WUHAN, China, Jan 29, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Hundreds of Americans and Japanese
escaped the quarantined Chinese city at the centre of a viral epidemic aboard
charter flights on Wednesday, as the death toll soared to 132 and confirmed
infections neared 6,000.
The scale of the deepening crisis was emphasised with the new infection
number on the Chinese mainland exceeding that of the Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2002-03.
SARS, another respiratory virus transmitted between people, went on to
claim nearly 800 lives around the world, with most of those fatalities in
mainland China and Hong Kong.
The new virus has spread to more than 15 countries since it emerged out of
Wuhan late last year, although all the confirmed fatalities have so far been
in China.
Authorities last week imposed transport bans in and around Wuhan in an
unprecedented quarantine effort, leaving more than 50 million people
effectively trapped.
China has taken other extraordinary measures to try and stop the disease
spreading, including bans on tour groups travelling overseas, suspending
schools and extending the Lunar New Year holiday.
With global concerns mounting, the United States, Britain and various other
countries have also advised their citizens against travelling to China.
– Escape –
Thousands of foreigners have been among those trapped in Wuhan, which has
become a near ghost-town with car travel banned and residents staying
indoors.
Countries have for days been scrambling to try and get their citizens out
of Wuhan safely, but have faced huge logistical, medical and bureaucratic
hurdles.
Japan and the United States on Wednesday were the first to evacuate some of
their citizens from Wuhan.
About 200 people were aboard the Japanese flight, which landed in Tokyo on
Wednesday morning.
Medical professionals were on the flight to carry out health checks but
Japan’s health ministry said there were no plans to quarantine the
passengers.
They would instead be asked to remain at home and avoid crowds at least
until the results of the test were known.
A US charter flight also left Wuhan on Wednesday with about 200 Americans
on board, including employees from the local US consulate.
“These travellers will be carefully screened and monitored to protect their
health, as well as the health and safety of their fellow Americans,” a State
Department spokeswoman said.
The European Union will fly its citizens out aboard two French planes this
week, and South Korea is due to do the same. Several other countries were
assessing their options.
– More deaths –
Meanwhile, the virus continued to spread and kill in China.
Authorities said Wednesday the number of cases in Hubei province, the
epicentre of the virus of which Wuhan is the capital, soared by over 800 from
the previous day.
The number of confirmed cases across the country climbed to 5,974, while
the death toll nationwide jumped 26 to 132.
All of those new reported deaths were in Hubei except for one, on a
province just to the north.
The virus is believed to have originated in a wild-animal market in Wuhan,
where it jumped to humans before spreading across the country as the peak-
travel period for Lunar New Year holiday festivities got underway.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday branded the virus a “demon”, as he
held talks with World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Following the Xi-Tedros talks, the WHO said the two sides had agreed to
send international experts to China “as soon as possible… to guide global
response efforts”.
“Stopping the spread of this virus both in China and globally is WHO’s
highest priority,” Tedros said.
Until Tuesday, all reported cases in more than a dozen countries had
involved people who had been in or around Wuhan.
But Japan and Germany then reported the first confirmed human-to-human
transmission of the illness outside China. Vietnam is investigating another
case. Germany now has four confirmed cases, all of them employees at a
Bavarian firm recently visited by a Chinese colleague, health officials said.
Some experts have praised Beijing for being more reactive and open about
the new virus compared to its handling of the SARS epidemic of 2002-2003.
But others say local officials had earlier been more focused on projecting
stability than responding to the outbreak when it began to spread earlier
this month.
The United States asked China on Tuesday to step up its cooperation with
international health authorities over the epidemic.
“We are urging China — more cooperation and transparency are the most
important steps you can take toward a more effective response,” Health and
Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told reporters.
He added that the United States has offered China assistance three times so
far without success.
Separately, US health authorities said they were working on a vaccine, but
that it would take months to develop.