January 28 coronavirus news

Today is Ben Kavanagh’s birthday. The Irishman is teaching psychology in Wuhan and says he should be out at the local Irish bar in the city celebrating with friends. 

Tomorrow, he had planned on returning to Europe to do some traveling.

He remembers first hearing about the coronavirus as “a disease similar to SARS” around December 31.

“Sir, can I go, I’ve got SARS,” he remembers one student in his class saying as a joke.

Now, he’s trying to pass the time with Netflix and keeping in touch with friends and family. 

Kavanagh is one of 11 million Wuhan residents who are under travel restrictions. They are now essentially quarantined inside the city limits.

Kavanagh went to a nearby supermarket two days ago to get enough supplies: water, pasta, hot dogs, canned food, soy milk and other non-perishables.

Except he’s run of out of face masks, which are essential in preventing him getting the coronavirus. 

“I never had enough to begin with and the stores ran out immediately,” Kavanagh says. 

He says stores have been trying to restock, but he won’t be going outside until absolutely necessary.

Kavanagh says he doesn’t worry, most of the time.

The death toll related to the coronavirus rose to 131 in mainland China.

There have been 25 more coronavirus-related deaths in China’s Hubei province, bringing the provincial death toll to 125, according to Hubei’s provincial health authority late Tuesday.

There have been 840 more confirmed cases in Hubei, bringing the total number of cases in the province to 3,554.

Among those hospitalized, 228 remain in critical condition.

Starbucks has closed more than half of its roughly 4,300 Chinese stores, as the deadly coronavirus continues to spread in the country.

The company said Tuesday it is continuing to "monitor and modify the operating hours of all of our stores in the market," in light of the outbreak.

"This is expected to be temporary," Starbucks added.

Over the weekend, the company said that it was closing shops and suspending delivery services in the city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, and the wider Hubei Province. It has since closed stores throughout China.

The Wuhan Coronavirus has so far killed more than 100 people and infected thousands. It has reached more than 17 countries. 

CEO Kevin Johnson promised transparency into the company's response to the "extraordinary circumstances," in a statement Tuesday.

"We remain optimistic and committed to the long-term opportunity in China," he added.

Keep reading.

Three patients in Washington, DC were tested for novel coronavirus, of which one tested negative and two are pending results from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to DC Health.

DC Health said there are currently no cases of the virus in DC and the current risk to DC residents is low.

About the virus: The novel coronavirus, which has sickened thousands and killed more than 100 people in China, belongs to a large family of viruses that mostly sicken animals. But this coronavirus, like SARS and MERS, "jumped the species barrier" to infect people on a large scale, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

A plane carrying US diplomats and their families has departed Wuhan, China, according to a State Department spokesperson.

More on this: A California-bound flight chartered by the US State Department was expected to leave the city at the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in China, a department official said.

About 240 Americans could be on the flight from Wuhan Tianhe International Airport. It will stop to refuel in Anchorage, Alaska, before arriving early Wednesday in Ontario, California, about 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, according to Alaska Department of Health and Social Services spokesman Clinton Bennett.

About three dozen US diplomats and their families were expected to be on board, a US official with knowledge of the matter told CNN.

Sam Roth’s wife and two small children went to Wuhan, China to visit family. Now they are stuck, hoping to be evacuated by the US State Department.

Daisy Roth, 10-month old Adalynn and five-year-old Abigail boarded a flight to Wuhan, China on January 19. They were headed to visit Daisy’s family for the Lunar New Year and spring festival; Abigail would even attend kindergarten there because they would be there until April 8.

Sam said he and Daisy knew about the coronavirus, but the risks looked completely different then.

Just days after landing, Roth said the lockdown began; Abigail was at a sleepover with a cousin.

“Her cousin’s father drove her to my in-laws place where my wife and other daughter were,” he told CNN. “They have stayed there since.”

On Saturday, he heard about a potential flight organized by the US State Department that would evacuate Americans stuck in epicenter of the coronavirus. Roth also sent his congressional delegations emails asking for them for help getting his family on the flight.

Unfortunately, his family was not picked to be on board the flight. Roth is hopeful though; he will bring them home.

Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CECC) has confirmed another case of coronavirus in Taiwan, CECC announced in a statement today.

The total number of confirmed cases in Taiwan is now eight, CECC says.

Here's the CECC statement:

The UK Foreign Office has upped its travel warning for China, now advising against all but essential travel to mainland China, and against all travel to Hubei province, amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. 

The FCO is working on a plan to evacuate British citizens from Hubei province, the statement says, "due to increasing travel restrictions and difficulty accessing medical assistance."

The British Columbia’s Minister of Health in Canada is reporting the province’s first presumed case of coronavirus.

A man who recently traveled to Wuhan returned to Vancouver last week, where he had an onset of symptoms, according to Health Minister Adrian Dix and British Columbia Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry. 

The man, who is in his 40s, is in isolation at home, according to a statement on the British Columbia Government site.  He tested positive for coronavirus by the BC Centre for Disease Control public health lab.

The results have not yet been confirmed by Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory.