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BEIJING (dpa-AFX) – The epidemic of the new lung disease Covid-19 may not stabilize in China until the end of April, according to an expert. “This is a very rough estimate,” said Zhong Nanshan, head of the Chinese government’s expert group, on Tuesday. According to the current status, the outbreak is expected to culminate by the end of February. Meanwhile, the economic impact is increasing. Further infections were detected on the cruise ship Diamond Princess “in Japan – the disembarkation of around 3,000 people on board was to begin on Wednesday.
According to an analysis presented by China’s health authority, 2.3 percent of those infected with the Sars-CoV-2 virus die in the country. Elderly people and those with serious pre-existing conditions such as cardiovascular diseases or diabetes continue to be affected. For people over 80 years of age, the death rate calculated from the data available to date is just under 15 percent, the authority reported on Tuesday, meaning that an average of 15 out of 100 infected people in this age group in China die. In the group of 10 to 39 year olds, 0.2 percent of those infected, i.e. around 2 out of 1,000 people, die.
In the vast majority of cases – according to the health authority, more than 80 percent – people who have contracted the Covid 19 pathogen show only mild symptoms. Almost 14 percent of those affected develop severe symptoms such as shortness of breath, almost 5 percent of life-threatening effects such as respiratory arrest, septic shock or multi-organ failure.
The Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) also spoke on Monday with regard to data analysis from China of over 80 percent mild infection courses. There are also relatively few cases in children, said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. But it is still unclear why this is so.
The WHO again emphasized that Sars-CoV-2 affects only a very small proportion of people outside of China. However, further developments cannot be predicted with certainty – not even for the epidemic in China. “All scenarios are still possible,” said Tedros.
The number of passengers and crew members of the cruise ship “Diamond Princess” in Japan, which tested positive for Sars-CoV-2, meanwhile again increased significantly. As the Japanese Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday, the number increased by 88 to 542 cases. All concerned were taken to local hospitals. After two weeks of quarantine, the first of the approximately 3,000 people on board the ship in Yokohama are to be allowed to disembark this Wednesday. Disembarkation is expected to last until Friday, the Ministry of Health said.
In China, a huge wave of migrants is currently returning after the Chinese New Year holidays, which were extended due to the virus. Strict measures have been taken to control travel flows and how well they work, but it remains to be seen. The number of cases recorded in the official statistics was 72,000 on Tuesday, and the number of deaths in mainland China was 1868. However, experts assume that the number of cases is many times higher.
Most infections and deaths continue to be counted in central China in the severely affected Hubei province. For the first time, a hospital director fell victim to Covid-19. Liu Zhiming, director of Wuchang Hospital in Hubei’s provincial capital, Wuhan, died on Monday, the China News news agency reported. According to official information, over 1,700 doctors and nurses have been infected in the fight against the virus so far.
On Monday, the Chinese government announced that it would postpone the main political ritual of the year, Parliament’s annual meeting, because of Covid-19. The National People’s Congress should have started in Beijing on March 5.
Because of the epidemic, the international auto show in Beijing in April is now being postponed. As the organizers said, the decision was made “to ensure the health and safety of exhibitors and participants”. The most important trade fair in the world’s largest car market was supposed to be held in the Chinese capital from April 21 to 30.
Meanwhile, the Apple group (Apple share) will miss Covid-19’s sales forecast for the current quarter, which is only a few weeks old. There are supply bottlenecks for iPhones because production in China is ramping up more slowly than planned, the company said. In addition, sales of Apple devices in China have recently been subdued.
Different regional requirements in connection with measures against the lung disease also cause problems. The EU Chamber of Commerce in China announced on Tuesday in Beijing that contradicting local rules made it extremely difficult to postpone work this week after – due to the virus already being extended
– To resume holidays over the Chinese New Year. “The scale of the challenges is huge,” said Chamber President Jörg Wuttke./kll/DP/stw
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