SUNDAY STAR★TIMES World Big drop in new virus cases China
China reported 2641 new cases of the novel coronavirus yesterday as it escalates measures to contain the outbreak and reassure an anxious public.
The figure is a major drop from the higher numbers in recent days since a broader diagnostic method was implemented.
The number of new deaths rose slightly to 143, bringing total fatalities in mainland China to 1523. The number of confirmed cases in the country now stands at 66,492, according to China’s National Health Commission.
COVID-19, a disease stemming from a new form of coronavirus, has spread to more than two dozen countries since December, when the first infections appeared in central China. Egypt yesterday confirmed the first infection on the African continent.
Yesterday was the second day the number of new cases had fallen since a spike on Thursday, when the hardest-hit province of Hubei began including clinical diagnoses in its official count.
Using the wider scope of classification, the central province reported 15,152 cases, including 13,332 that were diagnosed using doctors’ analyses and lung imaging, as opposed to the prior standard of laboratory testing.
The ruling Communist Party is seeking to repair public trust broken in 2002 and 2003 during the Sars epidemic, which the government covered up for months.
‘‘The current fight against the novel coronavirus epidemic is a major test of China’s system and capacity for governance,’’ President Xi Jinping said during a Communist Party Central Committee meeting yesterday, according to state media.
‘‘In response to the shortcomings and deficiencies exposed by the epidemic, [the government] should work to strengthen areas of weakness and close up loopholes,’’ he said.
China has imposed unprecedented measures in a sweeping campaign to contain the virus. Cities in Hubei with a combined population of more than 60 million have been placed under lockdown, with outbound transportation halted and virtually all public activities suspended.
People returning to the capital, Beijing, will now have to isolate themselves either at home or in a concentrated area for medical observation, under a notice from the city’s prevention and control work group published by state media.
The notice warns that there will be legal consequences for those who don’t comply with the 14-day quarantine. It did not elaborate on how the isolation will be enforced.
Chinese officials have warned that COVID-19 may spread further as migrants return to their jobs in cities or other provinces after a prolonged Lunar New Year holiday.
To accommodate the high number of confirmed and suspected cases, Hubei has constructed makeshift hospitals and reappropriated other public facilities to house patients.
The newly appointed head of Hubei’s provincial health commission, Wang Hesheng, said yesterday it was aiming to ensure that no patients went without treatment.
Last month, members of the Chinese public were outraged when residents of the virus epicentre, Wuhan, shared videos online showing overcrowded hospitals and people being turned away.
Some wrote on the Twitterlike Weibo platform that their family members were exhibiting symptoms but couldn’t get tested because hospitals were at capacity.
More than half of the confirmed cases in Hubei had been treated using traditional Chinese medicine, Wang said.
A team of experts led by the World Health Organisation is due to begin its mission in China alongside Chinese counterparts this weekend. ‘‘Particular attention will be paid to understanding the transmission of the virus, the severity of the disease and the impact of ongoing response measures,’’ WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
The US government is making preparations to fly home Americans from aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which has been quarantined at Yokohama in Japan.
So far, 218 people from the ship have tested positive for the virus. Japan’s Health Ministry has allowed 11 passengers to disembark and stay at a designated facility on shore.