Beijing will defeat virus – Xi
Published Feb 7, 2020 12:00 am
By Reuters and AFP
BEIJING/SHANGHAI/WASHINGTON – Chinese President Xi Jinping assured US President Donald Trump on Friday that China is doing all it can to contain a new coronavirus that has killed close to 640 people, including a doctor who sounded the alarm only to be threatened by police.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File / MANILA BULLETIN)
Trump expressed his “confidence” in China's ability to tackle the novel coronavirus epidemic, the White House said.
Trump “expressed confidence in China's strength and resilience in confronting the challenge of the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak,” the White House said in a statement.
“The two leaders agreed to continue extensive communication and cooperation between both sides,” it said, following reports in Chinese state media that the two had spoken on the phone about the matter.
The statement also noted that the two leaders had discussed “the great achievement of the recent United States-China Phase One Trade Deal and reaffirmed their commitment to its implementation.”
China was gradually achieving results and was confident it could defeat the epidemic with no long-term consequences for economic development, Xi told his US counterpart in a telephone call, according to state television.
Xi had earlier declared a “people's war” on the virus, saying the “whole country has responded with all its strength (and) the most thorough and strict prevention and control measures,” Xinhua news agency reported.
WHO still uncertain
The conversation between the two leaders came as the World Health Organization (WHO) said it still cannot make predictions on the spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) as officials maintained that it is a disease whose origin is still unknown.
“At this stage, it is not possible to predict the spread of the virus as this is a new disease with many unknowns,” WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said in a report by state-owned Chinese newspaper Global Times on Friday.
The WHO said 28,276 confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV infection has so far been reported to them as of February 6, more than 560 of them dying of illnesses due to the new virus. Most of the confirmed cases and deaths still came from China, the epicenter of the 2019-nCoV outbreak.
Dr. Mike Ryan, WHO Health Emergencies Program executive director, said it is premature to speak on numbers, especially after reported cases saw a decline in the past 24 hours.
“It is still too early to make predictions related to that. We are still in the middle of an intense outbreak and we need to be very careful in making predictions,” Ryan said during the latest WHO press briefing in Geneva.
READ MORE: nCoV spread unpredictable – WHO
Whistleblower dies
Xi’s call to the White House, which China has accused of scaremongering over the epidemic, came amid an outpouring of grief and anger on Chinese social media over the death of ophthalmologist Li Wenliang overnight.
Li, 34, was one of eight people reprimanded by police in Wuhan, the epicenter of the contagion, last month for spreading “illegal and false” information about the flu-like virus that has since triggered a global health emergency.
His messages to a group of doctors on Chinese social media warning of a new “SARS-like” coronavirus – a reference to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) which originated in China killed almost 800 people around the world in 2002-2003 – triggered the wrath of Wuhan police.
China was accused of trying to cover up SARS.
Li was forced to sign a letter on Jan. 3 saying he had “severely disrupted social order” and was threatened with criminal charges.
Many Chinese people on social media described Li as a hero, accusing authorities of incompetence in the early stages of the outbreak which has now claimed more than 400 lives in Wuhan.
"We deeply mourn the death of Wuhan doctor Li Wenliang ... After all-effort rescue, Li passed away on 2:58 am, Feb. 7," the ruling Communist Party's People's Daily said on Twitter.
Some Chinese media outlets described him as a "hero who was willing to speak the truth" while other commentators posted poems, photos and drawings saluting him.
“He is a hero who warned others with his life,” a fellow Wuhan doctor wrote on Weibo after reports of his death emerged.
“Those fat officials who live on public money, may you die from a snowstorm,” wrote one angry Weibo user in a comment that has since been censored.
“Light a candle and pay tribute to the hero,” one person posted on the Weibo social media platform.
There were signs that discussion of his death was being censored. The topic “the Wuhan government owes doctor Li Wenliang an apology” briefly trended on Weibo late on Thursday, but yielded no search results on Friday.
Toll mounts
The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in mainland China reached 636 on Friday with 73 more deaths recorded the previous day and 3,143 new confirmed infections, bringing the total to 31,161 cases, the National Health Commission said.
The 3,143 new infections on Thursday were down from 3,694 on Wednesday and 3,887 on Tuesday, but experts warned it was too early to say if the data represented a trend.
Two deaths have been reported outside China, in Hong Kong and the Philippines, but uncertainty about how deadly and contagious it is has prompted countries to quarantine hundreds of people and cut travel links with China.
The virus has spread around the world, with 320 cases in 27 countries and regions outside mainland China, according to a Reuters tally of official statements.
There were 41 new cases among about 3,700 people quarantined in a cruise ship moored off Japan, bringing the total to 61 cases on board.
In Hong Kong, another cruise ship with 3,600 passengers and crew was quarantined for a third day after three people who had been on board were found to be infected.
Taiwan, which has 16 cases, banned international cruise ships from docking.
A British national was confirmed to have contracted coronavirus after travelling to an Asian country other than China. The government did not identify the country, but gave a list of countries from which returning travelers who developed symptoms should isolate themselves.
It said those returning from Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Macau as well as China should follow the advice.
Ghost cities
In China, the world's second-largest economy, cities have been shut off, flights cancelled and factories closed, cutting off supply lines to international businesses.
Beijing is like a ghost town, with Chang'an Avenue, the main thoroughfare, almost completely deserted, and attractions like Tiananmen Square, the Great Hall of the People and the Forbidden City devoid of tourists.
China has chafed at some of the travel restrictions imposed by other countries, which the WHO says are unnecessary. The foreign ministry said Italy was willing to resume some flights.
Anxiety over the impact of the virus returned to financial markets on Friday, with stock indexes in China, Hong Kong and throughout Asia slipping after several days of gains on fears of a pandemic.
China's central bank said it would step up policy support for sectors affected by the outbreak. Analysts believe China's first-quarter economic growth could slow sharply by 2 percentage points, or more from 6%, in the last quarter, but could rebound sharply if the outbreak peaks soon. Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co on Friday extended suspensions of production at Chinese plants, joining a growing number of automakers facing stoppages due to supply-chain disruptions.
South Korea asked Chinese regional governments for help in resuming production at South Korean auto parts suppliers' factories in China.
READ MORE: China’s stuttering economy braces for impact of deadly coronavirus
PH probes virus infections
In the Philippines, more persons are being investigated for showing indications they might have been infected by the 2019-nCoV.
A 21-year-old nurse, who is suspected of contracting the 2019-novel coronavirus, was placed under quarantine, making her the fifth person under investigation (PUI) for the virus in Bohol province.
Dr. Cesar Tomas Lopez, spokesman of the Bohol provincial government's anti-nCoV technical working group (TWG), said the nurse displayed flu-like symptoms after coming into contact with the 60-year-old Chinese woman who was the third reported 2019-nCoV case in the country.
One of the newly identified PUI's colleagues, also a nurse, was already put under investigation after showing the same symptoms.
The other PUIs are two Americans aged 23 and 24.
The foreign PUIs reportedly travelled from New York to Beijing, China before going to Manila.
They went to El Nido and Coron, both in Palawan, before travelling to Bohol.
After developing fever and cough, the PUIs sought medical treatment at the Gov. Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital, where they are currently isolated.
READ MORE: 2 Bohol nurses, 2 Americans suspected of nCoV infection in Bohol
In Negros Occidental, health authorities said on Thursday that there were three PUIs in the province, after exhibiting flu-like symptoms, following their travel in China, HongKong, and Macau last month.
Dr. Grace Tan, spokesperson of Bacolod City Inter-agency against 2019-nCoV said two Filipinas aged 45 and 29 were admitted to a hospital in Bohol Wednesday night, after suffering from dry cough and sore throat.
Tan said the two women voluntarily submitted themselves for quarantine, pending the results of their swab tests from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).
Tan said the elder Filipina came from China on January 23 and exhibited flu-like symptoms six days later, while the other PUI traveled to Hong Kong and Macau.
In Negros Oriental, four of the eight PUIs were tested negative for 2019-nCoV.
Bimbo Miraflor, public information officer of the provincial government, announced this in a press briefing on Thursday.
Miraflor said that the eight persons under investigation (PUIs) who exhibited flu-like symptoms include four hotel staff, a van driver, a seatmate in the airplane of the Chinese couple who tested positive for 2019-nCoV, and two others who traveled to Taiwan and Hong Kong. (With reports from Minka S. Tiangco, Glazy Masculino)
READ MORE: Canadian negative for nCoV, 3 more persons quarantined in Negros Occidental
Chinese President Xi Jinping (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File / MANILA BULLETIN)
Trump expressed his “confidence” in China's ability to tackle the novel coronavirus epidemic, the White House said.
Trump “expressed confidence in China's strength and resilience in confronting the challenge of the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak,” the White House said in a statement.
“The two leaders agreed to continue extensive communication and cooperation between both sides,” it said, following reports in Chinese state media that the two had spoken on the phone about the matter.
The statement also noted that the two leaders had discussed “the great achievement of the recent United States-China Phase One Trade Deal and reaffirmed their commitment to its implementation.”
China was gradually achieving results and was confident it could defeat the epidemic with no long-term consequences for economic development, Xi told his US counterpart in a telephone call, according to state television.
Xi had earlier declared a “people's war” on the virus, saying the “whole country has responded with all its strength (and) the most thorough and strict prevention and control measures,” Xinhua news agency reported.
WHO still uncertain
The conversation between the two leaders came as the World Health Organization (WHO) said it still cannot make predictions on the spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) as officials maintained that it is a disease whose origin is still unknown.
“At this stage, it is not possible to predict the spread of the virus as this is a new disease with many unknowns,” WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said in a report by state-owned Chinese newspaper Global Times on Friday.
The WHO said 28,276 confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV infection has so far been reported to them as of February 6, more than 560 of them dying of illnesses due to the new virus. Most of the confirmed cases and deaths still came from China, the epicenter of the 2019-nCoV outbreak.
Dr. Mike Ryan, WHO Health Emergencies Program executive director, said it is premature to speak on numbers, especially after reported cases saw a decline in the past 24 hours.
“It is still too early to make predictions related to that. We are still in the middle of an intense outbreak and we need to be very careful in making predictions,” Ryan said during the latest WHO press briefing in Geneva.
READ MORE: nCoV spread unpredictable – WHO
Whistleblower dies
Xi’s call to the White House, which China has accused of scaremongering over the epidemic, came amid an outpouring of grief and anger on Chinese social media over the death of ophthalmologist Li Wenliang overnight.
Li, 34, was one of eight people reprimanded by police in Wuhan, the epicenter of the contagion, last month for spreading “illegal and false” information about the flu-like virus that has since triggered a global health emergency.
His messages to a group of doctors on Chinese social media warning of a new “SARS-like” coronavirus – a reference to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) which originated in China killed almost 800 people around the world in 2002-2003 – triggered the wrath of Wuhan police.
China was accused of trying to cover up SARS.
Li was forced to sign a letter on Jan. 3 saying he had “severely disrupted social order” and was threatened with criminal charges.
Many Chinese people on social media described Li as a hero, accusing authorities of incompetence in the early stages of the outbreak which has now claimed more than 400 lives in Wuhan.
"We deeply mourn the death of Wuhan doctor Li Wenliang ... After all-effort rescue, Li passed away on 2:58 am, Feb. 7," the ruling Communist Party's People's Daily said on Twitter.
Some Chinese media outlets described him as a "hero who was willing to speak the truth" while other commentators posted poems, photos and drawings saluting him.
“He is a hero who warned others with his life,” a fellow Wuhan doctor wrote on Weibo after reports of his death emerged.
“Those fat officials who live on public money, may you die from a snowstorm,” wrote one angry Weibo user in a comment that has since been censored.
“Light a candle and pay tribute to the hero,” one person posted on the Weibo social media platform.
There were signs that discussion of his death was being censored. The topic “the Wuhan government owes doctor Li Wenliang an apology” briefly trended on Weibo late on Thursday, but yielded no search results on Friday.
Toll mounts
The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in mainland China reached 636 on Friday with 73 more deaths recorded the previous day and 3,143 new confirmed infections, bringing the total to 31,161 cases, the National Health Commission said.
The 3,143 new infections on Thursday were down from 3,694 on Wednesday and 3,887 on Tuesday, but experts warned it was too early to say if the data represented a trend.
Two deaths have been reported outside China, in Hong Kong and the Philippines, but uncertainty about how deadly and contagious it is has prompted countries to quarantine hundreds of people and cut travel links with China.
The virus has spread around the world, with 320 cases in 27 countries and regions outside mainland China, according to a Reuters tally of official statements.
There were 41 new cases among about 3,700 people quarantined in a cruise ship moored off Japan, bringing the total to 61 cases on board.
In Hong Kong, another cruise ship with 3,600 passengers and crew was quarantined for a third day after three people who had been on board were found to be infected.
Taiwan, which has 16 cases, banned international cruise ships from docking.
A British national was confirmed to have contracted coronavirus after travelling to an Asian country other than China. The government did not identify the country, but gave a list of countries from which returning travelers who developed symptoms should isolate themselves.
It said those returning from Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Macau as well as China should follow the advice.
Ghost cities
In China, the world's second-largest economy, cities have been shut off, flights cancelled and factories closed, cutting off supply lines to international businesses.
Beijing is like a ghost town, with Chang'an Avenue, the main thoroughfare, almost completely deserted, and attractions like Tiananmen Square, the Great Hall of the People and the Forbidden City devoid of tourists.
China has chafed at some of the travel restrictions imposed by other countries, which the WHO says are unnecessary. The foreign ministry said Italy was willing to resume some flights.
Anxiety over the impact of the virus returned to financial markets on Friday, with stock indexes in China, Hong Kong and throughout Asia slipping after several days of gains on fears of a pandemic.
China's central bank said it would step up policy support for sectors affected by the outbreak. Analysts believe China's first-quarter economic growth could slow sharply by 2 percentage points, or more from 6%, in the last quarter, but could rebound sharply if the outbreak peaks soon. Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co on Friday extended suspensions of production at Chinese plants, joining a growing number of automakers facing stoppages due to supply-chain disruptions.
South Korea asked Chinese regional governments for help in resuming production at South Korean auto parts suppliers' factories in China.
READ MORE: China’s stuttering economy braces for impact of deadly coronavirus
PH probes virus infections
In the Philippines, more persons are being investigated for showing indications they might have been infected by the 2019-nCoV.
A 21-year-old nurse, who is suspected of contracting the 2019-novel coronavirus, was placed under quarantine, making her the fifth person under investigation (PUI) for the virus in Bohol province.
Dr. Cesar Tomas Lopez, spokesman of the Bohol provincial government's anti-nCoV technical working group (TWG), said the nurse displayed flu-like symptoms after coming into contact with the 60-year-old Chinese woman who was the third reported 2019-nCoV case in the country.
One of the newly identified PUI's colleagues, also a nurse, was already put under investigation after showing the same symptoms.
The other PUIs are two Americans aged 23 and 24.
The foreign PUIs reportedly travelled from New York to Beijing, China before going to Manila.
They went to El Nido and Coron, both in Palawan, before travelling to Bohol.
After developing fever and cough, the PUIs sought medical treatment at the Gov. Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital, where they are currently isolated.
READ MORE: 2 Bohol nurses, 2 Americans suspected of nCoV infection in Bohol
In Negros Occidental, health authorities said on Thursday that there were three PUIs in the province, after exhibiting flu-like symptoms, following their travel in China, HongKong, and Macau last month.
Dr. Grace Tan, spokesperson of Bacolod City Inter-agency against 2019-nCoV said two Filipinas aged 45 and 29 were admitted to a hospital in Bohol Wednesday night, after suffering from dry cough and sore throat.
Tan said the two women voluntarily submitted themselves for quarantine, pending the results of their swab tests from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).
Tan said the elder Filipina came from China on January 23 and exhibited flu-like symptoms six days later, while the other PUI traveled to Hong Kong and Macau.
In Negros Oriental, four of the eight PUIs were tested negative for 2019-nCoV.
Bimbo Miraflor, public information officer of the provincial government, announced this in a press briefing on Thursday.
Miraflor said that the eight persons under investigation (PUIs) who exhibited flu-like symptoms include four hotel staff, a van driver, a seatmate in the airplane of the Chinese couple who tested positive for 2019-nCoV, and two others who traveled to Taiwan and Hong Kong. (With reports from Minka S. Tiangco, Glazy Masculino)
READ MORE: Canadian negative for nCoV, 3 more persons quarantined in Negros Occidental