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Published 17:26 IST, February 4th 2020

One out of nine evacuated Belgians test positive for Coronavirus

Belgium's public health agency said on Feb 4 that one person out of nine evacuated from the coronavirus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan has been confirmed positive.

Reported by: Aanchal Nigam
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Belgium's public health agency said on February 4 that one person out of nine evacuated from the coronavirus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan has been confirmed positive. All Belgium nationals who were fled from China were subjected to a series of tests at Neder-Over-Heembeek military hospital in Brussels and eight of them were tested negative.

However, no further details have been revealed about the person tested positive but reportedly the agency also said that the people repatriated were in good health and are not showing symptoms of the deadly virus.

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This comes as the coronavirus claims at least 425 lives with 20,438 confirmed cases in China. Hong Kong has also reported its first death outside China after the Philippines. The growing number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus outbreak which has been declared as a global health emergency by the World Health Organisation has sparked fears globally. One person from Demark was also evacuated but was unable to return to his home on February 2 has also been tested negative by the authorities in Belgium. 

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Coronavirus takes a toll on the economy

Amid the unprecedented outbreak, World Bank has also called for all countries to step up programs to fight the novel virus as fear of economic instability spikes. The official statement also said that the World Bank was considering to mobilize its own resources against the novel virus.

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The World Bank also said that it is trying to assist and support the affected countries with the coronavirus and called it 'life-saving work' to stop the further spread and mitigate its impact. The World Bank has also declared that it will monitor the economic and social impacts of the deadly virus outbreak.

According to the official website, World Bank said, “We are calling on all countries to strengthen their health surveillance and response systems, which is essential to contain the spread of this and any future outbreaks.  We are closely coordinating with international partners to accelerate the international response to support countries to manage the global health emergency.” 

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(With Agency inputs)

17:26 IST, February 4th 2020