Taiwan has announced the first case of the new Corona virus, and Germany has expanded its response to the virus with new infections recorded, at a time when the World Health Organization has announced the dispatch of experts to China.
The disease has so far killed 106 people in China and infected 4,500 people, especially in and around Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak.
Taiwan has announced its first case of coronavirus on its soil, and says it will start tracking the whereabouts of people who may have been infected with the virus.
The Taiwan Epidemic Control Center said a 50-year-old Taiwan man had contracted the disease in the country after his wife returned from a trip to Wuhan, the center of the virus.
"It is the first case of a person diagnosed with the disease in Taiwan by a member of his family," said Chen Shien-chung, Minister of Health and Welfare of Taiwan, at a televised press conference.
Chen said that starting from Wednesday, Taiwan will start monitoring people who have been in contact with patients who have returned from the areas affected by the virus, by giving them mobile phones with tracking applications.
China and the World Health Organization agreed that the experts "will work with their Chinese colleagues to improve understanding of the disease with the aim of directing efforts" to reach a "global response," the WHO stressed in a statement.
This comes after meetings that brought together Chinese President Xi Jinping and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanum Gabriusus, and described the Chinese president the new Corona virus as a "demon" and said his country was confident of winning it in the battle.
Tidros declared that "stopping the spread of the virus in China and the world is the highest priority for the World Health Organization," welcoming the seriousness of China's work to contain it.
expansion
Three other people in the German state of Bavaria were infected with the Coruna virus, and a spokesman for the Ministry of Health in Munich said Tuesday evening that these people were related to the owner of the first confirmed case of new pneumonia.
The German authorities intend to expand their measures to combat the Corona virus. During a conference call with the health ministers of the German states, German Health Minister Jens Young announced, on Tuesday, the creation of new obligations related to airlines and hospitals to notify cases of injury.
Under the new measures, pilots coming from China will have to notify the watchtowers at German airports of the health status of passengers before landing, and travelers from China must also fill out forms stating how to reach them within the 30 days after their arrival.
Young men added that hospitals must, in the future, notify the Robert Koch Virus Research Institute of justified suspected cases, not just confirmed cases of infection, as is currently the case. The Federal Institute will give greater coordination powers throughout Germany.
The minister stressed that "the risk to people's health in Germany remains minimal at our discretion," but he indicated that they take the situation very seriously and prepare well "and that there is no cause for exaggerated concern."
Fourth case in France
France Info radio said on Tuesday that France had recorded its fourth case of coronavirus, an elderly Chinese tourist.
Director of the Ministry of Health Jerome Salomon said that the patient, who is believed to be 80 years old, is being treated in Paris and his condition is serious.
The World Health Organization announced on Tuesday that it will send "as quickly as possible" experts to China with the aim of exchanging experiences on the new Corona virus to reach a "global response" to pneumonia that has killed more than 100 people.
Meanwhile, several countries are working to return their stranded citizens in Wuhan, central China, where the virus first appeared in December.
Japan announced the dispatch of the first Wuhan plane to deport 200 Japanese citizens Wednesday morning. The United States is also preparing to evacuate its consulate staff in the city on Wednesday, as well as other US citizens, by plane to California.
The European Commission, in turn, announced that two planes would be sent to evacuate 250 French and 100 European citizens.
On Thursday, a plane that Paris sent to Wuhan will arrive to carry Frenchmen and return "probably" on Friday, according to French Health Minister Agnes Pouzin on Tuesday. Persons returned to France will be subjected to quarantine for a specified period.
Corona Virus Spread
The outbreak of the emerging coronavirus may reach its peak "within a week or ten days" before it recedes, a Chinese scientist announced to an official news agency.
However, Jung Nanshan, one of the leading Chinese respiratory experts, said Thursday that the disease "will not expand dramatically."
"It is difficult to accurately predict when the disease will reach its peak. But this should happen within about a week or 10 days," he was quoted by the official Xinhua news agency as saying.
Jung was best known for his work to combat acute respiratory syndrome in 2002 and 2003, which killed 774 people worldwide including 648 in China.
"The death rate (of the emerging coronavirus) continues to decrease," due to the efforts of medical personnel, although there is no vaccine yet, Jong told Xinhua. However, many details regarding this virus are still unknown, especially the mechanisms for its transmission from person to person.