China on Sunday continued to increase transportation curbs even as authorities scrambled to prevent the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, AFP reported. One province and three cities have banned long-distance buses.
Meanwhile, Canada has declared the first “presumptive” confirmed case of the virus in a resident who had travelled the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak of the disease. The patient, a male in his 50s, arrived in Toronto on January 22 and was hospitalised the following day after developing symptoms of respiratory illness, officials said on Saturday.
So far, 56 people have died from the disease in China and 1,975 infection cases have been reported. In Shandong, authorities suspended long-distance buses entering the province. Inter-city buses in the province will be allowed to leave only if stations have temperature screening measures.
Long-distance buses were also suspended in the cities of Tianjin, Beijing and Xi’an. According to an official statement, inter-city taxis in Xi’an will be suspended, except those at the city airport. Officials said the measures were being taken to stop the spread of the virus through “passenger transport by road and taxis”.
The virus, believed to have originated late last year in a seafood market in Wuhan that was illegally selling wildlife, has spread to the United States, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Australia, France, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Nepal, Singapore and Canada.
The US State Department on Sunday said it would relocate personnel at its Wuhan consulate to the United States and offer a limited number of seats to private US citizens on a January 28 flight to San Francisco.
Health authorities in Beijing urged people not to shake hands but salute using a traditional cupped-hand gesture. This advice was sent in a text message to mobile phone users in the city on Sunday morning.
Airports around the world have stepped up screening of passengers from China. The outbreak has stoked fears of a pandemic similar to the 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome that also started in China and killed nearly 800 people.
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