China appears to win epic battle against coronavirus
Manufacturers in China are gradually opening their factories; new infections may drop to zero by end-march in Wuhan: Expert; Japan to quarantine visitors from China, S. Korea
The accelerating spread of the coronavirus created new barriers between the world’s regions and peoples on Thursday, as China, after many arduous weeks, appeared to be winning its epic, costly battle against the new virus.
The World Health Organisation urged all countries to “push this virus back,” a call to action reinforced by figures showing there are now about 17 times as many new infections outside China as in it.
To date, the virus has infected nearly 97,000 people and killed over 3,300.
As Chinese manufacturers gradually reopened their factories, anti-virus barriers went up elsewhere.
In all, the country has reported 80,409 cases and 3,012 deaths.
More than two-thirds of those in China who contracted the virus have been discharged from hospitals, officials said. Of those who remain hospitalised, about 6,000 are in serious condition.
A state visit to Japan by Chinese President Xi Jinping was postponed. The trip, set for April, was to be the first for a Chinese leader since 2008.
Wuhan, the epicentre of China’s coronavirus epidemic, will likely see new infections drop to zero by the end of this month, an expert with the country’s top panel on battling the illness said on Thursday, even as the city reported a quicker rise in new confirmed cases.
Mainland China had 139 new confirmed cases as of Wednesday, the National Health Commission (NHC) said, bringing the total accumulated number of cases to 80,409.
Authorities reported 119 new cases the previous day and 125 the day before that.
The increase reversed three straight days of declines, and was driven by a rise in new infections in Wuhan, the city where the virus is believed to have emerged in a seafood market late last year.
Zhang Boli said almost all regions outside Hubei province, where Wuhan is the capital, had managed to halt new infections by the end of last month, according to an interview with the official People’s Daily.
He estimated other cities in Hubei will hit such a target by mid-march, based on data on how the outbreak has evolved, but did not give details.
New infections in Wuhan climbed to 131 from 114 a day earlier. There was no immediate elaboration.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordered a two-week quarantine for visitors from China and South Korea on Thursday and delayed a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping originally planned for April in response to a widening coronavirus crisis.
Abe’s measures, announced in a briefing with reporters, came after weeks of criticism he was failing to tackle the outbreak head-on and coincided with the country’s biggest one-day increase in new infections.
The government also insisted the outbreak will not disrupt the Tokyo Olympics which begin in late July.
Indonesia announced restrictions on travellers from specific parts of Iran, Italy and South Korea after previously banning travel from China.
Japan said visitors from China and South Korea would need to complete a two-week quarantine at a government facility and be barred from public transit.
Sri Lankans arriving from Italy, South Korea and Iran will be quarantined at a hospital once used for leprosy patients.
In South Korea, which has the highest number of infections outside China, exports of masks will be prohibited beginning Friday and people will be limited to buying two masks a week.
South Korea declared a “special care zone” on Thursday around a second city hit hard by the coronavirus and the U.S. military confirmed two new cases among relatives of its troops in the country, which is battling the biggest outbreak outside China.
Australia and Japan have joined the list of almost 100 nations now limiting arrivals of people from South Korea, which reported 760 coronavirus cases on Thursday for a total of 6,088.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent a letter to South Korean President Moon Jae-in to express condolences over the health crisis. Officials in Seoul said Kim “underlined his unwavering friendship and trust toward President Moon and said that he will continue to quietly send his best wishes for President Moon to overcome” the outbreak. It wasn’t clear if the letter was an attempt to improve strained ties between the two Korean nations.