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| Taiwan Discredits Viral Video |
#14,610
We are now just over 48 hours since the original announcement of an outbreak of an `unidentified pneumonia' linked to a seafood market in the city of Wuhan, China - and aside from responses by Hong Kong and Taiwan - very little additional information on this outbreak has emerged.
While I haven't found any official confirmation from Hong Kong's CHP or Hospital Authority, HK local media is reporting on a Hong Kong woman hospitalised and quarantined after returning from site of pneumonia outbreak in China.This patient has reportedly tested negative for SARS and Influenza (both seasonal and avian). It is far from clear whether this case is related to the outbreak in Wuhan, but right now, nobody is taking any chances.
Yesterday Macao joined Taiwan and Hong Kong in announcing enhanced screening of passengers from the mainland, particularly from Wuhan City. They are also reassuring the public they have the resources to deal with any outbreak.
Taking temperature screening of passengers from Wuhan flights starting today
source:Department of Health (SS) Release date:January 1, 2020 17:41
(Excerpt)
Director Li Zhanrun emphasized that viral pneumonia is a common disease in winter, but 27 cases of unexplained viral pneumonia occurred in the same place, and 7 of them (25%) were severe and unusual.
There are two direct flights between Macao and the Mainland every day. The personnel between the two places are in close contact. The Health Bureau is very concerned about the situation and has deployed additional staff to strengthen health quarantine at ports, especially airports. From today, the Health Bureau conducted a temperature screening of passengers from Wuhan flights at the Macau International Airport. No abnormalities were found for the time being. At the same time, maintain close liaison with the National Health Committee and make preparations for various infectious diseases.
The Health Bureau also continues to provide training to medical staff on infection control and detection of various infections, and has sufficient reserves of drugs, other expendable substances, facilities and equipment.
The Health Bureau reminds frontline medical staff to be vigilant and to report suspicious cases in a timely manner and take appropriate infection control measures, including if fever or respiratory symptoms in those who stayed in Wuhan within 14 days before the onset of illness are found at the port or medical institution. Further inspection. The Health Bureau urges residents not to panic too much, but to pay attention to personal hygiene and environmental hygiene. When traveling to Wuhan, it is necessary to avoid visiting local hospitals or contacting local people who are sick.(Continue . . . )
Meanwhile, a viral video making the rounds on twitter yesterday - purportedly showing Taiwanese quarantine officers in full protective gear aboard a flight from Wuhan - is being discredited by Taiwan's CDC.
Despite the obvious concerns being displayed by public health officials across Asia, we still have too little information to even begin to hazard a guess as to the cause of this outbreak, whether it will have`legs', and how much of a public health threat it could eventually pose.
Taiwan epidemic prevention personnel wearing protective clothing for board quarantine? HA: fake
Release Date: 2020-01-02
According to foreign media reports, a short video purporting to be taken on Wuhan to Taipei Songshan Airport's Huaxin AE218 flight was circulated. Several Taiwanese epidemic guards wearing protective clothing quarantined passengers in the cabin and speculated that the patients on board were likely Patients with unexplained pneumonia.
The CDC solemnly clarified today that the quarantine officer of the film is not a Taiwan quarantine officer, and the flight is not a flight from Wuhan to Taipei Songshan. Please do not trust or retransmit, otherwise it will be in accordance with the Infectious Disease Control Law and society. Order maintenance law.(Continue . . . )
Despite the obvious concerns being displayed by public health officials across Asia, we still have too little information to even begin to hazard a guess as to the cause of this outbreak, whether it will have`legs', and how much of a public health threat it could eventually pose.
For now, it is probably safe to say that we should take all reports with a large grain of salt. The internet abhors an informational vacuum, and isn't above substituting rumor or speculation to fill the void.If - and it's a big `if' - this outbreak turns out to be a significant public health event, we should know soon enough. Most of the time, early reports are misleading and legitimate outbreaks can always fizzle.
But history has shown that every once in a while, nature cobbles together a new challenge, and we need to be ready to meet it.For the latest information on this outbreak - and other infectious disease news - I can recommend you frequently check in with the newshounds on FluTrackers (see Wuhan Pneumonia thread), Crof at Crofsblog, and Dr. Ian Mackay's twitter feed and blog.
