"New Coronavirus Infection Spreads Faster Than SARS"

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Park Sun-mi] It has been diagnosed that the human-to-human transmission speed of the novel coronavirus infection, known as 'Wuhan pneumonia,' is much faster than that of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome).

Feng Zijian, Deputy Director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, appeared on the China Central Television (CCTV) program 'News 1+1' on the night of the 27th and said regarding the rapid increase in confirmed Wuhan pneumonia cases in China, "This virus has a relatively strong ability to transmit between people."

He explained, "The first patient of the novel coronavirus appeared on December 8 last year, and it took about 40 days to reach the 500th patient, but it only took two days for an additional 500 patients to appear. It also took about 40 days to reach the first 1,000 patients, but more than 1,000 additional infections occurred in just two days. It took only one day to go from 2,000 to 3,000 patients."

Deputy Director Feng said, "During the concentrated travel period of the Spring Festival (Chinese Lunar New Year holiday), people are moving out of Wuhan, where the infection situation is severe, to other regions, which is accelerating the spread of the virus and expanding its range. The transmission ability of the novel coronavirus is comparable to that of SARS, with an average patient infecting 2 to 3 people."

He added, "However, while it takes about 9 days for SARS cases to double, the novel coronavirus doubles in about 6 to 7 days. The shorter doubling time of the novel coronavirus results in a relatively faster increase in confirmed cases."

He also stated, "People who have visited areas with severe infectious disease outbreaks, such as Wuhan City, need to self-isolate at home for about 14 days. Wearing masks, measuring body temperature, and taking immediate action if abnormal symptoms appear are behaviors that help prevent the spread of the virus. Although it is difficult to accurately predict the transmission trend under the current circumstances, we expect that it can be effectively controlled."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.