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 The death toll in China from the newly identified virus, which
emerged in Wuhan, capital of the central province of Hubei, rose to
361 as of Sunday, up 57 from the previous day, the National Health
Commission said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) last week declared the flu-like
virus a global emergency and it has since spread to 23 other
countries and regions, with the first death outside of China
reported on Sunday, that of a 44-year-old Chinese man who died in
the Philippines after travelling from Wuhan.
Wuhan and some other cities remain in virtual lockdown with travel
severely restricted, and China is facing increasing international
isolation.
China accused the United States of spreading fear by pulling its
nationals out and restricting travel instead of offering significant
aid. Relations between the two sides had just begun to recover after
a long and bruising trade war.
Washington has "unceasingly manufactured and spread panic", Chinese
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters, noting
that the WHO had advised against trade and travel curbs.
"It is precisely developed countries like the United States with
strong epidemic prevention capabilities and facilities that have
taken the lead in imposing excessive restrictions contrary to WHO
recommendations," she added, saying countries should make
reasonable, calm and science-based judgements.
For a graphic comparing coronavirus outbreaks, see https://tmsnrt.rs/2GK6YVK
'NO REASON' FOR TRAVEL CURBS
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaking in Geneva,
again said travel bans were unnecessary.
"There is no reason for measures that unnecessarily interfere with
international travel and trade," he told the WHO's Executive Board.
"We call on all countries to implement decisions that are
evidence-based and consistent."
China's delegate said the international community needed to treat
the new virus outbreak objectively, fairly and not "deliberately
create panic" among the general public.
China would continue to take a "responsible attitude" towards its
people's health, rigorously implement control measures and work to
halt the spread of the virus, he said.
Chinese stocks closed down almost 8%, the yuan currency had its
worst day since August, and Shanghai-traded commodities from oil to
copper hit their maximum downward limits. A gauge of global stocks
was near seven-week lows.
The wipeout in China came even as the central bank made its biggest
cash input into financial markets since 2004 - with an injection of
1.2 trillion yuan ($174 billion) of liquidity into the markets via
reverse repo operations - and despite apparent regulatory moves to
curb selling.
Investors had been bracing for volatility when onshore trade in
stocks, bonds, yuan and commodities resumed, following a steep
global selldown on fears about the impact of the virus on the
world's second-biggest economy.
Beijing also said it would help firms that produce vital goods
resume work as soon as possible, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
But while stock markets reopened, most provinces have extended the
holiday to try to contain the virus, with workers in Hubei not
scheduled to return until after Feb. 13.
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The number of new confirmed infections in China rose by 2,829,
bringing the total to 17,205.
The WHO reported at least 151 confirmed cases have been reported in
23 other countries and regions, including the United States, Japan,
Thailand, Hong Kong and Britain.
For a graphic tracking China’s novel coronavirus, click: https://graphics.reuters.com/CHINA-HEALTH-MAP/0100B59S39E/index.html
CHINA OPENS FAST-BUILT HOSPITAL
A 1,000-bed hospital built in just eight days to treat people with
the virus in Wuhan will begin to take patients on Monday, state
media said. More than 7,500 workers took part in the project,
launched on Jan. 25 and finished this weekend.
A second hospital in Wuhan with 1,600 beds is due to be ready on
Feb. 5.
While countries have been trying to block the virus with travel
bans, they have also been getting stranded citizens out of Wuhan.
The United States, which flew people out last week, is planning "a
handful more flights" while Russia is due to start evacuating its
citizens from Wuhan on Monday. It has also suspended direct
passenger trains link.
Chinese-ruled Hong Kong, rocked by months of sometimes violent
anti-China protests, announced the closure of four more border
crossings with mainland China, leaving just three open. It stopped
short of demands for the entire border to be closed.
Australia evacuated 243 people, many of them children, from Wuhan on
Monday and will quarantine them on a remote island.
Australia on Saturday followed the United States in barring entry to
all foreign nationals travelling from mainland China.
The virus is thought to have emerged late last year in a Wuhan
market illegally trading wildlife. It can cause pneumonia and
spreads between people in droplets from coughs and sneezes.
The number of deaths in China has now passed the total Chinese toll
from the 2002-03 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS),
another coronavirus that emerged from China and killed almost 800
people around the world.
Even so, Chinese data suggests the new coronavirus is less deadly
than SARS, although such numbers can evolve rapidly.
Chinese authorities meanwhile sacked two officials in Hubei over the
death of a cerebral palsy patient whose father and sole caretaker
was taken into quarantine.
Yan Cheng, 16, was found dead on Wednesday, a week after his father
was taken away.
(Reporting by Kevin Yao, Lusha Zhang and Ryan Woo; Additional
reporting by Yilei Sun, Leng Cheng, Brenda Goh, Winni Zhou in
Shanghai, Martin Pollard in Jiujiang, Roxanne Liu, Pei Li, Gabriel
Crossley and Muyu Xu in Beijing, Clare Jim and Noah Sin in Hong
Kong, Mekhla Raina in Bengaluru, Maria Kiselyova in Moscow,
Agustinus Beo Da Costa and Gayatri Suroyo in Jakarta, Tom Westbrook
in Singapore; Writing by Robert Birsel and Nick Macfie; editing by
Raju Gopalakrishnan and Hugh Lawson)
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