Cherry blossom festivals in Japan have been cancelled due to fears around the coronavirus.
From AFP:
The traditional spring celebrations in Tokyo and Osaka, which attract millions of people wanting to seeing the white and pink flowers, will not go ahead as planned in April.
“We are sincerely sorry for those who were looking forward to the viewing … but please give us your understanding,” the Japan Mint in Osaka said Friday.
Other cherry blossom events – feverishly anticipated by locals and tourists – are likely to follow suit, according to local media.
Organisers of Tokyo’s Nakameguro Cherry Blossom Festival said people could still enjoy the blooming trees that grow along public roads.
Trees in Tokyo will soon be in full bloom, with friends, families and colleagues typically flocking to parks for sometimes raucous, alcohol-fuelled celebrations.
The cancellations come as authorities step up efforts to tackle the outbreak in Japan, which has reported more than 230 infections and five deaths.
Schools are closed and the government is urging people to work from home or commute during off-peak hours and avoid large gatherings.
The operator of Tokyo’s two Disney resorts – Disneyland and DisneySea – said Friday the parks would be closed for around two weeks due to the virus.
Universal Studios Japan in Osaka has also shuttered for a fortnight.
By 26 January getting up had become extremely difficult and I was shivering with cold. I felt I was having a high fever, and I was: 39C. Reports later said that the situation could develop extremely fast in the middle stage, but before I knew it, by that evening the fever was gone. It felt like having been to hell and back. That period from 21 January to the 26th was the worst time. I coughed so bad my stomach was hurting and my back ached. Those were some of the worst days in my life.
Health minister Greg Hunt is explaining the ban to reporters in Melbourne at the moment. From tomorrow, 1 March, people who have travelled to Iran are required to self-isolate for 14 days upon return to Australia.
Also, from tomorrow, non-citizens or permanent residents, and people who are not family members of citizens or permanent residents, will be prevented from entering Australia unless they left Iran at least 14 days before entering Australia.
Hunt said the level 4 travel advice on Iran is identical to travel advice already in place for China. The Smartraveller website is yet to be updated.
They [Iran] have the highest death rate, I think the latest advice we have is 34 deaths, outside of Hubei.
There is likely at this stage a high level of undetected cases and therefore those cases . won’t be intercepted or detected on departure from Iran.
As of Saturday, more than 85,000 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed and 2,900 people have died. The virus has now spread to 58 countries.
Chief medical officer, Brendan Murphy, said it was “not possible to isolate Australia further” and place travel bans on every country where the virus had been detected.
But he said his office had recommended the increased travel warning against Iran, due to the nature of the outbreak there.
South Korean authorities have asked residents to stay at home this weekend to help contain the spread of the coronavirus, and it seems that advice has been heeded. This shopping area in Seoul is usually busy. Today it was empty.
People walk through a usually busy shopping area in Seoul, South Korea, 29 February 2020. Photograph: YONHAP/EPA
People walk through a usually busy shopping area in Seoul, South Korea, on Saturday. Photograph: YONHAP/EPA
Quarantine operations are underway in Daegu, the city at the centre of the outbreak in South Korea.
Quarantine officials carry out a disinfection operation, in an effort to reduces the spread of coronavirus and COVID-19, in Daegu, South Korea. Photograph: YONHAP/EPA
A worker carries a bucket of waste as quarantine officials carry out a disinfection operation, in an effort to reduces the spread of coronavirus and COVID-19, in Daegu, South Korea. Photograph: YONHAP/EPA
Just to recap on the situation as it currently stands in Australia: the total number of cases confirmed in Australia is 25. Fifteen of these people are reported to have recovered and the remaining are in a stable condition.
Nine are passengers from the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
People who become ill after travelling to China or a region with reported coronavirus cases are advised to isolate themselves and call their doctor. There is no need for people to buy and wear face masks — and authorities ask that you don’t buy up supplies — but extra careful hand washing is advised.
The current travel advice from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is for Australians to not travel to mainland China. They also advise that Australians “reconsider” travel to Iran and “exercise a high degree of caution” in regions of northern Italy, South Korea, Japan, and Mongolia.
The Australian government’s official up-to-date advice is here.
South Korea warns of ‘critical moment’ in battle against coronavirus, following biggest daily jump in infections
South Korea has urged its citizens to stay indoors and warned it is facing a “critical moment” in its battle against the coronavirus, Reuters reports.
It comes as the country records its biggest daily jump in the number of cases reported since it reported its first case on 20 January, with 594 new cases reported on Saturday. The total number of cases is 2,931. Another person is confirmed to have died from the virus bringing the death toll to 17.
Vice health minister Kim Kang-lip told a briefing on Saturday that residents were advised to stay home.
We have asked you to refrain from taking part in public events, including a religious gathering or protest, this weekend.
He said it was a “critical moment” in curbing the spread of the virus.
Please stay at home and refrain from going outside and minimise contact with other people.
Many of the new cases have been linked to a church. More from Reuters:
As many as 476 of the new cases were from southeastern Daegu city, the site of a church at the centre of the outbreak, and 60 from the nearby province of North Gyeongsang, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said.
Health authorities have run tests on more than 210,000 members and 65,000 trainees of the church linked to a majority of cases after a 61-year-old woman known as “Patient 31” attended religious services there before testing positive.
More than 88% have been checked, and about 3,300 have shown symptoms such as fever, Kim added.
Some provincial officials want to press criminal charges against the church, saying it refused to release a complete list of members, although the church denied the accusation, and urged an end to “slander and oppression” of its followers.
Kim said the government was working with the municipal authorities to check if the church provided an incomplete list.
A court rejected a plan by conservative groups critical of President Moon Jae-in for a massive weekend rally in downtown Seoul, citing health concerns.
Speaking of airports — Guardian Australian news editor Mike Ticher reports that about 50% of all passengers and staff at Singapore airport are wearing masks, despite the Singapore government’s instruction that there is no need to do so unless people are feeling unwell.
Mike Ticher (@mikewsc1)
Health checks in place for coronavirus at Singapore’s Changi airport this morning. It’s pretty quiet, and lots of people in masks, as you might expect. Traffic here was 25% down in first two weeks of Feb, per @STcom. pic.twitter.com/oMnefWDri1
There are few outward signs of unease about coronavirus at Singapore airport, although the waiting areas seem sparsely populated on Saturday morning. Traffic at the airport was reported to be 25% down in the first two weeks of February.
A flight crew from Korean Air, many wearing protective masks, depart the international terminal after arriving at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on February 28, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images
A flight crew from China Airlines, wearing protective masks, stand in the international terminal after arriving on a flight from Taipei at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on February 28, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images
A flight crew from Cathay Pacific Airways, wearing protective masks, stand in the international terminal after arriving on a flight from Hong Kong at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on February 28, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images
The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has recommended that ministers and diplomats skip travelling to a meeting in New York of the Commission on the Status of Women due to the coronavirus outbreak, Reuters reports.
More than 7,000 people usually attend the annual meeting, officials said, which is dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. It is due to be held from March 9 to 20.
However, in a letter to UN member states from the chair of the commission, Armenia’s UN Ambassador Mher Margaryan said Guterres had recommended that member states “shorten and scale down the session” and cancel dozens of side events.
“He also strongly recommended that capital-based representatives refrain from traveling to headquarters for the session,” Margaryan wrote.
The bureau of the Commission on the Status of Women proposed that member states agree to Guterres’ recommendations at a meeting on Monday.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Guterres made the recommendations given the “fast-evolving situation” with the coronavirus and the need to “balance the UN’s critical work and public health concerns.”
