The death toll stemming from the coronavirus in China continued to rise Thursday as Wuhan authorities reportedly were ordered to round up all infected city residents.
Officials said Thursday 563 people have died from the virus, an increase of 73 from nearly 500 the day before, and that the number of confirmed cases climbed to 28,018. Thursday’s death toll marked the highest one-day total of fatalities since the outbreak began in December.
There are about 150 confirmed cases in 23 other countries, including one death in the Philippines — the first outside of China, and one death in Hong Kong.
The Chinese physician who publicly warned of a virus in December has died of the coronavirus, according to multiple state media reports. After his warning, police accused Dr. Li Wenliang of “spreading rumors online” and “severely disrupting social order.”
Vice Premier Sun Chunlan ordered Wuhan authorities to gather all infected residents in the city of 11 million people and isolate, quarantine, or place them in certain hospitals, according to The New York Times.
Wuhan was first put on lockdown two weeks ago, followed quickly by an expansion throughout the Hubei Province, of which Wuhan is the capital, and its 50 million people.
Medical workers in protective suits receive a patient at the Wuhan International Conference and Exhibition Center, which has been converted into a makeshift hospital, to receive patients with symptoms of the coronavirus, in Wuhan, China Feb. 5, 2020.
Japanese heath authorities say 10 more people aboard a cruise ship have been diagnosed with the new coronavirus that has killed hundreds of people in China and triggered a global health emergency.
A total of 20 people aboard Carnival Japan's Diamond Princess have been diagnosed with the virus since it arrived at the port city of Yokohama earlier this week. The vessel and its 3,700 passengers and crew members have been quarantined after a passenger who disembarked after the ship docked in Hong Kong late last month tested positive for the virus.
Off the waters of Hong Kong, more than 3,600 passengers and the crew on the Hong Kong ship the World Dream are under quarantine after eight passengers from a previous voyage tested positive for the virus.
The Chinese territory has shut down nearly all land and sea border crossings with the mainland after more than 2,000 medical workers walked off the job Monday demanding that all border crossings be closed completely. The strike entered its fourth day on Thursday. Hong Kong was hit hard by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2002-03 which killed more than 800 people.
Journalists work near the World Dream cruise ship after it had been denied entry in Taiwan amid concerns of coronavirus infection on board, at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in Hong Kong, Feb. 6, 2020.
Taiwan announced Thursday it was banning all international cruise ships from docking at the island.
The World Health Organization, which has declared the outbreak a global health emergency, has issued an appeal for $675 million to fight the virus. But the global health agency said earlier this week the outbreak has not yet reached the level of a pandemic, despite its increasing detection across the globe.
The U.S. Defense Department said about 350 Americans left Wuhan on Wednesday aboard two charter planes that landed later in the day at two military bases in the U.S. western state of California.
Two U.S.-based airlines on Wednesday announced plans to temporarily suspend flights to Hong Kong. American Airlines and United Airlines said they were halting flights there through February 20.
Chinese authorities have tried to stop the spread by instituting bans on movement in certain regions, and extending holidays to keep people away from schools and other large gatherings.
Beijing, however, is upset that a number of countries are restricting travelers from China from crossing their borders.