BEIJING • China's Premier Li Keqiang has asked the European Union to facilitate China's urgent procurement of medical supplies from member countries, the Chinese government said yesterday, amid a coronavirus outbreak that has killed over 250 people.
The number of deaths from the epidemic in China has risen by 46 to 259, the country's health authority said yesterday, as the United States and other nations announced new border curbs on foreigners who have been in China.
The latest figures compiled show there were more than 2,000 new confirmed infections in China, bringing the cumulative total to 11,860 last night.
Around two dozen other countries have reported another 164 cases. The Chinese data would suggest it is less deadly than the 2002-2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars), which killed nearly 800 people of the some 8,000 it infected, although such numbers can evolve rapidly.
China said yesterday it will implement tax exemptions for imports of products related to curbing the outbreak. US imports that can be used in China's fight against the deadly new virus will also be exempted from retaliatory tariffs imposed in the trade war.
The US and China have been engaged in a bruising trade conflict for around two years, although both sides came to a ceasefire last month with Beijing agreeing to buy a further US$200 billion (S$273 billion) of US products in a partial trade deal. But tit-for-tat levies remain on goods worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
The central province of Hubei, the centre of the epidemic, is under a virtual quarantine, with roads sealed off and public transport shut down.
Infections have jumped in two cities flanking Wuhan, the city where the epidemic originated, raising concerns that new hot spots are emerging despite strict travel restrictions.
In one of them, Huanggang, the authorities asked households to designate one person who can leave the home, a local newspaper said. The city has a population of about 7.5 million.
The northern city of Tianjin, home to some 15 million, suspended all schools and businesses until further notice.
In Beijing, counters were set up at the entrances of housing estates, where volunteers wearing red arm-bands and masks recorded details of residents returning from their hometowns after the Chinese New Year holiday. "As long as I am properly protected and don't go to crowded places, I don't feel scared at all about my hometown or Beijing," said a 58-year-old migrant worker surnamed Sun.
Others were more worried.
"There will be a huge number of people returning to the city. I think it will put Beijing at risk of more infections,"said 45-year-old Zhang Chunlei, another returning migrant worker.
China has asked couples to delay their nuptials on a popular wedding date and families to scale down funeral services to help slow the spread of the country's viral outbreak.
Feb 2 is considered a lucky date for weddings this year because the sequence of numbers "02022020" reads the same backwards as forwards.
In Hong Kong, heads of public hospitals were persuading medical workers to scrap any plans for a strike which could take place as soon as tomorrow unless the government closes all borders with mainland China to stop the spread of the virus, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.
Professor Sophia Chan Siu Chee, Secretary for Food and Health, reportedly wept on a radio programme when she mentioned her concerns over the strike.
"I'm worried about the emotions of healthcare workers as well as our services," Prof Chan was quoted as saying by the SCMP. She also said her biggest concern was the safety of frontline healthcare staff.
REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
