Wuhan - China stepped up measures
to contain a virus which has killed 25 people and infected more
than 800, with public transport suspensions in 10 cities,
temples shutting, and the rapid construction of a new hospital
to treat those infected.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday declared the
new coronavirus an emergency for China but stopped short of
declaring the epidemic of international concern.
Health authorities fear the infection rate could accelerate
over the Lunar New Year, when hundreds of millions of Chinese
travel at home and abroad during week-long holidays, which began
on Friday.
At the railway station in Wuhan, the few passengers
foolhardy enough to return home to a city at the epicentre of
the outbreak put on a brave face as they alighted the train.
"What choice do I have? It’s Chinese New Year. We have to
see our family,” said a man named Hu, as he stepped off the
train in Wuhan.
As of Thursday, there were 830 confirmed cases and 25 people
had died, the National Health Commission. Most cases are in the
central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus is believed to
have originated in a market which traded in illegal wildlife.
Preliminary research suggested that in the most recent stage
of its evolution, the Wuhan virus was passed on to humans from
snakes.
Wuhan, a city of 11 million people, and neighbouring
Huanggang, a city of about 7 million people, were in virtual
lockdown. Rail stations were largely shut, with few trains
stopping in the city, flights were suspended and there were
checkpoints on main roads in and out of the city.
On a high-speed train that stopped in Wuhan station on
Friday afternoon, about 10 passengers got off, but nobody
boarded before the train resumed its journey.
An employee sprays disinfectant on a train as a precaution against a new coronavirus at Suseo Station in Seoul, South Korea. Picture: Ahn Young-joon/AP
"I’m not afraid. I trust the government. I need to be with
my family," said a passenger, dragging two large cases to the
escalator at Wuhan station. He would not give his name.
Wuhan was building a new 1,000-bed hospital to treat those
infected, with the aim of having it ready by Monday, the
official Changjiang Daily reported on Friday.
The prefabricated buildings were being erected around a
holiday complex originally intended for local workers, set in
gardens by a lake on the outskirts of the city.
Non-fatal cases have also been detected in Thailand,
Vietnam, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the United
States, prompting several airlines to suspend flights to and
from Wuhan.
But WHO said on Thursday that it was a "bit too early" to
consider the outbreak a "Public Health Emergency of
International Concern". Such a designation would have required
countries to step up the international response.
"Make no mistake, though, this is an emergency in China,"
said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
"It has not yet become a global health emergency. It may yet
become one," he said.
The previously unknown virus, which has no cure and can
spread through respiratory transmission, has created alarm
because there are a number of unknowns. It is too early to know
just how dangerous it is and how easily it spreads.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday declared the new coronavirus an emergency for China but stopped short of declaring the epidemic of international concern. Picture: IANS
Symptoms include fever, difficulty breathing and coughing.
Three research teams are to start work on developing
potential vaccines, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness
Innovations said. The plan is to have at least one potential
vaccine in clinical trials by June.
Some experts believe the new virus is not as dangerous as
the 2002-03 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) that killed
nearly 800 people, and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS),
which has killed more than 700 people since 2012.
"I’m not scared. It isn’t as serious as everyone is making
out. I’ve come back from the United States and I don’t think it
is that bad," said a rail passenger told Reuters as he alighted
a train at Macheng, the station just before Wuhan.
Chinese health authorities have advised people to avoid
crowds during the Lunar New Year holidays.
A total of 10 cities in China's central Hubei province have
suspended some public transportation over the coronavirus
outbreak, the Hubei Daily reported on Friday.
Buses in cities of Chibi, Xiantao, Zhijiang, Qianjiang,
Xianning, Huangshi and Enshi have suspended services. Ezhou city
has shut its train stations.
In Zhijiang city, all public venues have been shut down
except hospitals, supermarkets, farmers' market, gas stations
and drug stores, said Hubei Daily.
Indoor entertainment venues in Enshi city have also been
shut down, it said.
Some famous temples in China have closed due to virus.
Beijing's Lama Temple, where people traditionally go to make
offerings for the new year, will close from Friday.
Haikou, capital of the southern resort island province of
Hainan, is closing cultural and tourist facilities such as
libraries and museums.
Beijing cancelled large gatherings, including two Lunar New
Year temple fairs, and closed the Forbidden City, the capital's
most famous tourist attraction, to visitors until further
notice.
In Wuhan residents thronged hospitals for medical checks and
rushed to buy supplies, clearing out supermarket shelves and
queuing for petrol.
Chinese-ruled Hong Kong, which has two confirmed cases, is
turning two holiday camps into quarantine stations as a
precaution. Taiwan has banned anyone from Wuhan from entering.
The U.S. State Department warned travellers to exercise
increased caution in China as airports worldwide stepped up the
screening of passengers arriving from the country.