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Coronavirus: New China figures highlight toll on medical staff
Chinese officials have given figures for health workers infected with the new coronavirus, amid concerns about shortages of protective equipment.
Six health workers have died and 1,716 have been infected since the outbreak, they said.
The death a week ago of Doctor Li Wenliang, who tried to warn authorities early on about the virus, provoked a burst of public anger and grief.
More than 1,300 people are now known to have died from the virus.
The latest figures show 122 new deaths in China, bringing the toll to 1,381.
The total number of infections has jumped to 63,922 cases, according to the National Health Commission.
The World Health Organization said there was no major shift in the virus’s pattern of mortality or severity, despite a spike in cases in Hubei, the epicentre of the disease, on Tuesday.
Most of this was down to Hubei using a broader definition to diagnose people, said Mike Ryan, head of WHO’s health emergencies programme.
There was also no significant rise in cases outside China, the WHO said.
However, a cruise ship docked in Japan, the Diamond Princess, saw 44 new cases, bringing the total there to 218.
What is the situation with medical workers?
Zeng Yixin, vice minister of China’s National Health Commission, said 1,102 medical workers had been infected in Wuhan, where the outbreak began, and another 400 in other parts of Hubei province.
He said the number of infections among staff was increasing
“The duties of medical workers at the front are indeed extremely heavy; their working and resting circumstances are limited, the psychological pressures are great, and the risk of infection is high,” Mr Zeng said, quoted by Reuters.
Local authorities have struggled to provide protective equipment such as respiratory masks, goggles and protective suits in hospitals in the area.
One doctor told AFP news agency that he and 16 colleagues were showing possible symptoms of the virus.
Another medical worker said she and more than 100 other staff at her hospital had been quarantined. A further 30 had been confirmed to have been infected there out of a staff of 500 she told CNN.
On 7 February the plight of medical workers was highlighted by the death of Li Wenliang, a doctor at Wuhan Central Hospital who had tried to issue the first warning about the virus on 30 December.
Protests in Guinea on President Alpha Conde’s bid to extend term
Hundreds of thousands of protesters in Guinea are expected to take to the streets again over President Alpha Conde‘s proposal to hold a referendum to change the constitution.
They are angry because Conde wants to change the constitution to allow him to govern beyond his final, second term.
Demonstrations in Guinea against President Alpha Conde’s bid to extend his stay in office have become a daily routine. The 81-year-old President is bent on extending his stay in office, by changing the national constitution. The current constitution provides for a two-term limit for the President. President Conde is serving his second and final term which ends this year.
Several Guineans protesting against President Conde’s plan to change the constitution to suit his third term ambition, have either been shot dead or have been arrested and detained. This is not good for Guinea. Guineans deserve better!
President Conde should put the interest of Guineans ahead of his personal ambition by dropping the idea of changing the constitution to make way for him to continue in office after his second and final term comes to an end. What else does President Conde really want? What point does he intend to prove? He has really done well for Guinea but he should give way to another person to take up from where he would leave off.
President Conde should not destroy his legacy, by trying to undermine the peace and security of not only Guinea but also neighbouring countries like Liberia and Sierra Leone. Liberia and Sierra Leone have suffered greatly and they deserve to be left in peace. Whatever happens in Guinea is bound to affect Liberia and Sierra Leone because they are the two neighbouring countries that share boundaries with Guinea.
Opposition parties have threatened to boycott the vote.
More than 30 people have died since demonstrations began in October.
Nigeria: Death toll from Lassa fever outbreak jumps to 70
The death toll in Nigeria from an outbreak of Lassa fever has risen to 70 as confirmed cases shot up, according to authorities.
The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the Nigerian agency responsible for the management of disease outbreaks, said in its week six update on Thursday that eight new deaths from Lassa fever were reported in three states.
“Four new healthcare workers were affected in Ondo, Delta and Kaduna states,” the NCDC said in the update.
It said the number of suspected cases has “increased significantly” compared with the situation in mid-January, from more than 700 to 1,708.
Confirmed cases have also shot up to 472, it said.
Lassa fever is a disease spread to humans through food or household items contaminated with rodent urine or faeces.
In 80 percent of cases, the fever is asymptomatic, but for some, the symptoms include high fever, headache, mouth ulcers, muscle aches, haemorrhaging under the skin and heart and kidney failure.
It has an incubation period of between six and 21 days and can be transmitted through contact with an infected person via bodily fluids and excretion.
Effective treatment
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the antiviral drug ribavirin appears to be an effective treatment for Lassa fever “if given early on in the course of the clinical illness”.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation with about 200 million people, has five laboratories with the capability to diagnose the disease.
Lassa fever belongs to the same family as the Ebola and Marburg viruses but is much less deadly.
The disease is endemic to the West African country and its name comes from the town of Lassa in northern Nigeria where it was first identified in 1969.
It infects between 100,000 and 300,000 people in the region every year with about 5,000 deaths, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Previously, cases of the disease have been reported in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Togo and Benin.
The number of cases usually climbs in January due to weather conditions during the dry season.
Sudan protests: ‘I waited six hours for petrol’
People in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, have been protesting against fuel and bread shortages. Anger about this same issue back in December 2018 is what sparked mass anti-government protests that led to the downfall of President Omar al-Bashir.
One woman told the BBC’s OS programme how she waited for six hours at a petrol station on Wednesday, eventually getting fuel close to midnight after her children had already fallen asleep at home.
Four hours into her wait, Tagreed Abdin decided to keep a log of what happened.
At 21:20 local time (19:20 GMT):
Quote Message: I’ve been here so long [that] my husband brought supplies – snacks, diet coke and stuff. So here I am, waiting. I called the kids because it’s bedtime. When I told [the petrol station staff] we’d been here for four hours they told me some people have been here since 09:00.”
Female motorists are in one queue, and men in the other. Motorists are let through at a rate of five men to one woman. Later, motorists argue and things start to get violent:
Quote Message: In the end the ladies convinced the local neighbourhood committees to let the cars go through five guys to two women. I saw that the line hadn’t moved for an hour. I’m thinking of bailing.”
At 23:16 local time she is close to being served alongside another female motorist. During their long wait the pair have become friendly and exchanged phone numbers. Ms Abdin says:
Quote Message: She still has to get home and see what her kids are going to have for breakfast and to get their uniforms ready. The women of Sudan continue to inspire me… I’ve lost track [of time]. But now I can see the pumps for the first time.”
At 23:25 local time Ms Abdin finally gets her fuel:
Quote Message: Victory at last. I just filled up my tank after six hours. Hallelujah. Thank you!”
Diamond Princess crew ‘desperate for help’ as virus tightens grip
With a total of 531 crew and seafarers, Filipinos make up half the staff of the Diamond Princess cruise ship that is quarantined in Japan‘s Yokohama port because of the coronavirus, and as the illness spreads, they are becoming increasingly worried.
On Thursday, health authorities in Japan said 44 more people had been confirmed with the infection, bringing the total to at least 218 passengers and crew, as well as one quarantine officer.
Among those crew who are infected, at least 12 of them are Filipinos, according to Japan’s health ministry, raising alarm among family members back home, as well as fellow crew members who continue to work under quarantine conditions.
The nationalities of at least three other sick crew members remained unknown as of Thursday.
While news reports are focused mostly on the 2,670 passengers of the ill-fated ship, its 1,100 crew members are on the front line, as they race against time to contain the spread of the virus inside the ship, keeping the vessel clean, while continuing to serve the passengers who have been confined mostly to their cabins.
In a social media post, Leigh Antonette Barruga from the Philippines said her brother, Paolo, is a crew member of Diamond Princess, and that her family is “heavily distressed” over the situation.
“What we can ask right now is for prayers, and to ensure the safety of the crew members and hopefully, receive medical attention,” she said.
“Their situation on the ship stresses them out and that could cause their immune system to weaken making them more vulnerable to the virus,” Yu added. “We’re desperately seeking your help. Please let them go back to their families and loved ones. It would put our minds at ease if you would just kindly let them go back home.”
Al Jazeera reached out to Paolo, as well as several other crew members, but they did not respond to requests for interviews.
According to his social media account, he started working for Princess Cruises, which operates Diamond Princess, in October 2018.
Barclays CEO Jes Staley under investigation over links with Jeffrey Epstein
The American chief executive of Barclays (BCS), Jes Staley, is being investigated by British regulators over his relationship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, the bank said in a statement on Thursday.
Lawrence Ray: US student’s dad charged for sex trafficking
A man accused of abusing his daughter’s university roommates has been arrested in the US and charged with extortion, sex trafficking and forced labour.
Prosecutors say Lawrence “Larry” Ray extorted some $1m (£771,000) from students at New York’s Sarah Lawrence College, abusing them “emotionally, physically, and sexually”.
The charges were prompted by a story in New York magazine, which detailed the alleged workings of Mr Ray’s “cult”.
Mr Ray, 60, has denied the allegations.
He was arrested on Tuesday in the state of New Jersey.
“For the better part of the last decade, we allege there was no limit to the abuse Ray’s victims received, and there is no way of knowing the amount of damage he may have caused them in the years to come,” said FBI Assistant Director William Sweeney.
What are the accusations?
According to New York magazine, the abuse started when Mr Ray showed up at his daughter’s university in 2010, after being released from prison, where he had been serving time on charges related to a custody dispute.
The publication said his daughter described him to friends as a “truth-teller” who had been unjustly imprisoned. A former FBI informant, Mr Ray had been a close associate of former New York police chief Bernard Kerik. The pair fell out and Mr Ray cooperated with authorities in a high-profile corruption case against Kerik.
Mr Ray moved into his daughter’s dormitory, where prosecutors say he presented himself as a father-figure and began conducting “therapy” sessions.
During the sessions, he allegedly learned intimate details about the students’ private lives and mental health struggles. He alienated several of them from their parents, persuading some to move into a Manhattan apartment and convincing them that they were “broken” and needed his help.
After gaining their trust, prosecutors say Mr Ray subjected his victims to interrogation sessions in which he falsely accused them of harming him by attempting to poison him or damage his property. He allegedly demanded confessions, using tactics including sleep deprivation, sexual humiliation and physical violence.
On one occasion, after accusing a male victim of damaging his property, Mr Ray brandished a knife and threatened to dismember the victim with it, forcing a false confession, the indictment says.
He is accused of using the false confessions to extort money, which the victims attempted to pay by draining their parents’ savings and opening credit lines, among other means. Authorities say he collected more than $500,000 from one woman after forcing her into prostitution, while several were forced to perform unpaid labour.
In total, he is accused of extorting about $1m from at least five victims.
Authorities say he laundered the proceeds of his crimes through an internet domain business.
Manhattan US Attorney Geoffrey Berman said: “College is supposed to be a time of self-discovery and new-found independence. But as alleged, Lawrence Ray exploited that vulnerable time in his victims’ lives through a course of conduct that shocks the conscience”.
Mr Ray has denied the charges, claiming they are the result of a conspiracy against him.
In a statement reported by US media, Sarah Lawrence College described the charges as “serious, wide-ranging, disturbing, and upsetting”.
It said it launched an internal investigation after the New York magazine story was published, which it said “did not substantiate those specific claims”.
Cabinet reshuffle: Ministers braced as Johnson mulls changes to top team
Senior ministers are bracing themselves for Boris Johnson’s first major cabinet reshuffle since the Conservatives’ general election victory.
The PM will make a number of changes over the next 24 hours although it is unclear how wide-ranging they will be.
Attorney General Geoffrey Cox said he would be “uncomplaining” if, as some expect, he is sacked or moved.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told the BBC reshuffles were often “brutal”, but he was hopeful of staying in post.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock joked at an event in London: “It’s a huge pleasure to be here, and with a government reshuffle in the offing, it’s a great time to be talking about longevity.”
A Downing Street source told the BBC the PM would “reward those MPs who have worked hard to deliver on this government’s priorities to level up the whole country and deliver the change people voted for last year”.
Most of the cabinet have only been in their current jobs for just over six months, having been appointed when Boris Johnson became prime minister in July.
The PM left his cabinet largely untouched following his party’s decisive election victory in December, pending what sources suggested at the time would be a more significant overhaul after the UK left the EU on 31 January.
Senior figures such as Chancellor Sajid Javid, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and Home Secretary Priti Patel are not expected to be moved, but others are considered more vulnerable.
Mr Johnson is expected to make changes at junior ministerial level – namely parliamentary under-secretaries of state – that could see a 50/50 gender balance in a push to promote female talent.
There is also a plan to make at least 60% of parliamentary private secretaries women by the summer – compared with just 18% at the moment.
A reshuffle is a time of high anxiety for Cabinet ministers, who have been told to cancel all engagements so they are available to take a call from the PM.
One told me that they’re all paranoid, but desperately pretending not to be.
After the election, there were well-briefed reports that there would be a reorganisation of Whitehall departments and a Cabinet cull.
But it’s just seven months since Boris Johnson took over from Theresa May and got rid of most of her ministers. The speculation now is of a more limited reshuffle.
All eyes will be on Michael Gove who has been tipped to be the minister to oversee Brexit trade talks.
As for who could be on the way out, the names that crop up most among ministers are Andrea Leadsom and Theresa Villiers, but Downing Street will be mindful of gender balance in the top team.
A modest reshuffle would also encourage Conservative MPs to stay loyal, in the hope of promotion further down the line.
There are expected to be promotions for a number of female MPs in government, including Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Suella Braverman and Gillian Keegan.
Oliver Dowden and Alok Sharma are also expected to get more prominent roles.
A No 10 source said: “The prime minister wants this reshuffle to set the foundations for government now and in the future, [and] to promote a generation of talent that will be promoted further in the coming years.”
‘Uncomplaining’
But others in the current cabinet are in less secure positions.
Mr Wallace, one of those whose future is reportedly in doubt, said it was up to the prime minister who was in his top team.
“I’ve been in this game long enough to know that British cabinet reshuffles are brutal,” he told the BBC during a trip to Brussels, where he is attending a meeting of Nato defence ministers.
“I am keen to serve. I enjoy the job of defence secretary. I’m a veteran, I’m a northern MP, I was actually in the army. So I think all those hopefully qualify me, but who knows?”
Asked about his future during a talk at the Institute for Government think tank, Attorney General Mr Cox said it had been the “greatest honour” of his working life to serve the government as its chief law officer.
He said he would be “uncomplaining” whatever the outcome of the reshuffle.
“If you gave me the opportunity to continue, I would embrace it eagerly but equally if it is not to be, there will be other doorways that will open for me.”
When she was re-appointed as Culture Secretary in December, Nicky Morgan said she only expected to stay in the role for a couple of months, having stood down as an MP at the election and appointed a peer.
Among more junior ministers tipped for promotion include Victoria Atkins, Oliver Dowden, Kwasi Kwarteng and Lucy Frazer, while Stephen Barclay could make a quick return to cabinet after his role as Brexit Secretary was scrapped following the UK’s departure.
Mr Johnson is expected to appoint a new minister to oversee the building of the HS2 rail line, final approval for which was given this week.
He also needs to find someone to run the Cop 26 climate summit in Glasgow later this year after its previous president Claire Perry O’Neill was sacked, and two former Tory leaders David Cameron and Lord Hague rejected the job.
Image copyright EPA
Coronavirus: ‘Pariah’ cruise ship rejected by five ports docks at last
A cruise ship that was stranded at sea, because ports were worried about passengers bringing coronavirus, has been allowed to dock in Cambodia.
The MS Westerdam had been turned away by five places in Asia in recent days.
Another cruise ship in quarantine in Japan has more than 200 infections – but the Westerdam, with more than 2,000 crew and passengers, has none.
Only on Tuesday, the cruise liner attempted to dock in Bangkok but was denied permission.
A Thai Navy ship escorted her out of the Gulf of Thailand, from where she set course for Cambodia.
On Thursday morning, the ship finally arrived at an anchoring point in the port city of Sihanoukville.
“This morning, just seeing land was such a breathtaking moment,” passenger Angela Jones from the US told Reuters. “I thought: is this real?”
The Westerdam, run by the US-based Holland America Line, departed Hong Kong on 1 February with 1,455 passengers and 802 crew on board.
The cruise had been scheduled to run for two weeks – and with those 14 days running out, there were worries about fuel and food supplies.
As well as Thailand, it was also turned away by Taiwan, Guam, the Philippines, and Japan.
“We’ve had so many near moments – we thought we were going home only to be turned away,” Ms Jones said.
The ship’s captain Vincent Smit said the ship would anchor outside Sihanoukville to allow authorities to conduct health checks on board.
Passengers will then be able to leave the ship and return to their home countries from the country’s capital Phnom Penh.
The US embassy in Cambodia said it had sent a team to assist its citizens with planning their journey.
Cambodia’s decision to welcome the MS Westerdam was praised by the chief of the World Health Organization (WHO).
It was “an example of the international solidarity we have consistently been calling for”, Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said.
There have been regular health checks for all passengers on board the Westerdam, and there have been no cases so far.
Coronavirus: Sharp increase in deaths and cases in Hubei
Some 242 deaths from the new coronavirus were recorded in the Chinese province of Hubei on Wednesday – the deadliest day of the outbreak.
There was also a huge increase in the number of cases, with 14,840 people diagnosed with the virus.
Hubei has started using a broader definition to diagnose people – which accounts for most of the rise in cases.
China sacked two top officials in Hubei province hours after the new figures were revealed.
Until Wednesday’s increases, the number of people diagnosed in Hubei – where the outbreak emerged – was stabilising.
But the new cases and deaths in the province have pushed the national death toll above 1,350 – with almost 60,000 infections in total.
China has been accused of suppressing the full extent of the outbreak in the past, says the BBC’s Nick Beake in Hong Kong.
Professor David Heymann, Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: “What has happened in China is that they have changed the definition of what the disease really is – now they are taking people who have lesser symptoms.
“The deaths are quite worrisome, there are an increased number of deaths reported, but if you look overall at the total number of deaths and the total number of cases, the fatality ratio is about the same as it has been – but it is still high, as high as the death rate in influenza.”
Meanwhile, the Communist Party secretary in Hubei, Jiang Chaoliang, has been replaced by the Shanghai party chief, Ying Yong, according to state media. The party chief of the capital city, Wuhan, has also been relieved of his duties.
It is the first major change of Hubei party officials since the outbreak began.
Earlier this week, a number of health officials were “removed” from their jobs.
What is the new diagnosis method?
The province – which accounts for more than 80% of overall Chinese infections – now includes “clinically diagnosed cases” in the number of confirmed cases.
This means it includes those showing symptoms, and having a CT scan showing an infected lung, rather than relying only on the standard nucleic acid tests.
Of the 242 new deaths in Wuhan, 135 are such “clinically diagnosed” cases.
That means, even without the new definition, the number of deaths in Hubei on Wednesday was 107 – a new high for the province.
The province’s 14,840 new infections include 13,332 clinically diagnosed cases.
Overall, the province now has 48,206 confirmed infections.
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