Wuhan confirms 17 new cases

Wuhan has confirmed 17 new coronavirus-induced pneumonia cases, taking the total to 62 since last week.

And experts warned it is only a matter of time before Hong Kong sees confirmed cases involving the virus along with other globally connected cities.

That includes major centers in the United States, where three major airports are screening passengers arriving from Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei and the supposed start point for the virus.

In Hong Kong, nine more people - four males and five females aged from three to 87 - have been admitted to public hospitals suffering from fever, pneumonia or respiratory infections after returning from Wuhan.

Among 99 cases in all, 16 remain in isolation. Two people with pre-existing conditions were in North District Hospital in critical and serious conditions last night. The other 14 were stable.

The Wuhan Municipal Health Commission yesterday revealed the new confirmed cases of the virus involved 12 men and five women aged from 30 to 79. All had become ill before last Monday, with fever and coughs. Three were critically ill by last night with the 15 others listed as stable.

Among the 62 overall sufferers in Wuhan, two have died, eight remain critical and 19 have been discharged. Shenzhen and Shanghai have reportedly seen suspected cases.

Authorities have refused to provide details, but at least two people are isolated at the Shenzhen Third People's Hospital and one in Shanghai.

Concerns over the virus spreading out of Wuhan and the mainland intensified last week after authorities in Thailand reported a Chinese woman arrived with worrying symptoms while in Japan a Japanese-Chinese citizen was also sick. Both came from Wuhan.

The worries come alongside an estimate that 1,723 people have contracted the coronavirus based on a mathematical model by researchers at Imperial College London.

The London team said: "It is likely the Wuhan outbreak of a novel coronavirus has caused substantially more cases of moderate or severe respiratory illness than currently reported."

It suggested that surveillance should be expanded to include all pneumonia or severe respiratory disease cases in Wuhan hospitals and other mainland cities that host substantial numbers of travelers.

Its estimate of 1,723 cases was based on symptoms seen since January 12 and factors including a 10-day delay between infection and detection.

"Self-sustaining human-to-human transmission" should not be ruled out, the team also warned.

But the World Health Organization told The Standard yesterday that its director-general did not have "immediate plans" to set up an emergency committee on the virus, which is similar to the one that caused the deadly SARS.

"However, a committee could be convened on short notice should the situation change," a spokesman said, adding: "WHO encourages all countries to continue preparedness activities."

Respiratory expert David Hui Shu-cheong of the Chinese University of Hong Kong said discoveries of the virus outside China suggest the virus is still spreading despite Wuhan's Huanan wholesale market - a primary source of the virus - has been closed since January 1. And with the Lunar New Year peak travel period under way, he added, "we can only expect the number of patients to go up."

Hui also said control measures taken by SAR authorities are sufficient for now, though officials should consider requiring tourists from the mainland to fill in health declarations if cases are cities other than Wuhan.

The Centre for Health Protection yesterday warned travelers to avoid close contact with people with fever or respiratory infections and if that is unavoidable to wear a mask for 14 days after returning to Hong Kong.

Hospital Authority chief executive Tony Ko Pat-sing said the threat of the virus arriving in Hong Kong has seen many meetings involving infectious disease experts and others about preventing a spread.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has already ordered health checks for some 5,000 travelers from Wuhan who arrive daily at Los Angeles and San Francisco international airports and at the John F Kennedy International Airport in New York.

Wuhan visitors have to fill out health declarations and go through temperature checkpoints.

Strengthened health checks have also been launched at airports in Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and Singapore.

Editorial: Virus vigilance must be HK priority