January 25 coronavirus news

By Tara John, Joshua Berlinger and Adam Renton, CNN

Updated 9:00 p.m. ET, January 25, 2020
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9:00 p.m. ET, January 25, 2020

Our live coverage of Saturday's coronavirus outbreak has ended, but you can read more about the ongoing crisis here.

6:10 p.m. ET, January 25, 2020

Get caught up: Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus outbreak

A pedestrian wears a surgical mask as he checks his phone while walking along London's Regent Street in central London on Jan. 25. European airports from London to Moscow stepped up checks Wednesday on flights from the Chinese city at the heart of the coronavirus that has killed 41 people and spread to the United States.
A pedestrian wears a surgical mask as he checks his phone while walking along London's Regent Street in central London on Jan. 25. European airports from London to Moscow stepped up checks Wednesday on flights from the Chinese city at the heart of the coronavirus that has killed 41 people and spread to the United States. NIKLAS HALLE'N/AFP via Getty Images

The Wuhan coronavirus continues to spread around the world having already killed dozens of people and infecting hundreds in China.

In the US, the first cases of coronavirus were confirmed this week; a man in his 30s who is under observation in Washington state and a Chicago woman in her 60s.

Get caught up on the latest developments below:

  • Outbreak is accelerating in China: Chinese President Xi Jinping chaired a meeting with top officials of the ruling Communist Party on the prevention and control of the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, China’s state media reported Saturday. During the meeting, Xi pointed out that in facing the grave situation of the rapid spreading epidemic of the deadly new coronavirus, it is necessary to strengthen the centralized leadership of the Party Central Committee.
  • Number of confirmed cases rise: Confirmed cases of coronavirus in China and around the world now stand at more than 1,400 globally. China has already restricted travel for more than 30 million people, a move considered unprecedented. Medical facilities are struggling in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, as authorities race to build a new hospital dedicated to treat those affected.
  • CDC gets involved: The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it is involved in a coordinated US government effort to help US citizens leave Wuhan. "Department of State has the lead for the safe and expedient ordered departure of all US citizens from Wuhan, China. CDC is aware and coordinating in the planning,” CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund told CNN.
  • Trump thanks Xi: President Trump tweeted his thanks to Xi and China’s efforts to contain the Wuhan coronavirus. A second case of Wuhan coronavirus in the United States was identified in Chicago, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Friday in a news briefing.
  • Events cancelled: A marathon that was due to take place in Hong Kong in a couple of weeks has been canceled by its organizers amid fears of the coronavirus outbreak, organizers' said. The event's 70,000 participants will get refunds. This comes as Hong Kong raised its response level to the virus to "emergency," and the city's Chief Executive Carrie Lam said all large-scale events, including the Spring Festival and Lantern Festival, will be canceled.

CNN's Holly Yan contributed to this report.

5:10 p.m. ET, January 25, 2020

Death toll rises to 42 from Wuhan coronavirus, with 1,409 confirmed cases in mainland China

From CNN’s Steven Jiang in Beijing

The confirmed cases of Wuhan coronavirus has risen to 1,409 across mainland China.

According national and provincial health authorities, 42 deaths have been confirmed.

Confirmed cases in China:

  • Hubei (includes Wuhan): 761, including 40 deaths
  • Guangdong: 78
  • Zhejiang: 62
  • Chongqing: 57
  • Beijing: 51
  • Hunan: 43
  • Anhui: 39
  • Shanghai: 33
  • Henan: 32
  • Sichuan: 28
  • Shandong: 27
  • Guangxi: 23
  • Hainan: 19
  • Fujian: 18
  • Jiangsu: 18
  • Jiangxi: 18
  • Liaoning: 17
  • Shaanxi: 15
  • Yunnan: 11
  • Tianjin: 10
  • Heilongjiang: 9, including 1 death
  • Hebei: 8, including 1 death
  • Inner Mongolia: 7
  • Shanxi: 6
  • Gansu: 4
  • Guizhou: 4
  • Jilin: 4
  • Ningxia: 3
  • Xinjiang: 3
  • Qinghai: 1

Cases outside mainland China (38 total):

  • Hong Kong: 5
  • Thailand: 5
  • Australia: 4
  • Taiwan: 3
  • Malaysia: 3
  • Japan: 3
  • France: 3
  • Singapore: 3
  • US: 2
  • Macao: 2
  • Vietnam: 2
  • South Korea: 2
  • Nepal: 1

 

4:16 p.m. ET, January 25, 2020

Xi warns that coronavirus outbreak is accelerating, says China is facing grave situation

From CNN’s Steven Jiang and Yong Xiong in Beijing and AJ Davis in Atlanta

NYEIN CHAN NAING/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
NYEIN CHAN NAING/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Chinese President Xi Jinping chaired a meeting with top officials of the ruling Communist Party on the prevention and control of the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, China’s state media reported Saturday.

During the meeting, Xi pointed out that in facing the grave situation of the rapid spreading epidemic of the deadly new coronavirus, it is necessary to strengthen the centralized leadership of the Party Central Committee.

He also said that he has been paying very close attention to the virus outbreak and demanded that the government at all levels to put people’s life and health as the top priority.

"Life is of paramount importance. When an epidemic breaks out, a command is issued. It is our responsibility to prevent and control it," Xi said, stressing the importance and urgency of the work.

What else is being done to address the outbreak: Xi ordered officials in the Hubei Province to take more rigorous measures to prevent the virus from spreading and to put all patients in centralized quarantine for treatment. He urged the party committees and governments at various levels to fully implement the decisions and policies made by the Party’s Central Committee, make all-out efforts and mobilize all the available resources to curb the spread of the virus.

He called for strengthening the protection of medical staff, ensuring the market supply of materials in need, intensifying disclosure of related information to guide the public opinion as well as the mobilization of social forces to uphold the overall stability of society.

Xi and other leaders also made new arrangements for further studies on the treatment of patients already infected with the virus.

1:26 p.m. ET, January 25, 2020

Xi tells provincial officials to do more to contain the virus

From CNN's Steven Jiang, Yong Xiong and AJ Davis

Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Chinese President Xi Jinping. THET AUNG/AFP via Getty Images

Chinese President Xi Jinping has told officials in Hubei Province – where Wuhan is situated – to do more to prevent the virus from spreading, and to put all patients in centralized quarantine for treatment, China’s state media reported Saturday.

During a meeting he chaired with top officials of the ruling Communist Party, he demanded that Chinese government officials at all levels make life and health the top priority. And he is urging them to fully implement decisions and policies made by the party’s Central Committee, state media reported.

The report comes on the same day the Chinese central government said it would send more than 1,200 health workers — as well as 135 People's Liberation Army medical personnel – to Wuhan in an unprecedented effort to control the spread of the virus.

12:56 p.m. ET, January 25, 2020

Jordan aims to evacuate its citizens from Wuhan

From CNN's Jomana Karadsheh

Jordan's King Abdullah II has directed that an aircraft be sent to Wuhan to evacuate Jordanians "as soon as possible," according to Jordan's Petra state news agency.

Jordan has received Chinese authorities' consent for the evacuation, Petra reported.

12:20 p.m. ET, January 25, 2020

The CDC says it's involved in trying to evacuate US citizens from Wuhan

From CNN's Nadia Kounang

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it is involved in a coordinated US government effort to help US citizens leave Wuhan.

"Department of State has the lead for the safe and expedient ordered departure of all US citizens from Wuhan, China. CDC is aware and coordinating in the planning,” CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund told CNN.

Read the full story here

12:07 p.m. ET, January 25, 2020

Americans offered seats on chartered flight out of Wuhan, but they will have to pay, source says

From CNN's Steven Jiang in Beijing

The US consulate reached out to Americans registered with the consulate and offered them seats on a flight, which will have medical personnel on board, according to a US official with knowledge of the matter.

There are about 1,000 Americans living in Wuhan and those who choose to evacuate with diplomats will be billed for the flight, the source said.

He disputed the Wall Street Journal's description that "any available seats might be offered to non-US citizens and diplomats of other nations," saying that non-US citizens would only be allowed to take the flight if they are related or married to Americans.

He added that other diplomats from countries such as South Korea and the United Kingdom are arranging their own transportation out of Wuhan.

He also said the WSJ description of the aircraft size was not entirely accurate as officials were still deciding between a narrow-body Boeing 737 and a wide-body Boeing 767.

Asked why the US is evacuating its diplomats and citizens from Wuhan while no such action was taken during the height of the SARS epidemic that hit China in 2003, this official said, "I think we all learned our lesson from SARS."

Read the full story here

11:35 a.m. ET, January 25, 2020

US orders charter flight to evacuate diplomats out of China - source

By Veronica Stracqualursi and Steven Jiang

The US government is arranging a charter flight to evacuate diplomats from the Chinese city that has become ground zero for a new deadly strain of coronavirus, a US official with knowledge of the matter told CNN Saturday.

The United States has a contract with a transporter to evacuate diplomats from the US consulate in Wuhan, China. The consulate is closed and all US diplomats are "under ordered departure," the official said.

Details of the flight plan are still being finalized and the source said "a lot depends on what the Chinese authorities will allow us to do," adding that Beijing has been "very cooperative." 

The State Department and White House have not yet responded to CNN's inquiry regarding the matter.

Read the full story here