Live updates: China?s leaders shake up political ranks as coronavirus cases near 60,000

It also announced that 44 more people have tested positive for the new coronavirus on board the quarantined cruise liner Diamond Princess, bringing to 218 the number of infected.● The political shake-up in Communist Party ranks underscored Chinese leaders’ jitters about the potential for the outbreak to fuel domestic instability.● China revised the total case numbers in Hubei province by an additional 15,000 — and raised the death tally by 242 — after it took into account cases in which doctors are allowed to diagnose patients based on clinical methods. The National Health Commission said Thursday the new case total for the country is 59,804, with 1,367 deaths.● Beijing also used Thursday’s political shake-up to oust the head of its office overseeing Hong Kong, following months of turmoil in the semiautonomous financial center.LONDON — A woman infected with the coronavirus who arrived in Britain from China took an Uber to a hospital in the Lewisham area of London, after falling ill on Sunday.The hospital’s chief executive, Ben Travis, confirmed on Thursday that the woman had “self-presented” in the emergency room over the weekend despite the latest government advice asking those who think they might have been infected to stay at home and avoid contact with others.Public Health England also advises those experiencing symptoms to call the National Health Service’s 111 helpline for information and that those returning from China or other specified areas should not use taxis or other methods of public transport until at least two weeks after their return.“In this case, the patient self-presented,” Travis said in a statement. “Going forward, there is a possibility that we may see cases in different parts of Japan.”Singapore’s Health Ministry confirmed eight new coronavirus cases, bringing the city-state’s total up to 58.Authorities also confirmed links between the new cases and already known clusters of infections, including one at a construction site and another one at a church.The announcement came after the co-chairman of Singapore’s task force fighting the outbreak, Lawrence Wong, indicated that the government expects the tally to rise.“[We] don’t know how successful we will be in all of these containment measures that we have put in place,” the official was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.Prior to the new cases announced Thursday, eight Singaporean coronavirus patients were in critical condition.SEOUL — South Korean President Moon Jae-in called for the resumption of economic activities as the coronavirus outbreak “nears an end,” even as reported cases surged in China on Thursday after changes to the reporting protocols in Hubei province.Moon was probably referring to the situation in South Korea, where a quarter of the 28 coronavirus patients have already been discharged from quarantine. Panic erupted in Hong Kong 17 years ago after cases emerged of SARS moving through plumbing inside apartment towers.Hong Kong officials this week evacuated an apartment block after residents living directly on top of each other on different floors became infected, leading local officials to worry that the virus may have wafted out of vertical sewage pipes or been carried onto different floors in liquid droplets.Zhao Jincun, deputy director of China’s National Key Laboratory for Respiratory Illnesses, told reporters Thursday that isolating the virus in stool “indicates there may be new transmission methods for the coronavirus, but we need further study.”Chinese National Health Commission spokesman Mi Feng said Thursday there was no evidence of significant “fecal-oral” transmission, adding that most infection arose from touching contaminated surfaces.BEIJING — China’s National Health Commission said the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases as of the end of Wednesday jumped to 59,804 and the death toll rose by 254, to 1,367.Commission spokesman Mi Feng announced the nationwide figures Thursday afternoon amid intense speculation over whether China would significantly adjust its infection and death tally. Other analysts wondered why there was a discrepancy between the various provinces in reporting methodology.Carl Minzner, professor of Chinese law and politics at Fordham Law School, said Thursday’s developments suggested a “certain lack of coordination” within the party.“In a one party political system that is now obsessively focused on controlling the narrative regarding the epidemic, you’d expect a data release of this magnitude to be accompanied by a much clearer propaganda narrative for public consumption,” Minzner told The Post.Minzner speculated that central leaders may be hesitant about letting every jurisdiction revise its numbers upward under the looser guidelines.“Perhaps party authorities themselves remain somewhat uncertain to what extent they want to authorize more sweeping case counting methods outside Hubei, which might produce both larger and possibly inaccurate totals as well as fuel resistance to their ongoing efforts to restart China’s economy,” he said.Australia on Thursday extended entry restrictions on travelers who have been in mainland China recently, as it tries to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.The current ban had been due to expire on Saturday, but officials have now pushed it back by another week.“We are very mindful of the disruption and economic impacts of these arrangements, but I note Australia is one of 58 countries that has introduced some form of travel restrictions,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate family are exempt from the ban, which does not apply to the semiautonomous Chinese territories of Hong Kong or Macao.Officials have advised Australians not to travel to mainland China, and have asked those returning to isolate themselves for 14 days.Australia has recorded 15 cases of the new coronavirus, but no deaths. Checkpoints have also been set up around the village.A villager interviewed by AFP said authorities had already been advising residents to avoid large gatherings, and said life there has been “badly affected” as laborers are unable to work.The coronavirus illness spread in the province when a group of eight workers from Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, returned home to Vinh Phuc province on Jan. 17.BEIJING — China’s state outlets urged citizens not to panic Thursday after officials in Hubei province announced the number of new coronavirus cases jumped nearly tenfold from the rates reported in recent days due to a change in how cases are diagnosed and counted.The surprise revelation raised familiar fears among Chinese that their government had been underreporting or intentionally downplaying the true scale of the epidemic, as it did during the 2002-2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome.