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CHINA-HEALTH-VIRUS
SARS-like virus spreads in China, nearly 140 new cases
BEIJING, Jan 20, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – A mysterious SARS-like virus has killed
a third person and spread around China — including to Beijing — authorities
said Monday, fuelling fears of a major outbreak as millions begin travelling
for the Lunar New Year in humanity’s biggest migration.
The new coronavirus strain, first discovered in the central city of Wuhan,
has caused alarm because of its connection to Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome (SARS), which killed nearly 650 people across mainland China and
Hong Kong in 2002-2003.
Wuhan has 11 million inhabitants and serves as a major transport hub,
including during the annual Lunar New Year holiday which begins later this
week and sees hundreds of millions of Chinese people travel across the
country to visit family.
A third person was confirmed to have died and 136 new cases were found
over the weekend in Wuhan, the local health commission said, taking the total
number of people to have been diagnosed with the virus in China to 201.
No human-to-human transmission has been confirmed so far, but authorities
have previously said the possibility “cannot be excluded”.
Health authorities in Beijing’s Daxing district said two people who had
travelled to Wuhan were treated for pneumonia linked to the virus and are in
stable condition.
In southern Guangdong province, a 66-year-old Shenzhen man was quarantined
on January 11 after contracting a fever and showing other symptoms following
a trip to visit relatives in Wuhan, the provincial health commission said in
a statement. He is also in stable condition.
Shenzhen officials said another eight people were under medical
observation.
“Experts believe that the current epidemic situation is still preventable
and controllable,” the Guangdong health commission said.
Five other people have been put in isolation and tested in eastern
Zhejiang province.
Three cases have been reported overseas — two in Thailand and one in
Japan, all of whom had visited Wuhan.
At Beijing’s crowded central railway station, some travellers wore masks
as a precaution but were not too concerned about the virus.
“Watching the news, I do feel a little worried. But I haven’t taken
precautionary measures beyond wearing regular masks,” said Li Yang, a 28-
year-old account manager who was heading home to the northern region of Inner
Mongolia for the Lunar New Year.
A 26-year-old woman surnamed Guo, who was heading to northeast Liaoning
province from Beijing, said she and her friends generally avoided crowded
areas and have been reminding each other to wear masks.
– Detection measures –
A seafood market is believed to be the centre of the outbreak in Wuhan,
but health officials have reported that some patients had no history of
contact with the facility.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said in a statement on Twitter Monday
that “an animal source seems the most likely primary source” with “some
limited human-to-human transmission occurring between close contacts”.
It said the new cases in China were the result of “increased searching and
testing for (the virus) among people sick with respiratory illness”.
Scientists with the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at
Imperial College in London warned in a paper published Friday that the number
of cases in the city was likely to be closer to 1,700, much higher than the
number officially identified.
Wuhan authorities said they have installed infrared thermometers at
airports, railway stations and coach stations across the city. Passengers
with fevers were being registered, given masks and taken to medical
institutions.
State TV footage aired Monday showed medical staff working inside an
isolation ward at a Wuhan hospital in full-body suits.
Authorities in Hong Kong have also stepped up virus detection measures at
border crossings, including rigorous temperature checks for inbound
travellers from the Chinese mainland.
Passengers are also being screened at some airports in Thailand and the
United States.
In Wuhan, 170 people are still being treated at hospital, including nine
in critical condition, the city health commission said, adding that 25 people
have been discharged so far.
Chinese state media moved to calm the mood as discussion about the
coronavirus spreading to other Chinese cities swelled on social media.
Nationalist tabloid Global Times called for better handling of the new
virus than that of the 2003 SARS outbreak.
BSS/AFP/BZC/1210HRS