Countries in Asia and elsewhere are checking the body temperatures of arriving airline passengers and adopting precautionary quarantine procedures in response to a new coronavirus that has sickened nearly 300 people in China.
China
China was blamed for making the 2003 Sars outbreak far worse by initially hiding information and blocking the work of the World Health Organization. This time, leader Xi Jinping has called for tough measures and said “party committees, governments and relevant departments at all levels should put people’s lives and health first.” At the airport in Wuhan, the temperatures of departing passengers were checked and outbound tour groups were banned from leaving the city. Virtually everyone in a public role, from traffic police officers to bank tellers, is wearing a protective face mask.
Japan
One case of new virus has been detected in Japan. The prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has urged officials to step up quarantine checks at airports and other entry points and visitors arriving from Wuhan, China will be required to fill in health forms. Authorities have tracked down and are monitoring 41 people who had contact with one confirmed case. None of them have developed a fever, tight chest or other initial symptoms of the new virus.
Hong Kong
Along with stepped-up surveillance, additional cleaning and disinfection measures have been ordered for planes and trains from Wuhan as well as for train stations and the airport. Authorities are ready for a worst-case scenario and are on extremely high alert.
As in much of mainland China, Hong Kong residents favour traditional markets where live poultry and other animals are sold. The government health department has advised people against visiting such markets or touching animals or their droppings.
United States
Screening for the coronavirus has started at three airports for flights from Wuhan: New York’s John F Kennedy; and San Francisco and Los Angeles international airports. The Center for Disease Control has developed a test to detect the new coronavirus and plans to share the tool with domestic and international partners.
What is the virus causing illness in Wuhan?
It is a member of the coronavirus family that has never been encountered before. Like other coronaviruses, it has come from animals, or possibly seafood. New and troubling viruses usually originate in animal hosts. Ebola and flu are examples.
What other coronaviruses have there been?
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (Mers) are both caused by coronaviruses that came from animals.
What are the symptoms of the Wuhan coronavirus?
The virus causes pneumonia. Those who have fallen ill are reported to suffer coughs, fever and breathing difficulties. In severe cases there can be organ failure. As this is viral pneumonia, antibiotics are of no use. The antiviral drugs we have against flu will not work. If people are admitted to hospital, they may get support for their lungs and other organs as well as fluids. Recovery will depend on the strength of their immune system. Many of those who have died are known to have been already in poor health.
Is the virus being transmitted from one person to another?
In the past week, the number of confirmed infections has more than tripled and cases have been found in 13 provinces, as well as the municipalities Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Tianjin. The virus has also been confirmed outside China, in Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, Nepal, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the US, and Vietnam. There have not been any confirmed cases in the UK at present, with the 14 people tested for the virus all proving negative. The actual number to have contracted the virus could be far higher as people with mild symptoms may not have been detected.
How worried are the experts?
There were fears that the coronavirus might spread more widely during the week-long lunar new year holidays, which start on 24 January, when millions of Chinese travel home to celebrate, but the festivities have largely been cancelled and Wuhan and other Chinese cities are in lockdown.
At what point should you go to the doctor if you have a cough, say?
Unless you have recently travelled to China or been in contact with someone infected with the virus, then you should treat any cough or cold symptoms as normal. The NHS advises that there is generally no need to visit a doctor for a cough unless it is persistent or you are having other symptoms such as chest pain, difficulty breathing or you feel very unwell.
Should we panic?
No. The spread of the virus outside China is worrying but not an unexpected development. It increases the likelihood that the World Health Organization will declare the outbreak to be a public health emergency of international concern on Thursday evening. The key concerns are how transmissible this new coronavirus is between people and what proportion become severely ill and end up in hospital.
Sarah Boseley Health editor, Hannah Devlin and Martin Belam
South Korea
At Incheon airport near Seoul, the only airport in South Korea with direct flights from Wuhan, authorities have been operating two special gates for passengers from the city since 3 January where officials use ear thermometers to check passengers’ temperatures. Handrails of moving walkways and escalators, elevator buttons and doors, drinking fountains and other sensitive areas are also wiped with disinfectant twice a day.
Nigeria
Nigeria, China’s top trading partner in Africa, has asked that travellers from Wuhan report to a medical facility if they feel ill and health authorities at points of entry are on alert for cases of coronavirus.
India
India announced on Tuesday that it will expand thermal screening of passengers arriving from China, including Hong Kong, to seven airports from the current three. In-flight announcements before arrival will direct passengers with a fever or cough who have traveled to Wuhan in the previous 14 days to declare themselves to health authorities. Thermal screening will begin in Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Cochin, and continue in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.
Singapore and Malaysia
Singapore will expand temperature screening at Changi airport, one of Asia’s busiest travel hubs, for all travellers on flights arriving from China beginning on Wednesday. The health ministry said individuals with pneumonia and a history of travel to Wuhan within 14 days of the onset of symptoms will be isolated in a hospital as a precautionary measure and investigated. Malaysia has also beefed up screening at Kuala Lumpur international airport.
Bangladesh
Civil aviation authorities have ordered airport managers to start screening incoming passengers from China, looking for fevers, coughs, breathing difficulties and sore throats.
Australia
Biosecurity staff and state health officials in New South Wales are meeting flights from Wuhan and are distributing pamphlets printed in English and Chinese to all passengers. The pamphlets describe symptoms of infection and ask people to identify themselves if they are experiencing any.
Russia
The Russian public health service has said it has developed a testing kit that would allow labs to detect the new coronavirus quickly. Russia is one of the three most popular tourist destinations for people from China, according to Russian officials.
Italy
Passengers making direct and indirect flights from Wuhan, China to Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci airport will be checked for potential signs of the virus and people with suspected infections will be quarantined at an infectious disease hospital in Rome. Posters at the airport advise travellers to consider delaying trips to the Wuhan area and if they do go there to avoid touching animals or uncooked animal products.
