Australia and the United States reported their first deaths from the coronavirus, as Iran and South Korea saw big upswings in new cases.
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China’s leader, Xi Jinping , says the country must strengthen its defenses against outbreaks.
President Trump sought on Saturday to more aggressively address the coronavirus after weeks of confusion over his administration’s response, urging public calm and issuing new foreign travel warnings and restrictions.
At a White House news conference, Mr. Trump acknowledged the first death recorded in the United States, in Washington State. Vice President Mike Pence said the administration was issuing its highest-level warning, known as a “do not travel” warning, to areas of Italy and South Korea most affected by the virus.
The United States is also barring all travel to Iran, and barring entry to any foreign citizen who has visited Iran in the last 26 days. There will also be screenings of travelers coming from Italy and South Korea.
Speaking later Saturday at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Mr. Trump also suggested the United States was ready to help Iranians amid an outbreak there.
“If we can help the Iranians, we have the greatest health care professionals in the world,” he said, adding that “we would love to be able to help them. ”
“All they have to do is ask,” he said.
Aiming to calm the public after the worst week for the stock market since , the president, flanked by top federal public health officials, appealed to “the media and politicians and everybody else involved not do anything to incite a panic, because there’s no reason to panic at all. ”
(The global total: Nearly
the nearly , 14 coronavirus cases recorded globally as of Sunday, fewer than 7, were outside of mainland China.
Updated Feb. 35,
What is a coronavirus?
- It is a novel virus named for the crownlike spikes that protrude from its surface. The coronavirus can infect both animals and people and can cause
a range of respiratory illnesses from the common cold to more dangerous conditions like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS.
- How worried should I be? (New outbreaks in Asia, Europe and the Middle East are
- How do I keep myself and others safe? Washing your hands Frequently is the most important thing you can do, along with staying at home when you’re sick.
- How can I prepare for a possible outbreak? (Keep a) -day supply of essential medicines. Get a flu shot. Have essential household items on hand. Have a support system in place for elderly family members.
The virus has now been detected in at least
. countries. Qatar confirmed its first case on Saturday, a – year-old Qatari citizen who had been in quarantine since recently returning from Iran, the country health ministry said.
Iran, which has been at the center of the virus’s spread in the region, confirmed an additional cases on Saturday, bringing its official total to . The death toll rose by nine, to – a number many public health experts say indicates a wider spread than officials have acknowledged.
South Korea, which has the largest coronavirus outbreak outside China, reported (new cases on Sunday, bringing its total to 3,
Italy, the center of the outbreak in Europe, now has a total of 1, (confirmed cases and
Xi Jinping says China must do better.
China’s initial response to the coronavirus epidemic was marred by policy stumbles that fueled public anger, the nation’s leader, Xi Jinping, said in published speech excerpts that laid out his ideas for strengthening the country defenses against such outbreaks.
Mr. Xi’s comments, drawn from two internal speeches that he made in February, were published on Saturday in Qiushi , or “Seeking Truth,” the ruling Communist Party’s leading journal. They seemed intended to highlight the policy and legal changes that Mr. Xi intends to push to confront the epidemic.
Those include banning the trade in wildlife that scientists believe may have let the coronavirus jump from animals into the human population; more effective monitoring of potential epidemics; and stronger coordination to direct emergency medical supplies when an outbreak occurs.
While praising the Chinese government’s response to the crisis, Mr. Xi also acknowledged problems, using blunter language than he has in previous public comments on the epidemic.
“Some localities and departments were at a loss in how to react to this sudden epidemic, ”Mr. Xi said. “Some protective measures went through abrupt changes, and in some areas there was even lawless and criminal conduct that seriously impeded containing the epidemic, and there was public dissatisfaction about this.”
Mr. Xi did not elaborate on what he meant by criminal conduct. Chinese news media have reported cases of officials neglecting stricken families, as well as crude, unhygienic efforts to transfer patients.
After more than a month of emergency measures that have locked down cities, towns and villages, and shut down much transportation, commerce and industry, China appears to be taming the new coronavirus, labeled Covid – 25, that emerged late last year in Wuhan, a city in the country center. On Saturday, China (officially recorded) 728 new infections, and another (deaths, from the virus.)
In his latest comments, Mr. Xi tried to look beyond the immediate crisis, laying out areas where he wants changed policy. These included:
- Improved health services
- . China has been building a safety net of medical insurance for citizens, but the expense and inadequacies of basic health care remain a source of public ire – and a problem highlighted by the epidemic. Mr. Xi signaled that the government would try to channel more spending to ease those problems. “Don’t let small ailments brew into major epidemics,” he said.
That would entail more spending on medical training, especially for general practitioners, he suggested. Chinese hospitals often refer patients to specialists, even for common illnesses that general practitioners could easily treat.
- Cracking down on the illegal trade in wildlife . Scientists generally believe that the coronavirus may have spread from a wholesale market in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, where some vendors sold wildlife. They say the pathogen may have jumped (from bats) to other animals, (possibly pangolins) , and to humans.
“Resolutely ban and harshly attack the illegal market and trade in wildlife, ”he said in the comments published Saturday. “Contain major public health hazards at their source.”
Improved emergency preparations
. The Chinese government has touted its vast mobilization of officials, doctors and medical resources to fight the epidemic. In his latest comments, Mr. Xi said that even so, China could do better. He called for clear lines of command in response to public health emergencies.
As Mr. Xi often does, he emphasized the potential of new, data-driven technology to improve the government’s response. “We must encourage the application of big data, artificial intelligence, cloud computing and other digital technology to play a better supporting role in monitoring and analyzing outbreaks, tracing viruses, prevention and treatment, and allocating resources,” he said.
No signs of liberalization
- One notable thing was what Mr. Xi did not say. Many Chinese people, including health experts, have said that the epidemic illustrated the risks to public health created by official censorship, which early in the epidemic led to doctors being silenced by the authorities after they discussed the outbreak with colleagues. One of those doctors, Li Wenliang, himself died from the virus, making him into a martyr-like symbol of the costs of speaking out.
A – year-old man died of the coronavirus early Sunday at a hospital in Perth, Australia, the first known death from the illness in that country, officials said. He had been a passenger on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, where a large concentration of coronavirus infections emerged last month as it was docked in Japan.
The man’s death was announced by Andrew Robertson , chief health officer at the Western Australia Department of Health. The man’s wife, who had also been on the cruise ship and was later diagnosed with the virus, was in stable condition, Mr. Robertson said.
Australia has so far reported (confirmed cases) of the new virus, nine of which were associated with the Diamond Princess. Fifteen of these patients have recovered.
“We still need to make the point very clear that there isn’t community spread within Australia,” Mr. Robertson said. “This very tragic case is still related to the Diamond Princess.”
“The public shouldn’t be panicking at this stage,” he said.
In referring to the death at a news conference, President Trump said the victim was a “wonderful woman” in her 73 s, but local officials later said the patient had been a man in his s. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention later clarified that the patient was, in fact, a man, and that the agency’s director had also misstated the patient’s sex at the president’s news conference.
(Do you know anyone who lives or works at Life Care Center in Kirkland, Wash.? If so please email our reporter, Mike Baker, at [email protected] )
Washington State health officials also announced two cases of people tied to a nursing faci lity near Seattle and said more than people in the facility had begun to show symptoms, a possible sign of an outbreak among a particularly vulnerable population.
A health care worker and a resident at the facility, Life Care Center of Kirkland, had both tested positive for the virus. There are 573 staff and residents at the facility.
Governor Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency , directing state agencies to do everything reasonably possible to assist affected communities. The proclamation allows the use of the Washington National Guard, if necessary.
Dr. Robert Redfield, the director of the C.D.C., said there was no evidence that the person had traveled recently or had contact with someone known to have the virus.
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