China, but also the international community, are taking drastic measures to try to counter the virus which left Wuhan a month ago and which worries more and more.
The essential
Wuhan, the origin of the virus.
In late December, a mysterious virus appeared on a market in Wuhan, eastern China, with symptoms ranging from simple cough to life-threatening pneumonia. Since then, this coronavirus close to SARS has proliferated dramatically, reaching major Chinese megalopolises, but also other countries. The official balance sheet so far reports 17 deaths and around 500 cases diagnosed, even if these data are increasingly questioned.
Drastic measures.
In recent days, with the accelerating proliferation of the virus, China has taken action. Latest, the quarantine of Wuhan, 11 million inhabitants, where it is no longer possible to enter or exit. Airports and roads have been blocked. Two other neighboring cities of Wuhan were also cut off from the world. China has also canceled the Chinese New Year festivities in Beijing, which usually cause large rallies on the streets.
Countries affected by the virus.
South Korea, Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, United States, Singapore: these are the countries that have reported at least one case of coronavirus infection. France and Europe are spared for the moment, but vigilance is required, even if the risk of introduction is “low” said Minister of Health Agnès Buzyn. In Lyon, the rumor of a person carrying the virus has been around for the past few hours. She is a Chinese woman, who was asked by the Chinese Embassy in France to call on the 15th for treatment, after this woman claimed to have had symptoms close to those of the virus. .
WHO.
The WHO, which was to speak this Wednesday on the virus, preferred to give itself one more day to take, or not, emergency measures and to decide if it is indeed a health crisis on a large scale World.
Live
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15:28 – Dubai takes action on the virus
Dubai Airport, one of the world’s largest hubs, said controls will be put in place for flights from China. “All passengers arriving on direct flights from China must undergo a thermal control upon arrival. The control will be carried out at secure (landing) doors,” airport management said in a statement.
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15:18 – Quarantine, “a good decision”
This Thursday, Wuhan, but also two neighboring cities, were quarantined, in order to stop the spread of the coronavirus as much as possible. According to Yazdan Yazdanpanah, head of the infectious and tropical diseases department at Bichat hospital in Paris, also an expert at the World Health Organization (WHO), this is a good decision. “It may look like in the movies, but to stop the transmission from person to person, from man to man, one of the most effective measures is to stop the movement of the population. (…) is the epicenter of the epidemic and I think it will really reduce the number of cases, “he told RTL.
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15:08 – Taking the temperature at the exit of the plane
Here are some unusual images from Beijing Airport, where all the passengers from Wuhan were taken for temperature measurement when they left the plane, until the flights were finished. suspended in direction and from Wuhan.
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14:52 – The Forbidden City of Beijing closed to the public
The Forbidden City, one of the oldest palaces in Beijing, but also one of the most visited museums in the Chinese capital, has been closed by the authorities until further notice, also as part of the measures taken to contain the virus.
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2:50 pm – Chinese New Year festivities canceled in Beijing
China’s measures to stem the coronavirus are intensifying. After the quarantine of Wuhan and two neighboring cities, the Chinese government has decided to cancel the New Year’s festivities, which should take place in a few days and which traditionally cause large gatherings in the streets of the capital. .
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13:44 – In pictures: the transport of infected people
The image is quite anxiety-provoking, but it well reflects the drastic precautions that have been taken in China following the spread of the virus. This video was filmed in Wuhan, from where the virus began to spread.
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13:23 – WHO “lacks information”
If the WHO could not present conclusions following its emergency meeting on Wednesday, what the organization “lacks information” to decide. “It is a complex and evolving situation,” said the WHO director-general, saying he wanted to “take due account of the available evidence”.
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12:54 – Wearing a compulsory mask in public places of Wuhan
In Wuhan, the city in eastern China where the virus originated, wearing a mask is now compulsory in public places, reports The People’s Daily. Problem, the stocks of masks have been exhausted in many points of sale in the city. China News Agency has revealed that the Chinese government will increase production.
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12:44 – “There will be no epidemic in France”
According to Yazdan Yazdanpanah, head of the infectious and tropical diseases department at Bichat hospital in Paris, also an expert at the WHO, the Chinese virus will not cause “no epidemic in France”. Questioned by RTL, he gave more details on this reassuring message. “There are going to be suspicious cases, but there are not any cases at the moment. But there have been suspicious cases who have had a fever, (…) these are very signs trivial, he explains, ensuring that in France, “we can do, we can contain, we know how to isolate these patients”.
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12:25 – Sports events relocated because of the virus
Particular attention is paid to the city of Wuhan, where the virus was born. As proof, two sporting events which were soon to take place there will be relocated. There is first a boxing qualification tournament for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which will be held elsewhere in China, as reported by Japanese news agency Kyodo. Still in the context of the Olympic Games, women’s football qualifying matches between China, Taiwan, Thailand and Australia, which were to take place in Wuhan, but have been relocated to Nanjing, further east.
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11:45 am – Pictures of Wuhan in quarantine
The city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus, has been quarantined. As a result, the streets are emptied considerably and the majority of the eleven million inhabitants who populate this city of the east of China remained at their home this Thursday.
The city of Wuhan is almost empty. The inhabitants of the city do not leave their homes.
Schools are closed by decision of the Chinese authorities. pic.twitter.com/jfNC4Lnt5q– Restitutor Orientis (@RestitutorOrien) January 23, 2020
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11:17 – A second Chinese city in quarantine
After Wuhan, the city of origin of the virus, the Chinese authorities have decided to quarantine a second city. It is Huanggang, located a few dozen kilometers east of Wuhan. This city concentrates seven million inhabitants, which brings to 18 million people quarantined in China.
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10:49 – Chinese virus figures underestimated by China?
Doubts about the figures communicated by China on the virus which is proliferating on its territory are starting to raise suspicions. The Washington Post devotes an article to this subject on Thursday, citing much higher figures. For example, instead of the 500 official cases, there could be up to 4,000 people who contracted the coronavirus …
Chinese authorities count more than 500 respiratory syndrome patients #Wuhan … some speak of 4000 infections https://t.co/2pniBQ1dr7
– Anthony Bellanger انطوني (@a_bellanger) January 23, 2020
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10:27 – Virus: a false alarm in France
Returning from a trip to Wuhan, where the virus was born, a Frenchman was suspected of having contracted the virus. This man had respiratory symptoms specific to the cousin of the SARS virus. “He was taken care of in isolation in a reference establishment. He is doing well, has returned home, all the virological examinations (carried out at the National Reference Center of the Pasteur Institute) are negative,” said the director. General of Health Jérôme Salomon, quoted by LCI.
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10:09 – Virus: disinfection measures taken in China
While Chinese President Xi Jinping has said that China will do everything to “stop” the Wuhan-born virus that has killed at least 17 people, disinfection and ventilation measures have been taken, especially in airports, stations and shopping malls in the country.
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The unknown virus contracted by several hundred Chinese since early January is one of the coronaviruses. This family of viruses encompasses several pathologies, whether in humans or animals, ranging from a simple cold to other more serious symptoms. In the case of this virus, the people affected were affected by respiratory disorders and symptoms similar to those observed during influenza or pneumonia.
This worrying virus is reminiscent of SARS, for severe acute respiratory syndrome. It is also a coronavirus, which has the peculiarity of having already struck China, with devastating consequences between November 2002 and May 2003, the period in which more than 700 people lost their lives. All had contracted infectious diseases of the lungs. More on SARS here.
Although concern may win over some, given the growing number of infected people and the fact that cases have been identified outside of China – and even outside Asia with the United States, France remains for the moment serene in the face of this mysterious virus. “The risk of the introduction into France of cases linked to this episode is low, but it cannot be excluded, especially since there are direct airlines between the city of Wuhan and France,” said Agnes Buzyn. The fact remains that the French health authorities take the threat very seriously and are preparing for the possibility of an infected person walking on French soil. “Our health system is well prepared, health establishments have been informed and recommendations for care have been issued,” continued the Minister of Health. In Nancy, a fifty-year-old man was taken into care at the city’s CHU, after a trip to one of the infested regions in China. He was showing symptoms of the virus, but it was ultimately concluded that it was a false alarm. In addition, controls at Roissy Airport, the only Chinese entry into France, have been strengthened.
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