Travelers wearing face masks stand in line inside the departure hall at West Kowloon Station, operated by MTR Corp., in Hong Kong, China, on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020.
Paul Yeung | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The total number of coronavirus cases in China rose to 634 Thursday as local authorities quarantined at least two major cities and canceled Lunar New Year’s events in Beijing, China state television reported.
The virus — which was first diagnosed less than a month ago — has already killed at least 17 people in China and infected roughly 650 people around the world, including the first in Singapore, according to multiple reports from international and local media. Medical teams have been dispatched to impacted cities and hospitals are asking for donations of essential items including face masks, eye protectors, protective uniforms and sanitizer.
Local authorities in China have quarantined Wuhan and Huanggang, which have a combined population of 17 million, and planned a similar lockdown for Ezhou, a city of 1 million, on Friday. The New York Times reported that travel bans were in effect for five cities, including Wuhan where the virus was first flagged to world health officials on Dec. 31.
China is offering to refund domestic flights and train tickets nationwide. An estimated 246,000 travelers arrived in Wuhan either via plane or train on Thursday before all transportation in and out of the city was shut down. The number of people leaving the city is currently unknown.
U.S. health officials began screening passengers flying from China at major international airports this weekend, and confirmed the country’s first case on Tuesday. A Washington state man is quarantined with the virus in a hospital outside of Seattle after flying back from Wuhan, U.S. health authorities said.
An NBC affiliate in Los Angeles reported Thursday morning that someone was quarantined at the airport there after showing symptoms of the virus. The passenger was on an American Airlines flight from Mexico City and taken to the hospital, according to KNBC Los Angeles. There was no confirmation that the passenger was infected, and the Los Angeles International Airport didn’t immediately respond for comment.
The World Health Organization is reconvening an emergency meeting in Geneva on Thursday, after postponing its decision on whether to designate the new virus as a global health emergency. World health officials hesitated Wednesday to designate the virus as a global emergency, trying to contain the fast-spreading illness without unnecessarily spooking global trade.
The previously unknown, flu-like coronavirus strain is believed to have emerged from an animal market in central Wuhan city. A group of scientists said late Wednesday that they may have a breakthrough in discovering the original source of the virus, declaring that snakes, particularly the Chinese krait and the Chinese cobra, may be responsible for the outbreak. The scientist used samples of the virus from patients and determined the genetic code.
Here are where cases have been reported:
Mainland China: 634
Hong Kong: 2
Macau: 1
Taiwan: 1
Singapore: 1
South Korea: 1
Japan: 1
Thailand: 4
United States: 1
Vietnam: 2
Reuters and CNBC’s Leslie Josephs contributed to this article.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
