A team of scientists jostled for a view of the lab dish, staring impatiently for the first clue that an experimental vaccine against the new coronavirus just might work.

Canadian official Dick Pound, a senior member of the International Olympic Committee says that if the coronavirus proves too dangerous to handle at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics this summer, organisers are more likely to cancel it all together rather than postponing it or moving it to another year.    

Japanese officials have confirmed 99 more people infected by the new coronavirus (COVID-19) aboard the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess, bringing the total to 454, the Health Ministry said Monday (Feb 17).

China is swiftly building a hospital dedicated to treating patients infected with a new virus that has killed 26 people, sickened 830 people and prompted unprecedented lockdowns of 13 cities home to millions of people during the country's Lunar New Year.