18-02-2020

MISCELLANEOUS
tuesdAY, FebruArY 18, 2020
11
A press conference was held in the capital city yesterday in protest of importing orginal and plastic
flower from abroad. Photo : tbt
Japan confirms 99
more cases of new
virus on cruise ship
Japanese officials have
confirmed 99 more people
infected by the new virus
aboard the quarantined
cruise ship Diamond
Princess, bringing the total
to 454, the Health Ministry
said Monday, reports UNB.
The ministry has been
carrying out tests on
passengers and crew on the
ship, docked in Yokohama, a
port city near Tokyo.
The 14-day quarantine for
those on the ship was due to
end Wednesday.
Outside China, the ship has
had the largest number of cases
of the COVID-19 illness caused
by the virus that emerged in
China late last year.
The ministry said it now
has tested 1,723 people on
the Diamond Princess. The
ship had about 3,700
passengers and crew.
Two chartered planes flew
340 Americans who were
aboard the vessel out of Japan
late Sunday. About 380
Americans had been on the
ship. The State Department
announced later that 14 of the
evacuees were confirmed to
have the virus in tests given
before they boarded the planes.
They were taken to the
U.S. because they did not
have symptoms and were
being isolated from other
passengers on the planes, it
said.
GD-317/20 (3 x 2)
China may postpone annual
congress because of virus
China said Monday it may
postpone its annual congress
in March, its biggest political
meeting of the year, as the
military dispatched hundreds
more medical workers and
extra supplies to the city hit
hardest by a 2-month-old
virus outbreak, reports UNB.
Japanese officials,
meanwhile, confirmed 99
more people were infected by
the new virus aboard the
quarantined cruise ship
Diamond Princess, bringing
the total to 454.
The standing committee for
the National People's
Congress said it believes it is
necessary to postpone the
gathering to give top priority
to people's lives, safety and
health, the official Xinhua
News Agency reported.
It noted that one-third of
the 3,000 delegates are
provincial and municipallevel
cadres with important
leadership roles working on
the front line of the battle
against the epidemic.
The standing committee
said it would meet on Feb. 24
to further deliberate on a
postponement. The meeting is
due to start on March 5.
Health authorities reported
2,048 new cases of the virus
and 105 more deaths. Another
10,844 people have recovered
from COVID-19, a disease
caused by the new
coronavirus, and have been
discharged from hospitals,
according to Monday's
figures. The death toll is 1,770.
With fears of the virus
spreading further, Chinese
and residents of nearby
countries and territories have
begun hoarding supplies of
everything from masks and
other personal protective gear
to instant noodles, cooking oil
and toilet paper.
In Hong Kong, local media
reported that police had
arrested two men and were
seeking three others who
allegedly stole a load of 60
packs of toilet paper at
knifepoint early early Monday
morning. Supplies of the
commodity have become
extremely scarce, with often
only low-quality imports still
available. Police were
expected to discuss the matter
later.
Another 1,200 doctors and
nurses from China's military
began arriving in Wuhan on
Monday, the latest contingent
sent to help shore up the city's
overwhelmed health care
system with more than
32,000 additional personnel.
The city has rapidly built two
prefabricated hospitals and
converted gymnasiums and
other spaces into wards for
those showing milder
symptoms, but residents still
say they are being wait-listed
for beds and even ambulance
rides.
Wuhan has accounted for
the vast majority of mainland
China's 70,548 cases. Some
60 million people in that area
and other parts of China are
under lockdown in a bid to
prevent the virus from
spreading further.
At a daily news briefing,
National Health Commission
official Guo Yanhong said
attempts to contain the virus
appeared to be bearing fruit,
with the number of new cases
reported daily outside of
Hubei province, of which
Wuhan is the capital, falling
for 13 days straight, and
growing numbers of
recovered people.
"These are all extremely
good signs that show our
prevention work is very
effective," Guo said, citing
early detection and treatment
alongside quarantines and
travel restrictions as largely
responsible for the result.
Japan's Health Ministry has
been carrying out tests on
passengers and crew on the
Diamond Princess, which is
docked in Yokohama, a port
city near Tokyo. The 14-day
quarantine for those on the
ship was due to end
Wednesday.
Outside China, the ship has
the largest number of cases of
COVID-19.
The Health Ministry said it
has now tested 1,723 people
on the ship, which had about
3,700 passengers and crew
aboard.
Two chartered planes flew
340 Americans who were
aboard the Diamond Princess
out of Japan late Sunday.
About 380 Americans had
been on the ship.
The State Department
announced later that 14 of the
evacuees were confirmed to
have the virus in tests given
before they boarded their
planes. They were taken to the
U.S. because they did not have
symptoms, and were being
isolated from other
passengers, it said.
Australia, Canada, Hong
Kong and Italy were planning
similar flights for their
citizens.
New cases in other
countries are raising more
concern about containment of
the virus. Though only a few
hundred cases have been
confirmed outside mainland
China, some recent cases
lacked obvious connections to
China.
Iqvmv- R: Z: 109/2020
GD-315/20 (5 x 4)
GD-318/20 (20 x 4)