The European Union is monitoring the situation with an outbreak of the new coronavirus in China, said a representative of the press service of the European Commission during a briefing and noted that the Chinese authorities are keeping the situation under control.
“The National Commission on Health in China has confirmed that the virus is transmitted from person to person. The Commission in cooperation with the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control and member states are monitoring the situation, especially the cases of pneumonia confirmed in China, Thailand, Japan, South Korea and Australia,” said a representative of the EC press service at the briefing.
The representative of the EC noted that China provides all necessary information on the development of the situation. “The situation is under control. National and local authorities in China are monitoring the situation. We do the same… we are working with all the parties involved to guarantee the health of the European population,” he said.
According to the representative of the EC, the Commission will hold a meeting with representatives of member states after the publication of the report with the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control after January 22.
He also recalled that the World Health Organization had not recommended restrictions on movement.
In late December, Chinese authorities reported an outbreak of pneumonia of unknown origin in the city of Wuhan. The first cases were related to the seafood market. Experts preliminary established that the pathogen of the disease was a new type of coronavirus – 2019-nCoV.
As at 20 January, a total of 291 cases had been reported. Six people have died. The virus has already spread beyond China and cases have been reported in South Korea, Japan and Thailand. Chinese authorities have officially confirmed that the virus is transmitted from person to person.
Coronaviruses are a family of more than 30 viruses divided into two subfamilies. They were first isolated in 1965. It affects humans, pets, birds, pigs, cattle. Coronavirus is capable of provoking damage to the respiratory system, gastrointestinal tract, nervous system…