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China virus death toll tops 100 as contagion spreads abroad

China on Tuesday urged its citizens to postpone foreign travel to curb a viral outbreak that has killed 106 people, as the first cases of human-to-human contagion were detected abroad.
While a host of nations prepared to airlift their citizens from the epicenter of the epidemic, Japan and Germany reported the first cases that were not directly imported from China.
Until now, all cases in more than a dozen countries involved people who had been in or around Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the coronavirus first emerged in late December before infecting thousands of people nationwide.
In Japan, a man in his sixties contracted the virus apparently after driving two groups of tourists from Wuhan earlier in January, the health ministry said. He was hospitalized with flu-like symptoms on Saturday.
On the other side of the world, a 33-year-old German man caught the disease from a Chinese colleague from Shanghai who visited Germany last week, according to health officials.
The development came after countries including Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and the Philippines announced tighter visa restrictions for people coming from China.
Experts believe the virus came from a wild animal market in Wuhan and then jumped to humans, with Chinese health officials said Tuesday that people infect each other through sneezing or coughing, and possibly through contact.
Authorities initially sealed off Wuhan and other cities in central Hubei province late last week, trapping more than 50 million people.
China then halted international and domestic group tours. It also imposed a wide range of travel restrictions inside China, suspending long-distance bus routes and more than 2,000 train services.
But with the death toll climbing and more fatalities reported in Chinese cities far away from Wuhan, authorities on Tuesday urged people to delay any foreign travel.
This was "to protect the health and safety of Chinese and foreign people," the National Immigration Administration said.
The National Health Commission on Tuesday announced 26 new deaths -- mostly elderly -- bringing the nationwide total to 106.
The commission also said Tuesday that confirmed infections had nearly doubled from the previous day to 4,515, with another 7,000 cases suspected and awaiting confirmation.
Wuhan, meanwhile, has been turned into a near ghost-town under a lockdown that has largely confined the industrial hub's 11 million people to their homes.
With a ban on car travel, the streets were nearly deserted apart from the occasional ambulance -- although the city's hospitals are overwhelmed.
"Everyone goes out wearing masks and they are worried about the infection," said David, a Chinese man who works in Shanghai and ended up trapped in Wuhan after it went under quarantine.
Many thousands of foreigners are also among those trapped in the city.
"It's deeply stressful," Joseph Pacey, a 31-year-old Briton who teaches English in Wuhan, told AFP.
"The biggest fear for me is that this thing will go on for months, and it will get harder and harder to get supplies, and to live."
Several foreign governments have drawn up plans to safely evacuate their citizens, but have faced major logistical and bureaucratic challenges.
Japan said it would send a chartered flight on Tuesday evening to get about a third of its 650 nationals there.
"We will also bring aid supplies such as masks and protective suits for Chinese people as well as for Japanese nationals," Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said in Tokyo.
Motegi said the plane would leave Wuhan on Wednesday morning and that more flights may follow.
If the mission succeeds, Japan would be the first country to airlift its citizens out of Wuhan.
A US-chartered flight bound for California is scheduled to leave Wuhan on Wednesday with consular staff and some American citizens, a day later than previously planned.
France and South Korea are also planning to fly out their citizens later this week, and several other countries, including Germany, were considering doing so.
Germany, Canada, and Sri Lanka announced their first infections on Monday, bringing the total number of countries with confirmed cases to 15.
With global concern mounting, governments around the world have started to try and quickly build defenses.
The United States, Turkey, and Germany have urged their citizens to "reconsider" all travel to China.
Landlocked Mongolia -- which is heavily dependent on trade with China -- took the drastic step of closing the border with its huge neighbor to cars, as well as shutting down schools and banning large gatherings.
The World Health Organization last week stopped short of declaring the outbreak of a global emergency, which could have prompted a more aggressive international response such as travel restrictions.
But WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus praised China's response to the crisis in a meeting with officials in Beijing, according to state news agency Xinhua.
"We have the full capability, confidence, and resources to overcome the epidemic at an early date," foreign minister Wang Yi said, according to the Xinhua report.
source: AFP
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BENEFIT AGM approves 10%...
- March 27, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the company’s headquarters in the Seef District.
During the meeting, shareholders approved all items listed on the agenda, including the ratification of the minutes of the previous AGM held on 26 March 2024. The session reviewed and approved the Board’s Annual Report on the company’s activities and financial performance for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2024, and the shareholders expressed their satisfaction with the company’s operational and financial results during the reporting period.
The meeting also reviewed the Independent External Auditor’s Report on the company’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024. Subsequently, the shareholders approved the audited financial statements for the fiscal year. Based on the Board’s recommendation, the shareholders approved the distribution of a cash dividend equivalent to 10% of the paid-up share capital.
Furthermore, the shareholders endorsed the allocation of a total amount of BD 172,500 as remuneration to the members of the Board for the year ended 31 December 2024, subject to prior clearance by related authorities.
The extension of the current composition of the Board was approved, which includes ten members and one CBB observer, for a further six-month term, expiring in September 2025, pending no objection from the CBB.
The meeting reviewed and approved the Corporate Governance Report for 2024, which affirmed the company’s full compliance with the corporate governance directives issued by the CBB and other applicable regulatory frameworks. The AGM absolved the Board Members of liability for any of their actions during the year ending on 31st December 2024, in accordance with the Commercial Companies Law.
In alignment with regulatory requirements, the session approved the reappointment of Ernst & Young (EY) as the company’s External Auditors for the fiscal year 2025, covering both the parent company and its subsidiaries—Sinnad and Bahrain FinTech Bay. The Board was authorised to determine the external auditors’ professional fees, subject to approval from the CBB, and the meeting concluded with a discussion of any additional issues as per Article (207) of the Commercial Companies Law.
Speaking on the company’s performance, Mr. Mohamed Al Bastaki, Chairman BENEFIT , stated: “In terms of the financial results for 2024, I am pleased to say that the year gone by has also been proved to be a success in delivering tangible results. Growth rate for 2024 was 19 per cent. Revenue for the year was BD 17 M (US$ 45.3 Million) and net profit was 2 Million ($ 5.3 Million).
Mr. Al Bastaki also announced that the Board had formally adopted a new three-year strategic roadmap to commence in 2025. The strategy encompasses a phased international expansion, optimisation of internal operations, enhanced revenue diversification, long-term sustainability initiatives, and the advancement of innovation and digital transformation initiatives across all service lines.
“I extend my sincere appreciation to the CBB for its continued support of BENEFIT and its pivotal role in fostering a stable and progressive regulatory environment for the Kingdom’s banking and financial sector—an environment that has significantly reinforced Bahrain’s standing as a leading financial hub in the region,” said Mr. Al Bastaki. “I would also like to thank our partner banks and valued customers for their trust, and our shareholders for their ongoing encouragement. The achievements of 2024 set a strong precedent, and I am confident they will serve as a foundation for yet another successful and impactful year ahead.”
Chief Executive of BENEFIT; Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi commented, “The year 2024 represented another pivotal chapter in BENEFIT ’s evolution. We achieved substantial progress in advancing our digital strategy across multiple sectors, while reinforcing our long-term commitment to the development of Bahrain’s financial services and payments landscape. Throughout the year, we remained firmly aligned with our objective of delivering measurable value to our shareholders, strategic partners, and customers. At the same time, we continued to play an active role in enabling Bahrain’s digital economy by introducing innovative solutions and service enhancements that directly address market needs and future opportunities.”
Mr. AlJanahi affirmed that BENEFIT has successfully developed a robust and well-integrated payment network that connects individuals and businesses across Bahrain, accelerating the adoption of emerging technologies in the banking and financial services sector and reinforcing Bahrain’s position as a growing fintech hub, and added, “Our achievements of the past year reflect a long-term vision to establish a resilient electronic payment infrastructure that supports the Kingdom’s digital economy. Key developments in 2024 included the implementation of central authentication for open banking via BENEFIT Pay”
Mr. AlJanahi concluded by thanking the Board for its strategic direction, the company’s staff for their continued dedication, and the Central Bank of Bahrain, member banks, and shareholders for their valuable partnership and confidence in the company’s long-term vision.
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