The bottom line on Sunday, February 9, 2020: the new coronavirus had killed more people in mainland China than SARS did anywhere in the world. Official figures put the toll at 803, according to AFP reporting carried by SBS, after 81 further deaths in Hubei, where the outbreak began. SARS killed 774 worldwide in 2002 and 2003.
By the numbers, the spread was just as stark. China counted almost 37,200 infections, and the virus had reached other countries. Outside the mainland there had been only two deaths, a Chinese man in the Philippines and a 39-year-old man in Hong Kong. Around 2,650 patients had recovered and left hospital, 600 of them on Saturday alone.
The WHO sees a pause, not a peak
The figure investors and officials watched was the daily count of new cases, and the World Health Organization said it was “stabilising” over the previous four days in Hubei. It warned that it was “very early to make any predictions” and that numbers could still “shoot up”. Michael Ryan, head of the WHO’s Health Emergencies Program, said the steadier period “may reflect the impact of the control measures that have been put in place”.
The disease belongs to the same family as SARS, though its mortality rate is lower. Beijing was judged differently this time. China was condemned abroad for hiding cases during SARS, while the WHO praised the measures it took now.
Anger at home, money abroad
Public mood was another matter. Anger flared on social media after the death of Li Wenliang, a 34-year-old Wuhan ophthalmologist whom police had silenced when he raised the alarm in December. He caught the virus while treating a patient and died early Friday. The government sent its anti-graft body to investigate.
Cities were shutting down. Shanghai ordered residents to wear masks in public, and many regions far from Hubei allowed one person per household to go out every two days for supplies. A 60-year-old American died in Wuhan on Thursday, the US embassy said, the first foreign victim confirmed in China.
The economic fallout reached oil markets. A committee appointed by OPEC recommended output cuts, citing damage to transport, tourism and industry, especially in China, the world’s leading oil importer and consumer. In Hong Kong, a two-week quarantine for arrivals from the mainland began on Saturday, enforced with fines and jail terms.
Sources
- China virus deaths rise past 800, overtaking SARS toll – World – The Jakarta Post
- Coronavirus death toll rises past 800, surpassing SARS epidemic | SBS News
