US cities to start testing people with flu-like symptoms amid Coronavirus outbreak

In order to take preventive measures, a senior official on February 14 said that US will begin testing people identified by local health authorities having flu-like symptoms for the deadly Coronavirus. It is a major step taken by the government in response to contain the deadly pandemic.

A senior official of CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), Nancy Messonnier, said that the body has started working with five public health labs across the country to put efforts to conduct community-based influenza surveillance so that they can test people with flu-like symptoms. 

READ: China Confirms 121 New Coronavirus Deaths, Over 5,000 New Cases

US to carry tests

Initially, the testing will be carried out by the labs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago and New York and more sites are planned, as per the reports. This announcement came as the number of cases in the US soars to 15 and about 600 people are quarantined.

The US has incorporated a temporary travel ban on foreign nationals who have visited China. China has confirmed more than 5000 new cases of deadly coronavirus outbreak on February 14, according to the reports. The passengers on a cruise ship blocked from five countries due to virus fears finally disembarked in Cambodia.

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CNHC records new deaths

China’s National Health Commission said it had recorded 121 new deaths and 5,090 new coronavirus cases on the mainland on February 13, taking the total infected tally to 66, 864 people. Nearly 55,748 people are presently undergoing treatment at various hospitals across the country and 1522 people have died from the novel coronavirus outbreak that has emerged in Hubei province’s capital, Wuhan, in December.

The hard-hit Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak, has reported 116 new fatalities and reported 4,823 new confirmed cases on Thursday, the provincial health commission said. The latest report brought the total confirmed cases in Hubei province to 51,986, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The World Health Organisation on Thursday said a sharp rise of 254 cases of COVID-19 (official name for coronavirus) cases in China, due to a change in counting methods, did not represent a big shift in the epidemic.

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