The Pigeon Express
Scientists have found viruses in 15,000-years-old two ice samples taken from the Tibetan Plateau in China. Most of those viruses, which survived because they had remained frozen, are unlike any viruses that have been cataloged to date. The findings were published in the journal Microbiome, may help understand how viruses have evolved over centuries. For […]
Markets selling live wild animals pose the greatest risk to human health and biodiversity, researchers say while arguing against the blanket ban on “wet markets” around the world. After finding a link between Covid-19 and a seafood market in China’s Wuhan, many governments around the world have pushed for the closing of so-called “wet markets”. […]
A health alert has been issued after a fatal virus was detected among a group of bats in western Sydney. The Western Sydney Local Health District warned locals against handling or going near bats over fears humans could catch Australian bat lyssavirus (ABLV). ABLV is usually transmitted via a bite or scratch from an infected […]
Starbucks has closed half of its outlets in China to protect its staff and support government efforts to contain the coronavirus. The coffee shop chain warned that the rapidly expanding infection is likely to affect its financial performance. Starbucks has almost 4,300 outlets in China, making it the company’s largest market outside the US. The number […]
The number of confirmed cases of the Wuhan coronavirus has overtaken the 2003 SARS outbreak inside of mainland China, as multiple countries evacuated their citizens from the city at the heart of the outbreak. As of Wednesday, there were 5,974 confirmed cases of the virus in mainland China, including 132 deaths, according to China’s National Health Commission […]
A chartered flight with about 210 Americans aboard arrived in Alaska to refuel on its first US stop since leaving the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in China. The fast-moving coronavirus has killed 130 people and infected 6,000 others in China — most of them in the hardest-hit city of Wuhan. Five cases of the disease have been confirmed in the United States. […]
The number of people killed in China by the coronavirus has risen to 80, with almost 3,000 confirmed ill. The national new year holiday has been extended by three days to Sunday, in an attempt to contain the spread. On Monday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province and centre of […]
The spread of a deadly new virus is accelerating, Chinese President Xi Jinping warned, after holding a special government meeting on the Lunar New Year public holiday. The coronavirus has killed at least 56 people and infected almost 2,000 since its discovery in the city of Wuhan. The country is facing a “grave situation” Mr […]
The death toll from a newly-discovered coronavirus in China has risen to 41 on the day of the Lunar New Year. Another 15 deaths in Hubei province, where the outbreak began, were announced on Saturday. Health officials are struggling to contain the outbreak as millions of people travel for the Chinese new year, one of […]
Hong Kong on Saturday declared a mystery virus outbreak as an “emergency” — the city’s highest warning tier — as authorities ramped up measures aimed at reducing the risk of further infections spreading. “Today I declare the lifting of the response level to emergency,” chief executive Carrie Lam told reporters. Lam held emergency meetings with […]
Ten cities in Hubei have been placed under emergency travel restrictions to control the spread of the coronavirus, including the provincial capital Wuhan, where the new pathogen was first detected. Wuhan is under effective lockdown, with all public transport in and out of the city closed. Other cities across Hubei are under less severe travel […]
Chinese city of Wuhan is express-building a new 1,000-bed hospital to treat victims of the new coronavirus, and plans to have it ready by early next week, state media said. Meanwhile, a total of 10 cities in China’s central Hubei province have suspended some public transportation over the coronavirus outbreak, the Hubei Daily reported on […]