China sees no Covid-19 deaths for first time

Mainland China yesterday reported no coronavirus deaths for the first time since the pandemic began, and a drop in new cases, a day before the central city of Wuhan, where the virus emerged late in December, is set to lift its lockdown.

Japan declared a month-long state of emergency over a spike in coronavirus cases, ramping up efforts to contain infections but stopping short of the strict lockdowns seen in other parts of the world.

In London, Prime Minister Boris Johnson was stable in intensive care yesterday after receiving oxygen support to help him battle Covid-19, while his foreign minister led the government's response to the accelerating outbreak.

The upheaval of Johnson's personal battle with the virus has shaken the government just as the UK enters what scientists say will be the deadliest phase of the pandemic, which has killed 5,373 people in Britain and 70,000 worldwide.

In the mainland China, the National Health Commission said yesterday it had 32 confirmed cases, down from 39 on Monday.

For the first time since the commission began publishing nationwide data in late January, Hubei's provincial capital of Wuhan saw no new deaths, joining the rest of mainland China, which has recorded none since March 31.

Wuhan, a city of 11 million that reported only two new infections in the past fortnight is due to allow residents to leave the city today, for the first time since it was locked down on January 23 to curb the spread of the virus.

With mainland China well past February's peak of infections, authorities have turned their attention to imported cases and asymptomatic patients, who show no symptoms but can still pass on the virus.

Total infections in mainland China stood at 81,740 on Monday with 3,331 deaths, the commission said. It reported 30 new asymptomatic cases, nine involving incoming travellers. Of the new asymptomatic cases, 18 were in Hubei.

By the end of Monday, 1,033 asymptomatic patients were under medical observation.

TIGHTER LAND BORDERS

Overseas arrivals made up all 32 of the new cases with symptoms, down from 38 a day earlier. Total imported infections stand at 983, the commission said.

China faces the "dual risks" of imported infections and domestic cluster outbreaks, a commission spokesman told a briefing yesterday.

The northeast province of Heilongjiang reported 20 new cases, all in Chinese citizens returning from neighbouring Russia. It had reported 20 new infections on Sunday, all also cases imported from Russia.

The Chinese consulate in the Russian city of Vladivostok near the border with China said yesterday it strongly reminded Chinese nationals not to return home through the border port of Suifenhe, which was closed to all arrivals from yesterday.

China has shut its borders to foreigners as the virus spread globally, though most imported cases have involved Chinese nationals returning from overseas.

The number of inbound travellers through airports is fewer than 3,000 a day, down from about 25,000 in late March, before China slashed the number of international flights.

It also started testing all international arrivals for the virus this month.

JAPAN DECLARES EMERGENCY

Announcing the emergency measures, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged the Japanese people to draw on the sense of togetherness seen after the country's devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown in 2011.

"We are again facing a great difficulty. However, if we work together once again with hope, we will rise to the challenge and move forward," he said.

"We will beat the virus, we will defeat the virus and we can overcome the ordeal of this state of emergency."

The move allows governors in seven affected regions including Tokyo to ask people to stay indoors and request that businesses close, but there are no enforcement mechanisms and no penalties for those who fail to comply.

In Europe, Spain's daily coronavirus death toll shot up to 743 yesterday after falling for four straight days, lifting the total to 13,798, the health ministry said.

However, it emphasised that the rise was due to weekend deaths being tallied and that the overall "downward trend" is continuing.

Doctors in Lombardy, the Italian region hardest hit by the coronavirus epidemic, have criticised local officials for their handling of the crisis and said the mistakes they made should be a lesson for everyone.

More than 16,500 people have died from the coronavirus in Italy, the biggest death count in the world, with Lombardy accounting for 55% of the tally. The region also accounts for 39% of the country's 132,547 confirmed cases.

The particularly large death toll in Lombardy, the wealthiest region in Italy, has raised eyebrows, with local officials suggesting that both the high urban density and considerable elderly population might have played a part.

Poor people are facing the brunt of global pandemic. In Malaysia, two men who usually earn about 100 ringgit ($23) a day fixing roofs have been jailed for three months after they were caught fishing for food in violation of an official stay-home order, sparking a public outcry.

In the Philippines, informal workers like rickshaw drivers were also among some 20,000 people arrested for violating curfews, said Manila-based urban poor campaign group Kadamay.

"They would rather catch the virus outside than dying from hunger at home," said Gloria Arellano, the charity's chairwoman.