New Coronavirus – Republic of Korea (Former China)

January 20, 2020 IHR National Contact Point (NFP) for the Republic of Korea reports on the first case of a new coronavirus in the Republic of Korea. The case is of a 35-year-old Chinese national resident in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.

The patient developed fever, cold and muscle aches on January 18 while in Wuhan. She visited a local hospital in Wuhan and was first diagnosed with a cold. On January 19, a patient was diagnosed with fever (38.3 ° C) upon arrival at Incheon International Airport. The patient was transferred to a national isolated hospital for testing and treatment. It tested positive for the pan-coronavirus reverse transcriptase-polymerase (RT-PCR) chain reaction assay, and was subsequently confirmed positive for the new coronavirus (2019-nCoV) on January 20 by sequencing at the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). Upon detection, the patient had fever, runny nose, and muscle pain.

The case patient did not report visits to any markets, including the Juan Seafood wholesale, nor did she know contact with confirmed 2019-nCoV or wildlife cases in Wuhan City.

The patient patient is currently in isolation, receiving treatment, and is in stable condition.

Public health response

• Contact seeking and other epidemiological testing are underway;
• The Government of the Republic of Korea increased the national alert level from blue (level 1) to yellow (level 2 of the national crisis management system to 4 levels);
• The Health Authority of the Republic of Korea has stepped up its monitoring of pneumonia cases in health facilities across the country since January 3, 2020;
• Quarantine and screening measures have been improved for passengers from Wuhan at the Point of Entry (PoE) since January 3, 2020;
• Communication with public risk has improved.

WHO risk assessment

This is the fourth internationally exported 2019-nCoV case from the city of Wuhan, China by travelers. Since the initial case report on December 31, 2019, and since January 20, 2020, the World Health Organization in China has recorded 278 laboratory confirmed cases of nCoV infection in 2019, including six deaths, two from Thailand, one from Japan and one case of the Republic of Korea. There are 51 serious cases in China and 12 cases critically ill. They are all under isolation treatment at certain medical facilities in Wuhan. Among the cases reported in China, 14 cases were reported from Guangdong province, five from Beijing municipality and one from Shanghai municipality.

The source of the epidemic is still under investigation in Wuhan City. Preliminary testing found that environmental samples were positive for nCoV at Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan City, but some laboratory-confirmed patients did not report a visit to this market. Cases continue to be reported from Wuhan City and other provinces in China. Additional studies are needed to determine how the patients are infected, the extent of human-to-human transmission, the clinical spectrum of the disease, and the geographical extent of the infection.

Tip of WHO

It is reasonable to remind the general public and healthcare professionals of the basic principles for reducing the general risk of transmitting acute respiratory infections by following the measures below:

• Avoiding close contact with people suffering from acute respiratory infections;
• Frequent hand washing, especially after direct contact with sick people or their environment;
• Avoiding unprotected contact with domestic or wild animals;
• People with symptoms of acute respiratory infection should practice coughing (maintain distance, cover cough and sneeze with disposable tissues or clothing and wash their hands);
• Improve standard infection prevention and control practices in hospitals, especially in emergency departments, within health care settings.

WHO does not recommend any specific health measures for travelers. In the case of symptoms suggestive of acute respiratory illnesses, either during or after the trip, travelers are encouraged to seek medical attention and share their travel history with their doctor. Health authorities should work with the travel, transport and tourism sectors to provide information to travelers to reduce the overall risk of acute respiratory infections through travel health clinics, travel agencies, carriers and point of entry.

Who provided interim instructions for new coronaviruses

WHO advises against the application of any travel or trade restrictions in Korea based on currently available information on this event.

For more information on the new coronavirus, see: