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HEALTH-VIRUS-CHINA-TOLL
China reports 20 new virus cases, jump in ‘imported’ infections
BEIJING, March 15, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – China on Sunday reported 16 new
imported cases of the coronavirus, the highest in over a week, as domestic
cases dwindle in the country.
The National Health Commission said infections involving people arriving
from overseas were reported in five provinces and cities including Beijing
and Shanghai. Only four new domestic cases were detected, all in Hubei
province’s capital Wuhan, where the virus first emerged in December.
There have now been 111 imported infections, with regions outside of Hubei
reporting no new indigenous cases for the third day in the row, prompting
fears that China’s measures to contain the virus domestically could be undone
by reintroduced outbreaks.
Another ten people died, all in Wuhan, bringing the national toll from the
disease in mainland China to 3,199. More than 80,000 people have been
infected.
Central Hubei was locked down in January, placing some 56 million people
under quarantine, but the number of cases has declined in recent weeks.
Provincial authorities in Hubei Saturday loosened restrictions that had
prevented people from leaving their residential compounds and villages
freely.
“All the (administrative authorities) in urban communities and village
areas that are classified as low risk have removed closed management,” said
Liu Dongru, deputy director of the Hubei Health Commission said Sunday,
referring to a previous policy of blocking entrances to communities and
monitoring residents’ movements.
The province had announced on Tuesday that people in medium-and low-risk
areas would be able to travel within the province.
There is no indication that people can leave the province, and the
measures also did not appear to loosen restrictions in Hubei’s capital,
Wuhan, where the virus first emerged in December.
BSS/AFP/MSY/0841 hrs