Health and Science

Coronavirus updates: Amazon pulls out of Barcelona conference, 14 Americans test positive on cruise ship

Officers in protective gear enter the cruise ship Diamond Princess, where 10 more people were tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday, to transfer a patient to the hospital after the ship arrived at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan February 7, 2020.
Kim Kyung-Hoon | Reuters

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All times below are in Eastern Standard Time.

Total confirmed cases: 37,592

Total deaths: At least 813

4:25 pm: 14 Americans test positive aboard cruise ship

Fourteen Americans, including a woman from Oregon, that were on the Diamond Princess cruise have tested positive for coronavirus.

Princess Cruises said in a statement that guests on Diamond Princess will receive refunds for their fares and will not be charged for incidental expenses incurred while on the ship. The company also said that it is giving the guests a future cruise credit equal to the fare for this trip.

The Carnival-owned company on Tuesday put the 3,700 passengers and crew members on the ship in quarantine when it reached Japan. The move was required by the Japanese ministry of health.

4:15 pm: Amazon backs out of Barcelona conference

Amazon has backed out of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona later this month, a spokesperson for Amazon Web Services confirmed to CNBC.

"Due to the outbreak and continued concerns about novel coronavirus, Amazon will withdraw from exhibiting and participating in Mobile World Congress 2020, scheduled for Feb. 24-27 in Barcelona, Spain," the company said in a statement.

CORRECTION: This entry has been updated to correct the name of the Mobile World Congress.

3:35 pm: WHO sending advance team to China

The World Health Organization is sending an advance team to China for an international mission, according to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

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Dr. Bruce Aylward, who is part of the advance team, previously served as a special representative for the WHO in the Ebola response effort from 2014 to 2016, according to the WHO website.

9:55 am: Toy company CEO says Chinese toy factory to be closed for another week

The CEO of MGA Entertainment told The Wall Street Journal that a large toy factory in China will remain closed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

"The coronavirus is not solely China's problem," Isaac Larian told the Journal. "It will impact the global economy."

MGA Entertainment sells several popular toy lines, including L.O.L. Dolls.

8:55 am: Chinese officials say they are not blocking Foxconn plant from reopening

The Shenzhen city government said it has not blocked Foxconn from resuming production, according to Reuters. Foxconn is a key supplier for Apple.

Officials in the southeastern Chinese city said Foxconn's production could resume once inspections were complete, according to Reuters. The Nikkei Business Daily previously reported that Chinese officials were blocking the plant from restarting.

Foxconn said it is following the guidance of Chinese authorities on when to reopen its stalled plants in the country.

"The operation schedules for our facilities in China follow the recommendations of the local governments, and we have not received any requests from our customers on the need to resume production earlier," Foxconn said in a statement.

6:28 am: China pledges more than $10 billion to fight virus

All levels of China's government have allocated a total of 71.85 billion yuan ($10.26 billion) to fight the fast-spreading coronavirus, which has now killed more than 800 people and infected more than 37,000, the Finance Ministry said Sunday.

The funds will reportedly go toward helping citizens afford treatment, the ministry's website said. Chinese health officials have warned of medical equipment shortages as hospitals in the country come under heavy strain and face resources constraints amid the mounting volume of cases.

5:57 am: UK confirms fourth coronavirus case

U.K. health authorities announced the country's fourth confirmed case of coronavirus, and said it was believed to have been contracted from another British citizen sickened with the disease in France.

"The patient has been transferred to a specialist NHS centre at The Royal Free Hospital, and we are now using robust infection control measures to prevent any possible further spread of the virus," England's chief medical officer Chris Whitty said in a statement.

4 am: China announces closure of Hebei schools until March 1

China's northern Hebei province, which surrounds the capital Beijing, will keep its schools shut until at least March 1 in an effort to contain the epidemic, China's state-run People's Daily newspaper said Sunday. Other municipalities extending the school closures include Shanghai, Jiangsu and Shandong.

— CNBC's Natasha Turak and Joanna Tan contributed to this report.