China virus toll rises to nine as pandemic fears grow

JANUARY 21, 2020 / 7:38 PM / UPDATED 12 MINUTES AGO
China virus toll rises to nine as pandemic fears grow
Cate Cadell, David Stanway | Reuters

BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - The death toll from a new flu-like coronavirus in China rose to nine on Wednesday with 440 confirmed cases, Chinese health officials said as authorities stepped up efforts to control the outbreak by discouraging public gatherings in Hubei province.

Another 2,197 people who came into contact with infected people were isolated, with 765 so far released from observation, National Health Commission vice-minister Li Bin told reporters, adding that there was already evidence that the virus was being spread through “respiratory transmission”.

“Recently there has been a big change in the number of cases, which is related to our deepening our understanding of the disease, improving diagnostic methods and optimizing the distribution of diagnostic kits,” Li said.

As China vowed to tighten containment measures in hospitals, the World Health Organization (WHO) was due to hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday to determine whether the outbreak of the new coronavirus constitutes a global health emergency.

The virus, originating in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei at the end of last year, has spread to Chinese cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Macau, as well as the United States, Thailand, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

The Chinese government has been providing daily updates on the number of cases in a bid to head off public panic, as millions of people prepare to travel domestically and abroad for the country’s Lunar New Year celebrations starting this week.

“At present, during the Lunar New Year, the rise in the mobility of the public has objectively increased the risk of the epidemic spreading and the difficulty of prevention and control,” Li warned, noting that the mutation of the virus could also bring further risks.

Terry Gou, the billionaire founder of Apple (AAPL.O) supplier Foxconn (2317.TW), said on Wednesday he was advising company employees not to visit China over the coming Lunar New Year holiday, amid concerns over the virus.

Fears of a pandemic similar to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak that started in China and killed nearly 800 people in 2002-2003 have roiled global markets, with aviation and luxury goods stocks hit particularly hard and the Chinese yuan tumbling.

On Tuesday the death toll stood at six with about 300 confirmed cases.

WHO SAYS MORE CASES EXPECTED
WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said new cases of the coronavirus would appear as China stepped up monitoring.

Li said there was as yet no evidence of “super-spreaders” capable of disseminating the virus more widely, as happened during the SARS outbreak.

Fifteen medical personnel are among those infected in China. Symptoms include fever, coughing and difficulty breathing. The viral infection can cause pneumonia and be passed from person to person.

Though the origin of the virus has yet to be identified, WHO said the primary source was probably animal. Chinese officials have linked the outbreak to Wuhan’s seafood market.

The new virus was adapting and mutating, underscoring the challenges for health authorities in controlling the outbreak, Gao Fu, the director-general of China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told a news briefing.

Officials found to have covered up infections would be a “sinner for eternity before the Party and the people”, the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Political and Legal Commission said in a post on its WeChat social media account that was subsequently deleted.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen called on China on Wednesday to share “correct” information about a new coronavirus and for the WHO not to exclude Taiwan from collaboration on the outbreak for political reasons.

Taiwan is not a member of the WHO due to the objection of China, which considers the island a Chinese province with no right to participate in international organizations unless it accepts it is part of China.

Taiwan on Tuesday confirmed its first case of the coronavirus, a woman returning to Taiwan from Wuhan.

Taiwan joined Australia in warning citizens to avoid travel to Wuhan, and airports around the world have stepped up screening of travelers from China. Tsai also ordered tour groups from Wuhan not to come to Taiwan for the time being.

The Chinese-ruled gambling hub of Macau confirmed on Wednesday its first case of pneumonia linked to the newly identified coronavirus and tightened body-temperature screening measures in casinos and around the city.

Several foreign tour operators said North Korea will ban foreign tourists starting Wednesday due to the spread of the virus.

The vast majority of tourists to North Korea come from China, Pyongyang’s main supporter. North Korea is estimated to earn millions of dollars from the steady flow of Chinese tourists. Tourism is one of the last major ways that North Korea can legally earn foreign cash due to international sanctions.

VIRUS IMPACTS OLYMPICS QUALIFYING
Qualifying boxing matches for Asia and Oceania region for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo set to take place in Wuhan in February have been canceled due to fears over the virus, Japan’s Kyodo news agency said on Wednesday.

However, the Australian women’s soccer team, the Matildas, were still preparing for a trip to Wuhan for Olympic qualifiers early next month, head coach Ante Milicic has said.

Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd (0293.HK), one of the airlines affected the most by the SARS outbreak, said it would allow flight attendants to wear a surgical mask while operating mainland China flights due to concerns over the new virus.

The Cathay Pacific Airways Flight Attendants Union said it had received a “tremendous” amount of messages from members concerned over catching the virus, and attendants on all flights should have the option to wear a mask.

“All of them are worried about the risk they are taking every time they go to work,” the union said on its Facebook page.

Cathay’s website said that with immediate effect, rebooking, rerouting and refund charges would be waived for all tickets arriving to or departing from Wuhan through Feb. 15.

China’s aviation regulator late on Tuesday told mainland carriers to refund or change flights to Wuhan without charge at the request of passengers, which analysts at Daiwa said had affected more than 24 airlines.

Some other travel firms are also allowing free cancellations on bookings to Wuhan.

JANUARY 22, 2020 / 7:22 PM / UPDATED 18 MINUTES AGO
China locks down epicenter of virus outbreak; nearly 600 infected
Yawen Chen, Se Young Lee


BEIJING (Reuters) - China is putting on lockdown a city of 11 million people considered the epicenter of the new coronavirus outbreak that has killed 17 and infected nearly 600 people, as health authorities around the world work to prevent a global pandemic.

Global health authorities fear the transmission rate will accelerate as hundreds of millions of Chinese travel at home and abroad during the week-long Lunar New Year holiday.

The previously unknown coronavirus strain is believed to have emerged late last year from illegally traded wildlife at an animal market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. Cases have been detected as far away as the United States, stoking fears the virus is already spreading worldwide.

Wuhan’s local government said it would shut down all urban transport networks and suspend outgoing flights from the city as of 10 a.m. (0200 GMT) Thursday, state media reported. Local media reported some airlines were operating after the deadline.

The government is urging citizens to not leave the city in the absence of special circumstances.

Contrasting with its secrecy over the 2002-03 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed nearly 800 people, China’s communist government has this time given regular updates to avoid panic ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday.

Chinese authorities have confirmed 571 cases and 17 deaths as of end-Wednesday, China’s National Health Commission said on Thursday. The commission said another 393 suspected cases had been reported.

There are eight other known cases around the world - Thailand has confirmed four cases, while the United States, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan have each reported one.

At least 16 people who had close contact with a Washington state man diagnosed with the virus and are being monitored.

he Imperial College London said in a report on Wednesday that it estimated as of Jan. 18 there was a total of 4,000 cases of the new coronavirus in Wuhan alone, an infection rate based on the number of reported cases in China and elsewhere.

Vice Premier Sun Chunlan said during a visit to Wuhan that authorities needed to be open about the spread of the virus and their efforts to contain it, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday, comments likely to reassure global health experts.

After a meeting at its Geneva headquarters on Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said it would decide on Thursday whether to declare the outbreak a global health emergency, which would step up the international response.

If it does so, it will be the sixth international public health emergency to be declared in the last decade.

Some experts believe the new virus is not as dangerous as previous coronaviruses like SARS and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), which has killed more than 700 people since 2012.

“The early evidence at this stage would suggest it’s not as severe a disease as SARS or MERS,” Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy told reporters on Thursday.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva that China’s actions so far were “very strong” but called on Beijing to take “more and significant measures to limit or minimize the international spread”.

“We stressed to them that by having a strong action not only they will control the outbreak in their country but they will also minimize the chances of this outbreak spreading internationally. So they recognize that,” he said.

Despite China’s response, stock markets across Asia were on the back foot on Thursday over the virus, led by drops of roughly 1.5% in Hong Kong and Shanghai while China’s yuan fell to a two-week low.

Wuhan, a city of about 11 million people, is a transportation hub as well as central China’s main industrial and commercial center. The virus also has been reported in other major cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

There is no known cure for the virus. Symptoms include fever, difficulty in breathing and cough, similar to many other respiratory illnesses, and can cause pneumonia.

Chinese authorities are still investigating the origins of the virus, though they confirmed the outbreak began at a market in Wuhan with illegal wildlife transactions, and that it can spread from one person to another via respiratory transmission. Among confirmed patients are 15 medical workers.

Many Chinese were canceling trips, buying face masks, avoiding public places such as cinemas and shopping centers, and even turning to an online plague simulation game as a way to cope.

Taiwan’s China Airlines said it had suspended flights to Wuhan and Hong Kong’s MTR Corp said it had suspended sales of high-speed rail tickets to and from Wuhan.

A growing number of Chinese-listed companies - ranging from biotech firms, drugmakers, mask producers and thermometer manufacturers - say they are actively participating in a government-led war against Wuhan coronavirus.

Wuhan Guide Infrared Co told the official China Securities Journal that the company had donated 4 million yuan ($579,370) worth of infrared thermometer devices to the government of Hubei, the province at the center of the outbreak.

Airports globally stepped up screening passengers from China and the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) said in a risk assessment that further global spread of the virus was likely.

Britain joined other countries including Australia in advising citizens against all but essential travel to Wuhan.

Coronavirus blamed on bat soup as pics emerge of people eating the Chinese delicacy
Bats could "host" the coronavirus, according to experts, and pictures have emerged of locals in Wuhan tucking into bat soup

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/scientists-blame-coronavirus-bats-pics-21337997

The Chinese market at the center of the deadly coronavirus outbreak sold live animals — including wolf pups, foxes, rats and peacocks — to eat, according to a new report.

https://nypost.com/2020/01/23/chinese-market-at-center-of-coronavirus-outbreak-sold-wolves-rats-to-eat/

JANUARY 23, 2020 / 8:10 PM / UPDATED 9 MINUTES AGO
China building 1,000-bed hospital over the weekend to treat coronavirus


BEIJING (Reuters) - The Chinese city of Wuhan is rapidly building a new 1,000-bed hospital to treat victims of a new coronavirus, mobilizing machinery to get it ready by early next week, state media said.

The virus has killed 25 people in China and infected more than 800, the government said on Friday, as the World Health Organisation declared it an emergency but stopped short of declaring the epidemic of international concern.

Most of the cases are in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus is believed to have originated late last year.

The new hospital is being built around a holiday complex originally intended for local workers, set in gardens by a lake on the outskirts of the city, the official Changjiang Daily reported on Friday. Prefabricated buildings, which will have 1,000 beds, will be put up, it said.

Building machinery, including 35 diggers and 10 bulldozers, arrived at the site on Thursday night, with the aim to get the new facility ready by Monday, the paper added.

“The construction of this project is to solve the shortage of existing medical resources,” the report said. “Because it will be prefabricated buildings, it will not only be built fast but it also won’t cost much.”

China State Construction Engineering, one of the companies building the hospital, said on Friday it was “doing all it can and would overcome difficulties” to play its part, adding it now had more than 100 workers on the site.

Images on state television showed a flurry of activity at the muddy building site with dozens of diggers painted in multiple colors hard at work preparing the ground, as a stream of trucks ferried in materials and equipment.

The hospital aims to copy the experience of Beijing in 2003, when the city battled Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). As many as 774 people died globally in the SARS epidemic, which reached nearly 30 countries.

At the time, Beijing built the Xiaotangshan hospital in its northern suburbs in just a week. Within two months, it treated one-seventh of all the country’s SARS patients, the Changjiang Daily said.

“It created a miracle in the history of medical science,” the paper added.

The Beijing hospital, built by 7,000 workers, was originally designed only to take people who were in recovery from SARS to relieve pressure on other hospitals.

In the end it treated nearly 700 SARS patients.

Coronavirus: How can China build a hospital so quickly?
By Sophie Williams
BBC News
12 minutes ago

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51245156

A woman eats a whole bat in disturbing footage which has recently surfaced on the internet, as scientists link the deadly coronavirus to the flying mammals.

Bat soup is a popular dish in Wuhan, China, where the virus originated. READ MORE: https://on.rt.com/a9lh

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