Page 8 - HOH

A6 UP FRONT
Friday 31 January 2020
UN agency declares global emergency over virus from China

Continued from Front man Wu Chungeng out-
lined a series of rigorous
Speaking to reporters in temperature checks and
Geneva, WHO director- other "severe measures"
general Tedros Adhanom to detect possibly infec-
Ghebreyesus noted the tious passengers. Transport
worrisome spread of the restrictions such as those
virus between people out- isolating Wuhan and sus-
side China. pending inter-provincial
The main reason for this bus services would remain
declaration is not because in place, Wu said.
of what is happening in "It's definitely very challeng-
China but because of what ing, but we're confident we
is happening in other coun- can exert effective con-
tries, he said. trol," Wu told reporters at
""Our greatest concern the briefing.
is the potential for this vi- To date, about 99% of the
rus to spread to countries cases are in China. Ryan
with weaker health systems estimated the death rate
which are ill-prepared to of the new virus at 2%, but
deal with it." This illustration provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in January 2020 shows said the figure was very
the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). This virus was identified as the cause of an outbreak of
"This declaration is not a respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China. preliminary. With fluctuat-
vote of non-confidence Associated Press ing numbers of cases and
in China...on the contrary, deaths, scientists are only
WHO continues to have brings greater money and with China, joining Mon- States and South Korea able to produce a rough
the confidence in China's resources, but may also golia and North Korea in confirmed their first cases estimate of the fatality rate
capacity to control the prompt nervous govern- barring crossings to guard of person-to-person spread and it's likely many milder
outbreak," he said. ments to restrict travel and against a new viral out- of the virus. The man in the cases of the virus are being
On Thursday, France con- trade to affected coun- break. It had been de fac- U.S. is married to a 60-year- missed.
firmed that a doctor who tries. The announcement to closed because of the old Chicago woman who In comparison, the SARS vi-
was in contact with a pa- also imposes more disease Lunar New Year holiday, got sick from the virus after rus killed about 10% of peo-
tient with the new virus later reporting requirements on but Russian authorities said she returned from a trip to ple who caught it. The new
became infected himself. countries. the closure would be ex- Wuhan, the Chinese city virus is from the coronavi-
The doctor is now being China raised the death toll tended until March 1. that is the epicenter of the rus family, which includes
treated in an isolated room to 170 on Thursday and Train traffic between the outbreak. those that can cause the
at a Paris hospital. more countries reported countries was halted ex- There have been cases re- common cold as well as
Outbreak specialists worry infections, including some cept for one train connect- ported of the infectious vi- more serious illnesses such
that the spread of new vi- spread locally, as foreign ing Moscow and Beijing, rus spreading to others in a as SARS and MERS.
ruses from patients to health evacuees from China's but air traffic between the household or workplace in Chinese authorities have
workers can signal the virus worst-hit region returned two countries continued, at China and elsewhere. The demanded anyone who
is becoming adapted to home to medical tests and least for now. Russia has not case in South Korea was a traveled from or through
human transmission. even isolation. confirmed any cases of the 56-year-old man who had Wuhan report to health
A declaration of a glo- Russia announced it was virus. contact with a patient who authorities and self-quar-
bal emergency typically closing its 2,600-mile border Meanwhile, the United was diagnosed with the antine themselves for 14
new virus earlier. days, the maximum incu-
The new virus has now in- bation period during which
fected more people in patients can be infectious
China than were sickened even if they don't show
there during the 2002-2003 symptoms.
outbreak of SARS, a cousin China has been largely
of the new virus. praised for a swift and ef-
The latest figures for main- fective response to the out-
land China show an in- break, although questions
crease of 38 deaths and have been raised about
1,737 cases for a total of the police suppression of
7,736 confirmed cases. Of what were early on con-
the new deaths, 37 were in sidered mere rumors — a
Hubei province, of which reflection of the one-party
Wuhan is the capital, and Communist state's determi-
one was in the southwest- nation to maintain a mo-
ern province of Sichuan. nopoly on information in
Outside China, there are 82 spite of smart phones and
infections in 18 countries, social media.
according to WHO. That stands in stark con-
China extended its Lunar trast to the initial response
New Year holiday to Sun- to SARS, when medical
day to try to keep people reports were hidden as
home, but the wave of re- state secrets. The delayed
turning travelers could po- response was blamed for
tentially cause the virus to allowing the disease to
spread further. spread worldwide, killing
Transport ministry spokes- around 800 people.q