Authorities in the central Chinese province of Hubei say 254 more people have died in the outbreak of a new coronavirus that has killed more than 1,300 people since December.
The announcement of the new death toll comes after China said Wednesday that the number of new cases had dropped for a second consecutive day. Health officials in Hubei, the epicenter of the two-month old outbreak, said they changed their detection methods from a laboratory test to computerized body scans. The changes in detection methods have also boosted the number of total confirmed cases across China to about 60,000.
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus greeted news of the slowdown with caution Wednesday, saying the outbreak “could still go in any direction.”
Shanghai's Mayor Ying Yong attends a news conference after the annual session of the local parliament in Shanghai, China, Jan. 20, 2017.
The outbreak has led to the firing of Jiang Chaoliang as the ruling Communist Party chief in Hubei, just days after the province’s top two health officials were removed from their posts. The official Xinhua news agency says former Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong will replace Jiang, who had been criticized by the public for his handling of the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus.
The virus is believed to have emerged late last year at a seafood market in the city of Wuhan that was illegally selling wildlife.
A CCTV reporter stands near the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship, Feb. 13, 2020, in Yokohama, near Tokyo. Life on board the luxury cruise ship, which has dozens of new virus cases, can include fear, excitement and soul-crushing boredom.
Cruise ship news
Also on Thursday, 44 more people aboard a cruise ship docked off the Japanese coast have tested positive for the virus, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 218. The Diamond Princess has been under quarantine since last week after it was learned that a former passenger who had disembarked in Hong Kong had tested positive for COVID-19. All passengers have been confined to their cabins and will be not be allowed to leave the ship until Feb. 19.
Medical officers prepare a sample for loading on to a helicopter for testing in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, Feb. 13, 2020. The Westerdam cruise ship anchored Thursday off Cambodia for health checks on its 2,200 passengers and crew.
Meanwhile, another cruise ship, the Westerdam, finally anchored off the waters of Cambodia Thursday after being at sea for nearly two weeks. The ship had been turned away by Japan, Thailand, Taiwan and the Philippines, as well as the island of Guam, because of unsubstantiated fears the ship's 2,200 passengers and crew had been infected. A team of health officials will board the ship to conduct health checks on the 1,455 passengers and 802 crew members before they will be allowed to finally disembark.
The outbreak is also wreaking havoc on regional sporting events. World Rugby says the Singapore and Hong Kong rounds of the popular Sevens Series have been moved from April until October.
The two events are among the many sporting events that are either being postponed or cancelled, including the World Track and Field Championships scheduled next month in the Chinese city of Nanjing.
But Yoshiro Mori, president of the organizing committee of this year's Tokyo Olympics, told reporters Thursday the committee is not considering either postponing or cancelling the Games, which begins in July.
The death toll from the coronavirus is higher than the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2002-03, which is believed to have killed 774 people and sickened nearly 8,100 in China and Hong Kong.
Vietnam has locked down a community northwest of Hanoi because of a cluster of COVID-19 cases.
The village of Son Lai in Vinh Phuc province was quarantined after Vietnam's 16th case was confirmed in a 50-year-old man. The quarantine will last 20 days, the Health Ministry said.
The online newspaper VN Express says the man’s daughter was infected. She was part of a group of eight Vietnamese workers for a Japanese company who had been training in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak.
The workers returned to Vietnam on Jan. 17, and six have so far tested positive for the virus.