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A new outbreak of coronavirus in China’s Henan province is said to have raised fears that there could be a devastating second wave of the deadly virus.
A new group of cases allegedly erupted among medical staff at Jia County People’s Hospital in the region.
A staff member is said to have just returned from 14 days in quarantine after returning from Wuhan in neighboring Hubei province, where the virus first emerged late last year.
The news of the suspected new outbreak, reported by the Daily Express, came when China reported 16 new confirmed coronavirus cases on April 18, the lowest since March 17 and fewer than on the 27th a day earlier.
A new outbreak of coronavirus in China’s Henan province is said to have raised fears that there could be a devastating second wave of the deadly virus. Pictured: Security guards close the gate of the Forbidden City in Beijing on Sunday
It means that the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases on the continent reached 82,735 as of April 18, while the total number of deaths from the virus was 4,632.
The new claimed COVID-19 outbreak has led authorities to impose travel restrictions.
Anyone entering or leaving residential complexes should also wear a face mask and take their temperature, according to an official document leaked to Radio Free Asia.
The Express also reported that businesses in Jia County are also closed, except for supermarkets and farmers markets.
A new group of cases was unleashed among the medical staff of the Jia County People’s Hospital in the region. Pictured: Medical staff at a hospital in Wuhan disinfects surfaces
The newspaper quoted residents who opened up on Weibo, the country’s approved social media service, about what life is like.
One resident said: ‘Everything is closed. Just getting started.
‘All homes are closed. No one can go to the city, or if you do, you will not be able to leave again.
Another resident said: ‘Many people believe that the epidemic has been controlled due to government propaganda, which is false.
The news comes when authorities remain on guard against a major resurgence of the virus, which could be socially and economically destabilizing.
In particular, the northeast province of Heilongjiang has seen an increase in infected travelers arriving from Russia in recent weeks, and is now struggling to contain an outbreak in local cases.
Data from the China National Health Commission showed that nine of the new cases reported on Saturday were imported infections, the lowest since March 13 and fewer than 17 the day before.
The news of the suspected new outbreak, reported by the Daily Express, came when China reported 16 new confirmed coronavirus cases on April 18, the lowest since March 17 and fewer than on the 27th a day earlier.
The new claimed COVID-19 outbreak has led authorities to impose travel restrictions. Pictured: A volunteer checks the body temperature of a worker in Wuhan on Sunday.
The remaining seven confirmed cases were transmitted locally, compared to 10 the previous day.
Heilongjiang, in northeast China, has reported 39 new local cases in the past 10 days, or more than 50 percent of the 73 new local cases reported on the mainland during the same period.
Most of the cases were related to an imported case in the provincial capital, Harbin.
On Friday, a total of 18 officials in Harbin, including a deputy mayor, were punished.
To quickly contain the outbreak, the Heilongjiang government is warning against family reunions, cross-infections in hospitals and slow reports on epidemic investigations, according to a statement on the provincial government website.
“The biggest political task today is to stop the rebound and spread of the epidemic,” said Wang Yongkang, deputy governor of Heilongjiang.
Elsewhere in mainland China, all areas in central Hubei province, including Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak in China, are now considered low risk.
However, a central district of Beijing is seen as high risk, according to a social media post by the State Council or Cabinet.
Anyone entering or leaving residential complexes should also wear a face mask and take their temperature, according to an official document leaked to Radio Free Asia.
On April 15, the Chinese capital reported three local cases, all related to an imported infection.
Areas considered medium risk in China include two districts in Harbin, Suifenhe City in Heilongjiang, two districts in the southern city of Guangzhou, and Jiaozhou City in eastern Shandong Province.
In mainland China, newly discovered asymptomatic cases stood at 44, up from 54 the previous day. Three of the new cases were imported, according to the health commission.
China does not include asymptomatic cases, or patients who test positive but do not show clinical symptoms such as cough or fever, in its confirmed case count.
The new figures came when a laboratory in Wuhan rejected “impossible” American theories that it is the birthplace of the pandemic, as President Donald Trump warned Beijing of the consequences if he was “consciously responsible.”
The news comes when authorities remain on guard against a major resurgence of the virus, which could be socially and economically destabilizing.
‘Was it a mistake that got out of control or was done deliberately?’ Trump said at a White House briefing on Saturday, questioning the origins of the disease, which first emerged in Wuhan City in December.
“If they were knowingly responsible, yes, then there should be consequences,” he said when asked if China should face the repercussions of the pandemic.
The highly contagious disease was probably first transmitted to humans in a market where exotic animals were slaughtered, according to Chinese scientists.
But conspiracy theories that the virus came from a top-notch virology lab have been mainstreamed in recent days by US government officials. USA
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said an investigation was underway into how the virus “went out into the world.”
“There is no way this virus is coming from us,” Yuan Zhiming, head of the Wuhan Institute of Virology P4 Laboratory, which is equipped to handle dangerous viruses, said in an interview with state media.
“I know it is impossible,” he added.
