Coron avirus 1st Death Outside Wuhan Epicentre Is Reported
W.H.O. DECISION: Corona virus is spreading, but the
organization says it is not a global emergency
Dr KK Aggarwal
President CMAAO, HCFI and Past National President IMA
1.
At least 25 people have died and more than 800
have been sickened by the mysterious illness. The death toll increased by more
than a half-dozen in 24 hours, while the number of confirmed cases jumped by
more than 200.
2.
The travel restrictions imposed on Wuhan were
extended to at least four more cities. The Chinese authorities on Thursday
morning closed off Wuhan by cancelling flights and trains leaving the city, and
suspending buses, subways and ferries within it. Late on Thursday, the local
authorities also announced that they would suspend for-hire vehicles and limit
taxis, beginning at noon on Friday.
3.
A patient died in the province of Hebei — more
than 600 miles north of the city where the outbreak began.
4.
After two
days of deliberations, an emergency committee convened by WHO decided not to
declare a global health emergency — but planned to meet again within 10 days,
acknowledging the “urgency” of the situation.
5.
Agency
officials explained that although the disease has reached beyond China, the
number of cases in other countries is still relatively small, and the disease
does not seem to be spreading within those countries.
6.
Currently,
there is no evidence of human to human transmission outside China.
7.
This is
an emergency in China, but it has not yet become a global health emergency.
8.
Roughly
30,000 people fly out of Wuhan on an average day, according to air traffic
data. Many more leave using ground transportation like trains and cars. By
evening, officials planned to also close off Huanggang, a city of seven million
about 30 miles east of Wuhan, shut rail stations in the nearby city of Ezhou,
which has about one million residents, and impose travel restrictions on the
smaller cities of Chibi and Zhijiang. In Huanggang, public transportation and
departing trains stopped at midnight. Residents are not allowed to leave the
city without special permission, according to a government statement. In Ezhou,
all rail stations were to be closed.
9.
The new virus, which first emerged at the end of
December, has sickened people in Taiwan, Vietnam, Japan, Thailand, Singapore,
South Korea and the United States.
10. It
has raised the spectre of a repeat of the SARS epidemic, which broke out in
China in 2002 and 2003 and spread rapidly while officials obscured the seriousness
of the crisis. That virus eventually killed more than 800 people worldwide.
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