Human transmission confirmed, arrivals from China under lens

1st cases from Beijing, Shanghai cities and provinces like Guangdong, Sichuan

NEW DELHI/BEIJING: Officials in China confirmed on Monday that humans can be infected by other humans with the new, fastspreading virus that has triggered alarm bells across the world, including in India where officials have now begun a sweeping identification of people who are or may be flying in from any Chinese city.

According to officials in Beijing, 14 medical staff have been infected by the previously unseen coronavirus, the number of patients has more than trebled, and new infections have been reported from more Chinese cities – confirming fears that the virus is highly contagious.

In India, health ministry officials reached out to the embassy in China and to immigration officials for details of inbound travellers from the affected regions, including foreigners as well as Indian citizens. Among them are at least 500 Indians studying in medical colleges in Wuhan, the ground zero for the outbreak.

“There are apparently close to 500 students in different medical colleges; we have asked the officials there to send us the list. Anyone coming from China will be screened,” said a health ministry official.

BEIJING:The new coronavirus can be transmitted between humans, China confirmed on Monday as the death toll from the outbreak rose to three, number of those infected crossed 225 and cases were reported across the country including Beijing and Shanghai.

As many as 14 medical workers were infected by the disease, health officials said, a sign that the disease is highly infectious.

Zhong Nanshan, director of the State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease said transmission between humans was behind at least one confirmed case in Wuhan and also infections in two families in south China’s Guangdong province. Zhong added that the 14 medical staff contracted the virus from one carrier.

Zhong said at least 95% of the cases were connected to Wuhan, the capital of the central Chinese province of Hubei. He said human-to-human transmission and infection of the medical staff were “important signs” and the priority should be to prevent the spread of the disease.

The total number of confirmed cases of the infection until Monday was 217; at least seven more suspected cases were reported from different parts of China.

A Chinese woman was hospitalised with the Coronavirus in South Korea’s Seoul on Monday after disembarking from a flight from the city of Wuhan, where the virus is said to have originated. One person in Japan and two more in Thailand have also been diagnosed with the disease.

Taking note of the situation, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday that the country will curb the spread of an outbreak of pneumonia caused by a new coronavirus. “People’s lives and health should be given top priority and the spread of the outbreak should be resolutely curbed,” state TV quoted Xi as saying.

The spread of the virus has sparked fears of a wider outbreak as the travel rush for the upcoming Chinese New Year holidays peaks this week. More than three billion trips are expected to be made during a 40-day rush.

All three deaths were reported from Wuhan, a university city with a population nearly 11 million and thousands foreign – including Indian – students.

The city has reported 198 cases so far. At least five cases of the disease have been reported in Beijing, two in Shanghai and as many as 14 in the southern province of Guangdong.