March 31 coronavirus news

Yuanfudao, an online education startup based in Beijing, has won a billion dollars in fresh funding from prominent investors including Tencent (TCEHY) and Hillhouse Capital.

The eight-year-old company, which runs an online platform for live tutoring and homework help, is now valued at $7.8 billion.

The investment is notable because startups in China have found it notoriously difficult to raise funds in recent months.

Over the past year, deal activity has slowed so much that it's come to be known as the "capital winter." Disruption from the coronavirus pandemic is prolonging the problem.

The online education industry, however, is widely expected to benefit as schools around the world remain closed and millions of children stay home.

"Previously, investors looked at (educational technology) as a niche industry," Adam Nordin, who covers the sector for investment banking at Goldman Sachs, said in a recent research briefing.

Not so much anymore, he added.

Read more here:

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The German city of Jena is to make wearing a mask mandatory in some places, amid fears about the spread of coronavirus.

In a statement posted on its website Monday, Jena's city hall said that in a week's time it would be mandatory to wear mouth-and-nose protection in shops, on public transport and in public buildings there.

The measure was requested by the health service, according to the statement. In addition to masks, scarves are also considered protection.

The mask rule does not apply across Germany as a whole.

Jena, in the Eastern state of Thuringia, says it has 119 coronavirus cases in its population of approximately 108,000 people. 

Germany has at least 66,885 cases of coronavirus, according to data collated by Johns Hopkins University.

There are at least 160,714 cases of coronavirus in the United States, including 3,004 deaths, according to CNN Health's tally.

The total includes cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as all repatriated cases. Hawaii and Wyoming are the only states not to have reported a death from coronavirus. 

For the most up-to-date US numbers compiled by CNN, please check this map, which automatically refreshes every 10 minutes:

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Tracking Covid-19 cases in the US

China is willing to work with the United States in the fight against coronavirus, the country's health minister Ma Xiaowei said during a phone conversation with US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar on Monday.

He added that China is willing to share its experiences with the US.

According to the statement, Azar praised China for having achieved great success in combating the novel coronavirus, and agreed to work with China to protect public health around the world.

It had been their longtime dream to take a cruise.

Instead, one couple's holiday on a Holland America cruise ship has turned into a "nightmare scenario," according to their son.

Maximilian Jo's parents are onboard the Zaandam cruise ship, which is heading toward the United States looking for a port.

Eight people on the ship have tested positive for the novel coronavirus and about 200 others have influenza-like symptoms. Four guests onboard the Zaandam have died, the cruise line confirmed on Friday. Holland America did not immediately provide the cause of death.

"They're doing the best they can," Jo said of the medical staff, but there's "just not enough people and supplies to go around."

He said his dad is exhibiting minor symptoms, like a fever. His parents -- who had waited years to take the month-long cruise -- are stuck at sea.

What the cruise company says: The president of Holland America Line, Orlando Ashford, wrote in an op-ed in the South Florida Sun Sentinel that Panama had been kind to let the ship transit through.

Another Holland America ship, the Rotterdam, brought the Zaandam supplies and took passengers "who aren't ill," according to Ashford.

Read the full story here.

In Australia and New Zealand, there's a high proportion of young people among those diagnosed with coronavirus.

According to Australian government statistics:

In New Zealand:

For comparison, a report issued by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that analyzed the cases of 2,500 patients in the US whose ages were known, found that:

So why is there a high proportion of cases among younger people in Australia and New Zealand?

One reason could be travel. In both New Zealand and Australia, the vast majority of cases are connected with overseas travel or links to known cases, meaning there is limited transmission in the community. Professor Peter Collignon, an infectious disease expert from the Australian National University, said the Australian data was a reflection of the demographics engaging in overseas travel, according to a report in The Guardian.

Six baggage handlers at Adelaide Airport in South Australia have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

All six infected worked for Qantas, CNN affiliate Seven News Australia reported.

South Australia health authorities are in touch with the airline, said Dr. Nicola Spurrier, the state's chief public health officer.

She said about 100 other staff used the same area but that officials are trying to identify those who may have had close contact with the infected employees.

Travelers who got off a flight in the past 24 hours are being advised to wipe down their bags.

The Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has sparked controversy after migrant workers, returning home during a nationwide coronavirus lockdown, were doused in bleach disinfectant used to sanitize buses. 

Video showed three people, dressed in protective gear, spraying the liquid directly on a group of workers as they sat on the ground in the northern city of Bareilly. 

Ashok Gautam, a senior officer in charge of Covid-19 operations in Uttar Pradesh, told CNN as many as 5,000 people were "publicly sprayed" when they arrived before they were allowed to disperse.

He said the disinfectant used was a solution made from bleaching powder, and was not harmful to the human body.

While chemical disinfectants work on surfaces, they can be dangerous to people. And according to the World Health Organization, putting disinfectant on your skin will not kill the virus if it is already in your body.

How India responded: The chemical wash has appalled many in India. Lav Agarwal, senior official at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, said Monday that local officials involved in the incident have been "reprimanded," adding that spraying migrant workers was not a "required" policy in the country. 

The district magistrate of Bareilly, Nitish Kumar, also tweeted that while the municipal corporation and local fire service were under orders to sanitize buses, they were "overzealous" in spraying the migrant workers directly. 

Read the full story here.

Gin distilleries and breweries in the UK are offering their services to ensure the supply of hand sanitizer for London's Metropolitan Police, the Met said in a statement on Tuesday. 

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus has led to increased demand for hygiene products across the country, including hand sanitizers, and police are also feeling the squeeze, according to the statement.

The Met said hand sanitizers are a "vital commodity" for front-line officers.

Distilleries and breweries helping London's Met Police include Portobello Road Gin in Notting Hill, 58 Gin Ltd in Haggerston and Copper Rivet Distillery in Chatham. Other distilleries approached by the MPS are now in conversation with other forces and public bodies.

The Met expects to receive its first delivery of the hand sanitizers at the start of April.

Other distilleries have also stepped up around the world to make up the hand sanitizer short fall.

Read more here.