US, Europe enter panic period of outbreak: government cancels large-scale rally, people snap up reserves

[Global Times Comprehensive Report] "New crown pneumonia virus is embracing us, faster than expected", as the famous French infectious disease expert Come said, just in the past weekend, the new crown pneumonia epidemic has shown an outbreak in many European and American countries: The first case of death from new coronary pneumonia occurred in the United States. As of March 1, the number of confirmed cases in Italy exceeded 1,000, and the number of confirmed cases in France and Germany increased sharply and exceeded one hundred. Coronary pneumonia is evolving into a truly global public health crisis. The attitudes of all countries are changing. The White House has postponed indefinitely a special summit with ASEAN leaders in March. The French Ministry of Health has banned large-scale public events with more than 5,000 people, and like China has called for "leave masks to medical staff. "In accordance with the recommendations of the government's crisis department, the German people have kept food for at least 10 days at home, and Italian urban residents have even started to grow vegetables in their gardens. "Effective prevention and control of overseas epidemic import in accordance with the law" became the theme of the press conference of the State Council's Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism on March 1. Liu Haitao, Director of the Frontier Inspection and Management Department of the State Immigration Administration, said that with the gradual increase in the risk of overseas epidemics, the State Administration of Immigration has taken the prevention of the risk of importing overseas epidemics as the most important task at present. Strengthen prevention.

US: White House control questioned

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on February 29 that a patient with New Crown Pneumonia died in the evening on February 28 in Washington state on the west coast of the United States. This is the first death of new coronary pneumonia in the United States. As of February 29, 69 cases of new coronary pneumonia have been confirmed in the United States.

Washington State declared a state of emergency, and the Governor authorized the use of the Washington State National Guard when necessary. Previously, most state and local health departments sent patient samples to CDC headquarters, and it took days to get test results. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on February 29 that it will allow 300 to 400 laboratories to test for new coronary pneumonia, which may lead to a rapid increase in reported cases in the coming days.

"This is a difficult time, and we are facing historic public health challenges," CDC spokesman Dr Messoniye said on the same day that the virus "is prepared to spread in the United States."

The White House's attitude is relatively optimistic, US President Trump said at the White House press conference on the afternoon of February 29 local time: "We have taken the most aggressive action to fight the new crown pneumonia. Our country is ready for any situation ... ... There is no reason to panic. "He also said that he was considering further precautions and restrictions, including the possible closure of the US-Mexico border. Trump also said that on March 2 he will meet with US pharmaceutical company executives to discuss speeding up the development of vaccines and drugs. He also insisted that the Democrats were trying to take advantage of the new crown pneumonia epidemic and "attack him politically", and he urged the Fed "to take action when it is necessary to cut interest rates."

U.S. Vice President Burns announced at a press conference that in view of the spread of the epidemic, the US government will ban foreigners who have visited Iran in the past 14 days from entering the country and will raise the highest level of travel warnings for US citizens to Italy and South Korea.

Concerns over the spread of the epidemic have deepened public distrust of the government. "Big Wall Street hemorrhage, the first unknown, the first death, a shortage of medicines ... these problems are happening faster than the White House has shown all controllable efforts," said CNN. The British "Guardian" said on March 1 that before the White House press conference on Saturday, Trump had "repeatedly underlined" the new crown pneumonia epidemic, even though U.S. public health officials have repeatedly warned of the severity of the epidemic, and accused political opponents And the media exaggerate this threat. His appointment of Vice President Pence, who was previously thought to be weak in responding to the public health crisis, has led some efforts to fight the epidemic.

At the same time, the tide of buying has emerged in the United States. "Global Times" reporters saw on Saturday at Costco supermarket in Arlington County, Virginia that the supermarket checkout counters were lined up, and the shelves in the meat area and the laundry area were empty. Situation never seen in years. Many American families are stuffed with car trunks. Protective supplies like masks have long been out of stock in physical pharmacies. The Wall Street Journal said that U.S. supermarket owners are working hard to replenish, with special orders for storage-resistant items such as disinfectants, pasta and cans.

Europe: French, German, Italian confirmed surge in cases

Europeans are also panicking about the outbreak. French Minister of Health Vérand announced that France "entered the second stage of the epidemic", that is, the new crown pneumonia epidemic has begun to spread in France. A French Ministry of Health spokesman said on February 29 that a total of 100 cases of new coronary pneumonia were diagnosed in France. Within a day, 43 new cases were confirmed in France, once again breaking the record of confirmed cases in a single day.

French President Macron warned on February 29 that the epidemic had just begun, "we are facing a crisis, an imminent epidemic." Health Minister Willand then announced a number of measures at a press conference. Including the cancellation of all gatherings of more than 5,000 people in enclosed places in the entire French market, the ongoing French International Agricultural Exhibition ended one day earlier, and the Paris Half Marathon, the Nice Expo, and the Annecy Carnival have also been cancelled. Polls show that 53% of French people are worried about the new crown pneumonia epidemic. Wei Lang said that in addition to purchasing protective masks, France will also increase the number of medical institutions that treat patients with new crown pneumonia from 38 to 108. In addition, French detection of new crown pneumonia has increased to thousands of cases per day. Weilang also emphasized the importance of preventing infections, advising people to "wash hands frequently, every hour" and "avoid handshake and rituals." According to Agence France-Presse, the Louvre Museum was temporarily closed from March 1 due to the impact of the epidemic.

In Germany, government departments are holding crisis meetings almost daily. According to the data released by the German Institute for Disease Control and Prevention, the Robert Koch Institute, as of 1 am local time on March 1, local time, 51 new cases have been added in Germany, and a total of 117 new cases of new coronary pneumonia have been confirmed. Berlin's ITB, the world's largest travel exhibition originally scheduled to open on March 4, has been cancelled. 1,000 people were isolated in Heinsburg, a small town in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany. According to a report from German RTL TV on March 1, the latest polls show that 35% of Germans said they would cancel their trip due to the epidemic. The ever cautious Germans began the first wave of hoarding. Large chain retailers also reported on February 26 that no snap-ups were found, and on February 28, large-scale purchases increased significantly, especially foods that can be stored, such as canned food, noodles, toilet paper and disinfectant. Become a snapped-up object.

The number of patients with new coronary pneumonia in Italy is intensifying. On February 29, 240 new cases were added each day, and 1128 cases of new coronary pneumonia have been diagnosed. Some Italians desperately stock up and even start growing vegetables. In response to the outbreak, the Italian government intends to re-employ retired doctors and nurses and has issued a recruitment announcement. And Italians have begun to face discrimination in other European countries.

Outbreak spread: greater test than refugee crisis

Several Serie A matches scheduled for last weekend were affected by the epidemic, and they were postponed to May 13, including Juventus's focus battle against Inter Milan. Unexpectedly, this decision was met with fierce opposition from some people.

"Europe is not ready yet." Zheng He, a Chinese scholar in Berlin, Germany, told the Global Times reporter that compared with China, Europe has better medical infrastructure, but the awareness of epidemic prevention is seriously lagging. No one wears a mask, and there are no isolation measures in the community. "This could make the epidemic spread faster."

A video shot by a US netizen on February 29 is becoming popular online. The video shows that he stayed in a New York hospital for 20 minutes without seeing a person wearing a mask. The video also showed a new crown pneumonia test bill received by a Miami resident, up to $ 3,500, excluding the $ 1,000 cost of calling an ambulance to the hospital.

Agence France-Presse said on March 1 that about 27.5 million Americans have no health insurance, which accounts for about 8.5% of the US population. If the new crown pneumonia epidemic sweeps the United States, it will pose a serious challenge to public health. The Guardian also criticized the U.S. government for cutting public health budgets, saying that the number of Americans without health insurance had been "steadily growing" during Trump's tenure. A poll in 2018 showed that 44% of Americans do not visit a doctor because they cannot afford medical bills.

The New York Times commented that the outbreak has so far exposed major weaknesses in the United States' response to the public health crisis. In the worst case possible, shortages of ventilator, paramedics, beds, masks, etc. will occur in the United States.

The US CNBC website commented on February 29 that the new crown pneumonia epidemic hit the EU, and its political, economic and social mechanisms have been the biggest test since the refugee crisis five years ago. The refugee crisis triggered waves of populism and nationalism, Brexit and political divisions in Germany. The new crown pneumonia epidemic may be a greater test for the EU than the refugee crisis, including the possible economic recession in the EU, the continued rise of populism and nationalism, trade negotiations between the EU and Britain, the crisis of German leadership, and social unrest in France.

According to the latest data released by the World Health Organization, as of 5 pm Beijing time on February 29, a total of 85,403 cases of new coronary pneumonia have been diagnosed worldwide. A total of 79,394 cases were diagnosed in China. 6,009 cases were diagnosed in countries and regions outside China. A total of 53 countries have reported confirmed cases.

According to the announcement by the National Health Committee of China on Sunday, 31 provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities) and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps reported 573 new confirmed cases of new pneumonia on February 29. Reuters reported that new cases were reported outside Hubei. In three cases, "there was a new low since the National Health Commission began to publish national data on January 20."

"As the epidemic spreads, other countries can learn from China," the Associated Press said on February 29. Isolation is the most effective way to curb transmission if a disease is not really understood and there are no specific drugs or vaccines. It's important to act quickly after the initial mildness emerged, and that's what China did. Copmans, a Dutch virologist, said that taking such a large-scale restriction would take a lot of explanation to explain, but it is common sense that people can understand, "I remember being isolated when I had mumps as a kid. Our grandfather Generations have taught us to do so. "

[Global Times special correspondent Zhang Mengxu, Liu Lingling, Ye Qi Aoki in the United States, France, Italy, and Germany]