Head of hospital dies in coronavirus epicenter; global economic impact spreads

[webfact]

Head of hospital dies in coronavirus epicenter; global economic impact spreads

Ryan Woo, Samuel Shen

 

Travellers with face masks and shields are seen at the Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station on the last day of the Spring Festival travel rush, as the country is hit by an outbreak of the novel coronavirus, in Shanghai, China February 18, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song

 

BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - The head of a leading hospital in China’s central city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, died of the disease on Tuesday while South Korea announced an economic emergency and Singapore Airlines slashed flights.

 

Chinese state television said Liu Zhiming, the director of Wuhan Wuchang Hospital, died at 10:30 a.m, the seventh health worker to fall victim. The hospital was designated to solely treat virus-infected patients.

 

The number of new coronavirus cases in mainland China fell below 2,000 for the first time since January but the virus remains far from contained.

 

The total death toll in China has climbed to 1,868, the National Health Commission said. There were 1,886 new confirmed infections, for a total of 72,436.

 

China’s lockdown of cities and tough curbs on travel and movement have limited the spread of the virus outside the epicenter, but at great cost to the economy and global business.

 

More than two dozen trade fairs and industry conferences have been postponed because of travel curbs and concerns about the spread of the virus, potentially disrupting deals worth billions of dollars.

 

Apple Inc became the latest company to warn of trouble, saying it would not meet its guidance for March-quarter revenue because of slower iPhone production and weaker demand in China.

 

Asian shares fell and Wall Street was poised to retreat from record highs on Tuesday after the news.

 

Singapore Airlines Ltd said it would temporarily cut flights across its global network in the three months to May, as the epidemic hits demand for services to the Asian city state, as well as through the key transit hub.

 

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said the economy was in an emergency situation and required stimulus as the epidemic had disrupted demand for South Korean goods.

 

As global businesses sought to limit exposure to the virus, health authorities around the world searched for medical weapons.

 

The president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, Joerg Wuttke, said the world’s pharmacies may face a shortage of antibiotics and other drugs if the outbreak cannot be resolved soon, and accused Beijing of making supply-chain problems worse.

 

Japan announced plans to use HIV drugs to combat the virus as a growing number of cases posed an increasing threat to the world’s third-largest economy, as well as public health. With 520, Japan has the most cases outside China.

 

With Japan’s economy contracting, raising the risk of a recession, the spread of the virus has prompted Tokyo to put limits on public crowds while some companies are telling employees to work from home.

 

INTERPRET CAUTIOUSLY

The number of new daily infections in mainland China had not been below 2,000 since Jan. 30, while the daily death toll had not fallen below 100 since Feb. 11.

 

Outside China, there are 827 cases in 26 countries and regions and five deaths, according to a Reuters count based on official statements.

 

Chinese authorities say the stabilization in the number of new cases is a sign that measures they have taken to halt the spread of the disease are having an effect.

 

 

Global health authorities had to keep on guard against a wider outbreak, said Jimmy Whitworth, a professor of international public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

 

“We can hope that the reports of falling numbers of new cases in China do show that the epidemic has peaked in Hubei province, but it is still too early to be sure that this is so,” he said, referring to the central province where the outbreak began.

 

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Chinese data “appear to show a decline in new cases” but any apparent trend “must be interpreted very cautiously”.

 

Reporting by Ryan Woo in Beijing and Samuel Shen in Shanghai; additional reporting by Lusha Zhang, Gabriel Crossley and Se Young Lee in Beijing;

 

(Writing by Raju Gopalakrishnan; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

 

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-02-18

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[FarFlungFalang]

Sounds like Apple are also making some Chinese omelette.

[NCC1701A]

780 million on lockdown: According to analysis by CNN of Chinese government orders, some 780 million people are still living under some form of restrictive movement, including all of Hubei, the northeastern province of Liaoning, and China's two most important cities, Beijing and Shanghai. Restrictions include everything from self-quarantines to limits on who can come and go from neighborhoods.

 

https://edition.cnn.com/asia/live-news/coronavirus-outbreak-02-18-20-intl-hnk/index.html

[spiekerjozef]

How much longer before they're gonna tell the origin of the virus?

[Cake Monster]

11 minutes ago, NCC1701A said:

780 million on lockdown: According to analysis by CNN of Chinese government orders, some 780 million people are still living under some form of restrictive movement, including all of Hubei, the northeastern province of Liaoning, and China's two most important cities, Beijing and Shanghai. Restrictions include everything from self-quarantines to limits on who can come and go from neighborhoods.

 

https://edition.cnn.com/asia/live-news/coronavirus-outbreak-02-18-20-intl-hnk/index.html

So the Economic melt down will continue for all those Countries and Business,s that sought huge profits from the Chinese Manufacturing Sector, and their Tourist Market.

Looks like greed is getting a kick in the dangly things for a while.

[sammieuk1]

So luckey to have cast iron Generals and a health ministry armed to the teeth with enough BS to vaporize the virus like no other country can ????

[rvaviator]

Interesting read

 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/02/17/new-coronavirus-what-dont-we-know-dr-anthony-fauci-q-a-opinion/4790996002/?from=timeline&isappinstalled=0

 

[JerseytoBKK]

New And Rapidly Build Hospital in Wuhan Falling Apart ...... Now Not Usable  

 

https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/breaking-news-china-s-new-and-rapidly-build-hospital-in-wuhan-falling-apart-due-to-winds-and-snow,-patients-moved-and-building-now-not-usable

 

[TooBigToFit]

All these stories and clips on the Internet are worrying. What is the truth with this especially on China. They really seem to be abusing people there to get them under control if the videos are real. And what's with the dead bodies on the sides of the road and vids of people dropping dead after normally going about their day. Why also is it that western websites and media like Yahoo and the rest have almost zero news of this. There seems to be a big gap between media in unaffected places and what is happening in China. I saw a clip on Twitter from Feb 14 with a BBC interview of some expert who thought potentially 60% of the world would be infected in 12 months if things continue as normal with this virus as other viruses have spread.

[petermik]

7 hours ago, sammieuk1 said:

So luckey to have cast iron Generals and a health ministry armed to the teeth with enough BS to vaporize the virus like no other country can ????

Extraordinary powers here sammie....everythings under control no worries

[rvaviator]

1 hour ago, NCC1701A said:

780 million on lockdown: According to analysis by CNN of Chinese government orders, some 780 million people are still living under some form of restrictive movement, including all of Hubei, the northeastern province of Liaoning, and China's two most important cities, Beijing and Shanghai. Restrictions include everything from self-quarantines to limits on who can come and go from neighborhoods.

 

https://edition.cnn.com/asia/live-news/coronavirus-outbreak-02-18-20-intl-hnk/index.html

Say what you will about China. One thing is certain, once they stake out a path forward to get something done they do not mess about. Very focused and determined  

Edited February 18, 2020 by rvaviator

[Tayaout]

My lazada purchases from a couple weeks ago are starting to get cancelled. 

 

Life is so cruel. 

[Colabamumbai]

This is probably a government experiment gone wrong. 

[URMySunshine]

Data coming out of China suggests those over 60 are most at risk , over 80 most so. 2/3 rds of the deaths are male and those with underlying health conditions and respiratory issues. The 21 year old who recovered said he felt like he was dying with an intractable cough for 3 days. Sounds like absolute hell if you get it - let's hope China's unprecedented containment can buy enough time to get a vaccine and more detailed health responses before this lets rip elsewhere. Very sadly the ship is going to give us some valuable insight into the disease profile of those affected with advanced first world medical care in a relatively speaking, 'unstressed' environment. 

Edited February 19, 2020 by URMySunshine

[nausea]

1 hour ago, URMySunshine said:

those over 60 are most at risk, over 80 most so.

I dunno about this received wisdom, which implies your average John or Jane Doe has little to worry about, mortality wise - Liu Zhiming was 51, Li Wenliang was 34. They might be outliers, I suppose, but it does make you wonder. And these guys were, presumably, receiving top notch care, given their high profiles.

[URMySunshine]

28 minutes ago, nausea said:

I dunno about this received wisdom, which implies your average John or Jane Doe has little to worry about, mortality wise - Liu Zhiming was 51, Li Wenliang was 34. They might be outliers, I suppose, but it does make you wonder. And these guys were, presumably, receiving top notch care, given their high profiles.

They were highly stressed medical staff in a hugely challenged environment Some of the doctors there are working flat out 12-18 hour shifts without eating or toilet breaks as to remove the suit would mean both an extensive decon procedure and the loss of a precious resource. That said though the picture is clearing we still don't have a total picture of it's pathology just yet. 

 

Latest WHO Report. One critical problem globally is the shortage of protective gear for normal medical use given the massive uptick in demand leaving little left for normal health care provision and the fact that China is the leading supplier for most things now. When this finally blows over we can take this as a wakeup call for each country to build in resilience procedures for the inevitable next one. 

 

https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200218-sitrep-29-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=6262de9e_2