he new coronavirus-infected pneumonia has spread overseas as well as wreaking havoc in China.
Following Vietnam's first overseas case of "human-to-human transmission" on January 23, Germany and Japan have also reported cases that have not been to China. The development could put new pressure on the World Health Organization (WHO) to accelerate its process of declaring China's new coronavirus outbreak a "public health emergency of international concern. ".
First confirmed case in Germany, patient has never been to China
Late at night on January 27 local time, a spokesman for the German Ministry of Health announced the confirmation of the country's first case of novel coronavirus. It is the second country in Europe to announce a confirmed case, after France confirmed three patients.
It is worth noting that the German case is likely to be the first overseas case of person-to-person transmission without a family or close relationship. In previous cases diagnosed overseas, the patient had either travelled directly to China or been infected with a family member who had recently travelled to China.
On the morning of the 28th, the German Ministry of Health and the German National Office for Health and Food Safety (LGL) on the case of specific details. The 33-year-old German man, who lives in Starnberg, near Munich, is in good clinical condition and has been treated and quarantined. The authorities have identified a list of close contacts with the man and have informed him of possible symptoms, disinfection measures and routes of infection.
According to the Deutsche Presse-Agentur and the Süddeutsche Zeitung, the German man has no Chinese background and has never traveled to China. The man, who works for munich-based auto parts supplier Webasto, was infected by a female Chinese colleague who traveled to Munich from January 19 to 22 for training. The German patient had attended a workshop with Chinese colleagues during the training, after which the man developed cold symptoms.
The man, who was still sick before leaving for the hospital on January 27, has been contacted by at least 40 colleagues identified by the Munich Office of Wiebaster; The kindergarten where the patient's son is attending has also been thoroughly examined and disinfected.
WABST had already sent out an early morning email to all staff encouraging them to work from home and to pay attention to disinfection measures, but there are still many staff who choose to go to the Munich office.
The company is a leading manufacturer of car heating and roof components and has more than 10 offices in China, the largest of which is located in Wuhan.
According to focus, the Chinese woman settled in Shanghai and flew from Shanghai to Munich, Germany. Her parents are from Wuhan. She did not develop symptoms or feel unwell during her flight to Germany, but was diagnosed as having novel coronavirus infection on 26 January upon her return. The woman is in good clinical condition, according to webster.
World Health Organization is under pressure to pass on his family overseas
On January 27, the Japanese government also announced two new confirmed cases of coronavirus infection, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to seven. One of the three new cases is a bus driver who has not been to China recently.
The bus driver, who is in his 60s, lives in Nara, according to Katsushiko Kato. In early January, he was a driver for two Wuhan Tours to Japan, taking them around Tokyo and Ōsaka, where he may have contracted the virus.
The driver developed symptoms last week and was diagnosed with pneumonia last Saturday (25th) . The driver was quarantined after being diagnosed with new coronavirus pneumonia on the 27th. Katsunobu Kato said the driver was in good clinical condition. This is another overseas case of person-to-person transmission without a family or close relationship.
On 23 January, two new cases of coronavirus pneumonia were found in Viet Nam, involving a father-son relationship. From a father who returned to Yunnan from Wuhan, to a son who worked in Vietnam. This is the first overseas human-to-human transmission of the new coronavirus.
On Jan. 24, World Health Organization confirmed in an outbreak report that Vietnamese cases confirmed the virus could be transmitted from person to person. This updates who's position at a press conference on the 22nd.
There is no evidence that Wuhan pneumonia can be transmitted from person to person outside of China, World Health Organization said at a news conference Thursday, therefore, China's new coronavirus epidemic is not yet a "public health emergency of international concern" (PHEIC) . But Tan stressed that this did not mean the outbreak was not serious, that the risk of an outbreak in China was "extremely high" and that the risk of an outbreak at the regional and global levels was "high" .
The number of new coronavirus-infected pneumonia diagnosed overseas is on the rise. According to incomplete statistics, as of press time, confirmed cases have been found in 14 countries overseas, there were 14 cases in Thailand, 7 cases in Singapore, 7 cases in Japan, 5 cases in USA, 5 cases in Australia, 4 cases in Malaysia, 4 cases in Korea, 3 cases in France, 2 cases in Canada, 2 cases in Vietnam, 1 case in Nepal, 1 case in Germany, 1 case in Cambodia and 1 case in Sri Lanka.
The emergence of the German and Japanese cases confirms that the virus is highly contagious overseas, as it is not confined to intimate contact with family members. This could put fresh pressure on World Health Organization to speed up its process of declaring China's new coronavirus outbreak a "public health emergency of international concern" .
Masks sold out as Europe prepares for war
At present, Europe has begun to prepare for the epidemic, many countries have masks and other basic epidemic prevention tools out of stock.
Even after the Bavarian case was confirmed, the risk of contracting the new coronavirus remains low, according to the Robert Koch and Jens Spahn, Germany's health minister, germany has also been well prepared for the virus, but in Bavaria major cities, there is still a rush to buy face masks and other epidemic prevention equipment. Hawke, a part director of the Koch Institute, believes that 15 minutes of contact with a patient is enough to infect the virus.
According to an interview by an interface reporter, nearly half of the pharmacies in Munich and surrounding cities are already in short supply of face masks, and the pharmacies are unable to place additional orders for N90 and N95 face masks, even disposable face masks, which have limited protection, have to wait in line for three days. A local pharmacy staff told reporters: "since (first) Friday, France confirmed three new cases of coronavirus, the shop mask has been snapped up, disposable masks only samples, call mask manufacturers often busy. ". The only option at the moment is industrial masks sold in the building materials market."
In Frankfurt, home of Germany's biggest airport, the face mask counters of drugstores such as DM are empty. But the rush to buy masks is still largely Chinese. One of the buyers told reporters that a group of people in a week ago to determine the business trip, because of concerns about the shortage of masks in China, just in advance of the local stock.
Affected by the outbreak, the Chinese Association in Paris, France, canceled the original 25 to celebrate the Lunar New Year parade, the city of Bordeaux also canceled the 26 New Year celebrations. Rome, Italy's capital, has also postponed Lunar New Year celebrations scheduled for February 2.
Some British universities have taken steps to prevent Chinese students returning to the UK for the Spring Festival from returning directly to their universities unless they agree to proper self-segregation. Britain's Heathrow Airport has also stepped up health and quarantine measures, and will set up a special entry zone for passengers from Wuhan.
As of press time, in addition to the French and German confirmed cases, the United Kingdom, Italy, Finland, Portugal, Switzerland, Austria and other countries have announced suspected cases, are screening for confirmed.