February 3 coronavirus news

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11:25 p.m. ET, February 2, 2020

Stocks in Shanghai are getting obliterated today

The Shanghai stock market opened today for the first time after the Lunar New Year holiday, giving investors their first chance to react to the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus on China's largest domestic stock exchange.

The results aren't pretty. As of 12:15 p.m. in China, the Shanghai composite was down more than 8% on Monday and more than 10% year-to-date.

See how the composite is trading here

11:22 p.m. ET, February 2, 2020

"We despise such a move": China slams German magazine cover

Chinese diplomats have condemned another European media outlet for its handling of the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak.

In a statement over the weekend, the Chinese Embassy in Germany criticized Der Spiegel over its Saturday front page "Coronavirus: Made in China." The headline was accompanied by a photo of a man in a red poncho with a gas mask on.

"Releasing such a picture does nothing to the outbreak, but only causes panic, mutual blaming and even (racial) discrimination. We despise such a move," the embassy said, according to state media.

"The embassy said global challenges need to be addressed globally, and that German media shares the same responsibility as everyone."

This row comes after Chinese officials in Denmark slammed newspaper Jyllands-Posten for a cartoon riffing on China's national flag, with coronavirus modules in place of stars.

In a statement published online, an embassy spokesperson said the drawing was "an insult to China and hurts the feelings of the Chinese people."

"Without any sympathy and empathy, it has crossed the bottom line of civilized society and the ethical boundary of free speech and offends human conscience. We express our strong indignation and demand that Jyllands-Posten and (cartoonist) Niels Bo Bojesen reproach themselves for their mistake and publicly apologize to the Chinese people," the statement added.

Jyllands-Posten editor Jacob Nybroe said in an article following the complaint: "We can't apologize for something we don't think is wrong. We have no intention of demeaning or mocking, nor do we think the drawing does ... As far as I can see, there are two different forms of cultural understanding here."

11:12 p.m. ET, February 2, 2020

President Trump's National Security Adviser says "there's no reason for Americans to panic" over the coronavirus

Robert O'Brien is seen in this file photograph from the 7th ASEAN-US Summit in Bangkok on November 4, 2019.
Robert O'Brien is seen in this file photograph from the 7th ASEAN-US Summit in Bangkok on November 4, 2019. Photo by LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP via Getty Images

US President Donald Trump's national security adviser, Robert O'Brien, on Sunday said that at this time "there's no reason for Americans to panic" about the Wuhan coronavirus.

"Right now, there's no reason for Americans to panic. This is something that is a low risk, we think, in the US," he said.

O'Brien also said the virus is a "top priority" for Trump and the administration is "taking steps to keep Americans safe."

The White House on Thursday announced a coronavirus task force that "will lead the Administration's efforts to monitor, contain, and mitigate the spread of the virus." It is lead by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and includes members from the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Homeland Security and others.

Read more here

11:01 p.m. ET, February 2, 2020

Xi Jinping is directing China's response to the virus. But he's been AWOL from news reports

Since he intervened in the Wuhan coronavirus crisis on January 22, ordering "all-out efforts" to contain its spread, Chinese President Xi Jinping has been personally directing the country's response.

As state media has repeatedly emphasized in recent days, all decision making has been centralized under the Communist Party's Standing Committee and the national State Council, both of which Xi heads. The military is also playing a major role in relief and containment efforts, under Xi's direction.

Xi's face may be missing from news reports, but state media is making sure everyone knows who is in charge.
Xi's face may be missing from news reports, but state media is making sure everyone knows who is in charge.

But while his hand is purportedly being felt in all aspects of the response, Xi's face has been weirdly missing. He has not appeared on state broadcaster CCTV's main newscast or on the front page of the People's Daily, the official mouthpiece of the Communist Party, in several days.

This is strange not only because a country's leader is normally front and center during a crisis, but because Xi is rarely missing from front pages and TV broadcasts during normal periods. Under Xi's rule, the People's Daily has become notorious for running multiple headlines about Xi and plastering not only the front page but several after it with nearly identical pictures of him meeting various officials.

The December 4, 2015 front page of the People's Daily had 11 headlines mentioning Xi Jinping (习近平).
The December 4, 2015 front page of the People's Daily had 11 headlines mentioning Xi Jinping (习近平).

So what's behind Xi's recent absence? The internal workings of the Chinese Communist Party can be a black box at the best of times, but speculation has been rife that Xi is retreating from the spotlight in order to set up other officials to take the inevitable blame for a crisis that -- even if the government maintains control over it -- is already causing major economic and societal misery.

Xi is the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong, but he's also uniquely vulnerable due to the way he has centralized control -- absolute power brings with it absolute responsibility.

Officials in Wuhan are the most obvious fall guys for the crisis, and several have already offered to resign. But as the virus continues to spread across China and the world, they might not be a big enough scalp to allay public anger.

One figure who might be feeling nervous at the moment is Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. Most analysts agree that Li has been majorly sidelined by Xi in recent years, stripped of many responsibilities and pushed into more of a ceremonial role. Yet he has suddenly been pushed to the fore of this crisis, helming a national response group and visiting Wuhan itself.

Chinese social media has been full of speculation over whether Li has been placed under quarantine since returning from the stricken city. That may turn out to be the least of his worries.

10:51 p.m. ET, February 2, 2020

Japan plans fourth evacuation flight from Wuhan

The second charter flight arranged to evacuate Japanese citizens from Wuhan lands at Haneda airport in Tokyo on January 30.
The second charter flight arranged to evacuate Japanese citizens from Wuhan lands at Haneda airport in Tokyo on January 30. STR/AFP/Getty Images

The Japanese government plans to send a fourth evacuation flight to Wuhan to collect about 140 people still in the city and nearby areas, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement Sunday.  

Since the first evacuation flight arrived in Tokyo’s Haneda airport Wednesday, 565 Japanese citizens have returned to the country. The Japanese Embassy in China notified the remaining Japanese citizens of the evacuation plan by email Saturday, adding that Tokyo is still negotiating with Beijing to allow spouses with Chinese citizenship to join the fourth evacuation flight.

“We are putting in maximum efforts to make these speedy evacuations possible,” the Japanese Embassy said. 

In Japan, coronavirus has infected a total of 20 people, with three returnees testing positive over the weekend. Among the confirmed cases is a man aged in his 30s who was diagnosed as a disease carrier without symptoms.

10:40 p.m. ET, February 2, 2020

More people have died in mainland China from Wuhan coronavirus than from SARS

The Wuhan coronavirus has killed more people inside mainland China than the coronavirus responsible for the SARS outbreak in 2003.

China's National Health Commission (NHC) reported the Wuhan outbreak was responsible for 361 deaths by the end of day Sunday. SARS killed 349 people in mainland China, according to the NHC.

SARS was responsible for the deaths of 774 people worldwide. To date, only one person has been killed outside mainland China from the Wuhan coronavirus.

10:33 p.m. ET, February 2, 2020

11 cases have now been confirmed in the US

A husband and wife, both aged 57, have been diagnosed with Wuhan coronavirus in California's San Benito County, according to a statement from local officials.

This raises the number of confirmed cases in California to six, and 11 in the United States.

The husband recently traveled from the central Chinese city of Wuhan, epicenter of the outbreak. However the wife did not -- a case of person-to-person transmission.

The San Benito County Public Health Services has provided guidance to the couple for home isolation and is closely monitoring their medical condition, according to the statement. Neither patient is in hospital.

These are the states where the coronavirus has been confirmed:

Arizona: 1 case

California: 6 cases

Illinois: 2 cases

Massachusetts: 1 case

Washington: 1 case

10:25 p.m. ET, February 2, 2020

Hong Kong's medical workers want the government to completely close the border to mainland China. So they're going on strike

Members of various Hong Kong unions hold slogans as they pose for pictures for the media during a news conference on the latest update of the strike actions in Hong Kong on Sunday.
Members of various Hong Kong unions hold slogans as they pose for pictures for the media during a news conference on the latest update of the strike actions in Hong Kong on Sunday. Photo by PHILIP FONG/AFP via Getty Images

Thousands of Hong Kong public medical staff voted to go on a five-day strike today if the city's government does not fully close the border with mainland China.

Hong Kong is a semiautonomous city and operates its own immigration system separate from Beijing. The city's leader, Carrie Lam, announced last week the city would temporarily close some of its border crossings to the mainland.

But some members of the medical community want the government to do more, and thousands of medical staff are calling on the HKSAR government to ban all visitors from mainland China to prevent the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus to Hong Kong.

The Hospital Authority Employees Alliance, which has 13,000 members, voted in favor of a strike Saturday. The union said however that the majority of frontline staff will not take part in the strike in order to keep serving the public, but support and backroom staff will walk out.

Hong Kong's government said in a statement Sunday it will meet with members of the union who voted to strike.

10:14 p.m. ET, February 2, 2020

Australia and New Zealand's travel ban could be bad for their universities

Australia and New Zealand have both placed temporary travel bans on visitors coming from China in response to the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus.

The measures are meant to stop the spread of the virus, but they could impact universities in both countries as Chinese students return from summer vacation.

International education was worth $21.7 billion (32.4 billion Australian dollars) to the Australian economy in 2017-2018 and $3.3 billion (5.1 billion New Zealand dollars) to New Zealand's.

The biggest group of international students in both countries are Chinese nationals.

Wuhan resident Helen Chen is one of them. She's currently stuck inside her parent's apartment in the city, and said she's been keeping busy in part by doing her work assignments.