Health News Roundup: Chinese cities into ghost towns; Fear can be more harmful than coronavirus and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Coronavirus turns busy Chinese cities into ghost towns

After making sure everyone's face mask is on and sanitizer is to hand, the Qiao family heads out to Jingshan Park, a former royal sanctuary beside the Forbidden City in China's capital Beijing. Snow has fallen for a second day, a rare event in the city of 21.5 million that would normally bring hundreds of thousands of people out to take photos and play. But the streets are empty and the parks are so quiet the only sound is of birds chirping.

American dies of coronavirus in China; five Britons infected in French Alps

A 60-year-old American has died of the new coronavirus, the first confirmed non-Chinese death of the illness, U.S. officials said, as millions of Chinese began returning home after a Lunar New Year break that was extended to try to contain the outbreak. While the vast majority of cases have been in China, the virus has spread to some two dozen countries abroad, including five British nationals infected in a French mountain resort.

China's Wuhan opens another makeshift hospital to fight the virus

The Chinese city at the center of the coronavirus outbreak that has killed more than 700 people across the country opened another makeshift hospital on Saturday, providing 1,500 beds, state media reported. The first medical team has arrived at the Leishenshan hospital in Wuhan and patients will be admitted on Saturday, state-run CCTV reported. It said the hospital has 32 wards and a surgical operating room.

China's virus epicenter Hubei speeds testing after complaints

China's Hubei province, the coronavirus outbreak epicenter, has started using a faster and more convenient method of testing in order to isolate patients more quickly, the official People's Daily reported on Friday. Reuters reported last month that a lack of RNA test kits in Hubei capital Wuhan may have delayed patients from being properly diagnosed and treated, contributing to the spread of the virus in the early days of the outbreak.

Budapest orchestra helps deaf people 'hear' Beethoven through touch

Zsuzsanna Foldi has been deaf all her life. Still, with her hands placed on the double bass, sitting among musicians in Budapest's Danubia orchestra, she can enjoy and literally feel Beethoven's famous Fifth Symphony. "When I sat next to the musician who played the bass today, I started crying," she said.

China health body warns against excessive use of protective suits

China's National Health Commission called for the "reasonable use" of protective suits in a statement on Sunday and cautioned against "excessive and disorderly" use of the clothing that would waste resources and could also increase infection. The statement was issued as China faces a severe shortage of equipment, including suits, masks, and goggles, to protect medical workers from infection amid a newly identified coronavirus that has killed more than 800 people.

WHO warns of the global shortage of coronavirus protective equipment

The world is facing a chronic shortage of gowns, masks, gloves and other protective equipment in the fight against a spreading coronavirus epidemic, World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday. The U.N. agency has been sending testing kits, masks, gloves, respirators and gowns to every region, Tedros told the WHO Executive Board in Geneva.

A mother's fight for toddler stranded in China's coronavirus epicenter

Amelia Pan is at home in Canada while her 2-year-old daughter Cerena is stranded far away in China's Hubei province, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, being cared for by a distant relative after the girl's father and grand-parents fell ill. "I am just hanging in there," Pan, a Canadian citizen originally from China, said in a Skype interview. "I need to stay strong so I can fight for my family."

Fear can be more harmful than coronavirus, Singapore PM says after running on shops

Fear can do more harm than the spreading coronavirus, Singapore's prime minister said on Saturday, a day after the city-state raised its alert level, prompting residents to clear out supermarket shelves of rice, noodles and toilet paper. Singapore raised its response to "orange" - the same as during the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak and the 2009 H1N1 influenza, which indicates the virus is severe and passes easily between persons.

Japan confirms 3 more coronavirus cases on a cruise liner; total now 64

Another 3 people on a cruise liner off Japan have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of confirmed cases from the ship to 64, Japan's health ministry said on Saturday. Japan's health minister on Friday said 41 people aboard the Diamond Princess had tested positive for coronavirus in addition to 20 previously identified cases, with those infected being moved to hospitals on land.

(With inputs from agencies.)