China has now more than 6,000 confirmed Coronavirus cases, while other countries have reported 68 cases of the disease with common cold and flu-like symptoms, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.
The deadly virus has killed 132 people in China, where 1,239 of the confirmed cases in China are severe. According to WHO, there are now 9,239 suspected cases in China. The number of cases is now more than the SAR epidemic.
The WHO risk assessment for China is “very high”, whilst the regional and global assessment remains “high”.
After U.S. and Europe, the coronavirus outbreak has now spread to the United Arab Emirates.
Growing fears over the novel kind of virus are likely to affect Asian economies with tourism, travels and hospitality industries in the affected countries. Tech giant Google has announced closure of its China offices.
The Geneva-based UN agency reported that four members of a family from Wuhan, the place of Coronavirus origin, who had travelled to the UAE earlier in January, were hospitalized on 25 and 27 January after testing positive.
The virus now affected several countries across continents.
SYMPTOMS
Common symptoms may include runny nose, headache, cough, sore throat, fever, a general feeling of being unwell and respiratory illness.
“While this represents only one per cent of the total, the geographic spread is wide, with patients diagnosed in North America, Europe and Australia, as well as several countries in Southeast Asia,” Director-General WHO, Tedros Ghebreyesu, who met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday, said.
Containment measures in Wuhan will be improved, said WHO, and public health measures in other Chinese cities and regions are being strengthened.
“WHO and Chinese authorities pledged to continue sharing data, and China will share biological material with WHO, with the aim of developing effective vaccines and treatments against the new virus strain.”
A color-enhanced image shows cells infected with the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV)., by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, US
WHAT CAUSES CORONAVIRUS TRANSMISSION
“Based on current information, an animal source seems the most likely primary source of this outbreak with limited human-to-human transmission occurring between close contacts”, WHO spokesperson Tarik Jašarević said at a press briefing in Geneva on Tuesday.
“Reports suggest that infection can cause mild to severe disease and be fatal in some. Based on current data, some new cases seem to experience milder diseases which is within the milder end of the spectrum of symptoms caused by respiratory illnesses”.
WHO plans to assess global emergency risk on Thursday.
On his return from China, Ghebreyesus welcomed the country’s invitation for WHO to assemble and lead an international team of experts to assess the coronavirus outbreak, and support their Chinese counterparts.
PREVENTION
Meanwhile, the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, announced on Wednesday that it has shipped 6 metric tons of protective clothing for health workers battling the novel Coronavirus in China.
The UNICEF supplies of respiratory masks and protective suits have landed in Shanghai, and will be sent to the city of Wuhan, where most of the cases have been found. UNICEF is planning to send more items in the coming days and weeks.
“This Coronavirus is spreading at a breakneck speed and it is important to put all the necessary resources into halting it,” UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said.
“We may not know enough about the virus’s impact on children or how many may be affected – but we do know that close monitoring and prevention are key. Time is not on our side.”
