New coronavirus cases fall; Xi urged steps as early as Jan. 7

Travelers wear face masks and goggles as they use their smartphones outside the Beijing Railway Station in Beijing, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

BEIJING — China reported Sunday a drop in new virus cases for the third straight day, as it became apparent that the country’s leadership was aware of the potential gravity of the situation well before the alarm was sounded.

In the early days of the epidemic, which has been one of the biggest political challenges of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s tenure, Xi played a muted role. But state media published Saturday evening a speech Xi delivered Feb. 3 in which he said he gave instructions on fighting the virus as early as Jan. 7.

The disclosure indicates top leaders knew about the outbreak’s potential severity weeks before such dangers were made known to the public. It was not until late January that officials said the virus can spread between humans and public alarm began to rise.

There are 2,009 new cases in mainland China, bringing its total number of confirmed cases to 68,500, according to the country’s National Health Commission.

The fatality rate remained stable with 142 new deaths, the commission said. The death toll in mainland China from COVID-19, a disease stemming from a new form of coronavirus, now stands at 1,665. In all, 9,419 people have recovered and been discharged from hospital.

China’s fall in new cases follows a spike of more than 15,000 on Thursday, when the central province of Hubei adopted a new diagnostic method that includes clinical diagnoses in its official account. Overwhelmed by suspected cases, the province has not able to test every person exhibiting symptoms. The clinical diagnosis is based on doctors’ analysis and lung imaging and is intended to allow probable cases to be treated as confirmed ones without the need to wait for a lab result.

The outbreak began in December in Wuhan, capital of Hubei, which has the bulk of infections.

It has since spread to more than 24 countries and prompted sweeping prevention measures from the Chinese government, including a lockdown of cities with a combined population of more than 60 million.

In his speech, Xi revealed that he ordered the shutdowns at the epicenter: “On Jan. 22, in light of the epidemic’s rapid spread and the challenges of prevention and control, I made a clear request that Hubei province implement comprehensive and stringent controls over the outflow of people.”

On Jan. 23, Wuhan became the first city to impose an unprecedented halt on outbound transportation.

Xi was previously seen as taking a backseat in the crisis while authorities in Hubei and Wuhan faced public fury over their initial handling of the epidemic. The anger reached a peak earlier this month following the death of Li Wenliang, a young doctor who was reprimanded by local police for trying to spread a warning about the virus. He ended up dying of the disease himself.

In apparent response to the outrage, the ruling Communist Party’s top officials in Hubei and Wuhan were axed and replaced last week.

The publication of Xi’s speech suggests the party hopes to demonstrate it acted decisively from the beginning. But it also opens Xi up to criticism over why the general population was not alerted sooner. Trust in the government’s approach to outbreaks remains fractured after the SARS epidemic of 2002 and 2003, which was covered up for months.

Even as authorities have pledged transparency through the current outbreak, they have labelled people like Li as “rumor-mongers.” Citizen journalists who challenged the official narrative have disappeared and are believed to be detained.

The virus has prompted many countries to place travel restrictions on recent visitors to China.

In Japan, Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said that an additional 70 cases were found on the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship for a total of 355.

Some 400 Americans aboard the ship docked at Yokohama were told to decide by Sunday morning whether they will stay or take chartered aircraft arranged by the U.S. government to fly them back home. Those with symptoms won’t be allowed on the planes.

The flights are expected Sunday evening. Canada and Hong Kong also were arranging flights to take their residents back home. There are 255 Canadians and 330 Hong Kong residents on board or undergoing treatment in Japanese hospitals. They too would face a second quarantine.

American Matthew Smith The Associated Press that he had already decided he and his wife are not taking the flights, because the 14-day quarantine for the ship is set to end on Wednesday. Those taking the chartered planes will be taken to Travis Air Force Base in California, with some continuing to Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, where they will have to undergo another 14-day quarantine.

In Malaysia, an 83-year-old American woman who was a passenger on another cruise ship that was allowed to disembark in Cambodia tested positive for the virus. The Malaysian Health Ministry said 145 passengers from the MS Westerdam flew to Malaysia on Friday.

The woman and her 85-year-old husband were found to have symptoms upon arrival at the Kuala Lumpur airport and were taken to a hospital for further tests. The woman was diagnosed with the virus Saturday and her husband tested negative but was still under observation.

Cambodia said earlier that all the 1,455 passengers had tested negative for the virus. Many have already made onward flight connections. The Cambodian Health Ministry and the ship’s operator, Holland America, both asked Malaysia to do secondary testing to confirm the diagnosis.

The Malaysian Health Ministry was planning a news briefing later Sunday.