Malaysia has increased border and medical controls to prevent an outbreak of the new coronavirus that was discovered in the Chinese city of Wuhan, said Noor Hisham Abdullah, director general of the country’s Ministry of Health.
“Our preparedness and response team at all international checkpoints and medical facilities… is on high alert after a new coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan”, – the Health Ministry’s Facebook chief wrote.
He said thermal scanners have been installed at Kuala Lumpur airport and quarantine centres have been prepared.
In late December, Chinese authorities reported an outbreak of pneumonia of unknown origin in Wuhan City, Hubei Province. Experts have preliminary established that the causative agent of the disease was a new type of coronavirus – 2019-nCoV.
As of January 20, the total number of people infected in Wuhan City reached 217 and three have died. On Monday, it was reported that two cases of coronavirus infection were confirmed in Beijing and another 44 people in the Chinese capital are under surveillance in quarantine. In Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces, 13 people with corresponding symptoms have been quarantined. The virus has already spread beyond China, with new types of coronavirus infections reported in South Korea, Japan and Thailand.