Border closure, flight cancellation, quarantine and checks: how the US and countries of the world are protected from coronavirus

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns US citizens from traveling to South Korea because of the continued spread of coronavirus around the world, writes USA Today.

Photo: Shutterstock

On February 24, the CDC issued a Level 3 advisory advising citizens to "avoid unnecessary travel" to the East Asian country. On February 22, the federal agency issued a similar travel warning to China due to "widespread community transmission of the virus," excluding Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan. On the same day, the US State Department issued a Level 2 warning (“exercise increased caution”) for travel to South Korea due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Earlier in February, the State Department issued a Level 4 (“do not travel”) advisory—the most severe warning—for travel to any region of China.

According to Johns Hopkins University, 893 confirmed cases of COVID-19 coronavirus were recorded in South Korea as of the evening of February 24, which is second only to 77 cases in mainland China, where the first infections were detected.

More than 2663 people have died from the virus - most in mainland China's Hubei province. 8 people died in South Korea.

The CDC recommends that anyone traveling to South Korea should stay away from sick people, wash their hands with soap and water, or use a hand sanitizer with an alcohol content of 60% to 95% and also avoid touching their eyes, nose, or to the mouth.

The CDC recommends that anyone who has been in South Korea in the last two weeks and is now experiencing symptoms such as fever, cough or difficulty breathing - signs of coronavirus - should seek medical attention; When coughing or sneezing, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or sleeve; Among other precautions, such people are advised not to travel anywhere.

According to the airline’s report, one of Korean Air’s flight attendants tested positive for coronavirus. It is unclear what flights this employee flew. The company closed its office near the main South Korean airport.

There are 53 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States, but the CDC says the risk of transmission is "low." The U.S. cases include 39 evacuees from the contaminated Diamond Princess cruise ship and the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus outbreak.

CDC officials added that "there will likely be additional cases in the coming days and weeks, including among people recently returned from Wuhan."

On February 24, US President Donald Trump sent a letter to Congress asking him to allocate at least $ 2,5 billion to fight the coronavirus. In early February, reminds Fox NewsTrump claimed that the United States stopped the spread of the virus.

“We cannot have thousands of people with coronavirus. We'll see what happens, but we stopped it, yes," he said on February 3.

The United States has announced that Americans who have traveled to China over the past 14 days will be sent to designated airports for heavy checks. Foreign nationals who have recently left for China will be denied entry to the United States, with the exception of the family of American citizens and permanent residents.

On the subject: In a popular resort, a hotel with hundreds of tourists isolated due to coronavirus

What is happening in the world

On February 24, the Iranian government challenged a statement by a legislator from Qom, who said that 50 people had died in the city. Now they say that only 12 people died from coronavirus.

A new outbreak in Italy has prompted Paramount Pictures to halt production on the new Mission: Impossible film starring Tom Cruise. More than 200 people have already been infected with coronavirus in this European country, the highest number outside Asia. Cases were reported in Milan and Venice - where the film was planned to be filmed over three weeks.

China has suffered the most from the virus, with 99% of all known cases recorded in the country.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said the United States did not provide significant assistance to the country in the fight against the outbreak of coronavirus. They added that the United States contributed to an international panic around the disease, Reuters reports.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak a global emergency, as it spreads to countries outside of China, and the number of infected patients continues to increase.

Countries around the world have increased travel restrictions on mainland China and Hubei.

The coronavirus has now killed three times as many people worldwide as the SARS outbreak in the early 2000s. According to the CDC, the 2002-2003 SARS outbreak in mainland China killed 349 people—744 died and 8096 were infected worldwide.

Travel restrictions have been introduced by many countries and airlines in the world:

• Israel, Bahrain and Jordan temporarily prohibited citizens from traveling to South Korea.
• The United Kingdom requires quarantine from people who have visited South Korea.
• UAE and Oman forbade citizens to travel to Iran.
• Kiribati, Samoa, Brunei, Turkmenistan require quarantine or medical checks for people traveling from South Korea.
• Iraq has closed the border with Iran.
• Afghanistan, Armenia, and Pakistan have imposed border crossings.
• Turkey closed the land border with Iran, and Turkish airlines stopped flying to and from the country.
• Vietnam ceased all flights to and from China.
• Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, New Zealand and Australia have policies similar to those of the United States to restrict the entry of non-citizens.
• Mongolia and Singapore have closed their borders.
• Singapore said it would ban travelers from the Chinese province of Hubei.
• Pakistan announced the cessation of flights to and from China.
• Great Britain and New Zealand advised their citizens to refrain from traveling to China.
• Russia signed an order to close the border with China and blocked the entry of tourist groups from China.
• China has blocked access to Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, causing more than 50 million people to be trapped there.
• Hong Kong isolated visitors from mainland China.
• Japan isolates foreign nationals who were in Hubei.
• Carnival and Royal Caribbean forbid boarding cruise ships for people who have traveled to China for 14 days.
• Italy suspended all flights to China.
• South Korea has raised its alert level to "restrict" travel to China.
• Hong Kong has reduced half of its flights and closed rail links with mainland China.
• Cathay Pacific Airways asks 27 employees to take a three-week unpaid vacation.
• Delta has suspended all flights related to China.
• United Airlines suspends all flights between China and the United States.
• According to Reuters, United pilots, worried about their safety, were able to refuse trips to China.
• American Airlines suspends all flights to China.
• British Airways has suspended all flights to and from mainland China.
• Virgin Atlantic suspends operations in Shanghai.
• Lufthansa suspended flights to and from China.
• Air India and Seoul Air stop all flights to the country.
• Egypt Air has suspended all flights to and from China.
• Air France has suspended all flights to and from China.
• Finnair, Cathay Pacific, and Jetstar also discontinued flights to and from China.
• Lion Air canceled 50 flights to China in February.
• Air Canada has suspended all direct flights to Beijing and Shanghai.
• Kenya Airways suspends all flights to China.

The Allied Pilots Association (APA), representing 15 American Airlines pilots, has filed a lawsuit to terminate the service, citing "serious and in many ways still unknown health threats from the coronavirus."

“I am directing all APA pilots to cease flying between the United States and China,” said APA President Eric Ferguson. — Until further notice, if you are planning, reassigning or reassigning flights to China, please decline the assignment. Inform management that you are refusing in accordance with CDC and WHO declarations."

How many people got infected or died?

The virus claimed the lives of 2663 people and infected 77 658 people in mainland China. Currently, 80 cases of the disease are registered in the world, and 038 deaths are officially registered outside of mainland China.

In Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Italy, Iran, Taiwan, France and the Philippines there are deaths from the virus.

WHO has stated that the number of cases will continue to rise as thousands more suspected cases await test results.

On the subject: A new round of coronavirus: has a pandemic started and should it be feared

Where is the virus active?

About 99% of new cases appeared in China, with the vast majority reported in Hubei province and its capital Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus.

Approximately 2291 cases of virus infection have been reported in 33 countries.

• Japan - 838 cases (691 from Diamond Princess cruise ship) (4 deaths)
• South Korea - 833 cases (7 deaths)
• Italy - 219 cases (5 deaths)
• Singapore - 89 cases
• Hong Kong - 79 cases (2 deaths)
• Iran - 61 cases (12 deaths)
• United States - 52 cases
• Thailand - 35 cases
• Taiwan - 28 cases (1 death)
• Australia - 23 cases
• Malaysia - 22
• Germany - 16
• Vietnam - 16 cases
• UK - 13 cases
• United Arab Emirates - 13 cases
• France - 12 cases (1 death)
• Canada - 10 cases
• Macau - 10 cases
• Philippines - 3 cases (1 death)
• Kuwait - 3 cases
• India - 3 cases
• Russia - 2 cases
• Spain - 2 cases
• Israel - 2 cases
• Oman - 2 cases
• Bahrain - 1 case
• Lebanon - 1 case
• Belgium - 1 case
• Nepal - 1 case
• Sri Lanka - 1 case
• Sweden - 1 case
• Cambodia - 1 case
• Finland - 1 case
• Egypt - 1 case
• Afghanistan - 1 case

What is the difference between coronavirus and flu?

According to the CDC, from October 1, 2019 to January 25, 2020, from 10 to 000 people died from 25 to 000 million people in the United States from influenza. A much smaller number of people have been affected by coronavirus, although it is not yet clear how many were infected or how widespread the infection was.

There are also reports that coronavirus can spread without symptoms. The agency said that with respiratory diseases, people with most of the symptoms are most infectious. The CDC added that children and people over 65 are most likely to get the flu.

Unlike coronavirus, there is a seasonal vaccine for influenza. The Agency recommends that all adults and children over six months of age be vaccinated annually, with some rare exceptions, such as a severe allergy to the vaccine.

A vaccine against coronavirus has not yet been developed.

How did it all start?

So far, there is no exact answer to this question, but Chinese scientists believe that the virus may have originated in bats. According to Chinese University, pangolin, a type of scaly anteater, was a possible primary source of the disease. A study by the Wuhan Institute of Virology showed that the genome sequences of the virus in seven patients tested were identical to bat coronavirus.

How is the virus transmitted?

It is believed that normal coronavirus is most often transmitted by airborne droplets, as well as in close contact with an infected person or when touching infected surfaces. The virus can be transmitted through the digestive tract (fecal-oral route), according to scientists from the Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University and the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. According to Chinese state media reports, they recently discovered “viral genetic material” in stool and rectal swabs in some patients.

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