Govt confirms 2nd flu case, quarantine numbers swell

• Source: The Global Times
• [07:24 May 14 2009]
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The total number of people quarantined in China has yet to be verified by the MOH or foreign embassies, but estimates based on those who have come in contact with a virus put the total count into the hundreds.

“We understand that the Chinese government is working to locate them all, but we don’t have an exact number,” Nicholas Snyder, assistant US embassy spokesperson, told the Global Times in a written statement yesterday. “To the extent that we are aware of them, the US embassy’s Consular Section has reached out to quarantined Americans to provide assistance as possible.”

Snyder said that the US Government was in close coordination with Chinese authorities.

Self-isolation urged for travelers

Though the two confirmed cases were both introduced from abroad, China cannot close its boarders and stop international interactions, which might be an academic way to curb the spreading but would render great difficultly to the economy and cannot be put into practice, according to Liu Youning of the Respiratory Branch of the Chinese Medical Association.

Liu suggested that those who have come back from the infected zones, such as North America, practice a week-long “self-isolation,” regardless of whether they have contacted the virus or developed any symptoms.

As of yesterday afternoon, 33 countries had reported 5,728 cases of the virus and 61 deaths, according to the World Health Organization.