Unverified footage posted by a blogger on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent to Twitter, appears to show the corridor and lobby of a hospital crammed with hundreds of mask-donning patients waiting to see the doctor. Yang Gonghuan, the former deputy director of Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, today told the press that the peak of the outbreak was yet to come.
Ms Yang predicted that the health crisis would worsen and the number of patients would spike in February.
The expert, who helped fought the SARS epidemic in 2003,
made the comments to Chinese news outlet Jiemian, which is affiliated to the official Shanghai United Media Group.
The widespread lockdown of cities happened amid the country's annual Chinese New Year travel rush, when millions of people are on the move every day to be reunited with families.
It also occurred just before the Chinese New Year's Day on Saturday when relatives are expected to come together for celebratory meals.
The new fatal virus, which emerged in Wuhan last month, has killed dozens and sickened hundreds more and spread to nine countries and regions outside of mainland China.
Its symptoms are typically a fever, cough and trouble breathing, but some patients have developed pneumonia, a potentially life-threatening infection that causes inflammation of the small air sacs in the lungs. Scientists fear it may have spread to humans from snakes or bats.
0 Comments