The Association of German Commercial Airports (ADV) said on Wednesday that airports across the country have all necessary instructions in place to adequately handle the arrivals of individuals infected with the new strain of coronavirus that killed nine in China and has spilled over the border
BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd January, 2020) The Association of German Commercial Airports (ADV) said on Wednesday that airports across the country have all necessary instructions in place to adequately handle the arrivals of individuals infected with the new strain of coronavirus that killed nine in China and has spilled over the border.
As confirmed cases continued to increase outside of China, many countries in Asia and beyond tightened up airport security measures in a bid to curb the spread.
"German airports have detailed plans of action with clearly outlined procedures for emergency situations. The necessary medical resources are ready. The further development of these emergency plans of action are based on the findings and recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO)," the association said in a statement.
Germany has five airports authorized for the so-called essential public health operations in accordance with international health regulations � in Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin.
"Should a plane carrying a suspect case arrive, it will be rerouted to one of these airports," the statement read.
"Emergency action plans against dangerous infections in the German airports have excited for many years and proved their efficiency in the past," the association said, referring to the pandemics of the SARS coronavirus in 2002-2003, the Lassa fever in 2006, and the Swine Flu in 2009.
An unknown kind of viral pneumonia was first reported from the town of Wuhan in the central Chinese province of Hubei in late December. Infected individuals reportedly display symptoms typical of pneumonia and other acute respiratory diseases.
The WHO and Chinese authorities has since confirmed it to be a new strain of coronavirus, labeled 2019-nCoV, that can transmit from human to human. More than 440 people currently count infected in China, South Korea, Japan and Thailand, most of them reportedly exported from Wuhan.
On Tuesday, the first case in the United States was confirmed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a 30-year old traveler from China was diagnosed with the Wuhan coronavirus in the state of Washington.
