Coronavirus: Third chartered plane carrying Diamond Princess evacuees lands in Hong Kong

A third chartered plane with five Hong Kong residents, who were quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise in Japan, has reportedly landed in the city. According to international media reports, the residents have now been transferred to quarantine facilities in the New Territories, where they all will be spending the next 14 days. However, the authorities also said that 70 of the 364 Hong Kong residents on the ship were infected with the deadly virus and they will remain in Japan along with other citizens.

Amid the deadly virus outbreak, Hong Kongers have also started manufacturing their own face masks with a pop-up production line and seamstresses churning them out on sewing machines. According to reports, long queues crop up outside pharmacies as soon as the new stock arrives and it runs out in no time. Hong Kong residents are now turning to DIY solutions to cope up with the shortage in supply amid the contagious virus outbreak.

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Meanwhile, according to Hubei's health commission, the death toll in China has also risen to over 2,400. The authorities further reported 630 new confirmed cases which brought the total within China to nearly 77,000. However, China has also reported a significant decline in new cases as well as deaths caused by the deadly virus.

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$675 million in support of vulnerable countries

The disturbing trend, as reported by WHO, is that the new cases have no links to China in terms of travel history or contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19, prompting the mystery around how these individuals were infected. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has also claimed that the biggest fear for the organisation is that the virus will continue to spread to other countries and especially those with weaker health systems.

Furthermore, the organisation has also called on the world to pledge $675 million in support of the most vulnerable countries. As per reports, 13 African countries are seen as a priority by WHO because of their close links to China. According to WHO statistics, the virus is fatal in 2% of all cases while 80% remain mild and 20% of those infected are critical or severe.

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