KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 28 — A new coronavirus has killed 106 people as of today, all in China where the virus originated from, while 4,193 infections were reported in the country.
CNN reported that Chinese capital Beijing yesterday confirmed its first death from 2019-nCoV, as other deaths have occurred in Hubei province, the epicentre of the pneumonia-like outbreak that started in provincial capital Wuhan.
Media reports said that Germany, Sri Lanka, and Cambodia have reported their first novel coronavirus cases.
Singapore last night confirmed a fifth case of infection of a 56-year-old Chinese woman from Wuhan, according to Channel News Asia.
United States’ Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases director Dr Nancy Messonnier reportedly said there wasn’t “any clear evidence” yet that people could transmit 2019-nCoV before they start showing symptoms, CNN reported.
China’s health minister Ma Xiaowei previously said the new coronavirus could be infectious before symptoms show, BBC reported, unlike other viruses like SARS and Ebola that become contagious only when symptoms appear.
The Guardian reported China’s National Health Commission as saying yesterday that the incubation period for 2019-nCoV was generally three to seven days, with the longest no more than 14 days. Respiratory droplet transmission is the main route of transmission, according to China, but the virus can also be transmitted through contact.
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) situation report yesterday on the new strain of coronavirus that comes from the same family of viruses as SARS listed a “very high” risk assessment for China, and “high” risk at the regional and global level.
