BANGKOK, Jan 24 (TNA) — China restricted travel to and from its Wuhan city to curb the novel coronavirus while Thailand maintained its strict measures to screen out the disease especially during the Chinese New Year festival.
Dr Sophon Iamsirithaworn, director of the Bureau of General Communicable Disease, said China suspended its flights from Wuhan to Thailand and other public land transport modes from Wuhan and was watching out for any possible spread of the disease in other cities in addition to Wuhan, Beijing and Shenzhen.
In Thailand, health authorities were screening visitors at major airports and told tour guides to closely monitor their customers to find if they had suspicious symptoms, Dr Sophon said. Most visitors stayed in Thailand 5-6 days, he said.
According to him, the novel coronavirus has its incubation period of about 10 days. It was transmitted between humans when a surgeon was performing a brain operation in a closed environment. It is thus believed that the disease cannot be transmitted in a well-ventilated place. The mortality rate is 1-2% among patients with pneumonia.
Media reported that at least 25 people died of the mysterious disease in China and over 800 were infected. (TNA)
