
Amid news of the widespread of the coronavirus in the People’s Republic of China and other parts of the world, Liberians studying at the Yunnan Technology and Business University in the Asian nation are seeking the intervention of the Government of Liberia to return home for fear of contracting the deadly disease.
Chinese health authorities said there were 7,711 confirmed cases in the country as of 29 January.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus outbreak a global public health emergency Thursday. The fast-spreading virus causes a potentially deadly respiratory infection. So far, coronavirus has infected over 8,000 people and killed at least 171. It has spread to 18 other countries from China, where the coronavirus originated in the city of Wuhan, including India, the United States, France, and Germany.
One of the students identified as Wonderful Kai said they fear being infected by the virus as they are gradually going out of food while being locked up in the dormitory on campus.
He said academic activities were since suspended following the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus and yet there’s no further instructions from the school’s management.
On Thursday, January 30, 2020, the Chairman of the Liberian Senate Standing Committee on Health, Dr. Peter Coleman, informed his colleagues that the surveillance officers of the Ministry of Health are tracing 300 Chinese and 11 Liberians who have entered the country in the last one month.
“We are tracing all these people. We have information from the Liberia Immigration Service and these people will be quarantined for 10 to 12 days.”
Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). Report by Saywhar Gbaa