Source: BBC

Fijians returning home from areas known to have the Coronavirus outbreak are being urged to seek medical attention if they become unwell.

The Health Ministry says these people need to advise the treating clinician of their recent travel.

This has the deadly new virus which started in China last month has spread to other countries as the death toll from the outbreak continues to rise.

There have been forty-one deaths from the virus in China, and a case has been detected in our neighboring country, Australia.

Fijians have been urged to refrain from traveling to China’s Wuhan City in Hubei Province, where the outbreak originated from.

The Health Ministry says Fijians should call the health facility ahead of time if they feel unwell after traveling back to the country, so health staff is aware of their symptoms and travel history.

The Ministry says the International border control is one part of their response, and they are working with the relevant stakeholders, including airport authorities and airlines, to enhance existing mechanisms for detecting ill travelers at the international point of entry.

There are no direct flights from Wuhan to Fiji.

However, the Ministry says Fiji has flights from Hong Kong and Singapore that may serve as connections from passengers from Wuhan.

The Ministry will be introducing additional health screening measures for passengers disembarking from flights that originate in Hong Kong and Singapore.

Coronaviruses are a large group of viruses, with six of these known to cause a range of illnesses from the common cold to the more serious Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

2019 novel coronavirus was discovered early this month after an unusual cluster of pneumonia cases was noted in Wuhan City in Hubei province, China.