Mayuko Isobe
AP
The quarantined ship Diamond Princess is pictured through barbed wire at Yokohama port in Japan on Monday.
BEIJING — Japan said Tuesday that the 14-day quarantine period for all those on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship will end, as scheduled, on Wednesday. Those who test negative for the virus will be allowed to leave the ship, which is docked at the port of Yokohama, Japanese health authorities.
The Philippines said that 35 Filipino crew members have tested positive, while South Korea said it would send a plane to evacuate some of its citizens from the stricken vessel.
Meanwhile, as the number of infections in China continues to rise, although at a slower rate, a renowned Chinese pulmonologist who predicted a peak this month clarified his remarks to say that the peak may be followed by a plateau, rather than an outright fall in cases. Here is what we know so far:
● A prominent neurologist and a retired nurse who returned to work have died after becoming infected while treating coronavirus patients in Wuhan, the outbreak’s epicenter. Their deaths bring the total number of medical workers to have succumbed to the virus to eight.
● A renowned Chinese pulmonologist predicted the number of infections will plateau, rather than fall, after hitting a peak later this month.
● Japan’s health minister says the Diamond Princess quarantine will end as scheduled on Wednesday.
● A total of 35 Filipino crew members on the cruise ship have tested positive for the coronavirus.
● China reported 1,886 new coronavirus cases and 98 more deaths in its daily update on the outbreak Tuesday, bringing the death toll in mainland China to 1,868, with 72,436 confirmed cases. The overwhelming majority have been in Hubei province.
3:40 AM: Singapore sets aside multi-billion relief package to soften virus-linked economic blow
HONG KONG — Singapore on Tuesday earmarked $2.8 billion in relief measures to help stabilize the economy and assist workers as it prepares for an economic downturn over the coronavirus outbreak.
The measures were announced as part of the budget for 2020, among the biggest annual budgets in years. It follows moves taken by other governments in other hard-hit territories, including Hong Kong, to soften the blow of the virus which will have potentially devastating impacts on tourism and retail sectors.
The tourism, aviation and retail industries will receive additional support, Singapore’s Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said in his budget speech on Tuesday, including programs to allow workers to retrain and get new skills in different sectors. Heng, who is also deputy prime minister, said that the government is aiming primarily to help workers stay employed.
Edgar Su
Reuters
Commuters wearing masks in precaution of the coronavirus outbreak are pictured in a train during their morning commute in Singapore Feb. 18, 2020.
Several countries have warned their citizens to stay away from Singapore, which has among the highest number of coronavirus cases outside of mainland China. As of Monday, 77 cases were confirmed.
Separately, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Tuesday she would be increasing the territory’s relief fund to $3.6 billion, from US$3.2 billion. This represents a new increase, after she doubled funds set aside to tackle the economic impact of the outbreak last week and announced one-off payments to businesses.
These measures however seem to have done little to stem widespread disaffection with the Hong Kong government. A recent poll showed only 7 percent of respondents in Hong Kong were satisfied with the government’s response to the public health crisis.
By: Shibani Mahtani
3:35 AM: Stranded Filipinos can now return to work
MANILA — Around 25,000 stranded Filipino workers can now get back to work as Philippine officials eased the travel ban on China’s special administrative regions.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Brigido Dulay announced on Twitter that overseas workers in Hong Kong and Macao could now return “subject to certain procedural formalities.”
The announcement comes a day after 131 Hong Kong-based Filipino organizations appealed to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to exempt the city from the ban.
Feliza Guy Benitez, former chairperson of the Filipino Migrant Workers’ Union in Hong Kong, warned on Monday that many workers could lose their jobs if they were absent for longer than two weeks. “[We go back] to zero just to process all the application papers and the government won’t even pay for it,” she said.
The government promised overseas workers around $200 in financial assistance, but some hardly find it enough after two weeks of being unable to sustain themselves.
The Philippines sends over 2 million workers around the world, raking in $33.5 billion in remittances last year. At least 6 percent of this workforce is based in Hong Kong. The most vulnerable in this sector are those in household services. The city has around 390,000 foreign domestic helpers, a large fraction of which is comprised of Filipinos.
Overseas workers organization Migrante International said that around 1,000 other Filipino residents, students, and small business proprietors based in Hong Kong were also affected by the ban.
By: Regine Cabato
3:00 AM: Number of infected Canadians aboard Diamond Princess rises to 32
Canada has confirmed Tuesday that 32 Canadians on the Diamond Princess cruise ship have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the Toronto Star.
There are a total of 256 Canadians on the ship, which has become the second biggest source of infected after China itself with 454 cases on board out of 2,666 passengers and 1,045 crew. The ship has been quarantined for the past two weeks at Japan’s Yokohama port, with those testing positive for the virus being removed to hospitals.
Canada announced earlier it would be evacuating its citizens from the cruise ship, following similar efforts by the United States which flew back more than 328 passengers, including 14 testing positive for the virus.
The Canadian government told the Star that those testing positive would not be evacuated.
By: Paul Schemm
2:52 AM: Prominent neurologist dies of coronavirus infection in Wuhan
BEIJING — Liu Zhiming, a widely-respected neurologist who was also director of Wuchang Hospital in Wuhan, died at age 51 of coronavirus infection on Tuesday morning, becoming the eighth health worker in China to have lost their lives in the ongoing outbreak.
According to a notice put out by Wuhan’s municipal health commission, Dr. Liu got infected at work and passed away at 10:54 on Monday at Tongji Hospital despite a “full effort rescue.”
“Since the epidemic broke out, Comrade Liu Zhiming has thrown aside his personal safety and led the staff at Wuchang Hospital to fight the outbreak from the front line,” the notice read, adding that Dr. Liu had made “significant contribution” to the prevention and control of the novel coronavirus pneumonia.
After graduating from Wuhan University Medical School in 1991, Dr. Liu had emerged as a leading expert on neurosurgery, especially brain tumor, craniocerebral trauma, intraspinal canal diseases, and cerebrovascular diseases.
AP
AP
In this Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020, photo, a doctor puts on a protective suit as he prepares to check on the patients at Jinyintan Hospital designated for new coronavirus infected patients, in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province.
Under Liu, Wuchang Hospital grew into a comprehensive institution of nearly 1,000 people and was recognized as a triple-A hospital [highest standard in China] in 2014. It was also one of the designated hospitals for the quarantine and treatment of coronavirus patients
The National Health Commission said that more than 1,700 doctors and nurses had been infected as of Feb. 14, although the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention put the number much higher at more than 3,000 medical workers.
Another case that has tugged at Chinese heartstrings this week involves Liu Fan, who was a nurse at Wuchang Hospital’s Liyuan Street Community Health Center.
Liu, who was 59, stopped working four years ago at the designated retirement age of 55 in 2016, came back to work to help fight the virus.
But she died on Feb. 14 after being infected. A WeChat user nicknamed “Tiantian” posted on the messaging app that Liu Fan was still working on Jan. 26 and without proper equipment.
“At the time [she] did not have protective suit, it’s basically like she was ‘streaking.’ As a result, her whole family was infected,” read the post, which was soon deleted by China's censors.
Liu Fan’s parents and younger brother have been infected with the novel coronavirus pneumonia, the Beijing News reported this week, and her husband is being quarantined at home as a precaution.
Hospital staff said Liu Fan was an easygoing and extroverted person who was a conscientious and hard-working nurse.
“We are also deeply saddened by the loss of such a good nurse,” Wuchang Hospital said in a statement posted on the Weibo microblogging site. “In this battle, the virus was brutal, and we express our deep condolences over comrade Liu Fan’s tragic death.”
By: Lyric Li and Liu Yang
2:23 AM: Chinese hospital under fire for shaving heads of women medical volunteers as a symbol of ‘sacrifice’
BEIJING — Social media users in China have slammed a hospital as being “insensitive” and “degrading” to women for encouraging or even forcing female doctors and nurses to shave their head in a gesture of sacrifice.
On Feb. 15, the government-run Gansu Daily posted a minute-long video clip on the Weibo microblogging site, showing 15 women doctors and nurses having their heads shaved bald by their male colleagues at Gansu Provincial Maternity and Childcare Hospital. These medical workers were to be sent to Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, that afternoon after a farewell ceremony where they were meant to show off their new looks.
As the camera panned, some of the women were shown weeping during the ordeal, wiping their tears when putting on their surgical cap and obviously pained to look at their long ponytails that had just been cut off.
“With hair cut short, they are ready to go on the expedition! They are pretty for traveling against the flow [to somewhere dangerous],” the post read, trying to demonstrate how women are willing to make sacrifices and getting hair out of the way to ensure higher efficiency at work.
A number of comments questioned the necessity of the head-shaving and asked if the women were forced.
“Okay, suppose they wanted to save the trouble and get rid of long hair out of their free will, they could have cut it really short, not opted for clean-shaven,” one comment read.
“What’s rush to cut people’s hair when you haven’t even got other supplies ready for them? Please at least show some respect if you are sending them to the front line,” another posted.
It is not the first time that hospitals have required front line volunteers to cut their hair or shave the head for the sake of “efficiency.”
Earlier on the same day, the Yellow River Sanmenxia Hospital in Henan province also shaved the long hair off the head of nurses before sending them to Wuhan.
“I don’t want to emphasize the stereotype that all women care about their appearance, but the love for beauty is a common pursuit for a lot of people,” read a blog post titled “Stop using women’s bodies as your propaganda tool,” which has been shared tens of thousands of times on WeChat on Tuesday.
“We cherish our hair, whether leaving it long or cutting it short, dyeing into a different color or having a perm. We love it when we look good, and more importantly, it is completely up to our own choice.”
“Don’t try to use the body of women to make cheap tear-jerkers: it’s neither what they need or what we want to see … what we need to see is that people being given the dignity they deserve.”
By: Lyric Li
2:06 AM: Hong Kong retailers go on strike, seeking rent reductions
HONG KONG — Fifty Hong Kong retailers on Tuesday closed their outlets in an effort to pressure landlords into offering rental cuts, with the compounded impact of anti-government protests and the coronavirus outbreak taking a massive toll on the retail, food and beverage industries.
The retailers, according to the South China Morning Post, include French sportswear brand Lacoste and American outdoor brand Timberland. All in all, about 200 shops operated by those 50 retailers have declared a “no business” day across 14 shopping centers in Hong Kong, the paper reported. Some will be closed for 24 hours while others have announced closures without specifying a time limit.
Philip Fong
Afp Via Getty Images
People wear face masks as they take pictures of Hong Kong’s skyline on Feb. 12. The city’s retail sector has been hard hit by the coronavirus outbreak, following the disruption caused by months of political unrest.
Ashley Micklewright, president and chief executive at Bluebell Group, which distributes luxury brands such as Celine, Marc Jacobs and Victoria’s Secret, said the last seven months of losses have become “unbearable,” according to the paper. An employee from the group told The Washington Post that there are outlets with no recorded sales on some days.
“The impact on the business and traffic is far worse than anything we have ever experienced,” Micklewright was quoted as saying.
Hong Kong, which has no duty on luxury goods, has long relied on travelers from mainland China to boost sales. Arrivals dipped during protests last year, which at times turned violent, but have fallen even more steeply amid the coronavirus outbreak. Retailers want landlords to offer rental relief. Hong Kong is one of the most expensive real estate markets in the world.
By: Shibani Mahtani
1:37 AM: Renowned Chinese expert says coronavirus infections may not fall even after peaking
BEIJING — Zhong Nanshan, the Chinese pulmonologist who is heading a team of experts on managing the novel coronavirus outbreak, has predicted that the number of infections will plateau after hitting a peak in mid- to late-February as migrant workers return to the cities.
Considering factors including human migration as well as China’s compulsory quarantine measures, Zhong’s research team had previously estimated that the total number of infections would reach a peak later this month.
However, he warned that a decrease might not ensue immediately after that.
Thomas Suen
Reuters
Zhong Nanshan, head of the National Health Commission's team investigating the novel coronavirus outbreak, attends an interview with Reuters in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China Feb. 11, 2020.
“We are not clear if we have seen that peak yet, and we need to wait and observe a few more days,” Zhong said in Guangzhou on Monday afternoon during a remote conference with a team of intensive care doctors in Wuhan.
“A peak number doesn’t equal the ‘turning point’ … and new peaks could probably appear with the returning of migrant workers.”
Zhong, who has been widely seen as a heroic figure for his contribution to controlling the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, in 2002-2003, remains concerned about the high death rate and new coronavirus infections in Wuhan.
“The biggest problem right now is that human-to-human transmission in Wuhan has not been fully stopped and is still on the rise despite all the efforts we have made,” he said, adding that his team has been developing an immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibody testing kit for diagnosis, which would have a higher accuracy rate than the nucleic acid tests in use now.
Zhong said that the high fatality rate in Wuhan is due to cross infections and a failure to treat mild cases in the early stage.
However, he said that the situation is going to “look up” with stricter quarantine measures in Wuhan and the implementation of early prevention, early detection, and early quarantine in other areas.
By: Lyric Li
1:19 AM: South Korea sends plane to evacuate citizens from the Diamond Princess
SEOUL — South Korea is sending a presidential jet on Tuesday to evacuate its citizens onboard the Diamond Princess cruise liner docked in Japan, a Seoul government official said.
Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip said Seoul will fly out passengers on the quarantined ship “because health and lives of our people is the primary concern amid the rising number of coronavirus infections on the Diamond Princess.”
Yonhap
EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
A South Korean presidential plane arrives after an about two-hour flight from Seoul, at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, 18 February 2020.
Kim said at a briefing on Tuesday that four South Korean citizens and the Japanese spouse of one of them will fly back to Seoul early Wednesday.
The four out of 14 South Koreans in the quarantined cruise ship expressed intention to return to South Korea, Kim said. He added none of the 14 has symptoms related to the coronavirus.
The five evacuees will undergo a 14-day quarantine in South Korea.
South Korea has previously sent three charter planes to Wuhan to evacuate its citizens and their Chinese family members.
The country's health authorities confirmed a new case of coronavirus infection on Tuesday, bringing the national tally to 31.
By: Min Joo Kim
1:04 AM: Diamond Princess quarantine period to end Wednesday.
TOKYO — The 14-day quarantine period for all passengers remaining on the Diamond Princess will end as scheduled on Wednesday, Japanese Health Minister Katsunori Kato said Tuesday.
The remaining passengers will be notified on Wednesday of their latest coronavirus test results, and those who test negative will be free to disembark from the cruise ship, which is moored off the Japanese port of Yokohama. They will come off the ship in the order that they are tested, so it might take until Friday for everyone to leave.
“Everyone feels they want to go home soon. We would like to prepare for that and ensure that they will return home smoothly,” Kato told reporters in Tokyo.
Asked if the decision to keep the passengers on board was appropriate, Kato did not give a direct answer. “To be accurate, we are not making them stay on board, but are conducting a quarantine. They were asking to enter into Japan, and we have been taking necessary measures. That is all,” Kato said, according to NHK, the public broadcaster.
Separately, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said he thought it was appropriate for Japan to quarantine the passengers on board the ship, even as infections skyrocketed in the confined space.
He cited the words of gratitude expressed by the U.S. government and a number of U.S. passengers who decided to stay despite an opportunity for an early departure.
As of Monday, a total of 454 passengers and crew members have tested positive for the virus, and most of them have disembarked.
By: Akiko Kashiwagi
12:15 AM: Singapore Airlines cuts flights, citing weak demand, as troubles mount for Asian carriers
Singapore Airlines, the city-state’s flag carrier, said Tuesday it would temporarily cut back on flights, including to Los Angeles, Sydney and London, citing weak demand for travel due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The airline’s performance is a bellwether for Asia’s aviation industry, which is already taking a severe hit as the deadly outbreak and the travel and quarantine restrictions imposed by countries in response deter would-be travelers. In China, a major source of tourism arrivals, millions of people remain under lockdown as the death toll continues to climb.
Arnd Wiegmann
Reuters
A Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 takes off from Zurich airport on Oct. 16, 2019. The airline is cutting flights as the coronavirus outbreak hits travel demand.
Flights affected were scheduled between March and May, and span a range of cities and continents: Paris, Frankfurt, Copenhagen, Seoul, Tokyo, Sydney and Mumbai, to name a few. Singapore Airlines had already cut back on flights to mainland China and semiautonomous Hong Kong, Singapore’s rival for the title of Asia’s financial capital.
Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific has eliminated most of its flights to mainland China, and reduced overall capacity by about 40 percent. These flight cuts, Cathay said, will likely drag on into April. The airline’s chief customer and commercial officer, Ronald Lam, described this year’s Lunar New Year holiday period as the “most challenging” period the airline has experienced, and says the carrier is seeing “continued cancellations of bookings.”
By: Shibani Mahtani
12:01 AM: Filipinos among crew of Diamond Princess test positive for virus
MANILA — A total of 35 Filipino crew members on the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Japan have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Brigido Dulay told CNN Philippines that crew members will have to undergo a separate period of isolation after passengers disembark on Wednesday.
“The Filipino crew are the most exposed because they have to move around the ship. They have to service the passengers,” said Dulay. “What was told to us was [the crew] will now undergo a separate quarantine, so that’s another 14 days.”
It is unclear how this development will affect Philippine government plans to repatriate more than 500 Filipino crew on board.
Other crew members told The Washington Post about dire conditions on the ship, as they were not segregated and forced to continue working.
Victoria Lavado, whose father is on board, said on Monday she worried for him as she was concerned that infected crew members could “still mix” with others on board.
“It took a long time before they received safety masks and they are still forced to work as if it is business as usual,” Lavado said, according to a statement by Migrante International, an organization that advocates for the welfare of overseas Filipino workers. “We really want the Duterte government to work on medical repatriation for my father and for the other Filipino seafarers.”
By: Regine Cabato
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2020-02-18 08:49:00Z
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