Wuhan virus: Thailand confirms fourth patient, North Korea bans foreign tourists

Pyongyang has temporarily closed its borders to all tourists as a precaution against the virus, according to foreign tour operators
Thailand, meanwhile, has quarantined a fourth patient, days before the Lunar New Year holiday when thousands of Chinese tourists are expected to arrive

Coronavirus pandemic

ReutersandAgence France-Presse

Published: 11:18am, 22 Jan 2020

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Thailand on Wednesday announced it had quarantined a fourth patient diagnosed with a deadly new coronavirus that originated in China, as North Korea temporarily closed its borders to foreign tourists over fears of its spread.

The patient, a 73-year-old Thai woman who travelled to Wuhan at the start of the year and developed a fever after returning, was being monitored in a separate ward in a hospital in Nakhon Pathom, 60km (37 miles) west of Bangkok, where her condition was gradually improving, the Public Health Ministry said.

Thousands of Chinese tourists are expected to arrive in Thailand over the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, but Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters there was no need for concern.

“We can control the situation. There have not been cases of human-to-human transmission in Thailand because we detected the patients as soon as they arrived,” he said.

The vast majority of tourists to North Korea also come from China – Pyongyang’s main supporter – but the politically isolated country has now closed its borders to guard against the spread of the virus, according to foreign tour operators.

Travellers wear face masks as they sit in a waiting room at a railway station in Beijing. Photo: AP

Young Pioneer Tours, an adventure travel company based in China, said in a statement that from Wednesday, North Korea will temporarily close its borders to all foreign tourists as a precaution against the virus, which has rapidly spread from the Chinese city of Wuhan.

“I have confirmed the DPRK will temporarily suspend all foreign tourists from entering North Korea until they feel the coronavirus is well under control,” said Rowan Beard of Young Pioneer Tours, referring to North Korea by the initials of its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Further details are yet to be confirmed by the company’s travel partners in North Korea, the Young Pioneer Tours statement said.

A manager at another foreign tour company said they too had been told of such a move, but that it was not yet clear who would be affected by such a policy, with more details expected later on Wednesday.

Fears are growing over the virus, which could be spread through human contact, with millions of Asians travelling for the Lunar New Year holiday this week. In China, the number of confirmed cases rose to 440 on Wednesday with nine deaths.

Tourism is one of the last major ways that North Korea can legally earn foreign cash, as international sanctions restrict many other forms of business with the politically isolated country.

North Korea is estimated to earn millions of dollars from the steady flow of Chinese tourists.

Wuhan virus: Japan case sounds alarm in Asia before Lunar New Year

South Korean budget airline T’way Air said on Tuesday it has postponed the scheduled launch of a new route to Wuhan because of concern over the spread of the new coronavirus.

It followed the first confirmed case of the virus in South Korea on Monday, from a 35-year-old Chinese national who flew from Wuhan to Seoul on Sunday.

An official at Korean Air Lines, the only other South Korean airline operating direct flights to Wuhan, said the company had no plans to suspend its route, which operates four times a week, but will waive ticket cancellation fees for passengers travelling to the city.

A handout photo shows Thai medical staff transferring a 70-year-old patient suspected of being infected with coronavirus. Photo: EPA

Women’s football qualifiers for the Tokyo Olympic Games will be moved from Wuhan to another location in the country, the Asian Football Confederation said on Wednesday.

Wuhan was supposed to host China, Taiwan, Thailand and Australia for the Group B qualifiers on February 3 to 9, but they will now be held on the same dates in the eastern city of Nanjing, AFC said in a statement, adding that the change was proposed by the Chinese Football Association.

Thailand to hold Spring Festival parties despite coronavirus cases

In Thailand, meanwhile, of the three other patients who have been quarantined, two had recovered and been sent home while a third would return once tests showed he was clear of the virus, Anutin the health minister said. All three were Chinese nationals.

Thai officials are stepping up screening at airports to look for passengers with high body temperatures, coughs, headaches and trouble breathing, police said.

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