Lam introduced a package deal of measures aimed toward limiting the Asian monetary hub’s connections to mainland China. Flights and excessive velocity prepare journeys between Hong Kong and the Chinese metropolis of Wuhan shall be halted, and annual official Lunar New Year celebrations for town have been scrapped.
Hong Kong well being authorities have confirmed 5 instances of the lethal coronavirus, all of which have been traced again to Wuhan, a metropolis of 11 million the place the virus was first detected. An further 122 folks within the Hong Kong are being handled for doubtlessly having the illness, the well being authorities mentioned.
China has quarantined three cities in an effort to comprise the illness’s unfold — encompassing a complete inhabitants of some 35 million folks. Major vacationer spots together with Shanghai Disney are closing till additional discover, and Starbucks and McDonalds introduced short-term closures of their chains within the province of Hubei, which homes Wuhan.
The flu-like coronavirus, first recognized on Dec. 31, has killed at the very least 41 folks in China and contaminated greater than 1,300 worldwide. Fears over the illness’s affect on the worldwide financial system despatched shares falling on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing down 170 factors.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has to this point declined to declare the illness a world well being emergency, saying it wants extra knowledge. The virus is presently spreading by means of human-to-human contact and in medical settings, the group mentioned.
Coronaviruses are a big household of viruses that are inclined to primarily have an effect on animals, however can evolve and unfold to people. Symptoms for the pressure presently transferring across the globe embrace fever, coughing and shortness of breath, which might progress to pneumonia.
Australia confirms 4 instances
Australia confirmed its first 4 instances of the virus on Saturday and expects extra, its well being authorities mentioned, because the nation is a well-liked vacation spot for Chinese vacationers. The contaminated sufferers are three males who traveled to Australia from China — two who traveled from Wuhan to Sydney and one in Melbourne who had additionally been in Wuhan. All three, aged 53, 43 and 35, are reported to be in steady situation.
“There are different instances being examined every day, a lot of them are detrimental, however I would not be stunned if we had additional confirmed instances,” Australian chief medical officer Brendan Murphy informed press on Saturday.
On Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the second U.S. case of coronavirus, a Chicago girl in her 60s who had traveled to Wuhan however is reported to be in steady situation at a hospital. There are presently 63 instances within the U.S. being monitored throughout 22 states.
“CDC believes the speedy threat to the U.S. public is low presently, however the scenario continues to evolve quickly,” mentioned Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. She added that there are more likely to be extra instances in coming days and that “we’ve got our greatest folks engaged on this downside.”
While the vast majority of confirmed coronavirus instances and deaths are in mainland China, the virus has additionally been recognized in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Nepal, France, the U.S. and most just lately Australia.
Chinese well being officers scramble for extra assets
Chinese state media on Saturday introduced town of Wuhan will construct a second hospital particularly designated to deal with coronavirus sufferers, which workers say shall be accomplished inside six days.
Chinese well being authorities are underneath pressure as the quantity of sufferers spilling into hospitals for therapy will increase. A high well being official within the Civil Affairs Department in Hubei made an attraction for extra assets like masks and fits on Saturday.
“We are steadily pushing ahead the illness management and prevention… however proper now we face a particularly extreme public well being disaster,” the official, Yu Hinghai, informed native press in keeping with a translation by Reuters.
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