Virus-related deaths almost double
Print Edition
DEATHS from a new coronavirus-related pneumonia rose to 17 last night as confirmed cases surged to 444 in central China’s Hubei Province, where the virus suspected to have come from animals originated.
Cases of the previously unknown and contagious coronavirus strain has been detected as far away as the United States.
Among the confirmed cases, 399 patients are receiving treatment in hospitals, with 71 reported to be in severe condition, and 24 in critical condition, said Yang Yunyan, deputy governor of Hubei Province.
Across China, 549 cases were confirmed by midnight.
A total of 2,556 close contacts had been placed under medical observation, with 863 people allowed to go.
Officials believe the origin of the virus to be a market where wildlife is traded illegally.
The Hubei provincial government has activated a level II public health emergency response, the second-highest in the country.
The Wuhan government yesterday issued a notice demanding all residents to wear a protective masks before entering public venues, for example hotels, restaurants, museums and cinemas. Government employees were also told to wear masks at work.
The municipal department of culture and tourism has ordered agencies to cancel all group tours and travel agencies have been told to refund customers.
The department also ordered local tourist attractions and star-rated hotels to suspend all large-scale activities before February 8.
Cultural institutions including the provincial library and museum as well as two major local theaters have canceled large-scale activities, exhibitions and performances. At least four museums have suspended operations until further notice.
Visitors were urged to stay away, while residents were advised not to leave the city.
Police started conducting temperature checks at all Metro stations and roads leading into the city. Officials also screened people on roads.
Wuhan has called for a stronger crackdown on illegal acts of poaching, raising, transporting and selling wildlife and related products in the city, the municipal bureau of gardening and forestry said.
The city has also stopped issuing administrative permits related to wildlife, and requires institutions and individuals who have obtained the permits to suspend activities related to it.
Relevant public institutions such as local zoo, forest park and a bird park have been closed.
With hundreds of millions of people traveling across China this week for the Chinese New Year holiday, the National Health Commission announced measures to contain the disease, including sterilization and ventilation at airports and bus stations, as well as inside planes and trains.
“The rise in the mobility of the public has objectively increased the risk of the epidemic spreading,” National Health Commission vice-minister Li Bin said.
The illness is mainly transmitted via the respiratory tract and there “is the possibility of viral mutation and further spread of the disease,” Li told a news conference in Beijing.
With more than 11 million people, Wuhan is central China’s main industrial and commercial center and an important transport hub, home to the country’s largest inland port.
The World Health Organization started an emergency meeting yesterday 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.
WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said new cases would appear as China stepped up monitoring. But Li said there was no evidence of “super-spreaders” capable of disseminating the virus more widely, as happened during the SARS outbreak. SARS was thought to have crossed to humans from civet cats sold for food.
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.”
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 center for disease control and prevention.
He said it was clear “this virus is adapting and mutating.”
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 are being urged to go to hospital.
Surgical masks and antibacterial products were starting to sell out on some popular online sites and pharmacies.
“If it’s not necessary we suggest that people don’t come to Wuhan,” Wuhan Mayor Zhou Xianwang told state broadcaster CCTV.
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