A senior U.S. defense official says satellite imagery shows that China's newest nuclear submarine sank while under construction.

A driverless ride-hailing car in China hit a pedestrian, and people on social media are taking the carmaker’s side, because the person was reportedly crossing against the light.

The World Health Organization says it has fired the scientist who led a high-profile delegation from the U.N. health agency to China two years ago to jointly look into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, citing sexual misconduct.

Chinese health officials have defended their search for the source of the COVID-19 virus and lashed out at the World Health Organization after its leader said Beijing should have shared genetic and other information earlier.

The death toll in the earthquake in western China has jumped to 74 with 26 people still missing.

China has attacked the theory that the coronavirus pandemic may have originated as a leak from a Chinese laboratory as a politically motivated lie.

The World Health Organization says the number of new coronavirus cases globally increased by 7% in the last week, driven by rising infections in the Western Pacific.

The homeless, the sick, the elderly: For people who fell through the cracks of the official system, the then-unprecedented decision to isolate the central Chinese city of Wuhan and its 13 million people was a matter of life or death.

China has plunged a city of 13 million people into lockdown to stamp out an increase in coronavirus infections, as the country doubles down on its “zero tolerance” policy just weeks before it is set to host the Winter Olympics.

Nearly two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the origin of the virus tormenting the world remains shrouded in mystery.

A provocative exhibit by dissident Chinese artist Badiucao has opened in the industrial northern Italian city of Brescia despite pressure by the Chinese embassy in Rome to cancel it.

China’s Foreign Ministry has warned against what it calls possible “political manipulation” of a renewed probe by the World Health Organization into the origins of the coronavirus.

The international scientists dispatched to China by the World Health Organization to look for the origins of the coronavirus say the search has “stalled” and warn the window for getting to the bottom of the mystery is closing fast.

China went on the offensive ahead of the release of a U.S. intelligence report on the origins of the coronavirus, bringing out a senior official to accuse the United States of politicizing the issue by seeking to pin the blame on China.

A lawyer says Chinese citizen journalist Zhang Zhan who was sentenced to four years in jail after reporting on the original outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic is in ill health.

When a World Health Organization-led team traveled to China earlier this year to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, a top official said he was worried about biosafety standards at a laboratory close to the market where the first human cases were detected, according to a documentary released Thursday by TV2, a Danish television channel.

Asian stocks are mixed as traders await more guidance on the U.S. economic recovery.

The delta variant is challenging China’s costly strategy of isolating cities, prompting warnings that Chinese leaders who were confident they could keep out the coronavirus need a less disruptive approach.

China has suspended flights and trains, canceled professional basketball league games and announced mass coronavirus testing in Wuhan as widening outbreaks of the delta variant reached the city where the disease was first detected in late 2019.

A senior Chinese health official says China cannot accept the World Health Organization’s plan for the second phase of a study into the origins of COVID-19.

As the World Health Organization draws up plans for the next phase of its probe into how the coronavirus pandemic started, an increasing number of scientists say it isn’t up to the task and that the U.N. health agency shouldn’t even be the one to investigate.

Top U.S. and Chinese diplomats appear to have had another sharply worded exchange, with Beijing saying it told the U.S. to cease interfering in its internal affairs and accusing it of politicizing the search for the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Back-to-back tornadoes have killed 12 people in central and eastern China and left more than 300 others injured.

Virtual grocery shopping became more popular during the pandemic lockdowns, and Weee, a startup focused on Asian grocery delivery, was no exception.

Chinese health officials pushed Wednesday for expanding the search for the origins of COVID-19 beyond China, one day after the release of a World Health Organization report on the issue. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)BEIJING – Chinese health officials pushed Wednesday to expand the search for the origins of the coronavirus beyond China, one day after the release of a closely watched World Health Organization report on the issue. The search for the origins of the virus has become a diplomatic feud. "On this issue, what our Chinese experts can see is the same as what the foreign experts can see,” he said. “We are concerned that this investigation faced delays and the lack of access to virus samples," he said Wednesday.

She said the study did not rise to the level of the impact that the pandemic has had on the world. Ad“This is only a first start -- we’ve only scratched the surface of this very complex set of studies that need to be conducted,” Ben Embarek said. While the team members believe one hypothesis that the virus could have leaked from a laboratory was not likely, it was “not impossible” either, he said. There are no firm conclusions," Ben Embarek said. "And I think that’s how we should look at the whole outcome of this report — and this work.”___Josh Boak contributed from Baltimore.

"The world cannot afford to wait until the pandemic is over to start planning for the next one,” Tedros said during a news conference. Steven Solomon, WHO's principal legal officer, said the proposed pandemic treaty would need to be ratified by lawmakers in the participating countries. European Council President Charles Michel first laid out the idea of a pandemic treaty at the U.N. General Assembly in December. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the U.S. has concerns about the current push for a new pandemic treaty. “That should be our focus currently.”WHO legal officer Solomon said the pandemic treaty might also address issues such as the sharing of vaccine technology and vaccine supplies, but gave no indication how that might happen.

Matthew Kavanagh of Georgetown University said the report deepened the understanding of the virus's origins, but more information was needed. Topping the list was transmission from bats through another animal, which they said was likely to very likely. They evaluated direct spread from bats to humans as likely, and said that spread to humans from the packaging of “cold-chain” food products was possible but not likely. AdWhile it’s possible an infected animal contaminated packaging that was then brought to Wuhan and infected humans, the report said the probability is very low. “It's hard to be definitive and rule anything out.” But he said most scientists agree that bats are the most likely source.

Chinese officials briefed diplomats Friday, March 26, 2021, on the ongoing research into the origin of COVID-19, ahead of the expected release of a long-awaited report from the World Health Organization. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)BEIJING – Chinese officials briefed diplomats Friday on the ongoing research into the origin of COVID-19, ahead of the expected release of a long-awaited report from the World Health Organization. The briefing appeared to be an attempt by China to get out its view on the report, which has become enmeshed in a diplomatic spat. The U.S. and others have raised questions about Chinese influence and the independence of the findings, and China has accused critics of politicizing a scientific study. At a Biden administration health briefing Friday, U.S. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said the agency was looking forward to the release of the WHO report.

(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)WUHAN – Scribbled instructions for incoming patients plastered on the window of a silent hospital reception counter. Fear gripped the city as authorities abruptly shut its residents in their homes and froze transport links on Jan. 23. With public transportation closed, the only solution was to bicycle to the hospital, with Yang leading the way. AdSoon after sending the mother-daughter pair to hospital, Yang came down with a fever and cough and feared she had the virus. Yang is currently working on a wall-size aerial view of Wuhan under lockdown, with individual residents represented by black ink dots.

Koopmans, who was also on the WHO-led team, said they considered numerous hypotheses for how the pandemic might have started, including the possibility of a laboratory accident. He said the wildlife trade was the most likely explanation of how COVID-19 arrived in Wuhan, where the first human cases were detected. Ad“I am convinced we’re going to find out fairly soon within the next few years," Daszak said regarding the outbreak's origins. Marion Koopmans, who was also on the WHO-led team, said they considered numerous hypotheses for how the pandemic might have started, including the possibility of a laboratory accident. As with all WHO missions, the team members and itinerary of the trip had to be approved by China.

AdHe also sanctioned a bill that makes the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines easier. However, the actual numbers of COVID-19 cases, like elsewhere in the world, are thought to be far higher, in part due to limited testing. Murphy, who’s running for re-election this, said the state’s COVID-19 trends are headed in the right direction, though they’ve been up a bit this week. ___SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s governor says all adults in the state will be eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccines on April 1. Ad___PHOENIX — Arizona on Wednesday reported 830 confirmed coronavirus cases and 78 deaths, following two days of no new deaths.

The World Health Organization team is briefed outside of the Huanan Seafood Market on the third day of their field visit in Wuhan, China. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)BEIJING – China fired back at the U.S. on Sunday over allegations from the White House that Beijing withheld some information about the coronavirus outbreak from World Health Organization investigators. "To better understand this pandemic and prepare for the next one, China must make available its data from the earliest days of the outbreak." In their comments while in China, team members said they had some new insights into the origins of the pandemic that has killed more than 2.3 million people, but that major questions are still unanswered. ___This story has been corrected to show that the White House national security adviser's statement was issued on Saturday, not Friday.

AdHere's a look at the theories the team explored during their visit:THE BATSThe mission to Wuhan did not change a major theory about where the virus came from. Chinese health officials note that only surfaces at the market tested positive for the virus, not any of the animal products. ___THE LABThe Chinese and the international experts concluded it is extremely unlikely the virus leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a lab with an extensive collection of virus samples. WHO team member Marion Koopmans noted that it still wouldn't answer the question of where the virus came from originally. Team member Thea Koelsen Fischer said she did not get to see raw data and had to rely on an analysis of the data that was presented to her.

(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)WUHAN – The coronavirus most likely first appeared in humans after jumping from an animal, a team of international and Chinese scientists looking for the origins of COVID-19 said Tuesday, saying an alternate theory that the virus leaked from a Chinese lab was unlikely. And it allowed the joint Chinese-WHO team to further explore the lab leak theory — which former U.S. President Donald Trump and officials from his administration had put forward without evidence — and decide it was unlikely. But another team member, Danish scientist Thea Koelsen Fischer, told reporters that team members could not rule out the possibility of further investigation and new leads. He also noted that there were no reports of this virus in any lab anywhere before the pandemic. Liang, the head of the Chinese team, said the virus also appeared to have been spreading in parts of the city other than the market, so it remains possible that the virus originated elsewhere.

Daszak, part of the team investigating the origins of the coronavirus in Wuhan, says the Chinese side granted full access to all sites and personnel they requested to visit and meet with. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)WUHAN – A member of the World Health Organization expert team investigating the origins of the coronavirus in Wuhan said the Chinese side granted full access to all sites and personnel they requested — a level of openness that even he hadn’t expected. So really good," said the British-born zoologist, who is president of the NGO EcoHealth Alliance in New York City. Daszak said the team was also given wide access when visiting hospitals that treated patients in the initial outbreak at the end of 2019 and beginning of 2020. The same level of access was given at the Huanan Seafood Market that was linked to early case clusters, he said.

He says, “The trend is favorable, but the situation is still very, very bad.”Spain has administered 1.67 million vaccine doses, with more than 586,000 people getting both doses. — Nebraska will receive 21% more doses of coronavirus vaccines this week as the state continues to work to speed up distribution of the shots. ___GENEVA — A top international Red Cross organization has announced a 100-million Swiss franc ($110 million) plan to help support the immunization of 500 million people worldwide against COVID-19 amid concerns about vast inequalities in the rollout of coronavirus vaccines between rich and poor countries. AdThe International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, an umbrella organization of national groups, says the world’s 50 poorest countries have received only 0.1% of the total vaccine doses that have been administered worldwide so far — with 70% administered in the 50 richest countries. The initiative is to begin with 66 national Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and others are in talks with their respective governments.

Peter Ben Embarek of the World Health Organization team, at left, arrives for a field visit at the Service Center for Party Members and Residents of Jiangxinyuan Community in Wuhan, China on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. The team on Thursday spent around two hours meetings with managers and residents at the Jiangxinyuan community administrative center in Wuhan's Hanyang District. Earlier, Daszak tweeted images of media outside the virology institute, saying: “Thanking the press for their patience and interest in getting this news out to the world. The Wuhan Institute of Virology has collected extensive virus samples, leading to unproven allegations that it may have caused the original outbreak by leaking the virus into the surrounding community. China has also pushed ahead with a plan to vaccinate 50 million people for COVID-19 by the middle of this month.

(John Shearer/Invision via AP)BEIJING – A ruckus brought by China over Canadian T-shirts bearing an altered logo of the New York hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan continued Wednesday, with China’s Foreign Ministry saying it didn’t buy Canada’s explanation that the shirts were not an insult linked to the coronavirus. Canada's Foreign Ministry said this week that the shirts using the “W” logo of the Wu-Tang Clan but with the group’s name replaced with “Wuhan” was not intended as a slight. The Chinese-made T-shirts were reportedly ordered last summer by someone at the Canadian Embassy in Beijing and word of them began circulating recently on the internet in China. China says her case is politically motivated as part of a U.S. effort to stifle the nation’s global economic expansion. In apparent retaliation, China detained former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and Canadian entrepreneur Michael Spavor, placed restrictions on various Canadian exports to China, and sentenced a convicted Canadian drug smuggler to death in a sudden retrial.

Journalists and security personnel gather near the entrance of the Wuhan Institute of Virology after a visit by the World Health Organization team in Wuhan in China's Hubei province on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. Reporters followed the team to the high security facility, but as with past visits, there was little direct access to team members, who have given scant details of their discussions and visits thus far. AdOne of China’s top virus research labs, the Wuhan Institute of Virology built an archive of genetic information about bat coronaviruses after the 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. That has led to unproven allegations that it may have a link to the original outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan in late 2019. One possibility is that a wildlife poacher might have passed the virus to traders who carried it to Wuhan.

Starting next week, 1 million doses will be distributed to some 6,500 pharmacies across the country, the White House said. The administration is also boosting by 500,000 the weekly allocation of vaccines sent directly to states and territories for the coming weeks, up to 10.5 million. It is allowing state and local governments to receive additional federal dollars to cover previously incurred expenses relating to the pandemic. The number of participating pharmacies and the allocation of vaccines are expected to accelerate as drug makers increase production. The Biden administration has sought to increase certainty to state governments on their upcoming allocations to streamline deliveries and prevent stockpiling of second doses for the two-dose regimens.

In this Nov. 12, 2018, file photo, flags of Canada and China are placed for the first China-Canada economic and financial strategy dialogue in Beijing, China. China says it has lodged a formal complaint with Canada over T-shirts ordered by one of the countrys Beijing Embassy staff that allegedly mocked Chinas response to the coronavirus outbreak. But Canadian media reported the logo was a W in homage to the New York hip-hop group the Wu-Tang Clan and that Ottawa had apologized for any misunderstanding. The T-shirts were reportedly ordered last summer and it wasn't clear if any were still in circulation. China says her case is politically motivated as part of a U.S. effort to stifle the nation's global economic expansion.

A member of a World Health Organization team is seen wearing protective gear during a field visit to the Hubei Animal Disease Control and Prevention Center for another day of field visit in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. The WHO team is investigating the origins of the coronavirus pandemic has visited two disease control centers in the province. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)WUHAN – A World Health Organization team of international experts visited an animal disease center in the Chinese city of Wuhan on Tuesday as part of their investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. He also tweeted that they had met with staff in charge of livestock health in Hubei province, toured laboratories and had an in-depth discussion along with questions and answers. AdIntense negotiations preceded the WHO visit to Wuhan, where the first COVID-19 cases were detected in late 2019.

The state crossed that mark Monday, exactly a year after officials reported the first case of a coronavirus infection in Massachusetts. — Maryland’s acting health secretary says the state’s hospitals have received less than half of their expected allocations of second doses of the coronavirus vaccine for front-line health workers this week. Schrader says state officials were talked with the federal Department of Health and Human Services all weekend trying to figure out what happened. The CDC says Iowa has delivered 190,689 first vaccine doses to individuals, or 6,044 per 100,000 people, the third lowest rate in the nation. Ad___PRAGUE — The Czech Republic is not planning to limit use of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine for elderly people like some other European Union nations.

(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)WUHAN – A World Health Organization team investigating the origins of the coronavirus pandemic visited two disease control centers on Monday that had an early hand in managing the outbreak in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. The team on Monday visited both the Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and its Wuhan city office, amid tight Chinese controls on access to information about the virus. AdThe evidence the team assembles will add to what is expected to be a years-long quest for answers. At a press briefing, WHO’s COVID-19 technical lead Maria Van Kerkhove said the team has plans to visit the Wuhan Institute of Virology, among other sites. Two people died of the disease in January, the first reported COVID-19 deaths in China in several months.

The market was the site of a December 2019 outbreak of the virus. The market has since been largely ruled out but it could provide hints to how the virus spread so widely. “Very important site visits today — a wholesale market first & Huanan Seafood Market just now," Peter Daszak, a zoologist with the U.S. group EcoHealth Alliance and a member of the WHO team, said in a tweet. The market was the food distribution center for Wuhan during the city's 76-day lockdown last year. AdOne possibility is that a wildlife poacher might have passed the virus to traders who carried it to Wuhan.

Workers move boxes of computers on a street of Wuhan in central China's Hubei province on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)BEIJING – An official indicator of China’s manufacturing activity weakened for a second consecutive month in January, following outbreaks of domestic COVID-19 cases that affected the operations of some industries. The purchasing managers’ index, or PMI, for China’s manufacturing sector fell to 51.3 in January, down 0.6 percentage points from December, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics on Sunday. Readings above 50 indicate expansion of the manufacturing industry, while a reading below it reflects a contraction. AdThe PMI for China’s non-manufacturing sector came in at 52.4 in January, down from 55.7 in December, according to NBS.

The World Health Organization team investigating the origins of the coronavirus pandemic visited another Wuhan hospital that had treated early COVID-19 patients on their second full day of work on Saturday. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)WUHAN – Members of a World Health Organization team investigating the origins of the coronavirus pandemic visited another Wuhan hospital that had treated early COVID-19 patients on their second full day of work Saturday. “All hypotheses are on the table as the team follows the science in their work to understand the origins of the COVID19 virus,” WHO tweeted. One possibility is that a wildlife poacher might have passed the virus to traders who carried it to Wuhan. ___The story has been updated to correct the spelling of Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital.

The WHO team members and Chinese officials earlier had their first in-person meetings at a hotel ahead of field visits in and around the central city of Wuhan in the coming days. She said they were discussing their program of visits and Chinese team leader “prof. “All hypotheses are on the table as the team follows the science in their work to understand the origins of the COVID19 virus,” WHO tweeted. One possibility is that a wildlife poacher might have passed the virus to traders who carried it to Wuhan. ___Associated Press photographer Ng Han Guan in Wuhan, China, and video journalist Sam McNeil in Beijing contributed to this report.

Workers wave to the team of experts from the World Health Organization who ended their quarantine and prepare to leave the quarantine hotel by bus in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)WUHAN – A World Health Organization team emerged from quarantine in the Chinese city of Wuhan on Thursday to start field work in a fact-finding mission on the origins of the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic. The mission has become politically charged, as China seeks to avoid blame for alleged missteps in its early response to the outbreak. “All hypotheses are on the table as the team follows the science in their work to understand the origins of the COVID19 virus,” WHO tweeted. One possible source of the virus is bats in caves in rural Yunnan province, about 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) southwest of Wuhan.

Plastic surgeon Daniel Suver receives the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine from Andrea Castelblanco during a vaccine clinic on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020, at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, Alaska. Anchorage is averaging about 60 new COVID-19 cases a day, said Dr. Janet Johnston, the epidemiologist for the Anchorage Health Department. More than 90 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine will be produced in Japan. Ad___SACRAMENTO -- California reported its second-highest number of COVID-19 deaths — while the rates of new coronavirus infections and hospitalizations continue to drop. ___ALBANY, N.Y. — New York may have undercounted COVID-19 deaths among nursing home residents by thousands.

This year, authorities have offered free refunds on plane tickets and extra pay for workers who stay put to dissuade travel for the holiday. The National Health Commission on Thursday reported 41 new cases of local transmission of the virus, a decline from previous days. The Philippines has nearly 520,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases, the second-highest number in Southeast Asia after Indonesia, and 10,552 deaths. — Vietnam has reported 82 new COVID-19 cases in two clusters, hours after counting its first new local cases in nearly two months. Meanwhile, Australia has extended its suspension of quarantine-free travel from New Zealand for another three days.

Zhang is demanding to meet a visiting World Health Organization expert team, saying it should speak with affected families who allege they are being muffled by the Chinese government. China approved the visit by researchers under the auspices of the U.N. agency only after months of negotiations. The WHO team, which arrived in Wuhan on Jan. 14 to investigate the origins of the virus, is expected to begin field work later this week after a 14-day quarantine. Zhang, a Wuhan native now living in the southern city of Shenzhen, has been organizing relatives of coronavirus victims in China to demand accountability from officials. Many are angry that the state downplayed the virus at the beginning of the outbreak, and have attempted to file lawsuits against the Wuhan government.

British doctors are urging the government to review its policy of delaying 2nd virus vaccine shot for 12 weeks. ___SANTA FE, N.M. -- New Mexico on Saturday reported 859 additional COVID-19 cases and 38 more deaths. The state health secretary says 584 people are on a waiting list for hospital beds, 101 of them requiring intensive therapy. The U.S. leads the world with 24.8 million confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 415,000 deaths. ___MILAN — Italian premier Giuseppe Conte is pledging legal action not only against Pfizer but any pharmaceutical company that doesn’t meet its coronavirus vaccine commitments.

Residents practice Taiji at a park in Wuhan in central China's Hubei Province on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021. Life has largely returned to normal in the city of 11 million, even as the rest of the world grapples with the spread of the virus' more contagious variants. Wuhan accounted for the bulk of China’s 4,635 deaths from COVID-19, a number that has largely stayed static for months. China on Saturday announced another 107 cases, bringing its total since the start of the pandemic to 88,911. “Since Wuhan people went through the pandemic, they've done better in personal precautions than people in other regions."

Dr. Eric Topol, head of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, said the U.S. should aim to vaccinate 2.5 million a day. Germany extended its lockdown this week until Feb. 14 amid concern about the mutant viruses. The 76-day Wuhan lockdown began a year ago with a notice sent to people’s smartphones at 2 a.m. announcing the airport and train and bus stations would shut at 10 a.m. By the time of the lockdown, the virus had spread well beyond China's borders. At the same time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday that of nearly 40 million doses distributed to the states so far, just 19 million have been dispensed.

China is rolling out the state-backed film praising Wuhan ahead of the anniversary of the 76-day lockdown in the central Chinese city where the coronavirus was first detected. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)(AP) – Two new films about Wuhan were released Friday, the eve of the anniversary of the 76-day lockdown in the central Chinese city where the coronavirus was first detected. The state-backed film, directed by Cao Jinling, debuted in Wuhan and goes into general release in other Chinese cities on Friday. Ai’s film tackles the same story from the perspective of construction workers, delivery staff, medical workers and Wuhan residents. ___Associated Press photographer Ng Han Guan in Wuhan, China, and writer Huizhong Wu in Taipei, Taiwan, contributed to this report.

“What is clear to the panel is that public health measures could have been applied more forcefully by local and national health authorities in China in January,” it said. The U.N. health agency convened its emergency committee on Jan. 22, but did not characterize the emerging pandemic as an international emergency until a week later. “One more question is whether it would have helped if WHO used the word pandemic earlier than it did,” the panel said. WHO did not describe the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic until March 11, weeks after the virus had begun causing explosive outbreaks in numerous continents, meeting WHO’s own definition for a flu pandemic. The U.N. health agency bowed to the international pressure at the annual assembly of its member states last spring by creating the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response.

China had largely contained the coronavirus that first was detected in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019 but has suffered a surge of cases since December. A total of 645 people are being treated in Nangong and the Hebei provincial capital, Shijiazhuang, Xinhua said. Virus clusters also have been found in Beijing and the provinces of Heilongjiang and Liaoning in the northeast and Sichuan in the southwest. More than 10 million people in Shijiazhuang underwent virus tests by late Friday, Xinhua said, citing a deputy mayor, Meng Xianghong. Meanwhile, researchers sent by the World Health Organization were in Wuhan preparing to investigate the origins of the virus.

The global death toll from COVID-19 has topped 2 million. “There’s been a terrible amount of death," said Dr. Ashish Jha, a pandemic expert and dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health. All told, over 35 million doses of various COVID-19 vaccines have been administered around the world, according to the University of Oxford. Also, the majority of the world’s COVID-19 vaccine doses have already been snapped up by wealthy countries. As a result, the World Health Organization’s chief scientist warned it is highly unlikely that herd immunity — which would require at least 70% of the globe to be vaccinated — will be achieved this year.

A city in northern China is building a 3,000-unit quarantine facility to deal with an anticipated overflow of patients as COVID-19 cases rise ahead of the Lunar New Year travel rush. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)BEIJING – A city in northern China is building a 3,000-unit quarantine facility to deal with an anticipated overflow of patients as COVID-19 cases rise ahead of the annual Lunar New Year travel rush. The spike in northern China comes as a World Health Organization team prepares to collect data on the origin of the pandemic in Wuhan, which lies to the south. China approved the World Health Organization visit only after months of diplomatic wrangling that prompted an unusual public complaint by the head of WHO. ___Associated Press journalists Sam McNeil and Ng Han Guan in Wuhan, China, and video producer Olivia Zhang in Beijing contributed to this report.

A medical worker gives a coronavirus vaccine shot to a patient at a vaccination facility in Beijing, Friday, Jan. 15, 2021. A city in northern China is building a 3,000-unit quarantine facility to deal with an anticipated overflow of patients as COVID-19 cases rise ahead of the Lunar New Year travel rush. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)BEIJING – China says it is now treating more than 1,000 people for COVID-19 as numbers of cases continue to surge in the country’s north. The province of Hebei, just outside Beijing, accounted for 90 of the new cases, while Heilongjiang province further north reported 43 new cases. India is launching its massive immunization drive on Saturday aimed at vaccinating 300 million people by August.

A 10-member team of international researchers from the World Health Organization hopes to find clues as to the origin of the coronavirus pandemic in the central Chinese city of Wuhan where the virus was first detected in late 2019. (Xiong Qi/Xinhua via AP, File)WUHAN – The WHO team of international researchers that arrived in the central Chinese city of Wuhan on Thursday hopes to find clues to the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic. It's possible that the virus came to Wuhan undetected from elsewhere, but the city of 11 million is a logical place for the mission to start. The growing number of patients triggered alarms that prompted China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention to send a team to investigate. In announcing the experts’ visit, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said “the tracing of the virus origin will most likely involve multiple countries and localities."

A 10-member team of international researchers from the World Health Organization hopes to find clues as to the origin of the coronavirus pandemic in the central Chinese city of Wuhan where the virus was first detected in late 2019. (Xiong Qi/Xinhua via AP, File)WUHAN – The WHO team of international researchers that arrived in the central Chinese city of Wuhan on Thursday hopes to find clues to the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic. It's possible that the virus came to Wuhan undetected from elsewhere, but the city of 11 million is a logical place for the mission to start. Possible visits after quarantine are the Huanan Seafood Market, the site of the December 2019 cluster of cases, and the Wuhan Institute of Virology. In announcing the experts’ visit, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said “the tracing of the virus origin will most likely involve multiple countries and localities."

The rest of the team arrived at the Wuhan airport and walked through a makeshift clear plastic tunnel into the airport. The team includes virus and other experts from the United States, Australia, Germany, Japan, Britain, Russia, the Netherlands, Qatar and Vietnam. A government spokesman said this week they will “exchange views” with Chinese scientists but gave no indication whether they would be allowed to gather evidence. A possible focus for investigators is the Wuhan Institute of Virology in the city where the outbreak first emerged. One of China's top virus research labs, it built an archive of genetic information about bat coronaviruses after the 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.

Members of a WHO team arrives in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021. China on Thursday also reported its first new death attributed to COVID-19 in months, raising the toll to 4,635 among 87,844 cases. The WHO team includes virus and other experts from the United States, Australia, Germany, Japan, Britain, Russia, the Netherlands, Qatar and Vietnam. In other developments around the Asia-Pacific region:— Indonesia started vaccinating health workers and public servants with the COVID-19 vaccine from Chinese drugmaker Sinovac Biotech. The first 25 health workers to get the jab Thursday were employees of Jakarta’s Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital.

Another 16 cases were reported in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang and one in the northern province of Shanxi. The world’s fourth most populated country plans to vaccinate millions of health care workers and other other high-risk groups in the coming months. Health officials are still working to secure access to enough doses to protect around 67% of the population. — Japan expanded a coronavirus state of emergency to seven more prefectures Wednesday, affecting more than half the population amid a surge in infections across the country. Suga has been criticized as being to slow to act as the country’s coronavirus infections and deaths roughly doubled over the past month to about 300,000 and 4,100 respectively.

In this photo taken April 14, 2020 and released by Melanie Wang, Zhang Zhan eats a meal at a park during a visit to Wuhan in central China's Hubei province. A Chinese court on Monday sentenced the former lawyer who reported on the early stage of the coronavirus outbreak to four years in prison on charges of "picking fights and provoking trouble," one of her lawyers said. (Melanie Wang via AP)BEIJING – A Chinese court on Monday sentenced a former lawyer who reported on the early stage of the coronavirus outbreak to four years in prison on charges of “picking fights and provoking trouble,” one of her lawyers said. He said the court did not ask Zhang whether she would appeal, nor did she indicate whether she would. In the early days of the outbreak, authorities reprimanded several Wuhan doctors for “rumor-mongering” after they alerted friends on social media.

Most researchers think that the virus, also known as SARS-CoV-2, originated in animals in China, probably bats, and the WHO has put together a 10-person team to examine the science. They will likely start in Wuhan, where the outbreak was first reported, though a precise itinerary hasn't yet been set. Leendertz said scientists would be looking to see whether stored medical samples from before the first known case provide evidence that the virus was circulating earlier than previously thought. Leendertz expressed confidence in China's “excellent researchers” and said data collected by the country's extensive disease surveillance system would likely prove valuable. “How the virus jumped from which animal to perhaps an intermediate host and then to humans.

An elderly woman with COVID-19, center, is escorted by two nurses after being admitted to a hospital in Wuhan, China in a scene from the documentary "76 Days." The film, shot in four Wuhan hospitals, captures a local horror before it became a global nightmare. (MTV Documentary Films via AP)NEW YORK – “Papa!” screams a hospital worker, covered from head to toe in a Hazmat suit and PPE, in the opening moments of the documentary “76 Days." Her colleagues restrain her as she sobs, moaning, “Papa, you'll stay forever in my heart.”“76 Days," shot in four Wuhan hospitals, captures a local horror before it became a global nightmare. “I feel like right now there is such a toxic background to a lot of the discussions around the virus,” Wu says.

Airport workers wearing face masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus wait for COVID-19 testing at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, Monday, Nov. 23, 2020. Chinese authorities are testing millions of people, imposing lockdowns and shutting down schools after multiple locally transmitted coronavirus cases were discovered in three cities across the country last week. (AP Photo)BEIJING – Chinese authorities are testing millions of people, imposing lockdowns and shutting down schools after multiple locally transmitted coronavirus cases were discovered in three cities across the country last week. Recent flareups have shown that there is still a risk of the virus returning, despite being largely controlled within China. On Monday, the National Health Commission reported two new locally transmitted cases in Shanghai over the previous 24 hours, bringing the total to seven since Friday.

Musicians from the Wuhan Philharmonic Orchestra rehearse a day before their concert to open the Beijing Music Festival, China's first classical music festival since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, in Beijing, Friday, Oct. 9, 2020. China is holding its first classical music festival since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic featuring musicians from the global epicenter of Wuhan, in an attempt to aid in the psychological and emotional healing process. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)BEIJING – China is holding its first classical music festival since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, featuring musicians from the outbreak's initial epicenter in an attempt to aid in the psychological and emotional healing process. More than 11 million people in Wuhan and its surrounding area underwent a draconian 76-day lockdown at the start of the pandemic. “This is not easy (and) we are grateful for this.”Amid government efforts to promote its successes in fighting the virus, Zou said the festival's organizers were not “doing this for official propaganda."

Even as China has largely controlled the outbreak, the coronavirus is still surging across other parts of the world. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)NEW DELHI – India has registered a single-day spike of 94,372 new confirmed coronavirus cases, driving the country’s overall tally to 4.75 million. The Health Ministry on Sunday also reported 1,114 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking total fatalities up to 78,586. It says 64,700 passengers were transported aboard 500 domestic flights on Friday. The airport is preparing to eventually resume international flights to destinations such as Seoul, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta, Qu Xiaoni, an airport representative was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency.

This image made from an Aug 3, 2020 video shows crowd gather in a pool as they watch performers on a stage at Wuhan Maya Beach Water Park in Wuhan, central China. Now, some are letting loose en masse at rocking nighttime pool parties at the popular amusement park chain. Now, some are letting loose en masse at rocking nighttime pool parties at a popular amusement park chain. The Wuhan Maya Beach Water Park reopened in late June, and the crowds have picked up this month. In order to enter the Wuhan water park, party-goers need to reserve tickets online in advance with their national ID number.

About 1 in 5 infected children were hospitalized versus 1 in 3 adults; three children died. The study lacks complete data on all the cases, but it also suggests that many infected children have no symptoms. McEnany was correct that children appear less likely to become critically ill from COVID-19 than from the flu. Also, blood clots and organ damage have been found in children with COVID-19, including those who develop a related inflammatory illness. __The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education.

(Long Linzhi/Xinhua via AP)BEIJING The Yangtze River region has seen its second highest rainfall in more than a half-century so far this year as deadly flooding strikes much of China. Around 28,000 homes have been damaged and 141 people have died or are missing in the floods since last month. The Yangtze, Asia's longest river, and parts of its watershed have seen the second highest rainfall since 1961 over the past six months, Zheng told reporters. Hubei province, through which the Yangtze flows and famed for its numerous lakes and rivers, is under particular threat. The floodwaters have inundated towns across southern and central China and prompted emergency workers to shore-up embankments and dig channels to release overflow.

Xu Lin, Vice head of the Publicity Department of Communist Party shows a copy of the white paper on fighting COVID-19 China in action during a press conference at the State Council Information Office in Beijing, Sunday, June 7, 2020. Senior Chinese health officials defended their country's response to the new coronavirus pandemic, saying they provided information in a timely and transparent manner. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)BEIJING Senior Chinese officials, releasing a lengthy report on the nation's response to the coronavirus pandemic, defended their government's actions and said that China provided information in a timely and transparent manner. He ticked off a series of government actions from a detailed timeline in the government report, which ran to 66 pages in the English version. Wuhan, where the first cases of the new virus were detected late last year, was the hardest hit part of China in the outbreak.

China's capital is lowering its emergency response level to the second-lowest starting Saturday for the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)BEIJING China's exports and imports both fell in May as the coronavirus and trade tensions with the U.S. weighed on demand both at home and abroad. Exports fell 3.3% compared to a year earlier to $206.8 billion and imports dropped 16.7%to $143.9 billion, the Chinese customs agency said Sunday. The plunge in imports drove the country's trade surplus up to $62.9 billion. 2 billion, while imports from the U.S. were $9.3 billion.

At least 34 of the new cases were linked to door-to-door sellers hired by Richway, a Seoul-based health product provider. In other developments in the Asia-Pacific region: BEIJING LOWERS EMERGENCY: Chinas capital is lowering its emergency response level to the second-lowest starting Saturday for the coronavirus pandemic. Beijing has reported no new cases of local transmission in at least 50 days and as many as 90 days in some districts. China on Saturday reported three new confirmed cases of the coronavirus, all brought from outside the country. PANGOLIN GETS TOP PROTECTION IN CHINA: China has accorded the highest level of protection to the armadillo-like pangolin as part of its crackdown on the wildlife trade following the global coronavirus pandemic.

Moves by countries to reopen schools that were shut to prevent the spread of coronavirus could risk a second wave of infections, some studies suggest. Most cases of Covid-19 in children are mild, but studies suggest kids may play a major role in transmitting the virus to each other and to vulnerable adults -- and that keeping schools closed for longer may help stop the spread of the coronavirus. He added that since we know children can spread flu, "it is not unreasonable to suspect" that they may be able to spread the coronavirus. But I think I think the evidence across the board does show that school closures will reduce transmission, alongside a raft of other other social distancing interventions," he said. Case numbers are falling in many countries after social distancing and school closures were implemented.

WUHAN – After 11 weeks of lockdown, people went outdoors and by the thousands boarded the first trains and planes leaving Wuhan as the last restrictions on movement were lifted Wednesday in the Chinese city where the coronavirus pandemic began. Along the embankments and bridges, citizens waved flags, chanted “Wuhan, let’s go!” and sang a capella renditions of China’s national anthem. While there are questions about the veracity of China's count, the unprecedented lockdown of Wuhan and Hubei have been successful enough that other countries adopted similar measures. “Wuhan people are historically famous for their strong will.”During the 76-day lockdown, Wuhan residents had been allowed out of their homes only to buy food or attend to other tasks deemed absolutely necessary. About 100 passengers boarded the first train leaving Hankou station, bound for Jingzhou, another city in Hubei.

A woman wearing a mask walks past a quarantine notice about the outbreak of coronavirus in Wuhan, China, at an arrival hall of Haneda airport in Tokyo, Japan. REUTERS/Kim Kyung HoonThe first group of people quarantined in San Antonio over the coronavirus were released Thursday after 14 days. The 90 evacuees at Lackland Air Force Base will now be allowed to go home, wherever that is in the United States. Lackland continued a quarantine for a second group of evacuees from the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked near Tokyo, Japan. Our residents should continue to go about their lives.”More information about the coronavirus disease is available at the CDC’s Novel Coronavirus 2019 website.

BEIJING (AP) – The World Health Organization declared the outbreak sparked by a new virus in China that has been exported to more than a dozen countries as a global emergency Thursday after the number of cases spiked tenfold in a week. Eighteen other countries have since reported cases, as scientists race to understand how exactly the virus is spreading and how severe it is. Outbreak specialists worry that the spread of new viruses from patients to health workers can signal the virus is becoming adapted to human transmission. There have been cases reported of the infectious virus spreading to others in a household or workplace in China and elsewhere. In comparison, the SARS virus killed about 10% of people who caught it.

HOUSTON – The JUSGO Supermarket was open for business despite rumors that an employee at the store had come down with the novel coronavirus. It affects our supermarket, it affects Chinatown business and everybody gets scared," Chen said. KPRC 2 reached out to the Houston Health Department about the rumors. In this case, it seems to be the Chinese community,” said Scott Packard, a spokesman for the Houston Health Department. He said it was the health department’s standard procedure to avoid commenting on suspected cases because it leads to misinformation.

The CDC already has quarantine facilities in place at 20 ports of entry, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Anchorage, Honolulu, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Atlanta, Miami and Houston. George W. Bush Intercontinental Airport announced the airport will take preventative measures to ensure the community is protected after the CDC announced the expansion. Houston Airports is waiting for further guidance on when screenings will begin and stands ready with our partners to ensure our community is protected. (2/3) — Houston Bush Airport (@iah) January 28, 2020Travelers flying through Bush Intercontinental Airport said they welcome the move. He said the 20 airports involved are “the airports that receive 90 percent of all passengers from China.

(CNN) -- Disney is closing down its mega theme park in China over the Lunar New Year holiday as fears grow over the deadly Wuhan virus. Shanghai Disney Resort made the announcement on its official website on Friday, saying the closure was "in response to the prevention and control of the disease outbreak." At least 10 cities in central Hubei province are facing travel restrictions, including Wuhan. The closure comes less than two weeks after Shanghai Disney Resort unveiled a series of events tailored for China's Year of the Rat. Last year, China's Lunar New Year box office pulled in more than 5 billion yuan ($720.8 million), according to Xinhua.

(CNN) – The first person diagnosed with the Wuhan coronavirus in the United States is being treated by a few medical workers and a robot. The man, who is in his 30s, was diagnosed with the virus on Monday. Doctors are using a robot to communicate with the man from outside the isolation area. "They're looking for ongoing presence of the virus," Diaz told CNN on Thursday. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) emergency committee has said it’s too early to declare the outbreak an international public health emergency.

He's not considered a threat to medical staff or the public, health officials said. The U.S. is the fifth country to report seeing the illness, following China, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea. On Tuesday, the CDC announced it will add Chicago's O'Hare airport and Atlanta's airport to the mix later this week. More than 275 cases of the newly identified coronavirus have been confirmed in China, most of them in Wuhan, according to the World Health Organization. Officials have said it probably spread from animals to people, but this week Chinese officials said they've concluded it also can spread from person to person.