Latest: NEWS UPDATE: 10:20 - 29/012020
https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2020/0129/1111604-coronavirus-china/
NEWS UPDATE: 11:35- 26/01/2020.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/china-builds-hospital-in-just-four-days-as-coronavirus-death-toll-passes-100-and-germany-confirms-first-case/ar-BBZoC1a?ocid=spartandhp
Ma Xiaowei said that the
virus’s ability to spread was increasing and warned that officials were not
clear about the risks of the virus mutating.
He added that it was likely the number of cases would continue to rise and confirmed that there have been 2,057 cases of coronavirus globally.
Chinese President Xi Jinping also warned the spread of a deadly new virus is accelerating. During a special government meeting on the Lunar New Year public holiday he told officials China is facing a “grave situation”. It comes as the British government warned its nationals to leave, he Chinese province at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak.
The Foreign Office updated its guidance to “advise against all travel to Hubei province”, which has been on lockdown for several days as China seeks to contain the illness. But the guidance also added: “If you are in this area and able to leave, you should do so. This is due to the ongoing novel coronavirus outbreak.” It came as the number of people tested for coronavirus in the UK passed 30 – although there are still no confirmed cases.
READ MORE FROM YAHOO NEWS UK: (Links):He added that it was likely the number of cases would continue to rise and confirmed that there have been 2,057 cases of coronavirus globally.
Chinese President Xi Jinping also warned the spread of a deadly new virus is accelerating. During a special government meeting on the Lunar New Year public holiday he told officials China is facing a “grave situation”. It comes as the British government warned its nationals to leave, he Chinese province at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak.
The Foreign Office updated its guidance to “advise against all travel to Hubei province”, which has been on lockdown for several days as China seeks to contain the illness. But the guidance also added: “If you are in this area and able to leave, you should do so. This is due to the ongoing novel coronavirus outbreak.” It came as the number of people tested for coronavirus in the UK passed 30 – although there are still no confirmed cases.
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As of Saturday afternoon, 31
people across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland had been tested for
the deadly flu-like virus, but all tests have come back negative, according to
the Department of Health (DoH).
There are also no confirmed diagnoses in UK citizens abroad, and the risk to the public is still classed as low. Meanwhile, health officials are continuing to track down around 2,000 people who have recently flown into the UK from Wuhan, the area of China worst affected by the outbreak.
The DoH confirmed it is trying to find “as many passengers as we can” who arrived from the region in the past two weeks to check on their wellbeing.
England’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty said there was a “fair chance” cases would emerge in Britain as the overall number reported around the world climbed to around 2,000 including 56 deaths, which have all occurred in China. The professor spoke following a meeting of the Government’s Cobra emergency committee in Whitehall on Friday, chaired by Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
He said: “I am working closely with the other UK chief medical officers. “We all agree that the risk to the UK public remains low, but there may well be cases in the UK at some stage.” He added: “The UK has access to some of the best infectious disease and public health experts in the world. “A public health hub will be set up in Heathrow from today. This consists of clinicians and other public health officials, in addition to existing port health measures.”
END OF UPDATE:
There are also no confirmed diagnoses in UK citizens abroad, and the risk to the public is still classed as low. Meanwhile, health officials are continuing to track down around 2,000 people who have recently flown into the UK from Wuhan, the area of China worst affected by the outbreak.
The DoH confirmed it is trying to find “as many passengers as we can” who arrived from the region in the past two weeks to check on their wellbeing.
England’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty said there was a “fair chance” cases would emerge in Britain as the overall number reported around the world climbed to around 2,000 including 56 deaths, which have all occurred in China. The professor spoke following a meeting of the Government’s Cobra emergency committee in Whitehall on Friday, chaired by Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
He said: “I am working closely with the other UK chief medical officers. “We all agree that the risk to the UK public remains low, but there may well be cases in the UK at some stage.” He added: “The UK has access to some of the best infectious disease and public health experts in the world. “A public health hub will be set up in Heathrow from today. This consists of clinicians and other public health officials, in addition to existing port health measures.”
END OF UPDATE:
NEWS UPDATE: 12 Noon: 26/01/2020.
The world’s most populous country yesterday celebrated the lunar
new year, usually a time of family reunion and joyful celebration. For many
Chinese people who have moved away from their place of birth, it is the one
time of year they get to visit their familiesThis year the coronavirus outbreak
has profoundly muted the celebrations in China, with several cities in
lockdown, the imposition of quarantine measures unprecedented in their scale,
and many citizens anxious about their own health and that of their families.
The Chinese have borne the brunt of the outbreak so far: coronavirus
is known to have killed more than 40 people, and infected another 1,300. But
the first cases have already been recorded in the US, Australia, and – on
Friday – in Europe.
Like Sars (severe acute
respiratory syndrome, also a coronavirus), bird flu and Ebola, this coronavirus
is a zoonotic virus, transferred from animals to humans. In this case,
scientists think it is likely to have come from bats or snakes in a live food
market in the Chinese city of Wuhan. It is not yet known how
infectious it is, and there are fears that it could yet lead to a global
pandemic. Although its symptoms currently appear to be less severe than Sars,
it may mutate. China’s response stands in stark
contrast to the Sars outbreak in 2002-2003, and has won it international
plaudits. In 2002, China tried to cover up the spread of Sars: newspapers were
forbidden from reporting it, public health officials told citizens there was
nothing to worry about, and little was done
to stop the deadly virus spreading across China. This time the authorities have
been more open: they promptly informed the World Health Organization, shared
the virus’s genetic sequence with the rest of the world and imposed strict travel restrictions and quarantine conditions affecting
more than 50 million people. There are, however, concerns that the
unprecedented scale of this quarantine – only possible because of the
authoritarianism of the Chinese government – could risk counterproductive levels
of anxiety and panic. Outside China, the global response has also been
reassuring in the main. There is no cure for this particular virus, but work is
under way to develop a vaccine. What this outbreak does reveal, however, is a global failure to
take action to minimise the risk of zoonotic viruses jumping species from
animals to humans. We are relatively fortunate that, so far, this virus is not
as deadly as Sars or Ebola. But there is a very real risk of this happening
again
Eating or transporting and trading wildlife is associated with a heightened risk of these viruses transferring to humans. In some areas, abject poverty pushes people to consume bush meat; Ebola is thought to have originated in wild bats that were killed for food, and in China and other parts of south-east Asia, eating wildlife is considered to be a symbol of wealth and social status, and beneficial to human health. The risk here lies in “wet markets” where live and dead animals are in close proximity. The markets continue to exist because of consumer preference: some older people in China, who grew up without refrigerators, are more comfortable buying meat from animals that are freshly slaughtered. But they provide ideal conditions for new and dangerous viruses to emerge. The Chinese authorities did try to clamp down in the immediate wake of the Sars outbreak, but many markets continue to flourish. From the spread of zoonotic viruses to the growing threat of antibiotic resistance and the climate crisis, the most existential challenges we face are truly global. They make a mockery of outdated notions of national sovereignty; the idea that so long as we exert control within our tiny corner of the world, everything will be fine. Global challenges like these will test to destruction the ability of transnational institutions such as the WHO, the EU and the World Trade Organization to chivvy along global coordination. They serve as a grave warning to those who would bury their heads in isolationism UPDATE ENDS:
Coronavirus alert: NHS staff told how to handle bodies. The advice for hospitals comes as the Foreign Office is arranging a charter flight to bring home 200 diplomats and other citizens from Wuhan.
Eating or transporting and trading wildlife is associated with a heightened risk of these viruses transferring to humans. In some areas, abject poverty pushes people to consume bush meat; Ebola is thought to have originated in wild bats that were killed for food, and in China and other parts of south-east Asia, eating wildlife is considered to be a symbol of wealth and social status, and beneficial to human health. The risk here lies in “wet markets” where live and dead animals are in close proximity. The markets continue to exist because of consumer preference: some older people in China, who grew up without refrigerators, are more comfortable buying meat from animals that are freshly slaughtered. But they provide ideal conditions for new and dangerous viruses to emerge. The Chinese authorities did try to clamp down in the immediate wake of the Sars outbreak, but many markets continue to flourish. From the spread of zoonotic viruses to the growing threat of antibiotic resistance and the climate crisis, the most existential challenges we face are truly global. They make a mockery of outdated notions of national sovereignty; the idea that so long as we exert control within our tiny corner of the world, everything will be fine. Global challenges like these will test to destruction the ability of transnational institutions such as the WHO, the EU and the World Trade Organization to chivvy along global coordination. They serve as a grave warning to those who would bury their heads in isolationism UPDATE ENDS:
Coronavirus alert: NHS staff told how to handle bodies. The advice for hospitals comes as the Foreign Office is arranging a charter flight to bring home 200 diplomats and other citizens from Wuhan.
 |
More than 1,400 cases
have been confirmed since the global outbreak,
centred in the Chinese city of
Wuhan, began last month
|
The guidance is in an 11-page dossier that was prepared for hospitals by Public Health England (PHE). It emerged as China warned that the spread of the virus was “accelerating” and the UK was poised to evacuate about 200 citizens from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the centre of the illness.GPs in the UK have been ordered to avoid examining suspected victims and told to keep them in closed rooms. All 31 people so far suspected by the NHS to have the virus have tested negative. However, officials are braced for the first positive case. One said the prospect was “highly likely”. More than 1,400 cases have been confirmed since a global outbreak began last month. Last night the death toll had climbed to 42. Australia and Malaysia have reported their first cases and Japan has identified a third. In the PHE guidance, NHS staff were told: “The act of moving a recently deceased patient onto a hospital trolley for transportation to the mortuary might be sufficient to expel small amounts of air from the lungs and thereby present a minor risk. “A body bag should be used for transferring the body and those handling the body at this point should use full PPE [personal protective equipment].” Staff who meet potential victims are told to wear “full-face visors”. The government says the risk to the UK population is “low”. But the dossier adds: “In the absence of effective drugs or a vaccine, control of this disease relies on the prompt identification, appropriate risk assessment, management and isolation of possible cases.” Last night Britain was preparing to fly hundreds of citizens out of the virus-stricken Chinese city of Wuhan, where 11 million residents are in effect under quarantine. The Foreign Office was understood to be arranging a charter flight to bring home UK citizens and diplomats. About 200 are understood to live in the city, which is the centre of a new coronavirus outbreak. In London, ministers were considering plans to screen arrivals at UK ports after the virus spread to 10 countries outside China. France is treating three cases in Paris and Bordeaux. China has warned that the spread of the virus was “accelerating”. Here, the government has declared the risk to the UK population as low. However, the official advice says: “In the absence of effective drugs or a vaccine, control of this disease relies on the prompt identification, appropriate risk assessment, management and isolation of possible cases, and the investigation and follow-up of close contacts to minimise potential onward transmission.” Medics have privately raised concerns that some of the guidance relies on the availability of beds in critical care wards as well as empty isolation rooms. They say the NHS is already dangerously overstretched and empty beds are a “luxury”. Duncan Selbie, chief executive of PHE, described the crisis as “a new and rapidly evolving situation”. Officials are in a race to trace about 2,000 people who have flown to the UK recently from Wuhan. The Department of Health said it was trying to find “as many passengers as we can” to check their health. The government’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, said: “What we don’t know is how far it’s going to spread. That really is something we need to plan for all eventualities.” ENDS:
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