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CHINA-HEALTH-VIRUS-LEAD
China virus crisis deepens as whistleblower doctor dies
BEIJING, Feb 7, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – A Chinese doctor who was punished after
raising the alarm about China’s new coronavirus died from the pathogen on
Friday, sparking an outpouring of grief and anger over a worsening crisis
that has now killed more than 630 people.
At least 31,000 people have now been infected by a virus that
ophthalmologist Li Wenliang brought to light in late December before becoming
its latest victim.
The virus is believed have emerged from a market selling exotic animals in
Wuhan before jumping to humans and spreading across China and abroad as
millions travelled for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Researchers at the South China Agricultural University have identified the
endangered pangolin as a “potential intermediate host” for the disease, as
the genome sequences of viruses found on the scaly mammal are 99 percent
identical to those on coronavirus patients.
The virus has since spread across China, prompting the government to lock
down cities of tens of millions of people, and panic has spiralled around the
globe as more than 240 cases have emerged in two dozen countries.
A quarantined cruise ship in Japan now has 61 confirmed cases.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump, whose
countries have tussled over trade and human rights, spoke on the phone about
the health emergency.
Xi urged “the US side to respond reasonably to the novel coronavirus
outbreak”, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
Trump expressed his “confidence” in China’s ability to tackle the
epidemic, the White House said.
Beijing has been angered by bans on arrivals from China instituted by the
United States and other countries.
Li, 34, died early Friday, Wuhan Central Hospital said in a post on
China’s Twitter-like Weibo platform, an announcement that triggered deep
sadness on social media over a doctor hailed as a hero.
“He is a hero who warned others with his life,” a fellow Wuhan doctor
wrote on Weibo.
There was also a rare collective bout of anger at the authorities and bold
demands, including the hashtag “we demand freedom of speech”, which was
censored.
“Those fat officials who live on public money, may you die from a
snowstorm,” wrote another Weibo user in a comment that was later scrubbed.
In a sign that the criticism has shaken the Communist government, its
anti-graft agency announced that it was sending a team to Wuhan to “conduct a
comprehensive investigation into issues involving Dr. Li Wenliang reported by
the masses”.
The foreign ministry and the National Health Commission expressed
condolences for his death.
– Death censored –
Li’s death has also highlighted the enormous risks that frontline doctors
have taken to treat patients in overwhelmed and under-equipped hospitals in
Wuhan, the quarantined city of 11 million people where the virus emerged in
December.
Medical staff are overstretched and lack sufficient protective gear, the
deputy governor of Hubei province admitted Thursday.
Li sent out a message about the new coronavirus to colleagues on December
30 in Wuhan but was later among a group of people summoned by police for
“rumour-mongering”.
He later contracted the disease while treating a patient.
Censors appeared to struggle with how to deal with his death.
State-run newspaper Global Times and state broadcaster CCTV first reported
on Weibo that Li had died late Thursday, only to delete their posts after the
death rapidly surged to be among the top topics on the popular platform.
The World Health Organization reacted to the first reports of his death to
express sadness.
Analysts have said local authorities played down the extent of the
outbreak in early January because they were holding political meetings at the
time and wanted to project an aura of stability.
The first fatality was reported on January 11. The death toll has since
soared to 636, with 73 more reported on Friday and an additional 3,000 new
infections.
– Global spread –
To control the spread, authorities have placed some 56 million people in
Wuhan and surrounding cities under virtual lockdown.
Authorities in Wuhan are “combing” communities to find people suspected or
confirmed to have the virus and place them in quarantine, state media said.
Major airlines have suspended flights to and from the country, while
several countries have advised their citizens to leave China.
But cases keep emerging.
Two cruise ships carrying thousands of holidaymakers in Hong Kong and
Japan have been placed under quarantine as authorities test people for
infections.
On Friday another 41 people tested positive aboard the Diamond Princess in
Japan, bringing the total number of infected cases on the ship to 61.
Another cruise ship carrying a passenger suspected of infection with
coronavirus will not be allowed to dock in southern Japan, the government
said Friday.
In Hong Kong, 3,600 people are facing a third night confined aboard the
World Dream, where eight former passengers have tested positive for the
virus.
While global concerns mount, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned
that that world was facing a “chronic shortage” of masks and other protective
equipment.
Apple contractor Foxconn said Friday it would start making face masks
alongside iPhones at its Shenzhen factory, aiming for 20 million by the end
of February.
BSS/AFP/RY/1850 hrs