Coronavirus: 56 million Chinese in quarantine and 81 dead

The coronavirus has spread from China to four continents. Flights from Wuhan, China, have been banned to most countries, and Mongolia has closed its borders with China. In China, 81 people have died from the coronavirus.

According to the latest news, 2,700 people in China have been infected with the coronavirus and 81 people have died so far.

The coronavirus outbreak began two months ago in the Wuhan seafood market, and the virus has now spread to four continents.

Five people have been infected with the coronavirus in Australia, according to reports. One of the patients is a 21-year-old woman who arrived in Sydney shortly before travel restrictions were imposed on people leaving infected areas of China.

Cases of the coronavirus have been reported in the United States, France, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Singapore and Saudi Arabia. International airports in many countries are strictly screening passengers arriving from China.

Suspected cases have also been observed in several other countries, including Russia, Indonesia, Mexico, Brazil and Sweden.

What measures did China's neighboring countries take?

Malaysia and the Chinese special administrative region of Macau have banned flights from Wuhan and other parts of China.

Mongolia has closed its borders with China and has closed kindergartens, schools and universities for a week. The Mongolian government is taking the threat of the coronavirus very seriously, although no cases of the virus have been reported in the country so far.

Tourist situation

Russian tour companies have suspended travel to China. There are currently about 7,000 Russian tourists in China, 6,000 of whom will be transferred to Russia.

Many Western countries, such as the United States, Britain, Japan, and France, are planning to evacuate their citizens from areas where the coronavirus has spread.

Due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus in recent days, the management of the crisis by the Chinese authorities and government has been criticized. The mayor of Wuhan admitted management mistakes in an interview with Chinese state television. He confirmed that the crisis management was not strong enough. According to the latest news, cases of the disease have been confirmed in almost all provinces in China. The Chinese Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Health have allocated 60 billion yuan to fight the spread of the coronavirus.

The Chinese New Year holiday has also been extended by the government cabinet for three days until February 2. In Shanghai, the mandatory holiday has been extended by an additional week. Employees of government agencies and private companies, except for medical and pharmaceutical companies, are not allowed to return to work until February 9.

Germany plans to repatriate its citizens from China

German officials say that even though the risk of coronavirus in Germany is very low, the country is prepared to deal with the coronavirus.

Many German companies based in Wuhan have taken measures to combat the coronavirus and have shared the necessary recommendations with their employees to prevent and combat the disease.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the country is planning to repatriate German citizens from China, citing the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

The German Foreign Minister did not announce the exact number of German citizens currently living in areas at risk of the coronavirus outbreak, only saying that the number is in the double digits.

According to Maas, a crisis committee has been formed for this purpose, and its members are expected to plan to repatriate German citizens from China before Monday afternoon.

Source: DW