Cases fall, but virus fallout too

Leaders aware of severity before public told; first death outside Asia

China yesterday reported a drop in new virus cases for the third straight day, as it became apparent the country’s leadership was aware of the potential gravity of the situation well before the alarm was sounded.

There are 2009 new cases in mainland China, bringing its total confirmed cases to 68,500, according to the country’s National Health Commission.

The fatality rate remained stable with 142 new deaths, the commission said. The death toll in mainland China from Covid-19, a disease stemming from a new form of coronavirus, now stands at 1665. In all, 9419 people have recovered and been discharged from hospital.

The outbreak began in December in Wuhan, capital of the central Chinese province of Hubei, which has the bulk of infections. It has since spread to more than 24 countries and prompted sweeping prevention measures from the Chinese government, including a lockdown of cities with a combined population of more than 60 million.

After Chinese President Xi Jinping played a muted public role in the early days of the epidemic, state media yesterday published a speech Xi delivered on February 3 in which he said he gave instructions on fighting the virus as early as January 7, and had ordered the lockdown of the virus epicentre, Wuhan.

The disclosure indicates top leaders were aware of the outbreak’s potential severity well before such dangers were made known to the public. It was not until late January officials said the virus could spread between humans and public alarm began to rise.

It came as the head of the World Health Organisation, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, praised China’s efforts to contain the new disease, saying it had “bought the world time” and other nations must make the most of it.

He told the Munich Security Conference the agency was “concerned by the continued increase in the number of cases in China,” and by reports more than 1700 health workers have been infected and several have died.

“We’re concerned by the lack of urgency in funding the response from the international community,” he said.

France, meanwhile, reported Europe’s first death from the new virus, a Chinese tourist from Hubei province, where the disease emerged in December.

In Malaysia, an 83-year-old American woman who was a passenger on a cruise ship allowed to disembark in Cambodia tested positive.