Published 14:05 IST, February 24th 2020
Australia issues travel warning to Japan amid coronavirus outbreak
Australia government has raised the travel warning to level 2 and advised people travelling to Japan to 'exercise a high degree of caution' due to coronavirus.
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The Australian government has reportedly raised the travel warning to level two and further advised people travelling to Japan to 'exercise a high degree of caution' because of coronavirus. The warning comes as Japan has registered nearly 150 cases of the deadly virus. The Chief Medical Officer, Professor Brendan Murphy reportedly also said that Japan is becoming a hotbed for the virus to spread.
While speaking to an international media outlet, Murphy said that the coming days will be a 'critical time'. He further asked the central government, local governments, health officials and medical personnel to wage an all-out, concerted response to the problem. The warning by the Australian government also comes after South Korea raised its level to the 'highest' possible and Murphy further noted that the significant increase in reported cases is a cause for concern.
On the other hand, China's President Xi Jinping reportedly said that the epidemic is communist China's 'largest public health emergency' since its founding in 1949. Jinping further called the outbreak a 'crisis' and said that the epidemic has the 'fastest transmission' and the widest range of infection which has been the most difficult to prevent and control.
Meanwhile, the death toll in China has surpassed 2,500 and the National Health Commission reportedly confirmed 150 new cases. The total number of confirmed cases within China also hit nearly 77,000. First detected in the city of Wuhan, in Hubei Province of China, the virus outbreak has now spread across more than 25 countries since December 2019 and more than 1,700 people have recovered from the disease, whereas, nearly 12,500 Coronavirus patients have by now been discharged from hospitals.
$675 million in support of vulnerable countries
Even though China announced a significant drop in new infected cases, reports have indicated that the number of cases has surged in South Korea, Iran, Italy and Lebanon. The World Health Organisation has reportedly welcomed the decline in new cases in China but continues to be concerned about the growing number of infections in other countries.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has also claimed that the biggest fear for the organisation is that the virus will continue to spread to other countries and especially those with weaker health systems. Furthermore, the organisation has also called on the world to pledge $675 million in support of the most vulnerable countries.
14:05 IST, February 24th 2020