February 7 coronavirus news

About half of all Uniqlo stores in China will temporarily close due to the coronavirus outbreak, according to Fast Retailing, the Japanese company that owns Uniqlo.

A company spokesperson says they have closed around 370 out of 750 stores in mainland China.

That includes all 17 of its outlets in Hubei province, which were the first to close, as of January 23.

So far, the company has not closed any stores outside of mainland China. It says there is no planned reopening date for its China stores yet, as it continues to monitor the situation.

The death toll and number of people infected by the Wuhan coronavirus continues to climb, despite severe quarantine and population control methods in China.

In a call with US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping said virus control is at "critical stage."

Here’s where we’re at:

Death toll:

Confirmed cases: The vast majority of these cases and deaths are in China and they're concentrated in Hubei province, where the outbreak began.The virus has spread to more than countries and territories outside of mainland China.

Spike in cases: Several Asian countries have seen worrying spikes in cases in recent days, sparking fears of self-sustaining outbreak clusters. Japan has 86 cases, including the cases on a cruise ship docked near Tokyo, the highest number in a country outside China; Singapore has 30; Thailand has 25; and South Korea and Hong Kong have 24 each.

For decades, China's government has based its legitimacy on its ability to grow the economy, keeping its people safe and successful.

The Wuhan conronavirus threatens this social contract in two ways: the utter failure to contain the outbreak has put hundreds of millions at risk, while the already-struggling economy suffers another blow.

Censors crack down: The public has been angry for weeks that Wuhan officials downplayed the virus and silenced whistleblowers like Li.

But the central authorities were largely able to keep this anger focused on local officials by allowing a rare amount of transparency and giving Chinese media a relatively free hand.

In the past week or so, however, the central authorities have tightened their grip on the flow of information, with state media emphasizing positive stories of resilience and heroism.

What Li's death means for China: Li might have fit into this new narrative of heroism. But his death has instead exposed the cold reality at the heart of the Chinese social contract: when it comes down to it, individuals are absolutely expendable if the stability of the Party is at stake.

The need to maintain stability is what will dominate the response to Li's death. An outpouring of grief is fine, even some anger is acceptable, provided it can be focused on individuals and not the system at large, and some scalps may be offered to help this along.

What the authorities cannot allow is for the Party or the central government to become a target -- but whether they will be successful in doing so remains to be seen.

A relatable figure: Li resonated with the public because he wasn't some Party cadre or police officer -- he was just an ordinary person who loved ice cream and TV. And he's infinitely more sympathetic than the steely-eyed men and women trying to control the narrative around his death.

Read the full analysis here.

Hong Kong Airlines said today that it is taking “vigorous measures” to ensure its survival, including slashing hundreds of jobs.

The novel coronavirus outbreak poses a “serious threat” to its business, the beleaguered airline said in a statement.

The statement said the airline will “reduce our operation from 82 to 30 sectors daily between 11 February and March,” suspending flights to mainland China, South Korea, Japan and other Asian destinations.

Jobs slashed, staff on leave: The carrier said it has asked all Hong Kong-based ground staff to take a minimum of two weeks of unpaid leave per month, or to work three days a week from mid-February until the end of June.

Hong Kong Airlines has been suffering from a cash crunch and slumping demand due to the months-long Hong Kong protests. It had already slashed costs, reduced or suspended flights to North America and Asia over the last year, and was in the process of making 400 staff redundant when the coronavirus outbreak hit.

The carrier also said it will further reduce its workforce throughout the year by natural attrition and facilitate transfers to other airlines for pilots.

China's ambassador to the United States said he was "really saddened" by the death of whistleblower doctor Li Wenliang, who has died from the coronavirus.

"He was a very devoted doctor," tweeted ambassador Cui Tiankai today. "We are so grateful to him for what he has done in our joint efforts fighting against (the coronavirus)."

Cui is one of the few Chinese officials to comment on Li's death beyond brief statements of condolences -- but his emphasis on "joint efforts" echo other officials and state media, who in recent days have praised the country's response and pushed positive stories of resilience.

The statements typically leave out the fact that Li had been targeted by police in December after trying to warn his friends about the virus, and was forced to sign a statement about his "misdemeanor."

Art Basel, Asia's largest annual art fair, has canceled its upcoming Hong Kong show due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The fair, which attracted almost 90,000 visitors from over 70 countries last year, was due to take place in the city in mid-March.

He added that the organization had explored other possibilities, but could not go forward with the virus' "sudden outbreak and rapid spread."

A spokesperson said Art Basel would be refunding galleries 75% of the stand fee.

Why it's a big deal: The event is one of the main stops on the global arts calendar and has fast-grown in commercial importance, particularly in its ability to draw top collectors from mainland China and the region.

Success at the fair has in recent years spurred international galleries to open outposts in the Asian metropolis.

But the coronavirus, combined with the 2019 political unrest, sparked worry. A group of 24 participating galleries wrote to organizers in January, requesting a number of financial concessions.

Read more about Art Basel and its cancellation here.

Public anger in China is rising over hospitals struggling to find enough supplies, despite the Red Cross -- and other organizations -- having received millions of dollars in donations.

The Red Cross is the country's biggest charity -- but, unlike in most other countries, the Red Cross in China is government-controlled and receives most of its funding from the state.

Supply shortage: On February 1, a government official said that the public had donated more than $86 million, and medical supplies to the Wuhan Red Cross, according to the state-run China Daily newspaper.

Despite the donations, doctors and hospital workers describe a desperate situation.

One doctor in Huanggang, Hubei province, told CNN that his hospital has no usable hazmat suits, face masks or shoe covers. And in a video shared by the state-run tabloid Global Times last weekend, a doctor says he waited for over an hour at a Red Cross distribution center, just to get a box of 500 masks.

Official response: In response to anger and accusations, the Hubei Red Cross apologized for its failures and punished three officials for "mishandling donations for the coronavirus."

The Wuhan government dismissed one government official, and warned another two over taking masks from a Red Cross warehouse.

But this isn't the first time China's Red Cross has come under fire during a national crisis, and this time it could be damning -- not only for the organization but also for the government.

Read the full story here.

Shelves are empty in some Hong Kong supermarkets. Toilet rolls, tissue paper, bleach, and even soap have sold out. Videos on social media show crowds packed inside supermarkets, rushing to snatch remaining supplies.

The panic buying began earlier this week and has continued through today, sparked by rumors online that mainland China would stop exporting these goods -- specifically toilet paper -- to Hong Kong, as more borders between the two places close.

The Hong Kong government has denied the rumors and appealed for calm. Emergency measures, including closing several borders, "will not affect the freight services between the Mainland and Hong Kong," the government said in a statement.

But the warnings don't seem to have had much effect -- one supermarket's online shopping site is so swamped that users have to join an online queue, with a wait stretching for more than an hour.

As the coronavirus outbreak continues spreading across Asia and the rest of the world, grief and anger are cutting through the noise, after the death of Chinese whistleblower doctor Li Wenliang.

Meanwhile, thousands remain quarantined offshore, and the outbreak is spiking in some countries.

Here's what has happened today: