At least six persons have died of the new SARS-like virus in China with top leaders warning officials against any cover up of the information on its outbreak even as the WHO is considering declaring an international public health emergency to combat the deadly illness.
The number of infected people has also increased sharply to about 300 as the government scampered to contain its spread by increasing monitoring on the movement of public from the 12 million people strong Wuhan city from where the SARS-like virus was first reported in December.
The World Health Organization (WHO), which is holding an emergency meeting on Wednesday, will consider declaring an international public health emergency over the virus - as it did with swine flu and Ebola, BBC reported.
Such a declaration, if made, will be seen as an urgent call for a coordinated international response in view of fears that millions of Chinese are travelling at home and abroad for the Chinese New Year and Spring Festival holidays starting from January 24.
The week-long festival triggers biggest mass migration, clogging road, rail and air networks every year.
India has already issued a travel warning. Several countries started screening travellers coming from China, especially from Wuhan to detect symptoms like fever.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang confirmed on Monday about Chinese official’s attendance at the emergency meeting of the International Health Regulation (IHR) called by the WHO.
Experts from countries from where the virus is reported would also attend the meeting and share the information on the epidemic and come up with scientific solution, he said.
He said China has shared information with the WHO about the virus as well as the countries affected besides Hong Kong and Macau which are special administrative regions of China.
Meanwhile, as the fear grips Chinese cities, the country’s top leaders have warned lower-level officials against any cover up in the information relating to the spread of the new coronavirus.
China’s National Health Commission on Monday confirmed for the first time that the infection could be transmitted from human-to-human. It said two people in Guangdong province had been infected this way. In a separate statement, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said at least 15 medical workers in Wuhan have also been infected with the virus, with one in a critical condition.The workers presumably became infected with the virus due to the contact with patients. All of them are being kept in isolation while being treated, BBC reported.