6 Killed in Quarantine Site Collapse in China

Six people have died and 28 remain trapped following the collapse of a hotel which was used to quarantine citizens in the Chinese city of Quanzhou under surveillance for coronavirus, officials said on Sunday.

It was reported that more than 70 people were originally stuck in the seven-story building, which collapsed Saturday night.

Around 10:30 a.m. Beijing time on Sunday, the authorities had saved 43 civilians, 36 of whom had been sent to the hospital, said the Ministry of Emergency Management.

Pictures from the site showed rescue workers clad in hard hats, goggles and face masks carrying injured people away to waiting for medical staff in white overalls and surgical masks.

A relief group of more than 1,000 people, including firefighters, police and other first responders, arrived at the scene on Saturday night, officials said at a media briefing arranged by the Quanzhou government on Sunday.

Of the 71 people inside the hotel at the time of the collapse, 58 had been under quarantine, they added.

According to state media outlet Xinhua, the owner of the building, a man surnamed Yang, has been summoned by police.

The building's first floor had been under renovation at the time of the collapse, the news agency said.

News of the collapse comes as the spread of COVID-19 continues to slow in China.

According to data from China's National Health Commission (NHC), cases fell by roughly one half on Saturday from the day prior.

The agency confirmed 44 new cases of the COVID-19 disease caused by the new coronavirus as at the end of March 7, a decline from 99 the previous day.

Chinese cities are gradually relaxing quarantine measures put in place over a month ago, while authorities keep a close watch on the virus' spread overseas.

Of the 44 new confirmed cases, 41 were discovered in Wuhan, the origin of the virus' outbreak and its hotbed.

The remaining three were cases imported from outside mainland China.

This marks the second consecutive day in which all of China's newly confirmed cases outside of the city of Wuhan originated from overseas. The three cases bring China's total imported case count to 63.

According to the Beijing Municipal Health Commission, two of the cases found in Beijing originated in Italy and Spain.

As the virus slows its spread in Wuhan, authorities have reacted by closing hospitals built specifically to house its patients.

After the first such closure last week, on Sunday, CCTV announced that activities at the second hospital had been halted, with the remaining 25 patients already discharged and declared to be healed.

Source: Reuters