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| Wuhan facing 'wartime conditions' as global coronavirus deaths reach 719 | Wuhan facing 'wartime conditions' as global coronavirus deaths reach 719 |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| With businesses around the world suffering, Beijing tightens controls | |
| Increasingly desperate officials in the quarantined centre of the coronavirus outbreak have tightened controls on an already frightened population, likening the growing crisis to “wartime conditions”. | Increasingly desperate officials in the quarantined centre of the coronavirus outbreak have tightened controls on an already frightened population, likening the growing crisis to “wartime conditions”. |
| Authorities in Wuhan city have started going door to door checking temperatures, rounding up suspected coronavirus patients for forcible quarantine in stadiums and exhibition centres that are serving as warehouses for the sick, the New York Times reported. | Authorities in Wuhan city have started going door to door checking temperatures, rounding up suspected coronavirus patients for forcible quarantine in stadiums and exhibition centres that are serving as warehouses for the sick, the New York Times reported. |
| The city and country face “wartime conditions”, the paper quoted vice-premier, Sun Chunlun, who has been put in charge of the national campaign against the virus, saying on a visit to Wuhan. He said: “There must be no deserters, or they will be nailed to the pillar of historical shame forever.” | The city and country face “wartime conditions”, the paper quoted vice-premier, Sun Chunlun, who has been put in charge of the national campaign against the virus, saying on a visit to Wuhan. He said: “There must be no deserters, or they will be nailed to the pillar of historical shame forever.” |
| More than 34,000 people have now been infected around the world, the vast majority inside China and two-thirds of them in Wuhan and surrounding Hubei province. There have been 719 deaths, all but two of them in China. | More than 34,000 people have now been infected around the world, the vast majority inside China and two-thirds of them in Wuhan and surrounding Hubei province. There have been 719 deaths, all but two of them in China. |
| Chinese scientists claimed they may have found the animal source of the outbreak, based on genetic analysis, though their results have yet to be published. The coronavirus is thought to have originated in bats but passed through an intermediate host before infecting humans. The researchers have identified a coronavirus in pangolins which is 99% similar to the one causing the current outbreak. | Chinese scientists claimed they may have found the animal source of the outbreak, based on genetic analysis, though their results have yet to be published. The coronavirus is thought to have originated in bats but passed through an intermediate host before infecting humans. The researchers have identified a coronavirus in pangolins which is 99% similar to the one causing the current outbreak. |
| The only scaly mammal, pangolins are endangered, but the long-snouted, ant-eating animals are often hunted for meat or use in Chinese medicine. | The only scaly mammal, pangolins are endangered, but the long-snouted, ant-eating animals are often hunted for meat or use in Chinese medicine. |
| The World Health Organization on Friday hailed a fall in the number of new infections, for a second consecutive day, which could signal some progress in containing the outbreak. | The World Health Organization on Friday hailed a fall in the number of new infections, for a second consecutive day, which could signal some progress in containing the outbreak. |
| But Sun’s dramatic visit to Wuhan, stepping up efforts on the ground there, and promises of more help from Beijing, suggest that party officials in China fear the epidemic is still not under control. | But Sun’s dramatic visit to Wuhan, stepping up efforts on the ground there, and promises of more help from Beijing, suggest that party officials in China fear the epidemic is still not under control. |
| Containment efforts across Hubei province should be stepped up, with efforts to increase the number of hospital beds and medical staff, top communist party officials agreed at a meeting chaired by the premier, Li Keqiang. | Containment efforts across Hubei province should be stepped up, with efforts to increase the number of hospital beds and medical staff, top communist party officials agreed at a meeting chaired by the premier, Li Keqiang. |
| The death rate in Wuhan was 4.1%, the New York Times reported, far higher than the 2.8% across Hubei province, and the national rate of about 2%. | The death rate in Wuhan was 4.1%, the New York Times reported, far higher than the 2.8% across Hubei province, and the national rate of about 2%. |
| Some in Wuhan fear they are being sacrificed for the national good, and the death of a whistleblower doctor from the virus has stirred up popular anger across China. | Some in Wuhan fear they are being sacrificed for the national good, and the death of a whistleblower doctor from the virus has stirred up popular anger across China. |
| Li Wenliang was reprimanded by security officials for warning fellow doctors in late December about a mystery new disease; he then caught the coronavirus from one of his own patients in January and despite youth and apparent good health he died early on Friday morning. | Li Wenliang was reprimanded by security officials for warning fellow doctors in late December about a mystery new disease; he then caught the coronavirus from one of his own patients in January and despite youth and apparent good health he died early on Friday morning. |
| The hashtag “we want free speech” was briefly circulating on social media, amid memorials and tributes to Li, before it was wiped by censors. | The hashtag “we want free speech” was briefly circulating on social media, amid memorials and tributes to Li, before it was wiped by censors. |
| There have been thousands of cases in other parts of China, where increasing numbers of cities, towns and even remote villages are locking themselves down. | There have been thousands of cases in other parts of China, where increasing numbers of cities, towns and even remote villages are locking themselves down. |
| Two weeks into the crisis, however, it is clear that Beijing cannot afford to keep all of the country closed for business indefinitely. | Two weeks into the crisis, however, it is clear that Beijing cannot afford to keep all of the country closed for business indefinitely. |
| When the growing scale of the outbreak was first made public in mid-January the country was on holiday for the most important celebration on the Chinese calendar, the lunar new year festival. | When the growing scale of the outbreak was first made public in mid-January the country was on holiday for the most important celebration on the Chinese calendar, the lunar new year festival. |
| But after festivities that normally bring in a large slice of retail and service sector income were effectively cancelled, and the nationwide holiday was prolonged by a week, the cost of shuttered shops, factories, restaurants and other businesses has started mounting. | But after festivities that normally bring in a large slice of retail and service sector income were effectively cancelled, and the nationwide holiday was prolonged by a week, the cost of shuttered shops, factories, restaurants and other businesses has started mounting. |
| Small businesses have warned about problems with everything from keeping livestock fed, to paying rent, and staff salaries for shops that can’t make any sales. | Small businesses have warned about problems with everything from keeping livestock fed, to paying rent, and staff salaries for shops that can’t make any sales. |
| The impact of the shutdown has also been felt beyond China’s borders, since the world’s second-largest economy is now so integrated into international markets. | The impact of the shutdown has also been felt beyond China’s borders, since the world’s second-largest economy is now so integrated into international markets. |
| South Korea’s Hyundai has shuttered the most productive car factory in the world, a five-plant network that can make 1.4m cars a year, as the shutdown in China meant it ran out of a key component. | South Korea’s Hyundai has shuttered the most productive car factory in the world, a five-plant network that can make 1.4m cars a year, as the shutdown in China meant it ran out of a key component. |
| Authorities may initially have planned only a short quarantine, hoping the disease would be brought under control as Sars was over a decade ago. | Authorities may initially have planned only a short quarantine, hoping the disease would be brought under control as Sars was over a decade ago. |
| But it is clear China cannot afford to delay most of its population going back to work, and a meeting of top Chinese leaders has called on businesses to “resume operation in an orderly manner”, the official Xinhua news agency reported. | But it is clear China cannot afford to delay most of its population going back to work, and a meeting of top Chinese leaders has called on businesses to “resume operation in an orderly manner”, the official Xinhua news agency reported. |
| It suggested adapting working methods to reduce the risk of infections; options could include remote working or staggered shifts. Foxconn, the electronics company that supplies Apple, has begun manufacturing its own surgical masks, allowing Chinese workers to churn out iPhones uninterrupted. | It suggested adapting working methods to reduce the risk of infections; options could include remote working or staggered shifts. Foxconn, the electronics company that supplies Apple, has begun manufacturing its own surgical masks, allowing Chinese workers to churn out iPhones uninterrupted. |
| As people gear up to return home there are special regulations on trains and planes to try to reduce the risk of infection. | As people gear up to return home there are special regulations on trains and planes to try to reduce the risk of infection. |
| Ticket sales will be capped at under half the usual numbers so passengers can sit further apart to reduce the risk of infections, the South China Morning Post reported. There will also be more temperature checks and quarantine areas at train stations. | Ticket sales will be capped at under half the usual numbers so passengers can sit further apart to reduce the risk of infections, the South China Morning Post reported. There will also be more temperature checks and quarantine areas at train stations. |
| The effort to get people back to work might be complicated by childcare problems if schools do not reopen; authorities said only that they should “postpone the start of new semester in an appropriate manner”, Xinhua reported. | The effort to get people back to work might be complicated by childcare problems if schools do not reopen; authorities said only that they should “postpone the start of new semester in an appropriate manner”, Xinhua reported. |
| In a sign of growing worries overseas, Hong Kong has announced fines and jail terms of up to six months for quarantine breaches, and Singapore has upgraded its coronavirus alert level, sparking panic-buying of essentials. | In a sign of growing worries overseas, Hong Kong has announced fines and jail terms of up to six months for quarantine breaches, and Singapore has upgraded its coronavirus alert level, sparking panic-buying of essentials. |