China yesterday expanded drastic travel restrictions to contain a viral epidemic that has killed 56 people and infected nearly 2,000, as the US, France and Japan prepared to evacuate their citizens from a quarantined city at the outbreak’s epicenter.
China has locked down the hard-hit province of Hubei in the nation’s center in an unprecedented operation affecting tens of millions of people to slow the spread of the respiratory illness.
The virus’ ability to spread appears to be “getting stronger,” though it is “not as powerful as SARS,” top Chinese health officials said at a press conference, adding that their knowledge of it was limited.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
The previously unknown virus has caused global concern because of its similarity to the SARS pathogen, which killed hundreds across mainland China and Hong Kong in 2002-2003.
Outside the epicenter, four cities — including Beijing and Shanghai — and the eastern province of Shandong announced bans on long-distance buses from entering or leaving their borders, a move that would affect millions of people traveling over the Lunar New Year holiday.
The southern province of Guangdong, Jiangxi in the center, and three cities made it mandatory for residents to wear masks in public.
Originating in Wuhan, Hubei’s capital, the virus has spread throughout China and around the world — with cases confirmed in Taiwan and about a dozen countries as far as the US.
The US Department of State yesterday said that it was arranging a flight from Wuhan to San Francisco for consulate staff and other Americans in the city.
The flight is schedueld for tomorrow, it said in an e-mail to Americans in China that warned of “extremely limited” capacity for private citizens.
The French government said it was formulating plans to evacuate staff and families, who would be quarantined in a city in a neighboring province.
Japan is coordinating with the Chinese government to swiftly evacuate its citizens, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said.
South Korea’s consulate in Wuhan said it was conducting an online poll of its citizens there to gauge demand for a chartered flight out.
Instead of New Year revelry, Wuhan has been seized by an eerie calm that deepened yesterday, as new restrictions banned most road traffic in the metropolis of 11 million.
Loudspeakers broke the silence by offering tips slathered with bravado.
“Do not believe in rumors. Do not spread rumors. If you feel unwell, go to the hospital in time,” the message said.
The health emergency has overwhelmed Wuhan’s hospitals with patients, prompting authorities to send hundreds of medical reinforcements, including military doctors, and start construction on two field hospitals.
With non-essential vehicles banned from the road, volunteers stepped up to drive sick fellow citizens to hospitals.
“There has to be someone who does this,” Zhang Lin, 48, told reporters, as he waited for a patient to emerge from a clinic for the drive back home in nearly deserted streets.
The outbreak is suspected to have originated in a Wuhan market where animals, including rats, snakes and hedgehogs, were reportedly sold as exotic food.
Beijing said it was banning all trade in wildlife until the emergency is over, but conservationists complain that China has previously failed to deliver on pledges to get tough.
Health officials said the virus has since become transmissible between humans.
“From what we see now, this disease is indeed ... not as powerful as SARS,” China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention head Gao Fu (高福) said at a news briefing in Beijing.
However, it also appears that the “spreading ability of the virus is getting stronger,” China’s National Health Commission Minister Ma Xiaowei (馬曉偉) said.
Shanghai yesterday reported its first death — an 88-year-old man who had pre-existing health problems.
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
RSS