The global death toll rises to nearly 1,700 dead. While a first death related to Covid-19 viral pneumonia was recorded outside Asia, in France, on Saturday, the Chinese authorities have, in their last report published on Sunday, reported 1,665 deaths in mainland China (excluding Hong Kong and Macau). The majority of the cases were recorded in the province of Hubei (center of the country), hearth of the epidemic of the new coronavirus, appeared in December in its chief town, Wuhan.
Outside China, only four deaths were recorded: one in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory of Hong Kong, the other three respectively in Japan, the Philippines and France. Saturday, the French Minister of Health Agnès Buzyn announced the death, the previous evening, of an 80-year-old Chinese tourist hospitalized in France since the end of January. The death is "the first outside Asia, the first in Europe," she said.
Over 68,000 cases of contamination in China
China also reported on Sunday more than 68,000 cases of contamination on its territory, mainly in Hubei province. In its daily report, the national health commission identified 2,009 new cases in the country - including 1,843 in this province -, which represents a decrease for the third consecutive day.
While Hubei has been cut off from the world for three weeks and several cities in the east of Chinese territory have taken drastic containment measures, Beijing in turn has tightened its restrictions to stem the spread of the virus. The Chinese capital now obliges all those arriving from outside to impose their forties on their 14 days at their home or hotel, under penalty of sanctions, reported the official daily, Beijing Daily .
Activity in the city remains largely paralyzed and many companies are imposing telework on their employees.
70 new cases aboard the Diamond Princess
With nearly 600 confirmed cases in thirty countries, the Covid-19 epidemic keeps the world on the alert. Egypt announced on Friday that it had registered a first case on the African continent. Outside China, the main source of contamination remains the cruise ship Diamond Princess, in quarantine in Japan. On board, 355 cases of contamination have been confirmed there, including 70 new cases announced on Sunday.
The liner had 3,711 passengers and crew members when it arrived in Yokohama on February 3. Since then, those infected have been evacuated and hospitalized, as have some people who need medical treatment for other reasons. A spokesman for the US State Department announced that the United States nationals on board would be evacuated and undergo a two-week quarantine on their return to American soil.