32 Mongolians evacuated from Wuhan
As of Sunday, over 14,549 people were infected with coronavirus globally.
To date, 340 people have recovered from coronavirus while the death toll has reached 305, with the number of recoveries rising above the death toll since the virus broke out in Wuhan, China in December.
Mongolia is taking drastic measures to prevent an outbreak although no confirmed case have been registered. The government has shut down schools, kindergartens and universities, and banned all public events, including the Lunar New Year, until March 2.
MONGOLIANS EVACUATED FROM WUHAN
On February 1, 31 Mongolian students and one child who resided in Wuhan, China returned to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. As part of Parliament’s decision on January 26, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a request to bring back Mongolian nationals residing in Wuhan to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China. China accepted Mongolia’s request to evacuate Mongolian nationals from Wuhan despite the city’s lockdown.
A MIAT Mongolian Airlines aircraft left Mongolia on February 1 and came back with 32 Mongolians from Wuhan on the same. Most of the evacuees were Mongolian students studying in Wuhan. Upon arrival the evacuees were quarantined at the National Center for Infectious Diseases and screened for the 2019nCoV virus. They will be staying at the center for at least 14 days in line with the virus’ long incubation period.
Officials said everyone who crossed the border underwent a medical examination. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Roads and Transportation and the General Office of Border Protection worked to bring back Mongolian nationals from China in light of the new virus outbreak.
Head of the Office of Public Administration of the Ministry of Health B.Tsogtbaatar reported that 59 people including the 32 repatriates from Wuhan were quarantined in the National Center for Infectious Diseases. Their health is being monitored and test results are expected to be out within 72 hours.
In addition, 400 Mongolian citizens crossed the border of Mongolia from China on January 28. Their medical tests said none had contracted the coronavirus.
Over 10 countries, including the US, French, Japan, and South Korea, have requested evacuation of their citizens from Wuhan.
MONGOLIA BANS ENTRY OF FOREIGN FROM CHINA
The National Security Council held a meeting after the president of Mongolia returned from his visit to Norway. Cabinet held an irregular meeting on January 31 and ordered following recommendation:
• Impose an entry ban on Chinese citizens and all foreign nationals coming to Mongolia from China through Mongolia’s border checkpoints (air, rail and auto) with China from February 1 to March 2;
• Ban Mongolian citizens’ travel to China until March 2;
• Allow Mongolians to return home through all border crossings with China until February 6;
• Let Mongolians return through the Buyant Ukhaa Airport border checkpoint and the Zamyn-Uud railway border checkpoint until March 2.
All of the decisions were related to prevention action against the coronavirus. Import and export of goods will resume as normal.
TURKISH PLANE CARRYING EVACUEES FROM WUHAN LANDS IN UB
A military cargo plane heading for Ankara carrying Turkish citizens who were evacuated from Wuhan landed in Ulaanbaatar to refuel on February 1. The Turkish aircraft departed with 42 passengers, including 32 Turks and 10 people from Azerbaijan, Albania and Georgia, from Wuhan on Saturday and landed in Ulaanbaatar at 3:00 p.m. local time to refuel.
The plane completed its refueling in one hour and arrived in Turkey at around 9:00 p.m. local time. All who traveled on the plane were transferred to a hospital in Ankara. They will be quarantined for 14 days.
FACE MASK IN SHORTAGE
Wearing masks is one of the ways to prevent from coronavirus and WHO advised the use masks on a daily basis. Representative of the World Health Organization in Mongolia Sergey Diorditsa underlined that accessibility of masks is poor around the world.
Mongolian pharmacies are struggling to meet growing demand for disposable masks. Specifically, over 1,000 disposable masks are being supplied to each pharmacy on a daily basis but they are sold out under an hour. The filtered mask is priced at 7,500 to 13,500 MNT in most pharmacies. For example, filtered mask is being sold at 13,500 MNT at Khurman pharmacy. The public has been critical of pharmacies raising prices of masks.
Mongolians who live in South Korea initiated a campaign to collect 10,000 masks for people in Mongolia. Some 3,700 masks were donated through the campaign on February 2.
Officials reported that children, mothers and people who live in remote areas of the city will be given masks.
Students of the Mongolian-Korean College made 900 masks and donated them to the Ministry of Health. Officials reported that the masks will be distributed to the elderly.
Minister of Health D.Sarangerel reported plans to discuss supply of masks with international organizations. The minister underlined Russia, Japan, China, and India were contacted to supply masks.
WHO DECLARES GLOBAL EMERGENCY AS WUHAN CORONAVIRUS SPREADS
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency on Thursday as the coronavirus outbreak spread well beyond China. WHO said most countries have poor preparation to prevent from this deadly virus.
WHO underlined that closing borders due to the global emergency may cause hardships for millions of healthy people near the epicenter, and enormous economic disruption. In the worst cases, supplies of food and medicine can run short and panic can spread, threatening to do more damage than the disease. But it is a way to stop the virus spreading and promote prevention.
WHO says it is working closely with global experts, governments and partners to rapidly expand scientific knowledge on this new virus, to track the spread and virulence of the virus, and to provide advice to countries and individuals on measures to protect health and prevent the spread of this outbreak.
CORONAVIRUS VACCINE IN TRIAL STAGE
Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Moderna, and Novavax are developing coronavirus vaccines. Meanwhile, biotech company GeoVax signed a letter of intent with BravoVax, a vaccine developer based in Wuhan, China, to jointly develop a coronavirus vaccine using genetic sequences of the 2019-nCoV.
Hong Kong scientists have already developed a coronavirus vaccine but the lab that produced it says the vaccine won’t be ready for human use for at least a year. Expert on infectious diseases and professor at Hong Kong University Yuen Kwok-Yung reported to South China Morning Post that his team was working on the vaccine.
“We have already produced the vaccine, but it will take a long time to test on animals,” Kwok-Yung said. The vaccine is yet to be deemed fit for human use, which can be proved only after conducting clinical trials.
PROTECT YOURSELF FROM VIRUS!
Mongolia is taking various actions to prevent the spread of coronavirus and shut down schools, kindergartens and universities, banned public activities, and banned civilian travel to and from China.
The Wuhan coronavirus continues to spread throughout Asia and the rest of the world. The best way to prevent infection is to avoid being exposed to this virus. People infected with this virus should receive supportive care to help relieve symptoms. For severe cases, treatment should include care to support vital organ functions.
WHO recommends everyday preventive actions to help prevent the spread of respiratory viruses, including:
-Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
-Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
-Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
-Stay at home when you are sick. -Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
-Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
CHINA REPORTS OUTBREAK OF BIRD FLU IN HUNAN
China has reported an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu in Hunan Province, which is close to Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China reported that the outbreak occurred in a farm in Shuangqing District of Shaoyang city. The farm has 7,850 chickens, and 4,500 of the chickens have died from the contagion. Local authorities exterminated 17,828 poultry after the outbreak on Saturday.
No human cases of the Hunan H5N1 virus have been reported, but WHO reported that it is possible to transmit bird flu from person to person, but a little bit difficult.
Between 2003 and 2019, 861 people were infected with bird flu worldwide and 455 have died. In China, 53 human cases of bird flu infections have been reported in the past 16 years, with 31 deaths.
In recent days, more than a dozen countries have evacuated their citizens from Hubei Province’s Wuhan or are in the process of doing so, the South China Morning Post reported.
The H5N1 avian flu virus causes severe respiratory disease in birds and is contagious to humans. The virus was first detected in 1996 in geese in China.