lørdag 4. januar 2020

Mystery viral outbreak in Hong Kong revives fears of SARS epidemic

Hong Kong authorities has moved to “serious response” level as fears spread about a mysterious infectious disease that may have been brought back by visitors to a mainland Chinese city. Five possible cases have been reported of a viral pneumonia that has also infected at least 44 people in Wuhan, an inland city west of Shanghai and about 900km north of Hong Kong.

The outbreak, which emerged last month, has revived memories of the 2002-2003 SARS epidemic that started in southern China and killed more than 700 people in the mainland, Hong Kong and elsewhere. The serious-response level activated on Saturday indicates a moderate impact on Hong Kong’s population of 7.5 million people. It is the second highest in a three-tier system that is part of a new government plan launched Saturday to respond to infectious diseases of unknown cause.