Coronavirus declared global health emergency

By from Barnes - 14/02/20 - World

The new coronavirus has been declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization, as the outbreak continues to spread outside China.

Hundreds of people in China have died from the virus, mostly in Hubei, with many thousands of cases nationally. This outbreak needs to be neutralized.

China has said it will send charter plans to bring back Hubei province residents who are overseas “as soon as possible”. A foreign ministry spokesman said this was because of the “practical difficulties” Chinese citizens have faced abroad. Hubei is where the virus emerged in a fish market in the city of  Wuhan.

The WHO said there had been dozens of cases in 18 other countries, but only a small number of deaths. Most international cases are in people who had been to Wuhan in Hubei. However in a few cases – in the UK, Germany, Japan, Vietnam and the United States – patients were infected by people who had traveled to China. This is the main reason China has shut its borders down.

Featured
From: St Osmunds

Deadly Virus Outbreak goes Global

By - 29/01/20 - Science and Nature, UK, World
Breaking News : British Airways has just suspended all its flights to and from mainland China today as a new deadly virus from China goes global. Coronavirus has so far caused more than 130 deaths, spreading fast across China and to at least 16 other countries.  Although there are no confirmed cases in England yet, 4 cases have been confirmed in Germany, making it the second European country to report cases, after France. Authorities in China have confirmed that the deadly virus has already infected over 6000 people and killed 132 as of Wednesday 29th January, with cases being reported in Japan, Thailand, the USA, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Nepal, Singapore and South Korea so far. Any people leaving China will be screened for the symptoms of the virus (a cough or a fever). The Chinese government have instructed no one to leave Wuhan, the city where the virus started.  And no one is allowed to enter. This is called a quarantine. Eleven million people live in Wuhan.  The UK government is arranging to evacuate Britons from Wuhan and the surrounding Hubei province, with up to 300 British people thought to be in the area.   Severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars), which is caused by a type of coronavirus, killed 774 of the 8,098 people infected in an outbreak that started in China in 2002. Only 2.2 percent of confirmed cases have seen deaths at the moment, but this could be changing rapidly if the disease spreads and mutates. So far, there have been methods of treatment but no cure.  By - Charlie (Photo Credit : ACHMAD IBRAHIM – ASSOCIATED PRESS)
World
From: Barnes

Li Wenliang: Death of Wuhan doctor sparks outpouring of anger

By - 06/03/20 - World
The death of a Chinese doctor who tried to warn about the coronavirus outbreak has sparked an unprecedented level of public anger and grief in China. Li Wenliang died after contracting the virus while treating patients in Wuhan. Last December he sent a message to fellow medics warning of a virus he thought looked like Sars - another deadly coronavrius. But he was told by police to "stop making false comments" and was investigated for "spreading rumours". News of his death was met with an intense outpouring of grief on Chinese social media site Weibo - but this quickly turned into anger. There had already been accusations against the government of downplaying the severity of the virus - and initially trying to keep it secret. Dr Li's death has fuelled this further and triggered a conversation about the lack of freedom of speech in China. The country's anti-corruption body has now said it will open an investigation into "issues involving Dr Li".  
From: Barnes

Coronavirus pandemic

By - 06/03/20 - World
The Coronavirus is spreading quickly around the world. The Chinese health organisation says it has reached every region in mainland China. Although the number of deaths is relatively small, a huge number of cases have been reported worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) met in Geneva and declared this situation a global health emergency. Many more people will be infected by this coronavirus, which is suspected to have come from snakes, than the SARS pandemic. Coronavirus cases are not rising dramatically inside China now although it has now been confirmed in many other countries, including the UK. The coronavirus has not been known to kill young, healthy people but already frail elderly men and women are at risk.          
From: St Osmunds

Stormaggedon in Canada

By - 03/03/20 - Local News, World
Newfoundland in Canada was gripped by another freak winter storm this Friday 29th February 2020. This was its 22nd blizzard of the winter season. Previously,  over 70cm of snow had fallen in Newfoundland and Labrador in 48 hours whilst winds of up to 140 m/ph raged outside. Powerful blizzards ripped through these eastern Canadian provinces, developing into what's known as a 'bomb cyclone'. People were trapped inside because 76.2cm fell and blocked their front door and all exits. Here are the 5 craziest things to come out of Newsfoundland's Stormaggedon: Cars have literally been drowned by the snow, and people could simply not dig them out. People took ice-baths as a way of celebrating just how cold it was The wind was so powerful that it rang doorbells all over the region! Imagine opening your front door and instead of a friendly face ups are faced by an icy snow wall! One poor journalist who braved the battering snow storm to give us all an update actually got literally blown away ! And on the positive side, shovellers who got tired of digging made themselves some chilly furniture; and when snow buried roads are buried in snow, people went sliding and many took up snowboarding in the streets. Image copyright : Leona Rockwood Article by : Rosaria.