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[COVID-19 Virus] The PRC Situation Thread

Thick Face Black Heart

Alfrescian (InfP)
Generous Asset
You think things are under control now.

Wait till the tiongs return to SG and MY from their CNY vacations.

The past few days will look like a cake walk.
 

Leongsam

High Order Twit / Low SES subject
Admin
Asset
Yes. there are worse diseases.
whatever media publish minor or major headlines up to them.
but the fact remains peoples is dead due to wuhan virus.
so we have our concern.

People die every single day. There are two deaths per week on the streets of Singapore. Many more are seriously injured.

Influenza infections cause around 600 deaths annually in Singapore. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/12/1/05-0826_article

That's more than 10 a week.
 

Leongsam

High Order Twit / Low SES subject
Admin
Asset
Commentary: Flu vaccine not effective? Think again
Common misperceptions about the effectiveness of the flu vaccine is one reason holding us back from getting vaccinated, says the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health’s Dr Clarence Tam.
Sick with the flu? You should have gotten a vaccination. (Photo: Unsplash/Elizabeth Lies)
Clarence Tam
By Clarence Tam

08 Nov 2018 12:00AM(Updated: 08 Nov 2018 06:20AM)
Bookmark
SINGAPORE: The flu season is upon us once more, the time of year when we traditionally remind the public to get their flu shot.
The Ministry of Health recommends people get the flu shot once a year, particularly those at high risk of infection, including young children aged six months to five years, pregnant women, the elderly, patients with chronic conditions or weakened immunity, people living in long-term care facilities, and healthcare workers.

Advertisement

Yet vaccination levels are low in these groups, according to research at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. About one in 10 pregnant women and one in eight young children get vaccinated against the flu.
Low awareness of flu vaccines and a lack of prompts to get vaccinated partly explain this. Our studies show people are much more likely to get the flu shot if recommended to by a healthcare provider, but only a minority say they get such recommendations.

READ: The flu, a global threat the world is poorly prepared for, a commentary

COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS

Advertisement

Among people who do not get the vaccine, some common misconceptions prevail.

One is that the flu shot causes the flu. This is not the case. The flu shot does not contain any live viruses so it cannot cause an infection.
The vast majority of people who get the flu jab will not experience adverse effects after getting vaccinated.

Some people may feel minor pain or swelling at the site of injection, and more rarely they may experience some fever. But these are signs that the vaccine is triggering the body's immune system, exactly what it should be doing.

The vaccine is also safe for pregnant women, and can be administered at any time during pregnancy.

Woman getting her flu vaccine. (Photo: Unsplash/Hyttalo Souza)

Another misconception is that the vaccine is needed only when you travel to colder climates in winter.

Flu viruses circulate all year round in Singapore, with two peaks in transmission around June and December each year, corresponding to the start of the winter season in the Southern and Northern Hemispheres - so you are more likely to get the flu at home than abroad.

This is why people at high risk of infection are recommended to get the vaccine every year, regardless of how often they travel.

NOT EFFECTIVE?
Apart from dispelling these misconceptions, another barrier to increasing vaccine uptake is that confidence in flu vaccines is generally low.

Common childhood vaccines are typically very effective; measles vaccine, for example, can reduce a child's risk of getting measles by more than 90 per cent. Flu vaccines, on the other hand, tend to be between 30 and 70 per cent effective, and work less well in the elderly, who are at greatest risk of serious flu and related complications.

Flu vaccines are less effective because flu viruses are continuously evolving and mutating, so new vaccines have to be developed each year to keep up with constantly changing viruses.

The flu vaccine available in one particular season protects against the prevailing three or four strains expected to be most common in that flu season.
But flu viruses are difficult to predict. In some years there is a poor match between circulating flu viruses and the vaccine, which means that the vaccine may provide less protection against some of the viruses common in that season.

People at high risk of infection are recommended to get the vaccine every year, regardless of how often they travel. (Photo: Unsplash/Kelly Sikkema)

Some types of flu viruses, including the most common type in recent years, the influenza A/H3N2 virus, are trickier to produce vaccines for and also cause more serious illness.

You will often hear people, including general practitioners and those of us working in public health, say that flu vaccines are not very effective, which gives the impression that they are not useful. This is poor health communication.

READ: Are we prepared for the next pandemic? A commentary

WEAR A HELMET

Saying that the flu vaccine is not very effective implies that there is something inherently wrong with the vaccine or that it is not worth the money, which might discourage people from taking it. But this is not sound reasoning.

If you ride a motorbike, wearing a helmet reduces your risk of a severe head injury by about 40 per cent. This means that if you are involved in a serious accident, 60 per cent of the time, you will still suffer severe head trauma.

Few people would find this a good reason not to wear a helmet. If you want to reduce your risk further, you should use a car. (Incidentally, public transportation is even safer.)

Yet in Singapore, there are 15 times as many deaths from flu and related complications every year as there are from motorbike accidents.

Even if we could prevent only 40 per cent of these through vaccination, the number of lives saved would still outnumber all road traffic fatalities by two to one.
Communicating the benefits of flu vaccines in this way gives a clearer message why we should get vaccinated.

Flu jabs are not perfect, but they are well worth a shot. Scientists are continually working to develop better flu vaccines, but the prospect of a universal, all-protecting flu shot is still some way off.

In time, you may well be able to ride out the flu season in a fancy new car. But for the moment all we have is a motorbike, and you would be well advised to put on a helmet.

Speak to your doctor about the flu vaccine. If you are in a high-risk group, the vaccine is claimable through Medisave.

Clarence Tam is an assistant professor and infectious disease epidemiologist at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health.
 

mojito

Alfrescian
Loyal
Commentary: Flu vaccine not effective? Think again
Common misperceptions about the effectiveness of the flu vaccine is one reason holding us back from getting vaccinated, says the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health’s Dr Clarence Tam.
Sick with the flu? You should have gotten a vaccination. (Photo: Unsplash/Elizabeth Lies)
Clarence Tam
By Clarence Tam

08 Nov 2018 12:00AM(Updated: 08 Nov 2018 06:20AM)
Bookmark
SINGAPORE: The flu season is upon us once more, the time of year when we traditionally remind the public to get their flu shot.
The Ministry of Health recommends people get the flu shot once a year, particularly those at high risk of infection, including young children aged six months to five years, pregnant women, the elderly, patients with chronic conditions or weakened immunity, people living in long-term care facilities, and healthcare workers.

Advertisement

Yet vaccination levels are low in these groups, according to research at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. About one in 10 pregnant women and one in eight young children get vaccinated against the flu.
Low awareness of flu vaccines and a lack of prompts to get vaccinated partly explain this. Our studies show people are much more likely to get the flu shot if recommended to by a healthcare provider, but only a minority say they get such recommendations.

READ: The flu, a global threat the world is poorly prepared for, a commentary

COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS

Advertisement

Among people who do not get the vaccine, some common misconceptions prevail.

One is that the flu shot causes the flu. This is not the case. The flu shot does not contain any live viruses so it cannot cause an infection.
The vast majority of people who get the flu jab will not experience adverse effects after getting vaccinated.

Some people may feel minor pain or swelling at the site of injection, and more rarely they may experience some fever. But these are signs that the vaccine is triggering the body's immune system, exactly what it should be doing.

The vaccine is also safe for pregnant women, and can be administered at any time during pregnancy.

Woman getting her flu vaccine. (Photo: Unsplash/Hyttalo Souza)

Another misconception is that the vaccine is needed only when you travel to colder climates in winter.

Flu viruses circulate all year round in Singapore, with two peaks in transmission around June and December each year, corresponding to the start of the winter season in the Southern and Northern Hemispheres - so you are more likely to get the flu at home than abroad.

This is why people at high risk of infection are recommended to get the vaccine every year, regardless of how often they travel.

NOT EFFECTIVE?
Apart from dispelling these misconceptions, another barrier to increasing vaccine uptake is that confidence in flu vaccines is generally low.

Common childhood vaccines are typically very effective; measles vaccine, for example, can reduce a child's risk of getting measles by more than 90 per cent. Flu vaccines, on the other hand, tend to be between 30 and 70 per cent effective, and work less well in the elderly, who are at greatest risk of serious flu and related complications.

Flu vaccines are less effective because flu viruses are continuously evolving and mutating, so new vaccines have to be developed each year to keep up with constantly changing viruses.

The flu vaccine available in one particular season protects against the prevailing three or four strains expected to be most common in that flu season.
But flu viruses are difficult to predict. In some years there is a poor match between circulating flu viruses and the vaccine, which means that the vaccine may provide less protection against some of the viruses common in that season.

People at high risk of infection are recommended to get the vaccine every year, regardless of how often they travel. (Photo: Unsplash/Kelly Sikkema)

Some types of flu viruses, including the most common type in recent years, the influenza A/H3N2 virus, are trickier to produce vaccines for and also cause more serious illness.

You will often hear people, including general practitioners and those of us working in public health, say that flu vaccines are not very effective, which gives the impression that they are not useful. This is poor health communication.

READ: Are we prepared for the next pandemic? A commentary

WEAR A HELMET

Saying that the flu vaccine is not very effective implies that there is something inherently wrong with the vaccine or that it is not worth the money, which might discourage people from taking it. But this is not sound reasoning.

If you ride a motorbike, wearing a helmet reduces your risk of a severe head injury by about 40 per cent. This means that if you are involved in a serious accident, 60 per cent of the time, you will still suffer severe head trauma.

Few people would find this a good reason not to wear a helmet. If you want to reduce your risk further, you should use a car. (Incidentally, public transportation is even safer.)

Yet in Singapore, there are 15 times as many deaths from flu and related complications every year as there are from motorbike accidents.

Even if we could prevent only 40 per cent of these through vaccination, the number of lives saved would still outnumber all road traffic fatalities by two to one.
Communicating the benefits of flu vaccines in this way gives a clearer message why we should get vaccinated.

Flu jabs are not perfect, but they are well worth a shot. Scientists are continually working to develop better flu vaccines, but the prospect of a universal, all-protecting flu shot is still some way off.

In time, you may well be able to ride out the flu season in a fancy new car. But for the moment all we have is a motorbike, and you would be well advised to put on a helmet.

Speak to your doctor about the flu vaccine. If you are in a high-risk group, the vaccine is claimable through Medisave.

Clarence Tam is an assistant professor and infectious disease epidemiologist at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health.
Are there as many motorbikes as people? Might as well say there are more deaths from flu than NS accidents in Singapore. :FU:
 

laksaboy

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
Flu vaccines are effective in generating revenue for Big Pharma, which is often in cahoots with GPs and bureaucrats in charge of healthcare.

Remember how Sinkieland stockpiled Tamiflu during the SARS of 2003?

Well done SPH presstitutes for shilling for Merck, GSK etc. :rolleyes:
 

Leongsam

High Order Twit / Low SES subject
Admin
Asset
Are there as many motorbikes as people? Might as well say there are more deaths from flu than NS accidents in Singapore. :FU:

What does the number of motorbikes have to do with anything? :rolleyes:

The pertinent point is that there are more than 500 deaths annually from influenza that has been around for eons.

On the other hand if this Wuhan hype kills just 2 people there'll be a public outcry about how useless the PAP is.

The truth of the matter is that no government can do jackshit when it comes to combating the forces of nature and that includes pandemics. All this temperature monitoring and freeze on travel is just "wayang" and gives a false sense of security that something is actually being done.

If every country did absolutely nothing it would make no difference to the rate of spread whatsoever. Besides these pandemics are mother earth's way of culling the weak. It's sort of like soylent green but it's done naturally and does not require human intervention.

The environmentalists should be hoping that lots of people die as it will reduce the carbon footprint.
 

mojito

Alfrescian
Loyal
What does the number of motorbikes have to do with anything? :rolleyes:

The pertinent point is that there are more than 500 deaths annually from influenza that has been around for eons.

On the other hand if this Wuhan hype kills just 2 people there'll be a public outcry about how useless the PAP is.

The truth of the matter is that no government can do jackshit when it comes to combating the forces of nature and that includes pandemics. All this temperature monitoring and freeze on travel is just "wayang" and gives a false sense of security that something is actually being done.

If every country did absolutely nothing it would make no difference to the rate of spread whatsoever. Besides these pandemics are mother earth's way of culling the weak. It's sort of like soylent green but it's done naturally and does not require human intervention.

The environmentalists should be hoping that lots of people die as it will reduce the carbon footprint.
Of course more bikes means more accidents means more deaths lah bodoh! No bikes will have any die bike accident a not? Chey! :mad:
 

Leongsam

High Order Twit / Low SES subject
Admin
Asset
Of course more bikes means more accidents means more deaths lah bodoh! No bikes will have any die bike accident a not? Chey! :mad:

All you're saying is that there is a higher chance of being killed on a bike than from influenza which is my point exactly. :rolleyes:
 

mojito

Alfrescian
Loyal
All you're saying is that there is a higher chance of being killed on a bike than from influenza which is my point exactly. :rolleyes:
What I am saying is not every one has a bike. Every one can get the common flu. Wait, what? No no no. :confused:
 

laksaboy

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
One of the guards at a checkpoint in Wuhan:

image0.png
 

laksaboy

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
image0.jpg


Zhejiang province turned dark red. Looks like it's only a matter of time before Shanghai becomes a no-go zone.

If you have vested interests in the city, better plan an exit strategy now.
 

CPTMiller

Alfrescian
Loyal
image0.jpg


Zhejiang province turned dark red. Looks like it's only a matter of time before Shanghai becomes a no-go zone.

If you have vested interests in the city, better plan an exit strategy now.
Bro. Your chart all The numbers is Edited increase by thousands.
This is Fake. What is the purpose of showing it??
 

Froggy

Alfrescian (InfP) + Mod
Moderator
Generous Asset
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/soc...keqiang-head-coronavirus-crisis-team-outbreak

5 million residents left Wuhan before lockdown, mayor reveals, as 1,000 new confirmed cases expected in city
- Health commission says battling the epidemic is becoming more complicated as scientists discover virus is infectious even during its incubation period
- Chinese premier to head coronavirus crisis team as outbreak worsens


yOJeSO6.png

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will head the crisis team set up to tackle the coronavirus outbreak. Photo: AFP

About 5 million residents left Wuhan before the lockdown because of the deadly coronavirus epidemic and the Spring Festival holiday, mayor Zhou Xianwang revealed on Sunday, as health officials warned the virus’ ability to spread was getting stronger.

There were about 9 million people remaining in the city after the lockdown, Zhou told a press conference.

Of the 2,700 people currently under observation in the city, about 1,000 were likely to be confirmed cases. As of Sunday, Wuhan had 533 confirmed cases.

The central government imposed a lockdown on Wuhan and several cities on Thursday hoping to stop the new virus from spreading to other parts of the country. However, many had already left the city for the holiday, while others rushed out after the lockdown was announced on Wednesday night.

China, meanwhile, said Premier Li Keqiang would head the high-level group to fight the coronavirus epidemic
that has killed 56 people and infected more than 2,000 others, while health officials said the virus’s ability to spread is getting stronger.

Beijing city reported five more confirmed cases, including a nine-month-old infant. It is the first confirmed infant case. On Saturday, a two-year-old girl in Guangxi was confirmed to be infected.

Ma Xiaowei, the minister in charge of China’s National Health Commission (NHC), told a press conference that battling the outbreak was complicated, particularly as it had been discovered that the new virus could be transmitted even during incubation period
, which did not happen with Sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome).

“From observations, the virus is capable of transmission even during incubation period,” Ma said, adding that the incubation period lasted from one to 14 days.

“Some patients have normal temperatures and there are many milder cases. There are hidden carriers,” he said.

kLd828Z.png


Ma said also that the virus had adapted to humans and appeared to have become more transmissible.

“There are signs showing the virus is becoming more transmissible. These walking ‘contagious agents’ [hidden carriers] make controlling the outbreak a lot more difficult.”

The authorities had also not ruled out the possibility of the virus mutating in the future, he said, which meant it could spread to different age groups.

To date, most of the people infected are in the 40-60 age range, health officials said earlier.

Sars, which killed more than 800 people and infected over 8,000 around the world, typically had an incubation period of two to seven days, and was not infectious during that time.

[media]
University of Hong Kong microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung said that how transmissible the virus was during its incubation period depended on the “viral load” in each infection.

“If I sneeze on you point blank, you may get a fever and pneumonia tomorrow too,” he said.

Ma said that the epidemic was accelerating and “may last for some time”.

“It is possible that there will be more cases,” he said.

Speaking to the press on Sunday, Gao Fu, head of the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, said the peak of the outbreak had yet to come.

“There are trends for an epidemic cycle,” he said. “It is still growing.”

However, he said there had yet to be any signs of the virus mutating.

4XE9c57.png

Gao Fu, head of the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention says the peak of the outbreak has yet to come. Photo: AFP

Li Bin, deputy minister of the NHC said the authorities that the severe measures they had taken to control the spread of the virus – such as issuing travel bans and locking down cities – would at least delay the peak and “buy time to combat the next stage of the outbreak”.

China has closed off 13 cities in Hubei province, which is at the epicentre of the outbreak, while almost the entire country has declared an emergency response.

Of all of China’s confirmed infections, more than half are in Hubei.

[media]
To help tackle the epidemic, Ma said that 2,360 military and civilian doctors and nurses had been sent to Wuhan, the city in which the outbreak was first detected at the end of last month.

As the pressure has mounted on the city’s hospitals, the medical system has moved ever closer to collapse.

Many people who developed feverish symptoms were turned away by hospitals earlier in the week because there were not enough beds, local residents said earlier.

Medical practitioners are also running seriously short of protective kits and are being forced to recycle goggles and masks.

Ma said 2,400 hospital beds had been added in Wuhan, and the government was planning to add 5,000 more over the next three days.

Wang Jiangping, China’s vice-minister of industry and information technology, said China had the capacity to produce a maximum of 30,000 protective outfits per day, but that was less than a third of what was needed in Hubei.

And during the Lunar New Year holiday, manufacturing capacity was only about 40 per cent of normal, he said.

The government was working to acquire the 50,000 protective jackets China produces for export every day to send to Hubei, he said.

However, the civil affairs ministry issued a statement on Sunday banning charity organisations and NGOs from sending teams to Hubei.

Any donations should be sent to government-sanctioned charity organisations in Hubei, such as the Red Cross, and they would be allocated by the Hubei and Wuhan governments as appropriate.

[media]
The NHC also issued a nationwide plan on containing the epidemic by locking down certain neighbourhood communities in both urban and rural areas.

In the case of a neighbourhood community or village having two confirmed cases, it could be declared an epidemic zone and sealed off, it said.

A Wuhan resident, who declined to be named, said that checkpoints had been set up in some communities on Sunday. People who had fever symptoms were being screened by medical workers within the community and those needed more attention were sent to hospital, he said.

China also imposed a nationwide ban on wildlife trade on Sunday. The outbreak is suspected to have originated at a seafood market in Wuhan, which also sold wild animals.

However, a research paper published by medical journal The Lancet on Saturday said the first confirmed case of the viral infection was a person who had not been to that market.

When asked if China planned to expand its travel ban to more cities, Li said the authorities would make adjustments as necessary.

China is hoping the travel bans will reduce the spread of the outbreak. As a result of the restrictions, rail passenger numbers have fallen by 41 per cent, road travellers by 25 per cent and air passengers by almost 42 per cent on Saturday, the first day of the Lunar New Year.

On Sunday, the leading group led by Li said the government would consider extending the Lunar New Year holiday.

Suzhou became the first city to announce a holiday extension. It said workers at companies within its jurisdiction should resume work no earlier than February 8.

In Beijing, meanwhile, the spring semester for kindergartens through to universities has been suspended as have all offline activities at training schools in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus, said Li Yi, deputy director of Beijing Education Commission.

He did not say how long the suspension would last.

Meanwhile, the United States, France, Australia, Japan and Russia are all preparing to pull their citizens out of Wuhan, while others are ramping up measures to prevent people travelling from infected cities into their territories.

The ABC reported that more than 100 Australian children were currently trapped in Wuhan.
 

nayr69sg

Super Moderator
Staff member
SuperMod
What does the number of motorbikes have to do with anything? :rolleyes:

The pertinent point is that there are more than 500 deaths annually from influenza that has been around for eons.

On the other hand if this Wuhan hype kills just 2 people there'll be a public outcry about how useless the PAP is.

The truth of the matter is that no government can do jackshit when it comes to combating the forces of nature and that includes pandemics. All this temperature monitoring and freeze on travel is just "wayang" and gives a false sense of security that something is actually being done.

If every country did absolutely nothing it would make no difference to the rate of spread whatsoever. Besides these pandemics are mother earth's way of culling the weak. It's sort of like soylent green but it's done naturally and does not require human intervention.

The environmentalists should be hoping that lots of people die as it will reduce the carbon footprint.

The difference will be if healthcare workers die as well.

Young healthy doctors do not routinely die from influenza. But they did when it came to SARs. So far nothing like that has been reported about the Wuhan virus. I think there is a 60+ year old chinese doctor who died.
 

jw5

Moderator
Moderator
Loyal
Yes, you are correct. :frown:

The difference will be if healthcare workers die as well.

Young healthy doctors do not routinely die from influenza. But they did when it came to SARs. So far nothing like that has been reported about the Wuhan virus. I think there is a 60+ year old chinese doctor who died.
 

Hypocrite-The

Alfrescian
Loyal
Coronavirus is infectious even during incubation, and its ability to spread worldwide is strengthening, say Chinese authorities
about an hour ago
Three men in protective suits and masks  in a residential area, holding a wand attached to a pipe while a child passes by
PHOTO Workers from local disease control disinfect a residential area in Ruichang, Jiangxi province in China. REUTERS
The ability of the new coronavirus to spread is strengthening and infections could continue to rise, China's National Health Commission has said, with nearly 2,000 people in China infected and 56 killed by the disease.
A handful of cases have been reported outside China, including in Australia, Thailand, the United States and France, with health authorities around the world racing to prevent a pandemic.
The newly-identified coronavirus has created alarm because there are still many unknowns surrounding it, such as how dangerous it is and how easily it spreads between people. It can cause pneumonia, which has been deadly in some cases.
A masked patient is transferred on a stretcher by masked medical staff wearing blue overalls.
PHOTO The new coronavirus is said to be infectious even during incubation, unlike SARS. REUTERS
China's National Health Commission Minister Ma Xiaowei said the incubation period for the virus could range from one to 14 days, and the virus was infectious during incubation, which was not the case with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
SARS was a coronavirus that originated in China and killed nearly 800 people globally in 2002 and 2003.
"According to recent clinical information, the virus's ability to spread seems to be getting somewhat stronger," Mr Ma told a packed media briefing on the second day of the Lunar New Year holiday.
He said the knowledge of the virus was limited.
Ma Xiaowei wears glasses, has thinning hair and is in front of a blue background and is speaking into microphones
PHOTO Ma Xiaowei, the director of China's National Health Commission told a press conference the new virus has accelerated its spread in China. AP:MARK SCHIEFELBEIN)
Containment efforts, which have thus far included transportation and travel curbs and the cancellation of big events, will be intensified, Mr Ma said.
The virus, believed to have originated late last year in a seafood market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan that was illegally selling wildlife, has spread to cities including Beijing and Shanghai. Hong Kong has six confirmed cases.
President Xi Jinping said on Saturday that China was facing a "grave situation".
The US State Department said it would relocate personnel at its Wuhan consulate to the United States and would offer a limited number of seats to private US citizens on a January 28 flight to San Francisco.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Sunday his government was working with Chinese authorities to arrange a charter flight for any Japanese nationals who wished to return from Wuhan.
Health officials in Orange County, California, reported that a third case of the new coronavirus had been registered in the United States, in a traveller from Wuhan who was in isolation and in good condition.
On Saturday, Canada declared a first "presumptive" confirmed case in a resident who had returned from Wuhan. Australia confirmed its first four cases.
Airports around the world have stepped up screening of passengers from China, although some health officials and experts have questioned the effectiveness of such screenings.
Nationwide ban on the sale of wildlife
On Sunday, China announced a nationwide ban on the sale of wildlife in markets, restaurants, and e-commerce platforms.
Wild and often poached animals packed together in Chinese markets are blamed as incubators for viruses to evolve and jump the species barrier to humans.
Snakes, peacocks, crocodiles and other species can also be found for sale via Taobao, an e-commerce website run by Alibaba.
The World Health Organisation this week stopped short of calling the outbreak a global health emergency, but some health experts question whether China can continue to contain the epidemic.
On Sunday, China confirmed 1,975 cases of patients infected with the new coronavirus as of January 25, while the death toll from the virus has risen to 56, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
The outbreak has prompted widening curbs on movements within China, with Wuhan, a city of 11 million, on virtual lockdown, with transports links all-but severed except for emergency vehicles.
Schools and universities to remain shut in China
The outbreak has overshadowed the start of the Lunar New Year, when hundreds of millions of Chinese travel home and abroad to be with families, with public events cancelled and many tourist sites shut.
A middle-aged woman wears a mask and holds a bunch of incense sticks surrounded by other worshippers at a temple.
PHOTO Worshippers wear masks as they make offerings during a Lunar New Year celebration in Hong Kong. REUTERS: TYRONE SIU
Overall passenger travel declined by nearly 29 per cent on Saturday, the first day of the Lunar New Year, from a year earlier, with air passengers down nearly 42 per cent, a transportation ministry official said.
Many cinemas across China are also closed with major film premieres postponed, slashing revenues.
Cruise operators including Royal Caribbean Cruises, Costa Cruises, MSC Cruises and Astro Ocean Cruises said that they cancelled a combined 12 cruises that had been scheduled to embark from Chinese ports before February 2.
Hong Kong Disneyland and the city's Ocean Park were closed on Sunday. Shanghai Disneyland, which expected 100,000 visitors daily through the Lunar New Year holidays, has already closed.
Health authorities in Beijing urged people not to shake hands but instead salute using a traditional cupped-hand gesture. The advice was sent in a text message that went out to mobile phone users in the city on Sunday morning.
Beijing is also postponing the reopening of the city's schools and universities after the Lunar New Year holiday, state radio reported. Hong Kong had already delayed the reopening of schools to February 17.
China has called for transparency in managing the crisis, after a cover-up of the spread of the deadly SARS virus eroded public trust, but officials in Wuhan have been criticised for their handling of the current outbreak.
"People in my hometown all suspect the real infected patients number given by authorities," said Violet Li, who lives in the Wuhan district where the seafood market is located.
"I go out with a mask twice a day to walk the dog — that's the only outdoor activity," she told Reuters by text message.
Urgent hospital construction, appeal for resources
The National Health Commission said it was bringing in medical teams from outside Hubei to help handle the outbreak, a day after videos circulating online showed throngs of frantic people in masks lined up for examinations and complaints that family members had been turned away at hospitals that were at capacity.
While China has called for transparency in managing the crisis, after the cover-up of the 2002/2003 SARS outbreak, officials in Wuhan have been criticised over their handling of the current outbreak.
In rare show of public dissent, a senior journalist at a Hubei provincial newspaper run by the ruling Communist Party on Friday called for a "immediate" change of leadership in Wuhan on the Twitter-like Weibo. The post was later removed.
The hospital, designed to have 1,300 beds, is scheduled for completion in just two weeks.
Heavy equipment works at a construction site for a field hospital in Wuhan.
PHOTO Two purpose-built hospitals are among the extraordinary measures being taken to address the crisis. AP: CHINATOPIX
Construction has started on the first dedicated hospital, which is due to be finished by February 3.
The Chinese military dispatched 450 medical staff, some with experience in past outbreaks including SARS and Ebola, who arrived in Wuhan late on Friday night to help treat the many patients hospitalised with viral pneumonia, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
The Ministry of Commerce is coordinating an effort to supply more than 2 million masks and other products from elsewhere in the country, Xinhua said.
"China has been working very hard to contain the coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American people, I want to thank President Xi!" Mr Trump wrote.
Hong Kong protesters torch planned virus quarantine building
Meanwhile, a group of protesters set alight the lobby of a newly built residential building in Hong Kong on Sunday that authorities planned to use as a quarantine facility for the coronavirus outbreak.
A Reuters witness saw several masked protesters, clad in black, rush into the public housing block in the Fanling district near to the border with China, and set alight a Molotov cocktail before running out.
Black smoke could be seen pouring out of the building to the sound of fire alarms. Windows were smashed.
The fire was later put out by firefighters and the damage appeared to be confined to the lobby area. Hundreds of riot police also moved in, arresting at least one person.
As fears about the virus outbreak intensify, calls have grown for the Hong Kong Government to block the financial hub's border with mainland China to minimise the risk of infection.
Two men  in black masks walk past a building on fire
PHOTO Anti-government protesters set alight the lobby of a residential building that was set to be used as a quarantine facility in Hong Kong. REUTERS:TYRONE SIU
Earlier in the afternoon, hundreds of regular Hong Kong citizens had blocked roads leading to the building with bricks and other debris, to protest plans to convert the building into a quarantine zone as the number of confirmed cases in the city climbed to six.
"We are dissatisfied with the Government selecting this housing estate as a [quarantine] separation village as it's very close to a residential area and a primary school," said a 28-year-old resident surnamed Tsang.
Beijing denies meddling and blames the West for stirring trouble in the former British colony.
The outbreak of the coronovirus from the Chinese city of Wuhan has piled further pressure on embattled Hong Kong authorities, who have so far refused to categorically block the flow of visitors from mainland China across several land border crossings.
Direct train and flight connections to and from Wuhan have, however, been suspended.
Hong Kong authorities had earlier said they would convert "Fai Ming Estate, an unoccupied public estate in Fanling, into temporary flats for quarantine and observation of close contact persons without symptoms if needed."
But after the protest, the Government said in a statement it would "cease the related preparation work in Fai Ming Estate."
Health authorities in the afternoon said 107 people were now under quarantine, and there were 77 suspected cases.
Reuters
 
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