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All times below are in Beijing time.
4:11 pm: South Korean cases jump to 602 after 46 new cases reported
South Korea, which reported 556 cases of the new coronavirus just Sunday morning, has confirmed another 46, bringing the total to 602, the Korea Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention (KCDC) said on Sunday afternoon.
Over 50% of the new cases originated in a church in the city of Daegu, in the country’s south-east, after a 61-year-old woman who went to services there tested positive for the illness last week, Reuters reported. The woman is known as “Patient 31.”
3:15 pm: South Korea raises alert level to maximum
South Korean President Moon Jae-in declared the country of 51 million on its highest possible alert Sunday as confirmed coronavirus cases leap to more than 600 in just a few days.
The alert − Level 4, or “serious” − allows the government to lock down cities and take other powerful measures to contain the disease’s outbreak, which has so far caused 5 deaths in the country.
“The coming few days will be a critical time for us,” Mr. Moon said at an emergency meeting on Sunday. “This will be a momentous time when the central government, local governments, health officials and medical personnel and the entire people must wage an all-out, concerted response to the problem.”
12:21 pm: Japanese minister apologizes after woman who disembarked cruise ship tests positive for coronavirus
Japan’s health minister has issued an apology after a women who left the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess tested positive for the new coronavirus. The woman, reported to be in her 60s, was under quarantine on the ship for 14 days but tested positive during another test in Tochigi Prefecture, which is north of Tokyo.
Health Minister Katsunobu Kato revealed that 23 people who had disembarked on Wednesday and Thursday had not undergone tests since before Feb. 5. The ministry was working to reach them for new testing, he told a press conference in Tokyo on Saturday night, according to Reuters.
“We deeply apologize for the situation caused by our oversight,” Kato said. “We will take all necessary measures, like double checks, to prevent a recurrence.”
12:05 pm: Man in Hubei didn’t show symptoms until 27 days later
Hubei’s government on Saturday said a 70-year-old man did not show any symptoms till 27 days later, although he was infected with the coronavirus.
That suggested the incubation period could be longer than 14 days.
10:50 am: Hong Kong passengers on Diamond Princess cruise ship arrive home
A third chartered plane evacuating Hong Kong residents from the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship off Japan arrived home on Sunday morning, according to a South China Morning Post report.
The five residents on the plane were among more than 200 who have been evacuated since Thursday. They are all serving out a two-week quarantine period in Hong Kong.
As of Saturday, there were 70 confirmed cases in the city, said the report.
9:55 am: China reports 648 new cases, 97 additional deaths
China’s National Health Commission reported 648 new confirmed cases, and 97 additional deaths as of Feb. 22.
That brings the mainland’s total to 76,936 cases, and 2,442 deaths.
9:23 am: South Korea reports 123 new cases, fourth death
South Korea reported a jump of 123 new cases, bringing the country’s total to 556 infected, according to the country’s for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday morning. It also reported two more deaths, bringing the total number of fatalities to four.
More of half of the cases have been linked to outbreaks at a branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in country’s fourth-largest city Daegu. More than 1,000 people who attended the church have reported flu-like symptoms.
Of the 123 new cases, 63 are from the church in Daegu, according to the health authority.
Officials are also investigating a possible link between churchgoers and the spike in infections at the Cheongdo hospital, where more than 110 people have been infected so far, mostly patients at a mental illness ward.
Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics on Saturday confirmed one coronavirus case at its phone factory in South Korea, which caused it to shut down the entire facility, according to Reuters.
8:30 am: Cases in Italy jump
Infections in Italy saw a sharp spike, surging to 79 cases by Saturday, with two dead, according to the country’s health ministry.
In the two worst-hit regions of Lombardy and Veneto, sports events have been canceled, and authorities closed schools and universities, according to a Reuters report. Serie A soccer matches in those regions will not be played on Sunday.
A dozen towns in northern Italy effectively went into lockdown on Saturday after the deaths of the two infected people, and a growing cluster of cases with no direct links to the origin of the outbreak abroad.
An information sign that reads ‘Coronavirus, the population is invited as a precautionary measure to remain at home’ is pictured in the village of Casalpusterlengo, southeast of Milan, on February 22, 2020.
Miguel Medina | AFP
Companies have told employees from virus-hit areas to stay at home, the report said. Lombardy and Veneto are the heart of Italy’s industrial region and both make up 30% of gross domestic output.
7:55 am: Hubei reports 630 new cases
China’s Hubei province reported 630 new confirmed cases, and 96 additional deaths, as of Feb. 22.
That brings the total number of confirmed cases in the province to 64,084, and the death toll to 2,346.
All times below are in Eastern time.
3:58 pm: Virus cases surge in South Korea
The number of coronavirus cases tripled in South Korea on Saturday, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with the number of confirmed cases in the country surging to 433 from 156 over a 24-hour period. The surge in cases adds to fears among health officials that the virus, which has spread to 28 countries, could turn into a global pandemic.
More than half of the cases in South Korea are connected to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, and over a thousand members have reported potential symptoms of the virus. The area surrounding the Christian sect’s church in Daegu, a major city in South Korea, has become empty as businesses there shutter.
South Korean health officials spray disinfectant in front of the Daegu branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in the southeastern city of Daegu on February 21, 2020.
Jung Yeon-je | AFP | Getty Images
2:36 pm: 7 river cruise ships to house medical workers in Wuhan
Chinese state media reported that seven ships brought into the city of Wuhan in Hubei province will be converted into temporary accommodations for medical staff in the city.
Thousands of medical workers from across the country have been brought into Hubei to help the province contain the outbreak.
Xinhua News reported that the ships normally operate as river cruises in the Three Gorges, a popular and scenic tourist area along the Yangtze River. The state news agency said, however, that the cruise ship business in the Three Gorges had been closed due to the outbreak.
The move comes amid heightened scrutiny after hundreds of passengers on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship contracted the new coronavirus. —Wang
12:20 pm: WHO fears spread of virus to countries in Africa
World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus met with African officials from Geneva on Saturday morning to urge them to prepare for a potential spread of the coronavirus across Africa.
Just one case has been confirmed on the continent, but health officials fear the increasing global spread of the virus, especially to countries with less developed health-care systems.
WHO says it has shipped more than 30,000 sets of personal protective equipment to six countries in Africa, and is set to ship 60,000 more sets to 19 countries in upcoming weeks. It has also provided online training courses to 11,000 African health workers, as well as advice to countries on how to conduct screening, testing and treatment.
Read CNBC’s coverage from the U.S. overnight: IMF lowers global growth forecast, cases surge in South Korea
— CNBC’s Christine Wang, Emma Newburger, and Associated Press contributed to this report.
