A South Korean national has been confirmed to have been infected with the new coronavirus following a visit to Thailand, South Korean officials said. This is the first foreign visitor to be affected by 2019-nCoV after her visit to the tourist country of Southeast Asia.
The 42-year-old woman, who officials called "Patient 16" without revealing any other details about her, returned to South Korea by air on January 19 after a trip to Thailand, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. (KEPAK) with an announcement made public.
The woman, who has had chills and other symptoms since Jan. 25, showed no improvement until Sunday and was confirmed to have been infected with 2019-nCoV on Tuesday, after examinations at Tsunam National University Hospital.
However, the announcement of the service does not explicitly rule out the possibility that the woman had visited China.
Cases in Malaysia - Vietnam
Malaysian authorities today announced the first confirmed case of the new coronavirus in a citizen of the country, bringing the total number of patients to 10.
A 41-year-old Malaysian man traveled to Singapore after meeting last month with colleagues in China, including one from Wuhan, the epidemic city. Malaysia.
The country's health minister said the results of the laboratory tests confirmed that the 41-year-old, as well as a 63-year-old man from Uhan who was under observation, were infected.
In Australia, a total of 239 Australians evacuated from Uhan are thought to have not been infected with the new virus, with the exception of two who are "very unlikely" to be infected, said Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt.
The 241 Australians evacuated from Wuhan will remain in quarantine for 14 days on Christmas Island off the northwest coast of Australia.
Vietnam today confirmed an additional case of the new coronavirus, bringing the total number of patients in the country to nine. Authorities have also quarantined 950 Vietnamese who returned from China.
They will all remain in solitary confinement in two camps outside Hanoi for at least 14 days. The Vietnamese government announced last week that cross-border trade with China was "not encouraged" and said on Sunday it would ban all flights to and from China.
A repatriated Belgian was also found to be positive for the virus.
In another development, authorities in China arrested a woman for failing to say she had recently visited the infected province where most cases were reported.
$ 6,8 billion in prevention
Beijing spent a total of 47 billion yuan (about $ 6,8 billion) by midnight on Feb. 2 to prevent the new coronai from spreading and controlling it, according to official figures.
The funds were allocated for the provision of medical services, but also for the provision of temporary compensation to medical and epidemic prevention staff, as well as for the purchase of medical equipment and diagnostic reagents, as announced by the Ministry of Finance.
Beijing has agreed to allow US health experts to enter China as part of World Health Organization (WHO) assistance to fight the spread of the new virus as the death toll and cases continue to rise.
Deficiencies in the Hyundai factory
South Korea's largest carmaker, Hyundai, today suspended production on an assembly line due to a lack of components due to the new coronavirus in China and is considering wider measures, its management said.
The automotive supply chains are now facing serious problems. In 2011, the earthquake and tsunami in Fukushima, Japan, destroyed a plant of Renesas Electronics, a Japanese company specializing in the production of various semiconductors, control circuits and car electronics.
The outbreak of the 2019-nCoV viral pneumonia epidemic in China is now hampering the supply of wiring accessories to Hyundai cars, a spokeswoman explained.
"At the moment, the production chain of Genesis sedans at the No. 5 factory in Ulsan is temporarily suspended," she said. The spokeswoman was unable to predict when production would resume, noting that the car industry management was discussing with its employees' unions the possibility of other units being forced to suspend production.
"The situation does not look good," he said. The epidemic broke out in Wuhan, an important hub of the Chinese car industry, where the French groups PSA and Renault also have most of their facilities. Hyundai has opened many plants outside of South Korea, especially in China.
Today is United's last flight to China
United Airlines said yesterday it would one day change its last flight from China. So, this flight from China will take place today. United Airlines, the last US airline still operating flights to China, said on Friday it planned to make its last flight from China tomorrow, Wednesday, due to the spread of the new coronavirus.
Delta Air Lines suspended its flights at the weekend. United announced yesterday that it plans to resume flights to and from China on March 28. American Airlines terminated its flights from China on Friday.