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. A drone operated by the Suwon municipal government flies around Changyong Middle School spraying disinfectant as a preventative measures against coronavirus outbreak , in Suwon, South Korea on Feb. 18
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World: Hospital director at coronavirus epicenter dies of the virus
- By abcnews.go
- february 18, 2020
Coronavirus quarantine ends for 195 people who flew from Wuhan to California
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.
This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, yellow, emerging from the surface of cells, pink, cultured in the lab. Also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus causes COVID-19. The sample was isolated from a patient in the U.S.
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.
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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.
What a Party in Japan May Tell Us About the Coronavirus’s Spread
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.
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In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, centre, wearing a protective face mask waves as he inspects the novel coronavirus pneumonia prevention and control work at a neighbourhoods in Beijing, on Feb. 10.
‘I Felt Like Crying’: Coronavirus Shakes China’s Expecting Mothers
HONG KONG — The hospital waiting room was filled with dozens of women wearing homemade hazmat suits. Their hair was tucked tightly under shower caps. Their rain ponchos zipped taut over winter coats. All of the women, anxious and pregnant during the coronavirus outbreak, had been waiting hours to see the same doctor. “I don’t feel at ease,” said Vigor Liu, who is five months pregnant with her first child. After waiting for three hours, Ms. Liu finally saw the doctor for a brief 10-minute conversation. His advice: stop reading the news.
A Guardia di Finanza boat patrol around the Costa Smeralda cruise ship docked in the Civitavecchia port 70km north of Rome on Jan. 30. More than 6,000 tourists were under lockdown aboard the cruise ship after two Chinese passengers were isolated over fears they could be carrying the coronavirus.
Italy scrambles to contain coronavirus after admitting hospital mess-up
Italian authorities were on the defensive Tuesday as they faced tough questions over the country's handling of the novel coronavirus, which is rapidly spreading across the country's northern regions.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.
Travelers from China's Wuhan and other cities go through body temperature scanners at Narita international airport in Narita, near Tokyo, on Jan. 23.
Trump to hold news conference as White House is on defensive over coronavirus response
President Donald Trump has returned from India to see his administration on the defensive over his administration's handling of the novel coronavirus, as Cabinet officials are grilled in Congress and Democrats pan the White House's budget request to fight the virus. require(["medianetNativeAdOnArticle"], function (medianetNativeAdOnArticle)
{
medianetNativeAdOnArticle.getMedianetNativeAds(true);
}); Trump has scheduled a 6 p.m. ET news conference, following a briefing with top aides.
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. 
HONG KONG — The hospital waiting room was filled with dozens of women wearing homemade hazmat suits. Their hair was tucked tightly under shower caps. Their rain ponchos zipped taut over winter coats. All of the women, anxious and pregnant during the coronavirus outbreak, had been waiting hours to see the same doctor. “I don’t feel at ease,” said Vigor Liu, who is five months pregnant with her first child. After waiting for three hours, Ms. Liu finally saw the doctor for a brief 10-minute conversation. His advice: stop reading the news. 
Italian authorities were on the defensive Tuesday as they faced tough questions over the country's handling of the novel coronavirus, which is rapidly spreading across the country's northern regions.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. 
President Donald Trump has returned from India to see his administration on the defensive over his administration's handling of the novel coronavirus, as Cabinet officials are grilled in Congress and Democrats pan the White House's budget request to fight the virus. require(["medianetNativeAdOnArticle"], function (medianetNativeAdOnArticle)
{
medianetNativeAdOnArticle.getMedianetNativeAds(true);
}); Trump has scheduled a 6 p.m. ET news conference, following a briefing with top aides. 
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The director of a hospital in Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak, died after contracting the virus Tuesday.
Liu Zhiming, age 51, was a neurosurgeon and director of the Wuchang Hospital in Wuhan, according to the Wuhan health commission.
Zhiming's death comes follow's last week's report that more than 1,700 medical workers had been sicked by the virus, and six had died, most of them in Hubei province.
Fact Check: Trump addresses nation on coronavirus
President Donald Trump and top U.S. health officials addressed the nation on the new coronavirus, COVID-19, on Wednesday. Here's a factcheck.With more than 81,300 cases worldwide and spreading rapidly beyond China to South Korea, Italy and Iran, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Tuesday the virus would spread in the United States and cause "severe" disruptions across the country. MORE: PHOTOS: Coronavirus outbreak sparks global health emergency
China's mainland reported 1,886 new cases of the novel coronavirus and 98 more deaths on Tuesday, as recent data appears to show a decline in the number of new infections since early this month.
A total of 92 cases have also been reported in the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao as well as Taiwan province, with one death in Hong Kong and one in Taiwan, according to the Chinese National Commission of Health. That brings the overall count of confirmed infections in China to 72,531 and the number of deaths to 1,870.
A new study by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, an agency of the National Health Commission, found that more than 80% of people who contracted the newly discovered virus -- known officially as COVID-19 -- had mild symptoms and recovered, while 14% of the cases studied included severe symptoms, like pneumonia and shortness of breath. About 5% of patients had critical symptoms, such as organ and respiratory failure and septic shock.
Video provided by AFP
MORE: 14 Americans evacuated from cruise ship in Japan test positive for novel coronavirusThe study, which cited analyses of more than 44,000 cases of COVID-19, also found that a patient's risk of death increased with their age, and relatively few children contracted the disease.
Scientists need more research to understand why so few cases of the disease have been in children, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference Monday. And while the data indicates a decline in cases, Tedros cautioned that the trend should be "interpreted very cautiously."
Coronavirus and its global sweep stokes fear over facts. Experts say it's unlikely to produce 'apocalyptic scenario'
Coronavirus is spreading around the globe in a hurry, but experts say fear-based reactions will only stir more trouble.(Pictured) Migrants rescued in the Mediterranean sea disembark from the Sea Watch NGO's ship on Feb. 27 in the port of Messina, Sicily. "It’s too early to tell if this reported decline will continue," he told reporters. "Every scenario is still on the table."
COVID-19 causes symptoms similar to pneumonia, ranging from mild, such as a slight cough, to more severe, including fever and difficulty breathing, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There is no vaccine yet for the virus, nor any known effective therapeutics.
Outside of China, there were 794 confirmed cases in 25 countries and three reported deaths as of Monday, according to the WHO, which would bring the global death toll to 1,873.
MORE: What life is like under novel coronavirus quarantineMeanwhile, a cruise ship quarantined in Japanese waters continues to be the largest center of infection of anywhere outside China.
The Diamond Princess docked at the Japanese port of Yokohama on Feb. 3 and was placed under quarantine two days later, as passengers and crew tested positive for COVID-19. Since then, at least 542 people on board the cruise ship have been infected with the disease -- 88 of which were newly confirmed in the past 24 hours. At least one quarantine officer has also been infected, according to Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, which is leading and coordinating the public health response on board.
All those infected with the disease on the Diamond Princess have been brought ashore for treatment, while thousands of other passengers have been confined to their rooms on board until the quarantine period ends.
The United States is the first country to evacuate its citizens from the quarantined ship in Japan. More than 300 American passengers, including 14 who had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, were evacuated Monday on two flights chartered by the U.S. government, officials said. Roughly 60 Americans, some who were hospitalized and others who opted to stay on the ship, remain in Japan.
The first charter flight landed at Travis Air Force Base in California early Monday morning. The second landed soon after at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. Everyone on board the flights will be quarantined for 14 days. Several individuals, including some who tested positive for the virus, were transferred to hospitals, officials said.
Princess Cruises, which operates the ship, announced in a statement Sunday that it will cancel all Diamond Princess voyages through April 20 due to the "prolonged quarantine period." The cruise line is offering a full refund to all 2,666 guests who were on board the ship. More than 400 passengers were from the United States.
MORE: What scientists think about China changing how it counts coronavirus casesThe initial cases of COVID-19 emerged in December in Wuhan, the capital of China's central Hubei province. Chinese authorities have placed the city on lockdown in an effort to contain the virus.
The WHO has declared the outbreak a global health emergency, with a "very" high risk of spread within China and a "high" risk of spread at the global and regional levels.
The Health Commission of Hubei Province announced last Thursday a change in how cases are diagnosed and counted, with the total number of confirmed cases now including "clinically diagnosed cases," or patients who showed symptoms of the disease and were diagnosed through CT scans of the lungs, for instance, but have not yet had laboratory testing.
The expanded criteria is meant to ensure "that patients can receive standardized treatment according to confirmed cases as early as possible to further improve the success rate of treatment," the commission said in a statement.
ABC News' Joseph Simonetti contributed to this report.
This report was featured in the Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020, episode of “Start Here,” ABC News’ daily news podcast.
"Start Here" offers a straightforward look at the day's top stories in 20 minutes. Listen for free every weekday on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, the ABC News app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Coronavirus and its global sweep stokes fear over facts. Experts say it's unlikely to produce 'apocalyptic scenario' .
Coronavirus is spreading around the globe in a hurry, but experts say fear-based reactions will only stir more trouble.(Pictured) Migrants rescued in the Mediterranean sea disembark from the Sea Watch NGO's ship on Feb. 27 in the port of Messina, Sicily.
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