Mayuko Isobe AP
BEIJING — Efforts to deal with the coronavirus outbreak on the Diamond Princess cruise ship are continuing, with Japan saying the 14-day quarantine period for all those on board 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 said Tuesday. The same day, 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 are the latest developments:
● A renowned Chinese pulmonologist predicted the number of infections will plateau, rather than fall, after hitting a peak later this month.
● South Korea is sending a plane to evacuate citizens from the Diamond Princess
● 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.
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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, 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 some outlets have no recorded sales on certain 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.
“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 infection in Diamond Princess.”
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 fourteen 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
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiiwFodHRwczovL3d3dy53YXNoaW5ndG9ucG9zdC5jb20vd29ybGQvYXNpYV9wYWNpZmljL2Nvcm9uYXZpcnVzLWNoaW5hLWxpdmUtdXBkYXRlcy8yMDIwLzAyLzE4LzdjZmFlODVlLTRmNmYtMTFlYS1iZjQ0LWY1MDQzZWIzOTE4YV9zdG9yeS5odG1s0gEA?oc=5
2020-02-18 07:11:00Z
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