Cruise ship chaos, Olympics concerns, and an official name for the coronavirus
At least 10 passengers on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in the Japanese port of Yokohama have tested positive for coronavirus
The number of infected could rise as more people are tested; currently, almost 300 of 3,700 passengers have been tested.
Countermeasures against infectious diseases constitute an important part of Tokyo 2020's plans to host a safe and secure Games
Passengers on another cruise ship docked in Hong Kong are also being tested.
In Wuhan, 11 large public venues are being turned into makeshift hospitals to accommodate the sick.
It has been reported that organisers of Tokyo 2020 are concerned about the impact the coronavirus could have on the Olympics. "We are extremely worried in the sense that the spread of the infectious virus could pour cold water on momentum for the Games," said Tokyo Organising Committee Chief Executive Toshiro Muto.
A spokesperson for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said that preparations for the event will continue as planned: "Countermeasures against infectious diseases constitute an important part of Tokyo 2020's plans to host a safe and secure Games. Tokyo 2020 will continue to collaborate with all relevant organisations which carefully monitor any incidence of infectious diseases and will review any countermeasures that may be necessary with all relevant organisations. Preparations for Tokyo 2020 continue as planned and we look forward to returning for the next Project Review in February."
In other news, scientists have said that they are close to announcing an official name for the virus, which has been temporarily titled 2019-nCoV. "The naming of a new virus is often quite delayed and the focus until now has been on the public health response, which is understandable," said Dr Crystal Watson, senior scholar and assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. "But there are reasons the naming should be a priority."
She said that the danger when you don't have an official name is that people start using terms like China Virus, and that can create a backlash against certain populations.
A study group at the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) began discussing a name two weeks ago and is now submitting the name to a scientific journal for publication and hopes to announce it within days.
