China ramped up measures to contain a virus (coronavirus) that has killed 26 people and infected more than 800, suspending public transport in 10 cities, shutting temples over the Lunar New Year and even closing the Forbidden City and part of the Great Wall.
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.
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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.
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.”
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