Coronavirus latest updates: China cuts death toll after 'double-counting' – live news

The first group of French nationals repatriated from China due to the coronavirus outbreak returned to the outside world today after two weeks in quarantine, Reuters reports.

None of the 181 involved – who had been flown home from Wuhan, the epicentre of the epidemic – tested positive for the virus, local health officials said.

“There have been no problems …but people are happy that it’s over,” Marc Zyltman, Red Cross head at the southern holiday resort of Carry-Le-Rouet where they were quarantined, told reporters.

A further 157 people remain in quarantine in southern France, of whom 122 will be allowed home on Feb. 16 and the remainder on Febuary 23.

France has recorded 11 cases of the virus, out of a global total of 63,851, of whom the vast majority are in China. The epidemic has killed close to 1,400 people.

China’s public broadcasting network, CCTV, has been showing images of what it reports is “the third batch” of 35 patients transferred to the Leishenshan (Thunder God Mountain) Hospital in Wuhan, one of two new hospitals built over the course of a few weeks as the official face of the country’s struggle against coronavirus.

Four days after its opening, this week the larger Leishenshan hospital had only 90 patients, on wards designed for 1,600, but was reporting no spare beds, Wuhan city health data, first reported by the Chinese magazine Caixin, showed.

The other facility, Huoshenshan, had not yet filled its 1,000 beds a week after opening.

This is Ben Quinn (@BenQuinn75) picking up the blog now in London.

Reuters reports that 1,716 health workers have been infected by the coronavirus and six of them have died, as of Tuesday.

China National Health Commission Vice Minister Zeng Yixin said on Friday that, at a press conference about protecting medical workers, said the number of infected medical staff is increasing.

Chinese officials and hospitals have repeatedly noted a shortage of protective equipment, including face masks, as the disease took hold in Hubei and spread throughout the country.

Lily Kuo has the latest from China, where wartime measures are being expanded to more cities, as a US official has questioned whether Beijing is being transparent over the outbreak. Read the full story here:

Reports here of lockdowns and quarantine measures that have begun to start in Shanghai.

In broader medical news, generic drugmakers from India may face shortages and price hikes due to the knock-on effect of the Covid-19 outbreak, analysts say.

Indian companies procure almost 70% of their active pharmaceutical ingredients from China, Reuters report.

“We are comfortably placed with eight to 10 weeks of key inventory in place,” said Debabrata Chakravorty, head of global sourcing and supply chain for Lupin Ltd, adding that the company does have some local suppliers for ingredients.

An extended outbreak that limits the volume of active ingredients and drugs available for export from China could lead to drug shortages and price increases, particularly in the United States – where prices are subject to market forces – according to rating agency Moody’s.

India supplies nearly a third of medicines sold in the United States.

Daara Patel, secretary general of the Indian Drug Manufacturers Association, which represents over 900 drug producers, said he expects supplies to be disrupted from April.

Patel said vitamins and antibiotics are likely to be among the hardest hit as India is a major global producer of both.

Sudarshan Jain, secretary general of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance trade group, said there are no API shortages at the moment because drugmakers had stocked up on inventory ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday in China, which was later extended to contain the virus.

Ketchup and cola factories are partially closing across China, as confirmed by the Kraft Heinz company and PepsiCo.

Pepsi has closed one of its six Chinese factories ever since the Chinese New Year, but it is expected to open again soon, Bloomberg reports.

But both companies say disruption will be minimal, and Kraft Heinz CEO Miguel Patricio said only 2% of its sales came from China.

Some odd scenes in Sihanoukville in Cambodia today, as 1,455 passengers and 802 crew were finally allowed to disembark from the Westerdam cruise ship.

The ship had been refused port by five countries over Covid-19 fears, but tests by Cambodian doctors said no passengers had the new virus.

Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen greeted the passengers with roses as they left the ship.

Anna Marie Melon, from Queensland, said that Hun Sen had “a wonderful heart” as he handed a rose to her.

“Cambodia alone, even the United States, Guam, did not let us land, but Cambodia did, so thats wonderful,” said American Joe Spaziani to Associated Press.

“We appreciate it very very much. Its been a long struggle and we appreciate everyone being here.”

Domestically, Hun Sen has been criticised for arresting political opponents, and was described a “fully fledged military dictator” by Human Rights Watch. The former Khmer Rouge member has been in power for 35 years, making him the world’s longest-serving prime minister.