Official: Whole of Wuhan ‘Quarantined’ As More Cases of 2019-nCoV Detected With 17 Deaths So Far

By
George Yang
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Lest you’ve been living in Raccoon City and aren’t aware of what’s happening around the world, here’s the latest deets: there’s a mysterious virus floating in the world, and so far, it has infected 544 people and killed 17 people.

And if you indeed live in Raccoon City, your city isn’t the only city in the world that’s quarantined: Wuhan, a city in China that started it all, is now under quarantine as well.

While the fictional world you live in is infected with the T-virus, the name of the virus in the real world is 2019-nCoV.

Whole of Wuhan ‘Quarantined’ As More Cases of 2019-nCoV Detected With 17 Deaths so Far

Before anything, here’s something you might not know: since the first detection of the virus, there had been less than 50 cases that were reported in the first three weeks.

But in recent days, the number ballooned to over 500. As of today (23 January 2020), there has been 544 reported cases and 17 deaths. Two days ago, it was also confirmed that the virus can be spread from human to human.

The outbreak is no longer limited to Wuhan—there are now confirmed cases in Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and even the US.

And therefore, a difficult decision was made: the entire city of Wuhan is officially quarantined as of 10am local time today.

But what does that mean?

All Public Transport Shut Down; Flights & Trains Out of Wuhan Suspended

People in Wuhan have been advised to avoid crowds and public gatherings since the onset of the virus.

But now, they probably can’t even get to these places: all public transport, comprising buses, train and ferry, will be shut down.

In addition, all flights and trains that depart from Wuhan would be stopped, too.

In other words, people in Wuhan are “trapped” in the city until further notice.

But is it that serious…yet?

WHO: Not a Global Emergency…Yet

Despite the drastic move, which will be monitored by a special command centre in Wuhan, the WHO (World Health Organisation) emergency committee announced that they’re not going to declare it as a global emergency yet.

Previously, they have sounded the highest level of alarm for the swine flu, Zika virus and Ebola.

With Chinese New Year just two days away, the 11 million people in Wuhan aren’t given a deadline for this quarantine.

It’s, however, definitely going to last for at least eight to ten days, since symptoms of infection would only surface after this period of time.

Singapore Situation on Wuhan Virus

In the meantime, here in Singapore, temperature checks will be held for all people arriving from any parts of China, and MOH has reminded everyone to remain vigilant and to adopt good personal hygiene practices.

They have dedicated a page in their website solely for this, which you can check it out here.

In the meantime, stay safe and healthy. We as humans have beaten many of these virus, so let’s beat another one of these naughty little things.

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George Yang
Email: [email protected]