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 The week-long holiday to welcome in the Year of the Rat began on
Friday, raising fears that the infection rate could accelerate as
hundreds of millions of people travel to their homes and abroad. The
risks also persuaded Shanghai Disneyland theme park to close from
Saturday until further notice.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the new coronavirus
an emergency for China but stopped short of declaring the epidemic
of international concern.
While most of the cases and all of the deaths have been in China,
the virus has been detected in Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Japan,
South Korea, Taiwan and the United States. It was highly likely
Britain also had cases, a health official said.
In Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the outbreak began last
month, pharmacies were running out of supplies and hospitals were
flooded with nervous resident seeking medical checks.
"There’s so much news, so much data, every 10 minutes there's an
update, it's frightening, especially for people like us in a
severely hit area," said Lily Jin, 30, a resident of the city. "Even
if you're not ill you’ll frighten yourself into getting sick.”
As of Thursday, there were 830 confirmed cases and 26 people had
died, the National Health Commission said.
Most cases have been in Wuhan, where the virus is believed to have
originated in a market that traded illegally in wildlife.
Preliminary research suggested it crossed to humans from snakes.
The city of 11 million people, and neighbouring Huanggang, a city of
about 7 million, were in virtual lockdown. Rail stations were
largely shut, with few trains stopping, flights suspended and
checkpoints on main roads in and out.
About 10 people got off a high-speed train that pulled into Wuhan on
Friday afternoon but nobody got on before it resumed its journey.
"I need to be with my family," said one passenger, dragging two
large cases out of the station. He declined to give his name.
Wuhan was rushing to build a 1,000-bed hospital for the infected by
Monday, the official Changjiang Daily reported.
Prefabricated buildings were going up around a holiday complex
originally intended for workers, set in gardens by a lake on the
outskirts of the city.
Television footage showed about 30 mechanical diggers clawing at
brown earth preparing the site.
Wuhan hospitals called for donations of protective equipment such as
masks and suits, as supplies ran low.
Several airlines have suspended flights to Wuhan while airports
worldwide have stepped up the screening of passengers from China.
CHINA EMERGENCY, NOT GLOBAL
The WHO said on Thursday it was a "bit too early" to designate the
outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, which
would require countries to step up their response.
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"Make no mistake, though, this is an emergency in China," said WHO
chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The previously unknown virus, which has no cure and can spread
through respiratory transmission, has created alarm because there
are a number of unknowns. It is too early to know just how dangerous
it is and how easily it spreads.
Symptoms include fever, difficulty breathing and coughing. Most of
the fatalities have been elderly, many with pre-existing conditions,
the WHO said.
Three research teams are to start work on vaccines, the Coalition
for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations said. The plan is to have at
least one in clinical trials by June.
Some experts believe the virus is not as dangerous as the one that
caused the 2002-03 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome,
which also began in China and killed nearly 800 people, or the one
that caused Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, which has killed more
than 700 people since 2012.
GREAT WALL, FORBIDDEN CITY TO CLOSE
Chinese authorities have advised people to avoid crowds and 10
cities in the central province of Hubei, where Wuhan is located,
have suspended some transport, the Hubei Daily reported.
Some sections of the Great Wall near Beijing will be closed from
Saturday, state media said.
Famous temples have also closed, including Beijing's Lama Temple
where people make offerings for the new year, have also been closed
as has the Forbidden City, the capital's most famous tourist
attraction.
Shanghai Disneyland will close from Saturday. The theme park has a
100,000 daily capacity and sold out during last year's Lunar New
Year holiday.
The virus is expected to dent China's growth after months of
economic worries over trade tensions with the United States,
unnerving foreign companies doing business there.
A National Australia Bank research team estimated China's gross
domestic product growth for the first quarter could be hit by about
1 percentage point.
Shares in luxury goods firms have suffered from the anticipated drop
in demand from China, and on Friday French spirits group Remy
Cointreau said it was "clearly concerned" about the potential
impact.
(Reporting by Roxanne Liu, David Stanway, Martin Pollard, Tony
Munroe, and Ben Blanchard; Writing by Michael Perry, Robert Birsel;
Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
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