The Swedish furniture group Ikea temporarily closes all of its department stores in China due to the novel corona virus. After the group announced on the previous day that it would close around half of its branches, a message followed today that all shops should remain closed for the time being.
China: 170 dead
The number of infections and deaths from the lung disease has recently risen again. According to the Chinese health authority, the total number of deaths rose by 38 to 170. The number of confirmed sufferers rose to 7,711 cases in China. In addition to the confirmed cases, the Chinese authorities say another 81,000 people are under surveillance for suspected pathogens. Around 50 diseases worldwide have been reported outside of China.
China also postponed the country’s football season. In order to protect the health of fans and players, scheduled league games and tournaments will be postponed, the Chinese football association CFA said. A new start date was initially not mentioned.
WHO advises again on emergency
In view of the spread of the coronavirus, the World Health Authority is once again advising whether it should declare a global health emergency. The emergency committee meets today behind closed doors, as WHO General Secretary Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced in Geneva.
The team of 16 experts recently decided twice against declaring an international emergency. This would involve stricter measures to combat the outbreak. Ghebreyesus said the spread of the virus, especially from person to person in some countries like Germany, is a concern of the UN agency.
Suspected case in Styria
In Germany, four cases have been confirmed in Bavaria. There is now a confirmed case in Finland too. New suspected cases were reported yesterday in Styria. One case is currently still being investigated in the LKH West in Graz; the all-clear has already been given for seven other cases – more on this at steiermark.ORF.at. The United States announced plans to set up a corona virus task force.
In the meantime, numerous countries have started to bring their nationals from the Chinese province of Hubei, which has been hardest hit by the new corona virus, with the provincial capital Wuhan. This also raises the question of quarantine. For example, British people returning from Wuhan are said to spend two weeks in quarantine, according to a media report.
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