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In China, it is called Chūnjié. In Vietnam it is celebrated as Tết Nguyên Đán ; the Feast of the First Morning. Tết for short. And in Korea they call it Seollal.
By whatever name, the Lunar New Year is undoubtedly the most important holiday in all of Asia, which each year sees hundreds of millions of people travel - mostly from big cities, back to their birthplace - to spend revered time with family.
Chunyun, or the Spring Festival travel season, begins about 15 days before the Lunar New Year (Jan 25th this year) and runs for about 40 days total, during which time more than 2 billion passenger journeys will be made (mostly via crowded rail and bus) across Asia.And while we normally monitor these mass migrations carefully - particularly during years when avian flu is prevalent in China - this year the last minute emergence of a novel coronavirus in Wuhan City, China has added yet another layer of concern.
While the official mantra remains `no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission', it is still very early days in this outbreak, there are obvious gaps in our knowledge and understanding of this virus (and its source), and similar coronaviruses have demonstrated varying degrees of transmissibility.
Which is why, despite the lack of `clear evidence' of human transmission, public health entities like the WHO, CDC, Hong Kong's CHP, and Taiwan's CDC are all (rightfully) treating this outbreak as a credible threat.
While none of this guarantees that this emerging coronavirus is about to embark of a world tour, the special circumstances of Chunyun make whatever public health actions that are taken over the next few weeks all the more important.Today Taiwan's CDC has posted two updates. The first upgrades - as of today - `Severe Special Infectious Pneumonia" to a Class 5 legal infectious disease.
The Department of Disease Control has listed "Severe Special Infectious Pneumonia" as a Class 5 legal infectious disease since January 15, 2020
Release Date: 2020-01-15
he Department of Disease Control has officially listed "Severe Special Infectious Pneumonia" as the fifth category of statutory infectious diseases since today, in order to strengthen the surveillance and prevention of severe special infectious pneumonia, improve the alertness of the people and medical institutions, and help Grasp the source of the epidemic and infection and related risk factors in time to stop the spread of the epidemic and reduce the risk of infection by people. In addition, in the morning (1/15) press release, two cases were tested that met the definition of "Fever Pneumonia Cases in the History of Travel in Wuhan, China." One named H1N1 influenza virus was positive, all of them have been excluded; 9 suspected cases have been reported so far, all have been excluded.
The CDC reminds that if a suspected case meets the definition of a case when it is diagnosed by a medical institution, it must be notified to the competent health authority within 24 hours. The health unit will conduct isolation treatment, epidemic investigation, autonomous health management and contacts for the suspected case. Preventive measures such as health monitoring. Relevant definitions of disease notifications, processing procedures for suspected notification cases, methods for sample inspection and submission, and related prevention and control guidelines will be updated in a timely manner as the epidemic situation is announced and posted on the SACD Global Information Network "Severe Special Infectious Pneumonia" Epidemic Prevention Zone (http: // /www.cdc.gov.tw Home> Special Topics on Infectious Diseases and Epidemic Prevention> Infectious Diseases Introduction> Class 5 Legal Infectious Diseases> Severe Special Infectious Pneumonia).
The CDH stated that it is now in the season of respiratory diseases such as influenza and pneumonia, and urged those who plan to visit the local area and nearby areas to avoid entering and exiting traditional public markets, hospitals and other public places, and contact with wild and livestock animals. Implement personal protective measures such as washing hands with soap and wearing a mask; if fever or flu-like symptoms occur within 14 days of returning to China, you should proactively notify the air traffic control and quarantine staff, wear masks as required, and take the initiative to inform doctors of their travel history and occupation , Contact history and cluster situation (TOCC) for timely diagnosis and notification of physicians. For related information, please refer to the CDC website (https://www.cdc.gov.tw/), or call the toll-free epidemic prevention line 1922 (or 0800-001922) for inquiries.
A second, longer statement was published today indicating that until proven otherwise, Taiwan's CDC will prepare as if this novel coronavirus is transmissible from human-to-human.
The Department of Disease Control has not ruled out the possibility of human-to-human transmission of the new coronavirus, and relevant control measures have been developed based on the situation that the virus may be transmitted from human to human and have been completed.
Release Date: 2020-01-15
The World Health Organization says that the new type of coronavirus may have limited human-to-human transmission in 2019; the Office of Disease Control and Administration has stated that the possibility of human-to-human transmission has not been ruled out for the virus, and that human-to-human transmission may be considered for related control measures, so people with respiratory symptoms are reminded Surgical masks should be worn, and the public is urged to avoid crowded and poorly ventilated places as much as possible. It is recommended to wear masks when going in and out of these places, but it should generally not be infected beyond 1 meter. Please don't panic.
At present, a response team has been organized to develop guidelines for surveillance, quarantine, inspection, epidemic investigation, medical infection control, and case management. Expert meetings, county and city health bureau meetings, inter-ministerial coordination meetings, and unwarned random inspection of hospital infection control have been held. As a result, these preventive measures are developed under the condition that the virus may be transmitted from person to person, and continue to collect information about the disease and virus, consult the experts of infectious diseases, review and correct the preventive measures at any time, and supervise the implementation of various actions.
The CDC has been notified by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. As of January 15, 2020, 41 cases of pneumonia caused by new coronavirus infection have remained, including 6 severe cases and 1 death, and 7 cases have been discharged from hospital. Among the confirmed cases, a few patients denied that they had visited the South China Seafood Market and had only been exposed to similar cases. There was also a family gathering as a husband with a history of exposure and a wife without a case, but no community transmission was found; at present, a limited number of people cannot be ruled out. It is possible, but it cannot be ruled out that the family group has a common source of infection to be clarified. In addition, some environmental examinations in the South China Seafood Market detected 2019-nCoV. Lu Fang also conducted preliminary investigations in other markets, and no clues related to the source of the infection have been found. Although suspected cases have been reported from other neighbouring countries, only one case has been imported from Thailand outside of Wuhan, China.
Continuously strengthened surveillance of epidemic conditions and border control measures. Inbound fever travelers from international and small three-way ports have been asked about Wuhan's travel history and health assessments. In addition, since December 31, 2019, the boarding and quarantine of direct flights from Wuhan started, and 25 flights have been carried out, with a total of 2,742 passengers and crew members. So far, there are 9 cases that meet the "Fever Pneumonia Cases of Wuhan Tourism History in China", 7 of which have been ruled out, and the other 2 tests, there are currently no confirmed cases of new coronavirus in China in 2019.
The CDA once again called for the approach of the Spring Festival travel season. If fever or flu-like symptoms occur within 14 days of returning to China, you should proactively inform the aviation management and quarantine staff, wear masks according to instructions, and proactively inform physicians of their travel history, occupation, and contact. History and group situation (TOCC) for timely diagnosis and notification by physicians. For related information, please refer to the CDC website (https://www.cdc.gov.tw/), or call the toll-free epidemic prevention line 1922 (or 0800-001922) for inquiries.
