The Indian embassy in Beijing, China took to social media to announce the cancellation of Republic Day celebrations scheduled for January 26.
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“In view of the evolving situation due to the coronavirus outbreak in China as well as the decision of the Chinese authorities to cancel public gathering and events,@EOIBeijing has also decided to call off the Republic Day reception scheduled to be held @EOIBeijing on January 26th,” the embassy said on Twitter.
The spread of a mysterious pneumonia-like coronavirus, which appears to have originated in the city of Wuhan in China, has been met with international alarm as more cases are being reported. On Tuesday, the Washington Post reported that the first case of the potentially deadly virus in the U.S. has been confirmed.
Chinese officials on Tuesday began implementing a partial quarantine around the Wuhan, a city with an estimated population of 11 million people. Over the weekend, three U.S. airports began screening passengers inbound from Wuhan to safeguard against any potential spread of the virus, and this week two additional U.S. airports implemented screenings. In Wuhan’s airports and trains, infrared thermometers have been deployed to screen passengers for fever, and the city is being quarantined as the Lunar New Year approaches. Here’s what you should know about the virus.
Coronavirus?
According to the CDC, coronaviruses are “common throughout the world,” and they “commonly cause mild to moderate illness.” However, newer strains of the virus — such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) — “have been known to frequently cause severe illness.” There are currently no vaccines developed that prevent against this family of viruses.
Symptoms of the Wuhan coronavirus include fever, coughing, and difficulty breathing. The virus is thought to have spread from an animal source to humans. According to the Washington Post, the virus was first detected on December 31 in a case suspected to have originated at a food market in Wuhan.
According to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, this strain of coronavirus is only the seventh type reported to have afflicted human beings.
Zhong Nanshan, who leads a group of experts at China’s National Health Commission, said that the best way to combat the spread of the virus is quarantine because it “spreads by droplets from the nose and mouth,” the Washington Post reports.
