China has stepped up its response to a new coronavirus outbreak that has killed 41 people and infected at least 1,287 as of Saturday, placing restrictions on 13 cities, including 12 in Hubei Province – the centre of the outbreak.
At least 36 million people are living in the affected cities, some of which have suspended public transport amid fears that the transmission rate will accelerate as hundreds of millions of Chinese travel for the Lunar New Year.
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Health authorities around the world are taking action to prevent a global pandemic, with cases reported in Japan, Thailand, South Korea and the United States.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has acknowledged that the respiratory illness, which has been traced to the city of Wuhan, is an emergency in China. But WHO said it is too early to declare it a global health emergency.
Here are the latest updates:
Saturday, January 25
Australia’s first coronavirus case confirmed in Victoria
Australian authorities on Saturday confirmed its first case of a new virus as thousands of people worldwide are treated for the deadly infection.
In a news conference in Melbourne, Victoria’s state Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said a Chinese man aged in his 50s who last week returned from China had contracted the newly identified coronavirus.
China’s city of Haikou to start centralised observation for all tourists from Hubei
The Chinese government announced on Saturday that the southern city of Haikou will begin a 14-day centralised medical observation for all tourists from Hubei province, the centre of the deadly coronavirus outbreak.
The government said that the order will start at noon, local time, on Saturday, January 25.
Earlier on Saturday, Beijing has announced that the death toll from the outbreak has reached 41, with confirmed cases increasing to 1,287.
SOURCE: aljazeera.com
