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 The death toll from the coronavirus in mainland China passed 2,000
but the number of new cases there fell for a second straight day,
offering a sliver of hope and helping Asian shares and U.S. stock
futures rise.
China, the world's second-largest economy, is struggling to get its
manufacturing sector back on track after imposing severe travel
restrictions to contain a virus that emerged in the central province
of Hubei late last year.
In Japan, hundreds of people disembarked from the British-flagged
Diamond Princess cruise liner docked at Yokohama near Tokyo, ending
an ordeal that began when the ship was quarantined on Feb. 3 after a
former passenger was diagnosed with the virus in Hong Kong.
"I am very keen to get off this ship," Australian passenger Vicki
Presland told Reuters over a social-media link. She was among a
group of Australians getting off to catch an evacuation flight back
to 14 days of quarantine in the city of Darwin.
The outbreak on the liner, owned by Carnival Corp <CCL.N>, resulted
in the biggest concentration of new coronavirus infections outside
China despite more than two weeks of quarantine for its
approximately 3,700 passengers and crew on board.
As questions swirled over how the virus spread so readily on the
ship, Health Minister Katsunobu Kato defended Japan's efforts.
"Unfortunately, cases of infection have emerged, but we have to the
extent possible taken appropriate steps to prevent serious cases,
including sending infected people to hospital," Kato said in a
report by state broadcaster NHK.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said
Japan's efforts might have slowed down the virus but were not
enough.
"CDC's assessment is that it may not have been sufficient to prevent
transmission among individuals on the ship," it said in a statement.
QUESTIONS
Japan has repeatedly said its response to the outbreak on the ship
has been appropriate.
The United States has flown home more than 300 American evacuees
from the ship and other countries are queuing up to collect their
citizens, including Australians.
Like Australia, the United States and other countries are making
citizens spend 14 days in quarantine upon their return.
With Japan just months away from hosting the 2020 Olympic Games,
critics say the government's response has seemed more concerned with
managing public perception than the outbreak.
From the start, experts raised questions about quarantine on the
ship. Passengers weren't confined to their rooms until Feb. 5. The
day before, as officials screened them, onboard events continued,
including dances, quiz games and an exercise class, one passenger
said.
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Only passengers who test negative and do not show symptoms are being
allowed to leave the ship. Those who have tested negative but were
in cabins with infected people would remain on board for additional
quarantine, Japanese officials said.
BETTER DAY IN CHINA
The promising sign out of China came from the National Health
Commission, which reported the lowest daily rise in new infections
since Jan. 29, or 1,749 new confirmed cases. Hubei - the epicenter
of the outbreak - reported the lowest number of new infections since
Feb. 11.
The latest figures bring the total number of cases in China to more
than 74,000 and the death toll to 2,004, three-quarters of which
have occurred in Wuhan, Hubei's provincial capital. Six people have
died outside mainland China, including a new fatality announced on
Wednesday in Hong Kong.
On top of tough steps taken to isolate Hubei, where the flu-like
virus originated in a market illegally selling wildlife, state media
reported the province would track down anyone who visited doctors
with fever since Jan. 20 or bought over-the-counter cough and fever
medication.
Chinese officials have said the apparent slowdown in infection rates
is evidence that the strict measures are working but global health
officials say it is too early to predict how the epidemic will play
out.
The number of new cases in mainland China excluding Hubei has fallen
for 15 days. The number of new infections outside Hubei totaled 56
on Feb. 18, down from a peak of 890 on Feb 3.
The World Health Organization's emergencies program chief, Mike
Ryan, said China had success with "putting out the fire" first in
Hubei and ensuring that people returning to Beijing from the Lunar
New Year holiday were monitored.
Chinese officials have been putting on a brave face saying the
economic impact of the virus would be limited and short-term.
President Xi Jinping said China could meet its 2020 economic
targets, media reported.
Big manufacturing hubs on the coast are starting to loosen curbs on
the movement of people and traffic while authorities prod factories
to get back to work.
(Reporting by Ryan Woo and Sophie Yu in Beijing; Linda Sieg in
Tokyo; Additional reporting by Se Young Lee in Beijing, Brenda Goh
and Samuel Shen in Shanghai; Colin Packham in Sydney; Sarah Wu in
Hong Kong; Krishna Das in Kuala Lumpur; Josh Smith and Sangmi Cha in
Seoul; Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Jan Strupczewski in Brussels;
Writing by Michael Perry and Robert Birsel; Editing by Stephen
Coates & Simon Cameron-Moore)
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