China welcomed a dramatic drop in the number of new coronavirus infections on Thursday, February 20, but concern is mounting in Japan, with the deaths of two former cruise lines, and in South Korea, where a mass transmission of the disease has been reported.
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Lowest daily number of infections in China
The health ministry reported 114 more deaths in China in 24 hours, bringing the national total to 2,118 (excluding Hong Kong and Macao). But it especially announced a daily number of new contaminations to the lowest in almost a month: 673, or even only 394, taking into account an adjustment made by the authorities of the province of Hubei (center), the cradle of the epidemic.
Authorities say measures to limit movement, including quarantining more than 50 million people in Hubei, are starting to pay off. “China’s strong measures have helped contain the spread of the virus in the country and in other parts of the world”, Foreign Minister Wang Yi welcomed the new figures.
The number of new cases in China has been falling for four consecutive days. And more than 16,000 ex-patients have now recovered there, according to official figures. If the World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday that it was “Still too early” to talk about containment of the virus, she noted the “Huge progress” carried out in the management of the epidemic.
A consequence of the measures taken by several Chinese cities, which force their inhabitants to stay at home. Most Chinese remain cloistered in their homes anyway for fear of contagion. Hubei and its capital Wuhan (11 million inhabitants) have been subject to even more draconian regulations since the end of January: all entry and exit is prohibited – except for basic necessities. A situation which pushed many countries to evacuate their nationals.
In total, more than 74,500 people have been infected in China since the appearance of the new coronavirus in December. Elsewhere in the world, the epidemic has left a dozen dead and the contamination affects twenty countries, including Iran which announced two deaths – the first recorded in the Middle East.
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In South Korea, the number of porters has doubled
In neighboring South Korea, where the number of carriers has doubled in the past 24 hours, to 104, a 60-year-old man died on Wednesday in Cheongdo County, 320 kilometers south of Seoul. He was part of a group of fifteen patients and staff who contracted the disease in the same hospital.
Nearby, in Daegu, the fourth largest city in South Korea with more than 2.5 million inhabitants, a 61-year-old woman belonging to the Christian sect “The Shincheonji Church of Jesus” who was unaware of suffering from viral pneumonia is suspected of having infected 40 people alone, notably by attending religious services. The mayor of Daegu called on the population to stay in their homes.
But if Beijing is optimistic about the containment of the epidemic, Japan faces increasing criticism about the quarantine imposed on the Diamond Princess, this huge ocean liner moored in Yokohama theater of the greatest concentration of infected people outside of China.
An octogenarian man and woman who were cruising there lost their lives. These are the first deaths among the victims of the Covid-19 on this ship, numbering 634 after the announcement Thursday evening of 13 new cases by the Japanese Ministry of Health.
On Wednesday, 443 people were able to disembark after being tested negative and having undergone a quarantine of 14 days. Other passengers left the ship on Thursday, boarding yellow buses to stations and airports. But some in Japan are concerned that these former cruise lines are scattered in the wild.
The Japanese health ministry wanted to be reassuring, stressing that it had carried out with experts “Consultations on the proper way to control the infection on board the ship”.
The Covid-19 could also lead to a shortfall of nearly 30 billion euros for airlines in 2020, the International Air Transport Association (Iata) estimated on Thursday.
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New French repatriation from Wuhan
A new plane chartered by France took off Wednesday evening from Paris for Wuhan to repatriate additional Frenchmen (who will be placed in quarantine in Normandy) and other Europeans.
The aircraft carries 17 tonnes of equipment (medical protective suits, masks, gloves and disinfectants) intended for healthcare personnel.
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Arrival of evacuees and clashes in Ukraine
Dozens of protesters clashed with police on Thursday in a village in central Ukraine where around 70 people, Ukrainians and foreigners, were due to be quarantined after being evacuated from China. Fearful of the spread of the epidemic, protesters who gathered there early in the morning blocked the road to the hospital for the evacuees from China, lighting fires there, Ukrainian television channels said.
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