Coronavirus Kills 26 in China, India Issues Travel Advisory

India issues travel advisory to its citizens in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak in China’s Wuhan city.

People wearing protective respiratory masks in downtown Beijing.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Video Editor: Vishal Kumar

India has issued a travel advisory to its citizens in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak in China's Wuhan city. The Indian embassy in Beijing has cancelled the R-Day ceremony due to coronavirus outbreak in China.

An outbreak of coronavirus has brought China to a standstill, with the death toll in the country standing at 26 and the confirmed cases rising sharply, having touched 830.

“The outbreak was detected at the end of December. WHO came to know about it on 1 January. We are now, daily, hearing of massive increases in the numbers. Part of that increase is coming from the processing of specimens collected earlier. Another part is by the broadening of the case definition. So numbers are going to increase, even if they are in the thousands this would not surprise us, that is not an indicator of seriousness, indeed it is very, very good to get and identify as many cases as possible.”

Gauden Galea, WHO Representative in China 

At least 12,828 passengers from 60 flights were screened for the coronavirus or 2019-nCoV in India.

Two persons who returned from China were kept under medical observation in Mumbai.

This virus was previously not found in humans.

According to genetic analysis, the new strain of coronavirus that emerged in China may have originated in bats or snakes and can be transmitted between humans.

US and China are reportedly working on a vaccine.

The new virus is similar to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), that infected 8,422 people and killed more than 900 in 2013.

The symptoms of the deadly coronavirus resembles that of influenza – with cough, fever and weakness.

Cases of coronavirus have been reported in Thailand, South Korea, Japan and US thus far.

(With inputs from AP)