That’s not a question, it’s a statement: The WHO is really this stupid. The death toll, as I write, jumped to over 800, from 300 just a few days ago.
For weeks, since the coronavirus became an issue, the WHO has refused to give Taiwan ANY medical information on the virus – not the treatment, not the spread. Their attitude has been, “we HAVE given it to Taiwan’s government, in Beijing”. Taiwan has been getting information third hand from other countries because asking Beijing would be pointless – they appear to be as clueless about the coronavirus as they were about the spread of HIV/AIDS. In 2000, they arrested the doctors who blew the whistle, doctors who tried to protect the public with the facts. As I’m sure most have heard, Dr Li Wenliang, the doctor who told the world about the crisis, has died from the virus while continuing to care for patients. And now the mass murderers in Beijing are trying to erase Li’s name from the public record.
Wuhan doctor who was reprimanded for trying to warn of coronavirus dies from infection
Ophthalmologist Dr Li Wenliang – reported to have been aged 34 – died on Thursday, according to state-run tabloid Global Times.
He was among eight people reprimanded by police in December for “rumour-mongering” over the SARS-like virus, though he was hailed as a “whistleblower” in state media posts reporting his passing.
[…]
Local authorities eventually apologised to Li, but – in January – he contracted the virus whilst he was treating a woman with glaucoma, according to the BBC. “Today nucleic acid testing came back with a positive result, the dust has settled, finally diagnosed,” he wrote last Thursday on the Twitter-like Weibo platform.
The regime is also taking violent action against people suspected of being infected, in scenes reminiscent of “The Walking Dead” TV series.
Taiwan’s government is very much on top of things. A map of “hot zones” around nothern Taiwan are publicly available (where people with symptoms or carriers have reported going) and health care system is responding quickly. Thus far there have been sixteen reported cases, but no deaths. H1N1 has come back and killed thirteen, but none yet from the coronavirus.
Taiwan confirms 3 more Wuhan virus cases, bringing total to 16
Three more Taiwanese were confirmed infected with the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) late Thursday, just several hours after the country reported two new cases earlier in the day.
Of the three new cases, two are a married couple, both in their 50s, who transited through Hong Kong from Taiwan on Jan. 22 for Italy on vacation with two other family members, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said.
Taiwan is having a shortage of face masks, limiting purchase to Taiwanese citizens or foreigners with valid medical cards. Mainland Chinese have been trying to buy them and export them to the mainland, but Taiwanese companies responded by printing the Taiwan flag on them.
Hong Kong’s medical workers are threatening to go on strike if Hong Kong doesn’t close the border with China. Some may see this as using the virus to protect Hong Kong’s sovereignty, but given Beijing’s murderous actions of the past year, who can blame them?
Coronavirus: Hong Kong medics tell gov’t to offer more support or face mass resignations
Medical sector strike organisers have urged the Hospital Authority to offer staff more support to handle the coronavirus outbreak or face mass resignations.
The strike, led by the newly-formed Hospital Authority Employees Alliance (HAEA), began on Monday. Thousands of public healthcare workers have demanded the Hong Kong government close its remaining border crossings with mainland China in a bid to stop the spread of the virus. All travellers from the mainland will be required to enter quarantine for 14 days from Saturday onwards.
There have been over 28,000 confirmed cases of new infections worldwide and over 560 deaths – including one in Hong Kong, according to official figures. The novel virus was first detected in Wuhan, China, and resembles the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed more than 300 people in Hong Kong in 2003.
The HAEA hosted an information stand outside the Prince of Wales Hospital to receive questions about the strike from residents.
“The government is impotent – only Hong Kong people can save themselves! Close the border fully now!” participants chanted.
[There is an update in the post on February 12. – Rhi]
The Philippines is taking reasonable precautions:
Taiwanese need to provide travel history to enter the Philippines
Taipei, Feb. 4 (CNA) From Saturday, Taiwanese wishing to visit the Philippines will be asked to provide a recent travel history when applying for a visa following the extension of a travel ban on foreign travelers who have been to China or its special administrative regions within the last three weeks, according to the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO).
All foreign travelers – – regardless of nationality — who have visited China, Hong Kong or Macau with the last 21 days will be barred from entering the Philippines, MECO said. [Emphasis mine. – Rhi]
On Sunday, Filipino authorities banned all travelers from China, Hong Kong, and Macau, one day after a Chinese national from Wuhan — ground zero of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak — died in the Philippines, becoming the first fatality outside China.
Vietnam took unreasonable measures against Taiwan until money changed their minds. They intended to ban all Taiwanese and resident foreigners in toto until Taiwan’s government said, “Well, if we’re unsafe, then so are your airplanes. We’ll keep them here until the virus passes.” Grounded airplanes lose money every hour, and Hanoi knows it.
Vietnam reverses Taiwan flight ban after causing chaos
Taipei, Feb. 1 (CNA) Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) has confirmed that Vietnam has withdrawn its previous announcement that it was imposing a ban on flights with Taiwan to keep the threat of spreading coronavirus at bay.
Vietnam’s civil aviation authorities announced a ban on all flights to and from China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan for a period of 90 days that was to take effect Saturday.
[…]
But the Vietnamese civil aviation authority did a quick about face, reversing the ban on flights with Taiwan, according to both the CAA and VietJet Air, which had three planes at Taoyuan International Airport waiting to return to Vietnam after the ban took effect.
It was not immediately clear if Vietnam was only lifting the ban for Taiwan and not the other three countries and territories.
Vietnam’s initial move came amid growing concern over the outbreak of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2018-nCoV) in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 that has ballooned into 11,791 confirmed cases and 259 deaths in China as of Friday.