China is grappling with a new coronavirus epidemic that began in December and has since spread to countries around the world. While the country has made headway in controlling the virus’s spread, the picture abroad is less positive as hotspots emerge in a number of other nations, including Japan, South Korea, Italy and Iran.
Caixin Global will continue covering this story as it develops. Please check back regularly for updates.
Caixin’s coverage of the new coronavirus
Sunday, March 1, 12:00 p.m.
China’s health authority confirmed (link in Chinese) 579 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday, bringing the total infection count in the country up to 79,968. The number of new cases was up from the previous day.
Another 35 patients died of the disease yesterday, meaning China’s official death toll has risen to 2,873.
Almost all the new cases were confirmed in Hubei, as the province at the epicenter of the epicenter reported 570 new cases and 34 additional deaths Saturday.
A total of 41,675 patients have recovered from the disease in China, including 33 in Hong Kong, eight in Macao and nine in Taiwan.
President Xi calls for better epidemic prevention
Chinese President Xi Jinping instructed officials to strengthen areas of weakness and close loopholes exposed by the Covid-19 outbreak. He made the remarks in an article published Sunday in the Qiushi Journal, the flagship magazine of the Communist Party of China’s Central Committee.
He stressed the importance of improving institutions and mechanisms for epidemic prevention and control and the national public health emergency management system, according to a summary of the article published by the official Xinhua News Agency.
Some localities and departments did not take efficient measures in the face of the sudden epidemic, some prevention and control measures were changed overnight, and in some places illegal and criminal acts were committed that seriously hindered work against the virus, President Xi wrote (link in Chinese). “People are not satisfied with those phenomena,” he said.
U.S. confirms first coronavirus death
U.S. President Donald Trump said the outbreak could bring his country and China together, in response to a question from Caixin at a briefing on Saturday. “In a certain way, this can bring the world closer.”
“We just did a big trade deal. We're starting on another trade deal with China — a very big one. And we've been working very closely,” he added.
The U.S government confirmed the country’s first death from the new coronavirus yesterday, a man in his 50s living in Washington state. There was no evidence that the patient had a relevant recent travel history nor had he had contact with person known to be infected. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also reported two other new cases in the state, bringing the total number of cases in the U.S. to 22.
U.S. health officials said the risk posed by the virus to the public remains low, but the situation could change fast. “Most people in the United States will have little immediate risk of exposure to this virus, but some people will be at increased risk depending on their exposures. The greatest risk is to those who have been in close contact with people with COVID-19,” the CDC said in a statement.
Trump has boosted travel restrictions to Iran, Italy and South Korea.
In other coronavirus-related news:
• Three northern Italian regions will keep schools and universities closed for a second consecutive week, Reuters reported. Italy is the worst-hit European country, with 1,128 confirmed cases as of Saturday.
The WHO said it deployed infection prevention and control specialists to Italy.
• The Chinese Embassy in Russia denied (link in Chinese) rumors that Moscow police have mistreated people in quarantine and detained Chinese citizens for no reason. The statement from the embassy called for respect for the temporary measures taken by the Russian authorities to prevent and control the epidemic.
Compiled by Guo Yingzhe
