Transit control in China after virus toll hits six

CORONAVIRUS Cases in China surge beyond 300; shares fall on fears of the virus outbreak spreading worldwide

BEIJING: China on Tuesday tightened control on people exiting and entering the central city of Wuhan, which is at the core of the outbreak of the coronavirus. The new virus killed six people so far, infected nearly 300 and spread panic amid the Lunar New Year festival season.

Five new cases were confirmed in the city of Chongqing, a megapolis of 30 million people.two more people died in Wuhan in the past 24 hours, pushing the toll to six.

Two cases were confirmed in Tianjin, a city neighbouring Beijing, as reports in the past 24 hours said the virus had spread across China, and in at least seven cases outside its borders to Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Australia.

A Taiwanese businesswoman who just returned from Wuhan tested positive for the virus, Taiwan’s Centres for Disease Control reported on Tuesday.

The World Health Organization has called for an emergency meeting on Wednesday to determine whether the outbreak could be declared an “international public health emergency”. Chinese experts will take part in the meeting, the Chinese foreign ministry said.

The authorities are now attempting to isolate the previously unknown virus in Wuhan, the capital of central China’s Hubei province and a transport and education hub.

The outbreak, which began in Wuhan, sent shivers through financial markets as investors recalled the fallout from China’s SARS outbreak in 2002-2003.

The SARS coronavirus killed nearly 800 people then.

The Wuhan municipal health commission has said local tourist groups had been banned from travelling outside of the city and vehicles entering and leaving will be subject to spot checks.

The Chinese foreign ministry said it wasn’t a full ban on exiting or entering the city of Wuhan.

“The local government in Wuhan has strengthened the control over the personnel entering and leaving Wuhan,” ministry spokesperson, Geng Shuang, said on Tuesday.

For Wuhan residents, the Lunar New Year will be a muted one as celebrations to mark the eve, on January 24, have been cancelled.