New coronavirus cases drop for third straight day

BEIJING: China Sunday reported a drop in new coronavirus cases for the third day in a row, as it became clear the country's leadership was aware of the outbreak’s potential before the dangers were made public.

The measures China has taken to stop the spread of the coronavirus are starting to have an impact, Mi Feng, a spokesman at the National Health Commission, said on Sunday, reports the international media.

There were 2,009 new cases in mainland China on Saturday, bringing its total to 68,500, according to the country's National Health Commission. The fatality rate remained stable at 142 deaths.

The figures have emerged after an 80-year-old Chinese tourist in Paris became the first person to die from the virus in Europe. The number of dead in mainland China from COVID-19, the medical name for the acute respiratory disease caused by the virus,stands at 1,665.

China's fall in new cases follows a spike of more than 15,000 on Thursday, when the central province of Hubei adopted a new diagnostic method that includes clinical diagnoses in its official account.

The state media published on Saturday a Feb 3 speech by President Xi in which he said he had given instructions on fighting the virus as early as 7 January. President Xi also revealed that he had ordered a lockdown of the virus epicentre of Wuhan in the Hubei province: "On January 22, in light of the epidemic's rapid spread and the challenges of prevention and control, I made a clear request that Hubei province implement comprehensive and stringent controls over the outflow of people."

China has imposed more restrictions on the 60 million people living under lockdown in Hubei province - the centre of the outbreak - in an attempt to control the epidemic.

The use of private cars has been banned and residents have been told to stay at home unless there's an emergency. Officials say there will be only one exception to this rule - every three days a single person from each household will be allowed out to buy food and other essential items.

The new measures come despite an announcement by China's State Council that the proportion of infected patients in a serious condition had fallen nationwide. Foreign Minister Wang Yi also said that along with a drop in infections within Hubei there had been a rapid increase in the number of people who had recovered.

Meanwhile, authorities in the capital, Beijing, have ordered everyone returning to the city to go into quarantine for 14 days or risk punishment. China's central bank will also disinfect and store used banknotes before recirculating them in a bid to stop the virus spreading.

The death toll from China's coronavirus epidemic jumped past 1,600 on Sunday, as officials imposed a vehicle ban in Hubei province, where the virus originated. Taiwan reported its first death from the disease, officially known COVID-19, marking the fifth fatality outside mainland China.

More than two dozen countries have confirmed cases and several have suspended trade and travel links with China in a bid to contain the spread of the virus. The World Health Organization (WHO) has praised China's efforts to contain COVID-19, saying it has "bought the world time" and that other nations must make the most of it.