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Over 1,700 frontline medics infected with coronavirus in China, presenting new crisis for the government

Instead of helping on the frontlines, she has been under self-quarantine at home for weeks, after a chest scan on January 26 revealed that she had a suspected case of the novel Coronavirus. Zhu was told to wait for a nucleic acid test that would provide the final verdict, but it never came. "Right now, it's really a problem. Our hospital already has more than 100 people who are quarantined at home," she told CNN over the phone. An additional 30 medical workers have been confirmed to have the virus, she said. "If the tests are fine, we can go back to work. I actually don't have any symptoms, there's just a slight problem with my CT scan, it seems there's a bit of infection," she said. Zhu estimates that of the 500 medical staff at the hospital, more than 130 may have been stricken by the virus, which has so far infected more than 60,000 globally. She declined to publicize the name of her hospital and asked to use a pseudonym as she was not...

Wuhan coronavirus death toll tops 900 as China cautiously returns to work

Hong Kong (CNN) Millions of people across China are heading back to work after the Lunar New Year break turned into an extended quarantine due to the Wuhan coronavirus. Many will be working from their homes, however, with strict quarantine guidelines in place in many cities and most businesses urging people to work remotely if possible to reduce the chances of transmission. Some semblance of normality may have returned, but the outbreak shows no signs of slowing, with the number of confirmed cases now at over 40,000 worldwide and the death toll at 910. That means the coronavirus has officially killed more people than the SARS pandemic of 2003, previously one of the worst medical crises in recent Chinese history. A total of 3,281 patients infected with the coronavirus have since been discharged from hospital as of Sunday, Chinese health authorities said. The vast majority of the deaths have been in mainland China, leaving the country in something of a bizarre si...

Russia suspends visa-free tourist travel to and from China over virus

MOSCOW  : Russia said on Saturday it was suspending visa-free travel for tourists to and from China to help contain the outbreak of a new coronavirus that emerged in China. A bilateral visa-free regime for tourist groups agreed on in 2000 will suspended from Feb. 2, a government decree said. Russia will also temporarily stop accepting and issuing documents for work visas to Chinese nationals. Russia reported its first two cases of coronavirus on Friday and restricted direct flights to China, its biggest trade partner. The Russian military is to start evacuating Russian citizens from China due to the outbreak. This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed. Russians watchdog has also issued new hygiene guidelines in which it advised Russians to tie back long hair, avoid touching door knobs and banisters in public places and to avoid close contact with people with flu symptoms Russia's con...

Toyota and Honda recall six million vehicles due to airbag glitches

The recall includes 2.9 million US vehicles and covers certain 2011 to 2019 Corollas, 2011 to 2013 Matrix, 2012 to 2018 Avalon and 2013-2018 Avalon Hybrid models. The cars have airbag control computers made by ZF-TRW that are vulnerable to electrical interference and may not signal the bags to inflate. In most cases Toyota dealers will install a noise filter between the airbag control module and its wire harness if needed. The Japanese manufacturer declined to say how many deaths or injuries have been linked to the problem. The defect could also impede the operation of seat-belt pretensioners, which help to pull drivers and passengers firmly into their seats prior to the full force of impact in a crash. The ZF-TRW airbag problem could affect as many as 12.3 million vehicles in the US made by Toyota, Honda, Fiat Chrysler, Hyundai, Kia and Mitsubishi. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has said it is possible that as many as eight people have be...

The values preached by Martin Luther King Jr. need rediscovering in 2020

t was a 25-year-old Martin Luther King Jr., whose birthday is celebrated on Monday, who stood in the pulpit of Detroit’s Second Baptist Church on Feb. 28, 1954. The Montgomery bus boycott, which would launch the future leader of the American civil rights movement to national prominence, was nearly two years away. King roused the Second Baptist congregation that Sunday morning with a sermon that did not once mention race. Discrimination, segregation, protest demonstrations — these were not on his agenda. The young preacher went deeper, if such a thing was possible during an era of racial turmoil. King got the congregation thinking about values, a subject as relevant today as it was in 1954. King talked about lost values and the need for rediscovering them. Listen to the Voices of the Movement podcast: Stories from civil rights leaders who changed America Something seemed fundamentally wrong in society, he preached. And it wasn’t because society didn’t ...

Volatile Democratic race comes to Iowa for final debate before caucuses

Winterset, Iowa (CNN) Six of the Democratic presidential candidates meet for the final debate before the Iowa caucuses on Tuesday at a strikingly fluid moment in the 2020 race when it appears any one of the top four contenders could emerge as the victor in the Hawkeye state. In tonight's CNN/Des Moines Register debate, the Democratic hopefuls are all trying to solidify their support among the state's many undecided voters, trying to lock down Iowans who will caucus for them on February. A recent flurry of polls suggests the top four hopefuls are locked in something close to a four-way standoff, with former Vice President Joe Biden, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren all clustered at the top of the field. More than a dozen interviews with likely caucus goers over the past two days underscored that indecision with many telling CNN they are still decidi...