China’s National Health Commission is expected to release numbers for all of China’s provinces later.

6:10 p.m. ET, February 13, 2020

Passengers will disembark the Westerdam cruise ship on Friday

Passengers watch as the Westerdam cruise ship approaches the port in Sihanoukville on Cambodia's southern coast on Feb. 13, where the liner had received permission to dock after being refused entry at other Asian ports due to fears of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Tang Chhin/AFP/Getty Images

Passengers will begin to disembark the Westerdam cruise ship on Friday at the Sihanoukville port in Cambodia where the ship is now docked, Holland America line said in a statement. 

“Cambodian authorities have granted clearance to Westerdam to begin disembarkation of guests the morning of Feb. 14, 2020, in Sihanoukville,” the statement said.

Officials said "full disembarkation" will take a few days.

“During this time, guests will remain comfortably on board with full service in operation," the statement said.

There are no confirmed cases of coronavirus on the Westerdam ship.

6:01 p.m. ET, February 13, 2020

Coronavirus patient in Texas is being treated at a hospital in San Antonio

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The 15th confirmed coronavirus case in the US is being treated at Methodist Texsan Hospital in San Antonio, according to a statement today from Dr. Paul Hancock, chief medical officer at Methodist Healthcare.

The patient, the most recent person in the US confirmed to have the virus, "was an evacuee from China in quarantine at Lackland Air Force Base and was found to have a fever,” Hancock said. 

They arrived in the US on a State Department-chartered flight on Feb. 7, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Hancock said the patient is currently “stable with mild symptoms.” He added that the hospital activated “additional protocols” before the patient arrived, under the guidance of the CDC.

The patient was "privately escorted through a secluded entrance to avoid common areas” and kept under isolation, he said. Hancock did not offer any other details about the patient, citing patient privacy.

By the numbers: The 15 confirmed cases in the US include eight in California, one in Texas, one in Massachusetts, one in Washington state, one in Arizona, two in Illinois and one in Wisconsin.

There are two instances of person-to-person transmission, one in Illinois and one in California. Two California cases and the Texas case are among evacuees from China.

6:13 p.m. ET, February 13, 2020

The number of coronavirus cases on board Diamond Princess cruise ship rises

A passenger is seen on a balconies of the Diamond Princess cruise ship at the Daikaku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama port onThursday, February 13. Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images

Another 44 cases of coronavirus were confirmed Thursday on the Diamond Princess cruise ship docket in Yokohama, Japan, according to CNN's Will Ripley.

Ripley spoke with CNN's Anderson Cooper Thursday afternoon about the ship and how people are coping. The ship currently has 219 people on board who have the virus, Ripley said.

"What's most disturbing about that number is that they've tested fewer than 500 of the more than 3,500 people on the ship," Ripley said on Anderson Cooper Full Circle.

According to the Japanese government, the reason why everyone hasn't been tested is because there are a limited number of testing kits and a limited way to test them, Ripley said.

Ripley described the scene on the Diamond Princess, where passengers haven't had their rooms cleaned since the ship docked. He's heard of parents telling children that they must remain in their room because of "this invisible monster called the coronavirus that's outside."

"[Families] are inside their cabins, they are waiting for the crew to deliver Crayons and arts and crafts supplies. They use their bunk beds as trampolines. They are trying to do anything they can to keep the kids happy and occupied," Ripley said.
The first deadly case in Japan: Japan recorded its first death from the coronavirus, a woman in her 80s who was not on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship.

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