US, Canada issue travel warning.
The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in China now stands at 4,515 and the death toll from the new virus strain has gone up to 106, China’s National Health Commission said.
According to Sputnik news agency, the health authorities earlier on Sunday said that as of Jan 26, there were 2,744 confirmed coronavirus cases in China, 80 people have died, while 51 have been released from hospitals.
During the past 24 hours, the commission recorded 1,771 new confirmed cases of the viral infection, of which 26 were fatal – 24 in Hubei province, one in Beijing and one in Hainan province. Nine people were discharged from hospitals over the given period.
“As of midnight on January 27 (16:00 GMT Monday), the national health commission received information about 4,515 confirmed cases of pneumonia caused by a new type of coronavirus from 30 provinces (districts, cities under the direct jurisdiction of the central government), of which 976 are in grave condition, 106 have died, 60 people were discharged from hospitals,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, the United States and Canada warned against travel to China on Monday.
Global stocks fell, oil prices hit three-month lows, and China’s yuan dipped to its weakest level in 2020 as investors fretted about damage to the world’s second-biggest economy from travel bans and the Lunar New Year holiday, which China extended in a bid to keep people at home.
On Monday, US President Donald Trump offered China whatever help it needed, while the State Department said Americans should “reconsider” visiting all of China due to the virus.
Canada, which has two confirmed cases of the virus and is investigating 19 more potential cases, warned its citizens to avoid travel to China’s Hubei province, at the heart of the outbreak.
Authorities in Hubei province are taking increasing flak from the public over their initial response to the virus. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited the city of Wuhan, epicentre of the outbreak, to encourage medical workers and promise reinforcements.
Visiting Wuhan in blue protective suit and mask, Li praised medics, said 2,500 more workers would join them in the next two days, and visited the site of a new hospital to be built in days.
The most senior leader to visit Wuhan since the outbreak, Li was shown on state TV leading medical workers in chants of “Wuhan jiayou!” – an exhortation to keep their strength up.
Mounting anger
On China’s heavily censored social media, officials have faced mounting anger over the virus, which is thought to have originated from a market where wildlife was sold illegally.
Some criticised the governor of Hubei province, of which Wuhan is the capital, after he corrected himself twice during a news conference over the number of face masks being produced.
“If he can mess up the data multiple times, no wonder the disease has spread so severely,” said one user on the Weibo social media platform.
In rare public self-criticism, Wuhan Mayor Zhou Xianwang said the city’s management of the crisis was “not good enough” and indicated he was willing to resign.
The central Chinese city of 11 million people is in virtual lockdown and much of Hubei, home to nearly 60 million people, is under travel curbs.
Elsewhere in China, people from the region faced questioning about their movements. “Hubei people are getting discriminated against,” a Wuhan resident complained on Weibo.
Cases linked to people who travelled from Wuhan have been confirmed in a dozen countries, from Japan to the United States, where authorities said they had 110 people under investigation in 26 states. Sri Lanka was the latest to confirm a case.
Investors worried
Investors are worried about the impact. The consensus is that in the short term, economic output will be hit as authorities limit travel and extend the week-long New Year holiday – when millions traditionally travel by rail, road and plane – by three days to limit the spread of the virus.
Asian and European shares tumbled, with Japan’s Nikkei average sliding two per cent, its biggest one-day fall in five months. Demand spiked for safe-haven assets such as the Japanese yen and Treasury notes. European stocks fell more than two per cent.
The US S&P 500 closed down nearly 1.6 per cent.
“China is the biggest driver of global growth so this couldn’t have started in a worse place,” said Alec Young, FTSE Russell’s managing director of global markets research.
During the 2002-2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which originated in China and killed nearly 800 people globally, air passenger demand in Asia plunged 45 per cent. The travel industry is more reliant on Chinese travellers now.
Chinese-ruled Hong Kong, which has had eight cases, banned entry to people who had visited Hubei recently.
Some European tour operators cancelled trips to China, while governments around the world worked on repatriating nationals.
Officially known as 2019-nCoV, the newly identified coronavirus can cause pneumonia, but it is still too early to know just how dangerous it is and how easily it spreads.
“What we know about this virus it that transmission occurs through human contact, but we are speaking of close contact, i.e. less than a metre,” said Jerome Salomon, a senior official with France’s health ministry.
“Crossing someone (infected) in the street poses no threat,” he said. “The risk is low when you spend a little time near that person and becomes higher when you spend a lot of time near that person.”
Related reports:
Jan 27, Stats on Coronavirus from Health Minister
Jan 27, Facts About the New Coronavirus
Jan 27, Ban on Visitors from Wuhan, Hubei
Jan 26, DPM: Don’t Panic, We Have Outbreak under Control
Jan 25, China Virus Death Toll Rises to 41, More Than 1,300 Infected Worldwide
Jan 25, Three Coronavirus Cases in Malaysia
Jan 24, Concerns Rise as Several Who Died from Wuhan Virus Did Not Have Fever
Jan 24, Eight Chinese Nationals Who Travelled with Wuhan Virus Patient Quarantined at JB Hotel
Jan 24, Singapore Confirms Two More Wuhan Virus Cases, Thailand Confirms Fifth Case
Jan 24, All Four Suspected Coronavirus Cases in Malaysia Tested Negative
Jan 24, Wuhan Virus Death Toll Rises to 25, Confirmed Cases at 850
Jan 24, Singapore Confirms First Case of Wuhan Virus
Jan 23, Wuhan Under Quarantine