Wuhan (China) (AFP)
The Chinese army deployed its doctors Saturday at the heart of the epidemic of viral pneumonia, whose toll has further increased and which now affects Europe, with three cases confirmed in France.
Among these patients, at least two had recently visited China, according to French health authorities. Hospitalized in Paris and Bordeaux (south-west), they were placed in solitary confinement. In addition to the Asian countries already affected, notably Japan and Thailand, a second case has been reported in the United States.
The epidemic is spreading quickly in his country of origin, with 1,300 cases of contamination including 41 fatalities identified on Saturday. China has thus entered the year of the Rat under the sign of the coronavirus which left in December from the city of Wuhan, placed de facto in quarantine.
No firecrackers, no dragon dances. For New Years, the streets of the metropolis of central China are as dead, the few passers-by covering their faces with a mandatory protective mask, as found by an AFP team on the spot.
"No one can go out," said a police officer to AFP.
Trains and planes have not been allowed to leave the city since Thursday.
Besides Wuhan, virtually the entire province of Hubei is cut off from the world, bringing the total number of confined inhabitants to over 56 million, almost the population of South Africa.
In a center pharmacy, employees in full suits and equipped with surgical gloves welcome customers.
Others stock up on masks and disinfectants in a rare supermarket that is still open.
"People are trying to protect themselves," says a client, while expressing confidence in the epidemic.
"The government has things in hand. There is no problem," he said.
- 237 critical cases -
The army sent three planes to the prohibited area, which landed 450 military doctors and other medical personnel on Friday evening.
Some of them have experience in the fight against Ebola and SARS, a strain similar to the new coronavirus, which had killed 650 people in mainland China and Hong Kong between 2002 and 2003.
The military doctors must be distributed in the hospitals of the city which accomodate a large number of patients of the viral pneumonia, specified the agency new China.
With hospitals overwhelmed, construction of a site to accommodate a thousand beds began on Friday. It must be completed ... in 10 days, February 3, according to public media.
All but two deaths have been recorded in Wuhan or elsewhere in Hubei, a province as large as Syria.
Outside Hubei, authorities have announced plans to screen the country for the virus.
Inspection points will be set up and all travelers with symptoms of pneumonia will be "immediately transported" to a medical center, the National Health Commission announced.
The balance sheets are increasing daily, from 26 dead Friday to 41 Saturday. The total number of contaminations increased from 830 to 1,287.
Of this total, 237 cases are considered "critical", according to health authorities.
Most of the patients who have died so far have either been over the age of 65 or have pre-existing illnesses.
- Trump congratulates Beijing -
Elsewhere in China, New Years festivities were canceled, notably in Beijing. The capital seemed deserted and its restaurants practically empty.
Many popular tourist sites, such as the Forbidden City, the former palace of the emperors, or sections of the Great Wall, have been closed to reduce the risk of contagion.
Abroad, the first three European cases were reported on Friday in France.
"Today we have the first European cases, probably because we have developed the test very quickly and are able to identify them," said Health Minister Agnès Buzyn.
Paris "plans" to set up coaches so that the French present in Wuhan can leave the city, the Foreign Ministry said.
A second case has been confirmed in the United States, where President Donald Trump praised Beijing's efforts to try to contain the spread of the virus.
"China is working very hard to contain the coronavirus. The United States really appreciates (its) efforts and (its) transparency," he tweeted, saying he was convinced that everything would be "fine".
"On behalf of the American people, I especially want to thank President Xi," Jinping, he added.
On the contrary, during the SARS epidemic in the early 2000s, China had been singled out, including by the World Health Organization (WHO), for hiding the first cases, which had not done. that worsen the crisis.
In Asia, cases of contamination have been reported in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan as well as in South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam.
© 2020 AFP