The new coronavirus (2019nCoV) in China has been dominating the news. This new respiratory virus has been discovered in Wuhan, China. The virus now has spread to Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. Additionally, on the international side, Japan, Korea and Thailand have reported coronavirus cases. As of this week, there are over 200 cases, mostly in Wuhan. Some of the health workers have also been infected. It’s estimated that about 15 medical professionals now got it while treating patients.
Chinese authorities confirmed that this new strain of coronavirus can spread from person to person. This new virus causes a new type of pneumonia. Although we don’t have all the data on hand, it is assumed that it’s similar to the Sars virus outbreak in the early 200s. Also, it is believed that the number of infected people are far greater than the reported number provided by Chinese authorities. It can be in the thousands given its rapid spread from human to human. This time period also represents one of the busiest of the year given the Chinese New Year as millions of people travel across China.
What do we about this new virus so far?
- From a medical perspective this new respiratory virus has been labelled 2019-nCoV. This particular virus has not been identified in humans before.
- There are broad number of respiratory viruses (coronaviruses) but only 6, now 7 are known to infect people
- Coronavirus symptoms consists of fever, shortness of breath, cough and overall difficulty of breathing
- People are encourage to cook meat and eggs thoroughly as it is believe that the virus stems from animals
Travel restrictions?
So far, the World Health Organization mentioned that there are no immediate travel restrictions on travel due to the new coronavirus outbreak in China. However, guidance was provide for countries that are most likely to be affected in the region, preparing for a potential larger outbreak. Other countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan have implemented check points at airports and have been screening passengers coming from China. US has also implemented such measures at major airports in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
What are the Chinese authorities doing?
For the first time, Chinese President Xi Jinping publicly addressed the new virus outbreak, saying that it must be contained and dealt with immediately. Other government authorities said that they’ll work with all parties involved to deal with the virus. As more cases become apparent, we’ll know more in the coming weeks.
What impact can we see during and after Chinese Lunar New Year?
As mentioned, the Chinese Lunar New Year is the busiest traveling period in China. Millions travel across the country. The fear of containment is high as people travel via various methods that can’t all be contained. Wuhan is know for being a traveling hub also. As people travel via buses, trains, plains, it’ll be very difficult to monitor everyone. Some people are wearing masks and those showing signs of fever, cough and have breathing difficulties have been registered and are checked into nearby hospitals.
Authorities in North America believe that at the moment there’s little risk in having a major impact. We’ll be able to get more information as the Chinese Lunar New Year passes and more information becomes available on the new coronavirus in China. As far as we know, there’s no travel ban but as always it’s always best to avoid any unnecessary traveling to the affected region.
