China orders 14 days of quarantine for all infected persons as the number of infections increases
The People’s Republic of China today, i.e., Saturday February 15, 2020, reported 2,641 new confirmed cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19), of which 849 are severe cases.
The total number of deaths caused by COVID-19 has reached 1,527 with more than 67,169 confirmed cases. The Hubei Province in China, the epicentre of the COVID-19, reported 2,420 new confirmed cases. The city also accounted for 107 of the 139 new deaths reported on Saturday.
Besides, Beijing has ordered a quarantine of 14 days to everyone returning to the Chinese capital city, as a measure to contain the spread of COVID-19.
People who refuse quarantine, a period of isolation, will be liable to face punishment. The people can either go on “self-quarantine” or can go to “designated venues” to quarantine, after returning to the city from holidays. The notice came on Friday night, i.e., February 14, 2020, as residents returned to the city after spending the Lunar New Year Holidays in other parts of China.
A World Health Organization (WHO)-led mission to China will start its outbreak investigation work this weekend, focusing on the spread of COVID-19, its severity and impact. The team consists of 12 international members and their 12 Chinese counterparts.
Speaking on the occasion, the Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme – Dr Mike Ryan said, “Particular attention will be paid to understanding transmission of the virus, the severity of disease and the impact of ongoing response measures.”
In China, the medical workers who are attending the patients of COVID-19 are getting infected with the virus. As of now, 1,102 medical workers in Wuhan have been caught by the virus.
Vice Minister of China’s National Health Commission – Zeng Yixin told media, “The duties of medical workers at the front are indeed extremely heavy; their working and resting circumstances are limited, the psychological pressures are great, and the risk of infection is high.”
The plight of medical workers was highlighted on February 7, 2020 by the death of Li Wenliang, a doctor at Wuhan Central Hospital who had tried to issue the first warning about the virus on December 30, 2019. While he raised alarm about the COVID-19, he was told by Police to not to make false comments.
Meanwhile, Egypt confirmed the first case of COVID-19 in Africa. The person was a foreigner, but his nationality has not been disclosed by Egypt. Globally, 4 people have died, with 1 each in Hong Kong, Japan, Philippines and France. More than 500 confirmed cases have been reported from 24 countries.
China is also supporting research into stem-cell therapy as a potential treatment for the disease. A research is underway into the use of stem cell therapy and rheumatology medicines used to treat Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS) which has been found in some patients.
A computer model has been built to screen more than 70,000 drugs, eventually shortlisting about 100 existing medications for further experiment.
Separately, Vice Governor of the People’s Bank of China – Fan Yifei, has said money supply in the country would be ensured, with 4 billion Yuan in new bank notes already allocated to Hubei. The Central Bank would temporarily store bank notes from major Government institutes or State enterprises in warehouses to prevent the disease spreading through the handling of cash. Banks have also been told to sanitise notes before giving them to enterprises.
