BEIJING, Jan 22, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – A new virus that has killed nine people,
infected hundreds and reached the United States could mutate and spread,
China warned Wednesday, as authorities urged people to steer clear of the
city at the heart of the outbreak.
The coronavirus has caused alarm due to its similarity to SARS (Severe
Acute Respiratory Syndrome), which killed nearly 650 people across mainland
China and Hong Kong in 2002-2003.
With hundreds of millions of people travelling across China this week for
the Lunar New Year holiday, the National Health Commission announced measures
to contain the disease — including sterilisation and ventilation at airports
and bus stations, as well as inside planes and trains.
In Wuhan, the epicentre of the epidemic, large public events were
cancelled and international football games were moved to another location.
Visitors were urged to stay away while residents were advised to not to leave
the central city of 11 million people.
The illness is mainly transmitted via the respiratory tract and there “is
the possibility of viral mutation and further spread of the disease”, health
commission vice minister Li Bin told a news conference in Beijing.
The virus has now infected at least 440 people across the country, with
most cases in Wuhan. Li added that 1,394 people are still under medical
observation.
The World Health Organization (WHO) will hold an emergency meeting
Wednesday to determine whether to declare a rare global public health
emergency over the disease, which has now been detected in the United States,
Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, South Korea and Macau.
The first case in the United States — a Seattle resident in his 30s — is
in good condition, American officials said.
The Chinese government has classified the outbreak in the same category as
the SARS epidemic, meaning compulsory isolation for those diagnosed with the
illness and the potential to implement quarantine measures.
But they still have not been able to confirm the exact source of the
virus.
“We will step up research efforts to identify the source and transmission
of the disease,” Li said, although he said experts believe “the cases are
mostly linked to Wuhan”.
Countries have been intensifying efforts to stop the spread of the
pathogen — known by its technical name 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) —
as the number of cases jumped.
Plane passengers are facing screening measures at five US airports and a
host of transport hubs across Asia.
North Korea will ban foreign tourists entirely to protect itself against
the virus, according to a major tour operator.
– Virus source –
A prominent expert from China’s National Health Commission confirmed this
week that the virus can be passed between people.
However, animals are suspected to be the primary source of the outbreak.
A price list circulating online in China for a business at the Wuhan
market lists a menagerie of animals or animal-based products including live
foxes, crocodiles, wolf puppies and rats. It also offered civets, the animal
linked to SARS.
“We already know that the disease originated from a market which conducted
illegal transaction of wild animals,” said Gao Fu, director of the Chinese
centre for disease control and prevention.
He said it was clear “this virus is adapting and mutating”.
Hong Kong and British scientists have estimated that between 1,300 and
1,700 people in Wuhan may have been infected.
– Containment –
Health authorities are urging people to wash their hands regularly, avoid
crowded places, get plenty of fresh air, and wear a mask if they have a
cough.
Anyone with a cough or fever was urged to go to hospital.
Surgical masks and antibacterial products were starting to sell out on
some popular online sites and pharmacies.
“These days, I wear masks even in places that are not too crowded,
although I wouldn’t have done so in the past,” said Wang Suping, 50, who
works at a Beijing arts school.
At the capital’s main international airport, the majority of people were
wearing masks.
Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Airlines said they agreed to allow staff to
wear surgical masks on mainland China flights, adding they would offer masks
and antiseptic wipes to passengers travelling from Wuhan to the city.
In Wuhan, police were conducting vehicle spot checks for live poultry or
wild animals leaving and entering the city, state media said. Officials also
screened people on roads, the airport and the train station for fevers.
“If it’s not necessary we suggest that people don’t come to Wuhan,” Mayor
Zhou Xianwang told state broadcaster CCTV.
The local government has cancelled major public activities and banned tour
groups from heading out of the city.
Women’s football qualifiers for the Tokyo Olympic Games that were supposed
to be held in Wuhan between February 3-9 were moved to the eastern city of
Nanjing.