China has stepped up efforts to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Here are the latest developments:
-- The Ministry of Commerce issued a circular urging local authorities to provide better services for foreign-funded enterprises amid the novel coronavirus outbreak. Efforts should be made to help foreign-funded companies resume production and operation in an orderly manner.
-- The impact of the novel coronavirus on China's economic growth is likely to be confined to the first quarter while rebound is expected after the outbreak is contained, analysts said.
-- China's major courier firms resumed operations Monday after an extended Spring Festival holiday due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
Domestic players like ZTO Express, STO Express and Shanghai Yunda Express said their logistics networks would be set in motion starting Feb. 10, while delivery timeliness might be compromised due to the epidemic and priorities would be placed on delivering medical supplies.
-- Transport authorities in Wuhan, the Chinese city at the center of the novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak, announced Sunday they will launch collection hubs for anti-virus supplies in four overseas cities. The collection hubs will be set up in Los Angeles and Chicago in the United States, Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and Incheon in the Republic of Korea.
-- China's National Health Commission Monday said it received reports of 3,062 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 97 deaths on Sunday from 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.
-- By the end of Sunday, a total of 908 people had died of the disease and 40,171 confirmed cases had been reported on the Chinese mainland.
-- A total of 3,281 infected patients had been discharged from hospital after recovery by the end of Sunday.
-- New confirmed cases of novel coronavirus pneumonia outside Hubei Province totaled 444 on Sunday, dropping for six consecutive days.
-- The hardest-hit Hubei Province reported 2,618 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 91 new deaths on Sunday. Its capital city of Wuhan reported 1,921 new infections and 73 new deaths.
-- A renovation project of isolation wards of Wuhan-based Tongji Hospital was completed on Sunday, which is expected to provide 800 beds for severe cases of novel coronavirus infection.
-- To protect people's health and avoid the risk of cross infection caused by gatherings, Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet Autonomous Region, will not hold large-scale traditional religious activities during the Tibetan New Year, which falls on Feb. 24 this year.
