Xi calls for every possible measure to be taken to combat new coronavirus

CHINESE President Xi Jinping said yesterday that it was “extremely crucial” to take every possible measure to combat a new coronavirus that has infected 217 people in the country.

His remarks, cited by state broadcaster CCTV, 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.

The outbreak comes as the country enters its busiest period, when millions travel for the Lunar New Year holidays.

“The recent outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan and other places must be taken seriously,” Xi said. “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.

Health authorities in the central city of Wuhan, where the viral pneumonia appears to have originated, said an additional 136 cases had been confirmed in the city, which now has a total of 198 infected patients. As of the weekend, a third patient had died.

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 in the south-west and in Shanghai.

The outbreak has put other countries on alert as millions of Chinese travel for Lunar New Year. Authorities in Thailand and in Japan have already identified at least three cases, all involving recent travel from China.

South Korea reported its first case yesterday, when a 35-year-old Chinese woman from Wuhan tested positive for the new coronavirus one day after arriving at Seoul’s Incheon airport.

At least a half-dozen countries in Asia and three US airports have started screening incoming airline passengers from central China.

Videos posted online show people in protective suits checking one by one the temperatures of plane passengers arriving in Macao from Wuhan. A man surnamed Yang who works for the Macao Health Bureau confirmed over the phone that such checks are taking place in the southern Chinese region.

Many of the initial cases of the coronavirus were linked to a seafood market in Wuhan, which was closed as authorities investigated. Coronaviruses cause diseases ranging from the common cold to severe acute respiratory syndrome.