Mayor of Wuhan offers to RESIGN and ‘bear any responsibility’ for the coronavirus outbreak that began in his city as suspected sixth case is reported in US and deadly infection spreads to 2,900 victims worldwide
Zhou Xianwang, the mayor of Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, has offered to resign amid criticism he and other officials responded to the crisis too slowly
In an interview, he said he and the city’s Communist Party secretary would ‘bear any responsibility’ for the rising number of cases worldwide.
On Monday, health officials in Pennsylvania said a sixth case is suspected at William Penn Charter School in East Falls
The patient is a Chinese exchange student – one of 18 – who traveled through Wuhan, ad he or she is currently in isolation
Five other US cases have been confirmed in Maricopa County, Arizona; Orange County and Los Angeles County, California; Chicago, Illinois and Snohomish County, Washington
Nearly 2,900 people have been sickened by coronavirus in at least 12 countries and 82 have died, all in China
On Monday, the World Health Organization said in previous reports it had incorrectly identified the global risk of coronavirus as ‘moderate’ instead of ‘high’
By MARY KEKATOS SENIOR HEALTH REPORTER
DAILYMAIL.COM
27 January 2020
The mayor of Wuhan, where the deadly coronavirus outbreak began, has offered to resign amid criticism that response to the outbreak came too slowly.
In an interview with state media CCTV, Mayor Zhou Xianwang, said that he and Ma Guoqiang, the city’s Communist Party secretary, would resign to ‘appease public indignation’ and offered to take responsibility for the growing number of cases around the world.
‘Our names will live in infamy, but as long as it is conducive to the control of the disease and to the people’s lives and safety, Comrade Ma Guoqiang and I will bear any responsibility,’ he told CCTV, according to The New York Times.
Chinese citizens and healthcare workers in the country and abroad have criticized the government, saying that officials covered-up the extent of the crisis for too long and that too many people were allowed to leave Wuhan before a ban on travel was enacted.
But Zhou defended the ban, which suspended all planes and buses leaving the city, calling it ‘unprecedented in human history.’
It comes as a sixth American case of coronavirus is suspected in Pennsylvania. A Chinese exchange student – one of 18 – at William Penn Charter School in East Falls reported feeling unwell at the end of last week.
The student is currently in isolation and test results are expected to be confirmed within days, although the pupil is reportedly feeling better, reported CBS 3 Philly.
Previously, US cases had been confirmed in Maricopa County, Arizona; Orange County and Los Angeles County, California; Chicago, Illinois; and Snohomish County, Washington.
There are currently 2,894 confirmed cases of coronavirus in at least 12 countries and 82 people – all of them in China – have died.
Despite the panic, Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), wrote a tweet on Monday that read: ‘We understand people may worry about the new #coronavirus. In today’s connected world, an outbreak anywhere can be a risk everywhere. Risk is dependent on exposure. 2019-nCoV is not spreading in the US at this time. CDC continues to believe the risk to the US public is now low.’
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