China Virus Spreads To New Cities, More Cases Of Pneumonia Confirmed

The recent outbreak of a new strain of coronavirus has now spread to more cities outside of Wuhan, where the number of people showing symptoms is approaching 2,000. Chinese officials confirmed a third death and the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said the number of patients with pneumonia has grown from 62 to 136.

This is raising concerns globally but Wuhan, located about 800 km (500 miles) west of Shanghai and the largest city in the Hubei province, is still the epicenter. It is the most populous city in Central China with a population of nearly 20 million people in the metro area.

But the worries are growing outside Wuhan as several areas have reported cases of the new virus strain named 2019-nCoV by the World Health Organization. The health commission from the Daxing district of Beijing said it had confirmed two cases of coronavirus while the southern Guangdong province’s health commission confirmed one case in Shenzhen. These were the first reported cases in China outside of Wuhan.

Internationally, at least one case has been reported in South Korea, Japan, and Thailand in recent days. The global count is now over 200 confirmed infections of the new strain and authorities around the globe, including in the United States and many Asian countries, have stepped up screening of travelers from Wuhan.

Causing great concern is the Chinese New Year celebrations that will begin next Saturday and last until Feb. 8. As an official public holiday, people in China can get seven days' absence from work, from Jan. 24 to 30. Hundreds of millions of Chinese tourists will be traveling to places inside and outside of the Communist country, creating a nightmare scenario for containment efforts.

China’s National Health Commission said on Sunday it will step up prevention efforts but acknowledged it still doesn’t know the source of the virus. At first, the source was thought to have been a seafood market in Wuhan that sold live animals like bats, marmots, cats, dogs, and snakes in addition to fish but this is not yet confirmed.

The new coronavirus strain is thought to be weaker than the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) strain that originated in China and killed nearly 800 people globally in 2002/03. The two viruses are “related”, and its symptoms include fever and difficulty in breathing.

China attempted to cover up the SARS epidemic and even state-run media is imploring the government not to repeat its previous mistakes when dealing with the disease. Social media has allowed people to voice their concerns with one Weibo (Chinese version of Twitter or Facebook) user commenting, “Who knows how many people who have been to Wuhan may be unaware that they have already been infected?”

Ironically, shares in Chinese pharmaceutical firms and mask makers surged Monday because of the outbreak. And, according to the Chinese Zodiac, Saturday is the start of the Year of the Rat, the animal that helped spread the Bubonic plague that ravaged Europe between 1347 and 1351 with the help of infected fleas.