The WHO has declared the coronavirus a global health emergency as the total of infected people rose to 7,834 and 170 dead.
Speaking at a press conference, Director General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom praised the Chinese authorities for their quick reaction to the outbreak, saying that the disease would have spread far more rapidly and widely if not for their work in containing it.
“We would have seen many more cases outside China by now – and probably deaths – if it were not for the government’s efforts,” he said.
“In many ways China is setting a new standard for outbreak response – that is not an exaggeration.”
Adhanom said that so far there have been no deaths outside China, although there have been 98 cases of coronavirus in 18 countries, including eight cases of human to human transmission in four countries, Germany, Japan, Vietnam and the U.S.
“We don’t know what sort of damage this virus could do if it were to spread in a country with a weaker health system. We must prepare for that possibility. For all of these reasons, I am declaring a public health emergency of international concern.”
His comments come as a planned flight repatriating hundreds of British nationals from Wuhan was preparing to depart early on Friday morning, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab confirmed.
The British flight was initially scheduled to leave Wuhan on Thursday but it is understood that Chinese permissions were delayed in coming through, effectively grounding the flight.
The flight, which left Wuhan at 0945 local time, carried 83 British and 27 foreign nationals. It is scheduled to arrive in the UK at 1300 local time and then fly to Spain, “at which point EU nationals’ home countries will take responsibility for them,” the Foreign Office said.
Evacuations
European nations are evacuating residents from Chinese cities as the deadly coronavirus spreads, with new cases in Finland, Germany and China.
A number of American and British carriers have now cut back or completely suspended flights to and from China, including British Airways and American Airlines.
Russia has also closed the border it shares with China, and has said it will stop issuing electronic visas.
Finland was the latest European country to confirm a case of coronavirus on Wednesday, bringing the total number of cases on the continent to nine.
A Chinese tourist was found to be infected with the virus at a hospital in Lapland, according to a statement on Wednesday from Finland’s National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).
It said the tourist was from Wuhan – the epicentre of the outbreak – and that a further 15 people may have been exposed.
It follows four further cases confirmed in France and Germany earlier this week.
Also Wednesday, the U.S. evacuated 201 Americans from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus. They will now undergo three days of monitoring at a California military base to ensure they show no signs of the illness.
Australia and New Zealand are also planning to evacuate their nationals.
Speaking in Beijing, Ma Xiaowei declined to estimate how long it would take to bring the situation under control. He said there was still limited knowledge of the mechanism of spread of the virus, as well as the risk of it mutating.
Gao Fu, director of China’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters scientists were closely watching the virus and its behaviour and so far no obvious changes had been found.
Meanwhile, the US confirmed five cases of coronavirus, including new cases in Arizona and California.
Nine cases confirmed in Europe
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has warned that it is “likely that there will be more imported cases” of the virus from China.
‘Further deaths are expected’
Josep Jansa, ECDC Principal Expert for Emergency Preparedness and Response, said in a statement on Sunday that “since the original source remains unknown and human-to-human transmission has been documented, further cases and deaths are expected.”
Other cases have been reported in Australia, Canada, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, South Korea, Vietnam and Sri Lanka.
The youngest patient worldwide is a nine-month-old girl in Beijing.
Travel lockdown in China
In Hubei, bustling streets, shops, restaurants and other public spaces in the city were eerily empty as authorities put more than a dozen cities on lockdown.
The city of Wuhan, where the outbreak originated, announced it will build a designated hospital with space for 1,000 beds by February 3, in the style of a facility that Beijing constructed during the SARS epidemic in 2003.
Police, SWAT teams and paramilitary troops guarded the city’s train station, where metal barriers blocked the entrances.
The cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Xian and Tianjin have suspended long-distance coach services, as well as the vast province of Shandong.
As a symbol of the concern that has gripped China, the authorities have announced the closure of sections of the famous Great Wall, as well as the Disneyland resort site in Shanghai.
Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam has announced on Tuesday that all rail links to mainland China will be closed starting Friday, in order to contain the contagion. This includes both the high-speed rail station and the regular train station.
Mongolia already closed its vast border with China and North Korea said it was strengthening quarantine measures, considering such measures.
Global precautions for coronavirus
Three airports in the European Union (EU) have direct flight connections to Wuhan, while there are indirect flight connections to other European hubs.
In France, there are no plans to screen passengers for fever in airports which officials believe is ineffective.
Health officials in Paris and in Lyon, however, will also be able to do a diagnostic test in health centres for the virus.
