Beijing (AFP)

China is stepping up its efforts to remedy the glaring shortage of hospital beds at the epicenter of the epidemic of viral pneumonia, whose toll exceeded Thursday 560 deaths, while elsewhere in Asia were reinforced by drastic measures quarantine.

More than 28,000 people are now infected with the new coronavirus across China, while abroad, where some 20 countries are affected, 20 cases of contamination have been identified on a cruise ship kept in isolation offshore from Japan.

Two weeks after the de facto quarantine of the city of Wuhan and then of a large part of its province, Hubei (center), from where the epidemic spread, the local health system remains overwhelmed by the influx of patients.

In Wuhan, a makeshift hospital of 1,000 beds, built in ten days, received its first patients on Tuesday, and a second of the same type, with a capacity of 1,600 beds, is due to start operating on Thursday.

At the same time, the Chinese biotechnology group BGI announced Thursday the entry into service in Wuhan of a laboratory capable of processing more than 10,000 tests for the virus every day.

- Ocean liner in Japan -

The toll of the epidemic amounts to 563 deaths in mainland China (except Hong Kong and Macao), where 28,018 cases of contamination have now been confirmed, a jump of almost 3,700 in a single day, according to official figures published Thursday .

Elsewhere, two deaths have been attributed to the coronavirus: one in the Philippines and one in Hong Kong, while approximately 200 cases of contamination were reported in some 20 countries.

In Japan, 3,700 people of dozens of different nationalities remain quarantined in their cabins on a cruise ship in Yokohama: the number of contamination cases on board doubled on Thursday to 20, according to Japanese media citing health authorities.

The organizers of the Tokyo Olympics, which will be held from July 24 to August 9, said on their side Wednesday "extremely concerned".

While a large part of the air links with mainland China remain suspended, many countries are tightening their measures in the face of the epidemic: Vietnam has become the last country to date to prohibit entry for travelers arriving from China.

Austria, it begins Thursday temperature controls at Vienna international airport for passengers from Beijing.

Under pressure, the Hong Kong authorities have closed almost all border posts with the rest of the country and will impose from Saturday a quarantine of two weeks on all visitors from mainland China.

Indonesia cut air routes to China on Wednesday, blocking thousands of Chinese tourists on the tourist island of Bali.

The World Health Organization (WHO) launched a Wednesday appeal for 675 million dollars (613 million euros) to counter the spread of the virus.

"It is much less than the bill that we will have to pay if we do not invest in the preparation now," argued its managing director, Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus.

The mortality rate of the new coronavirus, around 2%, remains however for the time being much lower than that of the epidemic of SARS (Severe acute respiratory syndrome) which had killed 774 people in the world in 2002-2003.

- Confined Chinese cities -

In China, containment measures remain drastic: several cities in Zhejiang province (east) apply since Tuesday travel restrictions to tens of millions of people.

In Zhumadian in Henan, a province bordering Hubei, only one person per household is allowed to leave their home ... once every five days. Premiums are promised in case of denunciation of people from Hubei.

In Beijing, where the avenues remain almost deserted, many shops remain closed even after the end of the Lunar New Year holidays. Restaurants have been ordered to refuse group bookings.

As a result of the epidemic, the Chinese economy could be permanently weighed down: in many provinces, most businesses and factories will remain closed until February 9 at least.

Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn, a key supplier to American Apple, said Thursday that workers at one of its factories in Henan (central China) will be quarantined for at least a week.

burs-lth-jug / bar / am

© 2020 AFP