- The novel coronavirus has killed more than 3,300 people, the vast majority in mainland China.
- The World Health Organization reported the world is nearing 100,000 cases, while Johns Hopkins University says we’ve already surpassed that number.
- The Department of Homeland Security has refused entry into the United States to 241 people within the past month because of the novel coronavirus.
There are now more than 100,000 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, according to a count from Johns Hopkins University in the US.
The university’s dashboard reported a total of 100,329 cases across the world this morning. CNN reports
Remember: This number is slightly different than the latest count from World Health Organization, which is reporting 98,202 cases around the world. Johns Hopkins and WHO report tallies at different times of the day, so the counts often differ.
Egypt confirms 12 new coronavirus cases on Nile cruise ship
Egypt has detected 12 new coronavirus cases on “a Nile cruise ship coming from Aswan to Luxor,” according to a joint statement by the health ministry and the World Health Organization (WHO), Egypt state-run Ahram Online reported.
Health ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said the detection came after information from the WHO that a Taiwanese-American tourist, who was on board the cruise, had tested positive after returning home, Ahram Online added.
The 12 cases – all Egyptian workers on the ship — tested positive after a “test was carried out following the conclusion of the 14-day incubation period.” All new cases have been referred to an isolation hospital, and others believed to be in contact with them placed in quarantine for 14 days, to follow up on their health conditions.
The total number of cases recorded in Egypt now is 15.
South Korea responds to Japan’s travel restrictions by suspending visas for Japanese travelers
South Korea’s government has suspended all visas as well as the visa waiver program for Japanese visitors, in a direct response to quarantine measures imposed by Japan on travelers from South Korea.
Cho Sei-young, a vice minister in Seoul’s foreign ministry, said in an announcement on Friday that new visas will require a health survey and could require documentation depending on how the situation develops.
South Korea said these measures were being made to “control infectious diseases from Japan with an efficient quarantine system based on our advanced and excellent quarantine systems.”
The notice added that a special immigration process would be implemented from Monday for other foreign nationals arriving from Japan, though it did not specify what that would mean.
Belgium’s coronavirus cases more than double as German infections pass 530
The number of coronavirus cases in Belgium has more than doubled in the last 24 hours, according to a government statement released on Friday. The confirmed cases in the country have risen from 50 to 109.
Belgian authorities said that they expect the numbers to continue to rise, adding that most of the patients have recently travelled in Italy but there have also been contaminations within the country.
In neighboring Germany, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases has risen to 534, according to the German Center for Disease Control Robert-Koch-Institute
Every traveler arriving in Vietnam from overseas will need to fill out health declaration forms starting this Saturday.
The arrivals can choose to file the declaration in paper or electronic form, via the Preventive Health Department website suckhoetoandan.vn/khaiyte. The declaration form is available in English, Chinese, South Korean, Italian and Cambodian, local media reports.
The Ministry of Health also requires those with symptoms like cough, fever, shortness of breath, and fatigue to be examined and quarantined.
Vietnam already required those arriving from mainland China, South Korea, Iran, and Italy, the worst-hit countries, to be quarantined for at least 14 days.
No new case has been diagnosed in Vietnam since February 13.