COVID-19 cases in Wuhan hospitals to zero for 1st time: official
Beijing/Wuhan: The number of hospitalised COVID-19 patients in China's Wuhan, where the virus first emerged before turning out to be a pandemic, on Sunday dropped to zero for the first time, marking yet another milestone for the city which was opened up on April 8 after a 76-day lockdown.
The result has been achieved with the hard efforts of medical workers in Wuhan and those who were dispatched to assist the city in the fight against the virus from across the country, said Mi Feng, a spokesperson for China's National Health Commission (NHC).
The last patient in Wuhan was cured on Friday, reducing the number of coronavirus patients in the city to zero, Mi said, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The health commission of Hubei province, whose capital is Wuhan, said that no new confirmed cases or new deaths due to COVID-19 were reported on Saturday.
It said that 11 coronavirus patients were discharged from hospital after recovery in Wuhan. Hubei has so far reported 68,128 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 50,333 in Wuhan.
Hubei and Wuhan were in the thick of the coronavirus outbreak since early January this year, bearing the brunt of it.
China officially said that the coronavirus was noticed in late December in Wuhan but announced severe measures like the lockdown of 56 million-strong province from January 23, which drew criticism from the US and other countries that it acted late, leading to its spread globally.
There was a controversy about whether the virus, with the ability to transmit from human-to-human, emerged from the Huanan Seafood Market of Wuhan or escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) as alleged by the US.
China has said that the coronavirus origin is a matter of science and it should be left to science and medical community to reach a conclusion.
China also revised the death toll in Wuhan by 50 per cent amidst criticism that it is underreporting the cases.
Local municipal authority said as of April 16, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Wuhan was increased by 325 to 50,333 and the number of fatalities up by 1,290 to 3,869.
The revised figure raised China's overall COVID-19 death toll to 4,632. The total number of cases as of Thursday stood at 82,692.
Chinese Foreign Ministry officials said the revision was due to some late reports, omissions and inaccurate information in the initial stages.
Officials said that over five million residents of Wuhan travelled out before the lockdown to avail the Chinese New Year holidays starting from January 24 which was cited as a possible reason for the spread of the virus in China and the world.
China has highlighted the strong measures it has taken in Hubei like prolonged lockdown besides building 14 temporary hospitals and deployment of 42,000 medical personnel to contain the virus.
The lockdown was lifted on April 8 after the virus cases abated.
The 11 million-strong Wuhan city has not yet become fully normal due to the steady increase in asymptomatic cases.
By the end of Saturday, the province had 572 asymptomatic cases under medical observation, after 19 new such cases were reported on Saturday, the local health commission reported on Sunday.
Asymptomatic cases refer to the people who test positive for the coronavirus but develop no symptoms such as fever, cough or sore throat. They are infectious and pose a risk of spreading the virus to others.
More than 200,000 people globally have died of the new coronavirus, including more than 50,000 in the US. It has infected nearly three million people across the world.
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Nepal records 18% turnout till noon in first election since govt-toppling Gen Z protests
Kathmandu (PTI): Nepal which went to polls on Thursday, the first since a violent Gen Z protest that toppled the K P Sharma Oli-led government last year, recorded a turnout of about 18 per cent till noon, according to the Election Commission.
The Election Commission said that around 3.16 million people have exercised their franchise till 12 pm, with the voting process going smoothly.
Voting is ongoing smoothly across the country with minor incidents in a very few places, Election Commissioner Sagun Shumsher Rana was quoted as saying by the Kathmandu Post.
More than 18.9 million eligible Nepalese are exercising their franchise to elect the 275-member House of Representatives from among the 3,406 candidates vying for 165 seats under direct voting, and 3,135 candidates vying for 110 seats through proportionate voting.
The voting started at 7 am and will conclude at 5 pm. The counting will start immediately after the ballot boxes are collected.
Nepal Police confirmed that apart from minor disagreements at a few locations, no serious problems had occurred.
Police spokesperson Abi Narayan Kafle said, “Some jostling is expected during elections, but no major issues have arisen. We are ensuring that the voting process remains peaceful throughout the day.”
"Voting started in all the constituencies, including the southern plains, hilly area and the mountain region at 7 am," Election Commission spokesperson Narayan Prasad Bhattarai said.
“The election started in a peaceful environment across the country,” he added.
ALSO READ: Nepal records over 10% turnout till 11 am in first election since govt-toppling Gen Z protests
Addressing a press meet here on the eve of the polls, Acting Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari on Wednesday had said that all preparations for the election had been completed and urged voters to participate actively and enthusiastically in the democratic exercise.
In Kathmandu, the weather was fine, sky was clear and people were enthusiastically queuing up to cast their votes.
Interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki cast her vote from Kathmandu-5 constituency at Dhapasi on the outskirts of Kathmandu on Thursday morning.
"I have cast my vote, I am happy that people are casting their votes, participating in the general election," she said.
Nepali Congress president Gagan Thapa cast his vote from Kathmandu-4 constituency in Maitidevi in the morning.
"This election was needed to bring the Constitution back on the right track," he said.
Thapa, the prime ministerial candidate of Nepali Congress, is contesting the election from Dhanusha-4 constituency.
Rastriya Swotantra Party (RSP) president Ravi Lamichhane cast his vote from Chuchepati area on the outskirts of Kathmandu.
Prime ministerial candidate of RSP and former Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah ‘Balen’ cast his vote from Gairegaun, Kathmandu. He is contesting the election from Jhapa-5.
Ousted premier Oli cast his vote from Balkot in Bhaktapur district.
The Gen Z youth, through their two-day intensified protests on September 8 and 9, ousted Prime Minister Oli, chair of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) -- CPN-UML -- who was heading a coalition government with the backing of Nepali Congress that enjoyed nearly two-thirds majority support.
The CPN-UML, led by ousted PM Oli, has emerged as the hardliner force. Though former premier Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda'-led NCP claims to have addressed the issues raised by the Gen Z, they have not handed over the party leadership to the younger generation.
Rastriya Swotantra Party (RSP), led by its chair Ravi Lamichhane and senior leader Balendra Shah, and the reformed Nepali Congress, led by Gagan Thapa, are voicing the issues raised by the Gen Z, while CPN-UML and Nepali Communist Party, led by ‘Prachanda’, are known as the traditional forces.
Ujyalo Nepal Party, led by Kulman Ghising, and Shram Shakti Party, led by former Dharan Mayor Harka Sampang, are also emerging forces but enjoy support in limited pockets only.
After Oli's ouster, President Ramchandra Paudel dissolved the House of Representatives on September 12 and appointed Sushila Karki as the caretaker PM.
The major issues raised by Gen Z are anti-corruption, good governance, an end to nepotism, generational change in political leadership, etc.
Starting Wednesday, Nepal has declared a three-day holiday for the polls.
There are a total of 10,967 polling booths and 23,112 polling centres, the Election Commission data showed. As many as 65 political parties are taking part in the election.
