Indonesia, RoK launch preventive measures against novel coronavirus

Hanoi (VNA) – Indonesia and the Republic of Korea (RoK) have carried out preventive measures against the acute pneumonia caused by a novel coronavirus (nCoV).

Indonesia has bolstered health examinations for tourists at the country’s air and sea ports after Thailand detected the first patient infected with a virus similar to the one causing the pneumonia in Wuhan, China.

Thermometers have been installed at all immigration control posts nationwide to check tourists’ temperature in a bid to discover people infected with the virus.

Indonesian Ministry of Health also warned that visitors departing from Singapore will go under stricter screenings than those from other destinations.

Meanwhile, the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said that it plans prompt checkups and quarantine of patients who run fever, have respiratory problems or other symptoms when a large number of inbound and outbound travellers are expected during the Lunar New Year festival, which falls on January 24-27.

Localities will be equipped with coronavirus detectors starting January 22.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), cases of acute pneumonia caused by nCoV were reported in Wuhan city of China’s Hubei province. The first patient developed symptoms on December 12, 2019, and the number of cases reached 59 as of January 15, including seven severe cases, one death, two fully recovered, and others in stable condition. There is no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission.

In humans, coronaviruses cause illnesses in winter and early spring, ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases like Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV)./.