www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3048815/coronavirus-china-death-toll-hits-425-new-cases-hubei-jumpHealth authorities in China announced on Tuesday that coronavirus fatalities had risen to 425 nationwide and that total confirmed cases hit 20,438 as of Monday. The global death toll is now 427, with a fatality reported in Hong Kong on Tuesday morning.
The updated numbers follow 64 new deaths attributable to the illness in the mainland and 3,235 confirmed cases, according to the country’s National Health Commission (NHC).
Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak, announced that coronavirus fatalities there had risen to 414 after 64 deaths – another daily record.
As of midnight on Monday, the health commission of Hubei also reported 2,345 new cases of infection. Of those, 1,242 were reported in Wuhan, the province’s capital and where the contagion, also known as 2019-nCoV, was first reported.
The NHC said the national coronavirus mortality rate would drop further as more suitable treatments and medical resources were mobilised in Wuhan.
Jiao Yahui, deputy director of the NHC’s Medical Administration Bureau, said that, as of Monday and based on confirmed cases nationwide, the national fatality rate was 2.1 per cent, with the vast majority of deaths in Hubei province.
The central Chinese province has lost 414 people, or 97 per cent of the mainland death toll. According to Jiao, the mortality rate in the provincial capital Wuhan has reached 4.9 per cent, with 313 deaths so far. The mortality rate for Hubei is 3.1 per cent, the highest of any province in the country.
The death toll in China from the coronavirus has risen to 425 as efforts continue to control the outbreak. Photo: XinhuaThe death toll in China from the coronavirus has risen to 425 as efforts continue to control the outbreak. Photo: Xinhua
The death toll in China from the coronavirus has risen to 425 as efforts continue to control the outbreak. Photo: Xinhua
Health authorities in China announced on Tuesday that coronavirus fatalities had risen to 425 nationwide and that total confirmed cases hit 20,438 as of Monday. The global death toll is now 427, with a fatality reported in Hong Kong on Tuesday morning.
The updated numbers follow 64 new deaths attributable to the illness in the mainland and 3,235 confirmed cases, according to the country’s National Health Commission (NHC).
Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak, announced that coronavirus fatalities there had risen to 414 after 64 deaths – another daily record.
As of midnight on Monday, the health commission of Hubei also reported 2,345 new cases of infection. Of those, 1,242 were reported in Wuhan, the province’s capital and where the contagion, also known as 2019-nCoV, was first reported.
The NHC said the national coronavirus mortality rate would drop further as more suitable treatments and medical resources were mobilised in Wuhan.
Jiao Yahui, deputy director of the NHC’s Medical Administration Bureau, said that, as of Monday and based on confirmed cases nationwide, the national fatality rate was 2.1 per cent, with the vast majority of deaths in Hubei province.
The central Chinese province has lost 414 people, or 97 per cent of the mainland death toll. According to Jiao, the mortality rate in the provincial capital Wuhan has reached 4.9 per cent, with 313 deaths so far. The mortality rate for Hubei is 3.1 per cent, the highest of any province in the country.
Doctor’s mum in Wuhan cries while sending food to son in self-quarantine
Jiao said China had taken further measures to bring down the mortality rate in Hubei, especially Wuhan, with another 1,000 beds for critical cases concentrated in hospitals with ICU capabilities and medical teams with relevant experience in handling critical respiratory disease.
“With all these measures, I think the mortality rate in Wuhan will fall further,” Jiao said.
Jiao said that with the exception of Hubei, the average fatality rate was only of 0.16 per cent, with males accounting for two-thirds of the death toll.
More than 80 per cent of those who died were over 60 years old, and over 75 per cent of them had more than one underlying health problem such as diabetes, she said.
Also in Beijing, Li Xingwang, chief infectious diseases expert at Beijing Ditan Hospital, said the coronavirus patients' ages ranged from one-month to more than 90 years old. “The population is generally susceptible to this disease,” Li said.
Taiwan will ban foreigners who have visited or have been living on the mainland over the past 14 days from entering the island, effective Friday due to health concerns amid the coronavirus outbreak, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday.
The ban, however, would not apply to foreigners living in Hong Kong or Macau, the ministry said.
Foreign nationals seeking to enter Taiwan for special reasons may apply for an entry visa as long as they has not visited or resided in mainland areas severely affected by the coronavirus outbreak, including Wubei, Guangdong and Zhejiang, the ministry said.
They must also provide documents of their travel history in the past 14 days, certificate of a health check-up and relevant documents.
The death toll in China from the coronavirus has risen to 425 as efforts continue to control the outbreak. Photo: XinhuaThe death toll in China from the coronavirus has risen to 425 as efforts continue to control the outbreak. Photo: Xinhua
The death toll in China from the coronavirus has risen to 425 as efforts continue to control the outbreak. Photo: Xinhua
Health authorities in China announced on Tuesday that coronavirus fatalities had risen to 425 nationwide and that total confirmed cases hit 20,438 as of Monday. The global death toll is now 427, with a fatality reported in Hong Kong on Tuesday morning.
The updated numbers follow 64 new deaths attributable to the illness in the mainland and 3,235 confirmed cases, according to the country’s National Health Commission (NHC).
Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak, announced that coronavirus fatalities there had risen to 414 after 64 deaths – another daily record.
As of midnight on Monday, the health commission of Hubei also reported 2,345 new cases of infection. Of those, 1,242 were reported in Wuhan, the province’s capital and where the contagion, also known as 2019-nCoV, was first reported.
Mortality rate drop predicted
The NHC said the national coronavirus mortality rate would drop further as more suitable treatments and medical resources were mobilised in Wuhan.
Jiao Yahui, deputy director of the NHC’s Medical Administration Bureau, said that, as of Monday and based on confirmed cases nationwide, the national fatality rate was 2.1 per cent, with the vast majority of deaths in Hubei province.
The central Chinese province has lost 414 people, or 97 per cent of the mainland death toll. According to Jiao, the mortality rate in the provincial capital Wuhan has reached 4.9 per cent, with 313 deaths so far. The mortality rate for Hubei is 3.1 per cent, the highest of any province in the country.
Doctor’s mum in Wuhan cries while sending food to son in self-quarantine
Jiao said China had taken further measures to bring down the mortality rate in Hubei, especially Wuhan, with another 1,000 beds for critical cases concentrated in hospitals with ICU capabilities and medical teams with relevant experience in handling critical respiratory disease.
“With all these measures, I think the mortality rate in Wuhan will fall further,” Jiao said.
Jiao said that with the exception of Hubei, the average fatality rate was only of 0.16 per cent, with males accounting for two-thirds of the death toll.
More than 80 per cent of those who died were over 60 years old, and over 75 per cent of them had more than one underlying health problem such as diabetes, she said.
Also in Beijing, Li Xingwang, chief infectious diseases expert at Beijing Ditan Hospital, said the coronavirus patients' ages ranged from one-month to more than 90 years old. “The population is generally susceptible to this disease,” Li said.
Stocks recover
China’s financial markets closed up on Tuesday, recovering from losses on Monday, as market panic eased. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended the day 1.34 per cent higher after a fall of nearly 8 per cent on Monday.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index finished 1.21 per cent higher. The onshore rate of the yuan against the US dollar gained at 6.9900, firmer than Monday’s close of 7.0257.
China’s central bank continued to pump money in the financial system on Tuesday to drive down money market rates and to restore investor confidence, injecting 50 billion yuan (US$7.13 billion) worth of funds, in addition to the massive 1.2 trillion yuan injection on Monday.
Reuters reported that Chinese policymakers were readying measures to stabilise the economy, especially to support industries hit hard by the virus outbreak and vulnerable to job losses. It said the government was debating whether to lower economic growth targets, adding that the central bank was likely to lower key lending rates and cut the reserve requirement ratio for banks. More fiscal spending is also expected.
Arthur Kroeber, founding partner and research head at Gavekal Dragonomics, said China’s economy was likely to suffer heavily in the first quarter before recovering in the rest of year.
He warned that Beijing’s credibility as a trustworthy actor on the world stage would be severely damaged over the longer term.
Foreigners with mainland travel history banned from Taiwan
Taiwan will ban foreigners who have visited or have been living on the mainland over the past 14 days from entering the island, effective Friday due to health concerns amid the coronavirus outbreak, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday.
The ban, however, would not apply to foreigners living in Hong Kong or Macau, the ministry said.
Foreign nationals seeking to enter Taiwan for special reasons may apply for an entry visa as long as they has not visited or resided in mainland areas severely affected by the coronavirus outbreak, including Wubei, Guangdong and Zhejiang, the ministry said.
They must also provide documents of their travel history in the past 14 days, certificate of a health check-up and relevant documents.
Also on Tuesday, Taiwan’s coastguard stepped up patrols around the resort island of Penghu, to disperse mainland fishing boats intruding into the island's waters as the deadly coronavirus outbreak escalated.
The action came as the island's foreign ministry condemned Beijing for blocking Taipei from joining the World Health Organisation's anti-epidemic network and obtaining first-hand information about the latest coronavirus control efforts.
According to Taiwan’s Coastguard Administration, two patrol vessels and helicopters were dispatched to the south and north of Penghu Island, to prevent fishing from mainland boats within its waters.
The coastguard also sent vessels to waters near northern, northwestern and central Taiwan, where mainland fishermen “often intruded for illegal fishing and trading with Taiwanese fishermen”, the administration said.
The strengthened patrols were necessary, not only to thwart these activities but also to help prevent the potential spread of the virus from the mainland, it added.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry hit out at Beijing’s actions in blocking the island from joining the WHO and its emergency coronavirus control conference in Geneva.
Coronavirus tally in outbreak epicentre Wuhan, China may just be ‘tip of the iceberg’
The ministry said the safeguarding of the health of 23 million people in Taiwan was an important task of the government, but that Beijing’s actions not only threatened the health of Taiwanese people, but created a health loophole in the world.
“The People's Republic of China has never in a day ruled Taiwan and Taiwan has never been a part of the PRC,” the ministry said, adding the WHO should not have bowed to Beijing by excluding Taipei from the global health body.
Beijing has long considered Taiwan a wayward province that must return to the mainland's fold by force if necessary. It has pressured the WHO from admitting Taiwan under the “one-China” principle, a claim strongly rejected by Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen.
Taiwan's health ministry on Tuesday also demanded the WHO amend the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus, from 13 to 10. The global health body has placed Taiwan under the China listing, with 13 instead of 10 confirmed cases.
Courts in different parts of mainland China have released regulations, or guidelines, on the use of laws to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Among them, Heilongjiang appears to be taking the toughest line.
A notice by the northeastern province’s Higher People's Court said anyone who uses the outbreak to spread rumours for subversive activities may be liable to a maximum 15 years in jail for inciting to subvert of state power.
Beijing on high alert as coronavirus spreading the country
Anyone found intentionally spreading the coronavirus to cause public harm could face a charge of endangering public security by dangerous means, which carries the death penalty, the notice said, without providing details on what constituted spreading the virus intentionally.
Other offences that caused public harm – such as refusing to be quarantined – carried a maximum penalty of seven years in jail.
Courts in other parts of the country also pledged to help contain the spread. The Higher People's Court in Beijing said it would support the crackdown against counterfeit drugs, spreading rumours and trading of wildlife animals facing extinction.
With new infections reported, the spat between China and the US over the outbreak continues to intensify. The White House said China has agreed to allow American health experts into the country to help, but China just gave a very brief response.
“China is aware that the US has said many times it is willing to offer assistance to China. We hope the assistance can be delivered as soon as possible,” Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement.
Hua said the US should assess the situation of the outbreak in a calm and objective manner. The US should respect and work with China to contain the outbreak, she said.
On Monday, Hua made a toughly worded statement against the travel ban on Chinese travellers imposed by Washington, accusing the US of not helping China but of creating fear.
Chinese airlines ordered not to suspend routes
The Civil Aviation Administration of China ordered Chinese airlines not to suspend routes going to and from countries that had not imposed a travel ban on Chinese travellers.
A notice from the administration said 46 foreign airlines had suspended flights to and from mainland China, with some countries also imposing a ban on Chinese travellers.
“In order to meet the needs of passengers in and out of the country and international transportation of supplies during this special period, the administration requires domestic airlines – in addition to cutting down the number of flights because of market demand – to ensure continued transportation to nations that have not imposed travel restrictions,” it said.
Dozens of countries have restricted travel to China. Singapore, Australia, Indonesia and the US have all banned entry of non-citizens who have travelled to China within the past 14 days.
A hospital in southwestern China's Yunnan province is looking for tailors to make protective suits in a last-ditch effort to support medical staff in the face of the spreading coronavirus.
In a message widely circulated on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, the People’s Hospital in Chuxiong autonomous prefecture said the desperate decision was made after the hospital tried several supply channels without success.
The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, America’s leading public health institute, on Monday defended what it called “aggressive actions” it is taking to control the US spread of the coronavirus. These include tough warnings against travelling to China and mandatory federal quarantines for those arriving from the Wuhan area where most of the cases come from. Beijing has criticised the US steps.
The CDC has called the outbreak in China “explosive” and “unprecedented”. In response, Beijing has criticised Washington’s quarantine decision and its “unfriendly comments”.
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