Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Fresno Suspect Caught After Jumping Out of Second-Floor Window, 2 Others Arrested

18 hours ago

Tesla Has Applied to Arizona for Robotaxi Service Certification, State Transport Department Says

18 hours ago

Evacuations Ongoing as San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Scorches Tens of Thousands of Acres

18 hours ago

US Senate to Vote on Trump Aid, Broadcasting Cuts as Deadline Looms

18 hours ago

US Health Department Widens Immigrant Benefit Restrictions

19 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect in Stabbing That Left Man Critically Injured

19 hours ago

Madera County Authorities Seek Next of Kin for North Fork Man

19 hours ago

Froot Loops Maker WK Kellogg Agrees to $3.1 Billion Deal From Italy’s Ferrero

20 hours ago

China Signals Willingness to Sell Fighter Jets as Iran Eyes J-10 Aircraft

20 hours ago

Tulare County Man Arrested in Ivanhoe Shooting, Second Suspect Still at Large

20 hours ago
Fall in New Cases Raises Hope in Virus Outbreak in China
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
February 12, 2020

Share

BEIJING — The number of new cases of the coronavirus in China dropped for a second straight day, health officials said Wednesday in a possible glimmer of hope amid the outbreak that has infected over 45,000 people worldwide and killed more than 1,100.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, meanwhile, promised tax cuts and other aid to industry as the ruling Communist Party tries to limit the mounting damage to the economy. And in Japan, 39 new cases were confirmed on a cruise ship quarantined at Yokohama, bringing the total to 174 on the Diamond Princess.
A look at the latest developments in the crisis, which started in December in the city of Wuhan:

New Cases Decline

The number of new cases has trended down in the past week, raising hopes that the epidemic may be plateauing.
China’s National Health Commission said 2,015 new cases had been tallied on Tuesday, the second straight daily decline and down from nearly 3,900 a week ago. Commission spokesman Mi Feng said the situation is still grim but “we have seen some positive changes.”

“I’m going to be optimistic that is a sign that their aggressive actions have been effective, but I really do think it’s too soon to say that for sure, not having hands on the data ourselves.” Dr. Nancy Messonnier of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
“I’m going to be optimistic that is a sign that their aggressive actions have been effective, but I really do think it’s too soon to say that for sure, not having hands on the data ourselves,” said Dr. Nancy Messonnier of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
She said she is hopeful an advance team now in China from the World Health Organization will be able to examine the findings: “It would certainly be reassuring if we were now seeing at least a slowdown of this outbreak in China.”
All but one of the deaths recorded so far have been in China, as have more than 99% of all reported infections in the world. The country has put an unprecedented 60 million people in a near quarantine.
Photo of textile workers in China's Shandong Providence
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, workers produce face masks in the workshop of a textile company in Jimo District of Qingdao in eastern China’s Shandong Province on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020. Qingdao Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology has mobilized two large textile companies to produce face masks to help the fight against the novel coronavirus epidemic. (Liang Xiaopeng/Xinhua via AP)

Economic Fallout

China is struggling to restart its economy after the annual Lunar New Year holiday was extended to try to curb the spread of the virus. Traffic remained light in Beijing, and many people were still working at home.
Xi’s announcement of tax cuts came as companies face increasing losses because of the closing of factories, offices, shops and other businesses in the most sweeping anti-disease measures ever imposed.
A large cluster of cases in Tianjin, a port city southeast of Beijing, has been traced to a department store, Chinese state media said. One-third of Tianjin’s 104 confirmed cases are in Baodi district, where the store is situated, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
A salesperson in the store’s home appliance section was the first diagnosed on Jan. 31, Xinhua said, and a series of cases followed. None of those infected had visited Wuhan recently, and with the exception of one married couple, they worked in different sections of the store and did not know one another.
Elsewhere around the world, DBS bank in Singapore cleared its office, telling 300 employees to work from home after it learned that an employee had been infected. The city-state has 50 confirmed cases.
A Formula One race in Shanghai in April became the latest event canceled because of the virus. Nokia, Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom became the latest companies to pull out of a major wireless trade fair this month in Spain that usually draws 5,000 to 6,000 Chinese visitors.

Photo of a police officer operating a drone in China's Guangdong Providence
In this Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020, photo released by China’s Xinhua News Agency, a police officer operates a drone carrying a QR code placard near an expressway toll station in Shenzhen in southern China’s Guangdong Province. As a measure to help prevent and control novel coronavirus, an online register system for vehicles coming back to Shenzhen has been put into use since Feb. 8. To increase the efficiency, local police officers used drones to carry a QR code at the expressway exits for drivers to get registered with less contact with other people. (Lai Li/Xinhua via AP)

Citizen Journalist Disappears

A citizen journalist reporting on the epidemic in Wuhan has disappeared, activists said, becoming the second to vanish in recent days amid tightening controls on information in China.

Fang Bin, a seller of traditional Chinese clothing, stopped posting videos or responding to calls and messages on Sunday, activists Gao Fei and Hua Yong said, citing Fang’s friends. His phone was turned off Wednesday.
Fang Bin, a seller of traditional Chinese clothing, stopped posting videos or responding to calls and messages on Sunday, activists Gao Fei and Hua Yong said, citing Fang’s friends. His phone was turned off Wednesday.
Fang had posted videos of Wuhan’s overcrowded hospitals, including bodies in a van waiting to be taken to a crematorium. The last video he posted was of a piece of paper reading, “All citizens resist, hand power back to the people.”
Another citizen journalist, Chen Qiushi, vanished on Friday. Non-sanctioned reporting on the outbreak by actitivists is challenging the Communist Party’s tightly policed monopoly on information on an unprecedented scale.

Cruise Ship Woes

Passengers aboard a cruise ship that has been barred from docking by four governments may finally set foot on land again.
Holland America Line said the MS Westerdam will arrive Thursday morning in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. The ship has been turned away by the Philippines, Taiwan, Japan and Thailand, though its operator said no cases of the disease have been confirmed among the more than 2,200 passengers and crew.

Photo of a man walking through a disinfectant spray in order to return home
A man walks through a disinfectant spray in order to return home at a residential complex in northern China’s Tianjin Municipality Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020. China’s daily death toll from a new virus topped 100 for the first time and pushed the total past 1,000 dead, authorities said Tuesday after leader Xi Jinping visited a health center to rally public morale amid little sign the contagion is abating. (Chinatopix Via AP)

Two Russians Flee Quarantine

Two Russian women who were kept in isolation for possible inflection by the virus say they escaped from Russian hospitals because of uncooperative doctors, poor conditions and fear they would become infected.
Both women said their hospital ordeals began after returning from Hainan, a tropical island in southern China popular with Russian tourists. One said she jumped out of a hospital window to escape her quarantine, while the other broke out by disabling an electronic lock.
Many of those quarantined in Russian hospitals have complained about conditions in the isolation rooms and lack of cooperation from doctors who are uncertain about quarantine protocols.
Two cases of the virus have been reported in Russia.

No Evidence yet of Mother-To-Baby Spread

In a study published Wednesday in the journal Lancet, Chinese scientists reported there is no evidence so far to suggest the virus can be passed from mother to baby.
The study looked at nine pregnant women who all had the COVID-19 virus and delivered via cesarean section in a hospital in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak. After the babies were born, scientists tested samples from the newborns, including the amniotic fluid, cord blood and throat swabs. All tested negative for the virus.
But the scientists acknowledged the study was small.
To date, two cases of the virus have been confirmed in babies, including a newborn diagnosed just 36 hours after birth. It is unknown how the child was infected.
[activecampaign form=29]

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Some of Iran’s Enriched Uranium Survived Attacks, Israeli Official Says

DON'T MISS

Mahmoud Khalil Seeks $20 Million From Trump Administration Over Immigration Arrest

DON'T MISS

Madera County Authorities Seek Public’s Help Finding Next of Kin for Man Who Died in Hospital

DON'T MISS

Six Secret Service Agents Punished Over Trump Assassination Attempt

DON'T MISS

Fresno Teens Arrested in Violent Assaults That Injured Two Men, Including Elderly Victim

DON'T MISS

Wonderful Co. Has a New Face Promoting Pistachios: MVP Josh Allen

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Francisco Salvador Zuniga

DON'T MISS

Fire Damages Donations at Fresno Mission Thrift Store

DON'T MISS

Oil Falls Amid Bearish Trump Tariff Outlook

DON'T MISS

Higher Premiums and Lost Coverage: How Trump’s Budget Will Change Health Care in California

UP NEXT

Six Secret Service Agents Punished Over Trump Assassination Attempt

UP NEXT

Oil Falls Amid Bearish Trump Tariff Outlook

UP NEXT

Kyiv Received Political Signals for US Aid Resumption, Zelenskiy Says

UP NEXT

China Signals Willingness to Sell Fighter Jets as Iran Eyes J-10 Aircraft

UP NEXT

FEMA Is Holding Up $2.4 Billion in Grants to Fight Terrorism, States Say

UP NEXT

US Coffee, Orange Juice Prices Could Surge if Trump’s Brazil Tariffs Stick

UP NEXT

Trump’s Tariffs: What’s in Effect and What Could Be in Store?

UP NEXT

Israeli Strike Kills Children Near Gaza Clinic With No Immediate Truce in Sight

UP NEXT

US Lawmakers Renew Concerns About GenScript’s Ties to China

UP NEXT

US Military Delivering Some Weapons to Ukraine After Pause

Six Secret Service Agents Punished Over Trump Assassination Attempt

14 hours ago

Fresno Teens Arrested in Violent Assaults That Injured Two Men, Including Elderly Victim

14 hours ago

Wonderful Co. Has a New Face Promoting Pistachios: MVP Josh Allen

15 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Francisco Salvador Zuniga

16 hours ago

Fire Damages Donations at Fresno Mission Thrift Store

16 hours ago

Oil Falls Amid Bearish Trump Tariff Outlook

16 hours ago

Higher Premiums and Lost Coverage: How Trump’s Budget Will Change Health Care in California

17 hours ago

Fresno County Fire Destroys Structures, Contained at 20 Acres

17 hours ago

State Department Says Reorganization Plan Moving to Implementation

17 hours ago

Fresno Suspect Caught After Jumping Out of Second-Floor Window, 2 Others Arrested

18 hours ago

Some of Iran’s Enriched Uranium Survived Attacks, Israeli Official Says

WASHINGTON — Israel has concluded that some of Iran’s underground stockpile of near-bomb-grade enriched uranium survived American and Israel...

13 hours ago

13 hours ago

Some of Iran’s Enriched Uranium Survived Attacks, Israeli Official Says

Mahmoud Khalil speaks in an interview with Reuters in New York City, U.S., July 2, 2025. (Reuters File)
14 hours ago

Mahmoud Khalil Seeks $20 Million From Trump Administration Over Immigration Arrest

The Madera County Sheriff’s Office is seeking help locating the next of kin of Jeffrey Keith Cable, who died June 24, 2025, and whose family remains unidentified. (Madera County SO)
14 hours ago

Madera County Authorities Seek Public’s Help Finding Next of Kin for Man Who Died in Hospital

Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump with his bloodied face is assisted by the Secret Service as multiple shots rang out during a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, U.S., July 13, 2024. (AP File)
14 hours ago

Six Secret Service Agents Punished Over Trump Assassination Attempt

14 hours ago

Fresno Teens Arrested in Violent Assaults That Injured Two Men, Including Elderly Victim

15 hours ago

Wonderful Co. Has a New Face Promoting Pistachios: MVP Josh Allen

Francisco Salvador Zuniga is Valley Crime Stoppers' Most Wanted Person of the Day for July 10, 2025. (Valley Crimes Stoppers)
16 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Francisco Salvador Zuniga

A fire at the Fresno Mission Thrift Store on Thursday, July 10, 2025, damaged up to 30 pallets of donations, forced a road closure, and led to a temporary halt in operations, officials said. (Google Maps Screenshot)
16 hours ago

Fire Damages Donations at Fresno Mission Thrift Store

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend