Nine members of same family confirmed with Coronavirus after sharing Hotpot meal

Amid the unprecedented coronavirus outbreak, nine members of a Hong Kong family were reportedly infected with the deadly SARS-like disease after sharing a hotpot meal. According to international media reports, two of the family members including a 24-year-old man and his grandmother were initially infected with the virus but later the man's father, mother, two aunts and three cousins were also infected. Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection reportedly stated that the family was part of a gathering of 19 who shared the hotpot meal over the Lunar New Year holiday. 

According to reports, the coronavirus death toll in China has now reached 908 with 3,052 additional cases confirmed by health authorities taking the overall number of cases to 40,171. China’s National Health Commission said it confirmed the new cases and 97 additional deaths mostly in Hubei province, where the city of Wuhan lies. 91 deaths were in Hubei province, the epicentre of the epidemic, two in Anhui, and one each in Heilongjiang, Jiangxi, Hainan and Gansu, according to the commission.

READ: WHO Warns Overseas Coronavirus Spread May Be 'tip Of The Iceberg'

WHO to convene a forum

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation informed on Monday that it is convening a global research and innovation forum to mobilize international action in response to the new coronavirus (2019-nCoV). The forum, to be held on February 11-12 in Geneva, is organized in collaboration with the Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness. The forum will bring together key players including leading scientists as well as public health agencies, ministries of health and research funders pursuing 2019-nCoV critical animal health and public health research and the development of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, among other innovations.

READ: Coronavirus: China Confirms Cases Of Infection Exceed 40,000, Death Toll Increases To 908

The outbreak took place in Wuhan in January and multiple countries have started evacuating their citizens from the country, and have decided to restrict the entry of foreigners returning from China. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Coronavirus as a 'global public health emergency'.

In order to tackle the spreading virus, WHO stated that the international community has further launched a USD 675 million preparedness and response plan covering the months of February through to April 2020. Earlier, WHO had also warned the international public health authorities that the Wuhan Virus was of a significant threat to the nations outside mainland China and the disease's pandemic nature enforced a global response to the outbreak.

READ: Disease Center Closure Could Hurt Coronavirus Fix, Pols Say

READ: Coronavirus Scare: 6 Under Home Quarantine In Mizoram