Coronavirus live updates: Staff worker at Disneyland Paris tests positive for virus

FAN Editor

A young couple of tourists with protective masks against coronavirus are walking on the Trocadero esplanade in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Mehdi Taamallah | NurPhoto via Getty Images

This is a live blog. Please check back for updates.

  • Global cases: At least 106,893, according to the latest figures from the World Health Organization
  • Global deaths: At least 3,639, according to the latest figures from the WHO

All times below are in Beijing time.

6:15 pm: Staff worker at Disneyland Paris tests positive for coronavirus

A maintenance worker at Disneyland Paris has tested positive for the coronavirus, Reuters reported Monday, citing a spokesperson for the resort.

The technician has not been in contact with visitors, according to management, but his colleagues have been asked to stay in quarantine.

The resort, which receives around 15 million visitors a year on average, remains open to visitors Monday.

5:55 pm: Nigeria confirms second case of coronavirus

Nigeria’s health minister has confirmed a second case of the coronavirus in the country.

“The new case is an Ogun State contact of the index case, one of 40 persons in isolation being closely monitored. He is clinically stable,” Health Minister Osagie Ehanire said via Twitter on Monday.

A security man administers sanitiser to a visitor to a state hospital in Lagos, on February 28, 2020.

PIUS UTOMI EKPEI | AFP via Getty Images

4:35 pm: South Korea reports 96 new coronavirus cases, taking total up to 7,478

South Korea has reported an additional 96 cases of the coronavirus on Monday, bringing the total number of COVID-19 infections to 7,478.

It comes shortly after the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 69 new cases of the coronavirus earlier in the day. It marks the slowest daily increase of COVID-19 infections in 11 days.

Outside mainland China, South Korea has recorded the highest number of coronavirus cases. — Meredith

4:25 pm: European shares fall 6% at the open and Italian stocks fail to trade; BP tanks 24% as oil prices crash

European markets tanked on Monday as global investors brace for the spread of the coronavirus and oil prices fall after the collapse of OPEC talks.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 dropped 6% at the start of trading, oil and gas and basic resource stocks plummeting 7.4% to lead losses as all sectors and major bourses entered negative territory. — Ellyatt, Smith

4:20 pm: Etihad Airways temporarily suspends all flights to Saudi Arabia

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has temporarily suspended all flights between Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia in an attempt to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The airline operates up to 12 flights per day between Abu Dhabi and various cities in Saudi Arabia.

“Etihad Airways is working closely with regulatory authorities in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia and is continuing to monitor this situation closely,” the company said in a statement on Monday. — Meredith

4 pm: Italy to ramp up spending in ‘massive shock therapy’ against coronavirus

The Italian government has called on the European Union to implement a package of economic measures to offset the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. 

In an interview with la Repubblica on Monday, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said increased government spending would be akin to “massive shock therapy,” as the country seeks to tackle the economic impact of the fast-spreading virus.

The coronavirus outbreak in Italy — already the worst in Europe — has seen the country confirm 7,375 cases of the virus, with 366 deaths.

On Sunday, Italy’s government imposed a sweeping coronavirus quarantine to restrict the movement of about a quarter of the country’s population. — Meredith

A tourist wearing face masks visits the Colosseum area on February 24, 2020 in Rome, Italy.

Antonio Masiello | Getty Images

2:50 pm: Death toll rises to 11 in collapsed China quarantine hotel

At least 11 people have died after a hotel in China’s Fujian province collapsed on Saturday evening, according to state media, citing data as of Monday afternoon.
The hotel in the southeast Chinese port city of Quanzhou was used to quarantine people who had recent contact with coronavirus patients. Out of 71 people who were trapped, 21 are still missing, the report said. — Cheng, Wu

1:00 pm: South Korea’s prime minister is hopeful that ‘turning point’ is near

With authorities saying that the number of new infections in the country is dwindling, South Korea’s Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun expressed hope that the worst could be over soon, according to a Reuters report.

“I’m still extremely cautious, but there’s hope we can reach a turning point in the near future,” he said, according to the report.

But the country’s Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip said it was premature to say the crisis was over, with new cases continuing to emerge from smaller clusters — although they’re spreading less rapidly, the report said. — Weizhen Tan

12:50 pm: Delivery of packages mostly resumes in China

Almost the entire package delivery network in China — outside of the epicenter of Hubei — has resumed work, Alibaba’s logistics affiliate Cainiao and other major courier companies said in a statement Monday to CNBC.

Daily delivery volume from March 5 to 8 has surpassed that of the same period last year, and as of Sunday, nearly three million couriers had resumed work, the statement said. Cainiao added that data from Alibaba’s e-commerce platform Taobao shows it is handling more than 100 million packages right now.

A chef prepares a food delivery order at Wangfujing Quanjude restaurant on March 5, 2020 in Beijing, China.

Zhao Jun | China News Service | Getty Images

12:15 pm: Cases in India jump to 34

Cases in India jumped from just six last week, to 34 as of March 8, according to the latest data on India’s ministry of health website.

Amid the spike in cases, India’s government said it has screened more than a million travelers, strengthened its testing capabilities, and set up isolation wards in major cities with international airports, according to Reuters. — Weizhen Tan

11:20 am: Shanghai Disneyland to remain shut, while resort reopens by phases

Shanghai Disneyland will keep the theme park temporarily closed as it continues to “closely monitor health and safety conditions and follow the direction of government regulators,” the company said in a statement.

But as part of a phased reopening, Shanghai Disney Resort will partially resume operations on Mar. 9, 2020, it said. There will be a limited number of shopping, dining, and recreational experiences at Disneytown, Wishing Star Park and Shanghai Disneyland Hotel — and each of those resort locations will reduce their hours of operation and function under limited capacity. — Joanna Tan

11:01 am: Nebraska reports two ‘presumptive positive’ cases

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services confirmed two more “presumptive positive” cases of the new coronavirus. The new cases are family members of first person who was identified in the state. Presumptive cases are those who have tested positive in the state, but have yet to be confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Officials haven’t detected COVID-19 spreading in Nebraska communities at this time,” the department said in a statement. — Joanna Tan

10:17 am: Wuhan shuts down 11 makeshift hospitals

Following the discharge of most patients, 11 of the 14 makeshift hospitals in Wuhan that were built for treatment of the new coronavirus have closed, state broadcaster CCTV said Sunday evening. Remaining patients are gradually being sent to designated hospitals, and there are only about 100 people left in the remaining 3 makeshift hospitals, the report said.

Wuhan city, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, began opening the makeshift or “cabin” hospitals on Feb. 5 and the repurposed venues have treated more than 12,000 people with mild cases of the virus, according to CCTV. Last week, other Chinese media reports noted that at least one such hospital warned of an increasing number of relapses among discharged patients. — Cheng

9:25 am: South Korea reports 248 new cases, 1 additional death

South Korea confirmed 248 more cases on Monday morning, and one more death. That brings its total to 7,382 cases, and 51 deaths, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. — Weizhen Tan

9:05 am: Japan GDP shrinks faster than expected

Japan’s economy slowed an annualized 7.1% in the October-December quarter, worse than a Reuters forecast of a 6.6% contraction and the biggest fall since 2014, according to Reuters. The virus outbreak has hit production in the country, disrupting supply chains and damaging tourism. 

The worse-than-expected decline has led to fears that Japan could see growth contract for two straight quarters, which is defined as a technical recession. — Weizhen Tan

8:14 am: China reports 40 new cases and 22 more deaths

China reported 40 new confirmed cases and 22 additional deaths as of Mar. 8. Of the new cases, 36 came from Hubei, the epicenter of the coronavirus, while 21 out of 22 deaths in the mainland were from Hubei, the National Health Commission reported.

This brings the total number of confirmed cases in the mainland to 80,735 and the cumulative death toll to 3,119. — Joanna Tan

7:45 am: Senator Ted Cruz to self-quarantine after interacting with CPAC attendee who tested positive 

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz said he will quarantine himself this week until a full 14 days have passed since the Conservative Political Action Conference, where he briefly interacted with an attendee who tested positive for the coronavirus. “That interaction consisted of a brief conversation and a handshake,” he said in a statement on Twitter.

He said that interaction did not meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for self-quarantine, but that he would do so “out of an abundance of caution.” — Joanna Tan

All times below are in Eastern time.

5:26 pm: US cases now top 500, at least 21 deaths

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. now stands at 511, according to data compiled by NBC News, and there are at least 21 deaths attributable to the virus. 

Washington state is the worst hit, with at least 116 confirmed cases and 18 fatalities. New York has identified 106 cases and California has confirmed 102 people who have tested positive.

Oregon joined a growing number states to declare emergencies to contain the virus after the state’s confirmed cases doubled to 14. New York declared a state of emergency on Saturday.  

California, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Utah and Washington have also declared emergencies. Pennsylvania has issued a disaster declaration and the city of Austin, Texas has issued a local disaster declaration. — Kimball

Read CNBC’s coverage from the U.S. overnight: US coronavirus cases top 500 as Oregon joins list of states declaring emergencies

— CNBC’s Evelyn Cheng, Lilian Wu and Spencer Kimball contributed to this report.

Free America Network Articles

Leave a Reply

Next Post

Coronavirus fear batters nerves and the economy as deaths top 3,800

As China appeared to be getting over the initial onslaught of the coronavirus epidemic that started there, outbreaks continued growing Monday in the U.S. and Europe. A fast-growing list of schools, universities and other American institutions have asked people to stay home as the number of confirmed infections in the […]