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An official checks the temperature of passengers at a bus terminal in Shanghai. Photo: Bloomberg

Coronavirus: China reports 254 deaths in a day as cases surge after including clinically diagnosed patients

  • Hubei’s new cases nearly 10 times more than day before, because previously infections were diagnosed only by test kits, of which there has been a shortage
  • Heavyweight sent by Beijing to oversee handling of the outbreak says its scale has not been accurately estimated

China’s National Health Commission reported 59,804 confirmed cases of coronavirus as of Wednesday – after a surge of 15,152 new cases because of a change in diagnostic criteria.

The commission on Thursday said a total of 1,367 people had died from the illness in mainland China, with 254 new deaths reported on Wednesday.

Of the new infections, 14,840 were reported in Hubei, the epicentre of the coronavirus epidemic, almost 10 times the number reported a day earlier.

Live virus found in faecal matter

A team led by senior Chinese medical adviser and Sars expert Zhong Nanshan has detected live coronavirus in a patient’s faeces, mainland media reported.

Zhao Jincun, deputy director of the State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases, said on Thursday that the virus was isolated from a severely infected patient by a hospital laboratory in Zhuhai, southern China.

Zhao said a team led by National Health Commission (NHC) epidemiologist Li Lanjuan made similar findings, suggesting that the coronavirus could be transmitted in different ways. But Zhao said more studies needed to be done to show whether the new coronavirus could be transmitted from person to person through faecal matter.

NHC spokesman Mi Feng said the tests and strains isolated from patients’ faeces showed that the coronavirus could continue to reproduce in the digestive system.

But he said most transmissions occurred through droplets and contact.

First patients leave temporary hospital

A temporary hospital built in Wuhan to treat coronavirus cases has discharged its first group of patients, People’s Daily reported.

Among the people leaving Huoshenshan Hospital – a facility built in 10 days – was a woman hospitalised for nine days.

“People shouldn’t worry. You just need to strengthen your immune system to combat this disease,” she said in footage posted online. “I’m really grateful to the medical staff ... without you I wouldn’t be alive today.”

A nurse who declined to be named said medical staff worked long hours to make the most of the limited supplies of equipment.

“We have a limited amount of protective gear, so we need to wear it for at least seven to eight hours,” she said. “We will keep wearing it and work as long as we can so we don’t waste any.”

Confirmed cases now based on clinical diagnosis including CAT scans

Hubei’s health commission said in its daily statement that it had changed the diagnostic criteria used to confirm cases, effective Thursday, meaning that doctors have broader discretion to determine which patients are infected.

“From today on, we will include the number of clinically diagnosed cases into the number of confirmed cases so that patients could receive timely treatment,” the health authority said. Previously, patients could only be diagnosed by test kits, which has seen a shortage of supply across the country.

Tong Zhaohui, an expert in the central guidance group and vice-president of Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, said the move was in line with the NHC's latest diagnostic guidelines to include clinical diagnosis, using CAT scans and other tests.

“When doctors diagnose pneumonia, they can only get the etiology of the disease 20 to 30 per cent of the time. We have to rely on clinical diagnosis 70 to 80 per cent of the time. Increasing the diagnosis of clinical cases will help us make an additional judgment on the disease,” he told state broadcaster CCTV in an exclusive interview.

The pneumonia ‘everybody knows’ but won’t show up in official death tolls

Dr Ho Pak-leung, a medical expert at the University of Hong Kong, supported the change in diagnostic criteria in Hubei, commenting that under the previous criteria some patients may have died before doctors were able to carry out any tests.

Some 13,436 of the new cases announced on Thursday were confirmed in Hubei’s capital of Wuhan, where the virus is believed to have originated at a seafood and meat market.

The virus – which causes the disease now officially known as Covid-19 – has spread to at least 24 countries, sickened more than 60,000 people worldwide, with tens of thousands more suspected cases.

Hubei ‘closed for business’ until February 21

Businesses in Hubei were instructed to remain closed until February 21 on Thursday, according to a statement by the province’s coronavirus treatment and control command centre.

The spring semester for schools from kindergartens to universities will also be delayed until further notice, the statement said.

Hubei had earlier extended the end of the Lunar New Year holiday from January 31 to February 13. Residents have been urged to reduce outings and gatherings and to wear masks in public places.

Seriousness of situation in Wuhan still unclear

Chen Yixin, a protégé of President Xi Jinping, made his first public assessment of the situation facing Hubei since being named deputy head of the national team overseeing the handling of the outbreak. In a meeting on Tuesday, Chen said the situation in Wuhan was still very uncertain.

“The scale of the spread has not been accurately estimated. According to calculations by relevant parties, the potential number of infected cases in Wuhan may still be very large,” Chen was quoted as saying in an article published by the social media account of the party’s Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission on Wednesday.

Chen said officials would be evaluated based on their performance in containing the outbreak. He was sent to Hubei last weekend, the first of a number of heavyweights transferred by Beijing to the province as it vowed to hold negligent officials accountable.

Eating out off the menu in Guangzhou

Guangzhou has stopped all dine-in services at food eateries, according to online news portal Southcn.com.

The government has ordered third-party delivery services to implement health management and inspection systems for delivery staff, officials told reporters at a press briefing on Wednesday. It is also promoting “contactless distribution” during the outbreak to prevent consumers picking up meals from delivery personnel face to face.

Although consumers are allowed to pick up their takeaway at eateries, officials are encouraging people to order food delivery online.

“Now we will focus on promoting takeaway for local customers. They can order our meals through apps providing online takeaway ordering service,” said Fion Liang, director of sales and marketing at Guangzhou's luxury Garden Hotel. “As for guests staying in the hotel, we will deliver meals to their rooms.”

Liang said the coronavirus outbreak may hammer Guangzhou’s hotel industry if the situation worsens.

“The impact [of the virus] on January was not that great because the epidemic situation only became severe in the last few days of the month. The effect was definitely much bigger in February. If the epidemic continues to be severe throughout February, the occupancy rate of our rooms will be in the single digits this month. In fact, hotels in Guangzhou are almost in the same situation,” she said

Cambodia accepts cruise ship Westerdam

The cruise ship MS Westerdam arrived in Cambodia on Thursday morning after being turned away by five countries and territories – Japan, Taiwan, Guam, the Philippines and Thailand – because of fears about the coronavirus.

World Health Organisation director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus praised Cambodia for allowing the ship to dock in the port town of Sihanoukville.

“This is an example of the international solidarity we have consistently been calling for. Outbreaks can bring out the best and worst in people. Stigmatising individuals or entire nations does nothing but harm the response,” he said.

Meanwhile, the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship, which is stationed in Yokohama, near Japan's capital Tokyo, has continued to report more cases of the virus on board.

Some 3,600 passengers and crew stranded on the World Dream cruise liner docked in Hong Kong were allowed to disembark on Sunday after health authorities announced that everyone on aboard had tested negative for Covid-19.

More to follow …

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