South Korea Confirms Fourth Case Of Coronavirus - Health Authorities

SEOUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th January, 2020) A fourth case of the new coronavirus, which originated in China's Wuhan, has been registered in South Korea, the country's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said on Monday.

The patient is a 55-year old citizen of South Korea, who visited Wuhan but returned to South Korea on January 20.

"He went to a local clinic and got treated for cold on 21 January. He visited the clinic once again on 25 January for fever and muscle pain. The clinic reported him to the local public health center, and he has been under active monitoring since then. On January 26, he was diagnosed of pneumonia and classified as patient under investigation ... As of 27 January, he was confirmed positive for 2019-nCov," the KCDC said.

On Sunday, South Korean health authorities pledged to greatly tighten rules checking of people with relevant symptoms and take steps to keep more people in quarantine and under close observation. The entire territory of China has been categorized as a "coronavirus risk area."

Governments across the world are on high-alert amid the outbreak of a new form of viral coronavirus that was first reported in late December. According to the latest data from China's National Health Commission, 80 people have died from the virus in China. Over 2,700 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the country. Cases of pneumonia caused by the new coronavirus strain have been reported in other countries, including the United States.