Understanding of Coronavirus
Presently, the number of deaths rose to 132 as of 28 January plus another 1459 new cases confirmed by China’s National Health Commission. The authority also commented that the total number of confirmed Coronavirus cases in China stands at 5,974 as of now. Hubei province of China is the center of the outbreak for the spread of Coronavirus throughout China and overseas. Coronaviruses are common in many different species of animals, including camels and bats. NL63, 229E, OC43, and HKU1are some of the types of common human Coronaviruses and this usually causes mild to moderate upper-respiratory tract illness, similar to the common cold.
Symptoms of Coronaviruses:
- Runny nose
- Headache
- Cough
- Sore throat
- Fever
- A general feeling of being unwell
Human Coronavirus is a communicable disease which is commonly spread by:
- Air by coughing and sneezing
- Close personal contact, such as touching or shaking hands
- Touching an object or surface with the virus on it, then touching your mouth, nose, or eyes before washing your hands
- Rarely, fecal contamination
No Traveling To China for a Week
From Facebook to Japan’s Nippon Steel, companies around the world have restricted travel to China. Facebook advised its employees to stop non-essential travel to mainland China and to work from home if they had traveled there. Alibaba and Tencent China’s tech giants have also asked staff to work from home for a week. Employees from Tiktok who traveled during the holidays to quarantine themselves and work from home for 14 days. E-commerce firm Pinduoduo, UBS Group and property developer Country Garden have advised similar action. Similarly, there are many companies that have advised its employees from traveling to China for the next week.
All Major Stores Shutting Down
Starbucks had closed more than half of its stores in China. McDonald’s suspended business in five cities in Hubei including Wuhan. Starbucks closed all shops and suspended delivery services in Hubei. Tim Cook, Chief Executive Officer of Apple Inc said, “The Company has currently closed one of its retail stores in China and reduced hours at others and is restricting employee travel due to the virus.” Goldman Sachs, Brazilian miner Vale SA, Volkswagen, Nestle, Novartis, Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel, Samsung Electronics and many other companies have advised its employees not to travel to China.
Airline Refunded and Cancelled For the Time Being
Until the end of March, Finnish airline Finnair has suspended its routes to Nanjing and Beijing’s Daxing International airport. One of the first European airline to cancel its flights to China. Australia’s Qantas Airways, Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific, Air Seoul, Malaysia’s AirAsia, Air France KLM, and United Airlines have either canceled or refunded the airline tickets.
Hotel Cancellation
Across mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau, InterContinental Hotels will allow its customers to change or cancel stay their scheduled up to February 3. Famous Hotel Chain Hyatt Hotels, through its official channel, said who had booked their stays and are canceling due to the Coronavirus outbreak, or are Chinese guests outbound to its Asia Pacific hotels, can cancel stays or change dates for free.
