New coronavirus cases fall in China but fears grow over global spread

China reported a sharp fall in new deaths and cases of the coronavirus on Saturday but world health officials warned it was too early to make predictions about the outbreak as new infections continued to rise in other countries.

Chinese authorities said the mainland had 397 new confirmed cases on Friday, down from 889 a day earlier. The numbers surged elsewhere, though, with outbreaks worsening in South Korea, Iran, Italy and Lebanon.

In South Korea, authorities said on Saturday the number of new infections had doubled to 433, and suggested the tally could rise significantly as more than 1,000 people who attended a church at the centre of the outbreak reported flu-like symptoms.

The World Health Organization welcomed the reported decline in new Chinese cases, but said it was concerned about the number of new infections elsewhere with no clear link to China such as travel history or contact with a confirmed case.

"Our biggest concern continues to be the potential for COVID-19 (the new virus) to spread in countries with weaker health systems," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

The UN agency is calling for $675 million to support most vulnerable countries, he said, adding 13 countries in Africa are seen as a priority because of their links to China.

In total, China has reported 75,569 cases to the WHO, and 2,239 deaths, Tedros said. According to available data, the disease remains mild in 80% of patients, and severe or critical in 20%. The virus has been fatal in 2% of reported cases.

The disease has spread to some 26 countries and territories outside mainland China, killing 13 people, according to a Reuters tally.

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'BLUE WHALE' ARRIVES

The latest Chinese figures showed only 31 of the new cases on Friday were outside of the virus epicentre of Hubei province, the lowest number since the National Health Commission started compiling nationwide data a month ago.

But new, albeit isolated findings about the coronavirus could complicate efforts to thwart it, including the Hubei government's announcement on Saturday that an elderly man took 27 days to show symptoms after infection, almost twice the presumed 14-day incubation period.

That follows Chinese scientists reporting that a woman from Wuhan had travelled 400 miles (675 km) and infected five relatives without showing signs of infection.

State television showed the arrival in Wuhan of the "blue whale" on Saturday, the first of seven river cruise ships it is bringing in to house medical workers, tens of thousands of which have been sent to Hubei to contain the virus.

Social media users posted footage and images of some malls reopening, including in the cities of Wuxi, Hangzhou and in Gansu province. Shoppers queued in near-empty streets outside for mandatory temperature checks as trickles of customers in masks perused luxury goods shops and makeup counters.

Iran, which had no reported cases earlier this week, has now detected 10 new cases of coronavirus, taking the number to 28 infections and five deaths.

Japan, which confirmed 14 new cases on Saturday, faces growing questions about whether it is doing enough to contain its outbreak and whether the virus could disrupt this year's Tokyo Olympics. Organisers postponed the start of training for volunteers as a precaution.

FINANCIAL FEARS

Financial leaders sought to soothe investors' fears over the outbreak, which has roiled global markets, with equities sliding on Friday.

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Saturday the yen's recent declines were largely driven by a strong dollar, shrugging off some market views that the virus epidemic is triggering an outflow of funds from Asia.

Senior Chinese central bank officials, meanwhile, played down worries about the potential damage to the world's second-largest economy, saying the country's financial system and currency were resilient.

Chen Yulu, a deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, said policymakers had plenty of tools to support the economy, and were confident of winning the war against the epidemic.

"We believe that after this epidemic is over, pent-up demand for consumption and investment will be fully released, and China's economy will rebound swiftly," Chen told state TV.

China has recently cut several key lending rates and has urged banks to extend cheap loans to the companies that are struggling to resume production and are running out of cash.

The transport ministry said businesses would resume operations on a larger scale later this month and said more roads, waterways and ports were returning to normal.

However, transport restrictions remain in many areas and while more firms are reopening, the limited data available suggests manufacturing is still at weak levels, with disruptions starting to spillover into global supply chains.

Some analysts believe China's economy could contract in the first quarter from the previous three months due to the combined supply and demand shocks caused by the epidemic and government containment measures.