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Wuhan Coronavirus: China takes strict measures to control 'grave' situation as it fears losing public trust

About 45% of the people who are either suspected to be infected or placed under medical observation may turn into confirmed cases of the Wuhan coronavirus, estimates Wuhan’s Mayor Zhou Xianwang
PUBLISHED JAN 27, 2020
A medical worker attends to a patient in the intensive care unit at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University in Wuhan in central China's Hubei Province. (Xiong Qi/Xinhua via AP)
A medical worker attends to a patient in the intensive care unit at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University in Wuhan in central China's Hubei Province. (Xiong Qi/Xinhua via AP)

China is facing a “grave situation”, warned Chinese President Xi Jinping after holding an emergency meeting on the Lunar New Year holiday.

The statement comes after the country witnessed a surge in Wuhan coronavirus cases: over 2,744 infected cases have been detected so far, out of which, 461 patients are severely ill. The death toll has jumped to 80 from Friday’s estimate of 26, according to Chinese authorities.

Additionally, 5,794 people have been suspected of having the infection and currently, 32,799 people are under observation.

(AP)

The youngest person in the confirmed list is a 9-month-old girl, according to the city's municipal health authority. About 45% of the people who are either suspected to be infected or placed under medical observation may turn into confirmed cases of the Wuhan coronavirus, estimates Wuhan’s Mayor Zhou Xianwang.

Given the gravity of the situation, the country's top body, the Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, headed by President Xi Jinping --  has take over the operations. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV), according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

“The transmissibility shows signs of increasing,” said Ma Xiaowei, China's National Health Commission Minister, but authorities are yet to determine how the virus spreads. What is worrying, he says, the Wuhan coronavirus is showing greater potential to pass from one person to another, even before symptoms appear. 

Last week, the WHO decided that they needed more data on the Wuhan coronavirus, before declaring it a global emergency. The risk posed by the virus is high in China and moderate across the world, they add. Late on Sunday, the World Health Organization’s director-general, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said he was traveling to Beijing to meet with government and health officials and take stock of the situation.

In Beijing, Ghebreyesus will hold a special meeting with the officials to discuss how to contain the coronavirus on Monday.

“We are working 24/7 to support [China] & its people during this difficult time & remain in close contact with affected countries, with our regional and country offices deeply involved. @WHO is updating all countries on the situation & providing specific guidance on what to do to respond,” Ghebreyesus wrote in a tweet.

What is China doing to contain the spread of the virus?

China is taking a string of strict measures to check the spread of the deadly and mysterious Wuhan coronavirus. 

Last week, the Chinese authorities sealed off 15 cities including Wuhan, either completely or partially --  a move that has affected over 57.2 million people. But  travel restrictions and other strict measures, according to Xiaowei, should bring results “at the lowest cost and fastest speed".

However, experts have expressed doubts whether such measures are effective in limiting the spread of the virus. This is because many people had already left the city for the holiday, while others rushed out after the lockdown was announced, according to Wuhan's mayor, Zhou Xianwang.

While others believe that this move could backfire on the Chinese government. People could easily start to see the government as oppressing them, sowing fear and mistrust, Lawrence Gostin, director of the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University Law Center, told NPR.

"You want them to cooperate. You want them to report their symptoms. You want them to believe that the government is there to help them and not to violate their rights. It's very, very difficult to control an epidemic once you've lost the trust of the population," Gostin added.

Police load a cart with items seized from a store suspected of selling trafficked wildlife are seen in Anji city in eastern China's Zhejiang Province.(Anti-Poaching Special Squad via AP)

The Chinese authorities have also imposed a temporary ban on the trade in wild animals -- experts believe that the virus may have jumped to humans from animals kept in Wuhan's wildlife market.

Local authorities will “strengthen inspections and severely investigate and punish those who are found in violation of the provisions of this announcement,” read the the ban issued by the government agencies. China has extended the Lunar New Year holiday to February 2 to discourage public gathering and traveling, both of which could contribute to the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus.

The authorities may delay reopening schools. “To effectively curb the spread of the coronavirus outbreak on campuses of schools and other educational institutions, it is decided that the start of the 2020 spring semester will be postponed for all schools and kindergartens,” according to a decree released by the Beijing Education Commission.

Several videos showing packed hospitals and overworked staff have surfaced over last week. In response, China has ramped up its medical infrastructure: they are transferring 14,000 protective suits and 110,000 pairs of gloves from the central medical reserves, according to the State Council. About 1,600 medical professionals are being sent to Wuhan, according to reports.

Further, a new 1,000-bed hospital is under construction in Wuhan. This facility, which is expected to be ready by February 8, will treat the infected patients. 

According to Xiaowei, there is a lot of work to be done. He says, “For this new coronavirus we have not identified the source of the infection and we are not clear about the risk of its mutation and how it spreads,” he said. “Since this is a new coronavirus there might be some changes in the coming days and weeks, and the danger it poses to people of different ages is also changing.”

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