CORONAVIRUS Feb/11: 27 Foreigners Infected. Tianjin: 16 removed

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16 Foreigners Removed from Virus Isolation in TIANJIN!

A total of 16 Malaysians and Bolivians, who were under observations in Tianjin, have confirmed to be in healthy condition and their 14-day observation has been completed Sunday morning.

They gave the warmest hugs to doctors from Dongli Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital in Tianjin, to express their sincere thanks for their medical assistance during the past 14 days.

From January 25, 13 crew members from Malindo Air Flight Number OD688 from Sabah, Malaysia, to Tianjin, and three Bolivian passengers, were directly arranged to be under isolation, after arriving in Binhai International Airport.

Because two passengers from Wuhan, the epidemic center, had fever on the flight, so the total of 71 Chinese and international passengers and crew members on the flight were isolated at a hotel in Dongli district, Tianjin, since January 25.

Later the two passengers from Wuhan were confirmed as having the novel coronavirus pneumonia.

Their isolation triggered international concern, as foreign media reporters joined local journalists to conduct interviews.

The 13 crew members left China Sunday; and the three Bolivians -- two children and their father, will come with the mother, who was born in Tianjin and was also on the flight, to see their grandparents in Tianjin.

The Bolivian family came here to celebrate the Spring Festival and they will say a late greeting to their grandparents.

Twenty-seven foreigners have been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus, among whom three have been cured and discharged from hospital, two have passed away and 22 others are isolated in hospitals.

The two deaths included a Chinese American and a Japanese national. The Chinese American and Japanese passed away at 7pm on Feb 6 and in the early morning of Feb 8, respectively. Both of them died in Wuhan.

The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that China attached great importance to the health and safety of all foreign nationals in Wuhan, with effective measures being taken to respond timely to their concerns and requests.

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed many times that flying out in a rush was not recommended, and the best approach is to stay put and enhance self-protection.
 
For those countries that wished to bring their nationals home, China would make relevant arrangements and offer necessary assistance consistent with international practices and domestic epidemic prevention and control measures.

We hope all foreign and local patients recover soon, and fight against the virus!

Stay safe everyone!

CORONAVIRUS Feb/11

Deaths hit new high
1,018 deaths
43,101 infected

The number of people killed by the new coronavirus has risen to a daily high of 103 in Hubei province on Monday, up from 97 on Sunday, and taking the overall number of deaths since the breakout to more than 1,000.

But the number of new infections was down 20% from the day before.  Hubei's health commission confirmed 2,097 new cases in the province on Monday, down from 2,618.

Hubei had a total of 31,728 cases with 974 deaths by the end of Monday. The fatality rate was 3%. There are now more than 42,200 confirmed cases across China, the gravest public health crisis the country has faced since the SARS outbreak in 2002/03.

Worldwide death count from the coronavirus is now at 1,018, and a total of 43,101 infected cases.

More than three-quarters of the deaths have been in Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak. The city of 11 million has been in lockdown for weeks.

Substantial drop 14 days after lockdown

This chart shows the rate of new cases since the city of Wuhan was locked down and transport in and out curtailed. It appears to show a substantial drop after in new cases at around 14 days after the lockdown. The virus has a maximum incubation period of 14 days.

The next graph plots the growth of the coronavirus in China versus SARS, and you can see how much steeper the coronavirus growth is.

Cruise ship affected by coronavirus

With travel advisories across the globe, four cruise ship were put in some form of lockdown over growing concerns of the novel coronavirus.

Here's what you need to know about each ship:

Diamond Princess: Quarantined in Japan since Feb 4. with at least 135 people infected with the Wuhan coronavirus aboard the cruise ship.

Westerdam: Over 2,000 people are stuck on the Westerdam cruise ship, operated by Holland America, after it was denied entry to its intended final destination in Japan, despite having no confirmed cases aboard. It was planned to dock in the Thai city of Laem Chabang on Thursday, but Thailand has barred passengers from Holland America’s cruise ship MS Westerdam from disembarking.

World Dream: More than 3,600 people aboard were quarantined for five days in Hong Kong as a precautionary measure after three former passengers tested positive for the coronavirus. No confirmed cases were found. Passengers and crew have been cleared to leave.

Another ship, the Anthem of the Seas, was docked in New Jersey for an extra two days after four returning passengers were sent to the hospital to be tested for the coronavirus. The four family members, and another 23 passengers, were all cleared of the virus and the ship has set sail.

Where the coronavirus cases are throughout China

While coronavirus has spread to more than 25 countries across the world, the vast majority of cases are in mainland China.

Here's a look at where the cases are throughout mainland China, according to World Health Organization data.

World Health Organization team arrives in China

The World Health Organization (WHO) says a team of international experts from WHO arrived in China on Monday to assist with containing the novel coronavirus outbreak. WHO says this is an "advance" team.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the team will "lay the groundwork for larger international team" who will join them “as soon as possible.” The team could range between 10 and 15.

On Sunday, as the team departed for China, Director-General Ghebreyesus said on Twitter the international expert mission to China will be "led by Dr. Bruce Aylward, veteran of past public health emergencies."

Aylward lead the WHO’s response to Ebola, as well as initiatives for immunization, communicable diseases control and polio eradication.

Hubei province Top Health officials removed over outbreak

Two high-level officials in Hubei province - epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak - have been replaced as China continues to battle the crisis which has killed more than 1,000 on the mainland.

Zhang Jin, the Communist Party secretary of the Hubei Health Commission, and Liu Yingzi, director of the Health Commission, have both been dismissed.

Wang Hesheng, the deputy head of China’s National Health Commission, will assume both roles. Wang was last week named a member of Hubei’s standing committee, the province’s top decision-making body.

Chen Yixin was sent to Hubei last week by Beijing to handle the outbreak, which is believed to have started at a live animal and seafood market in Wuhan. Chen is the secretary general of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, the Communist Party’s top law enforcement body.

Xinchao Media lays off 10% of staff

Xinchao Media has laid off 500 people, or just over 10% of its workforce, saying it needed to resort to such measures to survive the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

Xinchao Media, which places advertisements in elevators, announced its job cuts in a post on its official WeChat account on Monday, which carried the transcript of an internal speech given by its chief executive, Zhang Jixue.

“To overcome the epidemic, you have to step on the brakes, jam the cash flow, reduce costs, to ensure survival ... China’s bosses, they have at this time become a helpless and disadvantaged group. While usually strong, they also hope they can gain understanding and care”.
 
He said the company still had nearly 1billion yuan in its coffers, but forecast that it would likely only be able to tide over for 6-7 months if they had no income.

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