Published 06:59 IST, January 28th 2020
UN Sec Gen Antonio Guterres appreciates China's efforts against Coronavirus
The virus originated in Wuhan and has spread across the world. The UN has stated that it appreciates the efforts taken to control the spread of the virus.
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Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations said that the world body appreciates the efforts taken by China to control the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
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UN stands with China
The General Secretary had a meeting with Zhang Jun, China's Permanent Representative to the UN. During the meeting, Guterres said that during the time of crisis, the UN 'stands in solidarity with the Chinese government and it's people'. He also conveyed that the world body has full confidence in China's ability to control the virus.
China has confirmed more than 2,700 cases of the new virus, most in the central city of Wuhan where the illness first surfaced last month. More than 40 cases have been confirmed across the globe with virtually all of them involving Chinese tourists or people who visited Wuhan recently.
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The virus has spread to Germany as well, with a spokesperson for the Health Ministry confirming that a man from Stranberg has caught the virus and is currently being treated in isolation.
At least 103 people have lost their lives globally with more than 2,500 confirmed cases of the virus.
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The United States has raised the travel advisory to the highest level, with the government urging citizens to avoid all non-essential travel to China.
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The Indian government has stated that the Embassy in China is closely monitoring the situation. The Embassy has opened three hotline numbers and a special email ID for citizens to contact. It has also asked those who don't possess their passport for verification reasons, etc can contact the Embassy authorities with details of their passport so that they are able to retrieve it and return to India.
The Coronavirus is a new strain in the large family of coronaviruses (CoV) which was previously not identified in humans. CoV causes illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV).
(Image credit: AP)
06:59 IST, January 28th 2020