China Says Virus Outbreak Controllable as Millions Set to Travel

Chinese authorities said the outbreak of a new SARS-like virus that’s killed two and sickened dozens is “still preventable and controllable,” in an attempt to reassure the public as hundreds of millions prepare to travel ahead of the country’s biggest annual festivities.

Also known as the Spring Festival, Chinese citizens rack up billions of trips during the travel fest as they head home by air, rail and road for family reunions. Migrant workers seize what can often be their only chance in the year to return to their hometowns, while others take advantage of the long break to travel overseas.

The source and transmission routes of the novel coronavirus in the city of Wuhan are still unknown, the National Health Commission said in a statement on Sunday. Seventeen new cases of pneumonia infected with coronavirus were confirmed in Wuhan on Jan. 17, boosting the total number there to 62, the city’s health agency said earlier in the day.

“Experts judged that the current epidemic situation is still preventable and controllable,” the National Health Commission said. “However, the source of the new type of coronavirus has not been found, the transmission of the epidemic has not been fully grasped, and the mutation of the virus still needs to be closely monitored.”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-19/china-s-wuhan-city-confirms-17-new-novel-coronavirus-cases?srnd=premium