Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Data as reported by 12 February 2020*

Situation Report – 23

SITUATION IN NUMBERS

total and new cases in last 24

hours

Globally

45 171 confirmed (2068 new)

China

44 730 confirmed (2022 new)

8204 severe (871 new)

1114 deaths (97 new)

Outside of China

441 confirmed (46 new)

24 countries

1 death

WHO RISK ASSESSMENT

China

Very High

Regional Level

High

Global Level

High

*The situation report includes information provided by national authorities as of 10 AM Central European Time

HIGHLIGHTS

• No new countries reported cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.

• WHO has published key considerations for repatriation and quarantine of

travellers in relation to COVID-19. More information can be found here.

• The UN activated a Crisis Management Team (CMT) on the COVID-19

outbreak, to be led by WHO. The WHO Director-General nominated Dr Mike

Ryan, Executive Director of WHO Health Emergencies Programme as the Crisis

Manager. The CMT brings together WHO, OCHA, IMO (International Maritime

Organization), UNICEF, ICAO, WFP, FAO, the World Bank and several

departments of the UN Secretariat. It held its first meeting yesterday via

teleconference. This mechanism will help WHO focus on the health response

while the other agencies will bring their expertise to bear on the wider social,

economic and developmental implications of the outbreak. Additional

members will be included depending on the evolution of the outbreak and its

impact globally.

• WHO has prepared a list of Q&A on infection prevention and control for

health care workers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed 2019-

nCoV

Figure 1. Countries, territories or areas with reported confirmed cases of COVID-19, 12 February 2020

TECHNICAL FOCUS: Internationally exported COVID-19 cases

Excluding China, there are 24 countries reporting cases of COVID-19. Among these 24 countries, 23 report cases with

an exposure in China. In addition, 11 of these 23 countries report cases attributed to local transmission inside the

reporting country. Four of the 24 countries report cases where likely exposure occurred outside the reporting

country and outside of China. Among these four reporting countries the most likely countries where exposure

occurred were France, Germany, Japan and Singapore (see map below). All transmissions occurred within known

defined clusters.

SURVEILLANCE

Table 1. Confirmed cases of COVID-19 acute respiratory disease reported by provinces, regions and cities in China,

12 February 2020

Province/Region/City

Population (in 10,000s)

Confirmed Cases

Suspect

Cases

Total Deaths

Hubei

5917

33366

11295

1068

Guangdong

11346

1219

135

Zhejiang

5737

1131

263

Henan

9605

1135

538

Hunan

6899

946

135

Anhui

6324

889

Jiangxi

4648

844

155

Jiangsu

8051

543

Chongqing

3102

505

428

Shandong

10047

497

Sichuan

8341

436

432

Heilongjiang

3773

378

171

Beijing

2154

352

218

Shanghai

2424

306

177

Fujian

3941

272

Hebei

7556

251

Shaanxi

3864

225

367

Guangxi

4926

222

248

Yunnan

4830

154

Hainan

934

145

206

Shanxi

3718

124

Guizhou

3600

131

Liaoning

4359

111

287

Tianjin

1560

106

328

Gansu

2637

Jilin

2704

Inner Mongolia

2534

Xinjiang

2487

Ningxia

688

Hong Kong SAR

745

Qinghai

603

Taipei and environs

2359

Macao SAR

Xizang

344

Total

142823

44730

16067

1114

China Statistical Yearbook - 2019

National Bureau of Statistics of China, 1 October 2019

Number of individuals under investigation for COVID-19 as of 12 Feb 2020. This category is not cumulative.

Table 2. Countries, territories or areas with reported confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths. Data as of 12

February 2020

WHO Region

Country/Territory/Area

Confirmed

cases (new)

Total

cases with

travel

history to

China

(new)

Total cases with

possible or

confirmed

transmission

outside of China

†

(new)

Total cases with

site of

transmission

under

investigation

(new)

Total deaths

(new)

Western Pacific Region

China

‡

44 730 (2022)

1114 (97)

Singapore

47 (2)

22 (0)

25 (2)

0 (0)

Japan

28 (2)

24 (2)

4 (0)

0 (0)

Republic of Korea

28 (0)

13 (0)

§§

(0)

3 (0)

0 (0)

Malaysia

18 (0)

15 (0)

‡‡

(0)

0 (0)

Australia

15 (0)

0 (0)

Viet Nam

15 (0)

8 (0)

7 (0)

0 (0)

Philippines

3 (0)

2 (0)

0 (0)

1 (0)

Cambodia

1 (0)

0 (0)

South-East Asia Region

Thailand

33 (0)

23 (0)

†††

(0)

4 (0)

0 (0)

India

3 (0)

0 (0)

Nepal

1 (0)

0 (0)

Sri Lanka

1 (0)

0 (0)

Region of the Americas

United States of

America

13 (0)

11 (0)

2 (0)

0 (0)

Canada

7 (0)

6 (0)

0 (0)

1 (0)

0 (0)

European Region

Germany

16 (2)

2 (0)

14 (2)

0 (0)

France

11 (0)

5 (0)

6 (0)

0 (0)

The United Kingdom

8 (0)

1 (0)

***

(0)

0 (0)

Italy

3 (0)

0 (0)

Russian Federation

2 (0)

0 (0)

Spain

2 (0)

0 (0)

(0)

0 (0)

Belgium

1 (0)

0 (0)

Finland

1 (0)

0 (0)

Sweden

1 (0)

0 (0)

Eastern Mediterranean

Region

United Arab Emirates

8 (0)

6 (0)

1 (0)

0 (0)

Other

International

conveyance (Japan)

175

(40)

0 (0)

1 (1)

174 (39)

0 (0)

Case classifications are based on WHO case definitions for COVID-19.

†

Location of transmission is classified based on WHO analysis of available official data and may be subject to reclassification as additional data

become available.

‡

Confirmed cases in China include cases confirmed in Hong Kong SAR (49 confirmed cases, 1 death), Macao SAR (10 confirmed cases) and Taipei

and environs (18 confirmed cases).

Cases identified on a cruise ship currently in Japanese territorial waters.

The exposure for 2 cases occurred outside of Spain.

***

The exposure for 6 cases occurred outside of the United Kingdom.

§§

The exposure for 3 cases occurred outside of Republic of Korea.

‡‡

The exposure for 1 case occurred outside of Malaysia.

ERRATUM – Due to a typographical error, the total confirmed cases and death in China were incorrect. It has been corrected here.

Figure 2: Epidemic curve of COVID-19 cases (n=155) identified outside of China, by date of onset of symptoms and

travel history, 12 February 2020

Note for figure 2: Of the 441 cases reported outside China, 16 were detected while apparently asymptomatic. For

the remaining 425 cases, information on date of onset is available only for the 155 cases presented in the

epidemiologic curve.

Figure 3: Epidemic curve of COVID-19 cases (n=441) identified outside of China, by date of reporting and travel

history, 12 February 2020

 
 
PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE 
 
•  To view all technical guidance documents regarding 2019-nCoV, please go to this webpage. 
•  WHO is working closely with International Air Transport Association (IATA) and have jointly developed a 
guidance document to provide advice to cabin crew and airport workers, based on country queries. The 
guidance can be found on the IATA webpage.  
•  WHO has developed a protocol for the investigation of early cases (the “First Few X (FFX) Cases and contact 
investigation protocol for 2019-novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection”). The protocol is designed to gain an 
early understanding of the key clinical, epidemiological and virological characteristics of the first cases of 2019-
nCoV infection detected in any individual country, to inform the development and updating of public health 
guidance to manage cases and reduce potential spread and impact of infection.  
•  WHO has been in regular and direct contact with Member States where cases have been reported. WHO is also 
informing other countries about the situation and providing support as requested. 
•  WHO has developed interim guidance for laboratory diagnosis, advice on the use of masks during home care and 
in health care settings in the context of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, clinical management, 
infection prevention and control in health care settings, home care for patients with suspected novel 
coronavirus, risk communication and community engagement and Global Surveillance for human infection with 
novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). 
•  WHO has prepared disease commodity package that includes an essential list of biomedical equipment, 
medicines and supplies necessary to care for patients with 2019-nCoV.  
•  WHO has provided recommendations to reduce risk of transmission from animals to humans. 
•  WHO has published an updated advice for international traffic in relation to the outbreak of the novel 
coronavirus 2019-nCoV. 
•  WHO has activated of R&D blueprint to accelerate diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics. 
•  WHO has developed an online course to provide general introduction to emerging respiratory viruses, including 
novel coronaviruses.  
•  WHO is providing guidance on early investigations, which are critical to carry out early in an outbreak of a new 
virus. The data collected from the protocols can be used to refine recommendations for surveillance and case 
definitions, to characterize the key epidemiological transmission features of 2019-nCoV, help understand spread, 
severity, spectrum of disease, impact on the community and to inform operational models for implementation of 
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES 
 
WHO’s strategic objectives for this response are to: 
 
•  Limit human-to-human transmission including reducing secondary infections among close contacts and 
health care workers, preventing transmission amplification events, and preventing further international 
spread from China*;  
•  Identify, isolate and care for patients early, including providing optimized care for infected patients; 
•  Identify and reduce transmission from the animal source; 
•  Address crucial unknowns regarding clinical severity, extent of transmission and infection, treatment 
options, and accelerate the development of diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines; 
•  Communicate critical risk and event information to all communities and counter misinformation; 
•  Minimize social and economic impact through multisectoral partnerships. 
 
*This can be achieved through a combination of public health measures, such as rapid identification, diagnosis 
and management of the cases, identification and follow up of the contacts, infection prevention and control in 
health care settings, implementation of health measures for travelers, awareness-raising in the population and 
risk communication. 

countermeasures such as case isolation, contact tracing and isolation. Several protocols are available here:

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance/early-investigations

• WHO is working with its networks of researchers and other experts to coordinate global work on surveillance,

epidemiology, modelling, diagnostics, clinical care and treatment, and other ways to identify, manage the

disease and limit onward transmission. WHO has issued interim guidance for countries, which are updated

regularly.

• WHO is working with global expert networks and partnerships for laboratory, infection prevention and control,

clinical management and mathematical modelling.

RECOMMENDATIONS AND ADVICE FOR THE PUBLIC

During previous outbreaks due to other coronavirus (Middle-East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe

Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), human-to-human transmission occurred through droplets, contact and

fomites, suggesting that the transmission mode of the 2019-nCoV can be similar. The basic principles to reduce

the general risk of transmission of acute respiratory infections include the following:

• Avoiding close contact with people suffering from acute respiratory infections.

• Frequent hand-washing, especially after direct contact with ill people or their environment.

• Avoiding unprotected contact with farm or wild animals.

• People with symptoms of acute respiratory infection should practice cough etiquette (maintain distance, cover

coughs and sneezes with disposable tissues or clothing, and wash hands).

• Within health care facilities, enhance standard infection prevention and control practices in hospitals, especially

in emergency departments.

WHO does not recommend any specific health measures for travellers. In case of symptoms suggestive of respiratory

illness either during or after travel, travellers are encouraged to seek medical attention and share their travel history

with their health care provider.