Coronavirus: China has more than 1,000 dead

The assessment of the epidemic of the new coronavirus crossed the barrier of 1,000 deaths, a month after the first death announced on January 11 and attributed to the virus 2019-nCoV, which appeared in December in the Chinese city of Wuhan, in the center of country. The epidemic has now left 1,016 dead in mainland China (excluding Hong Kong and Macao), according to an official report published on Tuesday 11 February.

Chinese health officials have reported 108 new deaths in twenty-four hours, the heaviest daily toll recorded to date, while confirmed cases of infection stood at over 42,000. However, as on several occasions since last week, the number of new daily cases (2,478) has decreased compared to the previous day.

For the WHO, which dispatched an expert mission to China, the growing number of cases of transmission outside this country could augur for a greater spread of the epidemic throughout the world. Outside mainland China, the virus has killed two people, one in the Philippines and one in Hong Kong, and more than 400 cases of contamination have been confirmed in around 30 countries and territories, even though most companies airlines have ceased their flights to mainland China and that several countries have closed to incoming travelers.

A "spark" of contamination in Europe

But a dreaded scenario materialized: without ever having set foot in China, a Briton contaminated by the coronavirus in Singapore then transmitted it to several compatriots during a stay in the Alps in France, before being diagnosed in Great Britain. He is said to have accidentally contaminated at least 11 people, five of whom are hospitalized in France, five others in Great Britain and a 46-year-old man on the Spanish island of Majorca, according to the information available.

"The detection of this small number of cases could be the spark that will end in a bigger fire" epidemic, was alarmed Monday the director general of WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. "For now, it is only a spark. Our main objective remains containment (of sources of contamination). We call on all countries to use the current firing window to prevent this larger fire," he said. He insists.

Until then, the majority of contamination identified abroad involved people returning from Wuhan, the epicenter of the epidemic. "We may only see the tip of the iceberg," warned Dr. Tedros on Sunday. "It is always worrying that people come together (as at a conference in Singapore where the Briton went, note) and then disperse, we must have risk management accordingly. But difficult to put the world Whole shutdown, "said Michael Ryan, WHO emergency health program manager.

An international mission of WHO experts arrived in China, led by Bruce Aylward - veteran of the fight against the Ebola epidemic -, to study the origin of the new coronavirus and its effects. WHO has also announced that it will convene an expert meeting Tuesday and Wednesday at its headquarters in Geneva to take stock of research and development of vaccines and treatments against the coronavirus.

Dismissals in China

The two main officials responsible for health matters in Hubei have been dismissed, state television announced on Tuesday. Local authorities have been criticized for delaying response to the epidemic and even berating whistleblowers for "spreading rumors". The death of one of them, 34-year-old doctor Li Wenliang, on Friday had sparked unusual calls for freedom of expression.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday called for "stronger and decisive action to stop the spread of contagion" after visiting a Beijing residential area to visit a hospital, appearing for the first time a mask.

Wuhan and the surrounding province of Hubei, where the epidemic spread, remain cut off from the world by a sanitary cordon. Elsewhere, tens of millions of Chinese are subject to confinement rules in several metropolitan areas.

Outside of these regions, China remains largely paralyzed, despite a timid resumption of work on Monday. Students stay on vacation and companies are encouraged to let their employees work from home. Monday on television, President Xi Jinping wanted to be reassuring, saying that the impact of the virus would be "short-lived" and called for "paying close attention to the issue of unemployment".

Off the port of Tokyo, thousands of travelers and crew remain on board two cruise ships. At least 135 cases of contamination have been confirmed on the liner Diamond Princess in quarantine off Japan.

With AFP

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