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 China discouraged public gatherings in Hubei province, where the
virus emerged last month, and tightened containment measures in
hospitals, while the World Health Organization (WHO) was due to hold
an emergency meeting to determine whether the outbreak constituted a
global health emergency.
The virus has spread from the central Chinese city of Wuhan, in
Hubei, to Beijing, Shanghai, Macau, Hong Kong, and beyond to the
United States, Thailand, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.
The Chinese government has provided updates on the number of cases
in a bid to head off panic, as hundreds of millions of people
prepare to travel at home and abroad for Lunar New Year celebrations
starting this week.
"The rise in the mobility of the public has objectively increased
the risk of the epidemic spreading and the difficulty of prevention
and control," National Health Commission vice-minister Li Bin told
reporters.
There was evidence that the virus was being spread through
"respiratory transmission", Li said. And, the director-general of
China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Gao Fu, said
virus was adapting and mutating, underscoring the challenges for
health authorities.
Some 2,197 people who came into contact with infected people were
being kept in isolation, while 765 have been released from
observation.
"There has been a big change in the number of cases, which is
related to our deepening understanding of the disease, improving
diagnostic methods and optimizing the distribution of diagnostic
kits," Li said.
Symptoms of the virus, which can cause pneumonia, include fever,
coughing and difficulty breathing.
There is no vaccine for the virus, which can be passed from person
to person. Fifteen medical personnel are among those infected in
China.
Fears of a pandemic similar to an outbreak of Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) that started in China and killed nearly
800 people in 2002-2003 have roiled global markets, with aviation
and luxury goods stocks hit particularly hard and the Chinese yuan
tumbling.
WHO SAYS MORE CASES EXPECTED
Companies across China, from Foxconn <2317.TW> to Huawei
Technologies [HWT.UL] and HSBC Holdings <HSBA.L>, were warning staff
to avoid Wuhan and handing out masks.
Terry Gou, the billionaire founder of Apple <AAPL.O> supplier
Foxconn, said he was advising company employees not to visit China
over the holiday.
WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said new cases of the coronavirus
would appear as China stepped up monitoring.
Li said there was no evidence of "super-spreaders" capable of
disseminating the virus more widely, as happened during the SARS
outbreak.
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Health authorities are still trying to determine the origin of the
virus, which officials say came from a market in Wuhan where
wildlife was traded illegally. SARS was believed to have crossed to
humans from civet cats sold for food in China.
The WHO says an animal source appears most likely to be the primary
source of this outbreak.
Taiwan on Tuesday confirmed its first case of the coronavirus, a
woman returning from Wuhan.
The island's president, Tsai Ing-wen, called on China to share
"correct" information about the virus and for the WHO not to exclude
Taiwan from collaboration on the outbreak for political reasons.
Taiwan is not a member of the WHO due to the objection of China,
which considers the island a Chinese province with no right to
participate in international organizations unless it accepts it is
part of China.
Like Australia, Taiwan warned citizens to avoid Wuhan, while banning
tour groups from the city.
Airports around the world have stepped up screening of travelers
from China.
The Chinese-ruled gambling hub of Macau confirmed its first case of
pneumonia linked to the coronavirus and tightened body-temperature
screening measures in casinos and around the city.
A first case of the virus emerged in nearby Hong Kong on Wednesday,
media reported. The patient arrived in Hong Kong via high-speed
railway from the mainland and had been quarantined, media said.
The city's commerce secretary, Edward Yau, said earlier authorities
were on high alert.
"The whole world is watching," Yau told Reuters at the annual
meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Several foreign tour operators said North Korea banned foreign
tourists from Wednesday due to the virus, losing one of its main
sources of foreign currency.
Some qualifying boxing matches for the 2020 Olympics set to take
place in Wuhan in February had been canceled, Japan's Kyodo news
agency said.
Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd <0293.HK> said it would allow
flight attendants to wear surgical masks while on mainland China
flights.
Cathay said rebooking, rerouting and refund charges would be waived
for all tickets to or from Wuhan through Feb. 15. China's aviation
regulator has told mainland carriers to refund or change flights to
Wuhan without charge.
(Reporting by Cate Cadell and David Stanway; additional reporting by
Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Michael Perry, Robert Birsel)
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