SAN FRANCISCO -- U.S. tech giant Facebook Inc. said Thursday it is taking measures to fight false claims or misinformation about novel coronavirus spreading on its platform and Instagram.

Facebook said it will limit misinformation about novel coronavirus on Facebook and Instagram and provide users with correct and accurate content about the virus from international health agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and its global third-party partners.

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BEIJING -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Friday that China will send chartered planes to take home Hubei residents stranded overseas following a novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak.

Wang made the remarks in a phone conversation with Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne.

Champagne, on behalf of the Canadian government and people, expressed sympathy to the Chinese people affected by the epidemic.

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RIO DE JANEIRO -- China's response to the novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV outbreak in its central Hubei province has been remarkably swift, Brazilian health experts have said.

"Chinese authorities reacted swiftly when they became aware of the seriousness of the matter, closing off Wuhan (the epicenter of the outbreak and capital of Hubei province) to avoid more infections," Joao Guimaraes, of the Santa Maria Hospital in Rio de Janeiro, told Xinhua.

"Everything I have read about what is being done seems reasonable and right to me," said Guimaraes.

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GENEVA -- The novel coronavirus outbreak has become a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Thursday.

Speaking at a press conference after a closed-door meeting of the Emergency Committee, he stressed that the WHO disfavors or even opposes imposing travel or trade restrictions on China.

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HONG KONG -- Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam announced a string of measures on Friday to further contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, including extending the suspension of classes at schools for at least two weeks.

Primary and secondary schools, kindergartens and special schools across Hong Kong will not resume class until March 2, Lam told a press conference, adding that the date may be further postponed pending the HKSAR government's future assessment of the development of the epidemic, the supply of anti-epidemic materials and the readiness of schools. Enditem

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