Myanmar Reports First Suspected Coronavirus Case

A Chinese visitor in Myanmar suspected of having the coronavirus was hospitalized on Friday in the city of Yangon, according to officials.

A China Southern Airlines flight carrying 79 passengers arrived in Yangon from Guangzhou, China.

A 56-year-old male Chinese passenger was found to have symptoms related to the virus and was taken to the hospital, according to Soe Paing, the general manager of Yangon International Airport.

"Authorities haven't allowed the other 78 passengers to disembark the plane," he told Anadolu Agency.

According to the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA), only two Myanmar passengers will be allowed to disembark the plane.

"The rest won't be allowed to enter the country," said a DCA director who asked not to be named as he is not a spokesperson of the department.

"They will be taken back to China with the same flight," he told Anadolu Agency.

Myanmar health authorities said there had been no coronavirus cases in the country even as the coronavirus outbreak worsened.

As of Jan. 31, a total of 9,810 coronavirus cases have been seen in 23 countries worldwide, 99% of them in China.

The novel coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan city, is said to have been transmitted to humans from animals, particularly bats.

The death toll in China from the novel coronavirus outbreak has climbed to 213, the National Health Commission said Friday.

Some 9,692 confirmed cases of pneumonia caused by the coronavirus, also known as 2019-nCoV, have been reported in China.

The virus has raised alarms globally, with cases reported across Asia, Europe, the U.S., and Canada.

Travelers from China are being screened for the virus at airports worldwide. Several airlines, including Turkish Airlines, have suspended flights to Wuhan and other parts of China.

At an emergency meeting Thursday, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak an international emergency. -