• Coronavirus, over 400 infections on the Diamond Princess. China tightens control measures in Hubei
  • Coronavirus, the first detailed portrait in five color photographs
  • Cruise ship Westerdam and coronavirus psychosis: 5 countries deny docking. Cambodia says yes
  • Coronavirus, the life of patients in Wuhan's temporary hospitals amid thermometers, books and tai chi

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February 18, 2020 Contagion continues to increase on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which stops off the coast of Japan. But what is most worrying now is what happened to the ship MS Westerdam, docked in Cambodia after several countries had refused entry. An 83-year-old American passenger landed and flew to Malaysia, testing positive. The woman is now hospitalized in Kuala Lumpur, along with 85's husband, who has pneumonia. And now she has run to track down those who have already left home, while the checks for those who are still on board and the approximately 600 who are now confined to their hotel rooms in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, start.

The more than 2,200 passengers and crew members have been disembarked since last Friday, with Cambodia carrying out health checks on passengers and authorizing them to return to their respective countries. So then 145 people landed moved to return to their homes around the world after being potentially exposed to the virus. A possible hole in the international containment network built around the virus that alarms experts. According to what reported by the newspaper La Repubblica, there were also five Italians on board the Westerdam.

Ministry of Health: "The Italians who got off the ship are under control"
Of the five Italians on board the Westerdam ship that landed in Cambodia, one of them returned to Italy and is constantly monitored by local health authorities. He has no symptoms and underwent voluntary home isolation. This was announced by the Ministry of Health in a note which reports that another has returned directly to Germany, also without any symptoms. He is in voluntary home isolation, monitored by the German health service. In the same condition he is the third Italian who returned from Cambodia directly to Slovakia. The last two, Italian-Brazilian, are still on board, waiting for the test results and in constant contact with our embassy and about to return directly to Brazil.

Premier Hun Sen: "No negligence over Westerdam"
The Cambodian premier at the center of the controversy after the disembarkation of passengers from the Westerdam ship rejects the accusations of negligence. "With this story, they accuse us of importing the epidemic into Cambodia, but so far none of our fellow citizens are infected. They needed help, we were facing a humanitarian crisis," said Prime Minister Hun Sen. Cambodian Health Minister said I note, in a press release released by the media, which are 1,010, out of a total of 2,257 on board, the people authorized to disembark from the Westerdam cruise in the last three days.

The numbers of the epidemic
The number of victims caused so far by the coronavirus has risen to 1,875: this is what emerges from the updated data of John Hopkins University, according to which the people infected are 73,337 and those hospitalized are 13,124.

To date, "the epidemic has not caused victims under 9 years, while the overwhelming majority of deaths have occurred among the over 80", says the largest epidemiological study carried out on over 44 thousand cases, published by the Chinese Journal of Epidemiology. The analysis of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention found a virus mortality of 2.9% in the Hubei province, the 'epicenter' of the epidemic, in the rest of China it is 0.4%. "In addition to age - the authors write - another risk factor is the presence of pre-existing diseases, primarily cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, chronic respiratory failure and hypertension".

In China, the 60 million people who live in the most affected regions remain locked up, where it is now forbidden to leave the house except for essential purchases, hotels and clubs are closed, the transport that connects with the outside is canceled and the use of private vehicles is banned. About 33 thousand Chinese civilian and military doctors and nurses were sent to Wuhan to support local staff in the management of the epidemic, after two hospitals were erected in a hurry and gyms, schools and other structures turned into clinical wards.

About 3,000 healthcare workers infected
At least three thousand health workers in China have been infected with the coronavirus, according to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Five of these are dead. Researchers at the Beijing-based center said that as of February 11, a total of 3,019 people among healthcare workers from 422 hospitals with infected patients had contracted the virus.

Xi, temporary impact of the epidemic: economic objectives still possible
The coronavirus epidemic will have a "temporary" impact and China is still unable to achieve its economic and social goals for 2020. Chinese President Xi Jinping said it during a telephone conversation with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, which occurred in the afternoon today, local time. Xi also thanked the French president for France's support in the fight against the epidemic and said he was confident that China will win the battle against the coronavirus.

In Wuhan you check house by house
In Wuhan, the epicenter of the epidemic with 11 million inhabitants, health authorities carry out house-to-house checks and anyone who presents the symptoms of the infection is forced to undergo the test and move to special quarantine centers. Soon, another ten will rise, with 11,400 more beds, Chutian, a local newspaper, announces. Anyone who purchases cough or antipyretic drugs in a pharmacy or online must present his identity card in order to be identified and checked. The inspections will be defined with artificial intelligence systems and big data analysis.



New infections on the Diamond Princess ship, 542 cases
There are 88 new cases that tested positive for coronavirus after the last tests among people on board the Diamond Princess, the cruise ship stopped off Japan. The Japanese government reports. New positive cases emerge out of a total of 681 new tests conducted among people aboard the Diamond Princess, the Japanese Ministry of Health specified. This leads to a total of 542 coronavirus cases found on the quarantine cruise ship in Yokohama bay.

Hope: "The Italians who were on the ship will go into quarantine"
"Italians returning from the Diamond Princess cruise ship will be in quarantine." This was stated by Health Minister Roberto Speranza, guest of the 'Agorà' broadcast on RaiTre. The highest number of cases in 24 hours was recorded on February 5th. Since then it has been gradually going down ", but" this does not mean that we have to let our guard down, "said the minister.

Spallanzani: "The Chinese couple continues to improve"
Chinese spouses coronavirus positive and hospitalized with Spallanzani are getting better. "The couple of Chinese citizens coming from the city of Wuhan - reads today's medical bulletin - continue to be hospitalized in the intensive care of our Institute. Their conditions continue the progressive and constant improvement, especially the male". The two Italians hospitalized are doing well, one positive for Coronavirus, the other, Niccolò the young student repatriated from Wuhan. "The two young people currently hospitalized - reads today's medical bulletin - are both in excellent health and mood".
To date, 68 patients have been tested. Of these, 62 negative test results were discharged. Six patients are still hospitalized: there are three confirmed cases (the Chinese couple and the young man from the Cecchignola site). However, three patients remain hospitalized for other reasons.

On Thursday the end of the quarantine for Italians isolated in Cecchignola is expected
The end of the quarantine is expected next Thursday for the 55 Italians who have been in isolation for over two weeks in the military city of Cecchignola in Rome, after returning to Italy from the outbreak territories of the Coronavirus. In the absence of further developments and indications, and in light of the tests performed and negative results for 14 consecutive days, on February 20 next patients will be able to definitively leave the facility to end the isolation and return home.

Quarantine for Chinese citizen in Kenya
A Chinese citizen who works for the Chinese engineering company Sinohydro Corporation, engaged in the construction of a road north-east of the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, was quarantined as a precaution against the spread of coronavirus. The local media reported, specifying that there are still no indications on the contraction of the virus by humans. The Chinese citizen, whose identity is unknown, was isolated in the Mutomo camp in Kitui County.