Excerpt
China Suddenly Increases Death Toll By Over 60% As Virus Jumps To Europe
Summary
Here's a glimpse of new virus-related developments that occurred overnight.
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China announces another 15 deaths in Hubei province
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Total number of confirmed cases now 1,000+, 41 dead.
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China restricts travel for 46+ million people across 16 cities as the death toll surges.
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AFP reports that the virus has jumped to Europe, with three confirmed cases now in France.
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Two deaths have been reported outside Wuhan.
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Some residents displaying symptoms are being turned away from hospitals.
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Hospitals in Wuhan make urgent pleas for help and supplies.
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Beijing orders PLA medics to assist in Wuhan treating patients
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UK and US governments tell citizens to avoid outbreak zones.
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63 suspected cases in US, Senator says 3 confirmed, with two reported so far in Illinois and California, and two suspected in Minnesota
Update (1700ET): All day we've been watching disturbing videos of hospital hallways littered with what appear to be dead bodies, yet the death toll from the Wuhan coronavirus hasn't budged from 26 since Beijing reported the first two deaths outside Hubei yesterday.
Now we know why: As we suspected, the virus has been claiming more victims. But the local authorities, who promised 'transparency' in everything virus-related, apparently felt the need to wait until 4 am local time to drop this massive bomb: Another 15 people have died in Hubei as hospitals struggle with severe shortages of nearly everything, including doctors and nurses. That brings the total number of casualties to 41. In addition, another 180 cases have been discovered in Hubei, bringing the total number of cases over 1,000.
Update (1420ET): AFP reports, citing a minister, that two cases of coronavirus are now confirmed in France, as the virus officially spreads to Europe. The outbreak will give President Emmanuel Macron a desperately needed distraction from seemingly never-ending protests of his government.
Across China, fairs and other events celebrating the New Year holiday have been cancelled, meanwhile officials in Wuhan are scrambling to try a build a 1,000 bed hospital in Wuhan in under ten - some say five - days. Amid all of the terrifying videos showing what appear to be dead bodies piling up in a hallway in Wuhan (we shared the video below), reports out of Wuhan offer plenty of reason to fret: A previously healthy young man has succumbed to the virus - the first victim who wasn't elderly or struggling with a serious co-occurring health problem.
Across China, more than 7,000 movie theaters have shuttered until further notice. CNBC reported that this could cost the Chinese box office more than $1 billion. Meanwhile, shares of Netflix rallied Friday on the belief that millions of Chinese might instead stay home and stream - even though Netflix doesn't operate in China.
We joked about it yesterday, but today it has become a reality: Beijing has quarantined an entire province, with more than 46 million on lockdown across China.
As experts warn that there are probably closer to 4,000 cases in China alone, projections suggest that whatever governments - including China - are doing to fight the virus, it likely won't be enough to stop a global outbreak.
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