First confirmed virus case in Africa – as it happened

Here’s a summary of the key points from today’s coronavirus coverage as governments and health leaders continue to battle to control the spread of the disease:

• Africa has its first confirmed case of coronavirus after a person in Egypt tested positive for the disease, it has emerged. The person, who is not Egyptian, is in hospital isolation, the country’s health ministry said.

• Eight Heathrow flights were delayed earlier amid coronavirus concerns. Government health officials were responding to coronavirus-related concerns over passengers feeling unwell.

• Two MPs who were among more than 200 attendees at a London conference alongside a delegate who has since tested positive for coronavirus have gone into self-isolation.

• Nearly 3,000 people in the UK have now tested negative for coronavirus, according to the government. But officials warn the number of people who have the disease in the UK – currently nine – is highly likely to rise in the coming days.

More from the Diamond Princess, the cruise ship quarantined off the coast of Japan due to coronavirus, as my colleague Justin McCurry reports how passengers are spending Valentine’s Day.

Travellers, who have been stuck on board for nearly two weeks now, are being treated today with Californian wine and a dinner menu including “Cupid’s avocado and shrimp”, coq au vin and a “surprise dessert of the day”.

As the boredom sets in for passengers on the luxury cruiser – which has seen more than 200 confirmed cases of the disease – individuals posted photos of their meals, tackled sudoku puzzles and played hopscotch during brief and restricted forays on to the deck.

Africa has its first confirmed case of coronavirus after a person in Egypt tested positive for the disease, it has emerged.

The person, who is not Egyptian, is in hospital isolation, the country’s health ministry said.

The ministry said it had immediately informed the World Health Organization and taken all necessary preventative measures.

No other details are known yet about the individual who caught the disease.

Airline passengers who have sat within two rows of a person suspected to have caught coronavirus should be quarantined, according to guidance published by the government today for transport staff.

The guidance released by the Department for Transport states: “Any contacts of a possible case need to be isolated or quarantined. In practice for passengers who have travelled via airplane, this will include all passengers in the 2 rows in front and behind of where the possible case was sat.”

Staff working on planes, trains or ships are recommended to cooperate with emergency medical services at airports or ports if a passenger becomes symptomatic on board.

Meanwhile, transport staff should not wear face masks but instead stick to good hygiene to avoid the risk of coronavirus, according to the guidance. It advises staff not to wear masks as “they do not provide protection from respiratory viruses”. Instead, the best way of reducing risk is “good hygiene” and to avoid getting within two metres with a potentially infected person.

The World Health Organization (WHO) will join forces with China to start its investigation into the coronavirus outbreak in the country this weekend, the organisation’s director has announced.

The joint-mission will probe how the disease is spreading and its severity, seeking more precise details on the circumstances surrounding how more than 1,700 health workers have been infected.

“We expect the full team to touch down over the weekend,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

“Particular attention will be paid to understanding transmission of the virus, the severity of disease and the impact of ongoing response measures.”

A British man stuck with his wife onboard a cruise ship quarantined off the coast of Japan because of the coronavirus outbreak has criticised Boris Johnson and appealed to billionaire Richard Branson to save them.

David Abel, who is on the Diamond Princess ship with his wife Sally where more than 200 people have been diagnosed with the disease, said despite being a “staunch Tory” he had “no confidence” in the prime minister.

Abel said: “When he [Johnson] just says ‘keep calm, don’t panic’ - I’d like to see you in this situation, mate. I really would.”

In a Facebook live video, he also appealed for Virgin boss Branson to charter a plane to fly all British nationals on the ship home to carry out their quarantine.

He appealed directly to Branson, saying: “If you and your family were in this situation, what would you do? And please don’t say ‘chill out, stay calm’, that’s not what we want to hear.

I’m asking, what would it cost to hire one of your smaller planes, put all the Brits onboard, no flight attendants, packaged food?

Take us to Brize Norton, take us straight into the medical facility and let us do our quarantine there by people who can speak our language.”

Abel added: “I’m serious, Richard Branson, absolutely serious. I think he is the man, he’s not afraid to speak his mind. He’s the guy who could resolve this for the Brits.”

He continued: “Whatever the cost, we will somehow find a way of paying for that plane.

Don’t know how but we wouldn’t want you to be out of pocket on that. But this is just how damned desperate some of the passengers are becoming.”

The couple said previously that they had declined the offer to leave the ship and continue their quarantine ashore if they test negative for the virus. The vessel was quarantined when it arrived in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, at the start of the month after it emerged that a passenger who had disembarked in Hong Kong in late January had tested positive for the disease.

14 Feb 202011.12 EST

Eight Heathrow flights delayed amid coronavirus concerns

Ben Quinn

As many as eight flights at Heathrow Airport were said to have been caught up in delays or checks as a result of government health officials responding to coronavirus-related concerns over passengers feeling unwell.

United Airlines confirmed that staff in London had been providing assistance to a flight from San Francisco which had landed at Heathrow following reports of an individual becoming unwell onboard.

A man who had been on the flight said a passenger had been taken to the back of the plane ahead of the arrival of health officials before passengers were allowed to disembark after half-an-hour.

“There was an initial announcement that someone had taken ill and would be taken off,” said Andy West, a public relations executive at Hotwire, told the Guardian.

“Shortly afterwards he said that there was a suspected case of coronavirus and that the passenger had been isolated at the back of the plane.”

14 Feb 202010.59 EST

Matthew Weaver

Alex Sobel, one of two MPs who has gone into self-isolation over a virus scare, called on the government to do more to track down those who may have come into contact with those with coronavirus.

Speaking to Sky News, the Labour MP revealed he found out through media reports that he was at the same event – a Bus Summit – as someone who has since been tested positive for coronavirus. He said:

I hope the government do properly put the resources into public health and tracking people. I found out through the media. I do think there needs to be a stepping of the resource and support for this, because it has got the potential to be a pandemic.”

Sobel said he was not on the official list of delegates at the 6 February event but he did attend a fringe event outside the QEII Centre at which several buses were on show.

He said he has since been in contact with Public Health England which is trying to track everyone at the event.

Public Health England gave the advice that I should take reasonable precautions. Right now I should be at surgeries with constituents. We thought it a reasonable caution to self isolate until next Wednesday evening. I’m still at the office as it all blew up this morning. I’m in the end meeting room in the office away from everybody else. Once I’ve finished all these media reviews, I’ll be going home, and then I’ll be isolating myself.

Like most MPs I’ve got a pile of things to do, things to read, things to write, Netflix to watch, I’m sure I’ll be fine. It is obviously much more important that I isolate myself in case I am a risk than being a bit bored or being a little bit stir crazy

The advice that we’ve been given is that as long you feel well, then you can carry on as normal. Because myself and Lilian another MP, come into contact with a lot of people ... we’ve taken this additional precautions.I’m not showing any symptoms. I’m fine. I’ve got no fever. I’ve got no flu-like symptoms. I’ve gotten to respiratory issues. But as you can present after up to 14 days, I’ve taken these precautionary measures.”

Professional golf tournaments in China and Malaysia have both been postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak, organisers have announced.

The Volvo China Open, in Shenzhen, and the Maybank Championship, in Kuala Lumpur were due to take place in April. Organisers are looking at rescheduling the tournaments for later this year.

Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of the European Tour, said:

The well-being of our players, spectators and staff is always our absolute priority. While it is therefore regrettable that the Maybank Championship and Volvo China Open have been postponed, we feel this is the correct course of action at this time. We are currently investigating alternative dates for both events.”

Datuk Abdul Farid Alias, Group President & CEO of Maybank, said:

The decision to postpone the Maybank Championship was made after intense deliberation and careful consideration in the interest of all the players, visitors, working teams and partners.

The postponement of the Maybank Championship was not an easy decision to make, however, the safety of all stakeholders takes precedence, and we want to ensure that any risk of possible exposure to Covid-19 is mitigated. We will monitor the situation and work closely with the European & Asian Tours, as well as our other partners, as we plan for our return in the future.”

Here’s a dispatch from the opening day of London fashion week by my colleague Hannah Marriott, who reports that the coronavirus outbreak has dealt a blow to the numbers in attendance.

The majority of press and buyers from China, which is responsible for a third of global luxury sales, are not at the five-day event, she reports.

The British Fashion Council’s chief executive, Caroline Rush, has announced that heightened hygiene measures are in place at the central London venue on the Strand, with a “deep clean” each night and antibacterial hand sanitisers handed out.