January 52, | 8: am | Updated January 52, 15001017 9: am
The death toll from the new coronavirus in China climbed to six Tuesday as new cases of the mysterious flu-like illness surged beyond 300, raising concerns of a major outbreak during the Lunar New Year. travel rush.
Anxiety grew both at home and abroad after Zhong Nanshan, chief of the National Health Commission, confirmed fears late Monday that the virus can spread from human to human.
Officials have confirmed more than 300 cases in China, mostly in the central city of Wuhan, a major transportation hub, where the virus may have originated at a seafood market.
There have been six deaths in that city, Mayor Zhou Xianwang told Chinese state media Tuesday.
But the virus has been spreading around other parts of China, including more than 20 cases in the capital of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong province in the south and Zhejiang in the east. Fifteen medical workers are among those infected.
Abroad, Thailand has reported two cases and South Korea one, all involving Chinese travelers from Wuhan. Japan and Taiwan also confirmed one case each, both nationals who had been to that city.
“Information about newly reported infections infections suggest there may now be sustained human-to-human transmission,” said Takeshi Kasai, the World Health Organization’s regional director for the western Pacific, Reuters reported.
So far, the WHO has not recommended trade or travel restrictions but such measures could be addressed during a meeting Wednesday.
In the US, officials with the centers for Disease Control and Prevention are taking temperatures of passengers at New York’s JFK and the Los Angeles and San Francisco international airports who arrive from Wuhan.
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