The risk of a Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) carrier entering China has significantly increased due to the large number of Chinese citizens that travel to MERS-hit South Korea and vice versa, China's top health authority said on Wednesday.
"Currently, the most important part of our work is to prevent more MERS carriers from entering the country," Mao Qun'an, spokesperson of the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC), said during a press conference. He added that the NHFPC has issued a high alert due to the outbreak.
China has stepped up its health checkups in major ports and areas where frequent contact with people from South Korea and the Middle East takes place. Any suspected MERS carriers that are detected will be quarantined and subject to medical observation. China is also requiring countries that have been affected by the MERS outbreak to warn their citizens of the health checks before they depart for China, according Mao.
"So far research into the MERS virus has shown that human-to-human transmission is still limited," Mao said, adding that Chinese scientists last week finished sequencing the genome of the first case of MERS detected in China and are currently researching a MERS vaccine.
Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan issued travel alerts to their residents that wish to travel to South Korea this week in light of the deadly outbreak.
Although the Chinese mainland has not issued any travel warnings, AFP has reported that 45,000 tourists - mostly Chinese - cancelled their trips to South Korea in the first week of June while China Business News has reported that a total of 100,000 Chinese tourists intend to cancel their planned trips to South Korea due to MERS.
Mao said that the government has begun to study the risks of a MERS outbreak to decide whether to issue travel warnings about countries that have reported cases of MERS, but so far the World Health Organization has not recommended setting up restrictions on tourism and trade with such countries.
A Chinese medical professional working in a South Korean hospital was diagnosed for MERS on Wednesday and is receiving treatment, South Korean health authorities said.
The NHFPC said it has been in communication with South Korea to receive updates on the health condition of Chinese nationals living in the country.
The first MERS carrier detected in China, a South Korean man, is slowly recovering. All 78 people who had close contact with the patient do not appear to be symptomatic.
The NHFPC called on people who have traveled to South Korea or the Middle East to consult doctors and report their activities abroad.
South Korea has reported 108 MERS infections and nine deaths as of Wednesday morning, and has quarantined some 3,400 people, making it the country hardest hit by MERS apart from Saudi Arabia, where more than 1,000 cases have been confirmed, according to the Yonhap News Agency.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye delayed her planned visit to the U.S. amid the spread of MERS, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
