S. Korea reports first case of new Coronavirus in visitor from China

[Photo by Han Joo-hyung]

South Korea on Monday confirmed the first case of new Coronavirus that has sickened more than 200 and has resulted in at least two deaths in China so far.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (KCDC) said that a 35-year-old Chinese woman who flew to Incheon International Airport from Wuhan, China on Sunday was tested positive with new Coronavirus. The patient was identified upon her arrival at the airport terminal in Korea with symptoms including fever and immediately isolated for the test and treatment.

The woman informed the Korean authorities that she already suffered from fever and headache in China on Saturday but was diagnosed with cold at a local hospital in Wuhan. She is now in stable condition, the KCDC said Tuesday.

The Korean health authority said it is closely monitoring 35 of 44 passengers and flight attendants who sat near or contacted the confirmed patient on the plane on Sunday. Nine people have already left Korea, and none of 35 has shown any symptom yet.

Separately, three more people were admitted to a local isolated hospital for a test as of 9 a.m. on Tuesday after two people voluntarily reported their suspected cases while the other one was detected by a thermal scanner at the airport, the KCDC said. Their test results are due to be out later today.

[Photo by Han Joo-hyung]

The new Coronavirus virus initially emerged in central Chinese city of Wuhan in late December and has been spreading out neighboring cities and countries including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and Japan through travelers, resulting in a number of pneumonia cases. So far, the respiratory virus has killed at least two people and sickened more than 200 in China.

The new Coronavirus is in the same family as SARS and MERS, which claimed the lives of hundreds of people worldwide a few years ago, as well as common cold.

Xinhua News Agency, China’s official state-run news organization, on Tuesday reported that the Chinese health department finally confirmed two cases of human-to-human transmission in China, reversing from the Chinese health authorities’ earlier stance to cautiously rule out the possibility of human-to-human transmission of the virus.

The Korean health authority said on Monday that it has raised Korea’s infectious disease alert level by one notch to “yellow (caution),” or third-highest on a 4-level scale for stronger monitoring after confirmation of the first imported case of new Coronavirus. The KCDC has been scaling up surveillance for pneumonia in the country since early this month.

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