Home » News » Breaking News » China warns coronavirus can spread before symptoms show

China warns coronavirus can spread before symptoms show

image_pdfimage_print

What we’re covering here

  • Rising toll: 82 people are dead and more than 2,700 cases have been confirmed in mainland China, as the Wuhan coronavirus continues to spread throughout Asia and the rest of the world.
  • China on lockdown: Nearly 60 million people have been affected by partial or full lockdowns in Chinese cities as the country’s government steps up its response.
  • Global spread: There are more than 50 confirmed cases in 13 places outside of mainland China, including at least five in the United States.
  • Contagious before symptoms: People can spread the virus before symptoms show, China’s health minister said Sunday, complicating efforts to contain the outbreak.

Shanghai businesses and schools will remain shut long into February in attempts to contain the virus

Visitors stand outside a closed temple in Shanghai, China, on Saturday, January 25.
Visitors stand outside a closed temple in Shanghai, China, on Saturday, January 25. Qilai Shen/Bloomberg/Getty Images


Shanghai’s government has ruled that all businesses in the city should remain shut until February 9, as it announced a series of new measures against the spread of the coronavirus.

Other moves include suspending schools until February 17 and implementing strengthened quarantine inspections for workers returning to Shanghai.

Only businesses the government deems vital to the operation of China’s biggest city — such as gas stations, pharmacies, and supermarkets — will be allowed to remain open, the municipal government said in a statement Monday.

It added that schools will be re-opened after an assessment on the epidemic.

This comes as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Shanghai increased to 53, including one death.


Are people infectious before they appear ill? Experts weigh in


Chinese health officials said Sunday that the coronavirus can be spread before any symptoms appear, meaning carriers may not realize they are infected before they transmit the virus to others.

There’s still lots we don’t know about this outbreak, however, and according to Dr. Yvonne Doyle, medical director of Public Health England, “it isn’t confirmed that people are infectious before they appear to be ill.”

“That’s one of the things we have to learn,” she added.

Here’s an excerpt (lightly edited for clarity) of Dr. Doyle’s interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today Program on Monday:

Q: (We’re) hearing from China that people can spread the virus without having any symptoms…

A: At the moment we don’t have confirmed evidence that that’s the case. It’s reasonable of course to assume that could happen, but at the moment we don’t know that, because this is a novel virus.

Q: Do you think it is likely that we are going to see cases (in the UK)?

A: Yes I do… I think I would be surprised if there wasn’t. We are well prepared since we spotted this in the early new year. We have been working with increasing intensity with the NHS (National Health Service) to make sure we are well prepared, and we are.

Q: (We’re) also hearing Chinese officials are also developing a vaccine, will that be ready in time?

A: It won’t be ready in time at the moment. Vaccines take months, maybe years to develop.


A quick reminder: What is the Wuhan coronavirus?

Health experts are trying to understand how the coronavirus is being transmitted, who is at most risk and whether transmission is occurring mostly in hospitals or in the community.

This is what we know about the illness so far:

Coronavirus is a large family of viruses, which include severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).

Common symptoms include: a runny nose, cough, sore throat, and possibly a headache. Those who have a weakened immune system, particularly the young and the elderly, are at risk of the virus turning into a more serious respiratory tract illness.

Authorities said the Wuhan coronavirus was passed from animals to humans; can be spread from person to person, and appears to cause pneumonia in people who have weakened immune systems.

It is thought to be milder than SARS and MERS and take longer to develop symptoms. Patients to date have typically experienced a mild cough for a week followed by shortness of breath, causing them to visit a hospital.


Wuhan mayor admits government didn’t disclose information in “timely fashion”

The mayor of Wuhan has admitted people were “not satisfied” with the rate that his government released information on the coronavirus, adding that it was “not disclosed in a timely fashion.”

Mayor Zhou Xianwang, whose city is at the epicenter of the virus outbreak, told state-run CCTV Monday that “we didn’t effectively use that information” in its response.

He explained that under Chinese law on infectious diseases, the local government first needs to report the outbreak to the national health department, and then get approval from State Council before they can make an announcement.

“I hope everyone can understand that this is (an) infectious disease which has special channels to be disclosed in accordance with law,” he said.

The mayor added that he took responsibility for the “unprecedented” decision to lock down the city.


Israel advises against “unnecessary” travel to China

Israel’s Ministry of Health has joined several countries around the world in warning its citizens against “unnecessary” travel to China in light of the coronavirus outbreak.

The ministry warned Israelis to avoid the Hubei region, the epicenter of the virus, altogether.

A number of patients have been checked for the virus in Israel and the West Bank after suffering symptoms of respiratory disease, such as fever and coughing.

As of Monday morning, all cases — apart from one — had tested negative for the virus. The results of that case are still pending.


Global markets hit hard as coronavirus fears grow

Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP via Getty Images
Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP via Getty Images


Major European markets are down sharply Monday — almost 2% — as worries over the coronavirus escalate.

French stocks are being hit particularly hard, with luxury and travel companies suffering the most. Such companies would usually be reaping the benefits of Chinese New Year spending, experts say.

  • Air France KLM is down almost 5%
  • LVMH, Dior and Gucci owner Kering are down almost 4%
  • L’Oreal is down 3%

Elsewhere, Asian markets were lower and oil prices dropped 3% with Brent crude trading below $59 a barrel — its lowest level since October.

US stock futures also tumbled Sunday, after the Center for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed a fifth case of the virus in the United States.


France and Spain to bring hundreds of citizens home from Wuhan

Agnès Buzyn arrives for a meeting with other ministers regarding the first cases of coronavirus infection in France on January 26.
Agnès Buzyn arrives for a meeting with other ministers regarding the first cases of coronavirus infection in France on January 26. Lucas Barioulet/Getty Images


Both Paris and Madrid are working with Chinese authorities to repatriate French and Spanish citizens who are currently in Wuhan.

France will fly its citizens back home from Wuhan “in the middle of next week,” the country’s Health Minister, Agnès Buzyn, said Sunday.

“All our citizens in Wuhan, about 800, are connected to the consulate,” the French Health Ministry told CNN Monday.

“The Prime Minister has decided to respond to the French people of Wuhan and their request to return. Our consulate team is in contact with the nationals. All those who wish to return will be able to do so,” Buzyn added.

“We are arranging a direct flight from Wuhan,” she said.

Buzyn said those who return to France will be monitored in one place for 14 days to avoid any spread of the virus.

A spokesman for the Spanish Foreign Ministry also told CNN that “the ministry is working with other European Countries affected to organize a joint repatriation flight.”

In a statement, the ministry said: “The Minister of Foreign Affairs, EU and Cooperation has spoken with the Consul General of Spain in Beijing to obtain information of the situation of Spaniards in Wuhan.”

There are about 20 Spanish people in Wuhan, the ministry said.


People need to be prepared for this to become a global epidemic: Hong Kong expert
Gabriel Leung, chair professor of public health medicine at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong,
Gabriel Leung, chair professor of public health medicine at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong, Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images


The number of people infected by the Wuhan coronavirus could potentially double every six days in the absence of a major intervention by public health authorities, according to Professor Gabriel Leung, chair of public health medicine at the University of Hong Kong (HKU).

Leung, who is also the founding director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Infection Disease Epidemiology and Control in Hong Kong, gave his forecast on the likely extent of the outbreak during a press conference held at HKU on Monday afternoon.

He said he had submitted his report to Beijing and Hong Kong authorities as well as to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Leung said according to his team’s model, the number of cases of Wuhan coronavirus including patients that are incubating (not showing symptoms) could approach 44,000 cases as of January 25.

This epidemic is growing at quite a fast rate and it’s accelerating,” said Leung.

The results of two scenarios — one with a population quarantine as has been seen in Wuhan and one without — were almost identical, suggesting “population quarantine may not be able to substantially change the course of the epidemic in the other major city clusters.”

In addition to Wuhan, Leung warned China could see epicenters of self-sustaining epidemics in other major cities in the mainland, including in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

“It is not a prediction, it is not certain, but this finding makes us concerned enough to alert the authorities and to alert the public,” Leung said.

According to Leung’s forecast, the number of cases could peak between mid-May and mid-April in major cities.

In order to prevent this from happening, there would need to be “substantial draconian measures limiting population mobility sooner rather than later,” said Leung.

Leung said people need to be prepared for the outbreak to become a global epidemic, though it is “not a certainty by any stretch of the imagination…we must prepare better for it.