Coronavirus Live Updates: China Demands Immediate Cremation of Dead Bodies Infected With Coronavirus

The 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCov), or the Wuhan coronavirus, has spread from China to over 20 countries, including the United States, France, and Japan.

13:23 01/02/2020

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China Demands Immediate Cremation of Dead Bodies Infected With Coronavirus

China’s National Health Commission, in a notice issued on Feb. 1, announced that people who have died from the virus cannot be buried and their bodies should be cremated immediately.

A funeral parlor should be immediately contacted for cremation after death certificates are issued by health authorities and consent given from relatives of the dead.

If relatives fail to agree to the cremation, health authorities can pass on the dead bodies to funeral parlors for cremation.

The notice also demanded that people not hold funerals or any other ceremonies.

First Death Outside China: Philippines

The Filipino Department of Health (DOH) reported that a 44-year-old Chinese man from Wuhan died from the new virus on Feb. 1.

The man and his 38-year-old female companion arrived in the Philippines via Hong Kong on Jan. 21. They were placed in isolation at San Lazaro Hospital in Manila on Jan. 25, are are the only two known cases of coronavirus in the country.

“I would like to emphasize that this is an imported case with no evidence of local transmission,” Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III said.

The man was admitted to hospital after experiencing fever, cough, and a sore throat, according to the press release.

“The Philippine Government has already implemented a temporary travel ban for travelers coming from China, Macao, and Hong Kong. DOH is monitoring every development on the 2019-nCoV very closely and is taking proactive measures to contain the spread of this virus in our country,” Duque added.

“This is the first reported death outside China,” Rabindra Abeyasinghe, the World Health Organization’s representative to the Philippines, told reporters, according to AFP.

South Korea Now Has 15 Cases of Novel Coronavirus

South Korea’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) announced on Feb. 2 that the country has three more people testing positive for the coronavirus as of 9 a.m. local time, bringing the total to 15.

One of the new patients, a 28-year-old South Korean, was one of the 368 evacuees that returned to South Korea from Wuhan on Jan. 31.

The second new patient is a 40-year-old Chinese woman who is a relative of the 12th patient to test positive for the virus.

The third new case is a 43-year-old South Korea who returned from China on Jan 20.

China Reports New Bird Flu Outbreak Near Epicenter of Coronavirus

China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in an announcement on Feb. 1 reported a new outbreak involving the H5N1 bird flu virus at a poultry farm in Shuangqing District of Shaoyang, a city in southern China’s Hunan Province.

The outbreak has killed 4,500 of 7,850 chickens at the farm—more than half. Since then, local authorities have culled 17,828 poultry.

No human transmission of the Hunan H5N1 virus has been reported.

Hunan Province is located directly south of Hubei Province, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak.

From The Epoch Times