This was published 6 years ago
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The number of people infected with the new virus charged toward 100,000 Friday, with the global scare upending routines, threatening livelihoods and prompting quarantines in its spread.
Asian shares were down following a rough day on Wall Street and the consequences of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, were becoming clear to people around the world. Halted travel and a broader economic downturn linked to the outbreak threatened to hit already-struggling communities for months to come.
"Who is going to feed their families?" asked Elias al-Arja, the head of a hotel owners' union in Bethlehem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where tourists have been banned and the storied Church of the Nativity shuttered.
The head of the U.N.'s food agency, the World Food Program, warned of the potential of "absolute devastation" as the outbreak's effects ripple through Africa and the Middle East.
After concerns at Epping Boys, the local cricket association has called off matches that were scheduled for the weekend with a statement sent to parents.
"The safety and well-being of all, players, officials, parents, and spectators is paramount," the statement said.
"With the impact of self Isolation imposed on all players from Epping Boys, and the flow effect this has to a number of clubs and teams the decision has be taken to abandoned play for all matches in all age groups for Saturday 7th March."
A theatre nurse and two more aged care workers are among the growing number of Sydneysiders to test positive for coronavirus that is spreading across the city.
With new cases popping up from Sydney’s northern beaches to Cronulla, Liverpool and Canterbury, and a cluster of nine cases in the north, Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned the worst is yet to come.
The latest case is an 18-year-old woman who lived with another recent case in Sydney’s west, as NSW Health confirms 28 cases across the city.
Japan has canceled a memorial for victims of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Crown Prince Akishino and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had been scheduled to speak at the event next Wednesday. The government memorial in past years was broadcast live to towns worst-hit by the disaster, but the local events were being canceled or trimmed back as well.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Friday the cancellation was unavoidable because Japan "must take all possible steps to stop the further spread of the virus in the country." Japan has urged schools to close nationwide and limited large gatherings of people among its containment measures.
Japan has more than 1,000 cases of infection, including about 700 from a cruise ship.
The March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami devastated parts of Japan's northeastern coast, killed 18,000 people and caused reactor meltdowns at a damaged nuclear plant in Fukushima prefecture.
AP
The English Premier League has made the big call of banning handshakes for the time being.
"The Premier League fair-play handshake will not take place between players and match officials from this weekend until further notice based on medical advice," the league wrote in a post on their website.
"Coronavirus is spread via droplets from the nose and mouth and can be transmitted on to the hands and passed on via a handshake. Clubs and match officials will still perform the rest of the traditional walk-out protocol ahead of each fixture."
On entering the field of play, the two teams will continue to line up, accompanied by the Premier League music, then players from the home team will walk past their opposition without shaking their hands.
Queensland Athletics has imposed an extraordinary ban on athletes from Japan and other high-risk coronavirus countries from competing at this month's Track Classic unless they are already in Australia.
There is no restriction on people coming to Australia from high-risk countries, and they are not forced to go into quarantine, but QA has ruled athletes cannot compete at the Brisbane meet on March 20, unless they have been in Australia for two weeks and been medically cleared of coronavirus.
That means the athletes had to have already been in the country when QA issued the ban on Friday.
Epping Boys High School was shut down on Friday after a 16-year-old student was diagnosed with COVID-19.
The boy’s mother works at Ryde Hospital, where a 53-year-old doctor worked before being diagnosed with the disease earlier this week.
However, the boy’s mother is currently well.
Several other family members have also been tested for the virus, and NSW Health expects results tomorrow.
Two more staff from an aged care facility in northern Sydney have been diagnosed with COVID-19, as the number of cases in NSW rises to 28.
A 24-year-old female worker and a 21-year-old male staff member from the Dorothy Henderson Lodge in Macquarie Park have been diagnosed with the virus.
Four residents and three staff members from the facility have become confirmed cases so far, with the facility in lockdown as it tries to minimise the spread.
The third new case is a 18-year-old woman, who NSW Health said is a household contact of another recent western Sydney case.
The Sunwolves were originally supposed to host this game against the ACT Brumbies in Osaka, but it was moved to Wollongong due to safety concerns, and was played at the bizarre time of 2.30pm as a curtain-raiser for the Waratahs vs. Chiefs game this evening.
It was an easy win for the 'away' side, who were playing a couple of hours' drive from their home base, while the hosts were a mere 8000km from where the game was originally set to take place.
Rugby writer Tom Decent was there, along with a few diehard fans - you can read that full match report here.