- Title: Mainland China sees rise in new coronavirus cases
- Date: 5th April 2020
- Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (APRIL 5, 2020) (REUTERS) SPOKESMAN FOR CHINA'S NATIONAL HEALTH COMMISSION AND OTHER SENIOR OFFICIALS TAKING SEATS AT START OF REGULAR NEWS CONFERENCE JOURNALISTS SITTING (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) SPOKESMAN FOR CHINA'S NATIONAL HEALTH COMMISSION, MI FENG, SAYING: "(On April 4th) there were 30 new confirmed (coronavirus) cases, of which 25 were imported cases and 5 cases were domestically transmitted in Guangdong province. There were 3 new deaths (from coronavirus). All of these were patients from Hubei." JOURNALISTS SITTING (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) SPOKESMAN FOR CHINA'S NATIONAL HEALTH COMMISSION, MI FENG, SAYING: "In total there have been 3,329 deaths (from coronavirus). In total there have been 81,669 confirmed cases." JOURNALIST SITTING (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF GENERAL OPERATIONS, CHINA'S GENERAL ADMINISTRATION OF CUSTOMS, JIN HAI, SAYING: "From March 1st to April 4th China has exported a total of 10.2 billion yuan worth of materials for prevention and control for this outbreak. This mainly includes; 3.86 billion masks worth 7.72 billion yuan; 37.52 million units of protective gear worth 910 million yuan; 2.41 million units of infra-red thermometers worth 331 million yuan; 16000 ventilators worth 311 million." JOURNALISTS SITTING (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) SENIOR OFFICIAL, DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN TRADE, CHINESE COMMERCE MINISTRY, JIANG FAN, WHEN ASKED ABOUT MEDIA REPORTS THAT SOME COUNTRIES HAVE MENTIONED QUALITY ISSUES WITH MEDICAL MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES THEY HAVE BOUGHT FROM CHINA RECENTLY, SUCH AS MASKS, SAYING: "We have discovered that the reports which you refer to have not reflected the whole truth. In some cases it has been said that Chinese products are entirely not up to standard. In reality there are many reasons for this situation. For example there is a difference in quality standards between China and other countries and differences in the way we use these items, and if the user doesn't use the item properly it can also cause some queries about the quality." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS
- Embargoed: 19th April 2020 10:12
- Keywords: China asymptomatic death toll health ministry imported case new cases news conference
- Location: BEIJING, CHINA
- City: BEIJING, CHINA
- Country: China
- Topics: Health/Medicine
- Reuters ID: LVA001C87QDZB
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Mainland China reported 30 new coronavirus cases on Saturday (April 4), up from 19 a day earlier as the number of cases involving travelers from abroad as well as local transmissions increased, highlighting the difficulty in stamping out the outbreak.
The National Health Commission said in a statement on Sunday (April 5) that 25 of the latest cases involved people who had entered from abroad, compared with 18 such cases a day earlier. Five new locally transmitted infections were also reported on Saturday, all in the southern coastal province of Guangdong, up from a day earlier.
The mainland has now reported a total of 81,669 cases, while the death toll has risen by three to 3,329.
Though daily infections have fallen dramatically from the height of the epidemic in February, when hundreds of new cases were reported daily, Beijing remains unable to completely halt new infections despite imposing some of the most drastic measures to curb the virus' spread.
The so-called imported cases and asymptomatic patients, who have the virus and can give it to others but show no symptoms, have become among China's chief concerns in recent weeks. The country has closed off its borders to almost all foreigners as the virus spread globally, though most of the imported cases involve Chinese nationals returning from overseas.
(Production: Martin Pollard) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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