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The authorities of the Chinese province of Hubei, where the new Wuhan pneumonia coronavirus originated, raised Wednesday to 17 the number of deaths from this disease that, according to the National Health Commission, could mutate and spread.
The provincial government last night offered a press conference in which it explained that the number of confirmed cases in the region so far rises to 444 , according to state television CCTV.
According to the brief note published by that means, in the day today until 20.00 local time (12.00 GMT) 69 new cases were registered in the province, of which 62 were detected in the capital, Wuhan, where the epicenter of This new outbreak.
The provincial authorities explained that eight people died during this day.
For now, the total number of cases and deaths nationwide is uncertain, since the official website of the National Health Commission has not updated the figures since this morning.
These figures indicated that the number of confirmed cases in all of China was 440 and that of deaths, of 9, numbers that in both cases are below those registered only in Hubei, as announced by the provincial authorities tonight, although it is a Balance already obsolete.
"Although the route of transmission of the virus is still to be fully understood , there is a possibility that it will mutate and the risk of further spread," Li Bin, deputy minister of the said Commission, told the media on Wednesday.
Li admitted that possibility and expressed concern about the massive movement of travelers who bring the Chinese New Year holidays, which start this Friday, but did not get carried away by the alarmism and emphasized the prevention and control measures that Beijing has turn on.
Temperature control for travelers in ports, airports and bus and train stations, monitoring of those who suffer from symptoms (fever, fatigue, dry cough, dyspnea) or designation of specific hospitals for the treatment of patients and their isolation, between them.
And although it has not been able to find the exact origin of the virus, all the hypotheses point to a seafood and fish market in the city of Wuhan - home of about 11 million people -, so the sale of animals has been prohibited I live in the city.
"Basically, do not go to Wuhan. And those who are in Wuhan, please, do not leave the city," Li asked, referring to the capital of Hubei Province, with 11 million inhabitants, the epicenter of the outbreak and that has installed several dozen thermal detectors to identify possible infected, because fever is one of the first symptoms.
Protocols
The vice minister said that, although Wuhan's new pneumonia is considered a contagious disease of type B, it is being tackled with the protocols designed for those of type A, the maximum on the local scale.
In addition, to help combat the outbreak, Chinese Social Security has announced that medical expenses related to the treatment of new pneumonia will be fully covered by national funds through a reimbursement system.
The local press and social networks are saturated with advice on how to prevent infections, such as the use of masks (the drastic increase in their use is noticeable in the streets of Beijing) , the need to wash their hands frequently and thoroughly or cover their mouths and the nose every time you cough or sneeze.
And avoid agglomerations, since Chinese health authorities have proven that it is also spread among humans, a transmission that, they believe, occurs mainly through the respiratory tract .
The virus is already present in at least 13 Chinese provinces, in addition to the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao, which confirmed their first cases on Wednesday.
However, the head of the Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Gao Fu, stressed that, so far, a "super transmitter" of the new coronavirus has not been detected, with the ability to infect many people from a single case .
In other countries
Abroad, at least 4 cases have been detected in Thailand , and one in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the United States . A possible one is being studied in Mexico and many countries have been controlling passengers from China for days to minimize the risks of contagion.
In this context, the World Health Organization (WHO) has convened today for a meeting of experts to determine whether the current outbreak of coronavirus in China constitutes an international emergency.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
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