Jan. 31, 2020
Novel Coronavirus in China: 213 Dead, Over 9,700 Infected
At least 43 people in China died of the novel coronavirus on Thursday, bringing the overall death toll to 213, according to official data.
As of 11 a.m. Friday, there had been over 9,700 confirmed cases, with some 1,500 of them “severe,” the National Health Commission said. There are currently over 15,000 suspected coronavirus cases in the country.
Around 170 people have fully recovered after becoming infected, according to the commission. Health authorities have identified 113,579 close contacts of people infected with the virus and placed 102,427 of them under medical observation.
Outside the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan have reported 28 cases in total. With new cases reported in Italy, the Philippines, and India, there are now at least 100 confirmed cases in 19 countries other than China.
WHO Declares Global Public Health Emergency Over Coronavirus
The World Health Organization has finally determined that the novel coronavirus first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan constitutes a “public health emergency of international concern.”
“The main reason for this declaration is not because of what is happening in China, but because of what is happening in other countries,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO’s director-general, said at a press conference following an emergency meeting Thursday.
The WHO said that as of Friday, 18 countries other than China had confirmed 98 coronavirus cases, which the organization has provisionally named “2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease.” At least eight of these cases — in Germany, Japan, Vietnam, and the United States — are believed to have been transmitted between humans.
“Let me be clear: this declaration is not a vote of no confidence in China. On the contrary, WHO continues to have confidence in China’s capacity to control the outbreak,” the WHO chief said, adding that the organization “does not recommend any travel or trade restriction (involving China) based on the current information available.”
There are currently over 9,700 confirmed novel coronavirus infections in China, with 213 deaths. A majority of the deaths have occurred in Hubei province, where Wuhan is located.
Don’t Travel to China, US Government Tells Citizens
The United States has raised its China travel advisory to Level 4, advising citizens not to travel to China, which is currently trying to contain a novel coronavirus epidemic that has killed hundreds and infected thousands.
“Travelers should be prepared for travel restrictions to be put into effect with little or no advance notice,” the U.S. State Department said Thursday. “Those currently in China should consider departing using commercial means.”
Several airlines including a few U.S. carriers suspended or reduced their flights to China this week. A chartered plane carrying 195 Americans, including diplomats and their families, left Wuhan and landed in the United States early Wednesday morning local time.
As of Friday, the U.S. had confirmed six patients infected with the novel coronavirus, including at least one case of human-to-human transmission.
Huanggang’s Top Health Official Removed for ‘Negligence’
The health committee director of Huanggang, a city about 75 kilometers east of Wuhan, was recommended that she be removed from her post Thursday for “negligence on local epidemic prevention and control.”
A supervisory team from Beijing urged Huanggang authorities to accelerate the examination of suspected coronavirus cases as well as ensure that suspected and confirmed cases remain segregated.
Huanggang now has the second most coronavirus cases of any Chinese city after Wuhan. As of Thursday, 12 deaths and 573 infections had been confirmed in Huanggang, according to Hubei’s health commission.
Chinese Authorities Crack Down on Counterfeit Masks, Unruly Behavior
Public security organs in the provincial-level regions of Shanghai, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Jiangxi have busted at least seven cases of companies manufacturing and selling fake face masks amid the novel coronavirus epidemic, Sixth Tone’s sister publication The Paper reported Thursday.
Police have apprehended 20 suspects and seized more than 380,000 counterfeit masks, according to the report.
On Monday, the Alibaba-owned marketplace Taobao announced it had removed over 80 shops suspected of selling fake 3M and N95 masks from its platform.
China’s Ministry of Public Security said Thursday that public security bureaus nationwide had investigated 515 cases involving public disturbances and interfering with epidemic prevention and control, among other related offences.
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