Northlanders warned over deadly coronavirus from China

Passengers wear masks to prevent an outbreak of a new coronavirus in the high-speed train station in Hong Kong, as concern over the deadly new virus grows. Photo / AP

Northlanders travelling to or from Wuhan, central China, should seek immediate medical advice if they develop flu-like symptoms upon their return says the region's Medical Officer of Health, Dr Jose M Ortega .

"If you have or develop any flu-like symptoms [fever, cough etc] seek medical attention," Dr Ortega said.

Symptoms included runny nose, headache, cough, fever and general feeling of being unwell. The virus particularly affected the respiratory system.

He said New Zealand's Ministry of Health was closely monitoring the situation and keeping Northland District Health Board (DHB) and health professionals informed.

His comments come after the emergence of a new flu-like coronavirus (2019-nCoV virus), first identified in mid-December from the central Chinese city of Wuhan, that has now spread internationally.

Incidents of the disease have also been reported in Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and the US, as well as in the Chinese territories of Hong Kong and Macau.

The Chinese government has quarantined the city where the deadly coronavirus originated and plans to shut down the airport and public transport.

The number of deaths linked to the virus has risen to 17 — a near doubling in 24 hours - according to officials in Hubei province. More than 500 people are infected.

But there are fears that figure could be as high as 10,000, with warnings the new strain is "as deadly as Spanish flu" which killed 50 million people globally.

The growing presence of the new virus comes on the eve of one of the world's biggest travel migrations as 400 million Chinese travel for the 2020 Lunar New Year this weekend.

Seven million Chinese are expected to travel overseas as part of this.

One Whangārei resident of Chinese origin, who did not wish to be named, said Northland's 450 Chinese families were closely following the virus situation.

The woman said it was more likely that Chinese people in Northland would be travelling to China to celebrate the Lunar New Year, rather than the reverse happening. However, Chinese people travelling to Northland from China for the New Year was also occurring.

Ortega said Northlanders receiving visitors from Wuhan, China, who had chronic respiratory conditions or were immunocompromised should take extra care.

He said, however, that Northlanders generally, other than those travelling to or receiving visitors from Wuhan, were at no increased risk from the new coronavirus.

"Although there have been [500 reported] cases to date, this is in a city of over 11
million people," Ortega said.

"For a widespread outbreak to occur, as was seen with measles in Northland in 2019, an infected person has to be able to pass it on to many others. There has been no evidence to date that this is occurring," Ortega said.

Ortega said on Tuesday that, according to the United States Centres for Disease Control, it was unclear how easily or sustainably the 2019-nCoV virus was spreading between people.

Northland DHB was closely following, together with New Zealand's Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation, any developments in the Wuhan region. The Northland DHB was also working closely with the North's primary care providers plus regional and local government partners to provide a coordinated response as required.