BEIJING: A new viral illness being watched with a wary eye around the globe accelerated its spread in China with 81 deaths so far, while the US Consulate in the city at the epicentre announced it will evacuate its personnel and some other Americans aboard a chartered flight.
China’s health minister said the country was entering a “crucial stage” as “it seems like the ability of the virus to spread is getting stronger.”
US President Donald Trump offered China any help needed on Monday to control a coronavirus outbreak. With provincial authorities taking increasing flak from the public over their initial response, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited central Wuhan city, the epicentre of the outbreak, to encourage medical workers and promise reinforcements, international media reported.
Global stocks fell, oil prices hit three-month lows, and China’s yuan dipped to its weakest in 2020 as investors fretted about the impact on the world’s second-biggest economy from travel bans and extended Lunar New Year holidays.
“We are in very close communication with China concerning the virus,” tweeted Trump, who waged a bruising 18-month trade war with Beijing.
“Very few cases reported in USA, but strongly on watch. We have offered China and President Xi (Jinping) any help that is necessary. Our experts are extraordinary!”
Beijing authorities reported the capital’s first coronavirus death on Monday - a 50-year-old person who had been to Wuhan, state media said.
Visiting Wuhan in a blue protective suit and mask, Li praised medics, said 2,500 more workers would join them in the next two days, and visited the construction site of a new hospital due to be built in days.
Li, the most senior leader to visit Wuhan since the outbreak began, was shown on state TV leading medical workers in chants of “Wuhan jiayou!” - an exhortation to keep their strength up.
On China’s social media, local officials have faced mounting anger over the virus, which is thought to have come from a market where wildlife was sold illegally. Some lashed out at the governor of Hubei province, of which Wuhan is the capital, after he corrected himself twice during a news conference over the number of face masks being produced.
Wuhan Mayor Zhou Xianwang told state broadcaster CCTV the city’s management of the crisis was “not good enough” - rare public self-criticism - and said he was willing to resign.
The city of 11 million people is in virtual lockdown and much of Hubei, home to nearly 60 million people, is under some kind of travel curb. People from the region have come under scrutiny within mainland China as well, questioned about recent travels.
“Hubei people are getting discriminated against,” a Wuhan resident complained on Weibo.
A small number of cases linked to people who travelled from Wuhan have been confirmed in more than 10 countries, including Thailand, France, Japan and the United States where authorities said they had 110 people under investigation in 26 states.
Investors are worried about the impact on travel, tourism and broader economic activity. The consensus is that in the short term, economic output will be hit as authorities limit travel and extend the week-long New Year holiday - when millions traditionally travel by rail, road and plane - by three days to limit the spread of the virus.
The total number of confirmed cases in China rose to 2,835, about half in Hubei. Some experts suspect a much higher number. The number of deaths from the virus in Hubei climbed to 76 from 56, officials said, with five deaths elsewhere in China.
Chinese-ruled Hong Kong, which has had eight cases, banned entry to people who had visited Hubei in the past 14 days.
Some European tour operators cancelled trips to China and offered customers refunds. And governments from Japan to Spain were working on repatriating nationals from the Wuhan area.
Malaysia also imposed a temporary ban on Chinese nationals arriving from Wuhan and surrounding Hubei province to stem the spread of the coronavirus outbreak. The government decided to impose the temporary ban with immediate effect following the rising death toll in China.
Malaysia has reported four confirmed cases of the virus, which can cause pneumonia. It is still unclear how dangerous it is and how easily it spreads between people.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) admitted an error in its assessment of the global risk of a deadly virus in China, saying it was “high” and not “moderate”.
The Geneva-based UN health agency said in a situation report published late Sunday that the risk was “very high in China, high at the regional level and high at the global level.”
In a footnote, the WHO explained that it had stated “incorrectly” in its previous reports on Thursday, Friday and Saturday that the global risk was “moderate”.
The correction of the global risk assessment does not mean that an international health emergency has been declared. WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib said only that there had been “an error in the wording”.
Asked what the risk categorisation meant, the WHO said it was “a global evaluation of risk, covering severity, spread and capacity to cope”. The WHO on Thursday had stopped short of declaring the novel coronavirus a public health emergency of international concern — a rare designation used only for the most severe outbreaks that could trigger more concerted global action.