US warns American citizens in China against Pneumonia outbreak

Colombo (News 1st): The U.S. State Department warned Americans in China about an outbreak of pneumonia in the central city of Wuhan believed to be caused by a new strain of coronavirus, and which has killed one person. Today’s (Jan 15) notice referred to an alert by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urging citizens in China traveling to Wuhan to avoid contact with animals, animal markets or animal products, among other precautions. It also asked citizens who had visited Wuhan and feel sick to seek medical care. Chinese health authorities have reported 41 cases caused by the new virus strain. Yesterday (Jan 14), the World Health Organization warned a wider outbreak was possible, though China has not reported any new cases since. While China contributes a large chunk of the tourists that visit Sri Lanka, the last quarter of 2019 alone recorded 44,324 Chinese arrivals by air, while 409 tourists made their way here by sea. About 10,000 Chinese nationals currently reside in Sri Lanka. In such circumstances, is there a system to monitor those that are entering this country? When News 1st looked into this, Director of the Epidemiology Unit Dr Anil Dissanayake said that no such program has been put in place in light of the situation.