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 The death toll from the epidemic rose to 908, all but two in
mainland China, on Sunday as 97 more fatalities were recorded - the
largest number in a single day since the outbreak was detected in
the Chinese city of Wuhan in December.
The Diamond Princess cruise ship with 3,700 passengers and crew
onboard remained quarantined in the Japanese port of Yokohama, with
60 more cases detected, taking the number of confirmed case from the
Carnival Corp-owned vessel to 130.
On the economic front, stocks and oil fell in global markets while
safe-haven gold rose.
Across mainland China, 3,062 new infections were confirmed on
Sunday, bringing the total number to 40,171, according to the
National Health Commission (NHC).
Wu Fan, vice-dean of Shanghai Fudan University Medical school, said
there was hope the spread might soon reach a turning point.
"The situation is stabilising," she told a briefing when asked about
the spread in Shanghai, which has had nearly 300 cases and one
death.
But WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaking in Geneva, said
there had been "concerning instances" of transmission from people
who had not been to China.
"The detection of a small number of cases may indicate more
widespread transmission in other countries; in short, we may only be
seeing the tip of the iceberg," he said.
The virus has spread to at least 27 countries and territories,
according to a Reuters count based on official reports, infecting
more than 330 people. The two deaths outside mainland China were in
Hong Kong and the Philippines.
The death toll from the outbreak has now surpassed that of another
coronavirus, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which brought
a global epidemic in 2002/2003.
NERVOUS COMMUTERS
The epidemic has caused huge disruptions in China with usually
teeming cities becoming virtual ghost towns after Communist Party
rulers ordered lockdowns, cancelled flights and closed factories and
schools.
Ten extra days had been added to the Lunar New Year holidays that
had been due to finish at the end of January. But even on Monday,
many workplaces remained closed and many people worked from home.
Few commuters seen during the morning rush-hour on one of Beijing's
busiest subway lines. All were wearing masks.
Jin Yang, who works in a department of China's State Administration
of Foreign Exchange, rode a bicycle to work instead of public
transport. Staff were told to wear masks, avoid face-to-face
meetings and the canteen was closed.
Another employee surnamed Chen said the insurance company he worked
for had barred people from taking public transport.
"I usually take subways but this morning it cost me 200 yuan one way
by cab," he said.
[to top of second column] |
One Beijing government official, Zhang Gewho, said it would be be
harder to curb the spread of the virus as people returned to work
and efforts to combat it had entered a critical period.
"Beijing will see an influx of people returning to the city. The
capacity of communities and flow of people will greatly increase and
the difficulty of virus prevention and control will further rise,"
he said.
Hubei, the province of 60 million people that is the hardest hit by
the outbreak, remains in virtual lockdown, with its train stations
and airports shut and its roads sealed.
The extended closure of factories in the world's second-largest
economy has raised concerns about disruptions cascading through
global supply chains.
The coronavirus is also a huge test for President Xi Jinping, who
has largely kept out of the spotlight, leaving Premier Li Keqiang to
take the public lead in government efforts to control the outbreak.
On Monday, Xi appeared among the public for the first time since the
outbreak mushroomed, and was shown by state television inspecting
the work of community leaders in Beijing, and wearing a mask as he
had his temperature taken.
In Britain, the government said on Monday the number of confirmed
coronavirus cases there had doubled to eight and it declared the
virus a serious and imminent threat, giving it additional powers to
isolate those suspected of being infected.
Much remains to be determined about the virus, which has been linked
to a market selling animals in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province,
including how easily it spreads and how deadly it is. Chinese
researchers found that its incubation period could be up to 24 days.
It had been thought to be up to 14 days.
China's central bank has taken a raft of steps to support the
economy, including reducing interest rates and flushing the market
with liquidity. From Monday, it will provide special funds for banks
to re-lend to businesses.
Taiwan's Foxconn has received Chinese government approval to resume
production at a plant in the north China city of Zhengzhou, a source
with direct knowledge of the situation told Reuters on Monday. But
the southern city of Shenzhen rejected a company request to resume
work at a plant there.
(For graphic comparing new coronavirus to SARS and MERS, click:
https://tmsnrt.rs/2GK6YVK)
(Refiles to fix typo in para 3)
(Additional reporting by Sophie Yu, Ryan Woo, Huizhong Wu, Liangping
Gao, Stella Qiu, Brenda Goh in Beijing, Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva,
Joyce Lee and Hyunjoo Jin in Seoul, Kylie MacLellan in London and
Jessica Jones in Madrid; Writing by Lincoln Feast and Robert Birsel;
Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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