Vietnam and Singapore on Thursday confirmed three cases of coronavirus, and their carriers, three Chinese citizens, are being treated in hospitals.
A Chinese man residing in Ho Chi Minh City was infected by his father who on January 13 came back from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus. The father was admitted to hospital on 17 January with a high fever, and days later his son showed the symptoms, official sources reported. Both were quarantined and tested positive for coronavirus, a new infection that has already killed 17 people and infected more than 570.
For its part, Singapore confirmed its first case of this new strain also because of the arrival in the country of a 66-year-old Chinese citizen from Wuhan.
Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and the United States have reported cases of the new virus after its emergence in China on 31 December.
Negative result for possible cases in Mexico and Brazil
Medical examinations tested negative for the first possible case of coronavirus in Mexico, a doctor from the northeastern state of Tamaulipas who had recently visited the Wuhan region. “It’s fortunately negative. We lifted the operation today and continued with active surveillance throughout the state,” Tamaulipas Health Secretary Gloria Molina told Radio Formula on Thursday.
For its part, the Brazilian government indicated that no cases of coronavirus were detected in the country so far and asked the population to “not give in to panic”, which could lead to discrimination with people of Chinese origin. “At the moment, there is no suspected case of coronavirus in Brazil,” said the substitute secretary for Health Surveillance, Júlio Croda, at a press conference in Brasilia.
Croda indicated that five patients had been examined (in Brasilia, Minas Gerais, Sao Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina), but none of them met the definition of suspicious cases given by the World Health Organization (WHO).
China confines entire cities to curb epidemic
China confined some 20 million people around Wuhan, the metropolis from which a new virus emerged that began to spread around the world and mobilizes international health authorities.
From 10H00 local (2H00 GMT), no train or plane could leave Wuhan, an 11 million-city town in central China. The tolls on the highways were closed.
The city, on the banks of the Yangtze, is the epicenter of the epidemic, which since December has contaminated more than 570 people and caused 17 deaths, according to the latest balance. All people died in Wuhan or in his province, Hubei.
Beijing cancels New Year’s ceremonies
The mayor of Beijing announced on Thursday the cancellation of the popular ceremonies planned for the Chinese New Year, as a protective measure against the epidemic caused by the virus, which has already killed 17 people in the country.
In addition, beijing’s Forbidden City, one of China’s most visited places, will close until further notice due to the epidemic. The ancient palace of the emperors will close its doors from Saturday “to prevent contagion among visitors”, according to a statement.
Holidays and festivities on the occasion of the new year will begin next Friday and last a week. Beijing residents number in the hundreds of thousands each year in parks and public spaces to attend the traditional lion and dragon dances.
China closes two other cities near Wuhan
China also took other drastic measures today to try to slow the advance of the coronavirus, which is beginning to spread around the world, and quarantined the wuhan metropolis and two other nearby cities.
From 10H00 local (2H00 GMT), no train or plane could leave Wuhan, an 11 million-city town in central China. The tolls on the highways were closed.
The city, on the banks of the Yangtze, is the epicenter of the epidemic, which since December has contaminated more than 570 people and caused 17 deaths, according to the latest balance reported on Wednesday night. All people died in Wuhan or in their region.
“People don’t have to leave Wuhan for no specific reason,” the municipal service in charge of fighting the epidemic announced.
This measure was taken to “effectively slow the spread of the virus,” he explained.
70 km east, Huanggang, a city of 7.5 million, was on Thursday under similar measures. The movement of the trains was interrupted until further notice.
Nearby, Ezhou (1.1 million inhabitants) had already closed its train station.
