The Chinese army deployed its doctors on Saturday at the heart of the coronavirus epidemic, whose toll has further increased and which now affects Europe, with three confirmed cases in France. The epidemic is spreading quickly in his country of origin, with 1,300 cases of contamination including 41 fatalities identified on Saturday.
China thus entered the year of the Rat under the sign of the coronavirus, which left in December from the city of Wuhan, placed de facto in quarantine. No firecrackers, no dragon dances. For New Year's Day, the streets of the metropolis of central China are as if dead, the few passers-by covering their faces with a mandatory protective mask.
At the limits of the prohibited zone, about twenty kilometers east of the city center, vehicles attempting to cross a motorway toll must turn around. "No one can get out," said a police officer. Trains and planes have not been allowed to leave the city since Thursday. In addition, the circulation of non-essential motor vehicles will be banned from midnight on Saturday (5 p.m. Paris time), local authorities have announced.
Besides Wuhan, virtually the entire province of Hubei is cut off from the world, bringing the total number of confined inhabitants to over 56 million, almost the population of South Africa.
National screening measures
The army sent three planes to the prohibited area, which landed 450 military doctors and other medical personnel on Friday evening. The military doctors must be distributed in the hospitals of the city which accomodate a large number of patients of the viral pneumonia, specified the agency new China.
With hospitals overwhelmed, construction of a site to accommodate a thousand beds began on Friday. It must be completed ... in 10 days, February 3, according to public media.
Outside Hubei, authorities have announced plans to screen the country for the virus. Inspection points will be set up and all travelers with symptoms of pneumonia will be "immediately transported" to a medical center, announced the National Health Commission.
Beijing as deserted
The balance sheets are increasing daily, from 26 dead Friday to 41 Saturday. All but two deaths have been recorded in Wuhan or elsewhere in Hubei, a province as large as Syria.
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The total number of infections has increased from 830 to 1,287. Of this total, 237 cases are considered "critical", according to health authorities. Most of the patients who have died so far have either been over the age of 65 or have pre-existing illnesses.
Coronavirus: "We are afraid" says a nurse from a hospital in Wuhan
Elsewhere in China, New Years festivities were canceled, notably in Beijing. The capital seemed deserted and its restaurants practically empty. Many popular tourist sites, such as the Forbidden City, the former palace of the emperors, or sections of the Great Wall, have been closed to reduce the risk of contagion.
Hong Kong on Saturday declared the maximum level of health alert on its territory to strengthen measures to combat the spread of the epidemic, announced the head of the local executive, Carrie Lam.
