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China reports major drop in new virus cases; 143 new deaths China reports major drop in new virus cases, 143 new deaths
(about 5 hours later)
BEIJING — China reported 2,641 new virus cases Saturday as it escalates measures to contain the outbreak and reassure an anxious public. BEIJING — China reported 143 virus deaths and a dip in new cases Saturday while the government announced new anti-disease measures as businesses reopen following sweeping controls that idled much of the economy.
The figure is a major drop from the higher numbers in recent days since a broader diagnostic method was implemented. The number of new deaths rose slightly to 143, bringing the total fatalities in mainland China to 1,523. The number of confirmed cases in the country now stands at 66,492, according to China’s National Health Commission. Also Saturday, the U.S. government announced it would fly home Americans who were quarantined on a cruise ship in Japan.
COVID-19, a disease stemming from a new form of coronavirus, has spread to more than two dozen countries since December, when the first infections appeared in central China. Egypt on Friday counted the first infection on the African continent. Some 2,641 new cases of the virus were reported in the 24 hours through midnight Friday, raising the total to 66,492. Mainland China’s death toll rose to 1,523.
Saturday marks the second day the number of new cases fell since a spike Thursday, when the hardest-hit province of Hubei began including clinical diagnoses in its official count. Using the wider scope of classification, the central Chinese province reported 15,152 cases, including 13,332 that were diagnosed using doctors’ analyses and lung imaging, as opposed to the prior standard of laboratory testing. The number of new cases was down from the 5,090 in the previous 24-hour period after authorities changed the basis for counting patients. Health experts say that will make it harder to judge the effectiveness of anti-disease controls that have cut off most access to some major cities and closed factories and offices.
Hubei health authorities said in the notice that the new method was adopted to facilitate earlier treatment for those suspected of infection. Numbers of new cases have fluctuated over the past two weeks. That fueled optimism the disease that first emerged in December might be under control and warnings such hopes are premature.
Further confusion surfaced around a discrepancy of more than 1,000 cases between the Thursday and Friday reports. National Health Commission spokesman Mi Feng said Friday that the “decrease” in numbers was due to an adjustment made in Hubei’s count after repetitive counting was discovered. The government announced measures aimed at preventing the virus from spreading as millions of workers crowd into planes, trains and buses to return to densely populated Chinese cities following the Lunar New Year holiday.
The ruling Communist Party is seeking to repair public trust broken in 2002 and 2003 during the SARS epidemic, which the government covered up for months. The holiday was extended to keep factories and offices closed, but officials have been ordered to revive business activity as economic losses mount.
“The current fight against the novel coronavirus epidemic is a major test of China’s system and capacity for governance,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said during a Communist Party Central Committee meeting Friday, according to state media. Most access to the central city of Wuhan, where the first cases were reported in December, was suspended Jan. 23. Controls spread to cities with a total population of 60 million people. Restaurants, cinemas and other businesses were closed nationwide to prevent crowds from gathering.
“In response to the shortcomings and deficiencies exposed by the epidemic, (the government) should work to strengthen areas of weakness and close up loopholes,” Xi said. Under the new measures, people returning to Beijing will have to isolate themselves at home for 14 days, said a notice published by state media late Friday. It said people who fail to comply will face legal consequences but gave no details.
China has imposed unprecedented measures in a sweeping campaign to contain the virus. Cities in Hubei with a combined population of more than 60 million have been placed under lockdown, with outbound transportation halted and virtually all public activities suspended. A health official appealed to travelers to check themselves and report others who have symptoms.
People returning to Beijing will now have to isolate themselves either at home or in a concentrated area for medical observation, said a notice from the Chinese capital’s prevention and control work group published by state media late Friday. “Before returning to school or work by train, road or plane, first judge your health status. Do you have a cold or fever?” said He Qinghua of the China Centers for Disease Control at a news conference.
The notice warns there will be legal consequences for those who don’t comply with the 14-day quarantine. It did not elaborate on how the isolation will be enforced. While Beijing returnees were previously ordered to “self-quarantine” for two weeks, that measure allowed for occasional outings and implementation varied across neighborhoods. COVID-19, a disease stemming from a new form of coronavirus, has spread to more than two dozen countries. On Friday, Egypt reported the first infection on the African continent.
Chinese officials have warned that COVID-19 may spread further as migrants return to their jobs in cities or other provinces after a prolonged Lunar New Year holiday. On Thursday, the number of new cases reported by authorities in Hubei province, where Wuhan is located, spiked to 15,152.
To accommodate the high number of confirmed and suspected cases, Hubei has constructed makeshift hospitals and reappropriated other public facilities to house patients. At a press briefing in Wuhan on Saturday, the newly appointed head of Hubei’s provincial health commission, Wang Hesheng, said they aimed to ensure that zero patients went without treatment. That included 13,332 that were diagnosed with doctors’ analyses and lung imaging instead of the previous standard of laboratory testing. Health authorities said the new method would facilitate earlier treatment.
Last month, members of the Chinese public were outraged when residents of the virus epicenter, Wuhan, shared videos online showing overcrowded hospitals and people being turned away. Some wrote on the Twitter-like Weibo platform that their family members were exhibiting symptoms, but they couldn’t get tested because hospitals were at capacity. Nine more temporary hospitals have opened in gymnasiums and other public buildings, with 6,960 beds in Hubei province, where Wuhan is located, the National Health Commission announced. It said they were treating 5,606 patients with mild symptoms.
More than half of the confirmed cases in Hubei have been treated using traditional Chinese medicine, Wang said. Meanwhile, the ruling Communist Party is trying to restore public confidence following complaints that leaders in Wuhan suppressed information about the disease. The party faced similar criticism after the 2002-03 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS.
The virus has taken an economic toll, as many countries have placed travel restrictions on recent visitors to China and airlines have suspended China routes due to low demand. The party should “strengthen areas of weakness and close up loopholes” after the epidemic exposed “shortcomings and deficiencies,” President Xi Jinping said at a meeting of party leaders Friday, according to state media.
Alibaba, the first major Chinese company to report quarterly earnings since the emergence of the coronavirus, said Thursday that the outbreak “is having significant impact on China’s economy ... potentially affecting the global economy.” The ruling party has replaced officials in charge of Hubei and Wuhan and tried to deflect criticism by allowing state media and members of the public online to criticize local officials.
The overall revenue growth rate at Alibaba will be negatively affected in the quarter ending this March, said Alibaba CEO Daniel Yong Zhang. Last month, residents of Wuhan shared videos online showing people being turned away from crowded hospitals. Some said on the popular Sina Weibo microblog service that family members showed symptoms but couldn’t get tests.
Liang Tao, vice chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, said at a Saturday briefing that Chinese banks have provided more than 537 billion yuan ($76.9 billion) in credit support to industries such as retail, catering and tourism that have been most severely affected by the outbreak. Extended closures of factories and businesses prevented a flood of travel after the Lunar New Year holiday, normally the Chinese industry’s busiest season, officials said at a news conference.
Earlier this week, the government reported that consumer inflation spiked to an eight-year high of 5.4% in January over a year earlier, driven by a 4.4% rise in food costs. But Fan Yifei, vice governor of the People’s Bank of China, said he believes “large-scale inflation will never happen” in the country. Total volume of daily travelers is down 80% from last year, according to a deputy transportation minister, Liu Xiaoming.
A team of experts led by the World Health Organization is slated to begin their mission in China alongside Chinese counterparts this weekend. “We believe there will be no peak passenger flow for return journeys,” said Liu.
“Particular attention will be paid to understanding the transmission of the virus, the severity of the disease and the impact of ongoing response measures,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement. Anti-disease measures are causing losses so severe that economic forecasters have cut their outlooks for China’s growth this year.
The U.S. government was preparing to fly home Americans from aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship that’s been quarantined at Yokohama in Japan, Wall Street Journal reported. The state-owned banking industry has provided more than 537 billion yuan ($77 billion) in credit to industries such as retail, catering and tourism that have been hurt most, according to Liang Tao, vice chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.
About 380 Americans and their families will be offered seats on two State Department flights, Henry Walke, director of the Division of Preparedness and Emerging Infections at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the paper. They are arriving in the U.S. as early as Sunday, he said, adding that those with a fever, cough or other symptoms won’t be allowed on the flights. Also this weekend, a team of World Health Organization experts were due to begin a mission in China.
So far, 218 people from the ship have tested positive for the virus. Japan’s Health Ministry allowed 11 passengers to disembark Friday, saying that those above 80 years of age, with underlying medical conditions as well as those staying in windowless cabins during the 14-day quarantine can stay at a designated facility on shore. “Particular attention will be paid to understanding the transmission of the virus, the severity of the disease and the impact of ongoing response measures,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a statement.
A WHO official, speaking at a conference in Munich, defended China’s handling of the outbreak.
“Some of the rhetoric for me has not been helpful, not been helpful at all. China has a strong public health and health system,” said Dr. Michael Ryan, WHO’s chief of emergencies. “I think we as the global community need to change our narrative if we’re going to work successfully with China and other countries to stop this disease.”
In Japan, the U.S. Embassy said it was preparing to fly home Americans quarantined aboard the cruise ship Diamond Princess in Yokohama, near Tokyo. It said they will go into quarantine in the United States.
Those who return to the United States will fly to Travis Air Force Base in California and some will fly onward to Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, said an embassy statement. It said no one with symptoms would be allowed aboard the flight.
So far, 285 people from the ship have tested positive for the virus. Japan’s Health Ministry allowed 11 passengers to disembark Friday. It said passengers above 80 years of age, those with underlying medical conditions and those who stayed in windowless cabins during the 14-day quarantine can move to a facility on shore.
In Indonesia, 285 men, women and children who flew home from Wuhan were released after a two-week quarantine on remote Natuna Island. The group included 47 flight crew members.
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Associated Press researcher Henry Hou in Beijing contributed to this report. Associated Press writers Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia, Geir Moulson in Berlin and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.
Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.