Czech Republic Suspects 4 People Of Being Infected With Coronavirus - Health Minister

PRAGUE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th January, 2020) Four people in the Czech Republic, who have recently arrived in the European country from China, the origin of an outbreak of a new coronavirus, are being tested for the illness, Czech Health Minister Adam Vojtech said.

"Throughout Monday, four patients with suspected coronavirus were hospitalized in the Czech Republic. Two hospitalized men have recently returned from tourist trips to China, one young woman from China came to visit her grandmother, another man, an independent tourist from China, turned to the doctors in [the city of] Ceske Budejovice just a couple of hours ago [Monday]. Everyone was examined, the tests were sent to the Prague laboratory. We are waiting for the results partly today until midnight, partly on Tuesday morning. The test takes about six hours," Vojtech said on state tv.

The health minister added that another tourist from Brazil, who was hospitalized earlier on Monday at Prague's Na Bulovce hospital, was said to be virus-free.

According to Vojtech, Czech doctors are aware of the fact that personal protective equipment was completely sold out in some pharmacies, but their sale will resume on Tuesday.

"Messages about the danger and the rapid spread of coronavirus should not be underestimated. But it is equally important that people do not give in to panic. State bodies, including the health ministry, are carefully monitoring the situation and are doing everything necessary to protect fellow citizens from this disease," the minister added.

On Monday, the World Health Organization changed the global risk degree of the deadly coronavirus from "moderate" to "high," as the total number of 2019-nCoV confirmed cases globally as of this past Sunday has reached 2,014, including 1,985 in China. Additionally, of 29 people who tested positive in other countries, 26 had a travel history in China, specifically in Wuhan city, where the new strain is believed to have originated.

According to the latest official data provided by the Chinese internet portal of medical information Dingxiangyuan, the number of infected people had risen to 2,840. Chinese media have reported 80 lethal cases.