Coronavirus explained: Death toll rises over 900, surpasses SARS and MERS
The novel coronavirus has killed more people than two previous deadly coronavirus outbreaks. Over 3,200 patients have recovered.The illness was first reported to the World Health Organization on New Year's Eve and in the intervening month was linked to a family of viruses known as "coronaviruses," the same family responsible for SARS and Middle East respiratory syndrome, as well as some cases of the common cold.
(Bloomberg) -- Fear of the coronavirus outbreak spreading into North Korea may be accelerating Kim Jong Un’s efforts to play down the legacy of his father and strengthen his own cult of personality.
Festivities to mark the anniversary of Kim Jong Il’s birth Sunday -- the Day of the Shining Star -- were noticeably more subdued than past years, with thinner crowds and fewer visiting dignitaries. While much of that presumably stems from strict outbreak control measures, the toned-down affair was consistent with the younger Kim’s push to move out from under his predecessor’s shadow and secure greater international legitimacy for the family dynasty.
Coronavirus outbreak explained: Death toll passes 1,000, big brands abandon MWC
The novel coronavirus outbreak hits another grim milestone, with over 1,000 deaths recorded in China.The illness was first reported to the World Health Organization on New Year's Eve and in the intervening weeks was linked to a family of viruses known as coronaviruses, the same family responsible for SARS and MERS, as well as some cases of the common cold.
“Kim Jong Un has put his own flair on policies,” said Duyeon Kim, a senior adviser for Northeast Asia and nuclear policy at the International Crisis Group. “That’s not necessarily a contradiction or affront to his father’s legacy, especially when the regime has core national policies that are unchangeable.”
Since rising to power after his father’s death in 2011, Kim -- then not yet 30 years old -- has sought to carve a different path from the reclusive “Dear Leader.” He’s purged top advisers and revamped the regime’s “military-first” strategy with development plans that place increasing emphasis on the economy. He’s launched an unprecedented campaign of diplomatic outreach, capped by trips to Singapore and Vietnam to meet U.S. President Donald Trump.
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All 195 U.S. citizens, mostly diplomats and their families, were quarantined at the March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County since Jan. 29.Speaking Tuesday during a news conference at the air base, officials said none of the travelers, who have been isolated since Jan. 29, will need medical follow-ups and all will now be able to continue on with their daily lives.
More recently, he’s criticized as “very wrong” one of his father’s signature project to partner with South Korea to develop the Mount Kumgang resort. Through it all, Kim has appeared to model himself more after his revered grandfather Kim Il Sung, donning horn-rimmed glasses and business suits and riding a white horse across the mountainous landscape where the nation’s founder once had a guerrilla base in the campaign he led against the occupying Japanese.
Video provided by Reuters
Diplomatically, Kim has so far proven less eager than his father to sign international agreements limiting North Korea’s nuclear deterrent in exchange for aide, rejecting as insufficient Trump’s offer of sanctions relief last year in Hanoi. He’s re-emphasized his grandfather’s founding principle of self-reliance and played relationships between Beijing, Moscow, Seoul and Washington against each other.
North Korea's Kim makes first public appearance in 22 days amid virus outbreak
NORTHKOREA-ANNIVERSARY/ (REPEAT, UPDATE 1, PIX):RPT-UPDATE 1-North Korea's Kim makes first public appearance in 22 days amid virus outbreak
Kim Jong Il almost never spoke in public, made few trips abroad and was behind bizarre actions such as kidnapping a South Korean movie director and his actress wife to bolster North Korea’s film industry. He was know for his flamboyant sunglasses and taupe zip-up jackets. His son by contrast, speaks frankly and frequently and is seen as trying to make North Korea a more normal country.
On Sunday, Kim made his first appearance in state media in about three weeks to pay respects at the mausoleum palace where his two predecessors lie in state. “All the people across the country celebrated the birth anniversary of Chairman Kim Jong Il (the Day of the Shining Star) with splendor,” state media proclaimed. The older Kim remains the “eternal general secretary” of the ruling Workers’ Party and “eternal chairman” the national defense commission.
However, Kim Jong Un led a smaller delegation than in previous years. And there was no sign of the street dancing, synchronized swimming shows and international figure skating competitions that marked past holidays.
Fast genomic sequencing can help stop spread of a virus
As a novel coronavirus began spreading from Wuhan, China, scientists from across the country collaborated to isolate, sequence and publish the complete genetic code of the virus — just a month after the first documented case.The novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, is one of a group of viruses called coronaviruses, which also includes the 2003 SARS virus and the 2013 MERS virus.
“Celebratory events were noticeably low key, held mostly at local levels or at individual units,” said Rachel Minyoung Lee, a Seoul-based analyst at NK Pro who focuses on North Korean propaganda. “This stands in major contrast to previous years, when North Korea held multiple national and international cultural events in the lead-up to and on the day of the anniversary.”
To be sure, the new coronavirus that has already infected more than 70,000 and killed almost 1,800 in neighboring China was probably the most immediate reason for the quieter celebration. North Korea has closed off its borders -- depriving its sanctions-constrained economy of a vital source of foreign cash -- to prevent any outbreaks from overwhelming its impoverished and antiquated public health system.
More than two months after the new strain was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the secretive state North Korea hasn’t disclosed any confirmed case of the virus. The top ruling party newspaper has described the fight against the virus last month as “an important political issue related to the national survival” and Premier Kim Jae Ryong was featured in state media last week wearing a mask while visiting a quarantine facility.
Officers wearing protective suits are seen near an airplane prepared for the U.S. passengers of the cruise ship Diamond Princess, where dozens of passengers were tested positive for coronavirus, at Haneda airport in Tokyo, Japan, on Feb. 17.
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Rain was falling on the night of Jan. 18, so the windows of the Tokyo party boat were shut. Inside were about 90 guests of a local taxi association who were celebrating the new year as the vessel floated down the Sumida River. Also on board, unbeknown to them, was a coronavirus capable of spreading ferociously. It did just that. A driver in his 70s soon fell ill with fever; he later tested positive. The same day as his diagnosis, his mother-in-law died; she also was infected. Officials then discovered that 10 others from the boat were, too, including an employee who had served passengers from Wuhan, China.
People believed to be U.S. passengers look outside from one of the buses as they leave from Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, on Feb. 17.
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Nepalese nationals who were in the coronavirus-stricken Chinese city of Wuhan walk out from a Nepal Airlines Airbus, before they were sent to be quarantine, at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Feb. 16.
American passenger packs her belongings on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship which has been quarantined since arriving in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, in early February after a man who disembarked in Hong Kong before it traveled to Japan was diagnosed with the coronavirus, on Feb. 16.
Chinese students and their supporters hold a memorial for Dr Li Wenliang, who was the whistleblower of the coronavirus, Covid-19, on Feb. 15, in Westwood, California.
A medical worker holds the baby girl with no infection born by a woman infected with novel coronavirus pneumonia in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, on Feb. 15.
The big screen displays a message of support against the coronavirus during the Premier League match between Southampton FC and Burnley FC, on Feb. 15, in Southampton, England.
Cured COVID-19 patients wave goodbye to medical workers, at the 'Wuhan Livingroom' makeshift hospital in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, on Feb. 15.
An Indonesian student (L) hugging her relative as she arrives after being quarantined following the novel coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak, at the Juanda International airport, in Sidoarjo, East Java province, on Feb. 15.
A staff member works at the health and quarantine comprehensive laboratory of Sichuan International Travel Health Care Center Chengdu Customs Port Outpatient Department, in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan, on Feb. 15. Since the outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia, novel coronavirus nucleic acid detection for incoming and outgoing travelers has become the primary task of the laboratory.
Xu Bin (2nd R), head of hepatology and endocrinology department of the Beijing Chaoyang An'yuan Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University, talks to journalists while a young family that recovered from Coronavirus pneumonia ((COVID-19), is being discharged from hospital on Feb. 14. The Chinese authorities registered an outbreak of the of (COVID-19) in Wuhan in December 2019; as of February 14, 2020, the number of people infected from the virus has risen over 64,000, the death toll is over 1300.
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In Iran, a spike in coronavirus infections has prompted fears of a contagion throughout the Middle East. In Italy, one of Europe’s largest economies, officials are struggling frantically to prevent the epidemic from paralyzing the commercial center of Milan. A Chinese man wears a protective mask as he sits near closed shops in a commercial street on Feb. 18, in Beijing, China. Apple said Monday that it did not expect to meet its quarterly revenue targets due to the coronavirus outbreak in China.
US Ambassador to Cambodia Patrick Murphy (C) speaks to media from the dockside next to the Westerdam cruise ship in Sihanoukville on Feb. 15. Passengers on a cruise ship that was turned away from ports around Asia over fears they could be carrying the Coronavirus (COVID-19) finally began disembarking in Cambodia on February 14.
Dmitry Medvedev (C), deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, during a meeting on preventive measures against spread of Coronavirus ((COVID-19) infection at Gorki residence on Feb. 14 in Moscow.
Hawaii Gov. David Ige, center, state Health Director Bruce Anderson, left, and state Epidemiologist Sarah Park, right, discuss a tourist who was confirmed with the Coronavirus ((COVID-19) after returning home to Japan at a news conference in Honolulu on Feb. 14. Hawaii officials are trying to learn more about who was in close contact with the man and other details about his time in the islands.
Staff members spray disinfectant on packs with flower bouquets to be delivered on Valentine's Day following an outbreak of the novel Coronavirus ((COVID-19) in the country, at the Mulan Blossom flower shop in the central business area on Feb. 14 in Beijing, China.
A worker carts an empty bin used for medical waste after unloading it at a storage facility at the Youan Hospital in Beijing on Feb. 14. Youan Hospital is one of twenty hospitals in Beijing treating Coronavirus patients. Six health workers have died from the Coronavirus (COVID-19 ) in China and more than 1,700 have been infected, health officials said on February 14, underscoring the risks doctors and nurses have taken due to shortages of protective gear.
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (2nd L) and Health Minister Katsunobu Kato (L) attend a meeting of the Coronavirus (COVID-19 ) infectious disease control headquarters at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Feb. 14. Japan on February 14 began allowing elderly passengers who test negative for the virus to leave a quarantined cruise ship and finish their isolation in government-designated lodging.
A worker is reflected in a glass panel at the under-construction Formula One Vietnam Grand Prix race track site in Hanoi on Feb. 14, amid concerns of the COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak.
Zimbabwe's health workers wear protective suits during a training exercise aimed at preparing workers to deal with any potential Coronavirus cases at a hospital in Harare, Zimbabwe, on Feb. 14.
Students gesture with heart-shaped signs during an activity showing support for China's fight against the novel Coronavirus at a school on Feb. 14 in Ayutthaya province, Thailand.
Passengers react after they disembarked from the MS Westerdam, back, at the port of Sihanoukville, Cambodia, on Feb. 14. Hundreds of cruise ship passengers long stranded at sea by virus fears cheered as they finally disembarked Friday and were welcomed to Cambodia. China on Friday reported another sharp rise in the number of people infected with a Coronavirus (COVID-19), as the death toll neared 1,400.
Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen (C) speaks to passengers on board the Westerdam cruise ship in Sihanoukville on Feb. 14, where the liner on February 13 docked after being refused entry at other Asian ports due to fears of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Cambodia's strongman premier Hun Sen welcomed on February 14 the passengers of a US cruise ship blocked from several Asian ports over fears of a deadly new virus.
A young passenger Westerdam cruise ship holds up a sign on a bus after disembarking on Feb. 14 in Sihanoukville, where the liner docked after being refused entry at other Asian ports due to fears of Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
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New cases of the coronavirus popping up across Europe. Dozens of infections in Iran stoking fears about an uncontrolled spread in the Middle East. Global market jitters continuing after a steep slide. American health authorities warning that it was a matter of when, not if, the epidemic would reach the United States. A toxic political climate in Washington complicating the public health challenge. That worrying drumbeat frayed nerves across the world on Wednesday even as the pace of the outbreak seemed to be slowing in China.
Passengers on board the Westerdam cruise ship look on in Sihanoukville on Feb. 14, where the liner on February 13 docked after being refused entry at other Asian ports due to fears of the coronavirus (COVID-19). Cambodia's strongman premier Hun Sen welcomed on February 14 the passengers of a US cruise ship blocked from several Asian ports over fears of a deadly new virus.
A man wears a gas mask as he holds a bouquet of flowers, following the outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) on Valentine’s Day in Hong Kong on Feb. 14.
This photo taken on Feb. 13 shows a train attendant gesturing to medical staff leaving for Wuhan in Nanchang, China's central Jiangxi province. The death toll from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic neared 1,400 on Feb. 14, as the United States complained of a "lack of transparency" from Beijing over its handling of a crisis that has fueled global panic.
Matt Raw, a British national who returned from Wuhan in China, after being repatriated by the UK Government, poses for a photo after leaving Arrowe Park Hospital where he spent two weeks in quarantine on Feb. 13 in Wirral, Merseyside. 83 people are expected to leave quarantine today after their test results for COVID-19 came back negative. A total of 9 people in the UK have been diagnosed with the disease, which originated in Wuhan China and has killed at least 1,357.
(FromL) Mayor of Barcelona Ada Colau, Chairman of the Board of Administration of Fira de Barcelona Pau Relat, GSMA director general Mats Granryd and GSMA chief executive officer John Hoffman give a press conference in Barcelona on Feb. 13, a day after organizers of the World Mobile Congress said they had cancelled the world's top mobile trade fair due to fears stemming from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) that sparked an exodus of industry heavyweights. The mobile fair is one of the biggest events worldwide to be cancelled so far owing to the virus that has killed more than 1,100 people to date. The announcement came after the GSMA, the mobile trade association that organizes the annual show, met to decide the fate of the event that had been planned to run in Barcelona from February 24-27.
View of a deserted Los Angeles Chinatown as people stay away due to fear of the novel coronavirus, (COVID-19) after the US has now 15 confirmed cases, in Los Angeles, California, on Feb. 13. President Donald Trump said he expected the outbreak would disappear in April due to hotter weather, a prognosis at odds with top US health officials.
Personnel at the The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) work the Emergency Operations Center in response to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), among other things, on Feb. 13 in Atlanta, United States.
Jay Butler, Deputy Director for Infectious Diseases addresses the media about response to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19 ) as Senior Adviser Ed Rouse looks on, at the Emergency Operations Center inside The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on Feb. 13 in Atlanta, United States.
Workers make face masks in the workshop of a textile company in Jimo District of Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, on Feb. 12. Qingdao Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology has mobilized two large textile companies to produce face masks to help the fight against the novel coronavirus epidemic.
Workers install a banner with hygiene recommendations outside the Mobile World Congress MWC venue on Feb. 12 in Barcelona, Spain. Organisers of the World Mobile Congress were holding urgent talks today over the fate of the world's top mobile fair after a string of industry heavyweights withdrew over novel coronavirus, COVID-19, fears, a source close to the meeting said.
A man pushes another man on wheelchair past a propaganda banner on a wall read, "Strengthen self-protection, do not panic, believe in science, do not spread rumours", following an outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the country, in Beijing, China on Feb. 11.
Medical staff members collect samples from Chinese paramilitary police officer to be tested for the COVID-19 coronavirus as they return from holidays in Shenzhen, China on Feb. 11.
Sanitation vehicle disinfects the street in Tengzhou, China on Feb. 11. The number of fatalities from coronavirus epidemic jumped to 1,113 nationwide after another 97 deaths were reported by the national health commission.
A passenger wearing protective mask and holding an umbrella to hang plastic bags to cover herself and her chid's body as protection from Coronavirus, at Beijing railway station in Beijing, China, on Feb. 11.
A woman wearing a face mask walks through a device that sprays disinfectant at an entrance to a residential compound, following an outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the country, in Tianjin, China, on Feb. 11.
Family members of passengers onboard the cruise ship Diamond Princess, where dozens of passengers were tested positive for coronavirus, wave and talk to them on the phone at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, Japan, on Feb. 11.
A Malaysian Royal Guard wears a protective mask while he stands guard outside National Palace, following the outbreak of a new coronavirus in China, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Feb. 10.
Slideshow by Photo Services
Such precautions may have only added to Kim’s reasons to give his father a quieter celebration this year. Still, in a country which holds that its late leaders to be infallible demigods, Kim can only go so far to move out from underneath either of his predecessors’ shadows.
“Every time things looks different in North Korea, they often can be the same,” said Duyeon Kim, of Crisis Group. “What Kim Jong Un is doing is drawing from the core policies and his father and grandfather, but putting his own stamp on them to build his own legacy.”
--With assistance from Jihye Lee.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jon Herskovitz in Tokyo at [email protected]
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at [email protected], Karen Leigh
For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com
Coronavirus Live Updates: Cases Rise in Italy and Iran, and Spread to Other Countries .
New cases of the coronavirus popping up across Europe. Dozens of infections in Iran stoking fears about an uncontrolled spread in the Middle East. Global market jitters continuing after a steep slide. American health authorities warning that it was a matter of when, not if, the epidemic would reach the United States. A toxic political climate in Washington complicating the public health challenge. That worrying drumbeat frayed nerves across the world on Wednesday even as the pace of the outbreak seemed to be slowing in China.
The novel coronavirus has killed more people than two previous deadly coronavirus outbreaks. Over 3,200 patients have recovered.The illness was first reported to the World Health Organization on New Year's Eve and in the intervening month was linked to a family of viruses known as "coronaviruses," the same family responsible for SARS and Middle East respiratory syndrome, as well as some cases of the common cold. 
The novel coronavirus outbreak hits another grim milestone, with over 1,000 deaths recorded in China.The illness was first reported to the World Health Organization on New Year's Eve and in the intervening weeks was linked to a family of viruses known as coronaviruses, the same family responsible for SARS and MERS, as well as some cases of the common cold. 
All 195 U.S. citizens, mostly diplomats and their families, were quarantined at the March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County since Jan. 29.Speaking Tuesday during a news conference at the air base, officials said none of the travelers, who have been isolated since Jan. 29, will need medical follow-ups and all will now be able to continue on with their daily lives. 
NORTHKOREA-ANNIVERSARY/ (REPEAT, UPDATE 1, PIX):RPT-UPDATE 1-North Korea's Kim makes first public appearance in 22 days amid virus outbreak 
As a novel coronavirus began spreading from Wuhan, China, scientists from across the country collaborated to isolate, sequence and publish the complete genetic code of the virus — just a month after the first documented case.The novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, is one of a group of viruses called coronaviruses, which also includes the 2003 SARS virus and the 2013 MERS virus. 
Rain was falling on the night of Jan. 18, so the windows of the Tokyo party boat were shut. Inside were about 90 guests of a local taxi association who were celebrating the new year as the vessel floated down the Sumida River. Also on board, unbeknown to them, was a coronavirus capable of spreading ferociously. It did just that. A driver in his 70s soon fell ill with fever; he later tested positive. The same day as his diagnosis, his mother-in-law died; she also was infected. Officials then discovered that 10 others from the boat were, too, including an employee who had served passengers from Wuhan, China.
Rain was falling on the night of Jan. 18, so the windows of the Tokyo party boat were shut. Inside were about 90 guests of a local taxi association who were celebrating the new year as the vessel floated down the Sumida River. Also on board, unbeknown to them, was a coronavirus capable of spreading ferociously. It did just that. A driver in his 70s soon fell ill with fever; he later tested positive. The same day as his diagnosis, his mother-in-law died; she also was infected. Officials then discovered that 10 others from the boat were, too, including an employee who had served passengers from Wuhan, China. 
In Iran, a spike in coronavirus infections has prompted fears of a contagion throughout the Middle East. In Italy, one of Europe’s largest economies, officials are struggling frantically to prevent the epidemic from paralyzing the commercial center of Milan. A Chinese man wears a protective mask as he sits near closed shops in a commercial street on Feb. 18, in Beijing, China. Apple said Monday that it did not expect to meet its quarterly revenue targets due to the coronavirus outbreak in China. 
New cases of the coronavirus popping up across Europe. Dozens of infections in Iran stoking fears about an uncontrolled spread in the Middle East. Global market jitters continuing after a steep slide. American health authorities warning that it was a matter of when, not if, the epidemic would reach the United States. A toxic political climate in Washington complicating the public health challenge. That worrying drumbeat frayed nerves across the world on Wednesday even as the pace of the outbreak seemed to be slowing in China. 
