BEIJING: China on Monday (Jan 20) reported a third death and 139 new cases of pneumonia over the weekend, caused by the outbreak of a new coronavirus strain that medical experts are still struggling to understand.
Officials also confirmed the virus had been detected in Beijing and Guangdong province, marking the first instances of the illness spreading beyond Wuhan, the city where the cases were first discovered.
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BREAKING: Chinese media reporting cases of #WuhanPneumonia for the first time out of the city. Two cases in Beijing, one in Guangdong province
— Olivia Siong (@OliviaSiongCNA) January 19, 2020
Health authorities in Beijing's Daxing district said two people who had travelled to Wuhan were treated for pneumonia linked to the virus and are in stable condition.
In Guangdong, a 66-year-old man in Shenzhen was quarantined on Jan 11 after contracting a fever and showing other symptoms following a trip to visit relatives in Wuhan, the provincial health commission said in a statement.
"Experts believe that the current epidemic situation is still preventable and controllable," the Guangdong health commission said.
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READ: China to step up countermeasures as Wuhan virus outbreak grows
In Wuhan, the local health commission said 136 new cases were found over the weekend, without giving details about the person who died.
Among the new cases in the city, 66 are male and 70 are female, ranging in age between 25 and 89 years old. Their symptoms included fever, coughing or tightness of the chest and breathing difficulties, a statement from the health commission said.
No human-to-human transmission has been confirmed so far, but Wuhan's health commission has previously said the possibility 'cannot be excluded' AFP/STR
A total of 201 people have now been diagnosed with the virus across China.
In Wuhan, 170 people are still being treated at hospitals, including nine in critical condition.
China, the World Health Organization and authorities across the globe are stepping up efforts to contain the virus, which initially emerged in Wuhan in late December as a wave of pneumonia patients.
Three cases have been confirmed abroad – two in Thailand and one in Japan – involving people who recently visited Wuhan.
READ: Wuhan pneumonia virus casts shadow over Chinese New Year festival
READ: Hundreds likely affected by China virus: Researchers
Many of China's 1.4 billion people will travel domestically and abroad during the Chinese New Year break that begins this week, raising concerns about the virus spreading to other countries.
The virus belongs in the same family of coronaviruses as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed nearly 800 people globally during a 2002-2003 outbreak that also started in China.
Though some experts say the new virus may not be as deadly as SARS, there is still little known about it including its origin and how easily it can be transmitted between humans.
The outbreak centred around a seafood market in the central city of Wuhan AFP/Noel Celis
The World Health Organization said on Sunday that some of the new cases appear not to be linked to the Huanan seafood market, believed to bRead More – Source
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