2020.01.31;五Jan31st(031): New coronavirus deaths and cases in China reach record daily highs-POLITICO

Published by DB, February 1st, 2020

south china morning post

New coronavirus deaths and cases in China reach record daily highs

Confirmed cases rise to 11,791 nationally; death toll hits 259.

Residents line up to purchase face mask outside of a pharmacy in Hong Kong. | Anthony Kwan/Getty Images

By CISSY ZHOU | SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

01/31/2020 08:56 PM EST

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This story is being published by POLITICO as part of a content partnership with the South China Morning Post. It originally appeared on scmp.com on Feb. 1, 2020.

New confirmed cases and deaths from the coronavirus have hit record daily levels in China.

According to the National Health Commission in Beijing, 11,791 cases have been confirmed in China’s 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions as of Friday. New deaths have brought the nationwide toll to 259.

Authorities in China’s coronavirus epicenter of Hubei province reported 45 new deaths from the illness and 1,347 new confirmed cases on Saturday — both daily record highs.

Of the newly reported deaths in Hubei, 33 were in Wuhan, the province’s capital and a major Chinese transit hub, where the first cases of the coronavirus were identified, according to data published by the Hubei Health Commission.

Underscoring the apparent ease with which the illness may be spreading, a recent statement by the government of Xinyu, a city in Jiangxi province — which is adjacent to Hubei — said 17 new cases had been confirmed in the city, and that 15 of the afflicted patients were infected by a single person. The statement has continued to attract attention since it was published on Thursday.

As the Chinese government scrambles to contain the outbreak, the contagion has spread to all of mainland China’s 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, as well as to at least 22 other countries.

More than 120 people outside China have been diagnosed with the potentially deadly virus.

In response, immigration authorities in many countries are taking measures to curb the entry of individuals arriving from China.

On Friday, the U.S. government declared a public health emergency and announced that it will deny entry to foreigners traveling from mainland China to prevent the new coronavirus from spreading.

The Trump administration has also ordered US citizens, permanent residents and immediate family members arriving in the country from China’s Hubei province be quarantined for 14 days starting Sunday at 5pm ET.

As the death toll from the coronavirus continues to climb, several countries have carried out or continued planning evacuations of citizens from Wuhan.

Beijing has sent more than 7,000 medical workers to the province of Hubei to help fight the deadly disease.

Two coronavirus hospitals — Huoshenshan and Leishenshan — are under construction in Wuhan and are expected to be completed next week, adding 2,300 beds in an effort to address an acute shortage of hospital beds in the city.

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