China says significant drop in coronavirus cases; death toll climbs to 1,665
Beijing: China on Sunday announced a significant drop in coronavirus cases, as the WHO team scrambled to assist Beijing in containing the spread of the virus that has claimed 1,665 lives so far.
The death toll from China's coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic has climbed to 1,665 on Saturday after 142 more people died, mostly in the worst-hit Hubei Province, and the confirmed cases jumped to 68,500.
China's National Health Commission(NHC) confirmed 2,009 new cases across the country.
Hubei and its provincial capital Wuhan, where the virus first emerged in December, reported 1,843 of the new cases. The latest report brought the total confirmed cases in Hubei to 56,249 cases.
Of the new deaths, 139 were in Hubei, two in Sichuan, and one in Hunan, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The report said 9,419 infected patients had been discharged from hospitals after recovery so far.
The Commission announced that the proportion of severe and critical cases of the novel coronavirus disease among all confirmed cases has decreased significantly in China.
"In Wuhan, the epicentre of the epidemic, the proportion of severe cases among the confirmed cases fell from a peak of 32.4 per cent on January 28 to 21.6 per cent on February 15," Mi Feng, a spokesperson with the NHC said during a media briefing here.
Mi said the proportion in other parts of Hubei Province also dropped from a peak of 18.4 per cent on January 27 to 11.1 per cent on February 15.
The percentage in other provinces in China also decreased significantly, falling from a peak of 15.9 per cent on January 27 to 7.2 per cent on February 15, Mi was quoted as saying by the Xinhua news agency.
He said the change in status of the coronavirus cases has proven the current epidemic prevention and control measures were effective.
The authorities and medics are carrying out differentiated measures on the patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19, close contacts of the confirmed cases, and fever patients, he said.
"The differentiated measures ensure that a large number of mild cases are treated in time, reducing the possibility of becoming severe cases," he said.
Mi's assertion of the cases dropping significantly came as the 12 member World Health Organisation experts team is set to begin working along with the Chinese health experts to speed up the containment process of the deadly virus.
India said it would do everything within its means to assist the people of China to combat the deadly coronavirus outbreak and would soon send a consignment of medical supplies.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that international experts are now on the ground in China, working closely with their Chinese counterparts to understand the outbreak and to inform the next steps in the global response, the report said.
Tedros also met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference.
Tedros said there is a need for all countries to unite and cooperate in the scientific approach and on the basis of factual evidence, instead of spreading fake news and stigma.
"Given the misinformation about the novel coronavirus epidemic, WHO has communicated with some companies including Google to ensure that the public will get the authoritative information from the WHO," Tedros said.
He said that one of the goals of the joint mission is to rapidly inform the public of the next steps in the COVID-19 response and preparedness activities in China and globally.
"Particular attention will be paid to understanding the transmission of the virus, the severity of disease and the impact of ongoing response measures," he said.
In Beijing, China's NHC said that the joint mission with WHO experts will pay field visits to China's three provincial-level regions to learn the implementation and effectiveness of the epidemic prevention and control measures taken in China's urban and rural areas.
"One of the goals of the joint mission is to provide suggestions on the prevention and control of the coronavirus outbreak in China and globally," it said.
In addition, the expert team will visit epidemic-related institutions focusing on epidemiology, medical treatment, laboratory detection and scientific research, the NHC said.
Appropriate arrangements for the team's key inspection fields and schedules have been made after thorough consultation and communication between the Chinese relevant department and Bruce Aylward, a Canadian epidemiologist who led an advance team to assist the ongoing anti-virus fight, the Xinhua report said.
One task of the WHO team along with their Chinese counterparts is to come up with standard medicine to cure the disease.
On Saturday, Chinese officials said that more than half of the coronavirus patients are being treated with Traditional Chinese Medicine in Wuhan, which has helped many of them to recover.
China has also ordered filed trials of a number of drugs to treat the virus.
China has imposed more restrictions on the 60 million people living under lockdown in Hubei province - the centre of the outbreak - in an attempt to control the epidemic.
The use of private cars has been banned and residents have been told to stay at home unless there's an emergency.
Officials say there will be only one exception to this rule - every three days a single person from each household will be allowed out to buy food and other essential items.
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
