Health News Roundup: H5N6 bird flu in China; Coronavirus outbreak 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.

African swine fever outbreak spreads in Philippines' southern provinces

The Philippines confirmed on Sunday that African swine fever infections had spread in the south of the country, which accounts for nearly a third of the nation's 12.8 million pig herd. Additional cases have also been identified in some northern provinces, the Department of Agriculture said.

China slowly returns to work as coronavirus toll hits daily record

Workers began trickling back to offices and factories around China on Monday as the government eased some restrictions on working in the wake of the coronavirus epidemic that has now killed more than 900 people, mostly on the mainland. Sunday's death toll of 97 was the largest in a single day since the outbreak was first detected in December at a seafood market in Hubei province's capital, Wuhan.

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.

Briton in French Alps may have spread coronavirus to others across Europe

A British man who contracted the new coronavirus while attending a conference in Singapore may have led to seven other people catching the disease when he stopped off at a chalet in a French mountain village on his way home, health experts said on Sunday. The man, Britain's third case of the virus, stayed for four days in the chalet in Les Contamines-Montjoie late last month, under the same roof as a group of British holidaymakers as well as a British family who lived in the village.

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 run 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.

China reports first H5N6 bird flu in Sichuan poultry farm: Ministry

China's agriculture ministry said the highly pathogenic H5N6 strain of avian flu had been found in a poultry farm in southwestern Sichuan province. This is the first H5N6 avian flu detected from a poultry farm after four cases found in swans this year.

(With inputs from agencies.)