The death toll from a coronavirus outbreak in China has soared to 106, Chinese authorities confirmed on Tuesday morning.
In addition to air transmission, the coronavirus can be spread through physical contact, China’s National Health Commission (NHC) said on Tuesday.
The incubation period of the new virus is on average 3-7 days, with the longest being no more than 14 days, the NHC stated, adding that the coronavirus strain is 85 per cent similar to severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars).
It also said the virus can infect children and infants, but their symptoms have been relatively mild.
The total number of confirmed cases has climbed to almost 4,500 in China alone. Most of those who have died are from Hubei province, which is at the epicentre of the outbreak. Hubei health authorities said on Monday that 24 more people had died from the virus and 1,291 more people were infected in the province.
In Shanghai, a newly developed broad-spectrum antiviral spray has been used in the emergency ward of the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center to protect medical staff, according to news website Thepaper.cn.
But the spray cannot be used for patient treatment as it has not obtained necessary approval, said Xu Jianqing, director of the health centre’s Institute of Infectious Diseases in an interview with Thepaper.cn.
While US officials from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the immediate health risk of the pneumonia-like illness – known as 2019-nCoV – to the American public remained low, the nation’s companies are starting to restrict their employees’ travel to China.
Facebook has started restricting employee travel, according to Bloomberg. The limits, which went into effect on Monday, halt non-essential travel to China by all Facebook employees. If workers have to visit the country, they need specific approval.
The total number of confirmed cases has climbed to more than 4,500 worldwide. Photo: AFP
Facebook staff based in China, and those who recently returned from trips to the country, are being told to work from home, Bloomberg reported.
Some US banks and financial firms, including Citigroup, have told staff in Hong Kong to stay home for two weeks and monitor their health if they have travelled to Wuhan or surrounding areas.
Banks in mainland China have extended the Lunar New Year break for staff until February 3 after the State Council, the nation’s cabinet, extended the public holiday to help stem the spread of the outbreak.
The Shanghai stock market announced late Monday that it would resume trading on February 3 after being shut since January 23. The smaller Shenzhen exchange in southern China is expected to observe a similar suspension, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Additional reporting by Chad Bray and Agencies
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This article first appeared on South China Morning Post.
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