CORONAVIRUS: China confirms death of sixth infected patient

Health authorities in China have confirmed the death of a sixth patient infected with the new Coronavirus which is of the same family as SARS and MERS and can be transmitted between people.

The country’s health ministry has confirmed that the death toll has risen from four to six after the death of a 66-year-old man and a 48-year-old woman in Wuhan, stating further that sixty new cases were reported in the region on 20 January

“We’ll stay at home during the holiday. I’m scared as I remember SARS very well,” said Zhang Xinyuan, who had been bound from Beijing for the Thai resort of Phuket before she and her husband decided to cancel their air tickets.

READ ALSO: Trump must be removed from office to protect national security, preserve system of govt, Democrats say

The World Health Organization (WHO) will hold a meeting today (Wednesday) to consider whether the outbreak is an international public health emergency.

According to a senior health official investigating the outbreak of pneumonia in China stemming from a new coronavirus, the disease can spread from person to person but can be halted with increased vigilance, as authorities confirmed the fourth death from the infection.

Zhong Nanshan, the head of the National Health Commission, said there was no danger of a repeat of 2002’s Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic that killed nearly 800 people across the world, as long as precautions were taken.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now