New cases down as death toll tops 1100
Millions stay home because of virus as holiday ends
China has reported another drop in the number of new coronavirus cases and 97 more deaths, pushing the total dead past 1100 even as the country remains largely closed down to prevent the spread of the disease.
The National Health Commission yesterday said 2015 new cases had been reported over the previous 24 hours, declining for a second day. The total number of cases in mainland China was 44,653 yesterday. Many experts say a large number of others infected have gone uncounted.
The 97 additional deaths from the virus raised the mainland toll to 1113.
Despite the official end to the extended Lunar New Year holiday, China remained mostly closed for business as many remained at home, with some 60 million people under virtual quarantine.
The World Health Organisation has named the disease caused by the virus as Covid-19, avoiding any animal or geographic designation to avoid stigmatisation and to show the disease comes from a new coronavirus discovered in 2019.
The illness was first reported in December and connected to a food market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the outbreak has largely been concentrated.
China’s official media reported on Tuesday that the top health officials in Hubei province, of which Wuhan is the capital, have been relieved of their duties. No reasons were given, although the province’s initial response was deemed slow and ineffective. Speculation that higher-level officials could be sacked has simmered, but doing so could spark political infighting and be a tacit admission of responsibility.
The virus outbreak has become the latest political challenge for the party and its leader, Xi Jinping.
Zhong Nanshan, a leading Chinese epidemiologist, said the crisis remains challenging.
“We have to stop more people from being infected,” he said. “The problem of human-to-human transmission has not yet been resolved.”
Without enough facilities to handle the number of cases, Wuhan has been building prefabricated hospitals and converting a gym and other large spaces to house patients and try to isolate them from others.
The restart of business poses a risk of further spreading the virus, but China has little recourse, said Cong Liang, secretary general of the National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s main economic planning body.
“Without the reopening of businesses, in the short term, it will affect the supply of medical material and . . . in the long run, it will affect the supply of all kinds of production and life materials and will make the control and prevention efforts on the front line unsustainable. The target of defeating the epidemic will not be reached.”