British Airways, Seoul Air, and Indonesia's Lion Air suspended all flights to and from mainland China on Wednesday as the death toll from a ballooning coronavirus outbreak grew to 132 people, most of them in the epicenter city of Wuhan. United Airlines, Air Canada, Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific, and other airlines cut the number of flights amid sagging demand and health fears, and Hong Kong has already severed most transportation with mainland China. The U.S. and Japan evacuated hundres of their citizens from Wuhan on Wednesday and Australia, Britain, and several other European countries are following suit. There are now nearly 6,000 confirmed cases of the virus in China and 15 other countries, and more than 9,000 suspected cases.
Australian researchers, meanwhile, announced they have developed a lab-grown version of the coronavirus, paving the way a possible treatment. "Having the real virus means we now have the ability to actually validate and verify all test methods, and compare their sensitivities and specificities," said Julian Druce at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity. The researchers said they would share their possible breakthrough with the World Health Organization and other nations.
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