Wait and worry over virus

Taranaki’s close-knit Chinese community is being affected by the killer virus sweeping their homeland.

The coronavirus was detected late last year in the central city of Wuhan but has now spread to more than 20 countries.

Taranaki Chinese Association president Betty Leung said there were between 300 and 400 Chinese people in the region and the outbreak had left many concerned for family and friends in China.

‘‘We actually had quite a few Chinese people go back to China for Chinese New Year,’’ Leung said.

‘‘At the moment we don’t know who is coming back and who is not coming yet.

‘‘We only just had a gathering here for New Year and all the other people are in China. We thought they might be having a good time there but then suddenly this thing happens, so we are really lost. It’s a worry.’’

The Government has decided any foreign travellers who left or transited through mainland China after February 2 will be refused entry to New Zealand.

The ban is initially in place for 14 days, and will be reviewed every 48 hours.

New Zealand citizens and permanent residents returning home were exempt from the restrictions, but are required to self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival.

The owners of Merrilands Takeaways have found themselves in that situation after returning from China.

A sign in their shop window yesterday advised customers that they had just returned from China and had been urged to stay home and away from work for the next 14 days because of health and safety reasons.

The business will reopen on Monday, February 17.

The couple declined to speak to the media yesterday.

Leung said she knew of other business owners who had returned to China but she hadn’t heard from them.

In China, the death toll had risen to 426 yesterday — exceeding the fatalities from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and the first foreign death from the virus was confirmed in the Philippines on Sunday.

The World Health Organisation has declared the crisis a global health emergency.

Dozens of New Zealanders, set to return from Wuhan on a Government-chartered flight today, will be isolated at a Defence Force site north of Auckland for two weeks to make sure they don’t have the virus.