“Tsunami-Like” Coronavirus Floods South Korea With New Cases; Europe Begins To Isolate Italy: Live Updates
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Sun, 02/23/2020
Summary:
In a report that was 4 hours “late”, China reported an additional 409 coronavirus cases across the entire nation, and 150 additional deaths as of February 23 compared to 648 additional cases and 97 deaths on February 22; this brought total China cases to 77150 and total deaths 2592
China’s Hubei province said it has 398 New Coronavirus Cases As Of Feb 23 and 149 New Coronavirus Deaths.
South Korea raised its national threat level to “red alert” for the first time since the H1N1 swine flu outbreak in 2009. The total number of confirmed cases in the country reached 763, a jump of 161 overnight, and a 25-fold increase in the past week.
The Italian government said it has 152 confirmed cases, up from three in a matter of days. Three people have died. Authorities have locked down about a dozen small towns and canceled events across the north, including Venice’s Carnival.
Iran has confirmed eight deaths related to the coronavirus, the most outside of China, media reported Sunday. South Korea confirmed its seventh death.
4 more cases confirmed in UK
200 Israelis quarantined
Japan confirms more cases; Japanese Emperor expresses hope for Tokyo Games
Trump says US has everything ‘under control’ as he asks Congress for more money
EU’s Gentiloni says he has ‘full confidence’ In Italian health officials
Turkey, Pakistan close borders with Iran as confirmed cases soar
Global Times says virus may not have originated at Hunan seafood market
Axios reports shortages of 150 essential drugs likely.
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Update (2200ET): In a release that was about 4 hours late, China’s Hubei province said it has 398 New Coronavirus Cases As Of Feb 23 and 149 New Coronavirus Deaths. Overall, China reported an additional 409 coronavirus cases across the entire nation, and 150 additional deaths as of February 23 vs. 648 additional cases and 97 deaths on February 22. This brings the total number of cases across China to 77,150, and total deaths to 2592.
None of these numbers are even remotely credible any more, and serve merely the propaganda purpose of giving the impression that Beijing is winning the war against the spread of the Coronavirus, when in reality nobody has any idea anymore what is going on on the ground in China, and is why workers refuse to show up to their place of business. Consider this: two days ago, WaPo reporters pointed to a clear case of manipulation where the authorities suppressed the true number of cases.
Authorities in Hubei province reported good news Thursday: There were only 349 new coronavirus cases the previous day, the lowest tally in weeks. The bad – and puzzling – news? Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, reported 615 new cases all by itself.
And then there was the Hunan doctor who said he had treated no less than 50 patients with coronavirus on the same day official data reported just one new case.
惊恐：湖南中医药大学第二附属医院的这位医生一天确诊50个冠状病毒患者，累到浑身湿透，没力气说话…… pic.twitter.com/kMh2Wl2Zl2
— 实话实说 (@jMcSVGx9oRuiEir) February 22, 2020
Update (2015 ET): The epidemic in South Korea is accelerating exponentially, with the country reporting 161 additional virus cases, bringing the total of 763, a 25-fold increase in cases in one week, along with two more deaths bringing the death toll there to seven. The Kospi is continuing its decline and is down 3.0% and approached the 2100 level on the downside.
More ominously, the number of cases under inspection is nearly 10,000.
Earlier in the day, S.Korea elevated the virus alert level to “red”, the highest in its four-tier system. According to Yonhap, in escalating the virus alert level, President Moon said, “a few days from now is a watershed moment.” In the first 30 days, S. Korea seemed to have been effectively combating the Covid-19. But within the past few days, the number of confirmed cases spiked, first linked to a religious sect and now starting to spread across the country. Yet, the city of Daegu and the Gyeongbuk area have a higher concentration of virus cases – representing 84% of the total number of infections – than other regions. Tied to this, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) estimates 329 cases, accounting for more than half of the total cases, to be related to the church services.
The following chart shows the geometric spread of new cases in several countries, including Italy, Japan, South Korea and Iran.
