China has quarantined 94 travellers from a flight from South Korea as a precaution against a further spread of the new coronavirus epidemic after three passengers were found with fever, state media reported.
Authorities in the eastern city of Nanjing found that three Chinese tourists on an Asiana flight from Seoul on Tuesday had fever, CCTV reported.
Health authorities inspected the rest of the passengers and quarantined travellers three rows in front of and three rows behind the patients who had a fever, totalling 94 out of the flight’s 166 passengers.
The three patients were taken to the hospital due to fears they might be infected with the new coronavirus. None of them had a history of travel to the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, CCTV said.
Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, has been rapidly spreading to South Korea, which on Wednesday reported a total of 1,146 cases, including 11 deaths.
The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said 169 new infections and one death had been counted over the previous day.
The outbreak, mainly involving the cities of Daegu and Cheongdo in North Gyeongsang Province, is the largest outside China, where the virus started spreading in December last year.
Of the new cases, 153 were in North Gyeongsang Province, including 134 in Daegu.
The majority of the country’s cases have been linked to the Shincheonji church near Daegu, and to a hospital in Cheongdo, the KCDC said.
On Tuesday, President Moon Jae In described the situation in the country as “very grave,” adding that the week ahead would be critical to combat the spread of the virus.
A US soldier stationed near Daegu tested positive for Covid-19, becoming the first US service member with the virus, the US Forces Korea (USFK) said.
Meanwhile, China reported 406 new infections and 52 deaths over the past 24 hours. All the deaths and 401 out of the 406 infections occurred in Hubei province, home to Wuhan, indicating the outbreak may have come under control in the rest of the country.
The number of deaths in a day is also the smallest since February 1, according to the National Health Commission.
In total, China has so far reported 78,064 infections and 2,715 deaths.
Meanwhile, the virus continues to spread on other continents. Italy on Tuesday reported a major increase in new coronavirus cases, with 322 infected and 11 dead, as contagion also spread in Austria, Croatia, Spain and Switzerland.
Brazil reported the first possible coronavirus case in South America, a man returning from a trip to Italy who was showing symptoms compatible with the virus. (dpa)
