Health News Roundup: Japan keeps high coronavirus alert; China travel ban and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Scramble to track Cambodia cruise ship passengers after coronavirus case reported

Holland America Line said it is working with governments and health experts to track passengers who disembarked from its Westerdam cruise ship docked in Cambodia after an American woman tested positive for coronavirus in Malaysia. The cruise line, which is owned by cruise giant Carnival Corp, said none of the other 1,454 passengers and 802 crew have reported any symptoms.

Australia should ease travel ban on foreigners from China: ambassador

Australia should lift its ban on the arrival of foreign nationals from mainland China, China's ambassador to Australia said on Monday. Australia has since Feb. 1 prevented anyone but citizens and permanent residents from entering the country directly from mainland China, citing a need to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.

'Animals live for man': China's appetite for wildlife likely to survive virus

For the past two weeks, China's police have been raiding houses, restaurants, and makeshift markets across the country, arresting nearly 700 people for breaking the temporary ban on catching, selling or eating wild animals. The scale of the crackdown, which has netted almost 40,000 animals including squirrels, weasels and boars, suggests that China's taste for eating wildlife and using animal parts for medicinal purposes is not likely to disappear overnight, despite potential links to the new coronavirus.

Japan keeps high coronavirus alert as more citizens return from China

Japan evacuated more citizens from the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak on Monday, while the disease's spread prompted a hospital to stop accepting new patients and raised the possibility of restricting participants at next month's Tokyo Marathon. A fifth government-chartered flight carrying 65 Japanese arrived in Tokyo from Wuhan, China, early on Monday, bringing the total number repatriated from the city to 763, broadcaster NHK reported.

Chinese tourist dies of coronavirus in France, first death in Europe: minister

An 80-year-old Chinese tourist has died of the fast-spreading coronavirus in France, becoming the first fatality in Europe, French Health Minister Agnes Buzyn said on Saturday. France has recorded 12 cases of the virus, out of a global total of 67,000. The vast majority of those suffering from the virus are in China. The epidemic has killed more than 1,500 people.

Fast-food companies in China step up ‘contactless’ pickup, delivery as coronavirus rages

With the coronavirus outbreak in China continuing to spread, McDonald's Corp, Starbucks Corp and other fast-food companies are ramping up "contactless" pickup and delivery services to keep their workers and customers safe, the companies said. McDonald's has implemented contactless pickup and delivery of Big Macs, fries and other menu items across the China as the outbreak has unfolded.

Coronavirus cases rise again in China as recession looms for Japan, Singapore

The number of reported new cases of coronavirus in China's Hubei province rose on Monday after two days of falls, as authorities imposed tough new restrictions on movement to prevent the spread of the disease which has now killed more than 1,700 people. With no end in sight for the outbreak, Japan and Singapore appeared to be on the brink of recession with data on Monday pointing to possible contractions in the current quarter.

(With inputs from agencies.)