President Xi says containment is priority

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Virus spreads to more Chinese cities, President Xi says containment is priority

 

Se Young Lee, Colin Qian

4 MIN READ

 

BEIJING (Reuters) - An outbreak of a new coronavirus has spread to more Chinese cities, including the capital Beijing and Shanghai, national and local authorities confirmed on Monday, and a fourth case has been reported beyond China’s borders.

President Xi Jinping said curbing the outbreak and saving lives was a top priority as the number of patients more than tripled and a third person died.

Adding to the difficulties of containing the virus, hundreds of millions of Chinese will be traveling domestically and abroad during the Lunar New Year holiday that starts this week.

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Authorities around the globe, including in the United States and many Asian countries, have stepped up screening of travelers from Wuhan, the central city where the virus was first discovered.

“Wuhan is a major hub and with travel being a huge part of the fast approaching Chinese New Year, the concern level must remain high. There is more to come from this outbreak,” said Jeremy Farrar, a specialist in infectious disease epidemics and director of the Wellcome Trust global health charity.

Authorities confirmed a total of 217 new cases of the virus in China as of 6 p.m. local time (1000 GMT) on Monday, state television reported, 198 of which were in Wuhan.

 

Five new cases were confirmed in Beijing and 14 more in Guangdong province, the report said. Another statement confirmed a new case in Shanghai, bringing the number of known cases worldwide to 222.

“People’s lives and health should be given top priority and the spread of the outbreak should be resolutely curbed,” President Xi was quoted as saying by state television.

The virus belongs to the same family of coronaviruses as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed nearly 800 people globally during a 2002/03 outbreak that also started in China.

Its symptoms include fever and difficulty in breathing, which are similar to many other respiratory diseases and pose complications for screening efforts.

 

 

Passengers wearing masks are seen at the waiting area for a train to Wuhan at the Beijing West Railway Station, ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year, in Beijing, China January 20, 2020. REUTERS/Stringer

BEYOND BORDERS

South Korea on Monday confirmed its first case, a 35-year-old Chinese national who had traveled from Wuhan, the fourth patient reported outside China.

Last week, two cases were reported in Thailand and one in Japan. All three involved people from Wuhan or who recently visited the city.

A report by London Imperial College’s MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis estimated that by Jan. 12 there were 1,723 cases in Wuhan City with onset of related symptoms. Chinese health authorities have not commented directly on the report.

 

“This outbreak is extremely concerning. Uncertainty and gaps remain, but it is now clear that there is person to person transmission,” Farrar said.

The World Health Organization said on Monday “an animal source” appeared most likely to be the primary source of the outbreak and that some “limited human-to-human transmission” occurred between close contacts.

China’s state council reiterated the government will step up prevention efforts and find the source of infection and transmission channels as soon as possible, state television said on Monday.

Shares in pharmaceutical firms and mask makers in China surged Monday because of the outbreak.

 

Slideshow (4 Images)

“Who knows how many people who have been to Wuhan may be unaware that they have already been infected?,” said one commentator on Chinese social media platform Weibo

The state-run Global Times newspaper said in an editorial the government needs to disclose all information and not repeat the mistakes made with SARS. Chinese officials covered up the SARS outbreak for weeks before a growing death toll and rumours forced it to reveal the epidemic.

“Concealment would be a serious blow to the government’s credibility and might trigger greater social panic,” the editorial said.

Reporting by Winni Zhou and Josh Horwitz in Shanghai, Roxanne Liu, Sophie Yu, Judy Hua and Colin Qian and Se Young Lee in Beijing, Joyce Lee in Seoul and Kate Kelland in London; Writing by Se Young Lee; Editing by Angus MacSwan

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-health-pneumonia/virus-spreads-to-more-chinese-cities-president-xi-says-containment-is-priority-idUSKBN1ZJ001

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Sun Chunlan emphasized scientific and orderly prevention and control of the outbreak of epidemic prevention in a teleconference on pneumonia epidemic prevention and control of new coronavirus infection

  Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, January 20th. A teleconference on pneumonia epidemic prevention and control of new coronavirus infection was held in Beijing on the 20th. Sun Chunlan, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and vice premier of the State Council, attended the meeting and delivered a speech. She emphasized that it is necessary to thoroughly implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping ’s important instructions, implement the requirements of Premier Li Keqiang and the executive meeting of the State Council, compact local control responsibilities, strengthen the implementation of prevention and control measures, and effectively protect the people ’s health and maintain normal production and living order.
　　Sun Chunlan pointed out that since the outbreak, relevant departments and localities have seriously implemented the decision-making arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, strengthened joint prevention and control, identified pathogens in a relatively short period of time, actively treated patients, and initiated prevention and control work in an orderly manner. At the same time, we must see that this is a new infectious disease. With the establishment of diagnostic methods, optimization of diagnostic reagents, and expansion of monitoring scope, the number of reported cases has increased, coupled with the large-scale movement of personnel during the Spring Festival, new changes have occurred in the prevention and control situation. . We must step up prevention and control efforts to prevent the spread of the epidemic.
　　Sun Chunlan emphasized that pneumonitis infected by the new coronavirus has been included in Class B infectious diseases and adopted Class A management. Local governments must implement government responsibilities, strengthen territorial management, and implement various prevention and control measures such as epidemic monitoring, isolation and treatment, inspection and quarantine. Most of the confirmed cases are related to Wuhan, and Wuhan will take more stringent measures to prevent internal proliferation and prevent external export. Strengthen scientific research on prevention and control technologies, adhere to the integration of traditional Chinese and western medicine, and clarify diagnosis and treatment procedures, effective treatment drugs, and rescue measures for critically ill patients as soon as possible. It is necessary to strictly implement the zero-report system, publicly and transparently release information, popularize prevention and control knowledge, and do a good job of communication and cooperation with the international community. (Source: Xinhuanet, January 20, 2020)

http://www.nhc.gov.cn/wjw/xwdt/202001/679cddf24241476ca8817129f82605c5.shtml

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[China government website] Li Keqiang presided over the State Council executive meeting to further deploy pneumonia epidemic prevention and control of new coronavirus infection, etc.

Li Keqiang presided over an executive meeting of the State Council
Further deployment of new coronavirus-infected pneumonia epidemic prevention and control requires effective and effective containment of the epidemic
situation Listening to poverty alleviation and reporting to the deployment to ensure victory in the fight against poverty

 

　　The Premier of the State Council, Li Keqiang, hosted an executive meeting of the State Council on January 20 to further deploy the prevention and control of pneumonia outbreaks of new coronavirus infections, and required effective and effective containment of the epidemic. life.
　　The meeting pointed out that prevention and control of the epidemic has a bearing on the lives, health, and safety of the people. After the outbreak of pneumonia caused by the new coronavirus, the Party Central Committee and the State Council attached great importance to timely deployment of prevention and control. Relevant departments and local governments adopted a series of measures to strengthen the outbreak of fever and conduct full-coverage screening. The current diagnostic methods and diagnostic reagents are continuously optimized, and some suspected cases have been confirmed, and the number of cases has increased. At present, the Spring Festival is coming, and the flow of personnel is large. We must further strengthen prevention and control in a targeted manner. Relevant departments and localities must follow the arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, be highly responsible to the people, and go all out to scientifically and effectively control the epidemic. Firstly, pneumonia infected with a new type of coronavirus was incorporated into the management of infectious diseases according to law, and prevention and control was further improved in accordance with the multi-department joint prevention and control mechanism and emergency plans for public health emergencies. The second is to resolutely curb the spread of the epidemic. Implement territorial responsibility. Wuhan must strictly implement prevention and control measures, and close the relevant markets, wildlife control and temperature screening at airports, stations, and docks. All localities should implement necessary measures such as ventilation, disinfection, and body temperature measurement in key places and public transportation, and strengthen monitoring and pre-checking and triage to ensure that the epidemic situation is detected in a timely manner and effectively disposed of. The third is to implement early detection, early reporting, early isolation, early treatment, and centralized treatment measures, deploy capable personnel and medical resources, strengthen the protection of patients' medical treatment costs, and do their best to treat patients, especially those with severe illness. Strengthen prevention and control measures in various hospitals, strictly control nosocomial infections, and strengthen medical staff protection. Fourth, adhere to openness and transparency, timely and objectively inform the society of the epidemic situation and the progress of prevention and control work, and release authoritative information in a unified manner. Scientifically publicize the knowledge of epidemic protection and increase public awareness of self-protection. Strengthen communication and cooperation with the World Health Organization, relevant countries and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions. The fifth is to strengthen scientific research. Based on the identified pathogens, identify the source of infection and the route of transmission as soon as possible, closely track the changes in virus virulence and transmission, and make technical preparations to respond to changes in the epidemic. The meeting emphasized that all relevant parties, especially the medical system, should strengthen their on-duty duty during the Spring Festival, do a good job of emergency response, and effectively protect the people's health and safety.
　　The meeting pointed out that in accordance with the arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, with the efforts of all parties, the task of eliminating poverty last year was fully completed. Now that the Spring Festival is approaching, it is necessary to do a good job of "sending warmth" to the needy and guaranteeing a basic life. This year is the year of decisive victory in poverty alleviation. We must further strengthen our responsibilities and work implementation to ensure that all remaining poor people and poor counties are lifted from poverty under the current standards. First, we must focus on the "three districts and three states" and other areas to fight deep poverty eradication. Supervise the poor counties and poor villages where work is difficult. Comprehensive policies such as old-age insurance, medical insurance, and minimum living insurance are adopted for the special poor groups such as the elderly, the sick, and the disabled. Second, we must increase poverty reduction efforts such as industry and employment, strengthen follow-up support for ex-situ poverty alleviation and relocation, cooperation between the eastern and western regions, and targeted poverty alleviation by central units to stimulate endogenous driving forces for the development of poor areas. Third, we must strictly evaluate the effectiveness of poverty alleviation. Fourth, we must maintain the overall stability of the existing assistance policies for the poor counties, poor villages and poor people who have withdrawn, and timely return the poor and newly-poor people to the assistance. Fifth, we must step up research and establish a long-term mechanism to resolve relative poverty and consolidate the results of poverty alleviation. (Source: China Government Network, January 20, 2020)

http://www.nhc.gov.cn/wjw/xwdt/202001/042f72b352c646448c3a027ba98e1564.shtml