Unknowns make quarantines tough

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA>> Health authorities are scrambling to halt the spread of a new virus that has killed hundreds in China, restricting visitors from the country and confining thousands on cruise ships for extensive screening after some passengers tested positive. But with important details about the illness and how it spreads still unknown, officials and medical personnel are struggling.

Governments have rushed to get their citizens out of China, which is orchestrating history’s largest anti-viral campaign by blocking 50 million people from leaving Wuhan, the center of the outbreak, and nearby areas. A growing number of Chinese cities are discouraging people from even leaving their apartments. Villages have blocked entry points with piles of dirt and rubble, while businesses and offices remain closed indefinitely.

As Beijing’s authoritarian leadership faces questions over having kept its citizens in the dark for weeks before infections started to explode, other countries are trying to set up effective quarantines to stop a possible pandemic.

Those efforts have not always been smooth, with violent protests near quarantine centers, banishment to remote islands, and some citizens allowed to leave quarantine early.

A look at the world’s sometimes-wobbly efforts to stop the crisis:

South Korea

South Korea has confirmed 19 cases of infection with the new type of coronavirus and there are fears of a broader local spread.

The country has banned entry to all foreigners who traveled to China’s Hubei province, where Wuhan is located, after Jan. 21. The government says it will consider stopping South Korean

tourist visits to China if the outbreak worsens.

Australia

Australia has been criticized over its decision to quarantine about 300 Wuhan evacuees on a remote island used in the past to banish asylum seekers and convicts.

Critics say a quarantine center on the Australian mainland would be preferable to Christmas Island. Some inhabitants of the island say the government is turning their home into a “leper colony.”

The government argues that the location strikes a balance between supporting Australians stranded in China and protecting the wider Australian population from the disease.

Japan

Japan, which has reported 33 cases, stepped up quarantine measures after officials were criticized last week for allowing two evacuees from Wuhan to leave early from a hotel where they had been quarantined.

Officials say 518 evacuees have been placed under a 14-day quarantine at a hotel and three government facilities near Tokyo. Those with symptoms have been treated in isolation rooms at hospitals.

North Korea

North Korea has yet to report a case, but it’s still pushing a tough campaign to prevent the spread of the virus, which state media have called a matter of “national existence.”

The country has blocked tourists, reduced flights and strengthened screening at borders, harbors and airports. State media say 30,000 health workers have been mobilized across the country for preventive measures.

Rival South Korea last week withdrew dozens of officials from an inter-Korean liaison office in Kaesong after North Korea insisted on closing it until the epidemic is controlled.

ASSOCIATED PRESS A group of medical personnel prepare to meet 80 people, accompanied by medical specialists, carried by a Russian military plane at an airport outside Tyumen, Russia, Feb. 5.