A Chinese health worker checks the temperature of a woman entering a subway station during the Chinese New Year and Spring Festival on January 25, 2020 in Beijing, China. Photo: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

Officials at the Ministry of Health and Social Development have begun collaborating with local, regional and international health agencies as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus. Photo: GIS

Apart from China, cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed in Japan, Taiwan, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Australia, the US, and France. Photo: BBC Research

Some 56 people have died from the virus, which is a new, or "novel" coronavirus - a family that normally affects animals.

And officials at the Ministry of Health and Social Development have begun collaborating with local, regional and international health agencies as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus, a press release from the Ministry of Health and Social Development on Friday, January 24, 2020 stated.

We will remain on the alert- Dr Irad Potter

Chief Medical Officer, Dr Irad Potter stated that the Ministry of Health has been carefully monitoring the situation since the initial reports from Wuhan, China.

“We will remain on the alert as this new coronavirus belongs to the same family as less severe diseases like the common cold and more severe diseases, like the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)- the latter which killed over 800 people worldwide in 2003.

“Information-to-date indicates that transmission is through human-to-human transmission, for example, via respiratory droplets from sneezes and coughs and may also be contracted indirectly, through touching contaminated surfaces,” said Dr Potter.

Apart from China, cases have been confirmed in Japan, Taiwan, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Australia, the US, and France.

Symptoms seem to start with a fever, followed by a dry cough and then, after a week, lead to shortness of breath and some patients needing hospital treatment.

There is no specific cure or vaccine.

At the end of Saturday, January 25, 2020, in China, there were 1975 cases and a further 2,684 suspected cases, China's National Health Commission said.

The outbreak in Wuhan has been linked to their South China Seafood City, likely indicating an animal-human (zoonotic) transmission, although no animals sampled have tested positive for the virus.

In an effort to limit the spread of the deadly virus, Chinese officials have locked down three (3) cities, including Wuhan, restricting travel out of the country.

No Global Health Emergency called

Chief Medical Officer, Dr Potter also said, “Despite international cases, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has decided not to declare it a global health emergency as it is still too early in the disease outbreak.

“This however, does not mean that the [British] Virgin Islands will not take it seriously, as its infectious and contagious nature indicates that spread is inevitable- the extent of which is undetermined.”

He explained that evidence is still emerging as investigations continue in an attempt to determine whether its severity and lethality is similar to that of SARS. No transmission has been reported in the Caribbean; however, the Virgin Islands’ public is advised to be extra vigilant and take the necessary precautions.