China

Hong Kong, Feb 26 (AFP/PTI) Hong Kong's government on Wednesday said it will give a HK 10,000 ($1,280) handout to seven million permanent residents in a bid to jump-start a recession-hit economy now compounded by the coronavirus outbreak.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan unveiled the cash gift in an annual budget, committing 120 billion to help alleviate the worst economic downtown the international financial hub has faced in a decade.

Beijing, Feb 26 (PTI) The death toll in China's novel coronavirus epidemic on Wednesday climbed to 2,715 with 52 new fatalities while the confirmed cases rose to 78,064, amidst strong signs of COVID-19 slowing down even at its epicentre Hubei province.

The country's National Health Commission (NHC) in its daily update said it received reports of 52 deaths, all from Hubei, and 406 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection from all over the country.

BEIJING, Feb 25 (APP): The Asian Development Bank (ADB) Tuesday signed an agreement for a private sector loan of up to CNY130 million ($18.6 million) to Jointown Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. (Jointown) in the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

The local currency loan will support Jointown’s efforts to ensure a continued supply of essential medicines and personal protective equipment such as protective clothing, gloves, goggles, face masks, and respirators, according to a press statement issued here.

25 February 2020; AFP: China has sentenced Swedish book publisher Gui Minhai to 10 years in prison on charges of illegally providing intelligence abroad and claimed him as a citizen, prompting Stockholm to call for his release in a case that has rattled diplomatic relations.

Gui, one of five Hong Kong-based booksellers known for publishing salacious titles about China's political leaders, was snatched by authorities while on a train to Beijing in February 2018, the second time he disappeared into mainland custody.

BEIJING, Feb 24 (APP): China on Monday reiterated its gratitude and appreciation over the enormous support and assistance offered by Pakistan in the wake of the novel coronavirus epidemic saying this fact once again showed that the two countries were true friends and brothers sharing weal and woe.

Beijing, Feb 24 (AFP/PTI) Non-residents of Wuhan may leave the quarantined city at the epicentre of China's virus epidemic if they show no symptoms and have never had contact with patients, authorities said Monday.

Wuhan, a city of 11 million, has been under lockdown since January 23 after authorities shut down transport links into and out of the city in an effort to contain the new coronavirus outbreak.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s top legislative body formally decided to postpone the annual meeting of parliament originally scheduled to start on March 5, state television reported on Monday, amid a coronavirus outbreak that has infected more than 70,000 in the country.

State television said the new date for the meetings, which typically last for 10 days, would be set later. The meeting would not be delayed for too long, the report added without elaborating.

BEIJING, Feb. 21 (APP): There is no other thing that could ease the string of the Chinese nation than the alleviation of the encroachment of the novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) now.

More than 16,000 patients contracting the COVID-19 have been discharged from hospitals in China up to February 19, with new cured cases increasing for 6 days. The new confirmed cases outside Hubei Province, the epicenter of the epidemic, has been in continued decline for 16 days in straight since February 3, according to an article published by China Economic Net.

BEIJING, Feb 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — China had 889 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections on Thursday, the National Health Commission said on Friday, up from 394 cases a day earlier.

That brings the total accumulated number of confirmed cases in mainland China so far to 75,465.

The death toll from the outbreak in mainland China reached 2,236 as of the end of Thursday, up by 118 from the previous day.

The central province of Hubei, the epicentre of the outbreak, reported 115 new deaths, while in the provincial capital of Wuhan, 99 people died. 

BEIJING, Feb 21 (NNN-BERNAMA) — The number of people, who have been infected with a new coronavirus across mainland China has reached 75,465, with 2,236 patients having died, Sputnik news agency quoted the National Health Commission as saying on Friday.