A Malaysian journalist was charged Wednesday with causing public alarm with Facebook posts about the deadly coronavirus outbreak in China, as authorities warned against online "rumour-mongering".The virus has so far killed almost 500 people and infected 24,000 others in China, and spread to more than 20 countries including Malaysia, which has 12 cases.It has also unleashed a flood of misinformation online, from misleading death tolls to vaccine conspiracies, and several Asian countr

As doctors scramble to contain the fast-spreading coronavirus, a potent brew of anti-retroviral and flu drugs has emerged as a possible defence against the disease that has killed hundreds.But the science is inconclusive on whether they are actually effective, and experts say a specific treatment could take years to develop.Here is what we know - and don't know - about the drugs deployed against the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-like virus.Why anti-retrovirals?Patients diagnos

News reports from several different ASEAN member countries have shown an obvious decline in tourism.

The Philippines has reported the first death outside China in the virus epidemic that has killed more than 300 people and spread to 24 nations.The 44-year-old Chinese man who died in the Philippines was from Wuhan, the city that has been ground-zero for the epidemic.Here is what we know - and don't know - about him:Where he visitedThe man and a 38-year-old Chinese woman also from Wuhan, who authorities called his companion, flew from Hong Kong to the Philippines on 21 January.Health depa

China faced deepening isolation over its coronavirus epidemic on Saturday as the death toll soared to 259, with the United States (US) and Australia leading a growing list of nations to impose extraordinary Chinese travel bans.With Britain, Russia and Sweden among the countries confirming their first infections, the virus has now spread to more than two dozen nations, sending governments scurrying to limit their exposure.China toughened its own quarantine measures at the centre of the outbrea

Countries expanded restrictions on travellers from China over a deadly virus epidemic on Friday as an official admitted that a botched response worsened an outbreak that has now grown into a global health emergency.At least 213 people have died and nearly 10,000 people have been infected in China by the new coronavirus while new cases were found abroad, with more than 20 countries now affected by the disease.The top Communist Party official in Wuhan, the central city of 11 million people wher

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global emergency over the new coronavirus, as China reported Friday the death toll had climbed to 213 with nearly 10,000 infections.The United Nations (UN) health agency based in Geneva had initially downplayed the threat posed by the disease, but revised its risk assessment after crisis talks."Our greatest concern is the potential for the virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tol

Thai authorities arrested two people for posting "fake news" about the coronavirus as a senior official on Thursday warned internet users to think twice before sharing incorrect information about the pathogen.The Southeast Asian country has detected 14 cases, the second-highest number outside China where 170 have been killed since the outbreak emerged in the city of Wuhan.Thailand's digital economy minister Buddhipongse Punnakanta said that a man and woman were charged with vio

Asian nations have sealed borders and clamped down on Chinese visitors as they try to protect themselves from a deadly virus epidemic.The outbreak has killed some 130 people in China, sickened nearly 6,000 and sparked progressively more urgent precautions around the region. Here are some key measures taken outside mainland China:Papua New GuineaThe impoverished island nation shut air and seaports Wednesday to all foreign travellers coming from Asia. The ministry of immigrati

The novel coronavirus, originating from Wuhan, China, has shaken the world.