Coronavirus: 492 dead, 200,000 under observation. Odyssey ship in Japan, ten infected on board

The number of coronavirus cases ascertained in China reached 24,324, in a day marked by a leap of infections, which in the last 24 hours touched 3,887 people, of which 3,156 in the province where Wuhan is the capital. 65 new deaths, all in the outbreak province: 492 the total number of victims since the beginning of the epidemic. In the worst-affected city, hospitals and healthcare workers work tirelessly and under enormous pressure. And, to cope with the growing emergency and hospitalize the sick, the authorities are converting eleven buildings between gyms, sports halls and conference centers to medical centers, adding 10,000 beds. Meanwhile, in Japan at least ten passengers on the quarantined cruise ship tested positive. On board the ship for a day off Yohohama port there were 3,711 people, out of 200 tests with symptoms.

Chinese TV: two effective medicines found
A team of Chinese researchers led by Zhejiang University scientist Li Lanjuan has identified two medicines effective against the new coronavirus. The Chinese broadcaster CGTN reports this, according to which preliminary tests have shown that Abidol and Darunavir can actually inhibit the virus in experiments with in vitro cells. According to the epidemiologist, Kelizhi, an anti-HIV medicine currently used against coronavirus, is not very effective and has side effects. Hence the recommendation to include the two new medicines in the National Health Commission program for the treatment of new virus pneumonia.

The odyssey of the ship in Japan
Ten, therefore, people tested positive for coronavirus after tests carried out on a quarantined ship off the coast of Japan. The Japanese Ministry of Health has announced this, explaining that the infected people have been hospitalized, but none of them has serious symptoms. After an 80-year-old passenger from Hong Kong tested coronavirus positive, the ship, the Diamond Princess, was quarantined off the port of Yokohama, south of Tokyo. Minister of Health, Welfare Labor, Katsunobu Kato, explained at the press conference that of the approximately 3,700 people on board from 56 countries and regions, 273 had close contacts with the infected passenger. The Japanese government has asked passengers to stay on the ship for another two weeks starting today, Kato said. The passenger ship left Hong Kong for Tokyo in mid-January and made a stop in Yokohama on January 20.

Death and contagion balance

The global death toll reached 492, of which two outside mainland China, and that of the infected at 24,536, of which just over 200 outside of China. 185 thousand people are under observation.25 countries affected by the virus
However, the World Health Organization is confident of the effectiveness of the measures put in place to limit the disease. “While 99 percent of cases are in China, we only have 176 cases in the rest of the world,” said WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “That doesn’t mean it won’t get worse. But we certainly have a window of opportunity to act. ” The virus has so far appeared in 25 countries.

New restrictions on travel to and from China
After the appeal of France, Germany and the United Kingdom to their citizens to leave China, if possible, restrictions on travel to and from the Dragon are widening. Two American airlines, United and American Airlines, also blocked flights to Hong Kong. In the former English colony, the doctors’ strike continues, asking Chief Executive Carrie Lam to close the border with China entirely. Across the Pearl River Delta, Macau authorities have decided to close casinos, the city’s main source of revenue

In Italy an epidemic rises
In Italy, the alert level for the pulmonary epidemic rises and even more stringent measures for controls arrive. In Rome, where they are hospitalized at the Spallanzani Institute of Infectious Diseases, the condition of the Chinese couple affected by the new coronavirus has worsened. The controls with the thermoscanners have in fact been extended to all flights, including European ones, arriving at Italian airports. At Fiumicino airport the thermoscanners will also be present at the arrivals of domestic flights.

The impact on the economy
Larry Kudlow, economic adviser to the White House, has admitted that the health crisis will delay the boom in American exports to China, starting from the “Phase One” agreement on tariffs signed in January by the two countries. For the second consecutive day, the Chinese stock exchanges (often conditioned by purchases “piloted” by the government) and the Asian ones are in positive territory. After Sunday’s, the People’s Central Bank yesterday launched a new mega injection of $ 57 billion in liquidity to shore up the financial system.

The concerns of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Organizing Committee
The expansion of the new epidemic in China is a cause of “extreme” concern for the organizers of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The president of the organizing committee, Toshiro Muto said it in no uncertain terms. “We are extremely concerned that the spread of the epidemic will decrease interest and enthusiasm for the Games,” he said at a meeting of the International Paralympic Committee. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will be held from July 24 to August 9 and the Paralympic Games from August 25 to September 6.