Wuhan hospital director dies from novel coronavirus
Hong KongCNN
—
The death toll from the novel coronavirus has reached 1,873, as almost half of China’s 1.3 billion-strong population remain subject to varying forms of travel restrictions and other quarantine measures.
On Tuesday, Liu Zhiming, director of the Wuchang hospital in Wuhan, the city at the center of the outbreak, himself died of the virus, according to a statement released by local government authorities.
Liu was a neurosurgeon and the most senior health worker known to have died as a result of the coronavirus epidemic. His death could renew criticism that the government has not done enough to protect frontline medical workers, many of whom are overworked and overstretched.
Also on Tuesday, state media reported that doctors and nurses who die while trying to contain the outbreak will officially be designated as “martyrs.”
All but five deaths from the virus have occurred inside mainland China, where an additional 98 fatal cases of Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, were reported Tuesday morning. The number of confirmed cases in China increased by 1,886, bringing the global total to over 73,325.
The vast majority of those cases have been in China, but concern has been growing in the past week over much smaller but growing outbreaks in Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong.
According to China’s National Health Commission, since the outbreak began in December, more than 12,500 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospital.
Outside of Hubei, the province of which Wuhan is capital, the number of new cases has dropped for 14 consecutive days. Despite this apparent good news, stringent and often draconian measures are being ramped up in much of the country. This comes as authorities make an effort to return to something like normality in many major cities and commercial hubs, with the long break forced by the outbreak taking its toll on the country’s economy.
On Monday, a committee headed by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said that a “greater outbreak of the epidemic has been avoided through strengthened prevention and control measures,” adding that “a positive trend has emerged nationwide in curbing the epidemic.”
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images
Medical staff wearing protective suits ride down an escalator at Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport on Wednesday, March 18.
A patient in a biocontainment unit is carried on a stretcher in Rome on March 17.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
John Minchillo/AP
A pedestrian walks a dog through a quiet street in New York on March 17.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images
People gather to collect free face masks in New Delhi on March 17.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
John Minchillo/AP
Dermot Hickey, left, and Phillip Vega ask a pedestrian in New York to take their picture on a thinly trafficked Fifth Avenue on March 17. Many streets across the world are much more bare as people distance themselves from others. In the United States, the White House has advised people not to gather in groups of more than 10.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Madaree Tohlala/AFP/Getty Images
Students at the Attarkiah Islamic School wear face masks during a ceremony in Thailand's southern province of Narathiwat on March 17.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Jack Thomas/Getty Images
People wait outside a Woolworths store in Sunbury, Australia on March 17. Australian supermarket chains announced special shopping hours for the elderly and people with disabilities so that they can shop in less crowded aisles.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Jorge Guerrero/AFP/Getty Images
A member of Spain's Military Emergencies Unit carries out a general disinfection at the Malaga airport on Monday, March 16.
Photos: The coronavirus pandemic
Aaref Watad/AFP/Getty Images
Displaced families near Atme, Syria, attend a workshop aimed at spreading awareness about the coronavirus.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images
French President Emmanuel Macron is seen on a screen in Paris as he announces new coronavirus containment measures on March 16. France has been put on lockdown, and all nonessential outings are outlawed and can draw a fine of up to €135 ($148). Macron also promised to support French businesses by guaranteeing €300 billion worth of loans and suspending rent and utility bills owed by small companies.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Aaron Favila/AP
A police officer checks the temperatures of bus passengers at a checkpoint in Manila, Philippines, on March 16.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Lex van Lieshout/ANP/AFP/Getty Images
Flowers are stored prior to their destruction at a flower auction in Aalsmeer, Netherlands, on March 16. Lower demand due to the coronavirus outbreak is threatening the Dutch horticultural sector, forcing the destruction of products.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Nicolo Campo/LightRocket/Getty Images
Two nuns greet neighbors from their balcony in Turin, Italy, on Sunday, March 15.
Photos: The coronavirus pandemic
Vatican Media/AFP/Getty Images
Pope Francis, inside the Church of San Marcello in Rome's city center, prays at a famous crucifix that believers claim helped to save Romans from the plague in 1522.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
AFP/Getty Images
Passengers wait for their flights at Marrakesh Airport in Morocco on March 15.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Alex Brandon/AP
US Vice President Mike Pence takes a question during a White House briefing about the coronavirus on March 15.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Dita Alangkara/AP
A Sea World employee sprays disinfectant in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Saturday, March 14.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Austin Boschen via AP
People wait in line to go through customs at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on March 14. Travelers returning from Europe say they were being made to wait for hours at US airports, often in close quarters, as personnel screened them for the coronavirus.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Hundreds of people lined up to enter a Costco in Novato, California, on March 14. Many people have been stocking up on food, toilet paper and other items. As a response to panic buying, retailers in the United States and Canada have started limiting the number of toilet paper that customers can buy in one trip.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Alex Brandon/AP
A member of the White House physician's office takes a media member's temperature in the White House briefing room on March 14. It was ahead of a news conference with President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Reporters in Arlington, Virginia, sit approximately 4 feet apart during a briefing by Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie on Friday, March 13.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Eduardo Munoz/ VIEWpress via Getty Images
People walk past a closed Broadway theater on March 13 after New York canceled all gatherings over 500 people.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images
Body temperatures are scanned as people enter the Buddhist temple Wat Pho in Bangkok, Thailand, on March 13.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
A Costco customer stands by two shopping carts in Richmond, California, on March 13.
Photos: The coronavirus pandemic
Emilio Morenatti/AP
A teacher works in an empty classroom at the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, Spain.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Virginia Mayo/AP
A woman looks at an empty bread aisle in Antwerp, Belgium, on March 13.
Photos: The coronavirus pandemic
Thanassis Stavrakis/AP
Employees of the Greek Parliament wear plastic gloves ahead of the swearing-in ceremony for Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Channi Anand/AP
A motorcyclist drives through disinfectant sprayed in Jammu, India, on March 13.
Photos: The coronavirus pandemic
Pavel Golovkin/AP
Workers prepare to construct an additional building on a hospital on the outskirts of Moscow.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Nick Wass/AP
Paul Boyer, head equipment manager of the NHL's Detroit Red Wings, wheels out equipment bags in Washington on Thursday, March 12. The NHL is among the sports leagues that have suspended their seasons.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Grant Hindsley/The New York Times/Redux
Students leave Glacier Peak High School in Snohomish, Washington, on March 12. Beginning the following day, schools in the Snohomish school district planned to be closed through April 24.
Photos: The coronavirus pandemic
Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images
An Uber Eats delivery biker stands at a deserted Piazza di Spagna in Rome.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Ahn Young-joon/AP
People at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea, watch a live broadcast of US President Donald Trump on March 12. Trump announced that, in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus, he would sharply restrict travel from more than two dozen European countries.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Umit Bektas/Reuters
Workers in protective suits disinfect Istanbul's Dolmabahce Palace on March 11.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images
A person wearing a face mask walks outside of a shopping mall in Beijing on March 11.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Piero Cruciatti/AFP/Getty Images
Police officers restrain the relative of an inmate outside the Sant'Anna jail in Modena, Italy, on March 9. Riots broke out in several Italian jails after visits were suspended to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Stringer/AFP/Getty Images
Medical staff in Wuhan, China, celebrate after all coronavirus patients were discharged from a temporary hospital on March 9.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Richard Drew/AP
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on March 9. Stocks plummeted as coronavirus worries and an oil price race to the bottom weighed on global financial markets.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Lin Shanchuan/Xinhua/AP
Rescuers search for victims at the site of a collapsed hotel in Quanzhou, China, on March 8. The hotel was being used as a coronavirus quarantine center.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images
The Grand Princess cruise ship, carrying at least 21 people who tested positive for coronavirus, is seen off the coast of San Francisco on March 8. The ship was being held at sea.
Photos: The coronavirus pandemic
STR/JIJI PRESS/AFP via Getty Images
Sumo wrestlers attend a tournament in Osaka, Japan, that was being held behind closed doors because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Ahn Young-joon/AP
A couple rides a bicycle at a park in Seoul, South Korea, on March 7.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
A volunteer from Blue Sky Rescue uses fumigation equipment to disinfect a residential compound in Beijing on March 5.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
California National Guard via AP
Airmen from the California National Guard drop coronavirus testing kits down to the Grand Princess cruise ship off the coast of California on March 5.
Photos: The coronavirus pandemic
Abdel Ghani Bashir/AFP/Getty Images
Municipal workers are seen at the Kaaba, inside Mecca's Grand Mosque. Saudi Arabia emptied Islam's holiest site for sterilization over coronavirus fears, an unprecedented move after the kingdom suspended the year-round Umrah pilgrimage.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Noel Celis/AFP/Getty Images
Passengers react as a worker wearing a protective suit disinfects the departure area of a railway station in Hefei, China, on March 4.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Yoichi Hayashi/AP
Teachers at the Nagoya International School in Japan conduct an online class for students staying at home as a precaution against the spread of coronavirus.
Photos: The coronavirus pandemic
Ahn Young-joon/AP
Soldiers spray disinfectant throughout a shopping street in Seoul.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
John Wessels/AFP/Getty Images
A Muslim worshipper attends a mass prayer against coronavirus in Dakar, Senegal, on March 4. It was after cases were confirmed in the country.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Eduardo Munoz/VIEWpress/Getty Images
People wear face masks in New York's Times Square on March 3. New York reported its first case of coronavirus two days earlier.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Jae C. Hong/AP
A security guard stands on the Shibuya Sky observation deck in Tokyo on March 3.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
US President Donald Trump, flanked by Vice President Mike Pence, left, and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, speaks during a meeting with pharmaceutical executives and the White House coronavirus task force on March 2. Throughout the meeting, Trump was hyperfocused on pressing industry leaders in the room for a timeline for a coronavirus vaccine and treatment. But experts at the table -- from the administration and the pharmaceutical industry -- repeatedly emphasized that a vaccine can't be rushed to market before it's been declared safe for the public.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Kim Hyun-tae/AP
Medical staff stand outside a hospital in Daegu, South Korea, on March 1.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
David Ryder/Reuters
Healthcare workers transfer a patient at the Life Care Center in Kirkland, Washington, on March 1. The long-term care facility is linked to confirmed coronavirus cases.
Photos: The coronavirus pandemic
Henry Nicholls/AP
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits a London laboratory of the Public Health England National Infection Service.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Eugene Hoshiko/AP
Tomoyuki Sugano, a professional baseball player on the Yomiuri Giants, throws a pitch in an empty Tokyo Dome during a preseason game on February 29. Fans have been barred from preseason games to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images
Commuters wearing masks make their way to work during morning rush hour at the Shinagawa train station in Tokyo on February 28.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
STR/AFP/Getty Images
Medical staff transport a coronavirus patient within the Red Cross hospital in Wuhan on February 28.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Emilio Andreoli/UEFA via AP
Inter Milan plays Ludogorets in an empty soccer stadium in Milan, Italy, on February 27. The match was ordered to be played behind closed doors as Italian authorities continue to grapple with the coronavirus outbreak.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Chinatopix Via AP
A bank clerk disinfects banknotes in China's Sichuan province on February 26.
Photos: The coronavirus pandemic
Roman Pilipey/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
A child wearing a protective face mask rides on a scooter in an empty area in Beijing.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Ezra Acayan/Getty Images
A Catholic devotee wears a face mask as he is sprinkled with ash during Ash Wednesday services in Paranaque, Philippines, on February 26.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
MEHDI MARIZAD/FARS NEWS AGENCY/AFP via Getty Images
People disinfect Qom's Masumeh shrine in Tehran, Iran, on February 25.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Lee Moo-ryul/Newsis/AP
A worker in Daegu stacks plastic buckets containing medical waste from coronavirus patients on February 24.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Anthony Kwan/Getty Images
Paramedics carry a stretcher off an ambulance in Hong Kong on February 23.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
STR/Jiji Press/AFP/Getty Images
People attend a professional soccer match in Kobe, Japan, on February 23. To help stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, the soccer club Vissel Kobe told fans not to sing, chant or wave flags in the season opener against Yokohama FC.
Photos: The coronavirus pandemic
Mladen Antonov/AFP/Getty Images
A team of volunteers disinfects a pedestrian bridge in Bangkok, Thailand.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
A man rides his bike in Beijing on February 23.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Luca Bruno/AP
Hospital personnel in Codogno, Italy, carry new beds inside the hospital on February 21. The hospital is hosting some people who have been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
STR/AFP/Getty Images
Doctors look at a CT scan of a lung at a hospital in Xiaogan, China, on February 20.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
A sales clerk wears a mask as she waits for customers at a hat shop in Beijing on February 18.Small companies that help drive China's economy are worried about how much damage the coronavirus outbreak will cause to business.
A medical worker rests at the isolation ward of the Red Cross hospital in Wuhan on February 16.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP/Getty Images
Authorities watch as the Westerdam cruise ship approaches a port in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, on February 13. Despite having no confirmed cases of coronavirus on board, the Westerdam was refused port by four other Asian countries before being allowed to dock in Cambodia.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
A worker has his temperature checked on a shuttered commercial street in Beijing on February 12.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
China Nouvelle/SIPA/Shutterstock
Beds are made in the Wuhan Sports Center, which has been converted into a temporary hospital.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images
A child rides a scooter past a police officer wearing protective gear outside the Hong Mei House in Hong Kong on February 11. More than 100 people evacuated the housing block after four residents in two different apartments tested positive for the coronavirus.
Photos: The coronavirus pandemic
Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images
Relatives of quarantined passengers wave at the Diamond Princess cruise ship as it leaves a port in Yokohama, Japan, to dump wastewater and generate potable water. Dozens of people on the ship were infected with coronavirus.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images
The Deneway branch of the County Oak Medical Centre is closed amid coronavirus fears in Brighton, England, on February 11. Several locations in and around Brighton were quarantined after a man linked to several coronavirus cases in the United Kingdom came into contact with health-care workers and members of the public.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images
A police officer, left, wears protective gear as he guards a cordon at the Hong Mei House in Hong Kong on February 11.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
A worker wears a protective suit as he waits to screen people entering an office building in Beijing on February 10. China's workforce is slowly coming back to work after the coronavirus outbreak forced many parts of the country to extend the Lunar New Year holiday by more than a week.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Pang Xinglei/Xinhua/AP
Chinese President Xi Jinping has his temperature checked during an appearance in Beijing on February 10.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Philip Fong/AFP/Getty Images
Photojournalists wearing face masks take photos of a bus carrying passengers after they disembarked from the World Dream cruise ship in Hong Kong on February 9. More than 5,300 people were quarantined on two cruise ships off Hong Kong and Japan.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
People participating in a Lunar New Year Parade in New York City hold signs reading, "Wuhan stay strong!" on February 9.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Anthony Kwan/Getty Images
A shopper walks past empty shelves at a grocery store in Hong Kong on February 9. China's Ministry of Commerce encouraged supermarkets and grocery stores to resume operations as the country's voluntary or mandatory quarantines began to take an economic toll.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Noel Celis/AFP/Getty Images
A worker wearing a protective suit uses a machine to disinfect a business establishment in Shanghai, China, on February 9.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Toru Hanai/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Workers in protective gear walk near the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Yokohama on February 7.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images
People in Hong Kong attend a vigil February 7 for whistleblower doctor Li Wenliang. Li, 34, died in Wuhan after contracting the virus while treating a patient.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Stringer/Getty Images
A woman grieves while paying tribute to Li at Li's hospital in Wuhan on February 7.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Kevin Hagen/AP
The Anthem of the Seas cruise ship is seen docked at the Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne, New Jersey, on February 7. Passengers were to be screened for coronavirus as a precaution, an official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told CNN.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Philip Fong/AFP/Getty Images
A light installation is displayed by striking members of the Hospital Authority Employees Alliance and other activists at the Hospital Authority building in Hong Kong on February 7.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Sadayuki Goto/Kyodo News/AP
Passengers are seen on the deck of the Diamond Princess cruise ship, docked at the Yokohama Port on February 7.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Anusak Laowilas/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Flight attendants wearing face masks make their way through Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok on February 7.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Ji Chunpeng/Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images
Workers check sterile medical gloves at a latex-product manufacturer in Nanjing, China, on February 6.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
A woman wears a protective mask as she shops in a Beijing market on February 6.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Chine Nouvelle/SIPA/Shutterstock
This aerial photo shows the Leishenshan Hospital that is being built in Wuhan to handle coronavirus patients.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Vincent Yu/AP
A passenger shows a note from the World Dream cruise ship docked at the Kai Tak cruise terminal in Hong Kong on February 5.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
A mask is seen on a statue in Beijing on February 5.
Photos: The coronavirus pandemic
Anthony Kwan/Getty Images
An ambulance stops at a traffic light in front of the Grand Lisboa Hotel in Macao. The virus turned China's gambling mecca into a ghost town.
Photos: The coronavirus pandemic
Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images
A dog in Beijing wears a makeshift mask constructed from a paper cup.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Willie Siau/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images
Striking hospital workers in Hong Kong demand the closure of the border with mainland China on February 4.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Stringer/JIJI Press/AFP/Getty Images
The Diamond Princess cruise ship sits anchored in quarantine off the port of Yokohama on February 4. It arrived a day earlier with passengers feeling ill.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images
A medical worker wearing protective gear waits to take the temperature of people entering Princess Margaret Hospital in Hong Kong on February 4.
Photos: The coronavirus pandemic
Xiao Yijiu/Xinhua/AP
Medical workers in protective suits help transfer patients to a newly completed field hospital in Wuhan.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Feature China/Barcroft Media/Getty Images
People wearing protective overalls talk outside a Wuhan hotel housing people in isolation on February 3.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Vincent Yu/AP
A man stands in front of TV screens broadcasting a speech by Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam on February 3. Lam said the city would shut almost all border-control points to the mainland.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Feature China/Barcroft Media via Getty Images
A colleague sprays disinfectant on a doctor in Wuhan on February 3.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
The Asahi Shimbun/Getty Images
Commuters in Tokyo walk past an electric board displaying dismal stock prices on February 3, the first business day after the Chinese New Year. Asia's markets recorded their worst day in years as investors finally got a chance to react to the worsening coronavirus outbreak.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Chinatopix/AP
Medical workers move a coronavirus patient into an isolation ward at the Second People's Hospital in Fuyang, China, on February 1.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
Children wear plastic bottles as makeshift masks while waiting to check in to a flight at the Beijing Capital Airport on January 30.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Ivan Abreu/Bloomberg
Passengers in Hong Kong wear protective masks as they wait to board a train at Lo Wu Station, near the mainland border, on January 30.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Yu Fangping/Costfoto/Sipa USA
A volunteer wearing protective clothing disinfects a street in Qingdao, China, on January 29.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Peng Huan/Costfoto/Sipa USA
Nanning residents line up to buy face masks from a medical appliance store on January 29.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Wang Fei/Xinhua/Sipa USA
Lyu Jun, left, a member of a medical team leaving for Wuhan, says goodbye to a loved one in Urumqi, China, on January 28.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Lance King/Getty Images
A charter flight from Wuhan arrives at an airport in Anchorage, Alaska, on January 28. The US government chartered the plane to bring home US citizens and diplomats from the American consulate in Wuhan.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
South Korea Presidential Blue House/Yonhap via AP
South Korean President Moon Jae-in wears a mask to inspect the National Medical Center in Seoul on January 28.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Justin Chin/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, center, attends a news conference in Hong Kong on January 28. Lam said China will stop individual travelers to Hong Kong while closing some border checkpoints and restricting flights and train services from the mainland.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Alexandr Kryazhev/Sputnik/AP
Workers at an airport in Novosibirsk, Russia, check the temperatures of passengers who arrived from Beijing on January 28.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Shawn Thew/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Alex Azar, the US Secretary of Health and Human Services, speaks during a news conference about the American public-health response.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Stringer/Getty Images
Two residents walk in an empty park in Wuhan on January 27. The city remained on lockdown for a fourth day.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
A person wears a protective mask, goggles and coat as he stands in a nearly empty street in Beijing on January 26.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty Images
Medical staff members bring a patient to the Wuhan Red Cross hospital on January 25.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
People wear protective masks as they walk under Lunar New Year decorations in Beijing on January 25.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Chine Nouvelle/SIPA/Shutterstock
Construction workers in Wuhan begin to work on a special hospital to deal with the outbreak on January 24.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, speaks to reporters on January 24 about a patient in Chicago who had been diagnosed with the coronavirus. The patient was the second in the United States to be diagnosed with the illness.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images
A couple kisses goodbye as they travel for the Lunar New Year holiday in Beijing on January 24.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Stringer/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Workers manufacture protective face masks at a factory in China's Hubei Province on January 23.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Stringer/Getty Images
Shoppers wear masks in a Wuhan market on January 23.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Makoto Kondo/AP
Passengers are checked by a thermography device at an airport in Osaka, Japan, on January 23.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Stringer/Getty Images
People wear masks while shopping for vegetables in Wuhan on January 23.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Feature China/Barcroft Media/Getty Images
A militia member checks the body temperature of a driver in Wuhan on January 23.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Aaron Favila/AP
Passengers wear masks as they arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, Philippines, on January 23.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Justin Chin/Bloomberg via Getty Images
A customer holds boxes of particulate respirators at a pharmacy in Hong Kong on January 23.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Kin Cheung/AP/Shutterstock
Passengers wear masks at the high-speed train station in Hong Kong on January 23.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Stringer/Getty Images
A woman rides an electric bicycle in Wuhan on January 22.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
People in Guangzhou, China, wear protective masks on January 22.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
People go through a checkpoint in Guangzhou on January 22.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Cheng Min/Xinhua/Getty Images
Medical staff of Wuhan's Union Hospital attend a gathering on January 22.
Photos: The novel coronavirus outbreak
Kyodo News/Getty Images
Health officials hold a news conference in Beijing on January 22.
China on lockdown
Despite the optimism expressed by Chinese officials and in state media, there are indications the authorities are not totally convinced of their success in reining in the virus.
According to analysis by CNN of Chinese government orders, some 780 million people are still living under some form of restrictive movement, including all of Hubei, the northeastern province of Liaoning, and China’s two most important cities, Beijing and Shanghai. Restrictions include everything from self-quarantines to limits on who can come and go from neighborhoods.
Some of the strictest measures can be found in four cities in Hubei province. The cities of Wuhan, Huanggang, Shiyan and Xiaogan have completely sealed off all residential complexes and communities. The use of non-essential vehicles on local roadways is also banned. Residents in each city receive daily necessities from neighborhood and community committees as they are not permitted to leave their homes.
In an almost unprecedented move, the central government announced late Monday that it was considering postponing its annual meeting of the National People’s Congress (NPC), a gathering of the the country’s nearly 3,000 national legislators, as it continues to deal with the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak.
The full session of the NPC, the country’s rubber-stamp parliament, was due to open on March 5. Instead, the NPC Standing Committee, a smaller group of fewer than 200 people, will meet in the capital on February 24 to review a proposal to postpone the plenary session, according to Chinese state media.
While figures appear to be trending in a positive direction in China and some other countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that new data must be analyzed with some degree of caution.
“This trend must be interpreted very cautiously. Trends can change as new populations are affected. It’s too early to tell if this reported decline will continue. Every scenario is still on the table,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO, said during a press conference Monday.
Tedros added that the virus is not as deadly as SARS or MERS, both of which are related to the current coronavirus, and more than 80% of patients “have mild disease and will recover.”
“In about 14% of cases, the virus causes severe diseases including pneumonia and shortness of breath. And about 5% of patients have critical diseases including respiratory failure, septic shock and multiorgan failure,” he said. “In 2% of reported cases, the virus is fatal, and the risk of death increases the older you are. We see relatively few cases among children. More research is needed to understand why.”
Man describes why he refused to evacuate quarantined ship
Cruise ship passengers evacuated
Outside of mainland China, the worst single outbreak has been on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship, under tight quarantine in the Japanese port of Yokohama, south of Tokyo. More than 350 of the 3,600 people on board have tested positive for the virus so far. On Monday, 99 new cases were reported.
Late Sunday, 328 American passengers were evacuated late Sunday on two US government-chartered planes to California and Texas. Spaces on the flights had been restricted to people who had not tested positive for the virus, or were not showing symptoms. However, as the planes were preparing to leave, 14 Americans tested positive during final screenings.
Those passengers were boarded nevertheless and held in special compartments on the plane, where they underwent tight observation and further testing.
Speaking to reporters, William Walters, an official with the bureau of medical services at the US State Department, said that three additional people were found to have a fever on the flight to California, and moved to isolation. Two passengers on the flight to Texas were also found to have a fever and isolated.
Since landing in the US, 13 people from the Diamond Princess have been moved to Omaha to be treated at the University of Nebraska, Walters said.
Those passengers who did not test positive or show symptoms will undergo a 14-day quarantine at military bases in California and Texas, doubling the amount of time they will have had their travel restricted, after almost two weeks trapped on board the Diamond Princess.
“It’s like a prison sentence for something I did not do,” Karey Mansicalco, who owns a real estate company in Utah, told CNN before she left. “They are holding us hostage for absolutely no reason.”
For the minority of Americans who remained on the ship, choosing to wait out the 14-day period in Japan where they will be free to move around, rather than head to the US, the fact that new cases were confirmed on board the plane was a vindication.
“The decision not to be evacuated was the best decision ever,” Sacramento resident Matthew Smith told CNN. He had previously criticized the plan, saying the US wanted to “take us off without testing, fly us back to the US with a bunch of other untested people, and then stick us in 2 more weeks of quarantine? How does that make any sense at all?”
Economic woes
With cases of the virus confirmed in more than two dozen countries around the world, and travel to and from China restricted and much of the country on lockdown, the toll is beginning to be felt by the global economy.
Apple warned investors on Monday that the outbreak is hurting its business more than previously expected by limiting how many devices it can make and sell in China. The closing of Chinese plants has also disrupted supply chains globally, threatening to cause a recession in Germany and smartphone shortages worldwide.
Economists say the current level of disruption is manageable. If the number of new coronavirus cases begins to slow, and China’s factories reopen soon, the result will be a fleeting hit to the Chinese economy in the first quarter and a dent in global growth.
If the virus continues to spread, however, the economic damage will increase rapidly.
“This is continuing to grow in scope and magnitude,” William Reinsch, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said last week. “It could end being really, really big, and really, really serious.”
CNN’s Jacqueline Howard and Ben Tinker in Atlanta; Shanshan Wang, Shawn Deng, Steven Jiang and Yong Xiong in Beijing; Mick Krever in Yokohama; Helen Regan, Jessie Yeung, Carly Walsh, Laura He, Isaac Yee, Sandi Sidhu and Nectar Gan in Hong Kong; and Lindsay Isaac, Zahid Mahmood, Charles Riley and Meera Senthilingam in London contributed reporting.