Chinese virus: death toll jumps to 80, foreigners await evacuation

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang was in Wuhan on Monday, the epicenter of the new coronavirus epidemic, which has already killed 80 people. It is the first visit of a very high official of the communist regime in the city since the beginning of the epidemic which now extends to ten countries.

Twenty-four more dead in China. The number of victims of the viral pneumonia epidemic in China jumped to 80 and 2,744 cases were confirmed in the country.

Twenty-four additional deaths have been recorded in Hubei province, the epicenter of the contagion, but no new deaths have been confirmed outside this region, the central government announced on Monday.

"The capacity to spread the virus has increased," said senior Chinese health officials the day before, although it is not "as powerful as SARS", a previous coronavirus that had killed hundreds. at the beginning of the 2000's.

The situation is "serious", recognized on Saturday evening President Xi Jinping, warning that the epidemic which appeared in December in Wuhan in the center of the country "is accelerating".

France and the United States are preparing the evacuation of their nationals. The epidemic has reached Europe and Australia. One suspected case has been reported in Canada. The United States, where five cases are confirmed, announced to organize the departure of their diplomatic personnel and of American citizens stranded in Wuhan, hoping to take off a flight Tuesday.

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Other countries are in communication with Beijing to evacuate their nationals.

French Minister of Health Agnès Buzyn announced Sunday that France will organize "direct air repatriation" of its nationals, and that a quarantine period of 14 days will be applied to them.

Six suspected cases in France. While the identification of three cases of this viral pneumonia on travelers recently returned from China raised fears of a possible spread of the virus in France, the Minister of Health Agnès Buzyn clarified that no new case had been confirmed but that six suspected cases were still awaiting the results of tests which should take place on Monday.

These are not people who have been in contact with the three already diagnosed as affected by the new 2019-nCoV virus and hospitalized in Paris (two) and Bordeaux (one). All three had recently arrived from China and had stayed in Wuhan, the big city where the infection first appeared in December.

"A few contact cases" of these confirmed patients were identified and the authorities asked them to stay at home while monitoring the possible appearance of symptoms, fever, cough or respiratory problems, said Ms. Buzyn.

French tour operators suspend travel to China. The union of French tour operators (Seto) recommended Sunday the suspension of organized trips to China until February 21, due to the epidemic of coronavirus.

"The closure of most tourist sites prevents the proper execution of programs and therefore departures are suspended until Friday, February 21, 2020 inclusive," said Seto in a statement.

As for tourists already on the spot, the tour operators' union does not offer repatriation measures, but "to be at their disposal to answer their questions", and "to adapt" the programs to the measures taken by the Chinese government, he said.