Health

The new coronavirus appears to now be spreading much more rapidly outside China than within, and airports in hard-hit countries were ramping up screening of travelers.

China reported on Wednesday another drop in new coronavirus cases as its attention turns to controlling the risk of infection from abroad, as clusters of the disease that originated in China appear around the world.

The rapid spread of coronavirus cases worldwide is complicating a standard strategy used by airlines when disease, disaster or conflict hit travel destinations: lower fares and redirect flights to trouble-free areas.

Japan's northern island of Hokkaido reported three more cases of coronavirus infections on Wednesday, bringing the total to 82 in the prefecture.

Sixteen Italians in India have tested positive for coronavirus, India's health minister said on Wednesday, as the total number of cases in the country rose sharply to 28.

China is encouraging producers of protective suits for medical use to export to meet overseas demand as the coronavirus spreads outside the country, a government official said Wednesday.

More than half of UK smokers now wrongly believe that nicotine-containing "vapes" or e-cigarettes are as dangerous as tobacco cigarettes and these "false fears" are preventing smokers from switching, health experts said on Wednesday.

China will use a Roche Holding AG arthritis drug to treat some coronavirus patients in severe conditions, health authorities said on Wednesday, as the country seeks to build up treatment regimens to help the infected recover.

Japan is preparing to host the Tokyo Summer Olympics as planned, the government's top spokesman said on Wednesday, amid speculation the Games could be postponed because of the coronavirus threat.

Roche has won fast-track review status in the United States for a new diagnostic approach the Swiss drugmaker hopes will support its push into treating liver cancer with drugs including its immunotherapy Tecentriq.

Japan has confirmed another coronavirus infection, in the southwestern prefecture of Ehime, public broadcaster NHK reported.

Fifteen Italian citizens in India have tested positive for coronavirus, media said on Wednesday.

Taiwan will 'have no problem' maintaining economic growth of 2% this year, its statistics chief said on Wednesday, amid concerns that a coronavirus outbreak could hit the economy of the island which is a key part of the global technology supply chain.

Australia's major grocers put strict limits on purchases of toilet paper on Wednesday after a rush of panic buying related to coronavirus fears emptied shelves, as the country recorded its third case of local transmission of the disease.

(This March 3 story corrects death toll to 28, not 34, in second paragraph.)

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday canceled his planned trip to the UAE, Egypt and Turkey in mid-March, over coronavirus, according to the presidential Blue House.

Mainland China had 119 new confirmed cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, the country's National Health Commission said on Wednesday, down slightly from 125 on the previous day.

South Korea reported 516 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, a day after a record spike in cases prompted the country's president to declare a "war" on the fast spreading pathogen.

Three more deaths from the coronavirus were reported by Washington state on Tuesday as the nation's largest and only fatal outbreak of the respiratory disease reached beyond the Seattle area in what appeared to be the first known instance of coast-to-coast transmission.

The number of coronavirus cases diagnosed in Washington state rose on Tuesday to 27, including nine deaths, up from 18 cases and six deaths a day earlier, state health authorities reported, in the largest U.S. outbreak to emerge from local transmission.