The death toll from a mysterious flu-like virus in China climbed to six on Tuesday as new cases surged beyond 300 and authorities fretted about the added risk from millions of Chinese traveling for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Round the world, airports tightened screening of travelers from China as officials confirmed the coronavirus strain is contagious between humans.
The World Health Organization (WHO) called a meeting for Wednesday to consider declaring a global health emergency.
The outbreak, which began in the central city of Wuhan, also sent shivers through financial markets as investors recalled the fallout from China’s Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2002/2003 that it initially covered up.
The SARS coronavirus killed nearly 800 people then.
“We’ll stay at home during the holiday. I’m scared as I remember SARS very well,” said Zhang Xinyuan, who had been bound from Beijing for the Thai resort of Phuket before she and her husband decided to cancel their air tickets.
Authorities have confirmed more than 300 cases in China, mostly in Wuhan, a provincial capital and transportation hub, where the virus may have originated at a seafood market.
There have been six deaths in that city, Mayor Zhou Xianwang told Chinese state television on Tuesday.
The virus has been spreading around other parts of China, however, including five cases in the national capital Beijing. Fifteen medical personnel are among those infected.
Abroad, Thailand has reported two cases and South Korea one case, all involving Chinese travelers from Wuhan. Japan and Taiwan also confirmed one case each, both nationals who had been to Wuhan.
“Information about newly reported infections suggest there may now be sustained human-to-human transmission,” said WHO’s regional director for the western Pacific, Takeshi Kasai.
Taiwan, the self-ruled island that China claims as its own, on Monday set up an epidemic response command centre. More than 1,000 beds were prepared in isolation wards in case the virus spreads further.
Market wobble
The mounting anxiety was transmitted to regional markets.
China’s onshore yuan fell 0.6%, its biggest daily drop since Aug. 26, 2019, while airline and travel stocks fell across the region.
European shares also slipped on concerns about the impact of the outbreak, with luxury goods firms particularly hard-hit on worries about weaker demand from Chinese consumers.
Though the origin of the virus was yet to be identified, WHO said the primary source was probably animal. Chinese officials have linked the outbreak to Wuhan’s seafood market.
The virus can cause pneumonia, with symptoms including fever and difficulty in breathing. As those symptoms are similar to many other respiratory diseases, extra screening is needed.
“The outbreak of a SARS-like coronavirus in Wuhan is developing into a major potential economic risk to the Asia-Pacific region now that there is medical evidence of human-to-human transmission,” said Rajiv Biswas, Asia Pacific Chief Economist for IHS Markit.
So far, the WHO has not recommended trade or travel restrictions but such measures could be discussed at Wednesday’s meeting.
China’s National Health Commission will also give an update at a press briefing at 10 a.m. (0200 GMT) on Wednesday.
Rush for masks
Airports in the United States, Australia, and across Asia have begun screening passengers from Wuhan.
In the city itself, officials have been using infrared thermometers to screen passengers at airports, railway stations and other passenger terminals since Jan. 14.
The Lunar New Year is a major holiday for Chinese, many of whom travel to join family or have a foreign holiday.
Images of long lines of people queuing to buy face masks were circulating widely on Chinese social media.
Some online vendors were limiting sales of masks and hand sanitizers as demand surged.
Shanghai city’s market regulator warned it would punish speculators hoarding masks or other products used for preventing diseases, according to the Shanghai Observer, a web publication backed by a Communist Party newspaper.
But Zhong Nanshan, head of the National Health Commission’s team investigating the outbreak, sought to ease alarm, saying in footage shown by state television there was no danger of a repeat of the SARS epidemic so long as precautions were taken.
Chinese travel booking platforms from Trip.com to Alibaba Group’s Fliggy said they would offer free cancellations on bookings made for Wuhan.
T’Way Air halts launch over virus concerns
South Korean budget airline T’way Air has postponed Tuesday’s scheduled launch of a new route to the Chinese city of Wuhan because of rising concern over the spread of a new coronavirus, a company official said.
On Monday South Korea reported its first confirmed case of the virus from a 35-year-old Chinese national who flew from Wuhan to Seoul on Sunday.
T’way had been set for the first of its twice-a-week flights from the South Korean main hub of Incheon to Wuhan at 1020 p.m. (1320 GMT) but canceled its plans because of the outbreak, the company official said.
“It was an inevitable decision because of the situation there,” the official told Reuters, adding that it would continue to monitor developments.
The move came amid spiraling fears over the virus, which could be spread through human contact, with millions of Asians traveling for the Lunar New Year holiday this week. In China, the number of confirmed cases rose to 291 on Monday.
An official at Korean Air Lines, the only other South Korean airline operating direct flights to Wuhan, said the company had no plans to suspend its route, which operates four times a week, but will waive ticket cancellation fees for passengers traveling to the city.
South Korea’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday warned tourists against contact with animals and people showing respiratory symptoms and market visits in China.
President Moon Jae-in instructed local authorities to step up prevention efforts, with many South Koreans living in China expected to return home and some 32 million traveling around the country for the holiday until next week.
