China announced that the SARS-like virus has spread across the country and has raised concerns among residents as the Lunar New Year nears. It was also hinted by scientists that the virus outbreak might be likely worse than officially reported.
Last Monday, China authorities announced that another victim of the SARS-like virus has died which led the headcount to reach nearly 140 in the country alone, reported Business Times. Over the weekend, the report claimed that the number of patients in the place of origin of the virus Wuhan had already reached 136 cases over the weekend, the local health commission exclaimed.
In Beijing, health authorities within the Daxing district, however, claimed that they have treated two patients who were suffering from the pneumonia-linked virus. They said that the patients are now under stable conditions.
It was also added that another patient was diagnosed with the same disease in Guangdong who was then quarantined last week after showing symptoms like fever and heavy coughing after the patient visited relatives in Wuhan.
The authorities then claimed Wuhan, home to 11 million residents, is a transport hub in China every Lunar New Year. Thus, the city health commission thereof warned residents about contracting the disease when they would travel across the country to visit their families during the holiday.
At present, the authorities have exclaimed that a total of 201 people in China have been diagnosed with the SARS-like virus. About 170 of the patients are currently being treated in health facilities in Wuhan where nine of the patients are under critical condition.
In other news, Science Alert reported that the mysterious SARS-like virus might be a worse epidemic than report outlets let in.
Scientists working with the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial College in London claimed that the number of patients reported to be suffering from the disease may have already reached 1,700 instead of the lower number of victims reported. They indicated that their estimates are larger than those reported by the Chinese authorities because they included diagnoses of patients in Thailand and Japan.
At present, China has not imposed any travel restrictions, but Hong Kong authorities have improved their detection measures to prevent the spread of the virus. They have been conducting rigorous temperature checkpoints for travelers coming from China's mainland.
Last Friday, US officials announced that they would be screening travelers coming from Wuhan at the San Francisco airport and New York's JFK airport. It was revealed that these airports received direct flights from Wuhan. The same measures are observed in Thailand.
