After the death of 139 people in the province of Hubei (center), cradle of the epidemic, the death toll of the new coronavirus – called SARS-CoV-2 – in mainland China reached, on Sunday, February 16, 1,665 dead (excluding Hong Kong and Macao). Only four deaths have been recorded elsewhere in the world. France, for its part, reported the day before, of the first death from the new coronavirus outside of Asia.
In its daily report, the national health commission reported 2,009 new cases in the country – including 1,843 in Hubei -, which however marks a drop compared to the data communicated on Saturday.
The main source of infection outside China remains the cruise liner Diamond princess, quarantined in Japan: 355 cases of contamination have been confirmed there (73 of which show no symptoms). “So far we have tested 1,219 people, and 355 have tested positive”, said Japanese Health Minister Katsunobu Kato during a morning political program on the public broadcaster NHK. This means that 70 more cases have been confirmed since Saturday.
Some 3,700 passengers and crew remain confined to their cabins. A spokesperson for the United States Department of State announced that United States nationals aboard the Diamond princess would be evacuated and undergo a quarantine of two weeks on their return to American soil.
WHO field inspections
An international team of experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) was scheduled to arrive in Beijing this weekend for a joint mission with their Chinese counterparts. They will carry out field inspections, review prevention measures, visit research centers and make recommendations to contain the epidemic, said Chinese Ministry of Health spokesman Mi Feng.
“China saves the world time. We don’t know how long “, WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a speech Saturday in Munich, Germany, where an international security conference is taking place. “We ask all governments, all companies and all media to work with us to raise the alarm level without stirring up the flames of hysteria”, he added.
Our selection of articles on the new coronavirus
–
