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[COVID-19 Virus] The PRC Situation Thread

Its great to see Tiongs fighting each other especially when its these northern...I hope a civil war erupts n canto land can gain its independence. It's time the cantos have their own homeland n canto territory is fertile n developed. With independence it will be a rich n powerful country. It has its own language n history n traditions.. no need to look after all the laggard provinces...

China virus fears prompt homemade barricades and online shaming
An unofficial checkpoint stops outsiders getting into Zhangye, in China's northwestern Gansu province. (Photo: AFP/STR)
30 Jan 2020 04:49PM
(Updated: 30 Jan 2020 04:52PM)
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BEIJING: Villages and apartment complexes across China are taking the fight against a deadly viral epidemic into their own hands with improvised barricades and the online shaming of potentially-infected strangers.
The government has taken drastic measures to contain the spread of 2019-nCoV since it emerged at the end of December in a market where wild animals were sold.
More than 50 million people in and around the epicentre of Wuhan have been confined to their cities, while nationwide travel has been heavily curtailed.
READ: Wuhan virus death toll rises to 170, more than 1,700 new cases
Alarmed by daily reports of new cases across the country, ordinary citizens and local officials have buttressed these efforts with their own blockades, fearful that travellers from Hubei will infect their communities.
In one Beijing residential compound, a motley stack of shared bicycles have been haphazardly woven together and wired to a wooden ladder, blocking a side gate and forcing visitors to register with guards at the main entrance.
Staff at the Zhongfangli complex said the bike barrier was built at the start of the week to help them control the flow of people into the compound and stop the virus spreading to residents inside.
Photos of homemade roadblocks elsewhere in China have been shared widely on the microblogging platform Weibo.
Bicycles bar the entrance to an apartment block in Beijing as residents seek to keep control of who can enter. (Photo: AFP/Noel Celis)
In one image, a man wearing a surgical mask and brandishing a traditional martial arts weapon squats on a barricade in front of a village. A hand-written sign on the structure reads: "Outsiders forbidden from entering".
Another shows two elderly men in surgical masks, purportedly in coastal Shandong province, standing behind a cardboard notice instructing visitors to turn around and not enter the community.
A truck has been used to block the road into one section of Lianyungang city near Shanghai since Tuesday, a nearby resident said.
"Don't come back once you've left," locals were instructed, the 30-year-old told AFP.
Unofficial checkpoints have been set up outside villages - like this one in Zouping - to stop outsiders bringing in the deadly virus (Photo: AFP/STR)READ: 'I'm in an apocalypse': American student trapped in virus-hit Chinese city

In nearby Yancheng, a car ambled around apartment blocks blaring a recorded message that warned against contact with arrivals from the epicentre of the outbreak.
"If you discover someone who has returned from Hubei, notify the residents' committee immediately," a loudspeaker on the car warned.
Numerous residential compounds in Beijing have also asked their inhabitants to report any visitors from Wuhan, the city where the virus first appeared - or simply anyone from out of town.
'I PROMISE TO SELF-QUARANTINE'
Hotels around China have refused entry to travellers from Hubei province, while people from Wuhan currently in other parts of the country have been the victims of targeted harassment, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).
Several Wuhan-based students who returned to their home provinces for the Lunar New Year holiday reportedly saw their personal details leaked and shared in online chat groups.
"I am a university student in Wuhan," one student wrote online, according to HRW. "I promise I will self-quarantine, please do not treat us as enemies."
People wearing face masks carry their luggage outside Beijing Railway Station as the country is hit by an outbreak of the new coronavirus, in Beijing, China January 30, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia RawlinsREAD: Stranded in Wuhan: Foreigners raise call for help in virus epicentre
In addition to transport restrictions, authorities are rapidly erecting pre-fabricated hospitals in Wuhan to treat infected residents and are monitoring more than 80,000 people for signs they have the virus.
Officials also warned Thursday that suspected carriers who refused quarantine or otherwise helped spread the disease would be treated as threats to public safety.
But they have taken a dim view of local efforts to stop the spread of the epidemic.
READ: New study places Wuhan virus incubation period at around 5 days

On Thursday authorities ordered the removal of unauthorised roadblocks disrupting long-distance travel, saying the barricades threatened to disrupt the supply of agricultural goods.
Food prices this week have risen to their highest point in nearly four years, according to a widely-used index of produce costs reported by state news agency Xinhua.
shiok. disunity among tiongs is best for world health and peace.
 
Come to think of it, the corona virus just need to alter their surface protein by a bit, good enough to bind onto the binding sites on our surface proteins using induce-fit method. The rest of it all, they say, is history.
 
Come to think of it, the corona virus just need to alter their surface protein by a bit, good enough to bind onto the binding sites on our surface proteins using induce-fit method. The rest of it all, they say, is history.
protein protects it, and it needs to shed some clothes to enjoy tantric sex. ironically the human cell peels off some the viral protein clothing.
 
Just the transposable elements integrated into the host genome before replication begins?
virus' nucleic acid or genome gets integrated into cell host, then translation from genome into protein begins. messenger rna tricks cell host to produce virus components, and then use cell to replicate. it's nature's way of a parasitic alien invasion by using humans to propagate and increase its population. tantric sex at its finest.
 
Coronavirus lies are rife on social media. Here are just some of them
Share
Updated about 10 hours ago
First posted yesterday at 12:37
Two women, one wearing a mask, look at a smartphone.

Conspiracy theories and hoaxes about coronavirus are spreading globally on social media.
(Getty Images: Sergei Savostyanov)
Tech giants are struggling to control the spread of misinformation about the novel coronavirus — and in some cases, even profiting from it.
Key points:
  • Misinformation about the coronavirus is spreading on social media
  • On YouTube, ads for brands like KFC are being run next to conspiracy theories
  • Experts say the situation is unsurprising, but better communication is needed
ABC Science found ads for brands including KFC and Elevit vitamins on YouTube videos that suggest the disease is a bioweapon targeting China, among other conspiracy theories. After being notified, Google removed the ads.
Social media companies and messaging platforms like Weibo and WhatsApp have long struggled with the spread of health misinformation, especially during disease outbreaks.
The coronavirus situation is evolving quickly, which means lies can outpace official sources as we search for answers and solutions — all abetted by technology platforms designed to send content, well, viral.
The spread of misinformation about the coronavirus is unsurprising, suggested Rod Lamberts, deputy director of the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science.
"People want to know what to do. People want to know if they should be worried, which is all very reasonable."
The spread of hoaxes is most troubling for those who need immediate help, including Chinese-Australians trying to leave Wuhan.
On Tuesday, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade warned an online evacuation form circulating online was not an official document.
But most common so far is misinformation about the virus's presence in Australia as well as its origins and how to cure it.
Rumour: The coronavirus has infected food in Australia
Earlier this week, a social media post warned that food originating in China such as fortune cookies and wagyu beef could be "contaminated" by the coronavirus.
It also claimed the "Bureau of Diseasology Parramatta", which does not exist, had found positive cases of the virus at Sydney train stations.
The post was quickly debunked by NSW Health, which said none of the areas mentioned posed a risk, however other iterations of the message were shared on WhatsApp.
Professor James McCaw, an infectious diseases epidemiologist at the University of Melbourne, said he had seen no evidence that consumption of food from China purchased in Australia would be problematic.
In Australia, much of the misinformation seen shared so far relates to the virus's potential impact locally, according to Rachel Blundy, editor of AFP Fact-Check in Hong Kong.
"In [Australia] specifically, it seems to be focusing on 'has the virus arrived in Australia, where should we avoid, how can we stay safe?" she said.
A WhatsApp screenshot showing text.

Information debunked by NSW Health continues to be shared on platforms like WhatsApp.
(ABC News: WhatsApp screenshot)
Rumour: Bill Gates created the coronavirus
One conspiracy theory being shared on Facebook and other sites suggests Bill Gates predicted the coronavirus several months ago, and was involved in "patenting" it.
A Facebook spokesperson said the Gates hoax had been rated as false by several third-party fact checkers.
"We are dramatically reducing its distribution and people who see it, try to share it, or already have, are alerted that it's false," she added.
In fact, there is not only one coronavirus — and confusion may arise because other strains have been patented as part of research.
The term refers to a large group of viruses that cause illnesses such as the common cold and gastrointestinal infections, and more recent diseases including SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome).
They're named for the corona, or crown, of surface proteins that the virus uses to penetrate the cells of its host — in other words, the human who's been infected.
New virus strains emerge relatively frequently because the genetic structure of most viruses is so prone to mutating and changing.
Rumour: The coronavirus is a bio-weapon
Another conspiracy theory circulating on social media claims the coronavirus is a bioweapon.
On the video app TikTok, for example, one account suggested the Chinese Government started the coronavirus to decrease the country's population size.
The idea that diseases are deliberately created by governments or other bad actors is longstanding among conspiracy theorists — and challenging for fact checkers to debunk.
Kanishk Karan, a research assistant in the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab, said both medical misinformation and deliberate disinformation about the coronavirus were being spread online.
"The same was noted around Ebola virus disease," he said.
"Some conspiracy theorists weaponised the issue to make a belief that a secret plot is behind the origins of the virus."
On YouTube, ads for top brands had been shown on videos claiming coronavirus is a bioweapon, earning money for both the content maker and the video platform. But the ads have since been removed from these videos.
"We have strict policies that govern where we allow ads to appear," a YouTube spokesperson told the ABC.
"When we find content that is in violation of our policies, we take action."
TikTok was contacted for comment.
A woman bites chicken with a pool in the background.

On YouTube, an ad for KFC was played before a conspiracy theory video about the origins of coronavirus.
(ABC News: YouTube screenshot)
Rumour: You can protect yourself by drinking bleach
On Facebook, a number of private groups focused on the disease have emerged in recent days.
While some users in these spaces are asking for advice about masks and protective measures, others are sharing erroneous theories about both the cause of coronavirus and potential solutions.
Posts on Weibo, Twitter and Facebook have suggested people rinse their mouths with salt water solution to prevent infection, which is not recommended, according to AFP Factcheck.
The Daily Beast also found promoters of the pro-Trump QAnon conspiracy theory dangerously advising fans to drink bleach in an attempt to ward off the illness.

What can be done to stop misinformation
Some social media companies have taken steps to prevent the spread of bad information.
YouTube's policy is to try and surface authoritative sources in its "next watch" results. And Twitter now points local users that search "coronavirus" to the Australian Department of Health.
However, that information doesn't emerge if you search for "wuflu", for example — another way the disease is referred to online, Mr Karan noted on Twitter.
To avoid being misled, look for information from trusted media and government voices, and avoid information that appears be unsourced or inflammatory.
"People just need to keep checking for official sources," advised AFP's Ms Blundy, "and so if you're reading unofficial blogs and and unofficial Facebook pages, then you can't be sure that what you're reading is genuine."
We must also recognise that there are some questions about coronavirus that we don't yet know the answers to, Dr Lamberts said.
For that reason, social media companies, government and science communicators should share "simple, clear, straightforward messages" about the outbreak, he suggested.
"It affects these people ... You're at risk if ... These are the things you should do ... You don't have to worry if you're 'x'."
 
WHO declares international emergency over Wuhan virus
World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared an international emergency over the deadly coronavirus from China. (FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP)
31 Jan 2020 03:59AM
(Updated: 31 Jan 2020 06:32AM)
Bookmark
GENEVA: The World Health Organisation on Thursday (Jan 30) declared a global emergency over the deadly coronavirus spreading from China, after the Asian giant reported its biggest single-day jump in the death toll.

The UN health agency based in Geneva had initially downplayed the threat posed by the disease, which has now killed 170 people in China, but revised its risk assessment after crisis talks.

"Our greatest concern is the potential for the virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a briefing in Geneva.
"We must all act together now to limit further spread ... We can only stop it together."

Tedros nevertheless said travel and trade restrictions with China were unnecessary to stem the spread of the virus, which has spread to more than 15 other countries across the globe.

Many countries have already urged their citizens not to visit China, while some have banned entry for travellers from the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus first surfaced.

The US reported its first case of a person catching the virus from another person on American soil - a man in Chicago who contracted the illness from his wife, who had travelled to Wuhan.

Airlines began cancelling flights servicing China on Wednesday, and more followed suit on Thursday.

Israel barred all flights from China, while Russia said it was closing its far eastern border with China over the outbreak.

More than 6,000 tourists were temporarily put under lockdown aboard a cruise ship at an Italian port after two Chinese passengers were isolated over fears they could be carrying the virus. They later tested negative for the illness.

DEADLIEST DAY

Beijing has taken extreme steps to stop the spread of the virus, including effectively quarantining more than 50 million people in Wuhan and surrounding Hubei province.

The government on Thursday reported 38 new deaths in the preceding 24 hours, the highest one-day total since the virus was detected late last year.

All but one of the new deaths were in Hubei.

The number of confirmed new cases also grew steadily to 7,711, the National Health Commission said. Another 81,000 people were under observation for possible infection.

The pathogen is believed to have emerged in a market that sold wild game, and spread during a Lunar New Year holiday season in which hundreds of millions of Chinese travel at home or abroad.

'TRULY NEW SITUATION'

Thousands of foreigners have been trapped in Wuhan since it was sealed off last week.

Beijing and Shanghai were quiet as countless people followed advice to stay indoors, or at least wear masks when venturing out.

Japan and the United States on Wednesday became the first countries to organise airlifts from Wuhan for their citizens. A second US flight is planned in the coming days.

Britain was planning an evacuation of around 200 of its citizens early Friday, after receiving the necessary clearance from Beijing.

A French plane was also due to leave Wuhan on Friday, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.

Australia and New Zealand were among others organising similar operations.

Tokyo on Thursday reported that three people who were aboard the first evacuation flight had tested positive for the virus after landing back in Japan.

Two of the three infected passengers showed no symptoms, underscoring the difficulty detecting the coronavirus.

Compounding fears, Japan was allowing the arrivals - more than 400 have been repatriated after a second flight on Thursday - to "self-quarantine".

In contrast, other countries organising evacuations said they were all planning to quarantine.

TAKE ACTION

The virus is similar to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) pathogen. That outbreak also began in China and eventually killed nearly 800 people worldwide in 2002-03.

Major airlines that have suspended or reduced service to China include British Airways, German flag carrier Lufthansa, American Airlines, KLM and United.

Chinese efforts to halt the virus have included the suspension of classes nationwide and an extension of the Lunar New Year holiday.

All football matches across the country also will be postponed, the Chinese Football Association said, including games in the top-tier Chinese Super League.

"The whole world needs to take action," Michael Ryan, head of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, told reporters in Geneva.

ECONOMIC WORRIES

World stock markets tumbled again on Thursday on fears that trouble in the "world's factory" would upset global supply chains and dent profits.

Toyota, IKEA, Starbucks, Tesla, McDonald's and tech giant Foxconn were among the corporate giants temporarily freezing production or closing large numbers of outlets in China.

Volkswagen announced on Thursday its China joint-venture plants would not start production again before Feb 9.

US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the coronavirus posed a fresh risk to the world economy.

Throughout China, signs of paranoia multiplied, with residents of some Beijing residential compounds erecting makeshift barriers to their premises.

In one of many similar photos posted online, a man wearing a surgical mask and brandishing a traditional martial arts weapon squatted on a barricade outside a Chinese village, near a sign saying: "Outsiders forbidden from entering".

The crisis has caused food prices to spike, and the central government on Thursday blamed this partly on overzealous preventive measures, issuing a directive banning any roadblocks or other hindrances to food shipments.
MORE: Our coverage on the Wuhan virus and its developments
Subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the Wuhan virus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
Full coverage:
https://cna.asia/wuhan-virus
 
Almost 1000 people a day are killed on China's roads.

You are far more likely to be killed while driving to Wuhan than being in the city.
 
WHO declares international emergency over Wuhan virus
World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared an international emergency over the deadly coronavirus from China. (FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP)
31 Jan 2020 03:59AM
(Updated: 31 Jan 2020 06:32AM)
Bookmark
GENEVA: The World Health Organisation on Thursday (Jan 30) declared a global emergency over the deadly coronavirus spreading from China, after the Asian giant reported its biggest single-day jump in the death toll.

The UN health agency based in Geneva had initially downplayed the threat posed by the disease, which has now killed 170 people in China, but revised its risk assessment after crisis talks.

"Our greatest concern is the potential for the virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a briefing in Geneva.
"We must all act together now to limit further spread ... We can only stop it together."

Tedros nevertheless said travel and trade restrictions with China were unnecessary to stem the spread of the virus, which has spread to more than 15 other countries across the globe.

Many countries have already urged their citizens not to visit China, while some have banned entry for travellers from the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus first surfaced.

The US reported its first case of a person catching the virus from another person on American soil - a man in Chicago who contracted the illness from his wife, who had travelled to Wuhan.

Airlines began cancelling flights servicing China on Wednesday, and more followed suit on Thursday.

Israel barred all flights from China, while Russia said it was closing its far eastern border with China over the outbreak.

More than 6,000 tourists were temporarily put under lockdown aboard a cruise ship at an Italian port after two Chinese passengers were isolated over fears they could be carrying the virus. They later tested negative for the illness.

DEADLIEST DAY

Beijing has taken extreme steps to stop the spread of the virus, including effectively quarantining more than 50 million people in Wuhan and surrounding Hubei province.

The government on Thursday reported 38 new deaths in the preceding 24 hours, the highest one-day total since the virus was detected late last year.

All but one of the new deaths were in Hubei.

The number of confirmed new cases also grew steadily to 7,711, the National Health Commission said. Another 81,000 people were under observation for possible infection.

The pathogen is believed to have emerged in a market that sold wild game, and spread during a Lunar New Year holiday season in which hundreds of millions of Chinese travel at home or abroad.

'TRULY NEW SITUATION'

Thousands of foreigners have been trapped in Wuhan since it was sealed off last week.

Beijing and Shanghai were quiet as countless people followed advice to stay indoors, or at least wear masks when venturing out.

Japan and the United States on Wednesday became the first countries to organise airlifts from Wuhan for their citizens. A second US flight is planned in the coming days.

Britain was planning an evacuation of around 200 of its citizens early Friday, after receiving the necessary clearance from Beijing.

A French plane was also due to leave Wuhan on Friday, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.

Australia and New Zealand were among others organising similar operations.

Tokyo on Thursday reported that three people who were aboard the first evacuation flight had tested positive for the virus after landing back in Japan.

Two of the three infected passengers showed no symptoms, underscoring the difficulty detecting the coronavirus.

Compounding fears, Japan was allowing the arrivals - more than 400 have been repatriated after a second flight on Thursday - to "self-quarantine".

In contrast, other countries organising evacuations said they were all planning to quarantine.

TAKE ACTION

The virus is similar to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) pathogen. That outbreak also began in China and eventually killed nearly 800 people worldwide in 2002-03.

Major airlines that have suspended or reduced service to China include British Airways, German flag carrier Lufthansa, American Airlines, KLM and United.

Chinese efforts to halt the virus have included the suspension of classes nationwide and an extension of the Lunar New Year holiday.

All football matches across the country also will be postponed, the Chinese Football Association said, including games in the top-tier Chinese Super League.

"The whole world needs to take action," Michael Ryan, head of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, told reporters in Geneva.

ECONOMIC WORRIES

World stock markets tumbled again on Thursday on fears that trouble in the "world's factory" would upset global supply chains and dent profits.

Toyota, IKEA, Starbucks, Tesla, McDonald's and tech giant Foxconn were among the corporate giants temporarily freezing production or closing large numbers of outlets in China.

Volkswagen announced on Thursday its China joint-venture plants would not start production again before Feb 9.

US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the coronavirus posed a fresh risk to the world economy.

Throughout China, signs of paranoia multiplied, with residents of some Beijing residential compounds erecting makeshift barriers to their premises.

In one of many similar photos posted online, a man wearing a surgical mask and brandishing a traditional martial arts weapon squatted on a barricade outside a Chinese village, near a sign saying: "Outsiders forbidden from entering".

The crisis has caused food prices to spike, and the central government on Thursday blamed this partly on overzealous preventive measures, issuing a directive banning any roadblocks or other hindrances to food shipments.
MORE: Our coverage on the Wuhan virus and its developments
Subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the Wuhan virus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
Full coverage:
https://cna.asia/wuhan-virus
can trust japs to self-quarantine but not tiongs. they’re the most untrustworthy and dishonest bunch of pricks the world has ever known.
 
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