US, Japan pull nationals from China as virus toll jumps

Medical staff in protective suits treat a patient with pneumonia caused by the new coronavirus at the Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, in Wuhan, Hubei province, China January 28, 2020. Picture taken January 28, 2020. (Reuters)

The United States and Japan evacuated their nationals from a quarantined city while British Airways suspended flights to mainland China as deaths from a fast-spreading new virus leapt to 132 and the first cases emerged in the Middle East.

Beijing’s pledge to slay the “devil” coronavirus has won the trust of the World Health Organization (WHO) but confirmation of another 1,459 cases - taking the total to 5,974 in China - only fueled public alarm around the world.