The impact of climate change on Australia’s unprecedented bushfire crisis will be examined by an independent inquiry set up by the New South Wales state government. The six-month inquiry will look at the causes of the bushfires, as well as how the state of New South Wales prepared and reacted to them.It will examine the role climate change played in the disaster, as well as the effects of a long drought and lack of hazard reduction, which is the process of setting controlled fires to burn off vegetation during the cooler months to deny wildfires fuel when the weather heats up.While global warming is not the direct cause of Australia’s bushfire crisis, scientists have warned that a hotter, drier climate would contribute to the blazes becoming more intense and frequent.NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian attends a news conference at Rural Fire Service (RFS) Headquarters in Sydney, Jan. 4, 2020.Premier of New South Wales Gladys Berejiklian says the independent inquiry will start within days.“We want the process to be robust and comprehensive,” she said, “but we also want it to be meaningful so that government can adopt any recommendations ahead of the next bushfire season.”Bushfires in New South Wales have killed 25 people since September and damaged thousands of homes.The investigation will be led by Dave Owens, a former senior police commander, and professor Mary O’Kane, a scientist and engineer.However, with fires still raging, there is criticism that the probe is starting while the crisis continues.Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, condemned for his handling of the bushfires and underplaying the role of climate change, has yet to announce the terms of any federal investigation.Fires Saturday continue to threaten the capital, Canberra. Authorities have declared a state of emergency for the first time since 2003.
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Category: East
East news. East is the direction toward which the Earth rotates about its axis, and therefore the general direction from which the Sun appears to rise. The practice of praying towards the East is older than Christianity, but has been adopted by this religion as the Orient was thought of as containing mankind’s original home
France’s Ethnic Chinese Community, Other Asians Complain of Coronavirus-Linked Discrimination
France announced its sixth case of the new coronavirus this week and repatriated a planeload of its citizens from the virus-stricken Chinese city of Wuhan. But back at home, Chinese and others in the wider East Asian community there say they are becoming targets for discrimination.Just as fast as the coronavirus is spreading, so too seems to be prejudice. In Japan, South Korea and Italy — and now France. This week the French hashtag #JeNeSuisPasUnVirus — I Am Not A Virus — was trending on Twitter. One Chinese man interviewed on France’s BFMTV — his face hidden so he wouldn’t be recognized — described walking out of a Paris gym and being accosted by teenagers, who laughed and said, “There’s coronavirus coming.” Ethnic Chinese aren’t the only ones being targeted. One account on social media describes a Vietnamese woman being shunned by those around her. Other East Asians say fellow passengers on public transport move away from them, or put scarves in front of their faces.French passengers on buses leave a military air base in Istres, southern France, Jan.31, 2020, after arriving by plane from the virus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan.In a television interview, Laetitia Chhiv, head of the Association of Young Chinese in France, said coronavirus was giving expression to latent racism. It hasn’t helped that a French newspaper, Le Courrier Picard, published the headline “Yellow Alert” on its cover last Sunday, and titled an editorial “A New Yellow Peril.” The newspaper quickly apologized, saying the move was unintentional, but the damage was done. Interviewed by a colleague, journalist Linh-Lan Dao said she couldn’t believe the Courrier Picard’s title. “We’re in the 21st century,” she said. All this comes after France reported a surge in racist and xenophobic acts in 2019 — up 130 percent from the previous year. While much of the focus has been on Jews and Muslims, ethnic Chinese have also been targeted in recent years. The government’s line is zero tolerance to discrimination.In 2016, thousands of Chinese staged protests after a Chinese man was killed outside Paris by three men trying to rob his companion’s bag. It wasn’t the first attack — and Chinese anti-violence activist Tamara Lui says it hasn’t been the last. Lui says the same prejudice behind these past attacks on the Chinese community — because they’re stigmatized as rich and hardworking and therefore good targets to rob — is being seen with coronavirus today.
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Delta, American Become First US Airlines to Cancel US-China Flights
Delta and American Airlines announced Friday they will suspend flights to China after the World Health Organization (WHO) labeled the coronavirus pandemic as a global public-health emergency. American Airlines (AAL) said in a statement that it is suspending flights to and from mainland China until March 27. However, it will continue flights to and from Hong Kong. This decision comes after a lawsuit by the union representing airline’s pilots sued the company to immediately stop its US-China service due to possible health threats posed by the coronavirus. Delta Air Lines was the first to announce its suspension of flights, which will begin Feb. 6 and are scheduled to continue through April 30. The last flight will leave the U.S. on Feb. 3, and the last flight to return to the U.S. will be Feb 5.Shortly after saying it will only reduce service to mainland China, United Airlines also announced Friday it will suspend flights from Feb. 6 through March 28. The airline said in a statement it will ”operate select flights to help ensure our U.S.-based employees, as well as customers, have options to return home.” It said, though, it will continue to service one flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong.For all three airlines, these suspensions follow travel advisories issued by the State Department and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The State Department issued a Level 4-Do Not Travel advisory on Thursday and recommended that all Americans leave mainland China. The CDC issued a Level 3 notice advising Americans to avoid nonessential travel to China.Several international airlines also have also planned to suspend or reduce service to and from mainland China. British Airways, Air Asia, Cathay Pacific, Air India, IndiGo, Lufthansa and Finnair have announced plans to reduce or suspend flights this week. RwandAir and Kenya Airways canceled all flights to and from Guangzhou until further notice. LOT Polish Airlines has suspended flights to China until Feb. 9, according to a deputy prime minister. Iran also suspended all flights to and from China.
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China Reports Nearly 10,000 Coronavirus Cases
China says it has nearly 10,000 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus. The virus has caused 213 deaths in China where it emerged late last year.The World Health Organization says the worldwide spread of the virus is a global health emergency, as well as an “extraordinary event” requiring a coordinated international response.The Trump administration is warning Americans not to travel to China.The State Department issued what it calls a Britain reported its first confirmed cases Friday. “We can confirm that two patients in England, who are members of the same family, have tested positive for coronavirus,” said Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England. He said the two are receiving “specialist” care from the country’s National Health Service. India and Philippines have also confirmed their first cases, joining a growing list that includes Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Nepal, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, The United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.According to a BBC report, the infection is difficult to spot and stop because only an estimated one in five cases will result in “severe symptoms” which means people can spread the infection without having any symptoms or without knowing they have the infection.Dr. Nancy Messonnier of the Centers for Disease Control said they symptoms of a cold or the flu and the coronavirus are the same, but the risk factors are having visited China’s Hubei province or having close contact with those who have been there.The virus emerged in Wuhan in Hubei province. Wuhan is the epicenter of the outbreak and it has been shuttered. People have been instructed to stay home and public transportation has been shut down.Mi Feng, China’s National Health commission spokesperson said Friday, “The Chinese government has attached great importance to the epidemic control and we have already adopted the most stringent control measures . . . We hope to cooperate with other countries to safeguard regional and global health and public safety.”
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Malaysia’s Palm Oil Sector Pays for Prime Minister’s Tough Talk on India
India’s boycott of Malaysian palm oil over Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s rebuke of New Delhi’s handling of Kashmir and Muslim migrants may deal a heavy blow to Malaysia’s economy this year, the more so if it expands to other key commodities.But some economists say the nominally punitive move may have as much to do with India’s growing fixation with correcting its bilateral trade deficits in an Asian echo of U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” push.India is by far the largest importer of palm oil from Malaysia, the world’s second largest producer after Indonesia. The versatile fruit extract is used in everything from pizza dough to soap and biofuels.In October India’s top vegetable oil trade body, the Solvent Extractors Association, urged its members to stop buying Malaysian palm oil over Mahathir’s “unprovoked pronouncement” and “in solidarity with our nation.” To New Delhi’s consternation, the prime minister of Muslim-majority Malaysia had reproached India for stripping statehood from its portion of Kashmir, which also has a Muslim majority, and later over legislative amendments that appear to deny Indian citizenship to Muslim migrants from some countries.FILE – Kashmiri Muslims offer prayer inside Jamia Masjid in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Dec. 18, 2019.Earlier this month, Mahathir’s media adviser, A. Kadir Jasin, said Malaysia should respond with its own boycott of Indian exports and by tightening restrictions on Indian migrants. But Mahathir soon dismissed the idea, conceding that Malaysia was too small to retaliate against India, a country of 1.35 billion people to Malaysia’s 31.5 million.Yu Leng Khor, a political economist and principal of Segi Enam Advisors, a consulting firm that studies the region’s trade in palm oil and other commodities, said Malaysia needed India far more than vice versa and would wield little leverage in a reciprocal trade war.Malaysia exported about $8.53 billion worth of goods to India between January and November of last year while importing only $5.35 billion from the country over the same period, according to the latest figures from the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation, a state enterprise.Malaysia’s palm oil industry, a pillar of the national economy, has tied its fortunes to India in particular in recent years. Nearly 1 in every 4 tons of palm oil Malaysia exported in 2019 landed in India.“In the last couple of years, it is the biggest market for Malaysia, and it delivered a huge increase in volume and traded value in 2019, and this [boycott] is a big slap-down now,” Khor said.Though New Delhi publicly denies reports by Reuters news agency that it has told Indian importers to shun Malaysian palm oil, it has moved refined palm oil imports to the “restricted” list, forcing traders to jump through cumbersome new hoops. Khor said that alone could cost Malaysia up to $1.4 billion, though it could try to make up some of the loss by selling India more crude palm oil and moving quickly to boost refined palm oil exports to other countries.And if chatter in India’s press of expanding the boycott to electronics and other Malaysian import comes true, she added, the impact on Malaysia’s economy could be “quite major.”FILE – Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad speaks during the signing ceremony for Bandar Malaysia in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Dec. 17, 2019.Though Mahathir has stood by his rankling remarks, Khor said he will want to contain the damage.Shankaran Nambiar, a senior fellow at the Malaysia Institute of Economic Research, agreed.“It would be Malaysia’s turn to retaliate. But it appears that Malaysia is making reconciliatory moves, which implies that Malaysia doesn’t want relations to deteriorate. So at worst we have a standoff,” he said.Last week Malaysia’s top sugar refiner, MSM Malaysia Holdings Berhad, an arm of state-owned palm oil producer FGV Holdings, announced a hefty hike in its raw sugar imports from India in what many see as a move to placate New Delhi.That would suggest that the row is about more than pummeled pride.Nambiar said India’s trade deficit with Malaysia may have been the tinder to which Mahathir’s reproof was the spark.He noted that India’s new restrictions on refined palm oil imports apply to all countries, “Malaysia among them, although it … seems that vessels carrying refined palm oil from Malaysia have been stuck at ports.”Khor likened India’s moves to Trump’s own take on America’s trade deficits with other countries.“I think it’s part of this overall thing that we’re seeing globally, right? That there’s this pullback and big questioning of trade relationships. … Should there be an imbalance? Shouldn’t we all have a more equal trade balance?” she said.“And I think in a global trade environment where trade relationships [are] being really looked at very carefully now — and with … geopolitical and political sensitivities — I think, sadly, Malaysia played straight into it.”
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Frustration in South Korea as Cost-Sharing Talks With US Drag on
Nearly a month after the expiration of the agreement on how to split the cost of the U.S. military presence in South Korea, there is growing frustration among South Korean civilians who will soon be temporarily suspended from their jobs on U.S. bases if a deal isn’t reached.The U.S. military this week sent furlough notices to its Korean national employees, around 9,000 of whom may be forced to take unpaid time off starting April 1, without an agreement. Some have begun looking for other work.“Of course, everyone feels unstable and distressed,” said Son Gi-o, the national secretary general for the USFK Korean Employees Union, “It is our livelihood, after all.” Like other Korean base employees who spoke to VOA, Son hoped an agreement will be reached but said he feels insulted and that the contribution of his Korean colleagues is being undervalued.A South Korean national who works at Camp Humphreys, the sprawling U.S. base about an hour south of Seoul, said he was optimistic a deal would be reached but said, nevertheless, “we can’t focus at work.” He was not authorized to speak to the media and would not provide a name.FILE – Fake bank notes showing images of U.S. President Donald Trump are displayed as protesters oppose the United States’ demand for raising the defense costs for stationing U.S. troops in South Korea, near the U.S. embassy in Seoul, Oct. 22, 2019.No new agreementFor the second consecutive year, the U.S. and South Korea failed to strike a new cost-sharing deal before the old agreement expired. During initial rounds of negotiations, the U.S. reportedly demanded Seoul increase its contribution by five times.U.S. President Donald Trump has long insisted that South Korea pay much more for the cost of about 28,500 U.S. troops in South Korea.However, many analysts and officials in both the U.S. and South Korea fear those demands are now creating distrust among South Koreans and structural instability that could hurt the alliance in the long term.Money running outSince the latest deal expired, U.S. officials say “residual funds” have been used for the salaries of Korean civilian employees, who work in areas such as food service, logistics, and administration, but that money will soon run out. “It isn’t right to hold hostage the salaries of Korean employees,” Song Young-gil, a prominent lawmaker in South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party, said. “President Trump’s unreasonable demand is weakening the alliance.”Although opinion polls suggest South Koreans overwhelmingly oppose the U.S. cost-sharing demands, support for the overall alliance remains strong. There are few signs of a major rift other than angry newspaper columns and scattered protests.Alliance strainedMany U.S. and South Korean officials, however, worry about the effect of such prickly negotiations every year.“It could be a three-year deal, or five years. But a one-year agreement is not right,” Song said, “It is just too much to have to repeat this every single year.”The U.S. and South Korea were unable to reach a deal last year until early February. Seoul eventually agreed to pay $925 million, 8% more than the previous year. The deal, though, only covered a single year rather than five, as in the previous arrangement, virtually ensuring the two sides are in an almost constant state of tense negotiations.“I think a one-year agreement creates a considerable amount of turbulence in the support structure for the U.S. forces,” said retired Army General Vincent Brooks, who until November 2018 served as commander of U.S. Forces Korea.An annual deal is not sufficient to plan for local employment needs and South Korean-funded construction projects, Brooks told the VOA Korean Service. “It’s very disruptive to have a one-year cycle. I think a minimum of three and an optimum of five is the right way to go,” he said.FILE – Under Secretary of Defense for Policy John Rood, speaks during a news conference on the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review, at the Pentagon, Feb. 2, 2018.Interagency friction?Even current U.S. military officials have expressed concerns about the cost-sharing dispute.John Rood, a senior Defense Department official, told a U.S. House hearing this week that the Pentagon is trying to convey the importance of the alliance to his State Department counterparts leading the negotiations.“This is part of our message to our State Department colleagues: that as you’re approaching these negotiations — and everyone wants equitable burden-sharing — some consideration just needs to be given about the maintaining of the health of that alliance as we go forward,” Rood said.Those comments suggest a degree of “interagency friction,” according to David Maxwell, who specializes in the U.S.-South Korea military relationship at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “The Department of Defense pointing the finger at the Department of State is unusual,” Maxwell said.However, State Department cost-sharing demands seem to originate with Trump — not the State Department — and U.S. officials have little choice but to implement the president’s directive, as Maxwell points out.“I have heard none express a personal opinion that goes against the president, despite my belief they must be biting their tongues because they know, as I believe, this demand by the president is unrealistic, damages the alliance, and is just plain wrong,” he added.FILE – Retired Adm. Harry Harris, the U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, attends a ceremony to mark the 78th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 2019 at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.Harry Harris, the U.S. ambassador to South Korea, earlier this month denied that the negotiations are hurting the alliance, saying the U.S. is only “asking for a more equitable distribution.”Specifically, the U.S. wants South Korea to contribute toward a wider range of costs, including the rotations of American troops to the peninsula.Meanwhile, it is the local Korean employees who may be the hardest hit as the talks drag on.“All employees are essential for accomplishing the mission,” Son, the labor union employee. “So why do we have to be the ones to suffer?”
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Avalanche Hits Japan Ski Resort; 1 Feared Dead, 7 Survive
An avalanche at a ski resort on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido on Thursday hit a group of eight foreign skiers, likely killing at least one.The avalanche occurred when the group was skiing outside of a designated course near the Tomamu ski resort in central Hokkaido, according to the nearby Shimukappu village office.One skier who escaped from the snow called police asking for help, said village official Atsushi Tada. The caller said one of them, a Frenchman in his 40s, was feared dead, but six others survived, though further details of their conditions were not available.Rescuers from the Hokkaido police were expected to head to the site for their rescue, although the operation may be hampered by risks of another avalanche.Tada said nationalities and other details of the seven survivors were not known.
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Serving Equality With A Cup of Coffee
Coffee is one of the most popular hot beverages in the world and is drunk almost daily by about a third of the world’s population. At a coffee shop in Jakarta, Indonesia, the owners want to promote communication, understanding and tolerance by employing people who can’t hear. VOA’s Rendy Wicaksana reports
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WHO: World Needs to Be on Alert for Dangers Posed by Coronavirus
For the third time in one week, a World Health Organization Emergency Committee will meet to decide whether the new coronavirus poses a global health threat. The latest number of confirmed cases has risen to 7,700, including 170 deaths. The two previous emergency meetings ended inconclusively. WHO experts were split on whether the spread of the coronavirus was large enough to constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. But this quickly evolving disease may change some of the doubters’ minds.FILE – Tedros Adhanom, WHO director-general meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping before a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Jan. 28, 2020.WHO Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus praises the strong response taken by the Chinese government to try to stop the epidemic. This includes the lockdown of Wuhan city, the epicenter of the disease and other cities in the country where the virus has been identified.But he acknowledges that events on the ground in China and abroad are moving too quickly to be ignored. He says the emergence of any new pathogen with the potential to cause severe illness and death is of grave concern and must be taken with utmost seriousness.”The continued increase in cases and the evidence of human-to-human transmission outside China, are, of course, both deeply concerning. Although the numbers outside China are still relatively small, they hold the potential for a much larger outbreak,” he said. So far, at least 70 cases of coronavirus have been found in more than a dozen countries, including the United States. All of these cases are being imported by travelers from China. An increasing number of countries are screening arriving passengers for infections and isolating them for the two-week incubation period.FILE – Chinese family wearing face masks walk in a pedestrian crossing in Bangkok, Thailand, Jan. 29, 2020.Executive director of WHO health emergencies program, Michael Ryan, says the situation is very fluid and changing by the hour. He says the whole world needs to be on the alert now and take whatever action is needed to stop transmission of this deadly virus.”We are at an important juncture in this event,” he said. “We, as WHO believe that these chains of transmission can still be interrupted. This disease is spreading from person-to-person through personal contact between individuals.” Ryan says the epidemic can be stemmed through proper hygiene, proper identification of cases, isolation and social distancing. He says the Emergency Committee will consider the merits of declaring a global public health emergency.He says the WHO experts are likely to recommend a series of temporary actions for countries to undertake in a coordinated, measured fashion. He says efforts to end an epidemic are always more effective when countries work together.
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China Counts 170 Virus Deaths, New Countries Find Infections
China counted 170 deaths from a new virus Thursday and more countries reported infections, including some spread locally, as foreign evacuees from China’s worst-hit region returned home to medical observation and even isolation.
India and the Philippines reported their first cases, in a traveler and a student who had both been in Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the new type of coronavirus first surfaced in December. South Korea confirmed a case that was locally spread, in a man who had contact with a patient diagnosed earlier.
Locally spread cases outside China have been a worrying concern among global health officials, as potential signs of the virus spreading more easily and the difficulty of containing it. The World Health Organization is reconvening experts on Thursday to assess whether the outbreak should be declared a global emergency.
The new virus has now infected more people in China than were sickened there during the 2002-2003 outbreak of SARS, another type of coronavirus.
Thursday’s figures for mainland China cover the previous 24 hours and represent an increase of 38 deaths and 1,737 cases for a total of 7,711. Of the new deaths, 37 were in Hubei province, of which Wuhan is the capital, and one was in the southwestern province of Sichuan.
Three of Japan’s confirmed cases were among a group of evacuees who returned on a government-chartered flight from Wuhan on Wednesday. Japan’s foreign ministry said a second flight carrying 210 Japanese evacuees landed Thursday at Tokyo’s Haneda airport. Reports said nine of those aboard the flight showed signs of cough and fever.
India’s health ministry said a student in Kerala state who had been studying in Wuhan was confirmed to have the virus after returning home during the Lunar New Year break. Philippine health officials say a woman who traveled to the country from Wuhan via Hong Kong had tested positive.
Passengers wear masks to prevent an outbreak of a new coronavirus in a subway station, in Hong Kong, Jan. 22, 2020.A flight arranged between the European Union and China departed Portugal en route to China to bring back 350 Europeans from the affected area. The U.S. said additional flights were being planned for around Monday, after it evacuated 195 Americans from Wuhan on Wednesday. They are being tested and monitored at a Southern California military base.
New Zealand, Australia, India, Singapore and other countries are also trying to get out their citizens. Taiwan, the self-governing republic China considers its own territory, has also asked to be able to repatriate its passport holders from Wuhan, but it and the United Kingdom said they were awaiting approval from Beijing.
Airlines reduce service
Israel’s El Al , Spain’s Iberia and Korean Air joined the growing list of airlines suspending or reducing service to China.
In South Korea, residents in two cities where quarantine facilities are being prepared threw eggs and water bottles at government officials to protest plans to isolate in their neighborhoods 700 South Koreans the government plans to evacuate from China.
Amid reports of shortages in food and daily necessities in hot-spot areas, Chinese authorities are “stepping up efforts to ensure continuous supply and stable prices,” the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
It cited Ministry of Commerce data showing current reserves in Wuhan can ensure a secure supply of rice and cooking oil for more than 15 days, pork and eggs for more than 10 days and vegetables for about five days.
China’s highly developed online shopping and home delivery businesses were important in ensuring those confined to home by choice or by order could get food and other essentials.
“I’d just like to ask that folks don’t order anything other than the daily necessities,” Hou Yanbo, deputy director of market supervision from the National Post Administration, told reporters at a daily briefing.
China extended its Lunar New Year holiday to Sunday to try to contain the virus, but the wave of returning travelers could potentially cause the virus to spread further.
Transport ministry spokesman Wu Chungeng outlined a series of rigorous temperature checks and other “severe measures” to detect possibly infectious passengers. Transport restrictions such as those isolating Wuhan and suspending inter-provincial bus services would remain in place, Wu said.
“It’s definitely very challenging, but we’re confident we can exert effective control,`”Wu told reporters at the briefing.
School closings in Hong Kong, Beijing and other regions have been extended by at least two weeks.
The WHO emergencies chief, Michael Ryan, spoke in Geneva after returning from Beijing. He said China was taking “extraordinary measures in the face of an extraordinary challenge’ posed by the outbreak.A man wearing a surgical mask makes a child wear one outside the government general hospital where a student who had been in Wuhan is kept in isolation in Thrissur, Kerala state, India, Jan. 30, 2020.Most cases in China To date, about 99% of the cases are in China. Ryan estimated the death rate of the new virus at 2%, but said the figure was very preliminary. With fluctuating numbers of cases and deaths, scientists are only able to produce a rough estimate of the fatality rate and it’s likely many milder cases of the virus are being missed.
In comparison, the SARS virus killed about 10% of people who caught it. The new virus is from the coronavirus family, which includes those that can cause the common cold as well as more serious illnesses such as SARS and MERS.
Scientists say there are many questions to be answered about the new virus, including just how easily it spreads and how severe it is.
Chinese authorities have demanded anyone who traveled from or through Wuhan report to health authorities and self-quarantine themselves for 14 days, the maximum incubation period during which patients can be infectious even if they don’t show symptoms.
China has been largely praised for a swift and effective response to the outbreak, although questions have been raised about the police suppression of what were early on considered mere rumors, a reflection of the one-party Communist state’s determination to maintain a monopoly on information in spite of smart phones and social media.
That stands in stark contrast to the initial response to SARS, when medical reports were hidden as state secrets. The delayed response was blamed for allowing the disease to spread worldwide, killing around 800 people.
This time, in addition to working with WHO, China’s health minister Ma Xiaowei has been in touch with foreign colleagues, including U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar.
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Foreign Students Afraid, Frustrated in Wuhan
For the foreign students on lockdown in China where a deadly flulike coronavirus has emerged, days are marked by fear, frustration and boredom.“I wear a mask all the time,” said Redwan Mohamed Nur, an accounting student who told VOA he is one of 14 Somalis at Wuhan University and among 5,000 Africans studying in China. “I [am] so scared that I didn’t dare to open the window because I’m afraid the wind would blow the virus in.”Wuhan is home to dozens of universities and colleges. On Jan. 23, China closed off Wuhan, the center of a deadly outbreak of the coronavirus; 16 cities are locked down, more than 6,000 cases worldwide have been confirmed and at least 132 people are dead.Stuck in his dorm, he said he has left only once, and that was to walk to where school authorities distribute food to foreign students every other day. Elsewhere in China, An empty street is seen in Wuhan, Hubei province, China January 25, 2020, in this picture obtained from social media. Picture taken January 25, 2020.Chaniago said she’d received a week’s allowance from Indonesia’s embassy in Beijing, but added that shops and drugstores are closed. She and her friends are surviving on homemade chicken soup. “We understand that it’s hard for supplies to be sent in as the city is still in lockdown,” she said. “But we are puzzled as how to survive and protect ourselves from getting infected while at the same time being in the center of the outbreak, without enough food, water and medications.”She said she and her friends are wearing two masks at once.“There are masks handed out by the campus to survive, but they’re too thin,” she said. “It’s not the prescribed masks to prevent (the spread of) the virus.”At the Hubei University of Technology in Wuhan, “They have closed the dormitory doors so that nobody can go out,” Yusuf Abdullah, a Bangladeshi student told VOA. “If you order the food in the canteen, they will cook it for you and then they’ll send. But you can’t go outside.” Abdullah said the Bangladeshi Embassy had opened a chat group on the Chinese WeChat platform to share information and concerns. On the group chat, Abdullah told VOA that participants asked the embassy to “evacuate us as soon as possible.”Sithu Htun is one of 57 students, and three parents, living in isolation in the international students’ dormitory on the Wuhan University campus. All the students all are scholars under the educational and cultural exchange program between China and Myanmar.The environmental engineering graduate student at the Wuhan University of Technology said everyone was in good health but worried about the supply of food and medicines. He told VOA that the Myanmar Embassy keeps in touch with them about possible evacuation.He said it would be great if developed countries offered assistance to evacuate them, as Japan and U.S. sent aircraft to evacuate its citizens from Wuhan. He said Burmese students are helping each other avoid feeling depressed about negative comments on social media that reflect a widespread distrust of China among Burmese. “My parents are very worried about my safety because I am an only child, an only son,” said Keat Pocheang, 24, a Cambodian student at Wuhan University. “They video call me about 10 times a day.” He said he is “disappointed” that his government has not taken steps to evacuate its nationals.Another Cambodian student, Tang Chivhour, 20, a native of Phnom Penh, is a student at Hubei University in Wuhan. He has lived in China for three years and speaks fluent Chinese. For the past week, Tang Chivhor said boredom has been the biggest challenge. “I have a few Korean friends who are stuck here. So, I hang out with them, chatting and reading together.”Shipon Hussein, a Bangladeshi doctoral student studying at East China Normal University in Shanghai, said university authorities are not allowing outside people to enter foreign students’ residential quarters. “There has been talk about evacuation process,” he said. He added he knew some Bangladeshi students stranded in Wuhan “wanted to go back to Bangladesh.”In China’s capital, Francisco Sithoi Jr., 22, a Mozambican student at the Beijing University of Technology, echoed what students trapped in Wuhan said, that it was becoming hard for him to get the food he needed, having to “go from supermarket to supermarket.”Jannatun Nahar, a Bangla student at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, echoed that the university officials were “taking care of us” and offering free meals and basic items like sanitizer. And while she, too, feels isolated, she says, she doesn’t want to go home.”I don’t want to go back … because in my country, the population density is huge,” she said. “If the virus is in my body … if I come back to my country, it might effect my family, my relatives, my country. In my personal opinion, I want to stay in China, I don’t want to spread the virus in my country.”Reporters from VOA’s Bangla, Burmese, Indonesian, Khmer, Portuguese and Somali services contributed to this report, which was written in the Mandarin service.
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Wuhan Building Two Hospitals in Just Days
A massive mobilization is underway in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Officials are racing to build two new medical centers from the ground up in a matter of days. A new coronavirus spreading from the city is flooding the country’s health care system. Hospitals are overcrowded with sick people and those who think they may be infected. The new facilities aim to help carry the load. But experts say China’s health care system faces long-term challenges. VOA’s Steve Baragona has more.
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As Coronavirus Outbreak Expands, Airlines Suspend Flights to China
The World Health Organization will decide Thursday whether to designate the coronavirus outbreak a global health emergency, but countries are taking action. New travel warnings advise people to avoid nonessential travel to China, and airlines have begun suspending flights to cities in mainland China. For the millions of people now under lockdown in the outbreak zone, the immediate future remains uncertain. VOA’s Mariama Diallo has more. VOA’s Tatiana Vorozhko also contributed to this report.
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Cambodian Appeals Court Rejects RFA Reporters’ Motion for Dismissal
A municipal appeals court in Phnom Penh has upheld a lower-court ruling to continue investigating a pair of former Radio Free Asia reporters on espionage charges. Journalists Yeang Sothearin and Uon Chhin, who were detained for “illegally collecting information for a foreign source” in November 2017, had recently filed a motion to have the charges dropped. Their attorney, Sam Chamreoun, said Tuesday’s decision to reject the motion “overlooks my clients’ interests.” “We have one month to consider making another request to the Supreme Court,” he said in a statement quoted by the Khmer Times. “We are upset by the decision,” said Sothearin after the brief hearing, according to RFA, one of Voice of America’s congressionally funded sister agencies. “I think this is a political decision, not a judicial decision. I call on the court to speed up the judicial process to bring our case to trial.” Bureau closedRFA’s Phnom Penh bureau was shuttered in September 2017 amid a government crackdown on news outlets. The November 2017 charges against Sothearin and Chhin allege the two men installed broadcasting equipment in a private Phnom Penh residence to continue transmitting reports to RFA’s Washington headquarters. During their nine months in detention, the government also charged the pair with producing pornography before releasing them on bail in August 2018. If found guilty of espionage, the men each face a maximum of 15 years in prison under Article 445 of the criminal code. The pornography charges carry up to one year in prison. Local and international rights groups have condemned the case as part of a broader crackdown on journalism and civil society in Cambodia. Am Sam Ath, deputy director of the Cambodian rights group Licadho, told RFA’s Khmer service that Tuesday’s ruling was “not fair” and reinforced the notion among many Cambodians that “the justice system is biased and has lost public trust.” Calling for the dismissal of the case, RFA President Bay Fang urged Cambodian authorities to “heed what the international community is telling them: This legal process is deeply unfair and undermines the principles of free expression and respect for a free press that are enshrined in Cambodia’s constitution.” “Cambodian authorities should stop treating reporters Yeang Sothearin and Uon Chhin like criminals and drop the bogus charges against them,” said Shawn Crispin, senior Southeast Asia representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists. “The longer their legal harassment continues, the more damage will be done to Cambodia’s already threadbare credibility as a democracy.” ‘Up to its old tricks’Human Rights Watch’s Phil Robertson said that the failure of the court to deliver a conclusive verdict exposed its position on political and civil rights. “The Cambodian government is clearly up to its old tricks. Foreign governments should interpret today’s inconclusive hearing as yet another signal the Cambodian government refuses to make any concessions on civil and political rights, and fails to respect the principle of media freedom,” he said. “More than ever, this case has been revealed as a crude tool to intimidate and silence other independent journalists in Cambodia.” Over the years, Cambodian journalists working for RFA have reported on corruption, illegal logging and forced evictions, among other stories largely ignored by pro-government media. Authorities had already closed independent radio stations carrying RFA reports, using a pretext of tax and administrative violations. The arrests of Chhin and Sothearin came after a warning from Cambodia’s Ministries of Information and Interior that any journalists still working for RFA after its office in the capital closed would be treated as spies. Paris-based Reporters Without Borders ranks Cambodia 143rd out of 180 countries in its 2019 World Press Freedom Index. Some information for this story came from RFA.
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First Foreign Nationals Evacuate China as US Reportedly Mulls Ban on China Flights
The first evacuations of foreign nationals from China took place Wednesday as the U.S. reportedly considers banning all airline flights between the two countries.White House officials reportedly told U.S. airline executives at a meeting Tuesday the administration has not decided yet to impose a ban, but it is continuing to assess the situation. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in response to a reporter’s question Wednesday about whether a broad travel ban to China is being considered, “The State Department constantly evaluates the risk to travelers.” He added, “We will evaluate it on a continuous basis, literally hour by hour.” As the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak soared to 132 people, and the number of confirmed cases increased to 5,974, surpassing China’s 2002-2003 SARS outbreak, the pace of evacuations from mainland China increased.A chartered jet flew 206 Japanese nationals from Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus, to Tokyo’s Haneda airport Wednesday. Four passengers were taken to a hospital after complaining of feeling ill. Medical personnel were on board the flight to screen the passengers before take-off and again when the plane landed. Another chartered jet evacuated about 200 Americans out of Wuhan on a flight to Anchorage, Alaska, where they passed a re-screening test before continuing onto the western U.S. state of California. Australia, New Zealand, France, Russia and other nations also have announced plans to evacuate their citizens out of Wuhan this week.Passengers wearing masks are seen at Pudong International Airport, in Shanghai, China, Jan. 27, 2020.British Airways announced Wednesday that it was suspending all direct flights to and from the mainland. Hong Kong is suspending all high-speed rail and ferry services from the mainland beginning Friday, while the territory and Malaysia have banned entry to visitors from Wuhan. Mongolia has closed its vast border with its neighbor.United Airlines, a major American airline, announced Tuesday it is suspending flights to Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai from Feb. 1 through Feb. 8.A United Airlines pilot who will be on the last flight out of Beijing told VOA that he and other company personnel who will accompany him are taking precautions. The pilot said his food consumption in China will be limited to goods he has packed in his suitcase, and that he and his colleagues would remain in their hotel rooms during their stay.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning against nonessential travel to China.In addition to the increased death toll, Chinese health authorities say the total number of confirmed cases has soared above 5,900, far exceeding the number of people infected during the outbreak of the SARS virus that killed 800 people worldwide between 2002-2003.Authorities have imposed a virtual quarantine on Wuhan, banning people from traveling in and out of the city. Several other cities in Hubei province, of which Wuhan is the capital, are facing heavy restrictions on movement. Wuhan is racing to complete two new field hospitals to treat the growing number of patients. The virus is believed to have emerged late last year at a Wuhan seafood market illegally selling wildlife.Children adjust their face masks as they and their mother wait in line at check-in counters at Beijing Capital International Airport, in Beijing, China, Jan. 25, 2020.The United Arab Emirates Wednesday confirmed that a family that had recently arrived from Wuhan has been diagnosed with the new coronavirus, making them the first confirmed cases in the Middle East. The UAE has now joined a list of more than a dozen countries with confirmed cases of the virus, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam. The World Health Organization says most of those are people who had a travel history in Wuhan, with several others having contact with someone who traveled there.The virus hit China just as it was beginning celebrations to mark the Lunar New Year, resulting in the canceling or the scaling back of festivities for tens of millions of Chinese. Chinese officials took an extra step Sunday to extend the Lunar New Year holiday three extra days to cut down on group gatherings.There have been no reported deaths linked to the virus outside of China.Chinese President Xi Jingping vowed the country will conquer the fight against a “devil” coronavirus outbreak during his meeting Tuesday in Beijing with Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, according to state-run news outlets. Xi was quoted telling Ghebreyesus “we cannot let this devil hide.”
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Singapore Prepares for Doctor Visits Over Video Call
In a 2017 episode of the TV show The Good Wife, a doctor in Chicago is seen using Skype to advise a dental surgery in Syria. Such remote operations, part of an emerging sector known as telemedicine, are not only the stuff of televised fiction, but a real technology that is attracting increasing attention from business and government.Singapore, where advances in medical research and development already are rippling across borders, has introduced telemedicine legislation as part of its upcoming Healthcare Services Act 2020.These services already “have become increasingly popular and are poised to become a key feature of Singapore’s health care system,” said Marian Ho, a senior partner in the corporate division of Dentons Rodyk Singapore, a law firm.She said in a legal briefing that what makes the new law significant is that Singapore will focus on the types of medical services provided, rather than on the premises where they’re provided. For instance, if a patient needs to refill a painkiller prescription, it is less important that he is on the premises of a hospital, and more important that he is receiving consultation services from a doctor, even if it is over Skype.Singaporeans already use smartphone apps for simple check-ins with their doctors, using text messages and video calls. The apps range from Doctor Anywhere to MaNaDr. However, the new law will be the overarching framework that the island nation uses to regulate this business, including to authorize the Ministry of Health to issue licenses for new services.RisksAs businesses develop new ways to provide health services over the internet, the impacts are likely to spread beyond Singapore. The rich micro-state is already a world leader in biomedical science, manufacturing four out of the world’s top 10 drugs, according to a 2019 report from consulting firm TMF Group and Singapore’s Economic Development Board.However, the new technology also comes with risks, such as a doctor’s accuracy rate over a video call versus in person, whether personal data will be protected as it is handed over to apps, and insurance and liability questions in case of malpractice.”My understanding is that out of 10 startups, maybe one survives,” gastroenterologist Desmond Wai told Singapore’s Business Times. “When the rest close down, who will be keeping the patient records?”Economic impactThe Healthcare Services Act, approved by parliament this month, will regulate one of Singapore’s biggest sectors. National manufacturing decreased overall from December to January, yet biomedical production increased 10.3% annualized, including a 20% increase in medical technology production, according to research from Singapore’s OCBC Bank.That makes medtech a significant part of the Southeast Asian economy — one that will see even more telemedicine in the future.”Singapore’s strong digital capabilities and vibrant research ecosystem aided by close collaboration between the public, private and academic sectors make it the region’s leading center for biomedical sciences,” the TMF-EDB report said. “Over 30 of the world’s major biomedical science and pharmaceutical companies have established their regional clinical trial centers in Singapore.”
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US, Japan Evacuate Citizens from China as Coronavirus Outbreak Toll Rises to 132
The first evacuations of foreign nationals from China took place Wednesday as the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak soared to 132 people.A chartered jet flew 206 Japanese nationals from Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus, to Tokyo’s Haneda airport Wednesday. Four passengers were taken to a hospital after complaining of feeling ill. Medical personnel were on board the flight to screen the passengers before take-off and again when the plane landed. The Associated Press says a chartered jet evacuated an unknown number of Americans out of Wuhan on a flight to Anchorage, Alaska, where they will be re-screened for the virus. Australia, New Zealand, France, Russia and other nations also have announced plans to evacuate their citizens out of Wuhan this week. In addition to the increased death toll, Chinese health authorities say the total number of confirmed cases has soared above 5,900, far exceeding the number of people infected during the outbreak of the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) virus that killed 800 people worldwide between 2002-2003.Authorities have imposed a virtual quarantine on Wuhan, banning people from traveling in and out of the city. Several other cities in Hubei province, of which Wuhan is the capital, are facing heavy restrictions on movement. Wuhan is racing to complete two new field hospitals to treat the growing number of patients. The virus is believed to have emerged late last year at a Wuhan seafood market illegally selling wildlife.Passengers wearing masks to prevent a new coronavirus arrive at Incheon International Airport in Incheon, South Korea, Jan. 29, 2020.The United Arab Emirates Wednesday confirmed that a family that had recently arrived from Wuhan has been diagnosed with the new coronavirus, making them the first confirmed cases in the Middle East. The UAE has now joined a list of more than a dozen countries with confirmed cases of the virus, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam. The World Health Organization says most of those are people who had a travel history in Wuhan, with several others having contact with someone who traveled there.Several nations have imposed strict travel restrictions to China, while Mongolia has closed its vast border with its neighbor. Malaysia and Hong Kong have banned entry to visitors from Wuhan, and Hong Kong has suspended all high-speed rail and ferry services from the mainland beginning Friday.The virus hit China just as it was beginning celebrations to mark the Lunar New Year, resulting in the canceling or the scaling back of festivities for tens of millions of Chinese. Chinese officials took an extra step Sunday to extend the Lunar New Year holiday three extra days to cut down on group gatherings.There have been no reported deaths linked to the virus outside of China.Chinese President Xi Jingping vowed the country will conquer the fight against a “devil” coronavirus outbreak during his meeting Tuesday in Beijing with Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, according to state-run news outlets. Xi was quoted telling Ghebreyesus “we cannot let this devil hide.”
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Bangladesh to Improve Schools for Rohingya Refugee Children
Authorities in Bangladesh in partnership with the United Nations will expand educational programs for hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingya children living in refugee camps who are currently receiving only basic lessons, officials said Wednesday.
The children, who fled with their families from neighboring Myanmar to the camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district, now attend about 1,500 learning centers run by UNICEF that provide basic education, drawing and other fun activities. Under the new program starting in April, they will receive a formal education using a Myanmar curriculum from grade 6 to 9, the U.N. said in a statement.
Mahbub Alam Talukder, Bangladesh’s refugee, relief and repatriation commissioner, said the government agreed in principle with a proposal from the U.N. that the Rohingya children be provided with a Myanmar education.
“They will be taught in Myanmar’s language, they will follow Myanmar’s curriculum, there is no chance to study in formal Bangladeshi schools or to read books in the Bengali language,” he said by phone. “There’s no scope for them to stay here in Bangladesh for long, so through this approach they will be able to adapt to Myanmar’s society when they go back.”
The U.N. said initially 10,000 Rohingya children will be enrolled in a pilot program using the Myanmar curriculum, which will allow them to fit into the Buddhist-majority nation’s national educational system when they return to their homeland.
The decision was hailed by human rights groups and the United Nations.
‘We believe this is a positive step and a clear indication of the commitment by the government of Bangladesh to ensure access to learning for Rohingya children and adolescents, as well as to equip them with the right skills and capacities for their future and return to Myanmar when the conditions allow,” the U.N. said.
About 400,000 Rohingya children currently live in the refugee camps, and global rights groups have been demanding that the Bangladesh government allow them to have a formal education.
More than 700,000 Rohingya have fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh since August 2017, when Myanmar’s military launched what it called clearance operations in Rakhine state in response to an attack by an insurgent group. Security forces have been accused of committing mass rapes, killings and burning thousands of homes. In total, more than 1 million Rohingya refugees currently live in Bangladesh.
Myanmar’s government has long considered the Rohingya to be migrants from Bangladesh, even though their families have lived in Myanmar for generations. Nearly all have been denied citizenship since 1982, effectively rendering them stateless. They are also denied freedom of movement and other basic rights including education.
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US Calls on Beijing to Allow More Public Health Experts into China
The coronavirus that started in Wuhan, China, last month has spread to more than 18 countries, as governments work to stop it. China has a mixed record on transparency during public crises, but President Xi Jinping, in a meeting with the director of WHO, said his country is ready to work with the organization and international community. This as Washington calls on Beijing to allow more public health experts into China to help halt the spread of the virus. More from VOA’s Mariama Diallo.
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Australia to Help Some Citizens Leave China
Australia will help some citizens leave Hubei province in China, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, and quarantine them on Christmas Island, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Wednesday following a briefing by the Chinese government.“We have taken a decision this morning to prepare a plan for an operation to provide some assisted departures for isolated and vulnerable Australians in Wuhan and the Hubei province,” Morrison told reporters in Canberra.Morrison did not say how many of the 600 Australians registered in the Hubei region the government would be able to help, adding Australia would also be working to help New Zealand and Pacific island citizens in Hubei.“But I stress there is rather a limited window here and we are moving very, very swiftly to ensure we can put this plan together and put the operation together,” he said.The evacuations will be done on a last in-first out basis, Morrison added.Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean 1,500km (900 miles) from the mainland, is home to a controversial immigration detention center.Australia, which has five confirmed cases of coronavirus, Wednesday upgraded its travel advice to “reconsider all travel to China,” and warned its citizens not to travel to Hubei province and to avoid crowded areas.
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WHO Warns Visitors Evacuated from China Could Spread Coronavirus
The World Health Organization warns the evacuation of nationals from China to their home countries carries the risk of spreading the deadly coronavirus. The WHO reports 4,428 cases of the disease in China, including 106 deaths. Another 45 cases are confirmed in 13 countries. WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is wrapping up several days of talks with China’s President Xi Jinping and other high-level officials in Beijing. They have been discussing measures to protect the health of Chinese citizens and foreigners during the coronavirus outbreak.WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier says officials also have considered possible alternatives to the evacuation of foreigners from China to ensure no infections are imported back to their home countries. He calls that a real possibility as the incubation period of the coronavirus is between one and 14 days. That means people can transmit the virus during that period.”There are possibilities that also asymptomatic people, people showing no symptoms at all, could be infectious, are definitely interesting and concerning and have to be closer looked at,” he said. “That is all I can say so far… It is one of the big unknowns about this virus, which has to be solved.” Lindmeier tells VOA that the WHO does not yet have a position on the pros and cons of quarantining nationals upon their return. He says the WHO is waiting for clarification on the dangers of transmitting the disease during the incubation period before issuing advice.”Closely monitoring or even isolating people who are coming back might be a measure yet if we see symptoms,” he said. “Monitoring, closely monitoring or, as some countries refer to isolating them even for a certain amount of time is a measure possible. It could help the scenario… prevent the further spread of the virus.” The good news says Lindmeier is that there has not been any major spread of the infection outside of China. The WHO’s latest risk assessment of the coronavirus rates the regional and global risk level as high, and that of China as very high. While the virus is not rapidly spreading outside of China, the WHO urges countries to remain vigilant and be prepared.
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‘Like I’m Trapped’: Africans in China Lockdown See No Escape
The normally bustling supermarket in Wuhan was deserted, looking more foreign than ever. Khamis Hassan Bakari walked the aisles and saw just two other shoppers, and fear sank in.
“Everybody is scared. Scared of seeing anyone,” the 39-year-old Tanzanian doctor said, as authorities around the world scramble to contain the new virus that began in the industrial Chinese city of 11 million. “You don’t even want the supermarket to touch the products you buy.”
Bakari spoke with The Associated Press this week from his university housing in Wuhan as China’s astonishing lockdown of more than 50 million people continues. Transport links have been cut. Streets are largely empty. Lunar New Year festivities have fallen flat.
With thousands of foreigners stranded in Wuhan, and with richer countries like the United States and Japan preparing to evacuate some citizens, the PhD student has become a leader for hundreds of African peers with little chance of a similar escape.
“I’m feeling like I’m trapped here,” said one Ethiopian student at Wuhan University of Science and Technology, who gave only his first name, Abel. He, like other students, cited worries that angering Chinese or their country’s authorities could lead to retaliation, like loss of scholarships.
Beijing’s push to expand its influence on the youthful African continent means Africans now make up the second-largest population of foreign students in China, behind those from elsewhere in Asia, according to China’s education ministry. In 2018 African students numbered more than 80,000.
More than 4,000 are estimated to be in Wuhan alone.
None of them expected this. No one knows how long the lockdown will last, or all the ways the virus can spread. The southern African nation of Botswana has openly worried about its students’ supplies of water and food. Kenya’s government has had to defend itself against accusations it was not helping its students.
So Bakari and a small committee of fellow doctors from his East African country regularly send updates on social media about the outbreak to the more than 400 Tanzanian students in Wuhan, as well as hundreds of countrymen elsewhere in China.
“They don’t have a clue what is going on,” Bakari said. And, because the updates are largely in Swahili, the lingua franca of East Africa, many beyond his country can follow them, too.
“Together we are one family,” the association tweeted Tuesday, encouraging fellow Africans to follow precautionary measures.
The concerns are real. Even Africa’s most developed economy, South Africa, has signaled it will not evacuate citizens. On Sunday it told students in China to adhere to university instructions, warning that leaving without permission “can have far-reaching consequences.” Morocco’s King Mohammed VI, however, has ordered his government to repatriate 100 nationals of the north African nation from Wuhan.
Speaking by phone, Bakari sounded remarkably relaxed, even chuckling, as he described life under lockdown.
“For me as a doctor, I know how to cope with the stress,” the specialist in nuclear medicine said. “So we have initiated a way of going through this ordeal.”
To help keep people calm, the Tanzanian committee has recommended this: Exercise at least 20 minutes a day, and don’t spend too much time online. The committee looked into an online video showing an ill Congolese student at a Chinese hospital that quickly led to fears he had the virus.
“But that guy, he actually had kidney stones,” Bakari said. “We don’t have a foreign student here in Wuhan suffering from the virus, we haven’t heard of any case.”
A Ghanaian student said campus authorities at Wuhan University of Science and Technology had warned students against sharing videos, photos or messages about the virus on WeChat, the popular Chinese messaging app, threatening to cut their WiFi connections if they do.
Students were only trying to learn about the situation, said the student, adding that he wants to leave China the moment transport links are restored.
“This is not the time to be adventurous,” Ghana’s ambassador to China, Edward Boateng, has warned. “Let’s not panic in the process.” The African diplomatic corps in Beijing has been exploring options to help students, reaching out to the U.N. migration agency and others.
Another Tanzanian on the grassroots committee, Dr. Hilal Kizwi, described a situation “full of panic” especially for newer African students who don’t yet speak Chinese.
The new virus started out like a flu, he said. Then authorities told him and others doing their residency at a local hospital to be careful and cover their mouths. Patients started dying, and the number of patients soared. Supplies of masks and other items ran low. Finally, students were told to no longer report to work.
“It’s like I’m locked up in a cell,” Kizwi said shortly after his evening prayers. “The only thing I have is to talk to my family:” I’m safe, I’m doing fine.’” And he was, until he heard a local doctor had died of the virus. When he ventured outside after the death, he wore two face masks instead of one.
Students have reached out to Tanzania’s embassy about leaving Wuhan and were told authorities were working on it, Kizwi said. “But I don’t expect it.”
There is little to do. Police are constantly monitoring people who are out and about, his countryman Bakari said. Most supermarkets and pharmacies are closed. The one shop at his and Kizwi’s school, Tongji Medical College, quickly sells out every day.
Bakari said the Tanzanian committee has begun collecting phone numbers of international representatives for all universities in Wuhan so students can report on any shortages or which campuses are being especially helpful.
Some students are given thermometers and visited every day for a temperature check, Bakari said. At his school, they are given face masks daily.
“Our university gave us supplies the day before yesterday,” he said, including two boxes of chocolate, cookies, sugar, cooking oil and bottles of water. “Today there’s new information that if we want to go around the city, we have to ask the local community. They have provided us with a phone number and we call them to ask for transport or supplies, if possible.”
He complimented Chinese authorities on their response: “We really appreciate what they’re doing.”
But Bakari said he has no plans to go out again.
With his new stash from his supermarket visit of fruit, vegetables, legumes and milk powder – to help combat protein deficiency now that eating eggs, fish or meat is not an option since the virus jumped from animals to humans – he has settled into his role as an investigator, semi-therapist and amateur media outlet.
This new reality can be tiring. But “actually we don’t sleep these days,” he said.
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Thai Tourism Industry on Alert to Stop Spread of Coronavirus
Thailand has announced the 10th case of the coronavirus as government authorities say the outbreak is still under control. Meanwhile, Asian airlines such as Chinese Eastern Airline are still taking passengers home to China’s epicenter in Wuhan, despite a ban on outgoing flights from the epicenter. Steve Sandford speaks to Asian tourism workers and government officials about the evolving crisis in southern Thailand in the midst of celebrations of the Chinese New Year.
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Death Toll in China Coronavirus Outbreak Now Over 100
The United States, Japan and other countries are sending planes to evacuate their citizens out of the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the global coronavirus outbreak that has now killed 106 people.Japan is sending a chartered jet to Wuhan Tuesday to evacuate about 200 of the 650 Japanese nationals in the city. The United States is preparing to fly staff from its consulate in Wuhan, along with some American citizens, sometime this week. France and other nations have also announced plans to evacuate their citizens out of Wuhan. Chinese health authorities announced an additional 25 deaths on Tuesday, including the first fatality reported in the capital city of Beijing. The total number of confirmed cases in China now stands at well over 4,500. Authorities have imposed a virtual quarantine on Wuhan, banning people from traveling in and out of the city, while several other cities in Hubei province are facing heavy restrictions on movement. Authorities in Wuhan are racing to complete two new field hospitals to treat the growing number of patients. Cases have also been reported in Australia, Canada, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Macao, Malaysia, Nepal, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam. The World Health Organization says most of those are people who had a travel history in Wuhan, with several others having contact with someone who traveled there.There have been no reported deaths linked to the virus outside of China.Students line up to sanitize their hands to avoid the contact of coronavirus before their morning class at a hight school in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2020.U.S. President Donald Trump has offered China any help needed to combat the deadly coronavirus. In a Monday tweet, Trump said, “We are in very close communication with China concerning the virus,” adding, “We have offered China and President Xi (Jinping) any help that is necessary. Our experts are extraordinary!”Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited the city of Wuhan on Monday to meet with health officials and examine the response to the outbreak. The head of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, arrived Monday in Beijing, where he is expected to meet senior Chinese officials to discuss the outbreak. The agency said there is still a chance to get ahead of the virus if there is strong cooperation.Separately, in an effort to stop the virus from spreading, Mongolia closed its vast border with China, while Hong Kong and Malaysia announced they would ban entry to visitors from Wuhan.Global stock markets plunged Monday as investors feared the economic impact from the coronavirus.The virus hit China just as it was beginning celebrations to mark the Lunar New Year, resulting in the canceling or the scaling back of festivities for tens of millions of Chinese.Chinese officials took an extra step Sunday to extend the Lunar New Year holiday three extra days to cut down on group gatherings.Chinese Premier Li Keqiang wearing a mask talks with staff members as he visits the construction site where the new hospital is being built to treat patients of a new coronavirus, on the outskirts of Wuhan, China, January 27, 2020.The head of the respiratory disease office at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Nancy Messonnier, said Sunday there were five confirmed cases in the United States, and that all five people had direct contact with others in Wuhan.The patients are isolated in hospitals as doctors and health officials try to learn more about the virus. The CDC says it is investigating about 100 suspected cases in 26 states.Chinese National Health Commission Minister Ma Xiaowei said Sunday little is known about the virus. But doctors do know it has an incubation period that can range from one to 14 days. Ma said the virus is infectious during the incubation period, when no signs or symptoms of the disease are present.President Xi Jinping said China is facing a “grave situation” and experts and other resources would be concentrated at specific hospitals to treat severe cases.The virus is believed to have emerged late last year at a Wuhan seafood market illegally selling wildlife. Chinese authorities have imposed a temporary ban on the selling of wildlife.Tourist destinations are closed and school closings have been extended in an effort to stop the spread of the virus. Public transportation has been severely restricted. Many businesses have closed or asked employees to work from home.The WHO recommends several steps to help protect people against acute respiratory infections. They include avoiding close contact with those already infected, frequent hand-washing and avoiding unprotected contact with farm animals and wild animals.
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