World- The number of patients infected in China with new
coronavirus has reached 20,438, as Hong Kong reported its first death
from the disease, authorities said on Tuesday.
China's National Health Commission said 64 people died on Monday in
central China's Hubei province - the epicentre of the outbreak -
bringing the countrywide death toll to 425.
The rise in the number of infections in China, of 3,225 from the
previous day, and the increase in deaths, were the highest in a
single day since the outbreak emerged in the city of Wuhan.
Hong Kong authorities reported a first death due to coronavirus in
the semi-autonomous territory on Monday. The patient had travelled to
Hubei in January, the South China Morning Post reported.
The death was the second outside of mainland China, after the
Philippines reported a fatality at the weekend.
Hong Kong's authorities said in a press release that hospitals
reported 64 new cases meeting the criteria of the virus, bringing the
total in the territory to 982.
The virus has spread to about two dozen countries since being
identified, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare
a global emergency.
Chinese authorities said on Monday that they expect the outbreak to
peak within 10 to 14 days, longer than initially estimated.
Countries calling for bans on travellers from China include the
Philippines, Singapore, the US, Australia and New Zealand.
Governments including Spain, Italy, Britain, France, Belgium, Sweden
and Finland continue to evacuate people from Wuhan.
Taiwan announced it would bar entry to all foreign nationals who have
visited China over the past 14 days. One of 247 Taiwanese evacuees
late Monday returning from Wuhan was infected, Taiwan's Minister of
Health said late on Tuesday. So far, Taiwan has reported 11 confirmed
cases.
A repatriated Belgian citizen, also from Wuhan, is infected, Health
Minister Maggie De Block announced on Tuesday, according to the Belga
news agency, in the country's first confirmed case.
A flight carrying 107 Malaysians evacuated from Wuhan landed in Kuala
Lumpur on Tuesday and all were quarantined for 14 days. The same day,
Malaysia's Health Ministry announced two more cases, including
the first involving a Malaysian national. Malaysia's nine other
cases were all Chinese visitors.
Singapore announced four cases of local transmission of the
coronavirus on Tuesday, bringing its total number of cases to 24.
Thailand's Health Ministry confirmed an additional six cases of the
virus, bringing its total number to 25.
In a preventive measure, Vietnam is now mobilizing its military to
prepare a massive quarantine operation for thousands of Vietnamese
returning from China.
The government in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory of Macau has
decided to close casinos for two weeks. Macau also scaled back public
services and public transport and appealed to residents to stay home
unless they needed to go out to buy food.
The eastern city of Hangzhou also announced recommendations to
contain the disease, including asking residents to wear masks outside
and assign a family member to go shopping every two days.
Twelve cases have been confirmed in Germany. Berlin and Paris now
seek to coordinate better with other European governments and
ministers plan to meet in the coming week, German Health Minister
Jens Spahn said after meeting his French counterpart. Spahn also
tweeted he had met with Britain's Matt Hancock, to address health
security.
Britain updated its official travel advice to advise citizens leave
China, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement.
In China, the Politburo Standing Committee, a top ruling body, said
the outbreak was "a major test of China's system and capacity for
governance," Xinhua news agency reported.
The committee said the crisis exposed "deficiencies" in the national
emergency response system.
The government has been criticized for delaying the initial
announcement of the disease, which experts believe might have led to
a wider spread of the virus.
Authorities initially tried to silence doctors in Wuhan who were
sounding the alarm about the new virus. The Supreme Court last week
chastised police over the crackdown.