President warns over new virus
WORLD: Chinese President Xi Jinping said it was “extremely crucial” to take every possible measure to combat a new coronavirus that has infected 217 people in the country.
His remarks came the same day that the country reported a sharp rise in the number of people infected by the novel form of viral pneumonia.
CHINESE PRESIDENT Xi Jinping said it was “extremely crucial” to take every possible measure to combat a new coronavirus that has infected 217 people in the country.
His remarks came the same day that the country reported a sharp rise in the number of people infected by the novel form of viral pneumonia, including the first cases in the capital.
Health authorities in the city of Wuhan, where the viral pneumonia appears to have originated, said an additional 136 cases have been confirmed in the city, which now has a total of 198 infected patients. As of the weekend, a third patient had died.
It is thought the number of cases may be higher – at least 1,000.
The outbreak comes as the country enters its busiest travel period, when millions board trains and planes for the Lunar New Year holidays.
According to the state broadcaster CCTV, Mr Xi said: “The recent outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan and other places must be taken seriously. Party committees, governments and relevant departments at all levels should put people’s lives and health first.”
They should “ensure that the masses have a quiet, peaceful and joyous Spring Festival”, he added.
Many of the initial cases had connections to a seafood market in Wuhan, which was closed for an investigation.
As hundreds of people who came into close contact with diagnosed patients were not infected themselves, the municipal health commission maintains that the virus is not easily transmitted between humans, though it has not ruled out limited human-to-human transmission.
China’s National Health Commission said experts have judged the current outbreak to be “preventable and controllable”.
“However, the source of the new type of coronavirus has not been found, we do not fully understand how the virus is transmitted, and changes in the virus still need to be closely monitored,” the commission said on Sunday.
Five individuals in Beijing and 14 in southern China’s Guangdong province have also been diagnosed with the new coronavirus. A total of seven suspected cases have been found in other parts of the country, including in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces and in Shanghai.
At least a half-dozen countries in Asia also have started screening incoming airline passengers from central China.
Authorities in Thailand and in Japan have already identified at least three cases, all involving recent travel from China.
The Chinese government is keen to avoid a repeat of SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, another coronavirus that started in southern China in late 2002 and spread to more than two dozen countries, killing nearly 800 people.
The US announced it would begin screening passengers at three major airports arriving on flights from Wuhan.
According to the World Health Organisation, people in China are being advised to avoid unprotected contact with animals, thoroughly cook meat and eggs, and avoid anyone with flu-like symptoms.
Symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath.
The organisation says an animal is the likely source of the disease. It is not recommending any restriction on travel at the moment.
The outbreak of coronavirus pneumonia must be taken seriously. Chinese President Xi Jinping.